A Hidden World Below

Nothing much has changed in the mausoleum of Emperor Luo Yan.

The Dongshan Imperial Mausoleum appears to be poorly guarded, but some of the problematic mausoleums are not open during the day, and very few people climb up to sneak in. With the help of surveillance cameras, it is quite difficult to enter quietly.

Stealing artifacts from a tomb requires transporting them out, which makes it even more difficult.

Once caught by patrolling guards, they would be sent to prison, and it wouldn't be surprising if they were caught by old-fashioned people or their descendants and beaten to death.

Stealing from tombs is a thankless and laborious task. The antiquities are not of high value, so few people are willing to pay for them, and it is even more difficult to sell them. People who come here to cause trouble are almost never seen.

After months of surveillance, only Zhou Rihui entered Luo Yan's imperial tomb once, while Zhang Xuezhou entered for the third time.

Everything remained the same in Luo Yan's imperial tomb, Zhang Xuezhou held Zuo Quan's lucky gold necklace.

He didn't expect the lucky gold necklace to bring any special benefits; he was simply thinking about minimizing the hidden misfortune it might bring.

Zhang Xuezhou held the Tongtian Jade Ruler and scanned it back and forth, looking for a part where the jade ruler could be inserted.

"If Zuo Quan is controlled by the purple gladiolus, either the other party has been casting spells to influence him, or the purple gladiolus has transformed into some kind of special plant that is parasitizing Zuo Quan!"

Thinking of the tumor that appeared when Zuo Quan was examined, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but suspect that the purple gladiolus might have turned into a tumor.

He searched back and forth in the tomb of Emperor Luo Yan, but couldn't find any energy fluctuations indicating continuous spellcasting, further reducing the remaining possible range.

"It seems to be here?"

Zhang Xuezhou searched for a long time but couldn't find the location where the Tongtian Jade Ruler could be inserted. However, after searching back and forth, he felt that he had found a place where the purple sword orchid might have disappeared underground.

This is where Emperor Luo Yan's burial goods were piled up. For many committee members who don't like to rummage through burial goods, these places are rarely visited, and there aren't many traces of trampling on the ground.

Zhang Xuezhou was discovered simply because the place was extremely messy, and there were some fine black bird feathers stuck in the objects.

This is the place where Zhou Rihui previously made random arrests and searches; it is highly likely that the Tongtian Jade Ruler was taken out of the tomb by Zhou Rihui from here.

Two other types of footprints were also left at the location of the Tongtian Jade Ruler. One undoubtedly belonged to Zhang Xuezhou, who had made two previous explorations, while the other seemed to originate from Zuo Quan.

Zhang Xuezhou's mind raced as he recalled the scene of his first exploration.

They found nothing at Luo Yan's imperial tomb. The area they searched in their haste was limited, and they quickly moved on to Luo Zhong's imperial tomb. No one ventured into the corners of the palace to search.

When they returned to rescue Zuo Quan, they found it was a false alarm; Zuo Quan had already recovered and was able to go out again.

"These are definitely traces of Zuo Quan's exploration. He most likely had an accident here. The soil here has been stirred up, which is probably left behind by the Purple Sword Orchid Grass where he escaped."

The many floor tiles used to pave the imperial mausoleum are thick and heavy, making it extremely difficult for an individual to dig or penetrate them.

Zhang Xuezhou had always wanted to renovate and rebuild several imperial tombs in order to excavate these large areas of paving stones and other materials to see if any clues were hidden underground.

"If the hallucinogenic effects can be broken, the purple gladiolus is no match for it!"

"They had received a warning of danger and were trying to escape!"

Those short on time will hastily burrow underground, while those with ample time will choose a safe corner.

"This should be the safest place the purple gladiolus considered; it even evaded the searches of many sequence committee members!"

Zhang Xuezhou made a continuous assessment in his mind.

He touched the loose soil at the edge of the floor tile, thought for a few seconds, and then inserted the Tongtian Jade Ruler into the gap.

"Long!"

His faint Law Power rippled through the jade ruler, causing it to quickly extend and probe downwards.

The loose soil made it relatively easy for the jade ruler to point downwards. After Zhang Xuezhou nudged it with his hand, the nearly meter-long Tongtian ruler pressed down again.

"Long!"

When the Tongtian Jade Ruler shrinks, it is no bigger than a finger, but when extended, it can easily become the length of a longsword.

If Zhang Xuezhou had infused more Law Power into it, and instead of focusing on thickness but rather on slenderness, the length measured by this jade ruler would have been even longer.

As the jade ruler, over two meters long, was inserted, Zhang Xuezhou felt as if he had vaguely touched something hard.

There seems to be something buried underneath!

Zhang Xuezhou felt that the jade ruler was not touching hard soil, nor was it touching mountain rocks.

He gently nudged it, and felt a crisp sound as the jade ruler touched it.

"Could it be some kind of special jade?"

Just as Zhang Xuezhou began to have his doubts, a faint golden light flashed across the Tongtian Jade Ruler, and a sense of familiarity immediately welled up in his heart.

"There's definitely more to Heaven and Earth down there!"

Zhang Xuezhou reached out and pulled at the Heavenly Tongtian, and the golden light quickly faded away.

When he pulled out the Heavenly Tongtian Ruler, the scene of golden light bursting forth did not appear as he had imagined; instead, everything remained quiet.

When Zhang Xuezhou inserted the Tongtian Jade Ruler again, a faint golden light once more floated over Tongtian.

If it cannot be dug downwards to open, the Tongtian Ruler of Heaven is the medium through which one can touch the destiny of the Luofu Dynasty.

Zhang Xuezhou looked at the fortune that seemed to Shengteng like a wisp of Spiritual Qi.

Compared to the overwhelming abundance of fortune in Dongshan, this scene is undoubtedly child's play, and it is unlikely to quickly help Zhang Xuezhou's Fortune Body evolve again.

But Zhang Xuezhou had to admit that these conditions were already extremely good. Even if he became a close advisor to the new emperor and followed the emperor, the greatest beneficiary of the dynasty's destiny, the benefits he would enjoy would be no more than this.

It takes years of accumulation to continuously strive for improvement.

A sudden surge in growth driven by a single Fortune Body is rare, occurring only once every few years. In contrast, slow, gradual growth can be sustained continuously, accumulating until everything falls into place naturally.

"Fine, let's borrow some luck for now, lest we be caught in a disaster when Zuo Quan targets us!"

If another surge of fortune were to occur in Dongshan, Zhang Xuezhou felt there was a high probability that Zuo Quan would return to investigate.

The likelihood of such a trickle of money being detected is extremely low.

He touched the gold necklace and noticed that the purple light on it had dimmed. He couldn't help but gasp slightly, realizing that without Zuo Quan's initiative in giving him the gift, the chances of him achieving his current situation were indeed slim.

The strategy of using Zuo Quan's own methods to counter the methods Zuo Quan might have previously devised has clearly been successful.

Zhang Xuezhou reached out and grabbed the Tongtian Jade Ruler, and saw a faint golden light winding upwards along his right hand.

His body swayed slightly, darkness passed before his eyes, and his fish-dragon Fortune Body instantly appeared.

Strands of golden light appeared in the ichthyosaur's forepaws and then spread along its forearms to all parts of its body.

A vague sense of fulfillment welled up in Zhang Xuezhou's heart, and he felt quite satisfied for a moment.

When he comes here to cultivate from time to time, he will gain a great deal of benefit.

The main problem is that this won't alarm Zuo Quan.

Zhang Xuezhou, with his dragon-like body, lowered his head and looked at the Fortune Technique that Zuo Quan had cast on him.

Through his senses, Zhang Xuezhou knew perfectly well that Zuo Quan was still in Western Capital City.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou could only determine that Zuo Quan was in Western Capital City, Zuo Quan could only roughly determine that he was in the direction of the Eastern Mountain Imperial Mausoleum, but it was difficult to pinpoint such a detailed location as the tomb of Emperor Luo Yan.

Once his appointment as the manager of the Dongshan Imperial Mausoleum is officially granted, Zhang Xuezhou will be able to appear here legally and compliantly without arousing much suspicion.