On a high slope somewhere in Mount Ba Ling, Yan Kuan had the bodyguards stop. The terrain resembled a Sleeping Daoist about to attain Ascension to Immortality, with Eight Dragons Leading and pulling him toward the heavens. It was undoubtedly an auspicious feng shui site, and barring surprises, this was the Ancient Tomb he had been searching for.
"This is the sealed earth of the Ancient Tomb. The Treasure Spot is beneath it. If we started digging directly, who knew how much commotion we'd cause? We need to find another entrance."
After Yan Kuan climbed down from a bodyguard's back, he lightly stamped his feet. Based on the feedback from the energy fluctuations, he could more or less confirm that he had found the right place. However, the exceedingly thick layer of sealed earth beneath his feet gave him a headache.
He was not a professional grave robber and did not possess the skill to tunnel through the ground. Besides, the sealed earth here was incredibly thick. To find an entrance, they would have to dig out an entire small mountain. Such a disturbance would definitely alert the authorities.
"There are still living creatures inside the Ancient Tomb. There should be another entrance."
Yan Kuan's Fiery Golden Eyes flickered. Through the thick sealed earth, he vaguely sensed some living creatures and air circulating within. That meant the Ancient Tomb was connected to the outside world somewhere.
"You'll set up the tents here. Don't wander around."
Yan Kuan carefully instructed the bodyguards before leaving the small slope of sealed earth alone.
Before leaving home, Old Yan had specially found these bodyguards for him. Their skills and reputations were both decent, and they neither asked unnecessary questions nor harbored too many thoughts. They had gotten along fairly well with Yan Kuan throughout the journey, so he had deliberately warned them.
He had set up a small formation around the sealed earth just now. As long as they stayed put, they were unlikely to encounter any danger. As for whether these people would truly disobey him and bring him trouble, he would not show mercy.
There were many Ancient Tombs in Mount Ba Ling, and quite a few cultivators had been buried here. Many of the things that emerged from this place were beyond even Yan Kuan's ability to handle, let alone these bodyguards. If they really caused trouble, he would certainly save himself first. The others could only pray for their own luck.
In one corner of Mount Ba Ling, Yan Kuan wandered alone through the uninhabited mountains. He did not know how long he had walked when his view suddenly opened up, revealing a valley ahead. Deep within it, jagged rocks lay strewn across a streambed. There was not a trace of human presence, and the environment was harsh.
Yan Kuan carefully observed the surrounding terrain. The rocks around him overlapped and piled together, while thorns covered the ground. Wild grass and shrubs sprawled like claws, blotting out the sky and sun. Looking up, he could not see the road ahead at all. Everywhere he looked, there were only branches, grass, and vines.
Broken stones littered the ground beneath his feet, mixed with snapped branches and rotting stumps. Along with the sprawling creeping vines, every step he took was bound to be uneven and difficult.
By then, the sky was gradually darkening, and his vision began to blur. Suddenly, he twisted aside as a black shadow swiftly slid past his feet. With a whoosh, it darted into the grass and vanished.
"A wildcat?"
Yan Kuan glanced at the shadow. It resembled a wildcat, likely some sort of small or medium-sized feline. Just as he was about to continue exploring ahead, another black shadow suddenly shot past. This one seemed capable of flight. It swooped through the air and accurately seized that "wildcat."
"A bat?"
Yan Kuan focused his gaze and saw that the two shadows had already become entangled in a life-and-death struggle amid the grass. A pitch-black creature clung to the wildcat's neck. It was no smaller than the wildcat itself, and upon closer inspection, it was an eerie bat.
Bats were nocturnal creatures that generally emerged only at night. Ordinary bats were merely palm-sized, but the one before him was clearly abnormal. Its mouth was clamped tightly around the cat's neck, and its black form looked exceptionally terrifying.
Bats did not seem like much at ordinary times, but when viewed closely, the longer one looked, the more unsettling they became. Just seeing them made one's skin crawl.
The black bat before Yan Kuan was hideously ugly. Its skin was covered in wrinkles, like a dry layer of dead flesh. Its entire body was pitch-black, while its belly was covered in a layer of short, fine, dense fur pressed tightly against the skin. Beneath that black, wrinkled hide were large lumps covered in smaller lumps.
After hesitating for a moment, he pointed a finger. Accompanied by two startled cries, the wildcat and bat separated. The wildcat bolted away and disappeared into the grass, while the bat turned to glance at him before swiftly flying toward a spot in the valley.
"A monster like this couldn't be nurtured in an ordinary place!"
Holding the Trigram Treasure Box, Yan Kuan followed the direction in which the bat had disappeared and found a gloomy, hidden cavern. It was pitch-black, and he had no idea where it led, yet he entered without hesitation.
This cave led straight underground. Ahead lay a bottomless abyss. A faint crimson glow of flame curled around Yan Kuan's body, while the Trigram Treasure Box in his hand emitted a special radiance. It was precisely because of these dual safeguards that he dared venture deep into this tomb of an ancient sage.
Places where such ancient sages rested naturally contained countless mechanisms. No one enjoyed being disturbed after death, which was why Ancient Tombs like these were generally extremely dangerous.
But after the Ancestral Star entered the End of Dharma, all forms of cultivation methods had been greatly weakened. Even the terrain and Dragon Veins of many famous mountains and great rivers had dissipated and dried up. Naturally, the methods left behind by the cultivators in these Ancient Tombs retained less than one percent of their former power.
In the original work, this Ancient Tomb had been excavated by mortals, later attracting several cultivators who had only reached the Wheel Sea Realm. Even those people had managed to enter the depths of the Ancient Tomb. With a Great Power Supreme Treasure in hand, Yan Kuan should have no problems.
He walked through the darkness for an unknown length of time before an incomparably cold aura swept toward him. Divine power surged within Yan Kuan, and the crimson flames around his body flared brightly, easily blocking it.
"This is..."
After proceeding for a while longer, celestial music suddenly rose from the darkness, seeming to come from the Underworld itself. It was utterly inconceivable.
"Great Seal Script from the pre-Qin era."
The flames around Yan Kuan burned even brighter. After passing through a low opening, he discovered traces along the surrounding walls. By the light of the flames, he could identify them as a form of Great Seal Script from the pre-Qin Warring States period, or perhaps even earlier. It resembled Oracle Bone Script, yet also looked like inscriptions on bells and cauldrons.
After lingering there for a moment, he continued onward. The music became even clearer in his ears. Waves of celestial music echoed out, not from the nine heavens, but from the depths underground, like the Nine Nether Soul Song.
"White jade steps. I must have found the right place."
Yan Kuan continued for some distance before a flight of White Jade Steps appeared, extending all the way into the depths of the underground palace. It was impossible for mortals to afford such material. Who would pave a road with jade?
Every piece of white jade here was flawless. If one were cut out and taken to auction, it would fetch an astronomical price. Yet here, it merely served as steps leading underground. This showed just how extraordinary the owner of this place had been.
"Clang..."
Yan Kuan stepped onto the white jade stairs and walked onward for a while. The celestial music in his ears suddenly changed, replaced by waves of sword cries. His face instantly flushed red, and he hurriedly turned sideways and retreated several steps.
"A Sword Sharpening Stone? This path shouldn't lead to it. Could there be other routes?"
Yan Kuan barely managed to withstand the clanging sword sound with the power of the Trigram Treasure Box. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a stone wall blocking the path ahead, covered in sword marks. Ringing metallic sounds emanated from it, as though an unrivaled master were clashing swords, their echoes carrying over from ancient times.
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