Cliff Burial

"Cliff burial? May I ask, Xu Lao, what exactly is cliff burial?"

Su Ti asked with interest.

The other three also looked at Xu Lao curiously. Though they had followed him in tomb raiding for years, they had never raided this kind of tomb.

Xu Lao pointed at the cliff beneath their feet.

"So-called cliff burial is when a cave is carved into a sheer cliff face to serve as a burial chamber. The tomb chamber is placed inside the cave, then the entrance is sealed with a Dragon Blocking Stone. That is cliff burial."

Xu Lao stroked his beard.

"This method of constructing tombs is extremely difficult. Workers must operate on the cliff face and carve through the mountain. With the manpower available in the past, it would take vast resources and ten or even decades of time to build. Once it was complete, coffins and burial goods had to be lowered one by one from the cliff into the tomb. It was incredibly difficult—not something an ordinary prince or noble could afford to build."

"According to my investigation, this tomb was built during the Era of a Hundred Kingdoms, when Mu Kingdom was at its height. The first King Mu was buried here. Later, Mu Kingdom was defeated and destroyed, and some of King Mu's descendants moved here to guard the tomb. That was the Mu Family Village we saw."

After recounting this bit of history, Xu Lao returned to the main subject.

"Not only are cliff burials difficult to construct, but once completed, they are also extraordinarily difficult to excavate."

"Ordinary tombs are built underground, at most four or five meters below the surface, perhaps ten-plus meters at the deepest. Once the location is accurately determined, you dig a tunnel and descend directly into the Main Tomb Chamber. Take the goods and come right back up—quick and convenient."

"But cliff burials are different. Since they are caves dug directly into sheer cliff faces, the tomb lies a hundred meters deep within the mountain. Drilling down into it from above is simply impossible."

"So we can only imitate the workers who built this mausoleum back then: hang from the cliff face, locate the tomb entrance, and enter through the opening where the Dragon Blocking Stone was placed."

"And that isn't all. Listen carefully when I say these tombs are dangerous. Dangerous how? Ordinary tombs belonging to princes, nobles, generals, and ministers, if built underground, contain traps and mechanisms because of the occupants' high status, meant to prevent later generations from stealing from them."

"But as long as the location is accurate and the tunnel is dug well, those traps can be avoided. For example, you could dig directly into the Main Tomb Chamber. Descend through the tunnel and you're already inside it. It's like playing a game and going straight to the final treasure room, bypassing all the traps along the way."

"As long as you pinpoint the location well and dig properly, the mechanisms and traps in most conventionally built tombs are just decorations. They can't be triggered at all."

"But cliff burials are different. Since both the builders and tomb raiders can only enter through a single entrance, they usually place a great number of traps and mechanisms in that sole passage. Those are traps we cannot avoid."

After talking for so long, Xu Lao was a little thirsty. He took a sip of water before continuing.

"Now that we have found the tomb's approximate location, we still have four hurdles to overcome. The first is accurately locating the tomb entrance. The second is opening the Dragon Blocking Stone at the entrance and getting inside. The third is the various mechanisms and traps within the tomb. And the final, most difficult hurdle may be the Evil Spirits inside."

As he spoke of this, Xu Lao's expression turned grave.

"Brother Su Xiu, do you know why so many ancient people liked building their tombs atop Yin Meridians?"

Su Ti did not understand either and casually guessed.

"Why? Was it to create Evil Spirits?"

"Yes. They were creating Evil Spirits deliberately."

Xu Lao said gravely.

"Xiya Country has practiced live burial and human sacrifice since ancient times. The higher a person's status, the more people were buried with them. What was the purpose? Aside from displaying their own exalted status, they filled the tomb with countless innocent people to use their resentment, combined with the yin energy of a Yin Meridian, to artificially create Evil Spirits!"

Over the past few days, Su Ti had also learned much about Evil Spirits. Aside from Yin Meridians producing them, resentment was another crucial factor. The heavier a corpse's resentment, the more easily it would be corrupted by yin energy after death and become an Evil Spirit.

"You must understand that things like traps and mechanisms will decay. After a few hundred years, they become useless."

"But Evil Spirits are different. Evil Spirits do not die of old age. They live by absorbing yin energy and can guard a tomb for hundreds, even thousands, of years!"

"You could say that some Evil Spirits exist solely because the owners of these tombs deliberately created them as tomb guardians."

Su Ti had never imagined there was another reason behind it. People actually created Evil Spirits to guard their own mausoleums.

Didn't that mean archaeology and tomb raiding in this world were extremely dangerous? The more powerful the ruler, the more effort and resources would surely be poured into creating stronger Evil Spirits to guard the tomb.

Why had he never seen reports or information about this in the tomb-raiding industry?

Could it have been suppressed by the state?

As Su Ti pondered this, Xu Lao looked at the sheer cliff before them.

"Next, I'll conduct a vertical survey of this cliff and pinpoint the exact location of the tomb entrance. It will take roughly three days. Once the location is confirmed, opening it will depend on Lao Li."

Lao Li set down his entrenching shovel and chuckled.

"Don't worry, Xu Lao. As long as you find the entrance, even if a ten-thousand-pound Dragon Blocking Stone is guarding it, I guarantee I'll open it."

"Mm."

Xu Lao nodded slightly.

Over the following days, Xu Lao focused on surveying the tomb's location. The method was simple: he tied a safety rope at the top of the cliff, then suspended himself from the cliff face to inspect it carefully.

Su Ti could not help much with that, so he could only practice boxing atop the mountain each day while waiting for Xu Lao to survey the tomb.

Xu Lao's surveying process was quite dangerous. Like a rock climber, he hung from a rope around his waist hundreds of meters in the air, constantly tapping and striking the mountain wall as he searched for the tomb entrance.

Xu Lao's calculations were remarkably precise. He said three days, and by noon on the third day, he had found the entrance.

The tomb entrance was roughly a hundred meters straight down and more than a hundred meters above the ground.

Once that location was confirmed, the rest was left to Lao Li.

He took his tools and hung himself at the entrance Xu Lao had marked on the cliff face. After taking precise measurements, he climbed back up to sketch and calculate. In the end, he identified over a dozen points around the entrance.

Using a hammer and chisel to open those points, Lao Li brought out his prized equipment.

More than a dozen detonators, along with some high explosives meant for blasting through mountains.

After carefully calibrating the explosives, he packed them into the chiseled points. That process took another two days.

Two days later, the explosives detonated with a boom. The Dragon Blocking Stone was blasted apart, and after a shower of falling rock, a bottomless cave appeared in the mountain wall.

"Professional. That was unbelievably professional."

Seeing the tomb entrance opened, Su Ti said admiringly.

Being able to blast such a precise opening into a sheer cliff without damaging the overall mountain structure—Lao Li would have been more than qualified to work as a blasting engineer.

Xu Lao stroked his goatee and said calmly.

"Now that the tomb has been opened, the air inside is still too foul. It needs to be ventilated for a while."

"We'll rest for the night today and enter the cave to investigate tomorrow."

That night, atop the cliff.

The group sat around a campfire beside their small tents.

Branches crackled in the fire, while faint rustling came from the distant forest.

"There it is again."

Su Ti glanced at several scarlet points in the woods, which flashed and vanished among the trees.

Though they had not encountered any new Evil Spirits over the past few days, whenever they camped atop the mountain, they could always feel eyes watching them from the forest.

"What is it? Wild animals?"

Cao Man frowned. In deep forests like this, there were plenty of wild animals, and it was not strange for them to observe arriving humans.

"Probably monkeys or something similar, but it's hard to say."

Xu Lao glanced at a humanoid figure climbing through the branches in the forest before it vanished in a flash, and his brow furrowed slightly as well.

Since someone had always kept watch at night and nothing had happened, and since those things only watched from afar, they still did not know what was spying on them.

"In any case, we're entering the tomb tomorrow. Let's hope everything goes smoothly."

"That's right. Whatever is hiding in the forest, we won't deal with it. We'll just raid the tomb and leave."

At noon the next day, when the sun was at its strongest, everyone finished preparing their gear.

Everyone wore climbing suits and climbing shoes, carried two climbing picks, and had two safety ropes. One was secured to a tree atop the cliff, while the other was carried on their person, ready to be anchored into the rock at any time as a backup safety line.

Wary of whatever was in the forest, they left one person behind to guard the luggage despite setting out at noon, to prevent those things from launching a sneak attack. That person was Zhu Wendong.

Zhu Wendong was quite skilled in combat and had reached the Tongli Stage, but unlike Su Ti, he had not studied under a master of Ancient Martial Arts. He was self-taught.

He had mastered the three most widely circulated Ancient Martial Arts on the dark web: the "Body Tempering Art," "Black Tiger Fist," and "Fang Wolf Saber." He had cultivation methods, unarmed combat techniques, and blade-fighting techniques. His close-quarters combat ability was excellent. Before Su Ti joined Xu Lao's team, he had been the strongest front-line fighter in the group.

Though Cao Man was also a Tongli Stage martial artist, she only excelled at whip techniques and throwing hidden weapons. In direct combat, she was still inferior to Zhu Wendong, so she descended into the ancient tomb with the others.

Once everything was ready, the four lowered their ropes and made their way down the mountain wall toward the tomb.

A safety rope was tied around Su Ti's waist. He gripped the rope in his hands and stepped down the hard cliff face one step at a time.

It was his first time rock climbing, though this probably should not have been called rock climbing. Descending by rope was more accurate.

Though he was hundreds of meters in the air, his will was firm, and he was not particularly afraid.

Moreover, his body was far stronger than an ordinary person's. Though it was his first descent, he handled it with ease.

After descending for a while, just as the group was about to drive pitons into the cliff face and secure the hooks for their second safety ropes, a sudden change came from above!

A baboon-like cry and Zhu Wendong's battle shouts suddenly rang out overhead!

Amid the chaos, Zhu Wendong let out a roar from the top of the cliff.

"Get up here! There are so many Evil Spirits up here!"

Everyone's expressions changed. Without time to wonder why Evil Spirits had attacked at this moment, they all grabbed their ropes and began climbing upward!

Then, suddenly, Su Ti's rope began shaking violently! It was as if someone were cutting through his safety line!

"They're cutting the ropes! I can't hold them off alone! Get up here and help me!"

Zhu Wendong roared from above, his voice filled with intense pain! It sounded as though he would not hold out much longer!

"Drive in the pitons, quickly!"

Cao Man immediately shouted at Su Ti.

Su Ti was still fifty meters from the cliff top. With the rope shaking this violently, there was no way he could climb up in time.

His expression changed. Just as he was about to drive in a piton, the rope holding him snapped with a bang!

The rope broke too quickly for Su Ti to react. He held a hammer in one hand and a piton in the other, with no time to grab the rock and secure himself.

The stone beneath Su Ti's feet slipped away. His entire body went weightless, and in the next instant, he fell backward into the abyss!

At that critical moment, a sharp whistle suddenly cut through the air. A long whip shot out like a nimble serpent, wrapping several times around Su Ti's left arm before snapping taut with a bang in the next instant!

It was Cao Man!

Quick and agile, she had kept watch on Su Ti the entire time. The moment he fell, she flung out the whip rope hanging at her waist and saved him!

"Drive in the pitons, quickly!"

Cao Man shouted, her face flushed red.

Though she was a Tongli Stage martial artist, she was still a woman and did not have much strength.

Furthermore, she was hanging in midair. Holding onto an adult man as large as Su Ti was extremely strenuous.

"Okay!"

Su Ti shouted in response. That fall had frightened even him. He had nearly dropped the hammer to grab the rock, but fortunately, he saw that Cao Man intended to act and did not do so. Now that he was temporarily safe, he hurriedly began hammering in pitons with a series of bangs.

But misfortunes never came alone.

In the next moment, Cao Man's safety rope also began shaking violently!

Her expression changed. One hand held the whip, leaving her no way to drive in pitons unless she threw Su Ti down.

At the same time, Lao Li and Xu Lao's safety ropes began shaking violently as well!

However, they had started driving in pitons even before Su Ti's rope began shaking. They were already halfway done and would definitely make it in time!

At that moment, words were too slow. Cao Man's expression shifted several times before she ultimately chose to trust Su Ti. She held onto the whip with one hand and did nothing else.

A few seconds passed. Cao Man's safety rope snapped with a bang, and like Su Ti before her, she plunged from the cliff!