Within the Tomb

Zhong Li has now suffered divine retribution, so we definitely can't leave her outside. Xu Qi'an has always been a man who cherishes women.

But taking her to the tomb might risk annihilation. Therefore, Master Jinlian's decision was the safest and received unanimous approval.

That night, a series of unexpected events occurred.

Zhong Li was sitting cross-legged when a large wild boar suddenly sprang out of the bushes beside her and savagely charged at her. A bird flew over her head, leaving behind a clump of golden fertilizer.

A large tree was suddenly blown down by the wind and crashed down on her head; a hunter who was hunting in the mountains at night shot an arrow that nearly killed her.

It was too tragic, too tragic. The men who witnessed Zhong Li's ordeal fell silent.

Men are silent, women weep.

Finally, dawn broke, and Zhong Li made a list of items to counteract the yin energy, which she then sent Qian You to the city to purchase.

"I... I'll take a short nap."

Zhong Li reached out her small hand and grabbed Xu Qi'an's sleeve. "Don't leave me."

When Qian You returned with the purchase list, Zhong Li was still asleep, so Xu Qi'an carried her on his back and followed Master Jinlian and the others to the southern mountains.

"Eek," Zhong Li mumbled.

"Keep sleeping. I'll wake you up when we reach the entrance to the tomb," Xu Qi'an said softly.

Zhong Li continued to sleep soundly, feeling at ease.

After the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, Qian You led the group to a mountain hollow and found the entrance to the tomb with ease, which was concealed by chopped tree branches.

After Qian You moved the branches, a narrow passageway, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, was revealed.

"Let's go inside," said Master Jinlian.

"Okay, sure."

Chu Yuanzhen and Heng Yuan nodded, then looked at Xu Qi'an together with Xu Qi'an.

"Give me a reason!" Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

"A martial artist at the Spirit Refining Realm can sense danger in advance," Master Jinlian said with a smile.

"The Vajra Divine Skill provides unparalleled protection," Chu Yuanzhen added.

"Alright, you've convinced me." Xu Qi'an, carrying Zhong Li on his back, bent down and entered the tomb.

Master Jinlian and his three companions followed behind, keeping a relatively safe distance from each other.

Entering through the opening, it was initially extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. After walking several dozen steps, it suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area.

Emerging from the tomb raider's tunnel, Xu Qi'an found himself in a wide-open space. As he leaped out, he stepped on bricks and stones, presumably fallen from the walls when the tomb raiders were digging the tunnel.

Dada

He struck the flint and lit the prepared torch, which then burned brightly.

This tomb robber's hole has been open for nearly three months, with good air circulation and extremely high oxygen levels inside. This won't do; it will damage the artifacts inside. Some things deteriorate rapidly once they come into contact with oxygen. "Hey, I don't need to get approved, why am I thinking of these survival-oriented lines?" Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

Footsteps came from behind, and Master Jinlian and the others crawled out of the tomb-raiding hole and jumped into the tomb.

Everyone lit torches at the same time, illuminating the dark space.

Xu Qi'an bent down, picked up a brick, squeezed it, and found that the brick was many times harder than he had expected.

"What kind of brick is this?" he asked.

Master Jinlian moved her torch and shone it over, examining it intently for a few moments. "Qinggang brick."

"?"

Xu Qi'an looked at him.

"It's a relatively rare type of stone, characterized by its hardness and resistance to weathering," Chu Yuanzhen explained.

"I've seen these kinds of bricks in books, but this is the first time I've actually seen them in person."

Xu Qi'an nodded and said, "We should have entered the edge of the tomb. Based on these bricks, the entire tomb should be made of Qinggang stone bricks."

"The owner of this tomb was far more distinguished than we imagined."

"Truly a genius at solving cases, with a flexible mind and formidable analytical skills," Chu Yuanzhen thought to himself.

The group searched the tomb and found twelve coffins and four corpses. They had been dead for several days and their bodies emitted a very faint smell of decay.

"The three are brothers from the gang, and the other is a skilled fighter they hired," Qian You whispered.

Although this line of work is extremely risky and often involves crises, he still felt heavy-hearted.

Xu Qi'an put Zhong Li down, handed her the torch, and squatted down to examine the body. "Her face was bluish-black, and her lips were black; she died from a deadly poison."

"There is no poison gas in the air," Zhong Li said.

Xu Qi'an nodded, quickly stripped the deceased of his clothes, and found several small wounds on the body's arms, as if they had been caused by some kind of insect bite.

"They're in the coffins. These dead people must have disturbed the coffins," Chu Yuanzhen suddenly said.

Xu Qi'an's ears twitched, catching a faint yet densely packed wriggling sound coming from inside the stone coffin.

The stone coffin seemed to be a vessel for raising poisonous insects, filled with them.

"Should we open the coffin and take a look?" Hengyuan said, looking at Daoist Jinlian.

Master Jinlian then looked at Chu Yuanzhen.

The top scholar nodded, flicked his finger and sent a burst of sword intent toward the stone coffin. The stone coffin trembled violently, and the writhing sound stopped.

He waved his sleeve, and the stone coffin was opened, releasing a stench that assaulted the nostrils.

Everyone present was a master, unafraid of mere poison. Zhong Li opened her palm, holding a brown pill, and said to Qian You, "This is a poison-repelling pill."

"Thank you, young lady." Qian You gratefully accepted the gift and swallowed it.

Four members of the Heaven and Earth Society stood beside the stone coffin, examining its interior. Countless arthropods and poisonous insects were blown to pieces, and dark brown liquid splattered all over the coffin walls.

Besides the poisonous insects killed by Chu Yuanzhen's shockwave, there was also a severely deformed skeleton whose exact age could not be determined, only that it was ancient.

"It's a pity this world doesn't have the technology, otherwise we could determine the age of this skeleton," Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

"There are no burial goods. The coffin in this tomb should belong to someone who was buried with the deceased," Chu Yuanzhen said.

"I don't think the Great Feng had a system of burying living people with the dead," Xu Qi'an humbly asked Chu Zhuangyuan.

"The practice of burying living people with the dead has existed since ancient times, though its exact origins are unknown. However, the practice was truly abolished in the Great Yi Dynasty in 2123. At that time, the Confucian School sage had not yet been born."

Chu Yuanzhen did not hesitate; the relevant knowledge naturally came to mind, and he responded.

"In other words, this large tomb is over two thousand years old," said Master Jinlian.

After searching for a while without finding anything, the group left the tomb chamber with torches and ventured deeper inside. Along the way, they occasionally encountered one or two corpses, all of whom had died from traps.

After walking for a while, they entered a more spacious tomb chamber. The tomb ceiling was deep and dark, and the darkness ahead seemed endless.

Xu Qi'an waved his torch and saw many corpses lying on the ground. Some were flesh and blood, dead for only a few days. Others were withered corpses, dressed in tattered clothes whose original style was no longer recognizable.

None of these withered corpses were intact; some had their heads torn off, some had their limbs ripped off, and some were hacked to pieces.

In addition, there were several coffins that had been opened.

One can imagine that a fierce battle had just taken place here.

The tomb raiders opened the coffin, disturbing the sleeping zombie inside.

"What's with this zombie? I remember the cult of witchcraft is the one that can control corpses, right?"

Xu Qi'an "education level" was extremely low, spoke first, his gaze sweeping over the unopened coffins in the distance.

Zhong Li shook her head. "These zombies have nothing to do with the Witch God Cult. They were nourished by Yin Qi and became zombies over time. Fortunately, these zombies have already been destroyed, saving us trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of "bang, bang, bang" sounds echoed in the empty tomb chamber—the sound of the coffin lid being pushed open and falling to the ground.

In the darkness, a series of dark figures rose up. They were withered and emaciated, yet had sharp, black fingernails and emerald green eyes that were cold and terrifying.

"Amitabha!"

Hengyuan chanted Buddhist mantras, strode forward, and took the initiative to meet the zombies, smashing one of their heads with a single punch.

After dealing with the zombies, they discovered murals on the walls on both sides of the tomb.

The mural on the left wall depicts a group of people dressed in ancient clothes and wearing strange hats, prostrating themselves on the ground and kneeling in worship toward a high platform.

Chu Yuanzhen knew a little about this, but not much, while Hengyuan and Xu Qi'an had never heard of it.

Master Jinlian pondered for a moment, then began to explain, "The Daoist Master is hailed as the ancestor of all laws, and his knowledge is vast. Among the Daoist traditions he passed down, the three schools of Heaven, Earth, and Man are the main ones, but there are also many branch schools."

"One school of thought focused on dual cultivation, the union of Yin and Yang, to jointly comprehend the Great Dao. At its peak, its influence rivaled that of the three major schools of 'Heaven, Earth, and Man.' Pilgrims flocked to it, and it was treated as an honored guest by high-ranking officials and nobles who yearned for immortality through cultivation. Some female pilgrims even frequented the temples, voluntarily engaging in dual cultivation. According to the records of the Earth School, this included some women of noble birth."

Holy crap, this school of thought is really something. No, wait, I'm just being a lecherous person. In their eyes, the core purpose is to jointly comprehend the Great Dao; everything else is just fluff. Xu Qi'an was shocked, staring intently at the mural, trying hard to memorize the flow of meridians.

Hengyuan shook his head, his clear gaze fixed on the mural, as if everything on it were fleeting and could not shake his Buddhist heart.

"This technique is indeed beneficial for improving one's cultivation, but it's too difficult to find a partner for dual cultivation," the top scholar commented.

Since it involves dual cultivation, one must find a woman who is equally proficient in this art; it is definitely not something that can be achieved by simply finding a woman in a brothel.

"The Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth manifest the Five Elements, and the Dual Cultivation Technique is the orthodox art that directly points to the Great Dao. However, while techniques are universal, people are different. The Dual Cultivation Technique progresses slowly and requires maintaining one's original mind, not being consumed by desires."

"Gradually, in order to achieve quick results, this school created the art of 'sexual cultivation' within the dual cultivation technique, thus falling into the demonic path. They deceived female pilgrims, imprisoned them in the temple for their sexual cultivation, and robbed women everywhere, causing widespread resentment among the people."

"Finally, the anger of the imperial army and the chivalrous warriors has been extinguished. Now, the Daoist School does possess a fragment of the dual cultivation technique, but since it's a fragment, it's not very useful. I didn't expect to find a complete dual cultivation technique here."

Master Jinlian sighed.

"Then why is there a complete dual cultivation technique here?" Xu Qi'an asked.

P. S.: This chapter is a bit shorter, otherwise I won't be able to update before midnight.