Loss of Chastity
After leaving the Medicine Garden, Long Xuan took the map and walked quickly towards the sleeping quarters.
Along the way, we would occasionally encounter a corpse. Half of the corpses had died in the dangers of the ancient tomb, while the other half had clearly died in fights among their own kind.
It seems that not only was the battle at the Medicine Garden fierce, but those who went to other places to search for treasure also encountered various accidents.
"Those who died on this road were all Gu cultivators from the Lei Clan."
Looking at the corpse on the ground with lightning bolt symbols on its clothes, Long Xuan frowned slightly and suddenly stopped.
He had seen more than one similar corpse along this road; every so often he would see the corpse of a Lei Clan Gu cultivator lying on the ground.
There was no blood flow; the wounds seemed to be frozen by the icy air; everyone died in the same way.
It's not hard to guess that there must be a group of the Lei Clan Gu cultivators chasing after someone ahead.
This person is incredibly strong; he can take on multiple opponents and even turn the tables on them from time to time. There are definitely not many people with this kind of strength in the ancient tomb.
The two Gu King clones that just emerged from the Medicine Garden can be ruled out. The last Gu King clone is the Lei Clan Ancestor, so it can also be ruled out. It's impossible for the Lei Clan Gu cultivators to be chasing their own ancestor.
After eliminating the three options, he quickly thought of Long Ziyan. Apart from her, Long Xuan couldn't think of anyone else with such strength.
Geniuses who can take on dozens of opponents at the same level are extremely rare, not only in ancient tombs but also throughout the entire world.
Therefore, Long Xuan can basically focus his attention on his senior sister.
He thought about it and finally decided to chase after them to see what was going on.
Not long after, he heard the sounds of fierce fighting ahead, and he sped off in the direction of the sound.
He quickly arrived at the location of the battle and finally saw the beautiful figure. Just as he had guessed, the person being besieged was his senior sister Long Ziyan.
At this moment, Long Ziyan was panting, clearly showing signs of excessive exertion. Although she possessed exceptional combat prowess, she ultimately lacked the immense spiritual power of someone with the Ten Extremity Physique. Under the relentless onslaught of over twenty Lei Clan Gu cultivators, her spiritual power was nearly depleted.
At this point, she was merely gritting her teeth and forcing herself to endure; with the Lei Clan patriarch constantly harassing her, her chances of escaping were slim.
Seeing the wound on her back, Long Xuan frowned slightly. If she hadn't given him the second-tier Dragon Silkworm Robe, she wouldn't have had any wounds on her body.
Ultimately, I owed her a debt of gratitude, so I had no choice but to save her.
After a brief moment of thought, Long Xuan finally decided to play the hero and save the damsel in distress. After all, she was his senior sister, and he had to save her both out of courtesy and reason.
Without further delay, he rushed forward at top speed.
Before the person arrived, the Dragon Gu arrived first.
The Dragon Gu suddenly appeared on the back of one person's neck, biting off his neck in one swift motion. Then it teleported to the back of another person, its claws instantly piercing his heart. Next came the third person...
In the blink of an eye, seven people died tragically on the ground. At this time, only a dozen or so Lei Clan Gu cultivators remained to besiege Long Ziyan, and the encirclement was instantly breached.
Everyone was stunned...
"What on earth is this thing?!"
"So fast! What kind of Gu Insect is this? It's so evil!"
"How did it appear so suddenly? Damn it..."
Screams erupted from the crowd.
As yet another person collapsed into a pool of blood, everyone was horrified and activated their Spirit Armor with all their might, completely disregarding the energy expenditure.
Faced with this elusive creature, everyone panicked, standing back to back, looking around in utter disarray.
These creatures, capable of teleporting to any location, were terrifying; everyone was terrified.
The patriarch of the Lei Clan's pupils constricted, revealing an expression of extreme shock.
This thing kills people incredibly fast, almost one person per second, leaving no trace for miles. Even with his vast experience, he had never seen such a terrifying Gu Insect before. This ability to appear instantly was something he had never encountered before.
Anyone whose defenses are insufficient will die when faced with this Gu Insect; there is simply no way to escape it.
Out of fear, he thickened the lightning-woven armor he wore even further.
"This is a supreme-grade Gu worm! Everyone be careful! Stand back to back and increase your defenses!"
The Lei Clan patriarch roared, his gaze warily fixed on the masked man who had suddenly charged into the battlefield.
Long Xuan glanced at the old ancestor of the Lei Clan and thought to himself, "What a pity."
This old guy is too steady. Even though it's a battle with no suspense, he still keeps a layer of lightning armor woven around his body at all times, without revealing any flaws, even though doing so consumes a lot of his spiritual power.
Faced with this overly cautious old fellow, Dragon Gu couldn't make a move. He could only teleport over and clear out the smaller fry first; otherwise, Dragon Gu would have attacked him first.
If he hadn't been on any defense, he would have surely died from the Dragon Gu's sneak attack, even though he was a reborn Gu King.
But his years of cultivated caution ultimately saved his life this time.
Seeing that the Spirit Armor on all the Lei Clan Gu cultivators had thickened, the Dragon Gu could still break through it, but it could no longer kill them instantly as before. Long Xuan then stopped letting the Dragon Gu take any more risks, grabbed Long Ziyan's arm, and ran outside.
"Walk!"
Long Xuan had no intention of fighting a reborn Gu King. He was always cautious, and unless he had a 100% chance of winning, his choice was always to run, not to fight.
"Go after him! I'll handle that one! Just watch out for that Gu's sneak attacks!"
Watching the two figures flee, the Lei Clan patriarch gritted his teeth. How could he let them get away so easily? He led his men to continue the relentless pursuit.
The speed of the Lei Clan's Gu cultivators is renowned. Among the seven major clans, the Lei Clan's Gu cultivators are the fastest. With Lei Guang beneath their feet, they can run an unknown distance in an instant. It is not an easy task to shake off this group of people.
Moreover, Long Ziyan was panting heavily, clearly exhausted, and probably couldn't run very far.
Long Xuan kept glancing back, and seeing that he couldn't shake off his pursuers, he came up with a plan. He turned to Long Ziyan and said, "Follow me!"
As he spoke, he ran off down another side road.
"You're running down a dead end; ahead lies a sea of lava!" Long Ziyan hurriedly warned.
Although Long Xuan was masked, she recognized at a glance that the person who saved her was her junior brother, and she was greatly surprised by how strong he was.
Knowing that his junior brother had a map drawn by the Lineage, it was impossible that he didn't know that the road led to the lava sea.
Since he chose that path, he must either be foolish or have a way to break the deadlock.
She still believed the latter, so she gritted her teeth and ran towards that road with Long Xuan.
"Hahaha... that road is a dead end! Your Long Family's map is incomplete! You've dug your own grave!"
Behind him came the maniacal laughter of the Lei Clan patriarch.
Soon, one Lei Clan Gu cultivator after another ran towards that road.
Before long, Long Xuan felt a wave of heat rushing towards him. There was a sea of fire ahead, and it was unbearably hot even before he got close.
Standing on the edge of the cliff and looking down, I saw a wide river of lava flowing slowly in some direction, its destination unknown.
In his eyes, there was something moving inside the magma, seemingly a living thing, which made him very wary.
Creatures that can survive in magma can't possibly be weak.
Long Xuan took a deep breath, glanced back at the approaching pursuers, and without further hesitation, grabbed Long Ziyan's slender waist and jumped off the cliff.
Everyone behind him stared wide-eyed. Just as they were puzzled by this scene, they saw the man step on his right foot with his left and leap lightly into the air.
He then stepped his right foot onto his left, leaped through the air several more times, and finally, carrying another person with him, landed steadily on the other side of the lava sea before making his escape.
Everyone's mouths were agape, wide enough to fit an egg, completely stunned by the scene. They all rubbed their eyes hard, staring at the sight in disbelief.
"Holy crap! How did he do that?!"
"You can fly by stepping on your right foot with your left? Are you kidding me?"
"Am I seeing things? Can you really walk in the air by stepping on your feet?"
The group of the Lei Clan Gu cultivators ran to the edge of the cliff and were dumbfounded, stunned by the incredible scene before them, unable to recover for a long time.
The patriarch of the Lei Clan had a livid face and was on the verge of exploding in rage.
"Who among you can fly!" he roared.
The group looked at each other, and no one answered.
The ability to fly is extremely rare; even the ancestors couldn't do it, so how could they possibly possess it?
Even if they knew, they wouldn't tell anyone, otherwise they would fly over and face that ruthless person themselves, and they would probably die a terrible death.
The flying boat they used to come here could indeed fly over, but the problem is that the flying boat is with Spiritual Sea Stage Gu cultivator outside, and they can't bring it in.
Therefore, they had no solution to this situation; it was impossible for them to catch up...
"Damn it! Where did that kid come from?! The Gu Insect are bizarre and I've never seen anything like them before, and his Movement Method is so unbelievable and unheard of, who exactly is he...?"
Seeing the duck that was about to be beckon fly away, Lei Yiming was on the verge of exploding with rage, his face contorted into a terrifying grimace.
His heart was bleeding just thinking about what would happen next...
This is an area not shown on any map, since the ability to fly is so rare that very few people can reach the other side of the lava.
What lay on the other side of the river, what dangers lay there, was completely unknown. Without any knowledge of what was happening, Long Xuan dared not venture further. So he helped Long Ziyan hide in a cave and sealed the entrance.
Long Ziyan was panting heavily. At first, Long Xuan thought it was because she was exhausted, but he gradually realized that something was wrong.
The way his senior sister looked at him was completely different; it felt like she was burning with lust—yes, burning with lust, as if she wanted to devour him.
Long Xuan was startled. Could those guys have given Long Ziyan that kind of drug? His expression changed slightly.
This medicine isn't poison at all, and his antidote doesn't seem to work.
"Senior sister, are you alright?" Long Xuan asked weakly.
Long Ziyan forcibly shifted her gaze elsewhere and said, "You should have already guessed my situation; there's no solution other than that method."
"This is just an avatar; you don't need to feel any pressure."
Long Xuan instantly understood what she meant; if he still didn't, he would truly be a fool.
Three hours later, Long Xuan stared blankly at Long Ziyan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed combing her hair.
Don't ask why there's a bed here; Long Xuan, this oddball, carries his bed, table, chairs, pots and pans, and seasonings with him everywhere he goes.
His thoughts were complicated at this moment. Although this was just a clone of Long Ziyan, the clone and the original body were exactly the same.
Moreover, Long Ziyan controls her clone by multitasking, and her main body can feel everything that just happened.
Women in this world are very conservative in their thinking. This level of transgression is already considered a loss of chastity. Therefore, in this conservative world, she can no longer marry another man. Her only choice is herself.
Thinking about it this way, Long Xuan was somewhat tempted. The path of cultivation was long and arduous, requiring him to endure countless years of loneliness. He would never become an eunuch like other protagonists in the immortality genre. He would definitely seek a dao companion.
His requirements weren't high; he just wanted someone absolutely stunningly beautiful.
I'm really not picky at all.
Long Ziyan possessed unparalleled beauty and elegance, perfectly matching his aesthetic standards, making her an excellent candidate for a dual dao companion.
Long Xuan made up his mind and decided to strike while the iron was hot and boldly confess his feelings. Women in this conservative world are shy, so he had to speak first, otherwise it might drag on for a long time.
At this moment, he had completely forgotten his promise to never sleep with someone from his own neighborhood; he had completely forgotten what he had just said.
"Ziyan, since things have already happened, and I also have feelings for you, how about we simply become dao companion?" Long Xuan said boldly, looking at her back.
Long Ziyan turned around and glanced at him indifferently, her expression unchanged, still as cold and aloof as ever, before slowly getting up and walking out of the cave.
Two words drifted faintly from the cave entrance.
"No."
Long Xuan was stunned. Such a clean rejection? Had he been taken advantage of? She didn't want to take responsibility and just left; what a scumbag!
However, he was thick-skinned, and being rejected didn't affect his mood. He simply assumed she was being too reserved. After all, things had progressed too quickly; they hadn't known each other for very long and needed time to get to know each other. They would get to know each other better eventually. She couldn't possibly marry anyone else; who else could she marry if not him?
At this moment, Long Xuan had no idea just how difficult it was to win over this woman; it was absolutely hellish.
Long Xuan got up, put the bed into his Storage Bag, and shamelessly followed him.
The two did not venture into the unknown world ahead. Time was limited, and they were not allowed to go any deeper. They had just spent three hours on their mission, and now time was running out. They estimated that dawn would break in a few hours.
The two returned to the edge of the lava sea, but it was clear that the Lei Clan's Gu cultivators would not be guarding the other side any longer.
Time was limited; they needed to search for treasures in various tombs, so they didn't have time to waste here with them.
Long Xuan cautiously scanned the opposite bank with his Eye of Heavenly Secrets, and finding no progress, he turned to Long Ziyan and said, "Those people aren't here, we can go over."
Long Ziyan nodded. Actually, it wouldn't matter even if they were there. Now that her strength had recovered to its peak, she and Long Xuan together might not be enough to deal with that group, even if there was a reborn Gu King hidden among them.
Long Xuan embraced Long Ziyan's slender waist, used the Starstep- Stepping Technique, and with a few quick steps, easily jumped to the other side.
Long Ziyan watched in amazement. Even now, she still found this Movement Method incredible. Flying in the sky using this method had shattered her understanding and filled her with curiosity, but she was too shy to ask too many questions.
After the two jumped to the other side, Long Ziyan first took out a map from her Storage Bag and looked at it, then chose a path to walk down.
This time, Long Xuan did not act alone. Wherever Long Ziyan went, he followed her.
Before long, led by Long Ziyan, he arrived at a tomb chamber. The stone walls of the tomb chamber were covered with murals, and Long Ziyan held a lantern, looking at them intently.
Long Xuan frowned slightly. It was obvious that all the treasures in this tomb had already been taken. Apart from the murals, there was nothing left.
At this point, Long Xuan finally understood Long Ziyan's hobby. She was a history enthusiast and very interested in history. Theology was also a part of history, so it became her hobby as well.
Her decision to send a clone into the ancient tomb was probably not because she was after any particular treasure, but rather to explore history.
He couldn't help but feel sorry for Long Lie; he had actually placed all his bets on Long Ziyan —he was simply insane.
As a member of the same clan, how could someone dare to place their bets on Long Ziyan without even understanding her personality?
If Long Lie knew that Long Ziyan's purpose in entering the tomb was not to find treasure, but rather to study those boring historical records, he would be furious.
Had he known this would happen, he would never have dared to place such a bet; putting his hopes on her was a sure way to lose.
Using the light from Long Ziyan's hand, Long Xuan curiously scanned the surrounding murals.
In fact, these murals may not be useless. They may contain a lot of hidden information that could be helpful in the upcoming treasure hunt, possibly the key to finding the treasure, or it could help him avoid many dangers.
Therefore, he looked at it very carefully, not missing a single detail.
The murals record the life story of Yaoguang Empress, from her childhood when she grew up in the cold palace with her mother, all alone, to her struggle for the throne with her brothers.
After launching a palace coup, she became the first female emperor. She then suppressed rebellions with an iron fist, and the empire became a war machine that conquered everywhere under her leadership. The territory of the Great Ying Empire expanded rapidly under her guidance.
At that time Yaoguang Empress's prestige had reached its peak in the country, and during her reign, the Great Ying Empire became unprecedentedly powerful.
The last mural depicts a grand battle between two armies. One side is clearly the army of the Great Ying Empire, the size of which is unknown. At the forefront of the army is a huge palanquin carried by eight people, and the person sitting on it, whose face is not clearly visible, is undoubtedly Yaoguang Empress.
Opposite her was an army from another country, whose banner bore the large character for "Emperor." However, for some reason, ten suns appeared in the sky above this army.
It's unknown what the outcome of this battle will be, which side will emerge victorious, and what the losses will be for both sides.
"This mural depicts the final battle between the Great Ying Empire and the Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom. The Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom is a very ancient kingdom established by the Di Clan, possessing the longest National Fortune in history."
"The Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom will refine a heaven-defying Gu Insect called the Reincarnation Gu. The emperor of the Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom can use the power of the Reincarnation Gu to reincarnate endlessly with his memories."
"When the emperor of a country is immortal, then that country is destined to become an immortal nation, and will never perish due to the incompetence of its ruler."
"Other countries often perish within a few hundred or a few thousand years due to decay, but this Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom can endure for countless millennia because its emperor is an immortal."
"Countless nations have waged war against the Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom in search of the secret to immortality. The Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom of Reincarnation has been besieged on all sides and embroiled in war for countless millennia, yet it has managed to stand firm and endure."
"However, as the Earth Spiritual Power gradually diminished, the materials used to refine the Reincarnation Gu eventually became extinct. Although the Reincarnation Gu refined with substandard materials still possessed the ability to reincarnate, it could not allow a person to reincarnate with their memories."
"As a result, the emperor of the Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom was no longer virtuous. In his later years, he became senile, lustful, and pleasure-seeking, and was ultimately seized upon and destroyed by the Great Ying Empire."
"The mural depicts the last war between the two nations, a war in the Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom nearly wiped out its entire army, leading to its demise."
"After the strongest Ancient Reincarnation Kingdom was destroyed, virtually no other kingdom could stop the expansion of the Great Ying Empire. The Great Ying Empire basically unified the entire Gu World in a hundred years."
"The five major domains of the Gu World— east, west, south, north, and central—were all incorporated into the territory of the Great Ying Empire Great Ying Empire, making it the only unified dynasty in history."
Long Ziyan slowly walked over, and when she spoke of this history, a rare look of excitement appeared in her eyes.
Long Xuan recalled his location. According to the memories his Flame Clone had from reading those geographical books, he should be in the Western Region.
The Western Region are divided into thirty-six lands, with the Central Land being the largest. My location should be the Western Land among the thirty-six lands, and even the westernmost part of the Western Land.
In other words, I am in the westernmost part of this world, at its very edge. The westernmost part of the world is also called the Far Western Lands.
It's too far to the edge. The Great Ying Empire has unified the five regions, so its capital must be built in the strongest Central Region, the Central Region. The distance from the Central Region to the Far Western Lands is the distance from the center of the world to the edge of the world, which is far too far.
How could an imperial tomb be built in such a remote location? Could it be to prevent it from being looted?
Furthermore, the entire Western Land are organized around Lineage power structures and have never been controlled by any state. Could it be that this region was once ruled by the Great Ying Empire?
Long Xuan was somewhat bewildered, completely confused, surrounded by mysteries.
"Was this once part of the Great Ying Empire?" Long Xuan asked, puzzled.
Long Ziyan was certainly knowledgeable about historical issues, and she patiently explained, "At the height of the Great Ying Empire Great Ying Empire, every corner of this world was its territory."
"It's just that this world is too big to conquer with an army alone, so most regions are subjugated. You can think of it as nominal control, with limited power to exercise."
"The Far Western Lands was nominally part of the Great Ying Empire Great Ying Empire, but its systems, laws, customs, culture, and currency were never implemented there."
"This place is so barren that they used it as a place of exile, and many prisoners were exiled here."
Upon hearing this, Long Xuan couldn't help but twitch his lips. The place where he lived in his previous life was also called the place of exile in ancient times. The fact that his birthplace was considered a place of exile by others was quite embarrassing.
However, a new question arose: how could the Empress's Tomb be built in a place of exile? Was she also exiled? Did she exile herself?
How could that be? Even if she made a huge mistake, it wouldn't be possible, unless the person who made the mistake wasn't her.
Thinking about it, Long Xuan suddenly shuddered. He thought of a possibility, which was also the only possibility he could think of.
Long Xuan suddenly realized the huge drawback of the "Sun-Moon Heart Sutra". The empress had not mastered the Cultivation Method, and the clone she created was at risk of rebelling and could kill its master at any time.
Is it possible that the tomb doesn't contain her at all, but only an avatar of hers? Did she bury an avatar who wanted to kill its master here, and even bury it alive?
His eyes widened; he felt it was very likely, and the amount of information was considerable.
Based on the information he had at this point, the possibility that the tomb's occupant was Yaoguang Empress was extremely low.
This information was very useful to him; if the ancient tomb was not an imperial mausoleum, then the danger level of the sleeping quarters would be reduced by several levels.
However, there are also downsides. If this ancient tomb is not the Empress's Tomb, then the burial objects would likely not be numerous, and their value would be very limited.
Of course, this is only relative. The burial goods in this ancient tomb are definitely not comparable to those in a real imperial mausoleum, but for a mere Spirit Gathering Stage Gu cultivator like him, the burial goods in the tomb are already amazing enough to tempt him.
"Senior sister! Have you ever considered that what's buried in this tomb might just be an avatar of the Empress?" Long Xuan told Long Ziyan his guess.
Long Ziyan did not show any surprise, clearly she had already guessed this.
"I have consulted numerous historical records and verified that the true Yaoguang Empress has already ascended to the Spirit Realm. She is the only person in the last ten thousand years to have successfully ascended to the Spirit World."
"Because Yaoguang Empress had no children, the vast Great Ying Empire quickly disintegrated after her ascension, returning to its previous chaotic state with countless large and small states."
Long Ziyan looked regretful.
The Spirit World? Where is the Spirit World? Long Xuan frowned, a look of doubt on his face. But despite his intense curiosity, he chose not to ask any further questions.
Time was running out, and he didn't have time to ask questions like a curious child. He had too many questions in his mind, and he planned to figure them out after he left.