The thunderous roar echoed in their ears, accompanied by a terrifying aura that left Gong Sun Xiu trembling, her lips quivering as she struggled to speak.

However, her mind remained remarkably agile, thoughts racing. If she wasn’t mistaken, the “he” mentioned by this jiangshi (Chinese hopping vampire) must be referring to the man in the cyan robe, or perhaps someone closely related to him, like an ancestor or a senior from his sect…

In the current world, only “he” had an agreement with this dried corpse. What was the identity of this jiangshi, and who exactly was the man in cyan? There must be some great secret hidden within all this…

Judging by the jiangshi’s demeanor, it seemed to place great importance on a certain object. Did it believe the cyan-robed man had given it to her? But… but she didn’t have anything… If she told the truth directly, would it consider her words “useless” and kill her? In its extreme anger, would it slaughter everyone present?

Gong Sun Xiu’s mind raced through numerous possibilities, contemplating how to deal with the jiangshi and survive this crisis.

Gong Sun Xiangming and the other martial artists, unaware of these complexities, were shocked to see how the young lady’s simple words had saved everyone and caused such an obvious emotional reaction in the terrifying jiangshi.

They stared in disbelief, unable to fathom what profound mysteries could be hidden in such a simple phrase.

Gong Sun Xiangming’s face was haggard. After catching his breath for a few seconds, he suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Taoist Qinggu and the other martial artists who had been on the lake outing earlier that day.

This phrase seemed to be what Xiu’er had mentioned, words spoken by that mysterious expert they had encountered on the lake…

Gong Sun Xiangming saw the dumbfounded expressions on Taoist Qinggu and the other martial artists’ faces, instantly confirming his thoughts.

By this time, Gong Sun Xiu had made her decision. She planned to be honest, even though it would immediately expose their “useless” status and disappoint the jiangshi.

But without knowing if the jiangshi had a way to detect lies, honesty was the best choice. At least it left room for maneuvering.

Moreover, she believed in her heart that since the cyan-robed man had only said this one phrase without giving any other instructions, he must have been confident that these words held some special binding power over the jiangshi.

“Esteemed… esteemed one…” Gong Sun Xiu stammered, her tongue barely cooperating:

“This phrase was given to me by an eminent expert I encountered while boating on the lake today. When he learned I was going to explore this great tomb, he said that if we encountered an inescapable crisis in the tomb…”

She briefly recounted the events, then carefully observed the jiangshi’s reaction.

After listening, the dried corpse’s withered face showed a humanlike expression of disappointment.

“Indeed, he left less than a year ago. Even if he wanted to repay me… it couldn’t be this soon. I was being too hopeful,” it paused, then chuckled, “He had you convey this message to warn me not to try and seize vital essence to break the seal! The day he sealed me here, he agreed with me: either endure the loneliness and solitude here, waiting forever or die! Heh, I chose to survive.”

This terrifying and bizarre jiangshi had been sealed? And the one who sealed it was the cyan-robed man they had encountered on the lake, not an ancestor or a senior from his sect, but that cyan-robed man himself…

And all this had happened less than a year ago? Wait… Gong Sun Xiu recalled the collapse of this place and the conditions they had encountered along the way. Suddenly, she had an epiphany.

There had been no earthquakes in Yong Province in recent years, yet this great tomb had suffered a massive collapse. Combining this with the jiangshi’s words, Gong Sun Xiu formed a hypothesis.

Sometime in the past year, at an unknown point, that cyan-robed man had come to the underground palace and engaged in an earth-shattering battle with the dried corpse, causing the collapse of the underground palace.

My goodness… Gong Sun Xiu sighed internally, her heart surging with shock.

Who on earth was that man, to be so terrifyingly powerful… The martial artists who had been on the boat at noon gaped in astonishment, finally realizing just how formidable that young man truly was.

No wonder, no wonder he could predict the weather. That was merely the tip of the iceberg of his unfathomable abilities.

Taoist Qinggu’s expression was a mix of enlightenment and shock. He had known that a cyan-robed man was no ordinary person, but he hadn’t expected him to be such a godlike figure.

He had still underestimated him.

“You’re lucky. I won’t kill you,” the dried corpse’s voice was hoarse and unpleasant as if its vocal cords had rotted. It had a habit of cackling eerily, chilling all who heard it.

“So, you’ve come.”

Who has come? Everyone’s hearts tightened as they turned to look back. The flickering firelight revealed a blurry figure, covered in mud, holding a sword.

“I was passing through Yong Province and came to check on you,” the suddenly appearing figure said with a smile.

As soon as he spoke, Gong Sun Xiu immediately recognized his voice and exclaimed with delight, “Mr. Xu!”

The few martial artists who had been fortunate enough to meet the mysterious expert Xu Qian at noon showed expressions of wild joy. The arrival of this great figure meant they were completely safe, with no more fear for their lives.

So this is the mysterious expert Xiu’er mentioned, the one who sealed the jiangshi… Understanding dawned in Gong Sun Xiangming’s heart.

Xu Qi’an’s figure eerily vanished and reappeared between the dried corpse and Gong Sun Xiu’s group. His tone seemed slightly irritated, giving the impression that he was in a bad mood:

“Get out of here quickly. Wait for me outside.”

Gong Sun Xiu and the others felt as if they had been granted amnesty. They had long since lost any desire for treasure hunting and scrambled to retreat.

The dried corpse didn’t stop them. After everyone had left, it looked at Xu Qi’an and said in surprise, “That just now was the Gu God’s technique.”

“To be precise, it’s a technique of the Southern Gu Tribe,” Xu Qi’an corrected, summoning a torch from nearby and raising it high to illuminate the dried corpse’s terrifying, withered appearance.

“I’ve come to you this time to ask for your help. I need to take some things from you,” he sat down cross-legged, holding up the torch, and said, “I’d like to borrow your nails, venom, and corpse energy.”

The dried corpse asked, “You want to forge a magical artifact?”

Xu Qi’an nodded.

The dried corpse, clad in tattered yellow robes, didn’t agree immediately. Instead, it suddenly stared at him, a deep light flashing in its pitch-black eyes:

“You’ve been sealed.”

Xu Qi’an smiled, “Sharp eye.”

As expected of a body that had at least been a first-rank expert, with this level of status, it could see at a glance that there was something wrong with my physical state.

The dried corpse’s eyes flickered slightly.

Xu Qi’an smiled nonchalantly, “I tried to emulate your master, assassinating the emperor and claiming the throne. As a result, I was targeted by the current first-rank Diviner, the Supervisor. Now my powers are sealed.”

As he spoke, Xu Qi’an opened his clothes to show him the nails embedded in his body.

“You?” The dried corpse’s expression changed slightly, “What about that monster inside you? Why hasn’t he come out to see me?”

What the dried corpse truly cared about was the monk Shenshu, not Xu Qi’an as the host. But upon seeing these nails, it suddenly realized something was amiss.

How could this young man withstand such deadly seals with just his abilities?

“He’s fallen into slumber. That day, after I killed the emperor, we joined forces to fight against the first-rank Diviner. We were defeated, I was sealed, and he fell into slumber. By the way…” Xu Qi’an smiled, “I’ve already advanced to the third-rank Undying Body.”

“Undying Body, no wonder…” No wonder he could still be lively despite such seals.

The dried corpse’s expression suddenly became complex. Back then, this young man’s cultivation was shallow, no more than an ant.

How long has it been? And he has already stepped into the realm of a third-rank martial artist, the Undying Body.

Xu Qi’an considered his current state. Most of his powers were sealed, making it impossible to deal with a third-rank martial artist. However, this young man was also sealed if the slumbering monster within him were to awaken…

“The heart gu ability is quite useful, even if it’s just a slight guidance, far from control…” Xu Qi’an mused internally, maintaining a calm exterior.

“I won’t take your things for nothing. I’ll try to help you find that master of yours. In fact, since that day, I’ve been keeping an eye on your master, investigating the Great Liang Dynasty.”

Xu Qi’an once again used the heart gu to guide the conversation.

The dried corpse’s eyes lit up, its attention fully drawn to this topic.

This wasn’t because the heart gu’s power was particularly strong, but because such topics were naturally what the dried corpse cared about most.

The heart gu merely played a supporting role, making the interesting more interesting, and the concerning more concerning, thus preventing distractions like backstabbing Xu Qi’an.

“The history of the Great Liang Dynasty dates back to ancient times. As the era of gods and demons ended, humans and Yao rose to prominence. The descendants of gods and demons brought chaos to the Nine Provinces. That period of history was full of turmoil and disorder. The Confucian school had not yet appeared, so no conventional, detailed historical records were left behind.”

Xu Qi’an spoke eloquently: “However, we can still deduce many things indirectly. For instance, after your master shed his old body and reshaped a new one, there are only two possible outcomes.

“One, he has long since perished. Two, he assumed a new identity.”

The dried corpse frowned deeply: “New identity? What do you mean?”

A new identity means taking on a different persona, like how Xu Qian is my alias, or sometimes how Second Young Master Xu is also my alias… Xu Qi’an explained:

“Do you know the rule that those who gain the Mandate of Heaven cannot achieve immortality?”

“Those who gain the Mandate of Heaven cannot achieve immortality…” the dried corpse muttered, shaking its head.

“You don’t know. This means that when your master assassinated the emperor and usurped the throne, he also didn’t know this rule. Later, when he failed to transcend the tribulation, he became aware of this rule. That’s why he shed his old body, severing all ties to the past, including you and the Imperial Jade Seal of the Mandate.”

Xu Qi’an smiled: “This is quite interesting.”

The rule that those who gain the Mandate of Heaven cannot achieve immortality is now common knowledge among the top echelons of the Nine Provinces.

But in ancient times, very few people knew this rule. Why?

Because at that time, the human race had just risen to prominence. The entire race had not yet condensed a massive Mandate. For human cultivators of that time, the concept of the Mandate was foreign.

That ancient Daoist, presumably following the path of the Human Sect, realized that the Mandate could aid his cultivation. So he slew the great serpent, became the Imperial Advisor, gained enormous prestige and Mandate, and eventually went so far as to slay the monarch and ascend the throne.

Just as he had slain Emperor Zhende.

But later, he discovered that as his cultivation grew higher, he found it increasingly difficult to break free from the shackles of the Mandate, to achieve immortality…

So, he used the heavenly tribulation to shed his cocoon, separating part of his soul, discarding his old body, and severing all ties to the past.

Combined with the contents of the mural, this reasoning aligns with logic and facts.

“This Daoist had some tricks up his sleeve. Despite being bound by the Mandate, high-ranking martial artists like the Founding Emperor and Emperor Wuzong have passed away, and even the Confucian Sage is gone. No emperor of supreme cultivation in history could achieve immortality, yet he managed to forcibly sever everything…

“How did he do it? There must be a crucial step that I’m unaware of…”

Xu Qi’an gathered his scattered thoughts and continued:

“He left you and the Imperial Jade Seal here, proving that he successfully separated himself from the past. With his level of cultivation, time couldn’t serve him. He must still be alive.

“If he later became a transcendent, then, excluding the Gu God, any transcendent could potentially be his new identity.

“If he didn’t become transcendent, he must be lying low, perhaps plotting something, but he’s certainly not dead.”

Not dead, not dead… The dried corpse’s eyes flickered with human-like emotional waves, a mixture of joy and sorrow.

Seeing such intense emotional fluctuations, Xu Qi’an chuckled and said:

“Are you satisfied with this conclusion?”

The dried corpse slowly nodded.

Xu Qi’an was also satisfied. He lightly tapped the surface of the Earth Book fragment, summoning the Taiping Sword.

Holding the sword in one hand, he took the dried corpse’s hand with the other and clicked his tongue: “Your nails haven’t been cut for thousands of years. Don’t you worry about poking yourself and causing a nosebleed when you pick your nose?”

The dried corpse’s nails were pitch-black, unlike human nails. They resembled the claws of some large beast, hard and sharp, but not particularly long.

Xu Qi’an gripped the sword and started hacking away, sparks flying, struggling to cut off a piece.

If it were just for crafting a magical artifact, one nail would suffice. However, the materials from the dried corpse were rare, so Xu Qi’an intentionally didn’t specify a quantity, following the principle of taking as much as possible.

After cutting off five nails in succession, the dried corpse clenched its fist, feeling uncomfortable with the “emptiness” of its fingers. Seeing Xu Qi’an reach for its other hand, the corpse’s face suddenly changed:

“Don’t push your luck.”

Xu Qi’an knew when to stop. Then, with the dried corpse’s permission, he placed the sword against its neck, cut open the flesh, and extracted about 10 milliliters of thick, dark blue liquid, sealing it in a small jade bottle.

With this, two of the materials needed for Wei Yuan’s revival had been collected.

Xu Qi’an breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a sense of deep inner peace and genuine joy.

Finally, it was time to nurture the corpse gu with the other’s corpse energy.

The dried corpse exhaled two streams of black smoke from its mouth. The smoke lingered in the air, not dissipating, clearly a highly toxic substance.

Xu Qi’an contracted his lower abdomen and inhaled. The black smoke gracefully flowed into his nostrils.

In an instant, he looked like someone who had drunk too much alcohol. His pupils dilated, and black blood vessels bulged on his cheeks, giving him a terrifying appearance.

This process lasted a full twenty minutes before he fully digested the corpse’s energy. The black blood vessel network receded, and his pupils regained focus.

He closed his eyes to sense the changes in the Seven Deadly Gu. The ability symbolizing the corpse gu had undergone a qualitative change, leaping to become the strongest gu technique below the Heavenly Gu.

Now, he could manipulate three seventh-rank experts from various systems with near perfection.

Near perfection meant he could restore over eighty percent of their combat power and skills.

Suddenly, the dried corpse frowned and said, “Why are you staring at me?”

Xu Qi’an’s expression was sincere: “I just realized you’re quite handsome.”

“?”

The dried corpse stared at him expressionlessly.

Xu Qi’an smiled dashingly, stood up, and bowed: “Farewell!”

He turned and left without a backward glance.

As he made his way out of the underground palace, passing through the stone door, he held up a torch and stopped by a wall. He lightly bumped his head against the wall, cursing under his breath:

“That was so damn embarrassing.

“So damn embarrassing…”

After a while, having smoothed over the goosebumps in his heart, Xu Qi’an returned to the surface with practiced ease.

The autumn rain fell gently, carrying a chill, hitting his face, shoulders, and neck… He glanced around and saw that Gong Sun Xiu and the others were still waiting outside the cave.

Some wore straw rain capes, others wore conical hats, and some had no rain gear at all.

Seeing Xu Qi’an emerge, Gong Sun Xiu felt relieved. She bowed with clasped hands:

“Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives.”

The martial artists beside her bowed with clasped hands and said in unison:

“Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives.”

Xu Qi’an nodded: “It was a small matter.”

After a pause, before Gong Sun Xiu and the others could speak, he instructed:

“The ancient corpse in the tomb is fierce. Anyone below the third rank who enters will meet certain death. Even a peak third-rank martial artist might not be its match at its prime. From today onwards, seal the cave entrance and strictly prohibit anyone from entering.

“If the ancient corpse consumes vital essence and recovers, Yong Province will become a living hell. The Gong Sun clan must take full responsibility for this matter.”

Even a third-rank martial artist might not be its match… Everyone’s pupils involuntarily dilated, their hearts racing, filled with intense retrospective fear. They had not just brushed with death; it was as if they had shared a drink with the King of Hell himself.

Their return to the world of the living was purely because the King of Hell had gotten drunk…

“Yes!” Gong Sun Xiu bowed, her red lips pressed together, her beautiful face filled with solemnity: “We juniors will guard this mountain to repay Senior’s kindness in saving our lives.”

After a pause, she gathered her courage and asked, “May I ask which eminent figure Senior is?”

This question was somewhat presumptuous, but after receiving such a great favor, asking about the benefactor’s identity was reasonable.

Xu Qi’an didn’t answer. He waved his hand and walked straight down the mountain.

Just as Gong Sun Xiu and the others were feeling disappointed, that cyan robe gradually fading into the darkness called out loudly:

“Eight hundred autumns since attaining the Dao,

Never have I used a flying sword to take a life.

The Jade Emperor has yet to bestow a heavenly decree,

So I’ll trade this black gold to mingle with the world’s flow.”