Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Entering the Ancient Tomb

The next day, Li Cheng’s two trusted aides pulled him out of bed, his body reeking of alcohol.

To them, it was just another case of their young master suffering from a hangover.

"Sorry to keep everyone waiting."

Li Cheng arrived in the courtyard, where the other cultivators had already been waiting for some time.

He greeted Duan Yong and then smiled and nodded at Yang Lingrui, who returned the gesture.

The site of the ancient tomb was in a low-lying area.

According to Duan Yong, this place had once been the settlement of several small families a long time ago.

They eventually disappeared due to a natural disaster and earthquake.

"That’s it; you can all see it now."

Everyone followed Duan Yong’s point of view and saw a dark purple-black rise in the hollow ground.

As they approached, they could clearly see it was a square structure raised at an angle.

In the center, there was a circular entrance that could open to both sides.

"The heavens are round and the earth is square; interesting. No wonder you needed to seek help to decipher it," Li Cheng said.

Duan Yong looked at him with admiration: "As expected of Young Master Li, you are indeed well-informed and spotted it at a glance. I studied it for quite a while."

"Enough with the flattery. Since you called us here, you should have gathered all the required positions. Let’s get moving."

"Alright!"

This method of heaven and earth was a type of restriction.

It required finding the four intersections of the square corners and circle imprinted underground, along with the central point, totaling nine positions.

Injecting enough spiritual power into all nine points simultaneously would activate the restriction.

Duan Yong divided everyone into eight groups based on their cultivation levels, with Li Cheng responsible for the central point, standing on it in turn.

"Once the restriction is activated, we don’t know what changes might occur. Friends, please be careful."

Duan Yong reminded everyone and then shouted loudly, "Go!"

At the eight points, the cultivators injected their spiritual power into the ground under their feet. The spiritual power coursed beneath the surface, forming the patterns of the restriction, and soon enveloped everyone within.

Boom boom—

As the restriction activated, the entire area began to tremble.

Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi stood in the same spot, steadying themselves while continuing to output spiritual power.

"Senior Brother, look around."

"Yes, I see it. It seems to be nearing completion."

At the eight points, beams of light rose simultaneously, surrounding the cultivators who were instilling their spiritual power.

"Haha!—"

The next moment, accompanied by a sinister and hoarse roar, blue apparitions crawled out from the ground, beginning to materialize and coalesce in the area.

Bang bang bang!

The cultivators sprang into action, dispersing the yet-to-form ghostly creatures.

But this was just the beginning; as time passed, the level of the ghosts became even more formidable.

"Damn it! They’ve reached the second level of Gathering Qi already?"

"Be careful, friends!"

"Don’t hold back!"

Most of the cultivators who arrived here only had the first or second level of Gathering Qi, and they dared not be careless in the face of second-level ghosts.

If anything went wrong, injuries would be just the beginning; it could very well cost them their lives.

On Yang Lingrui’s side, the ghosts posed no significant threat yet because of his presence.

Zhao Qi observed closely and noticed that after each ghost was defeated, it transformed into a wisp of blue smoke, drifting toward the restriction near the ancient tomb’s entrance.

He attempted to use the Golden Light Technique against the blue smoke and discovered that it could be scattered.

"Senior Brother."

He quickly called out to Yang Lingrui to share this information.

Yang Lingrui looked up and raised a hand to create a whirlwind above the heads of the group; every time blue smoke ascended, the whirlwind would disrupt it.

At that moment, Duan Yong’s voice rang out again.

"Friends, quickly disperse the blue smoke! Don’t let it escape!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Lingrui looked towards the scene and spotted a massive figure faintly appearing in front of the ancient tomb entrance.

As the blue smoke was interrupted, it lost its source of energy and ceased to expand.

"Junior Brother Zhao, your keen insight has allowed you to notice the anomaly before Duan Yong!"

"Just a small skill, nothing to mention," Zhao Qi modestly replied.

Although he said that, Yang Lingrui didn’t think so.

He knew the backgrounds of Zhao Qi and Wu Tong well.

Zhao Qi was the child who fell into a river at five but managed to climb back up by holding onto a branch.

At eight, he became lost in the mountains for three days and still managed to walk out alive.

When chased by two wild wolves during the monster tide, he miraculously escaped.

This could not simply be explained by good luck; even Zhao Dapeng himself did not realize how extraordinary his son truly was.

After continuously eliminating ghosts for a quarter of an hour, the effect of the restriction finally reached its end.

The barrier dissipated, and the enormous figure solidified, transforming into a ghostly soldier clad in armor.

However, due to the lack of blue smoke, it ultimately only had the level of third-level Gathering Qi, and Li Cheng swiftly kicked it to pieces.

With the ghostly soldier dealt with, the ancient tomb’s entrance officially opened.

As the round door swung open, everyone felt a chill emanating from within.

They descended the staircase slowly, and after walking down more than ten meters, the space before them suddenly opened up.

The area of the ancient tomb’s first level was vast. After some discussion, everyone decided to explore in pairs and promised to notify each other if they found an entrance to the second level.

Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi chose a direction and set off to explore.

The first level of the ancient tomb was shallow and posed low risks; many traps were only effective against ordinary people and useless against cultivators.

During their exploration, they encountered only a few first-level corpse spirits, which they easily dealt with.

"Senior Brother, there’s another one here."

Zhao Qi uncovered a piece of dark mineral weighing around ten pounds.

There weren’t many treasures at the first level, and the best thing they had seen so far was this kind of pure mineral.

Pure minerals could be directly exchanged for spiritual crystals, making them quite valuable.

Just as they were about to continue exploring, they suddenly sensed a fluctuation of spiritual power behind them.

Turning around, they saw a cultivator from the Li Family approaching.

He stepped forward and said, "Friends, we have found the entrance to the second level; the Young Master sent me to look for you two."

"Thank you for the information, Friend," Yang Lingrui and Zhao Qi quickly expressed their gratitude.

"Please follow me."

After walking for a while, they arrived at the eastern side of the ancient tomb’s first level.

More cultivators began to arrive, and everyone looked toward the front where a deep passage loomed, incredibly dark and even challenging for divine awareness to penetrate.

Faced with this situation, many first-level cultivators showed hesitation, unsure whether to proceed.

Li Cheng was talking with Duan Yong when he saw Yang Lingrui arrive and waved to him.

"Lingrui, you’re here! Did you find anything good on the first level?"

"I have seen Young Master Li and Mayor Duan, but nothing special; just some pure minerals," Yang Lingrui replied.

"That’s normal; the first level is like this. Unless you can find something from small clues, it’s hard to come across anything valuable."

Li Cheng shrugged and pointed at the passage. "Huang Yan and Zheng Huaming couldn’t wait and went ahead. Now that you’re here, let’s go in together."

"That would be best. Thank you, Young Master Li," Lingrui said.

"No problem, it’s on the way. But your brother here shouldn’t go."

Li Cheng glanced at Zhao Qi, whose cultivation level was only first level of Gathering Qi; it would be dangerous for him to enter the second level.

Seeing this, Zhao Qi quickly waved his hand, "It’s alright; Senior Brother and Young Master Li, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll just stay on the first level."

Yang Lingrui advised him a few times to take care, then followed Li Cheng into the passage.

Duan Yong stayed behind; he had discussed with Li Cheng earlier that he would guard this spot and could assist in case anything went wrong below.

After their exploration finished, Li Cheng promised to share some treasures with him.

After them, several cultivators at the second or third level of Gathering Qi also entered the passage in pairs.

The remaining large group of first-level cultivators began to discuss among themselves in small clusters.

"Friend, we plan to go down together; would you like to join us?"

Just as Zhao Qi was about to leave, someone called out to him.

It turned out to be about a dozen first-level cultivators who were unwilling to give up and wanted to group together to enter the second level.

Knowing Zhao Qi came from the Yang Family, they assumed he must have some strength and wanted to recruit him into their group.

"No, I’ll just stay on the first level," Zhao Qi decisively refused and turned to leave.

If he wanted to go down, he would have already followed Yang Lingrui; there was no need to wait here.

Seeing his refusal, the other cultivators showed disdain.

"Really timid, not even brave enough to take a look down there."

"Who can argue with that? Look at him; he can only be a follower behind the Young Master of the Yang Family."

With that, their group of more than ten entered the passage.

Duan Yong tried to persuade them a few times, but they wouldn’t listen.

Zhao Qi walked slowly, hearing their words but not caring.

Zhao Dapeng had often told him that any fortune must come with the chance to enjoy it.

He could only hope these people could survive and make it back.

Not thinking about that anymore, Zhao Qi’s gaze fell on a stone pillar.

The ancient tomb’s first level had many such stone pillars that seemed to be used for support.

However, as Zhao Qi walked along, he noticed their distribution was uneven, which struck him as strange.

"Well, since I have the time, I should explore this properly."