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The interior paths of old tombs were at least two meters wide. They were all constructed using entire slabs of stones several thousand catties in weight. These stones were carved with vivid, lifelike patterns, as if they had walked into a luxurious palace.
One could see stones reflecting light where the torches lit.
Shang Yangjun had never entered a tomb before. The Barbarian Tribes had a saying that they never came here in life and would never go there in death, not even for burial. However, she had also heard that among the many nations of Primordial World, the higher one’s position or the more illustrious one was, then the more they cared about what happened after their death.
Cultivation had nine Realms, starting from one to nine, but the path of ultimate pursuit was none other than to be indestructible like the primordial. However, in truth, even the best Divine Name Star Generals were unable to free themselves of Invested Deity tribulation.
Therefore, regardless of layman or cultivator, everyone would, when their time came, use great engineering or great power to construct a mausoleum, to vainly attempt to use this mausoleum’s constructed world to continue cultivating after eternal sleep. Perhaps they may even resurrect one day. Furthermore, QI Lin was also aware that after the Register Of Deities opened, countless ruins and tombs listed on it would also awaken. However, these types of mausoleums were all extremely dangerous.
The current ghost tomb was constructed in a very inauspicious place. To Qi Lin, this was not something to treat lightly.
After walking for a few hours and several changes of medicine, Shang Yangjun also gradually grew accustomed. However, looping around inside the tomb’s corridors left the girl somewhat gasping for breath. Qi Lin made use of his prior experience as a government archaeologist to brave the passage.
The deathly stillness of the mausoleum was suffocating.
“Shang Xuan, when are we getting out?” Shang Yangjun was uncomfortable.
“Shouldn’t be much farther.” Qi Lin’s voice was a bit grave.
“Is something wrong?” Shang Yangjun asked.
“Nothing.” Qi Lin already constructed a mental map of the tomb ever since he had entered. If he analyzed based on Kui Mountain’s topography and fengshui, they should be nearly approaching the center of this inauspicious place, which was also the location with the most terrible fengshui.
This tomb had been excessively quiet all along the way, completely uncharacteristic of an inauspicious tomb, especially with Primordial World’s tricks. Setting every kind of unfathomable forbiddance and formation inside the tomb should have been very easy. But the tomb was apparently not devised along this direction, as if mechanisms had been merely placed out of obligation. The more quite things were, the more Qi Lin’s mind felt this was like the calm before the storm.
“Oh, right. Yangjun, don’t call me Shang Xuan from now on.” Qi Lin pondered.
“Hm?”
“Shang Xuan is already dead. My name now is Qi Lin.” Hearing Shang Yangjun always call this name, Qi Lin’s heart felt quite conflicted.
“Qilin? Hm…” Shang Yangjun thought “Shang Xuan is already dead” was referring to his near death by Shang Ci and did not really mind. Qi Lin was not her kinsmen, so changing his name was not strange at all.
Qilin, qilin.
A qilin of the heavens.
This name was quite ambitious.
“Are you still brooding over how Shang Ci hurt you?” Shang Yangjun softly asked.
“No, the things I’ll do from now on may surpass your imagination. I don’t want to bring the Shang Pixiu Tribe any trouble, so I’d better change names.” Qi Lin said.
Surpass the imagination? Shang Yangjun wrinkled her brow.
The two of them walked in silence again for another while, and they finally spotted the end.
The end of the tunnel had a heavy stone door. In front of the door were two malevolent guardian beasts. “Shang Yangjun, be careful. We’re about to enter this tomb’s most inauspicious place.” Qi Lin urged.
Shang Yangjun nodded and raised a bit of True Qi. She had recovered much of her strength and no longer needed QI Lin’s support to walk now.
The two of them stood before the stone door.
Qi Lin first put his ear on the stone wall to listen for activity inside. Hearing nothing abnormal, even his Divine Intent was unable to probe through the thickness of this wall. Qi Lin made Shang Yangjun stand behind him, and he circulated True Qi through his arms. The stone doors let out a rumbling sound and were forcibly pushed open.
Behind the stone doors was an expansive palace standing several thousand square meters.
But as far as the eye could see, the entire palace was filled with tall stone statues of wild beasts. These sculptures included every kind of animal, and they were arranged very deliberately in a circle. In the center of this circle was an open space about ten chi large. That space was completely empty.
“Shang…Qi Lin, look over there!” Shang Yangjun exclaimed and pointed to the top of a tall palace hall.
Lifting his head to look, Qi Lin gasped.
On top of the hall was an enormous bronze coffin. This coffin’s exterior was extremely magnificent, with layer upon layer of fretwork. Twelve tremendous chains extended from corners of the palace, suspending the coffin in midair. Due to the palace being too dark, it was basically impossible to notice the floating coffin above unless one looked carefully.
Years of acquired habit made Qi Lin instinctively want to go investigate it, but a sense of danger immediately warned him.
Do not go there!
This mausoleum’s fengshui was too inauspicious, and this place was in the middle of it all, the most inauspicious place in the entire tomb. Whatever was buried in the coffin suspended by black chains was absolutely anything but friendly.
“Let’s be careful, don’t touch anything.” Qi Lin warned.
Ever since they entered this mausoleum, Shang Yangjun had felt a chilling, sinister wind. Although the girl had never been afraid of ghosts or gods, her heart still shuddered. The hall in front of her was filled with malevolent sculptures of ten thousand beasts, and an eerie coffin hung above the hall. She did not need Qi Lin’s reminder to avoid touching anything.
The pair found the exit in this hall. Qi Lin noticed that the frescoes in this hall were somewhat interesting.
The murals in the tomb mostly depicted the achievements of the tomb owner in life, signifying the feats in their life that they would take into the world of the dead. At the same time, it would also make those who intruded into the tomb later realize how outstanding the figure buried here was. Generally speaking, frescoes were about some events where a general achieved renown over the bones of tens of thousands. These were no exception, but what was slightly different was that they depicted many beasts.
Suan’ni, pixiu, bears, tigers, and more.
“Shang Yangjun, do you really not know anything about this Kui Mountain tomb’s background?” Qi Lin generally felt something was a bit familiar about these murals.
Shang Yangjun thought for a moment: “I only know that long ago, a noble and his army was defeated, that he constructed his tomb at Kui Mountain, and that he buried all of his family and servants here…I don’t know about the rest.”
“What do these beasts signify?” Qi Lin asked.
The mural depicted the noble battling against ten thousand beasts. It seemed as if the Ancient Divine Beasts like the suan’ni and pixiu were bowing to him in allegiance.
“Could he be the Marquis Of Ten Thousand Beasts!!” Shang Yangjun suddenly recalled something.
“Marquis Of Ten Thousand Beasts?”
“Do you know why these million li of wildlands in the Great Primordial Western Province are called the Ten Thousand Beasts Wildlands?” Shang Yangjun’s voice was a bit shaky.
“Does it have something to do with the Marquis Of Ten Thousand Beasts?” Qi Lin asked.
“Yes, I heard from the tribe’s elders that the Great Primordial Western Province’s barbarians originally did not have a name. Eventually, ‘Ancient Heavenly Court’ Donghuang Taiyi1 dispatched an extremely powerful noble to govern these lands. This noble’s powers were extraordinary, subduing countless Fierce Beasts and Primordial Beasts, earning him the name Marquis Of Ten Thousand Beasts.”
Because that Marquis Of Ten Thousand Beasts was a Primordial Divine Name, she returned to primal chaos after death. Among those born Invested Deities, it was extremely rare to leave behind something like a tomb. As far as a Divine Name was concerned, a tomb was a completely meaningless existence.
“Legend says that the Ten Thousand Beasts Unbounded Banner was something created back when the Marquis Of Ten Thousand beasts originally conquered the wildlands.” Shang Yangjun said.
“So that was the case.” Qi Lin ahd an epiphany. No wonder he always felt like he had seen what the fresco depicted. It turned out to e the shadow of the Ten Thousand Beasts Unbounded Banner.
“It’s impossible for the Marquis Of Ten Thousand Beasts Divine Name to have a tomb once she reached a certain level.” Shang Yangjun said.
Qi Lin was pensive. What she said was correct.
“If she is actually the Marquis Of Ten Thousand Beasts, then she inevitably would not have a tomb. After all, she is one of the Ancient Heavenly Court’s Four Perils.”
All of a sudden, a bright flame ignited in the dark hall. A beautiful woman in a plumed red dress gracefully walked in as she spoke slowly.
“Wang Jian!!”
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- 東皇太一 ↩
Damn! The boss showed up!