Dark Willows, Bright Flowers Ahead

Dark Willows, Bright Flowers Ahead

In Anchoring Year Thirteen, ancient texts such as the "Book of Documents," "Book of Poetry," and "Book of Rites" appeared once more. Scholars across the realm grew ever more fascinated by that lost stretch of history.

In Anchoring Year Fifteen, the emperor fell gravely ill. Seeking another immortal elixir to prolong his life, he dispatched more than a hundred thousand soldiers to excavate ancient tombs throughout the land in search of traces of such elixirs.

Though many court officials voiced objections, none submitted large-scale memorials in opposition.

Unfortunately, immortal elixirs were difficult to find. Even after more than a hundred ancient tombs had been excavated, not a single trace was discovered.

At the end of the year, the emperor died full of regret. Before his death, he passed the throne to the Langya King.

Thus, Li Fan once again seized control of the realm from the shadows.

Under Li Fan's influence, the craze for exploring antiquities and seeking tombs grew ever more fervent across the land.

In Anchoring Year Seventeen, a mountain hunter won the Grand Tutor's favor after discovering an ancient tomb and was granted the title of marquis. Thereafter, people across the realm became even more obsessed and frenzied over antiquity exploration. Even in the most remote mountain forests, bands of explorers could be seen everywhere.

Time flowed on, reaching Anchoring Year Twenty-Three.

Li Fan stood within the Grand Tutor Estate, studying the compiled clues gathered over the years through official and civilian antiquity exploration.

Before this, the history of this world contained records of only three thousand years, spanning twenty-three dynasties.

Yet as ancient tomb after ancient tomb was excavated, the lost history of the past was gradually pieced back together.

Before those twenty-three dynasties, there had been another sixteen, reaching back roughly six or seven thousand years.

The earliest dynasty that could be found was called Qi.

"Six or seven thousand years... that should roughly line up with the Great Migration Era." Li Fan thought to himself.

He immediately ordered his subordinates to focus on excavating tombs from the Qi Dynasty.

He also offered a reward to the entire realm: anyone who found a Qi Dynasty tomb would be granted the title of marquis.

As soon as the news spread, people everywhere rushed to tell one another.

Countless young people set out in groups upon the road of antiquity exploration.

No matter how deeply history had been buried, it could not withstand the fervent digging and searching of the entire world.

In Anchoring Year Twenty-Five, the Tomb of Yi Xingzhi, the first emperor of the Qi Dynasty, was finally found.

Upon receiving the news, Li Fan personally led his trusted followers to the site and sealed off the surrounding area.

Over the past dozen years, the Great Xuan Dynasty's techniques for excavating ancient tombs had advanced by leaps and bounds, producing an extremely effective method for opening tombs.

Though the tomb of this world's first emperor was enormous and filled with countless mechanisms, after just over a month of effort by the Antiquity Exploration Camp, a passage leading to the main burial chamber was chiseled through.

Once every obstacle had been cleared, Li Fan entered the ancient tomb amid the crowd's escort.

The main tomb passage stretched for several hundred meters, its walls on both sides covered in lifelike murals. Though thousands of years had passed, they remained clearly visible.

Li Fan paced slowly onward, examining the murals one by one.

The murals were divided into several sections.

In the first section, the protagonist of the paintings—Yi Xing, the first emperor of the Qi Dynasty—sat atop a mountain peak. Above the vast white clouds, several immortal figures seemed to be speaking to him.

In the second section, darkness representing calamity descended. Red representing blood drenched the earth. Under Yi Xing's leadership, the surviving people boarded one great ship-shaped vessel after another and flew across the boundless sea of clouds. After encountering countless perils, they arrived upon a vast plain. From then on, they made their home there.

In the third section, with everyone's support, Yi Xing proclaimed himself emperor and established the Qi Dynasty.

The fourth section depicted all manner of trivial events that occurred during Yi Xing's reign.

After finishing the murals, Li Fan arrived at the main burial chamber.

The chamber stood forty to fifty meters high and stretched several thousand meters in length and width. Its ceiling seemed to imitate the arrangement of the stars, embedded with countless luminous pearls.

The burial chamber itself was laid out in imitation of some Mountain Gate. Peaks rose one after another, submerged within a sea of clouds.

No one knew how this sea of clouds had formed, yet it remained fixed within the burial chamber without drifting about. Even after thousands of years, it had not dispersed.

Invisible paths linked the various peaks. As the group walked onward, they clicked their tongues in wonder and praised the sight without end.

"Truly the methods of immortals." Li Fan thought to himself.

Atop the highest peak stood a simple thatched hut, with fertile fields outside that had long fallen into ruin.

Only after entering did everyone realize that the hut's thatch was actually woven from innumerable fine golden threads.

Clearly, this thatched hut was Yi Xing's coffin.

At Li Fan's signal, the others opened the hut's door first.

To everyone's surprise, Yi Xing's remains were not inside.

There was only a wooden spirit tablet standing quietly within.

Several large golden characters were written upon it: "Tomb of Yi Xing, Outer Sect Disciple of the Taiyan Sect."

There was nothing else.

"It seems that although this man joined the sect called the Taiyan Sect, he remained only an Outer Sect Disciple and never stepped onto the path of immortality. In the end, the cultivators still exiled him to this place."

"Even before his death, he could not forget his sect. Rather than calling himself emperor, he always regarded himself as an Outer Sect Disciple of the Taiyan Sect."

"But according to what Kou Hong said before, all the sects under heaven should have vanished in the Great Calamity before the Great Migration Era. Now it seems there must be another hidden truth behind this."

Li Fan's mind raced without pause.

"Yi Xing must have been entrusted by Taiyan Sect cultivators with the Great Migration of this world. I only wonder whether we can find the Flying Boat used for that migration."

After finding nothing in the main burial chamber, Li Fan ordered the Antiquity Exploration Camp to excavate the surrounding area, hoping to find clues in the satellite tombs nearby.

Several days later, bad news arrived, leaving Li Fan furious and helpless.

The Antiquity Exploration Camp had found a record mentioning a Flying Boat in the inventory of burial goods from a nearby satellite tomb. Unfortunately, that chamber had been looted long ago.

Judging from the traces of destruction, the theft had occurred over a thousand years earlier.

"Again! Again! Every time hope appears before me, it always turns out to be a moon reflected in water, flowers in a mirror—something forever beyond reach!"

In a rare fit of rage, Li Fan smashed several objects at his side.

Everyone around him fell silent as cicadas in winter.

Only after a long while did Li Fan calm his tangled emotions.

He still ordered the Antiquity Exploration Camp to continue excavating ancient tombs in search of possible traces of the immortal boat, but he himself returned to Profound Capital City, clearly no longer holding much hope.

Another ten years passed. By Anchoring Year Thirty-Five, however, the situation took a turn for the better.

That day, Li Fan received an urgent report.

"An immortal's tomb?" Li Fan was momentarily stunned, then overjoyed as he questioned them closely.

It turned out that although Li Fan had grown somewhat disheartened over the years, the people's enthusiasm for antiquity exploration had not faded in the slightest. Countless ancient tombs had been excavated across the lands of Great Xuan.

As the large tombs were gradually exhausted, people began turning their attention toward the small tombs that had previously drawn no interest.

Several days earlier, a group of young people had been excavating an inconspicuous burial site when they were suddenly injured by some inexplicable force, suffering heavy casualties.

The survivors immediately reported the matter to the authorities.

Great Xuan had explored antiquities for decades. Though there had been casualties, they had almost always been caused by mechanisms. To encounter something so bizarre before even opening the tomb was unprecedented.

The Antiquity Exploration Camp did not dare slacken. They sent people to investigate overnight.

Though numerous seasoned experts and fully armed soldiers joined forces, they could not budge this small tomb in the slightest.

Alarmed and delighted, they hurriedly reported the matter to Li Fan.

Li Fan rushed there upon receiving the news. After using the Immortal-Mortal Miasma, he finally destroyed the nameless force surrounding the tomb.

Upon entering the tomb, they found a small wooden boat sitting conspicuously among the burial goods.