Is this old man the wild sorcerer that Qian You mentioned?

He seems to have noticed that Zhong Li is also a sorcerer, so he must know that Zhong Li is from the Bureau of Heavenly Masters. After all, wild sorcerers are as rare as giant pandas and it's impossible for two to appear near Xiangcheng at the same time.

Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

"The owner of this tomb is not simple. It's not good to see things that shouldn't be seen. This is the experience the old man has gained from years of digging graves. Your sorcerers from the Bureau of Heavenly Masters disdain doing this kind of work and lack experience." Gongyang Su smiled.

Sorcerers from the Bureau of Heavenly Masters?!

The members of the Houtu Gang looked at Zhong Li, their faces full of astonishment, as if they had been shocked.

So she's a real hidden figure. She's actually a sorcerer from the Bureau of Heavenly Masters... It turns out that such silent and unassuming people are often the core figures.

The leader of the sickly gang thought to himself.

He looked at Xu Qi'an again and felt that this person's status was the lowest.

First of all, it's very difficult for a martial artist to become a core figure in such a team. Secondly, when he killed the evil creature just now, his role was just a shield.

This clearly and vividly reflects his role.

"Mm-hmm." Zhong Li nodded, indicating that she understood.

She definitely won't cast any spells, definitely won't participate in any battles. This is an experience summed up by a mature prophet.

Chu Yuanzhen remained silent, his gaze sometimes scrutinizing Xu Qi'an, sometimes assessing Taoist Master Jin Lian.

Xu Ningyan was very strange, he was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

To walk into this side room three times, there are only two possibilities: either Xu Ningyan did it on purpose, or there is a special reason that made him return here repeatedly.

"What secrets are hidden in Xu Ningyan's body... Hiss, Number Three is related to the purity of the Yunlu Academy, and Number Three is a disciple of Confucianism. And his cousin, there are even more secrets... Taoist Master, oh Taoist Master, you hide it really well."

...

The group entered the side room with heavy hearts. At the end of the side room was a corridor leading deep into the location.

"Um, um... Taoist Master, why don't you go in front? I'm just a kid." Xu Qi'an stood at the entrance of the corridor, looking into the darkness ahead, feeling a bit hesitant.

"Do you sense danger?" Taoist Master Jin Lian's expression became serious.

No, it's just a little scary, it brings back the psychological shadow of watching horror movies when I was a child... Xu Qi'an answered in his heart, took a deep breath, and entered the corridor with a torch.

The corridor was long and narrow, with traces of artificial chiseling on the walls on both sides, dyed with an orange glow.

Their footsteps echoed in the silent corridor, and no one spoke, highlighting the tension in everyone's hearts.

At the end of the corridor was a tall stone door, tightly closed, and no one had visited it yet.

Xu Qi'an stopped in front of the stone door, his hands pressed against it. He tried to exert force, but didn't really use it. After a few seconds of silence, he didn't receive any warning from his divine perception.

He withdrew his hand and nodded to Taoist Master Jin Lian, "There's no danger, at least I didn't sense any."

"Open the door." Taoist Master Jin Lian said.

Squeak!

With a rough and heavy friction, the stone door slowly opened.

The light of the torch illuminated only a few feet ahead, and beyond that, the light was swallowed by darkness.

Xu Qi'an saw the torch dim for a moment and quickly said, "Wait, there's no air inside."

Then he instructed Zhong Li, "Do you have any detoxifying elixirs? Give some to the brothers of the Houtu Gang."

Gongyang Su, the dirty man in the white robe, said, "No need to be polite, we've taken detoxifying elixirs before."

After waiting outside for fifteen minutes, Xu Qi'an stepped half a foot into the tomb chamber. There was no danger warning, and the torch didn't dim, which relieved him. He said, "I'll take the lead, and you follow behind. Remember, don't do anything unnecessary."

The members of the Houtu Gang nodded vigorously.

By now, not only the leader of the sickly gang, but even the ordinary members could see Xu Qi'an's low status.

Scouting and taking the lead, using danger as a shield.

A martial artist is just so crude.

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I've really taken the spotlight with this move, my role is the most important, and Taoist Master and the others have to rely on me... Xu Qi'an's mouth twitched slightly.

At the same time, Xu Qi'an remembered details that he hadn't paid attention to before.

"Taoist Master Jin Lian is indeed a remnant soul. I remember now, during the Sangpo case, when we sneaked into the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion, we encountered Heng Hui, who was bent over by Shen Shu. Taoist Master's operation at the time was to use his divine soul to rush up.

"At that time, my 'cultural level' was not high, and I didn't feel anything wrong. Now that I think about it, it's very strange. Where are the magical treasures? Where are the spells? Where is the Golden Elixir?

"Using the divine soul to rush up is equivalent to taking off your pants and using a gun made of flesh to fight against someone else's iron-cast gun. It's just asking for death.

"But if Taoist Master is a remnant soul, everything can be explained. Even his liking for cats can be explained, after all, neither people nor cats are his own flesh.

"However, can a remnant soul live for so long? The Taoist sect is indeed a professional in playing with ghosts."

Although his inner thoughts were rich, Xu Qi'an did not neglect the possible dangers in the surrounding environment.After entering the main tomb, most of the darkness was dispelled by the five torches, and the scene inside the tomb was gradually outlined in front of everyone.

The main tomb space is huge. If it is compared to a room, Xu Qi'an and the others are currently in the entrance hall. Even the entrance hall gives people the illusion of entering a temple.

The pillars, which can be hugged by several people, support the dome of an unknown height. The walls on both sides are estimated to be about sixty meters apart, which means that the width of this main tomb is sixty meters.

The depth is unknown and remains to be explored.

"According to the layout of the tomb, the center must be the coffin of the tomb owner. I suggest not to go there first, but to explore around the walls, estimate the size of the pattern, and see if we can find any valuable information."

The leader of the sickly gang walked to Taoist Master Jin Lian and suggested.

A tomb robber... But I'm the leader, why didn't they consult me? Xu Qi'an muttered to himself.

"Makes sense." Taoist Master Jin Lian nodded.

Xu Qi'an led the others to the left to start exploring, moving cautiously until they saw a huge mural.

Before the appearance of writing, murals were the only way to record events, and even now, the tradition of "mural recording" is still popular.

Xu Qi'an and Chu Yuanzhen held up the torches and illuminated the mural.

The content of the mural is: a terrifying giant snake broke into a human city, coiling around with a body taller than the city wall. Its pupils glowed crimson, fierce and terrifying.

At this time, a Taoist descended from the sky on a flying sword and killed the giant snake.

The emperor of the city led his courtiers to greet the Taoist, kowtowing to him. The Taoist stood on the flying sword, hovering in mid-air, overlooking the emperor and his courtiers below.

"Such a large snake, is it a demon?" Heng Yuan frowned.

Chu Yuanzhen shook his head, indicating that he did not know. Although he traveled around, since the demon-sweeping event, the demons gradually disappeared. There were demons appearing in the battle of Shanhaiguan twenty years ago, but Chu Yuanzhen was still a child at that time.

As for Xu Qi'an... he and everyone else looked at Taoist Master Jin Lian.

"There are indeed some naturally gifted demons with large bodies. But it's not so exaggerated. And, if you know that when a demon of the fifth rank condenses a demon core, you wouldn't think that the snake in the mural is a demon."

Taoist Master Jin Lian stood with his hands behind his back, with the demeanor of a wise man.

The three of them had different thoughts.

Xu Qi'an thought, so the demon of the fifth rank condenses a demon core. According to the Taoist's words, does the body shrink after condensing the demon core? Or is the path of demon cultivation not about increasing the body size?

Chu Yuanzhen was thinking, if it's not a demon, then what is this snake? He had a vague guess in his heart.

Heng Yuan's thoughts were simpler. He couldn't defeat this snake, and it was a demon that Buddhism couldn't temporarily subdue.

Taoist Master Jin Lian didn't beat around the bush and said, "Having a large body is not a good thing. Although it brings about an increase in strength, it also exposes many flaws. In this world, those known for their large bodies and strong strength are ancient demons."

"But during the era when ancient demons were active, humans were still in a period of ignorance, in the tribal era. So, the snake in the mural should be the bloodline of an ancient demon, not a true ancient demon."

Chu Yuanzhen nodded slightly, and what the Taoist said was the same as what he had thought.

"Even so, the Taoist who killed the giant snake is probably extraordinary." Chu Yuanzhen said.

The entire wall was like a scroll. As they walked and talked, they saw the subsequent content.

In order to thank the Taoist, the emperor cast a high platform for him, and the civil and military officials bowed down to him.

"Isn't this the mural we saw outside?" Xu Qi'an said.

The scene of the courtiers bowing down to the high platform was exactly the same as the mural outside.

The next content of the mural shocked everyone. The blurry figure of the Taoist wielded his sword and killed the emperor, then put on the dragon robe and crown, usurping the throne.

What the hell is this divine unfolding... Xu Qi'an was dumbfounded.

Chu Yuanzhen opened his mouth, equally shocked by the Taoist's actions.

Taoist Master Jin Lian frowned.

Master Heng Yuan furrowed his brow and said, "For such a wise man, there should be no attachment to power. What does it mean for him to become an emperor?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Qi'an and Chu Yuanzhen both chuckled.

They looked at each other and smiled tacitly, knowing that the other person, like themselves, had thought of Emperor Yuan Jing.

Next, the content depicted in the mural turned into a war, with the black-armored army and the white-armored army fighting, and behind the white-armored army was the giant emperor - the Taoist who usurped the throne.

The rear of the black-armored army was empty.

The emperor's army quelled the rebellion, but he seemed to have no intention of being a good emperor. He began to engage in group activities.

The emperor held up the throne, with a naked woman in his arms, surrounded by similarly naked women.

As they continued, more and more men and women appeared, countless groups of men and women, happily engaging in group activities."Isn't this the mural we saw outside?" Xu Qi'an said, feeling that his words were so familiar.

This "group sports" mural, like the one outside, is just missing the meridian map.......... The meaning conveyed by this mural is that the emperor later became obsessed with dual cultivation and became a fanatical worshipper of the Daoist dual cultivation technique, indulging in debauchery?

No, he was originally a Daoist, and he usurped the throne as the emperor!

Many thoughts flashed through Xu Qi'an's mind, and then he heard Chu Yuanzhen whisper, "Taoist Master, this emperor has a great connection with the Daoist dual cultivation sect."

What he really wanted to say was, could this Taoist Master be the founder of that sect?

Chu Yuanzhen is really smart, I also think so... Xu Qi'an nodded while looking at Taoist Master Jin Lian.

"I don't know," Taoist Master Jin Lian replied succinctly.

The group continued to walk slowly, continuing to look at the murals.

Perhaps even the heavens couldn't tolerate the emperor's foolish behavior, so one day, dark clouds suddenly gathered, and lightning struck him dead. The emperor passed away.

"The Taoist Master usurped the throne and indulged in debauchery, so the heavens struck him dead with lightning... This is too dramatic," the leader of the sickly group shook his head, giving his assessment.

The meaning of "too dramatic" is similar to "dramatic," and the theater was prevalent in this era.

The faces of the members of the Heavenly Daoist Society looked extremely strange, as they associated it with more things.

Starting from a rational perspective, Xu Qi'an analyzed, "Strange, some parts don't make sense."

Taoist Master Jin Lian and Chu Yuanzhen and the others knew that Xu Qi'an had a talent for solving cases that was different from ordinary people, so they all suppressed their wandering thoughts and listened to him speak.

"If the owner of this tomb is the emperor in the mural, who is a Daoist, then this mural is very strange," Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

"Even our wise and martial emperor of the Great Feng knows to modify the history books to cover up his own flaws. And this mural, blatantly painted here, is it a mockery?"

The wise and martial emperor modified the history books to cover up his flaws... Xu Ningyan is too cautious, even in such a situation, he doesn't leave behind evidence of "great disrespect."

Chu Yuanzhen thought to himself.

"The heavenly thunder struck him dead, so this tomb should have been built by ministers or later generations to criticize him. Isn't that normal?" Heng Yuan said.

"Master, you may build a tomb for your enemy, but others may not." Xu Qi'an shook his head and said, "If later generations hate him, then they wouldn't build such a grand tomb. Conversely, they wouldn't paint such a mural. Unless the content of the mural is incredibly true."

The group nodded and accepted his explanation. Chu Yuanzhen said in a deep voice, "With the Daoist's strength, ordinary thunder wouldn't be able to kill him. Does this thunder have another meaning?"

At this point, Taoist Master Jin Lian spoke, saying in a deep voice, "It's a heavenly tribulation."

"Heavenly tribulation?"

At these words, Xu Qi'an and the others looked at Taoist Master Jin Lian, this was an unfamiliar term.

Taoist Master Jin Lian nodded slowly, "In the Daoist system, the second rank is called 'Tribulation Crossing,' and passing the heavenly tribulation allows one to become a first-rank terrestrial immortal. Hehe, this is not something that the Bureau of Heavenly Masters' prophets can compare to. The previous generation's Daoist sect leader perished in the heavenly tribulation."

So the second rank in the Daoist system is called "Tribulation Crossing," and the first rank is called "terrestrial immortal." The members of the Heavenly Daoist Society were quite pleased to note this down.

Xu Qi'an slapped his head and said, "I remember now, Taoist Master, you said that the damn leader of the local Daoist sect failed to cross the tribulation and was devoured by demonic nature, falling into demonic ways."

After killing Zi Lian, Taoist Master Jin Lian sneaked into Xu Qi'an's room at night and had a frank and open conversation with him.

"So, this emperor is a second-rank Daoist, and a peak second-rank at that, just one step away from the realm of a terrestrial immortal," Chu Yuanzhen said.

Taoist Master Jin Lian suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, "Dying in the heavenly tribulation, perishing in the tribulation, this tomb should be a peaceful resting place. There shouldn't be too much danger."

The others also breathed a sigh of relief, and Xu Qi'an jokingly said, "Taoist Master, being too certain in your judgment often brings about the opposite result."

This Taoist Master, don't raise false hopes.

Under Xu Qi'an's leadership, they came to the other side of the main tomb and were disappointed to find no murals.

The exploration around the main tomb ended here. Xu Qi'an held a torch and led the others to the central position, where they saw a wide black passage.

This passage led straight to the central platform, with shallow water pits on either side, the water murky.

"Candles on both sides..."

Xu Qi'an moved the torch, and the orange light shone on the edge of the passage, with a candlestick the height of a person every ten steps, extending all the way to the platform.

There were candles on the candlesticks that had not yet burned out, red as blood, yet crystal clear, like rubies."This seems to be the oil extracted from the body of an Eastern Sea Red Dragon. This candle can burn for decades without extinguishing," Taoist Master Jin Lian sniffed and identified the material of the candle.

As they spoke, Xu Qi'an and Chu Yuanzhen lit the candles, and clusters of candlelight quietly burned, bringing more light to the spacious main tomb.

Xu Qi'an instructed his people to watch the pools on both sides to prevent any evil creatures from hiding in the water; meanwhile, he lit the candlesticks along the edges of the passageway.

Torches could not last long and would eventually go out; they had to hurry and replace them with something else for illumination before they burned out.

Approaching the platform, Xu Qi'an suddenly stopped because on the steps leading to the platform stood two rows of soldiers, silently watching this group of uninvited guests.

"Damn, that gave me a fright..." Xu Qi'an cursed as he walked over, first listening to confirm there were no heartbeats, then observing the mummies.

"They're just mummies, don't touch them recklessly, follow behind me."

After warning everyone, he climbed the steps, crossing ninety-nine of them to reach the platform.

The first thing that Xu Qi'an saw upon the platform was a huge bronze coffin in the center, with four tall figures standing at each corner of the platform.

These figures, each holding different weapons, stood silently, having stood for thousands of years, unwavering.

Taoist Master Jin Lian glanced at the bronze coffin, then shifted his gaze to the edge of the platform, examining the closest mummy.

This mummy wore fish-scale armor, held a purple-gold hammer, and wore a bronze mask, revealing only a pair of eyes.

The fish-scale armor was strung together with red threads, and each scale was engraved with strange and eerie yet exquisite runes.

"Could this be the work of the Daoist sect?" Chu Yuanzhen was also observing a mummy, but the one he looked at held a bronze sword covered in rust.

After examining the four mummies and their armor, Taoist Master Jin Lian pondered:

"There are indeed traces of the Daoist sect, but I can only guess at these ancient runes. The one in the west represents metal, while the ones in the south, north, and east represent fire, water, and wood, respectively."

"What about earth?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Taoist Master Jin Lian did not answer but looked towards the bronze coffin in the center.

"The center represents earth!" Chu Yuanzhen whispered, "What does this arrangement signify?"

"Could it be rebirth?" The wild sorcerer Gongyang Su looked towards Zhong Li.

Zhong Li nodded and said, "All things in the world are transformations of the five elements. Ancient people believed that after death, being buried in a tomb, which is in the earth, if one could arrange a Five Elements formation in the tomb, the deceased might one day be reborn from the earth."

Everyone listened with interest, but Xu Qi'an suddenly felt a chill down his spine and said:

"This isn't right. Taoist Master, didn't you say that those who die in a heavenly tribulation are reduced to ashes, leaving nothing behind? How can they be reborn? What use is this Five Elements formation?"

Taoist Master Jin Lian was first taken aback, then his pupils slightly contracted as he said in a deep voice, "Let's go, we've explored the main tomb, there's no need to linger."

Xu Qi'an nodded, about to announce a retreat, when suddenly he heard a sigh from inside the bronze coffin:

"You've arrived..."

A chill rose from his tailbone to his scalp, and Xu Qi'an gulped, swallowing his saliva, then abruptly turned to look at the others, only to find their faces serious but not panicked.

Taoist Master Jin Lian noticed Xu Qi'an's extremely unsightly expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I heard... from inside the coffin..." Xu Qi'an stammered, forcing out the words through clenched teeth:

"Some—body—spoke."

A chill ran up everyone's spines, and their scalps instantly tingled.

Zhong Li shivered slightly, almost unable to support Lina.

Chu Yuanzhen's face turned ashen, his voice low and urgent, "Go, leave the main tomb, quickly..."

At that moment, everyone showed a strong will to survive, without any nonsense, they turned and fled.

Zha!

Then, everyone heard a raw and heavy friction sound coming from behind.

It was the sound of the bronze coffin being opened.

...

PS: I want to say something, but I don't know what to say, well, then I'll just ask for a monthly ticket.