Dragon Burial Ground

That Fox Spirit did not look like it was Second Order at all. Though it was restrained by the golden light, it showed no fear of him whatsoever! It had to be Third Order, or perhaps even higher—having fallen from a higher realm before being caught by Wang Wu! Otherwise, with the abilities the Fox Spirit had displayed, Wang Wu would not even be enough to fill the gaps between its teeth! Even a hundred Wang Wus would not be enough for the Fox Spirit to kill.

"If the Fox Spirit truly is Third Order, or even Fourth Order or higher, then stacking my second skill will consume far too many Experience Points. I don't even know how many it will take. Rather than that, I might as well focus on one first! I'll stack my first skill and see whether it can restrain the Fox Spirit afterward. If the first skill cannot restrain it, then it won't be too late to stack the second skill."

Zhang Chen came to a conclusion. Raising the first skill from unranked to ranked required one hundred Experience Points, while going from First Order to Second Order required five hundred—a full fivefold increase. From Third Order to Fourth Order, it should be at least ten times more. Upgrading his first skill to Third Order now required five thousand points. Once it entered Third Order, upgrading it to Fourth Order would require at least ten or even dozens of times more—no less than fifty thousand points. Fifty thousand points would certainly be enough to upgrade his second skill.

Zhang Chen looked at the Fox Spirit and pondered briefly. Then his gaze shifted to the Stone Tablet. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled out a pheasant he had caught that morning from his basket. With a knife in hand, he brought it down in one swift stroke, severing the pheasant's head. Crimson blood sprayed across the Stone Tablet. This time, Zhang Chen saw it clearly: like a sponge, the Stone Tablet absorbed all the blood at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"There really is something strange about this Stone Tablet." Zhang Chen stared at it, forcing himself to remain calm as he watched. Just then, the carved words on the Stone Tablet suddenly twisted slightly, and an ancient, desolate voice rang directly through Zhang Chen's Spiritual World:

"A dragon battled in the wilderness, its blood black and yellow. Now there was a dragon named 'Ying,' the Emperor's mount. It fought the two monsters 'Wind' and 'Rain,' exhausted its strength and died, and was buried in the wilderness, guarding the Emperor's Daughter 'Qing'..."

"This voice?" Zhang Chen was startled. Not daring to let his attention wander, he hurriedly focused and listened. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind as he parsed the meaning of the words.

The passage was very short, only a few hundred words, so that desolate voice soon fell silent. Otherwise, Zhang Chen would not have copied the text down so quickly before.

"This passage probably says that, during the Primordial Era, when the Emperor was unifying the world, he encountered a great battle. Under his command was a dragon called 'Ying,' which fought the two monsters 'Wind' and 'Rain,' then died of exhaustion. It was buried in a place called 'Wilderness,' guarding a woman called 'Qing.' Qing was the Emperor's Daughter."

As Zhang Chen listened to the recitation echoing directly through his Spiritual World from somewhere beyond sight, countless thoughts flickered through his heart. His eyes were full of shock. A dragon? There really are dragons in this world? A dragon actually fought humans, then was buried here? That makes sense. If there were no dragons, how could I have obtained a wisp of Dragon Qi?

Then Zhang Chen's heart began pounding wildly, his eyes filled with disbelief. Does that mean the great tomb I am excavating is seemingly that dragon's tomb? No, it should be the tomb of the Emperor's Daughter 'Qing.' She was a Primordial God from who knew how many years before the present age. What immense fortune must be hidden within? How many skills could I activate?

Zhang Chen's heart began to stir. If he could obtain fortune from that great tomb, would he still need to fear the Fox Spirit? When the time came, he could suppress that mere Fox Spirit with a flick of his fingers.

"What kind of method is this? It actually rang directly inside my head? Brainwaves?" A thought flashed through Zhang Chen's mind. He could understand the principle somewhat. After all, in later generations, brainwaves had already been developed and could control computers, phones, and toy cars with the mind. Besides, he had read plenty of cultivation novels. Though he did not understand the mystery before him, he could still make some guesses.

"In other words, deep within this tomb, there may be the body of a dragon buried there? Or perhaps the body of that mysterious Emperor's Daughter 'Qing'? If I can dig them out, how many skill points would I gain? How many unimaginable skills?" Zhang Chen's eyes had practically turned green.

"I finally know why so many snakes gather here. This is a Dragon Burial Ground. If all those snakes can absorb even a wisp of Dragon Qi by dwelling here, that would be an earth-shaking fortune. I thought there was some terrifying, bizarre thing inside the tomb, but it turns out a legendary Primordial God is buried here. I, Zhang Chen, have struck it rich this time." Zhang Chen was exhilarated. Looking at the rabbit in his basket, he quickly took it out and slaughtered it, pouring its blood over the tombstone.

But this time, the tombstone showed no reaction, and he did not gain any Experience Points either. Zhang Chen was deeply disappointed.

Seeing this, Zhang Chen could only carry his basket and leave, strolling slowly down the mountain. Ever since learning of the fortune hidden in the tomb, he had been in an excellent mood. That tomb was enough for him to excavate for a lifetime. For now, he would not lack a source of points or skills.

Zhang Chen made his way to the stream and began plucking and skinning the rabbit and pheasant, so the Fox Spirit would not spot any flaws.

When his palm touched the clear mountain water, the Dragon Qi within Zhang Chen's Primordial Spirit stirred faintly. He found himself feeling an inexplicable sense of closeness toward the stream before him.

"I have a feeling that even if I accidentally fell into the water, I would never drown." Zhang Chen muttered as he cleaned the rabbit in his hands.

Before long, both the pheasant and rabbit had been prepared. Looking at the pale, tender meat, Zhang Chen's eyes showed a trace of displeasure. "Looks like I'll have to let that damned Fox Spirit off easy today, sparing her the trouble of skinning them."

After preparing the pheasant and rabbit, golden light swirled in Zhang Chen's eyes. He looked around and, seeing no sign of the Fox Spirit following or spying on him, hummed a little tune as he headed toward the cave. He was going to start mixing explosives.

For the time being, he could not count on his skills. The only thing he could rely on was explosives.

"And I need to find a way to make rubber bands for the slingshot. But in this day and age, there are no suitable materials. Once I make explosives, perhaps I can hunt fierce beasts like tigers and bears, then use their sinews together with Gold Thread to make slingshot bands." Zhang Chen thought to himself.

Making gunpowder was not difficult—at least, not for Zhang Chen. Saltpeter could be made by gathering animal dung or human waste. Sulfur was not difficult either; sulfur ore could be found in the mountains, and no one in this world mined it, since no one knew what sulfur was for. As for charcoal, that went without saying.

The only trouble was purification. To make high-purity explosives from gunpowder, he would have to add some things and put effort into refining the raw materials.

After working for most of the day, Zhang Chen happily checked his traps and found two roe deer. Then, beaming with delight, he headed down the mountain.

P.S. If nothing unexpected happens, the new book will be changing its name. Don't get lost, everyone.

Don't worry, everyone—the Fox Spirit would definitely be killed. But before killing her, he had to squeeze every last bit of value out of her. She could not be allowed to bully the protagonist for nothing.