Pei Zi Yun looked up at the stars in the sky. He could see the shadows of the trees and grass around him. The Cuo Mountain Range looked rather eerie. He Qing Qing brought along two warriors and led him towards the back of the mountain. The mountain path was rugged and filled with moss. The deeper they went, the less people there were around them. It was almost impossible to move forward.
After walking for a kilometer or two, they saw a stone forest.
"This is the stone forest outside the tomb."
"However, there are poisonous snakes protecting it. Look, these are the snakes that our master reared. They have multiplied quite a lot over the years." He Qing Qing pointed out.
Under the light of the fire, they could see that there were many pillars, all of which were covered in moss. It was obvious that they had been weathered by the wind and rain. Several poisonous snakes were circling around the pillars, spitting out their tongues. The snakes had triangular heads and thin necks. Their backs were grey and brown.
"I have a way to avoid snakes." He Qing Qing played her flute. Following the sound of the flute, the poisonous snakes that were standing up immediately slumped back down. Even the two warriors had a look of caution on their faces.
Other than the poisonous snakes, there were only the stone pillars. As they walked up, they walked left and right. After an unknown period of time, He Qing Qing put down her flute.
In front of them was a cave. Seeing the young lady, she was silent, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Young chieftain, it's inside."
The four of them walked in. The light from the fire shone on the stone walls of the cave. The stalactites were of different shapes and sizes. It was very mesmerizing. However, most of the caves were the same, with many twists and turns. If one did not know the way, he would get lost.
He Qing Qing led the way and stopped in front of a stone wall. She felt around a stone pillar for some time before turning on a switch. "Pa!" The stone wall started to move towards them.
They entered a large hall. Other than the light from the fire, it was pitch black. There was a strange smell in the air. It was neither fragrant nor smelly.
He Qing Qing held up the torch and lit up the oil lamps on the pillars. The two warriors swallowed their saliva as their legs turned to jelly. Even Pei Zi Yun felt a chill down his spine.
The hall was very large, and there were many stone coffins placed on it. It was like a tomb chamber, densely packed together. For some reason, one of the coffins was half open, and inside was a rotten skeleton. The clothes on the body were tattered, and the skin and flesh were stuck together with the stone coffin.
Seeing these coffins, Pei Zi Yun was jolted awake. He looked at He Qing Qing and asked, "Could these be the women who were buried with uncle?"
He Qing Qing's eyes were red as she listened to Pei Zi Yun's words. She then laughed out and said, "Young Chieftain, these are the brave warriors who were willing to sacrifice their lives for the Chieftain when he ascended. They were willing to protect the Chieftain from the underworld. They are all top notch warriors."
As she said this, her expression dimmed. Seeing this, Pei Zi Yun fell silent. He then stepped forward and bowed. Neither of them spoke a word. After a long time, He Qing Qing then walked forward. It turned out that at the end of the hall, there was a black stone wall with engravings on it.
There was a carving on the wall which attracted Pei Zi Yun's attention. It seemed to be a picture of a deity, but the carving was very strange.
"Pa!" He Qing Qing fumbled around for a while before opening another stone door. However, she didn't enter, "Young Chieftain, this is the tomb of the Chieftain. If you wish to pay your respects, please enter."
When Pei Zi Yun got closer to take a look, he noticed that the stone door was huge. The inside was dark and gloomy, and looked very scary. Without hesitation, he walked in and saw a long corridor.
As he walked along the corridor and up the stairs, he saw that the walls were filled with murals. Pei Zi Yun used his torch to illuminate the murals, and realized that they were depicting his master's battles. He couldn't help but laugh, and lost interest in looking at the murals any further.
Entering the tomb, he wasn't in a hurry to look. He lit up the oil lamp, and the room was bright.
He saw a huge coffin placed on an altar. There were many stone pillars around it, all carved with dragon carvings. Behind the coffin was a throne, and the robes were placed on it. Beside the coffin was a scepter.
Surrounding the coffin were stone walls, and it was very dry. Gold, silver and other valuables were stored in chests in the middle of the tomb. The lids were opened, and jade robes, long swords, treasured armors, and luminous pearls were laid out. Surrounding the chests were several skeletons, which had long since decomposed.
Seeing the treasures, Pei Zi Yun was mesmerized. After a while, he laughed and muttered to himself, "Small horns, thin claws, this is a dragon."
"Even so, I'm afraid it's not something you can use."
"Senior Grand Uncle, all those years ago, you earned such a huge fortune, and yet you've turned into dust. As a cultivator, longevity is the most important thing."
Pei Zi Yun sighed and fell silent for some time. He had only been in this world for two years, and yet he had gained a deeper understanding of it. In a world with such mysterious powers, there were many rules and taboos.
If this Senior Grand Uncle had succeeded and conquered the Southern Kingdom, he would have been able to use the Horned Dragon. However, if he failed and died, he wouldn't be able to use the Horned Dragon. Furthermore, the price he had to pay wasn't just this. The seniors of the sect had chosen to enter Paradise, and did not wish to die here.
Pei Zi Yun knelt down in front of the coffin and touched it.
"I can't sense anything!" He hesitated. Could it be that all his efforts had been for naught? He looked around, and saw jade robes, long swords, treasured armors, luminous pearls, gold and silver. Pei Zi Yun shook his head. None of these could have been left behind.
He then looked at the throne and saw a scepter. On the scepter were carvings of venomous snakes, scorpions, centipedes, toads, spiders and other poisonous insects. They were all over the scepter, and looked extremely terrifying.
As Pei Zi Yun neared, he could sense something. He was overjoyed and reached out to grab the scepter, "Indeed I can sense something. This journey of a thousand miles has not been in vain."
Pei Zi Yun held the scepter in his hands, his heart was at peace. His journey to the Southern Kingdom had been worth it. With this scepter, he would be able to improve his Dao skills. He held the scepter in his hands and sighed. No matter what, he was indebted to his Senior Grand Uncle. He then knelt down once more and said, "Uncle, this is the item you loved the most when you were alive. I will not take anything else, but this walking stick. I hope uncle will not blame me."
As he spoke, he retreated.
When he left, Pei Zi Yun saw the young lady and two other warriors bowing down to him. Although they were still kowtowing, their attitude was different from before.
"What's wrong?" Pei Zi Yun was surprised.
"Now I believe that you are the Young Chieftain. I have neglected you in the past. Please punish me." He Qing Qing raised her head, her eyes were red as she spoke.
"You and I have only known each other for a day. It's normal for you to think this way. But why did you change your mind?" Pei Zi Yun heard her words and was somewhat surprised.
He Qing Qing then stretched out her hands and tapped on a mechanism, "Guarding the tomb is our mission. The Chieftain has ordered that if you are the Young Chieftain, you can touch anything except the coffin. As long as you open the coffin, even if you are the Young Chieftain and not the Chieftain, I will not let you live. I would rather die than to activate the mechanism to seal the tomb."
"Apart from the coffin, there's also the Imperial Seal and the robes. The Chieftain will do as he sees fit."
"As for the other treasures, Young Chieftain can take them all. These are the military resources that the Chieftain has left for you."
"Just now, Young Chieftain bowed respectfully and did not touch the coffin or the Imperial Seal. All you did was take the scepter. You must be a relative of the Chieftain. If I have offended you before, I hope Young Chieftain will forgive me. From now on, no matter what Young Chieftain does, I am willing to assist you."
When Pei Zi Yun heard these words, he broke out in a cold sweat. He had made a mistake just now, and was in deep trouble. Thinking back to the skeletons in the tomb, he understood. Those skeletons must have had ulterior motives and were trapped in the tomb. He then asked, "Then how did you know what I was doing inside?"
"There's a side chamber that's closer to the tomb. We can see the tomb from there." He Qing Qing said everything she knew. At this point, she tried to persuade him, "Young Chieftain, although it's a sign of respect for the deceased, these treasures were meant for you. Why don't you take them?"
Pei Zi Yun took a deep breath and made up his mind. He then looked at He Qing Qing, "There's only the few of us here. Let me ask, my uncle wants to be the King of the Southern Kingdom. Do you think that's possible?"
He Qing Qing revealed a conflicted look, "It's the dynasty now, I'm afraid it's going to be difficult."
She then looked at Pei Zi Yun and said resolutely, "But if Young Chieftain wishes to inherit the Chieftain's throne, even if I have to die ten thousand times, I will support Young Chieftain."
"You're wrong." Pei Zi Yun looked at her expression and smiled, "It's the right time, the right place, and the right people. The time is right for the dynasty to be unified. Whoever dares to cause trouble will be surrounded and attacked by the entire empire."
"In terms of the right place, after a hundred years of chaos, even the people of the Southern Kingdom would want peace and stability. Even if the hundred strongholds aren't loyal, they are at least at ease."
"In terms of the right people, we only have a hundred people in our stronghold. Most of them are old and weak. What can we do?"
"Hence, there's no need to discuss this matter anymore."
Hearing these words, He Qing Qing heaved a sigh of relief. She was a little disappointed as well. She then heard Pei Zi Yun continue, "But these treasures were prepared by my uncle for the throne. Since I'm not going to cause trouble, I can't touch them. I'll leave them here. It's a form of Imperial Qi for my descendants."
"When the world is in chaos, and there's hope for the throne, our family will excavate these treasures."
"As for now, don't tell me that I can't even feed a hundred people?"
Pei Zi Yun smiled as he said these words. Actually, this was the perfect balance between hope and reality. It was like chicken soup for the soul. However, when He Qing Qing heard this, she nodded her head profusely, "Young Chieftain is right!"
Pei Zi Yun followed He Qing Qing out of the cave. When they were outside the cave, he felt the wind blow against his body. He then realized that he was sweating profusely. Just now, he had concealed his killing intent and was almost killed.
"But that's human nature. Now that I've convinced He Qing Qing, I can't be calculative." The four of them walked back the way they came. There were a few stars in the sky as the four of them descended the mountain.
He had just exited the stone forest and walked about ten steps when he suddenly felt a slight breeze. At that moment, he thought to himself that something was wrong. His body reacted, and he crouched down. Instead of retreating, he moved forward.
"Pu pu!" A gentle breeze blew past, brushing past his face. He could smell a strange odor. Pei Zi Yun then thought, "Is that an arrow, and it's a poisonous arrow."
Such a poisonous arrow could not be shot very far. If one were to be hit by it, it would be highly toxic. Although there was still a way to deal with it, if one were to be hit by it and be surrounded, it would be too late to neutralize the poison.
Just as he was thinking about this, he heard a long whistle. Several torches flew towards him and landed on the ground, carrying a strange odor with them.
"Not good, it's snake repellent kerosene." He Qing Qing screamed out in fear. Indeed, the poisonous snakes behind her started to move away. At the next moment, a group of people pounced forward, their blades gleaming under the moonlight.
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