The next day, Li Cheng's two trusted attendants dragged him out of bed, reeking of alcohol.
To them, it was merely another one of their young master's drunken hangovers.
"Apologies for keeping everyone waiting."
When Li Cheng arrived in the courtyard, the other cultivators had already been waiting for some time.
He greeted Duan Yong, then smiled and nodded at Yang Lingrui, who returned the gesture.
The place where the ancient tomb had emerged was a low-lying stretch of land.
According to Duan Yong, this place had once been a settlement for several small Lineages long ago.
Later, it vanished because of an earthquake disaster.
"It's right there. You can all see it now."
Following Duan Yong's pointing finger, everyone saw a purplish-black protrusion in that depression.
As they approached, they could clearly see that it was a square structure slanting upward.
At its very center stood a circular main gate that could open to either side.
"Heaven is round, earth is square. Interesting. No wonder you needed help to unravel it," Li Cheng said.
Admiration appeared in Duan Yong's eyes. "As expected of Young Master Li. You are truly well-traveled and knowledgeable—you saw through it at a glance. I studied it for quite a while back then."
"Alright, alright, stop buttering me up. Since you called us here, you've found all the positions, right? Hurry up and get moving."
"Ah, yes!"
This heaven-round-earth-square method was a type of restriction.
They needed to locate the four corners of the square engraved underground, the four intersections between the square and circle, and the central point—nine positions in total.
Only by infusing sufficient spiritual power into all nine points at once could the restriction be activated.
Duan Yong divided everyone into eight groups according to their cultivation realms. Li Cheng alone took charge of the central point, and everyone took their positions in turn.
"None of us knows what changes may occur once the restriction is activated. Fellow cultivators, be careful."
Duan Yong reminded them, then shouted, "Rise!"
The cultivators at the eight positions simultaneously poured spiritual power into the ground beneath their feet. The spiritual power flowed constantly beneath the surface, forming the patterns of the restriction, and soon enveloped everyone within it.
Rumble—
As the restriction activated, the entire area began to tremble.
Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi stood at the same position, steadying themselves as they continuously poured out spiritual power.
"Senior Brother, look around us."
"Yes, I see it. It looks like the activation is nearly complete."
At the eight positions, screens of light rose at the same time, enclosing the cultivators who were channeling spiritual power.
Hahh—!
The next moment, accompanied by eerie, hoarse roars, blue specters crawled out of the ground and began taking shape within the area.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cultivators struck one after another, scattering those ghosts before they could fully condense.
But this was only the beginning. As time passed, the specters' cultivation grew stronger and stronger.
"Damn it! They're already at the Second Level of Qi Gathering?"
"Fellow cultivator, watch out!"
"Stop holding back!"
Most of the cultivators who had come here were only at the First or Second Level of Qi Gathering. They did not dare be careless when facing specters at the Second Level of Qi Gathering.
If anything went wrong, injury would be the least of their worries—it could very well cost them their lives.
With Yang Lingrui here, the specters posed no threat on their side for the time being.
Zhao Qi observed carefully from the side and discovered that after every specter died, it turned into a wisp of green smoke and drifted toward the ancient tomb gate within the restriction.
He tried attacking the green smoke with the Golden Light Technique and found that it could be dispersed.
"Senior Brother."
He hurriedly called out to Yang Lingrui and told him about it.
Yang Lingrui looked up, then raised a hand and summoned a whirlwind above their heads. Whenever green smoke rose, the whirlwind tore it apart.
At that very moment, Duan Yong's shout rang out once more.
"Fellow cultivators, quickly disperse the green smoke! Do not let it drift away!"
Hearing this, Yang Lingrui looked toward the field and saw a massive figure flickering in and out of sight before the ancient tomb entrance.
With the green smoke cut off, it lost its supply of energy and stopped expanding.
"Junior Brother Zhao, your powers of observation are truly sharp. You noticed the anomaly before Duan Yong did."
"Just a small strength of mine, not worth mentioning," Zhao Qi said modestly.
Though he said so, Yang Lingrui did not see it that way.
They had both learned about Zhao Qi and Wu Tong's backgrounds and experiences.
When Zhao Qi was five, he fell into a river but did not drown, instead grabbing onto a branch and swimming ashore by himself.
At eight, he had gotten lost in the mountains for three days and still managed to walk out alive.
During the Beast Tide, two wild wolves had hunted him down, yet he had still escaped with his life.
This was not something that simple good luck could explain. Even Zhao Dapeng himself did not know how remarkable his own child truly was.
After continuously killing specters for a quarter of an hour, the restriction finally neared its end.
The light screens dispersed, and that enormous figure finally solidified, transforming into a Ghost Soldier clad in armor.
However, because there was insufficient green smoke, it ultimately possessed only the Third Level of Qi Gathering. Li Cheng stepped forward and kicked it into dust.
Once the Ghost Soldier was dealt with, the ancient tomb gate officially opened.
As the circular gate swung open, waves of chill spilled out from within.
Everyone slowly entered along the stairs. After descending more than ten meters, the space before them suddenly opened up.
The first level of the ancient tomb was extremely spacious. After some discussion, everyone decided to explore in groups. If anyone found the entrance to the second level, they would notify the others.
Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi chose a direction and began exploring that way.
The first level was the shallowest part of the ancient tomb, and the danger level was not high. Even its traps could only target ordinary people and were useless against cultivators.
During their exploration, they encountered only a few corpse ghosts at the First Level of Qi Gathering, all of which they dealt with easily.
"Senior Brother, there's another piece here."
Zhao Qi dug out an inky-black ore weighing around ten jin.
There were not many treasures on the first level. Along the way, the best things they had found were this kind of Refined Ore.
Refined Ore could be exchanged directly for Spirit Crystals, so it still counted as something valuable.
The two wanted to continue exploring, but suddenly sensed spiritual power fluctuations behind them.
Turning around, they saw a cultivator from the Li Family.
He walked over and said, "Fellow cultivators, the entrance to the second level has been found. Young Master sent me to find you two."
"Thank you for informing us, fellow cultivator," Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi quickly said.
"Please follow me."
After following him for some distance, they arrived at the eastern area of the first level.
Cultivators gradually gathered around them as well. Looking ahead, they saw a deep passageway, pitch-black to the extreme, such that even divine sense could barely penetrate it.
Faced with this, many cultivators at the First Level of Qi Gathering looked troubled, hesitating over whether to continue onward.
Li Cheng was speaking with Duan Yong. When he saw Yang Lingrui arrive, he beckoned to him.
"Ling Rui, you're here. How was it? Did you find anything good on the first level?"
"Greetings, Young Master Li, Mayor Duan. We did not find anything particularly special, only some Refined Ore," Yang Lingrui replied.
"That's normal. The first level is just like this. Unless you can find something in the faintest traces, it's difficult to pick up anything valuable."
Li Cheng shrugged and pointed at the passageway. "Huang Yan and Zheng Huaming were too impatient and already went down earlier. Now that you're here, come in with me."
"That would be best. Ling Rui thanks Young Master Li."
"No need. It's on the way. But your brother cannot come."
Li Cheng glanced at Zhao Qi. With only the First Level of Qi Gathering, entering the second level would be dangerous for him.
Zhao Qi immediately waved his hands. "It's fine. Senior Brother, Young Master Li, you don't need to worry about me. I'll just wander around on the first level."
Yang Lingrui gave him several reminders to take care of himself, then entered the passageway with Li Cheng.
Duan Yong remained here. He had previously discussed it with Li Cheng and agreed to stand guard here, so that if anything happened below, he could provide support.
Once the exploration was over, Li Cheng would divide a few of the treasures he obtained with him.
After them, several cultivators at the Second and Third Levels of Qi Gathering entered together as well.
The large group of remaining First Level of Qi Gathering cultivators began discussing among themselves in twos and threes.
"Fellow cultivator, we plan to go down together and take a look. Would you like to join us?"
As Zhao Qi was preparing to leave, someone called out to him.
It turned out that more than a dozen cultivators at the First Level of Qi Gathering were unwilling to give up just like that and planned to enter the second level as a group.
They knew Zhao Qi came from the Yang Family and should possess some skill, so they wanted to recruit him.
"No need. I'll stay on the first level."
Zhao Qi decisively refused and turned to leave.
If he had wanted to go down, he would have left with Yang Lingrui long ago. Why would he still be waiting here?
Seeing him act this way, several other cultivators revealed scornful expressions.
"What a timid rat. He does not even have the courage to go down and take one look."
"Isn't that so? Looking at him, he can only be a lackey behind the Yang Family's young master."
With that, their group of more than ten entered the passageway.
Duan Yong tried to persuade them as well, but those people simply would not listen.
Zhao Qi was not walking quickly, so he heard their words clearly, but he did not care.
Zhao Dapeng had often told him that no matter what fortune came your way, you had to have the life to enjoy it.
He only hoped those people would have the lives to come back out.
No longer thinking about anything else, Zhao Qi's gaze fell upon a stone pillar.
There were many such stone pillars throughout the first level of the ancient tomb, seemingly used for support.
However, after walking all the way through, Zhao Qi had noticed that they were distributed unevenly, which was extremely strange.
"Mm, now that I have some free time, I might as well investigate it properly."
Before you continue