Fang Ming felt an emptiness, as if he had punched cotton.
"Well, it seems there's no entrance to the White Mist World on the eighteenth floor anymore," Fang Ming shook his head, preparing to have Nannan lead them away.
"Clap, clap, clap..." Suddenly, a round of applause echoed.
"Extremely powerful. Truly formidable." The Professor's voice was filled with awe as he emerged from behind a piece of equipment.
"You're not dead?" Nannan exclaimed in surprise. For such a malevolent entity to evade her attack left her incredulous.
"How could I possibly evade an attack that touches upon my very essence?" the Professor deflected Nannan's question. "I have already died once. The me you see now is a different me."
Nannan released one hand and extended it, grasping the Professor's neck from a distance. He looked at her with a calm gaze.
"So that's how it is..." Nannan perceived the change in the Professor and understood, "You are truly a genius."
"It was merely an inspiration drawn from a peculiar malevolent entity," the Professor chuckled faintly.
"Die." Nannan's palm tightened, and the Professor instantly dissolved into a mist of blood once more.
"Fang Ming, he escaped," Nannan said with a hint of apology.
Escaped? Fang Ming was bewildered. Hadn't Nannan just turned the Professor into blood mist again? Why was she suddenly saying he had escaped?
"Where did he escape to? Can we catch up?" Fang Ming asked.
Nannan nodded. "We can catch up. Do you wish to pursue him?"
"Pursue!"
Nannan extended her hand and drew a slash through the void, opening a deep portal.
"Through here, we can follow him. However, the place he escaped to feels dangerous," Nannan's expression grew grave. A place that made her feel danger suggested the presence of at least an entity on the level of a fierce demon.
"Even so, we must catch him," Fang Ming hesitated for a moment before deciding to pursue. This Professor knew too much; he had to be captured, and they still hadn't pried any information about the Principal from him.
"Let's go!" Fang Ming declared. Nannan immediately commanded the blood python to carry the two of them inside, with Zheng Zhuliu and Qingmian following closely behind.
Their vision cleared once more.
Fang Ming surveyed their surroundings. They were now standing in a long corridor, the walls adorned with bizarre murals, and long-burning lamps illuminating the entire passage.
"Strange, this is actually a tomb passage," Zheng Zhuliu's voice chimed in. The others turned their gaze towards him.
"What do you mean?" Fang Ming inquired.
"The floor of this corridor has been repeatedly compressed and smoothed. The patterns on the walls are identical on both sides. This indicates that the entire corridor was formed by a single massive stone being repeatedly rolled and pressed. It's a typical tomb passage," Zheng Zhuliu explained.
While he might not be an expert in exploration, he was a master at grave robbing. He could recognize a typical burial corridor like this at a glance.
"A tomb passage..." Fang Ming suddenly remembered something and quickly asked Nannan, "Nannan, do you know where this place is in relation to where we were just now?"
"Underground," Nannan's spirit suddenly waned, and she sleepily hugged Fang Ming's waist, resting her head on his chest.
"Nannan, what's wrong?" Fang Ming noticed Nannan's poor condition and quickly asked.
"My current state consumes a lot of resentment. I need to go back and rest," Nannan mumbled sleepily.
"Alright, you rest first." Fang Ming patted her head. Nannan transformed into a black light and burrowed into Fang Ming's embrace. The blood python instantly vanished into thin air. Fang Ming quickly steadied himself as he landed.
Fang Ming lifted his shirt to look at his chest. Nannan's recent transformation had resulted in a large煞纹 (sha wen, malevolent mark), almost covering half his chest, occupying his entire right pectoral area, forming a strangely shaped tattoo.
"If anyone saw this, they'd think I was some great villain," Fang Ming mused, glancing at the others. Fortunately, his face wasn't menacing; otherwise, baring his arm would have scared children to tears.
"I know! No wonder, no wonder..." Zheng Zhuliu suddenly shouted.
"What is it?" Fang Ming pulled his shirt down and asked.
Zheng Zhuliu quickly explained, "My original goal was to plunder a great tomb here. Following my compass, I entered the eighteenth floor. I never expected this great tomb to actually be underground!"
"If this is indeed the great tomb I was searching for, then this should be the tomb of the Blood Kin King. Where we are now should be the first level. By passing through this passage, we will officially gain access to this grand tomb!"
Zheng Zhuliu danced with excitement. As a seasoned tomb robber, he understood the value of this tomb better than anyone. If this tomb were to be revealed, it could even rewrite certain historical accounts!
"Is that so..." Fang Ming pondered. Why had the Professor led them to this place?
Wasn't the Blood Kin King the Professor's master? And now the Professor had led them into his master's tomb. If he hadn't expected them to follow, that would be impossible; the Professor wasn't that foolish.
Fang Ming vaguely sensed a whiff of conspiracy. Combined with what Nannan had just said about the dangerous aura here, could it be that the Professor intended to use something from this tomb to kill them?
"Wait a moment, you guys," Fang Ming instructed, taking out his diary from his backpack and flipping through it.
"We followed the Professor into a strange tomb. Nannan's resentment was overused, causing her to transform into a煞纹 and rest. The煞纹 has a peculiar appearance, unlike anything I've seen before. Sixth Master introduced some of the tomb's background, and we began exploring the passage, moving in one direction. However, we discovered we were just going in circles. We had to start looking for clues on the surrounding murals."
After putting the diary back into his backpack, Fang Ming walked to the side of the corridor and began examining the murals by the light of the lamps.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Zhuliu asked curiously, seeing Fang Ming's strange actions. He didn't know the purpose of Fang Ming flipping through that notebook, nor could he guess.
"I was just flipping through my notebook. It contains some clues left by my father. This passage is a dead end if we walk straight through. We must find a way out on these murals," Fang Ming explained briefly.
Zheng Zhuliu and Qingmian didn't doubt him and began examining the surrounding murals with Fang Ming.
The murals depicted many scenes. Starting from Fang Ming's position, they roughly narrated the life of the Blood Kin King, from his birth to his growth, including his daily life, marriages with his three wives and seven concubines, and the marriages of his descendants. Except for certain explicit scenes, most of his life was depicted here.
Of course, the earlier parts of these murals were normal. However, the later sections suddenly became bizarre.
"Fang Ming, look here," Zheng Zhuliu called out. Fang Ming hurried over.
"What is it?"
"Look."
Zheng Zhuliu pointed to a strange mural. Fang Ming stared intently.
The mural depicted an army of strangely shaped monsters. The Blood Kin King, leading his soldiers, was locked in a desperate struggle with these monsters. The monsters varied in size, with the largest one occupying almost a third of the mural's space.
"煞种 (sha zhong, malevolent species)..." Fang Ming exclaimed in surprise. Had the Blood Kin King personally fought with 煞种?
Fang Ming continued to look down the mural. After a difficult war, the Blood Kin King finally achieved victory. However, more monsters kept appearing, even some that were impossible for humans to resist—fierce demons.
The appearance of fierce demons caused the entire battlefield to collapse rapidly. Ordinary human soldiers were no match for these creatures. These monsters nourished themselves with the resentment generated by the war, their strength snowballing.
Then, a strange old man appeared. He gave the Blood Kin King a peculiar scroll. The Blood Kin King shared the scroll's contents with his soldiers. In a grand hall, they engaged in a heated discussion, ultimately deciding to use the method described in the scroll.
Fang Ming eagerly looked further down, wanting to know the content of that scroll.
After the Blood Kin King and all participating soldiers offered sacrifices to the Dragon Court, the Blood Kin King crushed the scroll. A massive rune appeared, covering the entire battlefield. After the light dissipated, all the soldiers began to transform on the spot, giving rise to fierce and ugly 煞种. Even the Blood Kin King himself mutated into a colossal 煞种.
The war reignited.
This battle was exceptionally fierce. The two sides of 煞种 fought desperately. Fueled by the resentment of war, the Blood Kin King's side quickly produced numerous fierce demons, and the court continuously dispatched large numbers of daredevils to join the fray.
This great battle of 煞种, spearheaded by the Blood Kin King, spanned over ten pages of murals. Countless died, the corpses of 煞种 filled mountains and valleys, rivers flowed with blood, and half the kingdom was engulfed in war.
Finally, the battle reached its climax. The commanders of both sides faced off. But just as everyone expected a battle of epic proportions, a graceful young man riding a black tiger fierce demon emerged from the enemy's rear.
"Chang Sheng..." Fang Ming gasped. How could this person appear here? This mural was at least a thousand years old! How could he be present? How long had he lived?
"What's wrong?" Zheng Zhuliu asked curiously, seeing the shock on Fang Ming's face.
"I know the person riding the tiger," Fang Ming said, pointing at Chang Sheng.
"What?" Zheng Zhuliu was also shocked. What era was this mural from, and Fang Ming actually recognized someone in it?
"I met this fellow once in White Wood Village. He left me a rune before leaving," Fang Ming extended his left hand, where a faint rune of "川" (chuan, river) was still visible on his back.
"Then, according to you, this fellow..." Zheng Zhuliu thought of something.
Fang Ming nodded, understanding Zheng Zhuliu's implication. This Chang Sheng might truly be "immortal."
Fang Ming continued to look down.
With Chang Sheng's appearance, the balance of power on the battlefield shifted instantly. With a casual wave of his hand, large swathes of soldiers turned to dust. The Blood Kin King tried to intervene, but Chang Sheng struck him down with a single punch, the impact creating a fissure that spanned three thousand miles, splitting the entire Blood Kin King's camp.
The prolonged war ended with astonishing speed after Chang Sheng's involvement. Humanity suffered a devastating defeat, and not a single transformed 煞种 survived.
However, it was strange that Chang Sheng did not pursue his victory. Instead, he led his numerous 煞种 and fierce demons away, leaving behind only a battlefield in ruins for humanity.
"What exactly happened?" Fang Ming stroked his chin, standing beneath the last mural and pondering for a long time. He couldn't understand Chang Sheng's attitude. Was he good or evil?