Great Accomplishment of Inner Refinement!

Boom!

Su Ti threw a punch, and as his fist met the air, it produced an explosive crack that shattered the silence.

The punch landed heavily on a Mountain Wraith's chest. It flew away as if struck by a car, slamming into the wall with a boom. Every bone in its body shattered, and it collapsed in spasms.

Earlier, Su Ti had been forced back because he was on the cliff face. Now that he was on level ground, this had become his battlefield.

Two Mountain Wraiths screamed as they pounced at him. Su Ti gave a savage grin, utterly fearless. He extended his left hand, which instantly blurred into a black shadow and lashed across one Mountain Wraith's neck in the blink of an eye. With a crack, its neck snapped.

Then he drove a kick into the other Mountain Wraith, striking its lower abdomen and sending it flying. The impact boomed so loudly that the entire cave trembled faintly.

That Mountain Wraith's body was already embedded in the rock wall, mangled beyond recognition in a bloody mess.

The Mountain Wraiths continued pouring into the cave in an endless stream. Su Ti's killing intent surged as he charged forward, forcing his way through their claws, fists, and teeth. Before they could land on him, he seized them and brutally smashed them again and again against the ground and walls.

The Inner Refinement Fourth Layer in all attributes, combined with the Great Accomplishment Copper Skin Skill, erupted with astonishing power. Su Ti was like a humanoid tank, charging through the Mountain Wraiths' attacks as he slaughtered them wildly.

He completely ignored how the Mountain Wraiths attacked him. Any that touched him were injured, and any struck by him died. They were as fragile as tofu.

Under Xu Lao and the others' shocked gazes, after leaving behind nine corpses, the remaining two Mountain Wraiths let out shrill cries and fled without looking back.

Su Ti could only watch them leave, breathing faintly as he made no move to pursue.

Though those Mountain Wraiths were no match for Su Ti, if they fled along the cliff face, he had no way to chase them.

Besides, their entire group was only this large. With merely two escaping, they would no longer amount to much.

Su Ti tossed aside the mangled Mountain Wraith corpse in his hand and leaned against the rock wall, panting.

Even Su Ti was somewhat exhausted after killing so many Tongli Stage Mountain Wraiths at once.

More than half his strength had been spent on the cliff face.

"Brother Su Xiu, impressive, truly impressive!"

Seeing that everything had ended, Xu Lao walked over. Looking at the Mountain Wraith corpses scattered across the ground, his eyes were full of admiration as he spoke sincerely.

"If Brother Su Xiu hadn't been here today, we would probably have been wiped out."

Cao Man and Lao Li also came over. Still shaken, they nodded deeply in agreement.

These Mountain Wraiths were unlike Yu. Even if they had not ambushed them on the cliff face, they could have wiped out everyone head-on, at most paying a slightly greater price.

Su Ti spoke while catching his breath.

"Enough with the pleasantries. Just give me a bigger share when the time comes."

He had not won that easily either. He had suffered considerable injuries under the Mountain Wraiths' attacks. Bloodstains covered large areas of his body, and several spots had been torn open, leaving him dripping with blood.

"Of course."

Xu Lao agreed without hesitation, but then he sighed.

"It's just a pity about Dongzi."

At those words, sorrow appeared in Lao Li and Cao Man's eyes as well.

There was honor even among tomb raiders. They had known Dongzi for many years, had lived and died together, and experienced countless dangers. They had never expected him to perish here.

But they were all veterans of many dangerous ventures, people with firm wills. Once they had chosen the path of making a living off the dead, they had long prepared themselves to die.

Their adventure was far from over. They might encounter death themselves.

Thus, the three of them forcibly pulled themselves together and did not wallow in grief.

"Let's rest briefly, assess the situation, and then head deeper inside."

Su Ti made the suggestion, and everyone nodded in agreement. After all the fleeing and fighting, they were already badly exhausted. Now that they were finally safe, they took food and water from their packs to replenish their strength.

As everyone rested, Su Ti looked at his modifier panel.

His energy had now reached as much as 560%.

He had killed twelve Mountain Wraiths in total. Aside from the two that fell from the cliff and provided no energy, the other ten had given him a full 300%. Added to the previous 260%, he finally had enough to upgrade a skill.

Su Ti fixed his gaze on Bodhisattva Practice. As the attributes blurred, Bodhisattva Practice changed from the fourth layer to the fifth, while his energy dropped from 560% to 210%.

The advancement of the technique sent a massive rush of heat through his limbs, bones, flesh, joints, internal organs, and brain!

As the heat flooded him, familiar pain followed. Yet Su Ti could feel his strength growing greater, his joints becoming more flexible, his reactions sharper, his mind faster, and his five senses more acute.

Moreover, he felt an itchy numbness from his wounds. As his constitution improved, the injuries were healing at high speed.

Pfft!

Su Ti suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark, clotted blood, startling everyone.

"Brother Su Xiu, are you alright?!"

Facing the alarmed Xu Lao and the others, Su Ti waved his hand.

"I'm fine. I just forced out the stagnant blood from my internal organs."

The others remained worried. No one knew what Evil Spirits might still be waiting ahead, and Su Ti was their strongest fighter. Nothing could happen to him.

But when Xu Lao and Cao Man took out alcohol and bandages and stepped forward to inspect Su Ti's wounds, they discovered that he really was fine.

Earlier, they had seen his torn clothing and bloodstains. Yet after examining him, they found that his skin had not even been broken. Only then did they return to rest, somewhat embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Su Ti felt his body. As the strengthening from the Inner Refinement Fifth Layer ended, his injuries had already healed completely.

Su Ti's attributes had now become:

Strength 2.0, Constitution 2.0, Agility 2.0, Intelligence 2.0

Clenching his fist, Su Ti thought to himself.

So this is what Great Accomplishment of Inner Refinement feels like? My body feels completely renewed, brimming with power from head to toe.

The fifth layer of Inner Refinement had already reached the Great Accomplishment of Inner Refinement realm in the Ancient Martial Arts world.

Next, as long as Su Ti advanced his combat methods to the Great Accomplishment realm as well, achieving Great Accomplishment in both Inner Refinement and combat methods, he could break through into the Perfected Circle Realm and reach the level of Uncle Liang, the Dragon Gate's transmission elder.

Su Ti turned his gaze toward his combat methods, the Golden Python Four Forms.

Golden Python Four Forms (Minor Accomplishment 22%) +

Though he had diligently practiced his combat methods every day recently, and had also undergone life-and-death combat atop the cliff, the progress was still low.

He moved his gaze to the plus sign behind the martial art. His remaining 210% energy rapidly decreased, stopping only when it reached 10%!

The Golden Python Four Forms' proficiency began soaring. With 200% energy infused into it, it directly reached the Intermediate Accomplishment level!

Countless memories flowed from Su Ti's body and surged into the nerves throughout his body and into his brain.

His fingers trembled faintly. At this moment, as a flood of memories poured into his mind and body, he felt as though he had practiced the Golden Python Four Forms for many years and gone through countless battles!

Not only that, with his combat methods at Intermediate Accomplishment and his Inner Refinement at Great Accomplishment, a restless sensation coursed through Su Ti's entire body. A vague feeling of having complete control over every part of his body seemed on the verge of emerging.

Yet he only felt that he was about to break through. That final breakthrough did not actually happen.

Just one step. Just one final step, and I'll enter the Perfected Circle Realm.

Looking at the Intermediate Accomplishment Golden Python Four Forms, Su Ti's heart burned with excitement. He was only one step away from the Perfected Circle Realm. Once the Golden Python Four Forms reached Great Accomplishment, he could enter it completely!

But this seemingly simple step might require ordinary martial artists to undergo years of bitter cultivation and numerous life-and-death battles before they had a chance to cross it.

For Su Ti, however, his vague intuition told him that he needed at least 300% energy to raise the Golden Python Four Forms to Great Accomplishment and completely enter the Perfected Circle Realm.

After everyone had roughly recovered, Xu Lao used a branch to draw a map on the cave wall.

"We've already entered the tomb and completed the first two stages of the plan. We only need to enter the burial chamber and take out the treasures inside to succeed."

"First, let me explain our next steps. Due to the difficulty of excavation, the interiors of cliff burials like this usually aren't too complicated. They don't contain too many puzzles for tomb raiders."

"Generally, if we follow this passage inward, its end will be the burial chamber. Depending on the tomb's grade, there may be a Main Tomb Chamber, Side Tomb Chamber, burial chambers for grave goods, and so on."

"Next, we need to be careful of mechanisms and traps, especially any Evil Spirits we may encounter."

"There are more Evil Spirits? But we've already encountered two waves of them."

Lao Li could not help speaking up. Cao Man wore an expression as though she had just swallowed something disgusting.

Even in their past careers, this tomb raid had been exceptionally dangerous. In the past, encountering one or two Evil Spirits during a raid was already the limit. Yet this time, they had encountered so many—and there had already been two waves of them. Now Xu Lao was saying there might be more ahead.

Xu Lao shook his head.

"We can't let our guard down. The two waves of Evil Spirits before us did not seem to have been artificially bred. Rather, they seemed to have been drawn here by the yin energy of this Yin Meridian, later migrating here and settling down. Like that Yu, which only occupied Mu Family Village after the fire.

"Judging from this, there is a high chance that the tomb contains Evil Spirit guards artificially created by King Mu. Those will be the real main event."

Hearing this, Cao Man and Lao Li exchanged looks. Lao Li even swallowed hard.

"What kind of Evil Spirits will we encounter?"

Xu Lao answered solemnly.

"Hard to say. There are too many kinds of Evil Spirits that can be artificially created. Anything is possible. It's also possible that there are none. In any case, we've already come this far. It would be hard to justify not going farther in to take a look."

Everyone fell silent. To get here, they had already paid an enormous price. Dongzi had even died. Naturally, they could not stop now.

Su Ti leaned out and looked at the sun outside. They had descended at noon, and it was already afternoon. Dusk was not far away.

He pulled his head back and said in a low voice.

"I also suggest we continue exploring, and we'd better move quickly. If there really are Evil Spirits in the tomb, it's best to enter before nightfall. That way, if danger arises, we can flee into the sunlight and weaken them. But if night falls, things will become difficult."

According to Xu Lao's knowledge of Evil Spirits, many of them received substantial boosts at night and could unleash far greater power than during the day.

Hearing that, everyone exchanged glances and nodded solemnly.

By then, everyone had finished resting and began exploring the tomb.

The cave was dark. Other than the sunlight entering from the entrance, the deeper they went, the darker it became.

Su Ti took out his phone for light, only to discover that it would not turn on.

"Is it broken?"

Su Ti took out a flashlight, but it would not light up either.

Seeing this, Xu Lao stopped him.

"It's useless. We've reached the source of this Yin Meridian. The yin energy here is too heavy, and the negative-energy magnetic field is too strong. It severely interferes with electronic devices. In other words, all technological products have become useless here."

"That can happen?"

This was Su Ti's first time learning that yin energy could have such an effect. But he could indeed feel the chill growing heavier the farther they went into the cave.

"That's right. Similar situations occur in certain Devil Seas in Eastern Ocean and in some mysterious primeval forests in White Country. Ships and exploration teams that pass through them often vanish mysteriously. Those fortunate enough to escape later describe the terror of those places: ships' power systems and engines inexplicably stop, leaving the vessels completely powerless. Satellite phones lose their signal and cannot even be switched on. In truth, this entire series of strange events is caused by the excessively strong negative-energy magnetic fields in those areas interfering with technological creations."

Xu Lao's explanation stirred Su Ti's memories. He had indeed seen reports like this online before. At first, he had thought they were fabricated nonsense, but now that Xu Lao mentioned it, he realized those stories were not without basis.

"Then what should we do?" Su Ti asked.

If even flashlights could not be lit, how were they supposed to explore this ancient tomb?

"Hmm, the yin energy here is too strong, so technological products are indeed unusable. But I prepared something else."

As he spoke, Xu Lao took four torches out of his pack. He kept one for himself and handed the other three to the others.

Su Ti accepted a torch and lit it with the fire starter he carried. The torch was made from solidified grease and accelerant, and it ignited immediately. But once it was lit, he discovered that its light was rather dim.

It was as if something was suppressing it. The flame did not burn fiercely at all, and its range of illumination was limited.

Seeing this, combined with Xu Lao's earlier words, Su Ti's heart sank as he formed a guess.

If the yin energy field can interfere with electronic devices as Xu Lao said, it is likely related to interference with electrical currents. But now this is happening too, which means that energy can even interfere with the chemical energy of combustion.

Everyone held their torches high and carefully advanced.

Ancient text had been carved continuously into the cave walls, depicting King Mu's life and accomplishments.

Xu Lao spoke softly.

"This King Mu was once a powerful ruler in his early years. He led his armies in campaigns everywhere and conquered a considerable territory. By modern standards, it would have covered several cities. He could be considered a minor king of the Era of Hundred Kingdoms."

"Unfortunately, his national strength declined more and more afterward. Historically, Mu Kingdom was already destroyed ten years after his death."

"However, this tomb was built while King Mu was still alive. And although Mu Kingdom was weakened when he died, it still existed. As its first king, his burial goods should be extremely impressive."

Su Ti nodded faintly. Funeral burials had always been highly developed in Hia, just as in his previous life. Kings, nobles, and generals especially loved building lavish mausoleums for themselves, hoping to remain wealthy and honored after death.

He had no doubt about the value of the treasures in the tomb. He was only worried about whether there were any Cursed Antiques inside.

The group proceeded through the cave in darkness for roughly twenty meters when Cao Man, who was ahead, suddenly stopped.

Cao Man raised a hand. She was a woman, and martial artists possessed keen physical senses. With her extensive experience, she had always been the one leading the way during tomb raids.

The moment Cao Man raised her hand, the other three immediately stopped.

"There's a mechanism."

Cao Man spoke in a low voice.

"What kind?"

"No, it has already been triggered. Come take a look."

Everyone froze, then walked over to inspect it.

They saw numerous decayed arrows scattered across the passage ahead.

The arrowheads were sharp and made of metal, while the shafts were wooden. Having fallen to the ground, many had already rotted away.

"The trap was triggered? Did someone get here before us?"

Lao Li asked in surprise, but Xu Lao immediately rejected the idea.

"Impossible! We blasted open the Dragon Blocking Stone outside the tomb only yesterday. This cliff burial has only one entrance. There is absolutely no way anyone entered before us!"

Xu Lao spoke with absolute certainty.

Lao Li hesitated. "But the trap has already been triggered."

Xu Lao shook his head, still unwilling to believe it. "Maybe the mechanism fell into disrepair over the years, and the trap triggered itself."

"Xiaoman, be careful. Continue scouting ahead. There may be other traps here."

Cao Man nodded slightly and cautiously moved forward. But before long, they made another discovery.

Directly ahead was a deep pit that had suddenly collapsed inward. It contained quite a bit of dirt, stone, and wooden planks, while densely packed metal spikes filled its bottom, each a full meter long.

"Another triggered mechanism?!"

Everyone stared in disbelief. This time, Xu Lao had nothing to say.

If the earlier mechanism trap had been triggered, Xu Lao could convince himself that it had activated on its own after falling into disrepair.

But this pitfall mechanism before them could not possibly be triggered unless something of sufficient weight fell onto it!

The conclusion was already obvious.

Everyone exchanged glances, each seeing the ugly expressions on the others' faces.

"Someone entered this tomb before us!"