Zhang Yuanqing's gaze settled on the top of the doorway to the passage, the arched wall with its three vaults and three setbacks, upon which was pasted a yellow paper talisman, with twisted incantations painted in cinnabar. This was something that hadn't been in the illusion.

"Hmm..."

Zhang Yuanqing stared at the yellow paper talisman for a moment, eventually deciding not to touch it.

"I can't be reckless," he thought silently, having already put away his handgun and gauntlets.

Instead of heading towards the main burial chamber behind him, he walked in the opposite direction along the tomb passage.

Just now, he'd recalled a description from a tomb raiding story: noble individuals of ancient times would erect a tombstone in the tomb passage after death, recording the tomb occupant's identity, date of birth, and life achievements.

Zhang Yuanqing entered the tomb passage, and after some searching, he indeed found blue brick recesses built into the side of the tomb passage. Inside the recesses was a stone tablet. The inscriptions on the stone tablet were mostly worn away by time, making the information vague.

Based on the remaining content, Zhang Yuanqing roughly understood the identity of the princess. She was the eldest daughter of a certain prince in the early Ming Dynasty, whose given name was Yin Yao. She was intelligent since childhood, had a beautiful appearance, and possessed rare cultivation talent.

She had cultivated under the tutelage of the Three Dao Mountain Goddess in Song Prefecture. After completing her training, she traveled the world, living for two Jiazi cycles (120 years) until she passed away in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, remaining unmarried her whole life. "This princess is a disciple of Old Bastard?!"

"There are so many copies of the Night Watcher extraordinary stage. The first time I entered the Three Dao Mountain Goddess Temple, and the second time I entered her disciple's tomb? Do I have some kind of karmic debt with Old Bastard?!"

No words could describe Zhang Yuanqing's mood at this moment. If he had to choose one, it would be: "What the hell!"

With complicated feelings, Zhang Yuanqing left the tomb passage and returned to the burial chamber. Passing through the six-meter-long passage doorway, he entered the main burial chamber. In the center of the burial chamber, as large as a five-star hotel lobby, was a Sumeru pedestal stone coffin bed, upon which rested a white jade coffin.

The east, west, and south walls each had niches built into them.

All of this was the same as in the illusion. The only difference was that many of the porcelain and pottery pieces were broken, and two half-person-high black wooden boxes had also been opened, with their contents scattered all over the floor.

They were mostly clothing, books, and some items that ancient women would use.

They weren't considered valuable. There wasn't a single piece of large gold or jade ware, but there were quite a few small gold and silver ornaments, such as gold buttons the size of a thumbnail. It was clear that the tomb had just been looted.

"That's more like it," Zhang Yuanqing muttered. But the words that came out of his mouth were filled with righteous indignation:

"To even steal from the dead, Wang Xiaoer is going too far."

...Zhang Yuanqing was stunned for a moment, suddenly realizing that the price of the After Earth Boots had begun.

"An honest man!"

He glanced at the coffin. Out of psychological trauma from opening coffins, he didn't dare touch it. He first inspected the scattered items on the floor. Clothing, bronzeware, ceramics, ceremonial items, gold buttons, twisted and deformed silver hairpins... Zhang Yuanqing touched each item, but didn't find any props.

He then flipped through the yellowed and brittle books, several gazetteers, and a *Night Watcher Breathing Technique*.

"These are all things of little value. Tsk, did Wang Xiaoer happen to take all the props away? Although those three props look valuable, there are only those three props in the tomb chamber, which is a bit too coincidental..." At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing "eh"了一声, his gaze locked onto the *Night Watcher Breathing Technique*. He wasn't attracted to the book itself, but rather he saw that something seemed to be sandwiched inside.

Picking up the breathing technique to examine it, he found that a piece of parchment was sandwiched inside. It recorded a certain sacrificial method. By finding the materials recorded on the parchment and holding a ritual, one could pray to the supreme existence in the dark for power.

Holding the parchment for a few seconds, item information appeared:

【Name: Mass-produced Parchment】

【Type: Leather】

【Function: Sacrifice】

【Introduction: By holding a sacrifice according to the content recorded on the parchment, you can borrow power from the supreme existence in the dark.】

【Note: It has no price, as long as you can collect the sacrificial materials.】

"What a strange thing." Zhang Yuanqing had never seen such an item before. No, to be precise, this was his first exposure to the concept of "sacrificing to a supreme existence". Based on his understanding, he interpreted the item:

"Gaining a certain buff through sacrifice, it's very much like a buff skill in a game. I just don't know how strong this buff is. When I return to reality, I'll try collecting the materials. Anyway, there's no price, it'll just cost some money. But if the strengthening is great, it'll be another trump card."

Zhang Yuanqing tried to put the parchment into his inventory, and was delighted to find that it could be stored.

"Just this parchment is worth it!" he thought with a guilty look.

He had also become a tomb robber.

Walking to the jade coffin, he pressed his hands on the coffin lid, about to exert force to push it open, when item information suddenly popped up in his vision:

【Name: Thousand-Year Jade Coffin】

【Type: Coffin】

【Function: Nourish the Body】

【Introduction: A prop left behind by the Three Dao Mountain Goddess. It was originally used to store her body. After the Three Dao Mountain Goddess died, her lay disciple ordered a stone coffin to be made, replacing the jade coffin.】

【Note: What a touching story of teacher-disciple affection.】

"Pfft~"

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The Old Bastard was indeed lying in a stone coffin, which he had personally pushed open.

Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself that it was no wonder that when he opened the coffin for the Old Bastard, her lips were pale and her skin was dull, looking like she lacked maintenance.

"No, no, how can I laugh? I shouldn't gloat over such things... Come to think of it, I wonder what the Old Bastard's mood was like when she woke up and found herself lying in a stone coffin. I must ask her when I get the chance. Hmm, at least I have to wait until I reach the Dominator Realm."

"No, no, I can't expose people's scars."

Muttering to himself, he silently exerted force with his palms, slowly pushing open the coffin lid.

Inside the coffin was another jade coffin.

Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, carefully opening the lid of the jade coffin.

Lying in the coffin was a blue-robed Taoist, with white hair, a face full of wrinkles, and a ruddy complexion, as if he were asleep. Zhang Yuanqing silently closed the coffin lid, then closed the coffin盖子, vowing to never open a coffin again in his life.

"The wandering Taoist is in the coffin, he's actually here, he really is here." Zhang Yuanqing's mind was full of thoughts. The wandering Taoist appearing here was unexpected, yet within reason.

In Wang Xiaoer's description, the wandering Taoist sought out the princess's tomb because his lifespan was coming to an end, and he wanted to make one last gamble. Leaving aside whether he had obtained the secret to immortality, the jade coffin that nourished the body alone was an irresistible temptation for the Taoist.

What does it mean for one's lifespan to be coming to an end? It means that the physical body is decaying and heading towards death.

This coffin nourishes the body, and to some extent, it does have the effect of prolonging life.

After seeing the Taoist in the coffin, Zhang Yuanqing combined the copy's introduction and Wang Xiaoer's description, and figured out many things.

The course of events should have been like this:

After finding the ancient tomb, the Taoist was delighted to discover that the coffin could slow down the decay of the physical body, so he wanted to usurp it. However, he was wary of the princess in the coffin.

Therefore, while the wraiths in the props were asleep during the day, he instigated Wang Xiaoer to steal the props in the tomb chamber. In this way, the princess who discovered that the props had been stolen would angrily track down the thief. On the other hand, the props were equivalent to guardian spirits. He didn't dare to live in the tomb chamber for long without clearing the "three" terrifying wraiths.

As soon as the princess left, he immediately entered the ancient tomb and occupied the coffin.

"But there's a fatal flaw in this deduction. After the princess discovered that her props had been stolen, why didn't she come back to kill? Instead, she didn't dare to enter the tomb chamber again..."

Thinking this, Zhang Yuanqing's heart stirred, and he exited the main burial chamber and returned to the front chamber.

He stood under the arched doorway with its three vaults and three setbacks, raised his head, and examined the yellow paper talisman pasted on the wall. The yellow paper talisman didn't exist in the illusion created by the bronze mirror.

In other words, this thing appeared after the bronze mirror left the tomb. The bronze mirror didn't know about the existence of the paper talisman, so it didn't manifest it in the illusion.

Who pasted the yellow paper talisman? The answer was obvious.

It was pasted after the bronze mirror was stolen and the princess left the ancient tomb.

Zhang Yuanqing climbed along the steep brick wall, his fingers gripping the gaps between the bricks, little by little. All the strength in his body relied on a few fingers to support him. An ordinary person could never do such an exaggerated operation.

Climbing to the top of the arch, Zhang Yuanqing pinched the gap between the bricks with two fingers, and stretched out his other hand. He didn't dare to tear it down directly, but touched the yellow paper talisman with his fingertip. Item information appeared:

【Name: Blazing Flame Divine Talisman】

【Type: Talisman】

【Function: Suppress Evil】

【Introduction: A talisman drawn with blood containing the power of the sun god, it can suppress evil spirits and protect the peace of the home.】

【Note: It can only be used once.】

"Sure enough, this talisman is what's blocking the princess. She can't return to the tomb, and can only wander around the village. Luckily I didn't tear it down just now..." Zhang Yuanqing retracted his hand and jumped down from the wall.

"It seems that the princess can't come back. As long as I stay in the ancient tomb until ten o'clock tomorrow morning, I can clear the Mute Village and return to reality."

At this point, the Mute Village copy was completely cleared. "This is really tiring. I almost died three times in one night. This is ten thousand times more thrilling and exciting than a martial arts competition. Why am I so unlucky, always encountering hell mode copies?" Zhang Yuanqing was in a bad mood.

But soon, his mood got even worse, because he remembered that the copies he entered would most likely be the copies that the Demon Lord had experienced.

And with the Demon Lord's hidden rating, there would be many more hell mode copies in the future.

"It's all the Demon Lord's fault!"

"Wait..." Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "If I can clear the copy by hiding in the tomb chamber, then according to normal logic, the princess's appearance time is over, which means that the copy should end after the fourth watch."

Because all the bosses have been dealt with, there's no point in staying any longer.

But the copy's main quest is 24 hours. After dawn, I have to continue to stay in the copy for ten hours.

"These ten hours are completely meaningless. That's too exaggerated, is it a bug? If it's not a bug, then according to my experience, this copy has a hidden quest, so these ten hours are reserved for the Spirit Realm Walker to do the hidden quest..."

"Survival copies are copies where the Spirit Realm doesn't give any hints. Whether or not there's a hidden quest depends on you to guess. It's not like Yin-Yang Town, where the Spirit Realm will give a hint once you trigger a hidden quest."

What is the hidden quest?

Props that will fall asleep during the day, a princess who can't return home...

Zhang Yuanqing understood.

The hidden quest is to help the princess find her props and help her return to the ancient tomb.

So the setting of the props sleeping during the day is to allow the Spirit Realm Walker to find the props without any distractions. "Looking at it this way, finding the props is also a difficult task, but it doesn't matter, I have Little Silly!" Zhang Yuanqing became more and more certain, his eyes shining.

Moreover, this fits his enthusiastic and honest style.

After making up his mind, Zhang Yuanqing sat down in the corner of the outer chamber, leaning against the brick wall, and closed his eyes for a short rest.

Three hours later, Zhang Yuanqing, who was in a light sleep, woke up, put on the Red Dancing Shoes, walked along the steep brick wall, entered the entrance of the upper thief hole, and climbed out of the ground along the thief hole.

The outside world was already bright.

The mountain gully was lush with greenery, with overlapping peaks on both sides and dense forests everywhere.

Zhang Yuanqing made full use of the wearing time of the Red Dancing Shoes, walked out of the deep mountains, and danced a dance with them outside the village before entering the village.

Just like when he came in yesterday, the desolate and dilapidated village was quiet, without any human voices, but also without any danger.

Zhang Yuanqing spat out Little Silly and ordered him to go treasure hunting.

Little Silly crawled to his master's feet, opened his short, stubby arms, hugged Zhang Yuanqing's calf, and "rubbed" his round face against it, to show his affection.

Having experienced last night's crisis, he, whose intelligence was gradually developing, already knew how to be grateful.

Little Silly moved his limbs, crawling ahead to lead the way, and Zhang Yuanqing followed slowly. Before long, they found Corpse Number One in a small alley.

Corpse Number One was lying stiffly on the ground, like a frozen corpse, without any obvious external injuries, but Zhang Yuanqing looked very sad.

The spirit body within the Yin corpse had been destroyed.

When refining Yin corpses, the first step is to allow the spirit body remaining in the corpse to re-integrate with the physical body. The spirit body is the foundation of the Yin corpse, it's core.

Without the broken spirit body, the Yin corpse is just a shell, equivalent to being scrapped.

Zhang Yuanqing "plop" knelt down next to the Yin corpse and kowtowed vigorously:

"Brother, you died for me, I will never forget this kindness in my life, I can only repay it in the next life. Rest in peace!"

After kowtowing, Zhang Yuanqing felt that something was wrong, but his honest nature prevented him from thinking too much. Instead, he picked up the human skin mask next to the Yin corpse.

The perfect human skin was still there, and had not been taken away by the princess. It had shed itself from the corpse.

"You made me make the decision to sacrifice my brother, you are a scourge. I will sell you after I leave the copy." Zhang Yuanqing painfully stored it back into his inventory, and then went to Xu's residence and took the silver rouge box from the desk.

Next was to find the ghost doll and the bronze mirror.

Little Silly led Zhang Yuanqing, wandering around in the dilapidated mountain village, and finally returned to the roadside outside the courtyard of Wang Xiaoer's residence, where the headless corpse of the old man was still lying.

Seeing the baby spirit crawling into the yard without hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing raised his eyebrows, about to quickly follow when he suddenly caught sight of the old man's corpse.

An inexplicable surge of guilt and sadness welled up in his heart.

He walked to the old man's corpse, knelt down with a plop, and kowtowed three times to show his apology.

Then, he got up and chased after Little Silly, entering the inner room with the coffin. The little baby spirit was lying under the coffin, his small hands patting the compacted ground, his mouth making childish sounds of "aba aba".

Zhang Yuanqing's heart stirred, and he grabbed the Bloodthirsty Blade, using the sharp tip of the knife to chisel open the hard soil. After chiseling a dozen centimeters deep, the tip of the knife suddenly made a "ding" sound, as if it had pierced something hard.

Zhang Yuanqing reached out and wiped away the broken mud, revealing the lid of an iron box in the pit. He continued to chisel away the soil, and as the area of the pit expanded, he finally dug out the iron box.

The iron box was half a meter long, twenty centimeters wide, and thirty centimeters high, with a copper lock hanging on it.

Zhang Yuanqing easily cut the padlock and opened the lid. Inside was a box full of gold and silver jade ware. On the surface was a pitch-black, translucent sculpture, a female doll image, with a pair of protruding ears.

The female doll had her mouth open, and there was no tongue inside.

Next to the sculpture was a palm-sized round bronze mirror, covered in dust. The back was engraved with a curved phoenix, and the eyes of the curved phoenix were two red gems.

Zhang Yuanqing turned the bronze mirror over and looked at his reflection in the mirror, but his face did not appear in the bronze mirror.

This was a mirror that did not reflect people.

Holding the two props, he waited for a moment, and item information appeared:

【Name: Yin Jade Doll】

【Type: Crafts】

【Function: Possession】

【Introduction: It was originally a piece of Yin jade that had been nurtured for a hundred years in an extremely Yin place. It was accidentally obtained by a lonely little girl. The girl carried the Yin jade for a long time, and gradually, Yin Qi entered her body, and she soon died. Her spirit body merged with the Yin jade and transformed into a sculpture.】

【Note 1: The spirit body in the Yin jade craves to play games. Anyone who does not play games with her will be possessed. This possession cannot be avoided or stopped. This spirit body cannot be completely destroyed.】

【Note 2: Let's play a game, I want to be the third person, hee hee~】

Zhang Yuanqing was dumbfounded and muttered, "Rule, rule-type prop!"

In the item attributes, any prop with descriptions such as "cannot be xx" or "unable to xx" is a rule-type prop.

Because only rule-type props are so overbearing, because a rule is a rule, and cannot be changed.

The ghost doll's function is very simple, but it is indeed a rule-type prop.

In fact, after learning that he had to gather three people to avoid the ghost doll's crisis, Zhang Yuanqing had a premonition that this was similar to the rules of the Red Dancing Shoes.

--You must dance to break the rules and avoid being hunted.

Zhang Yuanqing instinctively, subconsciously, in a way that did not fit his honest nature, wanted to put the ghost doll into his inventory and keep it for himself.

【Ding! This item cannot be collected.】

"This thing belongs to the princess, I can't take it." Zhang Yuanqing was ashamed for a few seconds and looked at the item information of the second prop:

【Name: Ghost Mirror】

【Type: Mirror】

【Function: Bewitchment, Illuminate Ghosts】

【Introduction: Everything in this world can be illuminated, but the human heart is difficult to grasp. The Ghost Mirror is a prop refined by Princess Yin Yao after traveling the world for two Jiazi cycles, experiencing vicissitudes, reading people, and mastering the art of bewitchment. It can record what it has seen and heard, and transform it into illusions that are difficult to distinguish from reality.】

【Note: From the moment you use it, you are the--Great Sage】

"Great Sage? Is this considered a price?"

Because he did not become the owner of the prop, Zhang Yuanqing could not experience what the price of "Great Sage" specifically meant.

But these are not important, it is more important to return the prop to the poor princess.

He found a bamboo basket in the outer hall to hold the three props, and carried the bamboo basket out of Wang Xiaoer's stone house, walking towards the back.

It was time to complete the hidden quest and end the copy.