“Wasn’t it said that this branch was once highly sought after by officials and nobles? And the identity of this tomb’s owner is distinguished,” Chu Yuanzhen analyzed.

His meaning was obvious – the tomb’s owner was a fervent devotee of the dual cultivation technique.

“Being able to see the long-lost dual cultivation technique here makes this journey worthwhile,” Daoist Gold Lotus sighed.

“Daoist, you don’t indulge in women’s company. This dual cultivation technique is useless to you,” Xu Qi An said with a smile.

Daoist Gold Lotus’s face darkened.

“The clothes worn by those people in the mural are somewhat strange. The era is so ancient that I can’t even determine which dynasty it’s from,” Chu Yuanzhen said, more interested in the other mural than the dual cultivation technique.

Xu Qi An had already memorized the dual cultivation technique from the mural and hurriedly urged, “Let’s go, leave this place. Finding Number Five is urgent.”

He wanted to keep this good stuff to himself.

So the group continued to explore forward. Qian You had overheard their entire conversation and knew that the content of the mural was the legendary dual cultivation technique.

What a treasure, good for both bedroom affairs and cultivation.

For men, it was an irresistible temptation. Especially for jianghu figures like Qian You, who lacked resources, guidance from famous teachers, and secret manuals.

He quietly fell back a few steps. When Xu Qi An and the others had walked far enough, Qian You immediately turned back to look at the mural.

Time was limited. He had only memorized a few images earlier, far from enough to form an effective dual cultivation technique, essentially useless.

“I’ll catch up with them after I memorize this. It’ll be quick, very quick…”

Qian You held the torch, moving swiftly. In the vast space, only the echo of his footsteps could be heard.

Gradually, Qian You realized something was wrong. He had been walking for so long but hadn’t returned to where the mural was located.

“We didn’t walk this far, why haven’t I reached the mural’s location yet?”

He waved the torch around, illuminating the spacious tomb chamber, eerily quiet. Not only was there no mural, but there were no coffins either.

The mural had disappeared, and so had the stone coffins and zombies… He stood dumbfounded for a moment, cold sweat suddenly pouring out.

Qian You’s teeth chattered, his voice trembling, “H-hero? Hero, I’m here, don’t leave me behind…”

His voice echoed in the vast space, reflecting and distorting. When it returned to his ears, it sounded like someone else was calling out.

Qian You’s spine chilled, his hair standing on end. He clamped his mouth shut, not daring to speak again.

He turned back, trying to catch up with Xu Qi An and the others. But as he went from walking quickly to running frantically, gasping for breath, he still couldn’t catch up with Xu Qi An.

Not a single person was in sight. In the silent tomb chamber, only the echo of his footsteps resounded, making one feel as if plunged into an ice cellar, experiencing the coldness of hell.

Suddenly, as Qian You was running wildly, he tripped and fell hard on the ground, letting out a muffled groan. He anxiously grabbed the torch and shone it over.

It was a corpse, or more accurately, half a corpse.

It only had an upper body; the lower half had been severed by something unknown, the wound a bloody mess. The internal organs had also been emptied.

Qian You let out an “Ah!” of shock, scrambling back in fear.

There’s an evil entity, a man-eating evil entity… It’s nearby, I could encounter it at any moment… Overwhelming fear exploded in his heart, and Qian You’s face gradually turned pale.

“Leave, quickly leave this place.”

Qian You’s hand holding the torch trembled slightly. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He was a veteran of the Later Earth Gang, had entered tombs before, and experienced various crises, but none as bizarre as this. Fortunately, he still had some courage and wasn’t completely panic-stricken.

“The firelight might attract evil entities, but without the torch for illumination, I might run into it face-to-face without even knowing. Besides, living in the underground for years, its eyes must have degenerated, not very sensitive to light.”

“What I need to do is not extinguish the light, but remove the scent from my body.”

As a mature tomb raider, he had these things prepared. From his carry-on pack, he took out a porcelain jar containing a pungent powder that, upon careful sniffing, smelled somewhat similar to the stench of corpses.

Qian You sprinkled the powder on himself, held up the torch and carefully moved forward.

He had completely lost his sense of direction, just walking wherever he could.

Suddenly, an excited voice came from behind: “Qian You?”

…

After walking for a while with torches in hand, Daoist Gold Lotus suddenly frowned, “Are we missing someone?”

As he spoke, he glanced back, his pupils contracting slightly.

It was empty behind them; the helmsman of the Later Earth Gang had disappeared.

Xu Qi An, Chu Yuanzhen, and Hengyuan also noticed the anomaly, their expressions changing slightly, as if facing a great enemy.

“When did he disappear? I didn’t notice at all,” Xu Qi An closed his eyes, focusing his senses for a moment, then frowned and said:

“My Divine Sense isn’t affected. If something had snatched him away, I wouldn’t have been completely unaware. Because if that thing had hostility towards him, it would necessarily have the same hostility towards us.”

“And once hostility arises, my Divine Sense would quickly capture it and feedback to me.”

Chu Yuanzhen’s expression was grave as he analyzed, “Not only that, but we all failed to notice that there was one less set of footsteps. This itself is unusual.”

Hengyuan frowned silently.

Daoist Gold Lotus had a sudden thought. He took out the Earth Book fragment, examined it for a moment, and said in a deep voice, “The Earth Book fragment can’t be used anymore.”

Xu Qi An, Chu Yuanzhen, and Hengyuan all made motions to reach into their robes, though the latter two successfully pulled out their Earth Book fragments, while Xu Qi An came to his senses just in time, pulling back from the brink and nonchalantly scratched his chest…

“Indeed, it can’t be used,” Chu Yuanzhen tried to send a message and failed, his expression darkening.

The reason for Number Five’s loss of contact in Xiangcheng became clear.

This underground grand tomb had blocked the Earth Book fragments.

“I, I think I know what this place is, or more accurately, I understand our situation,” Zhong Li raised her small hand slightly.

When the four men looked at her, she lowered her head and said softly:

“Usually, the structure of a tomb is divided into inner, middle, and outer layers. The innermost layer is the main tomb, where the owner of the grand tomb rests. The middle layer consists of side chambers and passageways, where important accompanying burial figures rest, and the outer layer is the tomb’s defense. We are now in the outermost layer, which is also the most dangerous layer.”

“This place is full of mechanisms, traps, and formations… If I’m not mistaken, we entered the formation as soon as we stepped into the chamber with the murals.”

The four men all looked at her simultaneously. Xu Qi An’s eyes widened as he said, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I forgot,” Zhong Li lowered her head, saying in a wronged tone, “I don’t know why I forgot.”

Hearing this, the four men fell silent, unable to blame her further.

“What kind of formation is this? Can you tell?” Daoist Gold Lotus asked.

“It should be a kind of bewildering formation. The layout of the outer area of the underground palace aligns with this formation. We are now in a huge maze, and we must find the correct path to leave, otherwise we’ll be trapped here forever,” Zhong Li said.

“Quickly lead us out,” Chu Yuanzhen hurriedly said.

“I, I will lead you to a dead end,” Zhong Li lowered her head even more.

Everyone: “…”

Unlucky prophetess… Xu Qi An lamented inwardly.

Chu Yuanzhen furrowed his brows, looked at Xu Qi An, and suddenly found inspiration from him: “If we can’t break the formation by conventional means, then breaking it by force is the best choice, just like the two slashes Xu Qi An made during the magic duel.”

Daoist Gold Lotus rejected this proposal, saying with a serious expression: “It’s best not to do that before we figure out the identity of the tomb’s owner. The outer layer is entirely built with Qinggang stone, so luxurious that not only in ancient times but even in today’s Great Feng, Emperor Yuanjing couldn’t afford so much Qinggang stone.”

“The ancient dual cultivation technique was the core secret method of that branch, not easily given away in its entirety, yet it’s here in the tomb.”

“This bewildering formation we’re in is so intricate, and it was set up at least two thousand years ago when there were no spellcasters yet. All these factors indicate that the owner of this tomb is no ordinary person. Rashly breaking the formation might lead to unpredictable consequences. Heh, if you were a Third-Rank expert, then disregard what I said.”

Chu Yuanzhen nodded silently.

Hengyuan’s brows were tightly knit: “What should we do now?”

He was a warrior monk, unfamiliar with these matters. Chu Yuanzhen cultivated the sword dao, and although he was knowledgeable due to his scholarly background, he was equally unfamiliar with formations.

Xu Qi An, being a mere martial artist, couldn’t be relied upon either.

“The Dao sect isn’t versed in feng shui, but we have some knowledge of formation techniques. This poor Daoist can try to lead you through,” Daoist Gold Lotus said.

The Dao sect did know about formations. When Purple Lotus and Yang Yan had fought outside the city before, they had set up a grand formation. However, they weren’t as overpowered as spellcasters who could create formation patterns with a single step.

A quarter of an hour later, Daoist Gold Lotus’s face was stiff as he stared into the deep darkness ahead, frowning silently.

Gold Lotus’s attempt to find the way had failed, making him question his life choices.

Daoist, you’re a fraud too… Xu Qi An grumbled inwardly.

No one present knew that the Daoist Gold Lotus was the remnant soul of the Earth Sect’s leader, representing the good side. Thus, they didn’t know that behind his serious expression was hidden a grave fact.

They had encountered trouble, big trouble.

“Before the spellcasters, who else had such powerful formation skills?” Daoist Gold Lotus pondered silently, searching his mind for “suspicious candidates.”

“Does the Daoist have no solution either?” Hengyuan and Chu Yuanzhen exchanged glances, both seeing the gravity in each other’s eyes.

We were too careless. If we had known, we should have first checked the local chronicles of Xiangcheng, searched the history books, looked for clues about the grand tomb, and then considered whether to enter or not… With the lineup of our team, even Fourth-Rank experts would have to flee. I became overconfident and careless.

Chu Yuanzhen inwardly regretted.

Hengyuan softly chanted Buddha’s name. In his heart, he felt guilty. Number Five had been missing for days, waiting for rescue in this dark and eerie grand tomb. Yet their group had just come down and already encountered an insurmountable problem.

Daoist Gold Lotus sighed and looked at Zhong Li: “Do you have any suggestions? You don’t need to tell me your choice, just explain the mysteries of this kind of formation in detail.”

Zhong Li pondered and said: “This type of formation is usually set up in hidden chambers and underground. Otherwise, those who enter the formation could easily discern the correct path just by orienting themselves.

“Unable to discern directions, to escape the formation, one can only rely on the entrant’s experience and judgment. I, I’m afraid that once my experience and judgment are ‘blinded by pig fat’ (an idiom meaning to be confused), it might bring even greater trouble.”

At this, Daoist Gold Lotus also fell silent.

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society finally understood Number Five’s desperation, trapped in the underground palace, unable to get out or contact the outside world. Letting time tick away, their physical condition gradually deteriorates…

In the heavy atmosphere, Zhong Li raised her hand again and said softly, “Actually, there’s still a safe method.”

Chu Yuanzhen and Xu Qi An’s faces lit up with joy, eagerly asking, “What method?”

Hengyuan lifted his head to look at her, his eyes full of expectation.

Daoist Gold Lotus had a sudden thought.

Zhong Li poked Xu Qi An with her finger and said, lowering her head, “Let him lead the way, and we can get out. Well, most likely.”

Him?!

The surrounding gazes shifted from Zhong Li to Xu Qi An.

Chu Yuanzhen scrutinized with some disbelief, many thoughts flashing through his mind. Xu Ning Yan was just a martial artist, he couldn’t possibly understand formations. Letting him break the formation would be less effective than letting me do it.

But this prophetess from the Sky Watching Bureau wouldn’t joke randomly, so is there something special about Xu Ning Yan himself, or does he have some item that can break the formation?

However, judging from Xu Ning Yan’s expression, he seemed quite baffled by this…

Thinking of this, Chu Yuanzhen couldn’t help but glance at Daoist Gold Lotus, only to find he seemed to have a look of sudden realization.

Does Daoist Gold Lotus know about this too? Chu Yuanzhen silently noted this detail.

It seems Xu Ning Yan has some kind of secret… I’m becoming more and more curious about him.

“Does Sir Xu understand formations?” Hengyuan, whose inner monologue wasn’t as rich as the top scholar’s, directly asked the question in his mind.

Xu Qi An’s mouth twitched: “I don’t.”

…

Qian You suddenly turned around, drawing his weapon and taking a defensive stance. He squinted, peering into the darkness ahead, and said in a low voice, “Who’s there?”

Footsteps approached, and a figure neared the edge of the torch’s illumination. The outline became clear from blurry – it was a middle-aged man in his forties.

His face was gaunt, with sunken eye sockets and bloodshot eyes, looking very much like a sick man who had just recovered from a serious illness, his body drained.

A circle of dark stubble had grown on his ungroomed chin, giving him a slovenly and decadent appearance.

“Boss?”

Qian You’s eyes widened, his face showing wild joy. He moved the torch to illuminate the area, discovering many familiar faces – all brothers from the Later Earth Gang.

Unexpectedly encountering the boss and others here, was an effortless gain… Just as Qian You was about to approach them, his expression suddenly changed. He pointed his weapon at the group and barked with false bravery:

“Don’t come any closer, all of you stay still, or my blade won’t recognize friend from foe. Hmm, how can you prove yourselves?”

The sickly-looking boss revealed a gratified smile: “Very good, not being careless. It seems that skin ghost we encountered in the Jingzhou underground two years ago left a deep impression on you.”

The gang members behind him cursed angrily: “Qian, don’t you know why we left you up there? With your meager skills, entering the tomb would be suicide.”

“Haha, it is you guys.” Qian You laughed instead of getting angry, happily approaching them. As he neared the sickly boss, he suddenly sprinkled a handful of cinnabar.

“Damn it, this useless stuff only works on low-level vengeful spirits, it’s not even effective against zombies.” The sickly boss brushed off the cinnabar, cursing.

At this point, Qian You had no more doubts.

He held up the torch, looking at each person one by one. He saw the deputy boss with graying hair and sunken eye sockets, looking equally haggard. The elderly wild spellcaster’s white robe was now dirty and torn.

Then, he saw the girl from the Southern Frontier. The girl’s once round face had thinned, her chin even becoming a bit pointed. She was still pretty, but her eyes were bloodshot as if she hadn’t slept for a long time, her expression unable to hide her exhaustion.

After he had looked at everyone and counted the numbers, his heartfelt quite heavy.

Originally, thirty-two people had entered the tomb, now only twelve remained.

“You must all be starving, right? I’ve brought dried food and water for you.” Qian You untied the luggage on his back and distributed the dried food to everyone.

Including the girl from the Southern Frontier, everyone’s eyes suddenly lit up, staring at the baked flatbread as if they were staring at a naked, stunning beauty.

This team had long since exhausted their food supply and had been starving in the underground for several days.

While distributing food, Qian You noticed that all his gang brothers were wounded. Some had even lost an arm, along with their sleeve, the wounds crudely bandaged with blood faintly seeping through.

“Boss, what happened to you all?” Qian You asked.

Hearing this, the ravenously eating crowd simultaneously paused. The sickly boss said in a low voice, “We’ve encountered trouble.”

This… even a blind person could see that Qian You thought to himself.

“This place is a maze. No matter how we walk, we can’t get out. After I led the brothers into the tomb, we entered a burial chamber full of zombies. We sacrificed quite a few brothers to kill those yin and evil creatures. This was largely thanks to Li Na, otherwise, more brothers would have died or been injured.”

The sickly boss glanced at the girl lowering her head to eat the flatbread, and continued, “After entering that burial chamber, we’ve never been able to get out. For days, we’ve been going around in circles, our water and food gradually decreasing.”

“Because of this, conflicts arose between our gang and the hired experts… But this wasn’t the worst part. One time we woke up to find that the brother on ‘night watch’ had disappeared.”

“From that time on, a few brothers would inexplicably disappear every day. The team fell into great panic, and those hired experts had disagreements with us. After a heated argument, we parted ways.”

“Not long after, we discovered that all those who had left the team were dead, their deaths quite miserable, as if they had been gnawed on by something.”

Qian You’s heart sank, inexplicably reminded of that horrific corpse he had tripped over.

The sickly boss took a sip of water, swallowed the food in his mouth, and said, “It’s a monster, a very powerful monster. It’s hunting us, eating two people every day, no more, no less.”

As he said this, there was a slight tremor in his voice.

“We’ve managed to repel it twice now, thanks to Li Na being here. Otherwise, you might not have seen us anymore,” the sickly boss said in a deep voice.

“But Li Na’s condition is getting worse and worse. Without replenishment of food and water, we’ll eventually reach the point where our oil runs out and our lamps go dark. Oh right, why did you come down here?”