Moving forward along a vine that spanned the mountain stream, Zhang Huan used Source Art all the way to avoid places where hidden perils lurked, carefully advancing toward the core area guarded most strictly by formations.
Even Zhang Huan felt a sense of crisis rising in his heart upon seeing some of the taboos here; truly a burial place worthy of a great figure.
The heaven and earth served as a coffin, and it was nurtured by a place of vitality, with vital essence acting as the placenta, reversing the laws of life and death.
This was an attempt to defy the heavens and return, regaining a lifetime of longevity; the tomb owner's intentions were clear as day.
If the tomb owner was a person from the Underworld, his status must not have been low.
Walking up to a stone wall, golden divine runes were carved upon it, each one profound, stirring the great momentum of heaven and earth and continuously drawing the vital essence between spiritual veins to pour into the underground.
Zhang Huan stopped in his tracks, spiritual light appearing in his eyes as he looked toward the stone wall.
He sensed the extraordinaneity of this stone wall, which acted like a pivot, manipulating the entire essence land, and wanted to decipher the divine runes upon it.
The patterns of heaven and earth were profound and marvelous. They were an eternal theme for cultivators comprehending the Great Dao; as their realm improved, their knowledge of them became more comprehensive.
Some said these were the characters of the Great Dao, containing countless secrets, and all things and spirits in the world had an inseparable connection. If one could comprehend them all, one could attain the ultimate profound meaning and insight into everything in the world.
The divine runes here were carved upon it, complex and intricate. Zhang Huan could not see through all of them for a moment, but he understood a part.
These were dao runes carved by at least a quasi-emperor, containing supreme principles.
Although he could not fully understand them, everything in this place was inseparable from the dao runes on this stone wall. Transforming a thousand miles of land, turning a barren wasteland into a place of flora, fauna, and living creatures, it was the source of everything.
If this stone wall were placed in the outside world, it would cause countless people to scramble for it. It was a rare supreme treasure in the world, infused with the dao of a quasi-emperor—how precious it was.
The dao runes flickered, and Zhang Huan wanted to observe their most core part, but before he could see through them, he had no choice but to close his eyes.
With a sudden throb in his heart, Zhang Huan perceived that hidden perils were also concealed within these divine runes, and he stopped in time.
That was right, how could such an entity not leave behind a backup plan? A mere formation alone could not stop everyone. If someone who understood Source Art like Zhang Huan came to fish in troubled waters, these quasi-emperor dao runes were traps set specifically for them.
If one truly figured out this quasi-emperor's dao clearly, the next moment this mountain range might transform into a killing array. Under such scheming, even a quasi-emperor would feel uncomfortable.
What a deep and heavy mind indeed; none of those who could become quasi-emperors were easy to deal with.
Zhang Huan muttered inwardly.
Bypassing this stone wall, Zhang Huan manipulated the momentum of heaven and earth and found the location where the vital essence was most vigorous.
Perceiving with Source Art, there was indeed a tomb inside, with a coffin lying right in the middle. It was made of Ten-Thousand-Year Divine Wood, carved with Death Burial Ground, Boundless Underworld, and Myriad Spirits.
The most eye-catching thing was a nether treasure, which looked terrifying and frightening at first glance, carrying supreme karma within it.
Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure!
This was an immortal artifact of the Underworld, currently existing deep within the Underworld, possessing supreme might!
Zhang Huan took a deep breath, cautiously spreading his spiritual sense, trying his best not to touch these patterns.
The Underworld possessed a unique system. If he harbored thoughts too deep about the Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure here, there was no telling whether it could sense them; those past rulers of the Underworld had left behind no one knew how many defying-the-heavens secret arts.
Things that could not be done in the outside world were not necessarily impossible in such a treacherous place like the Underworld.
The remaining precious funerary objects, ancient scriptures, and Medicine Kings were perhaps items the tomb owner expected to use one day when his corpse reversed the laws and returned, so he had made preparations early on.
Endless vital essence was swallowed into the coffin like a whale, appearing like a black hole, within which was hidden the tomb owner's corpse, capable of withstanding who knew how many burial pits.
What else was inside besides the corpse, and were there still the tomb owner's backup plans?
Faced with the unknown, Zhang Huan dared not take risks. Seeing the ancient Medicine King quietly sleeping in the medicine field, a thought stirred in his mind, and he manipulated the Medicine King to pull up its roots and fly toward the heavy coffin.
"Hum!"
A surge of aura burst forth, shattering the ancient Medicine King into powder.
"I was wondering who it was; turned out to be another brainless Medicine King."
Bursts of divine sense emanated from within the coffin, and a demonic box flew out from the gap, shockingly a flawless quasi-emperor artifact!
Zhang Huan silently cursed the old ghostly schemer, concealed his figure, and quietly took out the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar.
The demonic box had eight corners, divided into three layers, palm-sized, exquisite, and compact, shimmering with silver patterns, its aura time-honored and ancient.
"Every time I wake up, I think foreign enemies are invading, but who knew they were all brainless Medicine Kings—twenty-two times, twenty-two times now."
The quasi-emperor artifact seemed to harbor extreme resentment, muttering incessantly to itself, wishing it could destroy this medicine field.
As an artifact, it had not yet gained enough sentience to deploy formations. Having suffered from disturbances throughout boundless years and constantly waking up, this quasi-emperor artifact looked like it had reached the limit of its endurance.
"Destroy it! That old fellow looks completely dead anyway, with no fortune to enjoy the ancient Medicine Kings. Better to directly give them to me for nourishment; my spirituality has been damaged from staying here for many years, so it serves him right to supplement my origin."
The demonic box muttered to itself, changing from anger to open-mindedness, and finally burst into laughter.
It was reconciled!
With that, it flew toward the medicine field. There were dozens of Medicine Kings growing in the soil; if it could sweep them all away, the massive energy swallowed would definitely be a great tonic.
Just as it let out a sinister chuckle and prepared to make a move on the Medicine Kings, Zhang Huan violently burst forth, throwing out the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar ahead, which accurately and flawlessly struck the demonic box.
The air stirred ripples upon the collision of the two, and an invisible wave rippled out. The next moment, the demonic box suffered heavy blows, struck to the point where it had no means to resist. Its silver light plummeted drastically, and it fell dismally to the ground.
"Quick!"
Zhang Huan gave a soft shout, casting spells in his hand to guide the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar in suppressing the demonic box. Pitch-black dark light carrying supreme laws completely suppressed the demonic box, wrapped around its body, and swiftly dragged it into the jar's body.
It was too smooth, flowing like moving clouds and water. The Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar made a move and easily suppressed this quasi-emperor artifact.
Without revealing any Supreme Dao Aura, Zhang Huan felt a sudden sense of relief, and instead turned his gaze toward the coffin.
Opening the coffin through the gap, a ball of chaos mist overflowed, and an immensely powerful aura revealed itself before his eyes.
The blood aura was like a primeval desolate beast; just getting close made his skin sting, and the coercion was overwhelming. Facing the person in the coffin directly, he felt a sense of powerlessness and insignificance originating from his soul.
This was a quasi-emperor; even in death, he possessed such a powerful aura, feared by all spirits. On the life level, he was two tiers apart from all beings—powerful and terrifying.
Forcing himself to endure the discomfort, Zhang Huan had defensive stellar energy barriers emerge around his body, circulated various secret arts, and barely managed to stand beside him.
Lying inside was a body aged to the extreme. Although devoid of all aura, it was still lifelike, the wrinkles on its face no different from those of an ordinary person.
If not for confirming that it was indeed a corpse, he would probably have had the illusion of mistaking it for a living person.
Zhang Huan scanned the surroundings. The attire this person wore belonged to who knows which era; it was probably even more distant than the primordial times, having lain here for at least a million years.
No wonder even the artifact spirit felt impatient. Over the long years, not even a quasi-emperor artifact could withstand decay, unable to receive replenishment. Its spirituality continuously flowed away, and after endless time, it would revert to being an ordinary object once more.
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