Entering the Tomb

"Teacher, do you have the strength of a Dou Emperor now?"

Yao Lao rolled his eyes at Xiao Yan.

"You're thinking too much."

"My soul power hasn't recovered much. Right now, I probably only have the strength of a peak Dou Wang."

"At most, relying on my experience and knowledge, I can contend with a Dou Emperor for a while."

Xiao Yang's eyes immediately flickered at those words.

It seemed that since Yao Lao's identity had been exposed early, he had not recovered much yet.

Yao Lao absorbed Dou Qi not merely to test Xiao Yan; it truly was also meant to help him recover.

Dou Qi differed from battle qi.

Dou Qi was energy used to lay one's foundation, so even Yao Lao could absorb it.

Otherwise, if it had merely been a test, there would have been no need to absorb it for three years.

Besides, which absorbed more energy: a Dou Zhe, or a cultivator still in the Dou Qi stage?

If Yao Lao wanted to recover by absorbing battle qi, he could have completely prevented Xiao Yan from dropping in rank.

That would have been the most cost-effective method.

After absorbing energy for only such a short time, Yao Lao's current strength was lower than when he had first appeared in the original story.

Xiao Yang also began silently considering how to help Yao Lao recover quickly.

Unfortunately, herbs capable of restoring the soul were far too scarce!

Most importantly, only Xiao Yang could use items enhanced by the system.

He still did not know whether Nalan Jie had been afflicted by Scorch Poison yet.

Once they returned, he planned to have Ya Fei ask around and see whether there were any medicinal herbs that could restore soul power.

Before long, Xiao Yan extracted the Crimson Flame Snake's magic core.

"Come on, come on, let's hurry inside and take a look."

"I'm really curious what treasures this Dou Emperor expert left behind!"

After handing the magic core to Xiao Yang, Xiao Yan eagerly headed toward the cave.

The cave was rather well hidden, blocked by several rocks with only a small opening left exposed.

Without looking carefully, one simply would not notice the cave beneath those rocks.

After all, rocks like these were extremely common on this mountain.

Xiao Yang and Xiao Yan spent some effort clearing out a suitable passage.

Xiao Yang took out a Night-Shining Pearl and slowly entered the cave with Xiao Yan.

After entering the cave, the two could clearly see signs of human activity.

This cave was far too orderly!

At a glance, one could tell it had been excavated by humans.

However, Xiao Yang and Xiao Yan could also see snake scales and animal fur.

They appeared to be traces left behind by the Crimson Flame Snake from earlier.

As for the animal fur and such, it was probably the creature's leftover food scraps.

At the very depths of the cave was a nest made from branches, leaves, and other materials.

It should have been the Crimson Flame Snake's nest.

But once they reached the nest, there was no road ahead.

"Brother Yang, is this the place?"

"Why is there no way forward?"

Xiao Yang stroked his chin and inspected the surroundings by the light of the Night-Shining Pearl.

"It should be here."

"This cave was obviously excavated by humans."

"We circled around several times just now, and this was the only place with a cave."

"Look carefully. There might be a mechanism here."

As he spoke, Xiao Yang walked toward the rock wall ahead.

"Of course, be careful too. These mechanisms might be dangerous."

He did not touch the surrounding rock walls, merely using the Night-Shining Pearl's light to search for anything unusual.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan copied him and began searching along the rock wall as well.

Before long, just as the brothers' eyes were about to go blurry, Xiao Yang finally spotted something strange.

He discovered a faint mark in one corner of the rock wall.

Without getting close to inspect it, it was completely impossible to notice.

Even up close, one might not necessarily see it.

It looked as though this spot could be pushed inward.

Because Xiao Yang vaguely made out a square pattern.

However, the fine seams had been clogged with dust, making them difficult to discern.

"Found it. This is very likely the mechanism!"

A trace of delight flashed through Xiao Yang's eyes as he looked at the mark before him.

"Where? Where?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan quickly hurried over.

Xiao Yang pointed at the square mark, and Xiao Yan finally saw it as well.

"Tsk, tsk, Brother Yang, your eyesight is really good. You truly can't see this without looking closely."

"Come on, let's step back a little."

As he spoke, Xiao Yang pulled Xiao Yan back.

He brought several rocks from outside into the cave, placed them in front as a barrier, then inspected the surrounding rock walls once more.

Only then did he carefully take out the spear from earlier and press it against the square mark.

With a push from Xiao Yang, the square indentation actually moved!

Click, click!

The next moment, the two heard a sound coming from within the rock wall.

Rather than moving forward, Xiao Yang and Xiao Yan rapidly retreated to the cave entrance.

By the light of the Night-Shining Pearl Xiao Yang had left behind, they saw the rock wall at the end of the cave slowly begin to recede!

Immediately afterward, a passageway was revealed beside the rock wall.

However, from their angle, they could not yet see what lay inside the passage.

Neither of them dared enter rashly, so they turned to look at Yao Lao.

"Teacher, is there any danger inside?"

At that moment, Yao Lao wore a somewhat gloating expression.

"Hehe, I already checked earlier."

"There's no danger whatsoever in this tomb."

"You two were basically just trying to outwit the air."

Xiao Yan's face instantly flushed red at Yao Lao's words.

"Then why didn't you say so sooner, Teacher?"

As he spoke, he gave Yao Lao a suspicious look.

"You didn't know where the mechanism was from the very beginning, did you?"

Yao Lao said nothing and merely grinned.

Though he had not said anything, it somehow felt as though he had said everything.

Xiao Yan's face immediately turned even redder.

He and Xiao Yang had spent nearly an hour searching inside just now, until their eyes were practically crossing.

"Hehe, alright, alright. Hurry up and go in."

Yao Lao gently pushed the two forward, his expression turning serious.

"You were right to be cautious just now."

"I did know there was no danger, but that only applied to this place."

"In reality, many experts' tombs and ruins contain countless dangers."

"So every exploration requires extreme caution."

"Once you begin learning alchemy and your soul power becomes stronger, I'll teach you how to use soul power to investigate your surroundings."

"Alright, hurry inside and see what you gained from this journey."

Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yang and Xiao Yan exchanged a glance before excitedly walking inside.

The two arrived at where the rock wall had originally stood and gave it a rough look.

The rock wall had receded about two meters backward.

To the right of the rock wall was now a passage a little over one meter wide.

The passage was less than ten meters deep.

Standing there, the two could clearly see faint points of light radiating from around the bend at the end of the passage.

That light was somewhat similar to the Night-Shining Pearl Xiao Yang held!

Seeing this, the two eagerly entered.

After rounding the corner, they immediately saw a sight that thrilled them.

Inside was a space of roughly one hundred square meters, three to four meters high.

Several dozen Night-Shining Pearls were embedded in the space, and in the center stood an enormous tombstone!