Big Brother, We're on the Same Side

Though the old man loved to boast, he truly had real skill.

Walking through the world's shadows, the aftershocks of battle had no effect on the two of them. Within that vast ocean of spiritual radiance, even weakened by more than half here, it still stung Qin Yang's eyes shut.

"We're here." The old man lowered his voice, his gaze flickering as he surveyed everything around them, his face full of regret...

Qin Yang opened his eyes to a scene of dazzling gold and jade—carved railings and jade pillars. As far as the eye could see, it was blindingly brilliant. Everything had been made from the finest materials. Even the most inconspicuous black stone slabs on the ground concealed Dao Patterns within, linked together with everything around them...

Yet this place somehow did not feel like the lair of a vulgar nouveau riche. There was only profundity, tranquility, deathly stillness, antiquity, and restrained elegance...

Above them, divine light had formed a firmament that covered this magnificent cluster of buildings. Waves of aftershock rolled through, yet they could not damage even a single brick or tile here. All power was held at the firmament overhead.

Looking up at the sky from here, what they saw was the earth reflected overhead. That was because the tomb itself had been inverted, though one could not feel it while standing here...

"Kid, heaven and earth are reversed here. Most secret arts and techniques are useless, and low-grade magical treasures cannot display their might either. I can only bring you this far. If I go any farther, I will definitely be discovered." The old man's expression was rarely solemn. His gaze was deep, and when he looked toward the heart of the buildings, his fear was impossible to conceal.

"Wasn't that easy?" Qin Yang was somewhat surprised. They had only just stepped into the mausoleum...

"Did this old man boast so much that I burst my own bubble?" The old man's face darkened, yet he readily admitted that his strength was insufficient. "I couldn't sense it outside, but after entering this place, before even leaving the shadows, I already detected at least seven or eight Grave-Guardian Corpse Beasts no weaker than the three outside. There is also a trace of a deep and vast will slumbering here. It must be something Purple Firmament Dao Lord left behind himself. I cannot provoke it. Even if such an existence has only a wisp of thought remaining, it can easily annihilate this old man's divine soul..."

"Fine. Thank you, Senior, for bringing this junior here." Qin Yang thanked him solemnly, then took a light breath. "Senior, send me out."

"You still want to go?"

"Yes. I'll try."

"Hahaha, good." The old man laughed heartily, casually grabbed Qin Yang, and tossed him out of the shadows. "Go on, then. This old man will wait for you here awhile."

His vision blurred. Qin Yang's entire body suddenly sank, and everything before his eyes seemed to have been wiped clean of dust, abruptly becoming clear. The waves of pressure emanating from the firmament of divine light overhead bore down on him like mountains, while the deathly, profound aura within the mausoleum was like countless sharp needles, piercing through his skin and drilling continuously into his body.

In an instant, the blood vessels throughout Qin Yang's body seemed to freeze. The vitality of his five viscera and six bowels rapidly withered. Strands of silver hair appeared atop his head, wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes, and even his vision began to blur...

Qin Yang hurriedly circulated his True Essence, vitalizing the blood throughout his body. At the same time, he activated the Blood Lama and took out a crystal of Yi Wood Essence, holding it beneath his tongue. Only after half an incense stick had burned did his stiff body slowly regain the ability to move, and the abnormalities in his body gradually subsided.

"This is truly terrifying!" Qin Yang's expression was grave. Only now did he truly feel that it was perfectly natural for the old man to be afraid...

The aura naturally bred by this place alone had nearly claimed his life. Even circulating the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture could not refine or disperse it. An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would die on the spot the instant they stepped in here.

Only because he had cultivated the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture, used the Blood Lama to protect himself, and had a Yi Wood Essence crystal constantly replenishing his massive expenditure of vitality could he barely keep pace with the loss...

Steeling himself in secret, Qin Yang did not dare delay. He strode past the entrance archway and followed the main road inward.

The building complex was deathly silent, without the slightest sound. Every building had its doors tightly shut, yet there were no locks on them. Qin Yang tested several, but could not push open a single door. He could only focus on charging down the main road, seeking only to deliver Bao Yu to Purple Firmament Dao Lord as soon as possible and fulfill his entrusted task.

After passing through two successive clusters of buildings without encountering anything, Qin Yang relaxed slightly.

Before entering, he had specifically taken out the Storage Bag hanging around his neck and even loosened its opening a little, all so that its aura could leak out...

Presumably, one of the great beings guarding this place had sensed that he carried Bao Yu's remains and thus had not made things difficult for him...

But after turning another street corner, Qin Yang's footsteps abruptly halted, and his face stiffened.

"Roar..."

A low sound like a whimper rumbling from a throat echoed out. A pitch-black ape several zhang tall stood before him, its arms hanging to the ground and a single eye growing from its forehead.

Deathly aura coiled around the ape's body. Its black fur was like steel needles, reflecting waves of metallic sheen. Its enormous, dark One-Eyed eye stared at Qin Yang without the slightest emotional fluctuation, while low, whimpering growls repeatedly rolled from its throat.

Every hair on Qin Yang's body stood on end. Like a small animal encountering its natural predator, even his blood seemed about to freeze, and his body instinctively stiffened.

"Big Brother, we're on the same side!"

"Roar..."

The zombie ape let out a howl. The corpse aura around its body rippled slightly, and in an instant, its figure vanished from where it stood, transforming into an afterimage invisible to the naked eye as it charged straight at him...

"Ha!"

Qin Yang shouted sharply, breaking free of his instinctive suppression. A scroll of golden light descended from above his head, becoming a curtain of light covered in flowing runes that enveloped him. A Golden Path appeared beneath his feet out of thin air...

But he had barely lifted his foot when a black, razor-sharp claw slammed into the rune-light curtain with a Bang!

Qin Yang's face sank, but he ignored it. Stepping onto the Golden Path, he hurried forward and evaded the zombie ape's second strike...

After opening some distance, Qin Yang looked at the rune-light curtain, where nearly half the runes had vanished, and his expression became incomparably ugly.

That was only one strike!

One strike had destroyed half of the Golden Light Ink Talismans. According to his earlier estimates, the power of this scroll of Ink Talismans was absolutely not something a Foundation Establishment cultivator could break. Even a powerful Three Origins cultivator could only forcefully withstand two or three attacks from it.

"Big Brother, we're on the same side! Don't attack! I'm here to deliver Bao Yu—your boss's biological son!" Qin Yang refused to give up. He sprinted wildly while trying once more to persuade the ape.

Yet the zombie ape showed no reaction at all. It pursued relentlessly, and its speed was no slower than Qin Yang's even as he stepped upon the Golden Path. Being caught was only a matter of time.

Suddenly, Qin Yang's expression shifted. He fiercely recalled how this zombie ape had come to be. When that One-Eyed Ape Grave-Guardian Corpse Beast had appeared earlier, the corpse aura around its body had trembled and transformed into many zombie apes like this one...

In other words, there was simply no reasoning with this zombie ape...

His face darkened as he formed Hand Seals and used the Lightning Attraction Secret Technique. Cloud vapor and lightning flickered at his fingertips...

However...

The lightning merely flashed for an instant before vanishing with a puff.

He activated it again, but the result was the same...

Cold sweat dripped from Qin Yang's temples, and a layer of pale sweat suddenly broke out across his back. The old man's words surfaced in his heart.

"Heaven and earth are reversed here. Most secret arts and techniques are useless."