The tomb was surrounded by a cold, eerie atmosphere, with a faint, chilling wind blowing that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Boss, how do we proceed?" asked Fatty, standing beside him.
"There's only one passage here, so we go that way. However, I'm worried about traps inside, so everyone be careful as we move," Zhang Tian said. Zhang Qilin stepped forward.
"I'll go check it out first," he stated, taking the lead. The others followed closely behind Zhang Qilin.
The entire tomb passage was lined with stones, appearing long and somewhat dark. Water droplets continuously fell from the surroundings.
As Zhang Qilin took three steps into the passage, countless mechanism arrows shot out from the walls. The arrows were coated with a green liquid, clearly some kind of poison, and a pungent smell could be detected from a distance.
Seeing this, Zhang Qilin's figure flickered like a phantom, and in moments, he had passed through the passage. Zhang Tian, observing Zhang Qilin's movements, deduced the approximate safe route.
"Everyone, follow me," Zhang Tian instructed, and the others followed him. Following the safe path, Zhang Tian and his companions successfully navigated the tomb passage. While others would have focused on disarming traps, their team's strong abilities allowed them to pass through without issue. Zhang Tian even sprinkled some white flour in the passage for subsequent experts to explore.
Upon entering, a stone door appeared. Around the stone door were human bones and skulls, indicating that others had been there before.
"It seems there are quite a few talented individuals in the world, capable of reaching such a forsaken place," Fatty remarked with a sigh, then looked at the stone door.
"This stone door should be normal," Zhang Tian said after a brief inspection. Zhang Qilin then placed his pale hand on the stone door and gently pushed. Dust billowed up, the force considerable. The next moment, the stone door opened with a rumbling sound. Dust filled the air, obscuring the surroundings.
"Boss, I knew we should have brought those gas masks from before, might have been better," Fatty said. Zhang Tian rolled his eyes at Fatty, knowing those simple masks might not have been effective anyway. Besides, Fatty was just stating the obvious after the fact.
Beyond the dust, a large space was revealed. In the circular chamber, there was an opened coffin in the center. The coffin was entirely red, and numerous corpses were suspended above it. The bodies were densely packed, hanging from almost every part of the tomb chamber. Hu Bayi looked up at the hanging corpses.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a tomb-robbing organization. Their clothing and the state of their bodies are remarkably consistent," Hu Bayi said. Zhang Tian shone his flashlight up. The individuals were dressed in coarse linen, appearing like villagers. Each one was suspended in mid-air, their deaths looking extremely grim.
"My obedient disciple, your master likes it here. It's perfect for health preservation," Daoist Yimei said, taking a deep breath with a look of comfort, as if he had come home. Such a place, with its heavy yin energy, was ideal for someone like him, an elderly spirit, to recuperate.
"Master, I think you could scout ahead for us and contribute to the team," Zhang Tian said speechlessly. Daoist Yimei, being a ghost, was arguably the safest scout.
"My obedient disciple, I am a genius disciple. How could I possibly engage in grave robbing? Unseemly, unseemly. Furthermore, I am the master, how can I guide the way? Unseemly, unseemly," Daoist Yimei protested.
"Then, if we encounter any Daoist artifacts, they are all yours, Master!"
"Deal! Your master shall go now!" Daoist Yimei said without hesitation, flicking his yellow robe and heading towards the coffin.
"Boss, our master is truly adaptable," Fatty whispered to Zhang Tian. Zhang Tian gave Fatty another look and then turned his attention to Daoist Yimei. As Daoist Yimei approached, countless spikes shot out from all directions. Daoist Yimei's body contorted in an extremely agile manner, managing to dodge the traps. Following him, the group also successfully reached the front of the coffin. While previous visitors had paid with their lives, Zhang Tian's group navigated the traps as if it were child's play.
Upon opening the coffin, it was empty.
"This should be a double-layered coffin," Hu Bayi said, knocking on the bottom of the coffin with a grave expression. Zhang Tian noted the sheer number of traps in this tomb; they had already encountered three within a short time.
"Then what are we waiting for? Fatty is here to open the coffin!" Fatty exclaimed, grabbing his shovel and charging forward. With Fatty's brute force, the second layer was opened, revealing a tomb passage. The group began to descend. The yin energy grew increasingly heavy.
In the tomb passage, Zhang Tian and the others found several corpses, seemingly belonging to the same organization. Zhang Tian, however, paid them little mind.
"Boss, do you think there might be any female ghosts here, or perhaps the tomb's owner is female?" Fatty winked at Zhang Tian.
"Fatty, you're being rebellious. Does the Princess know?" Zhang Tian couldn't help but say. Even the jade pendant in his possession trembled.
"Uh, Boss, you misunderstand. Fatty is just concerned about you. Think about it, Boss, if you don't get married, how will we have fun together in the future?" Fatty continued, "Fatty's children will be running errands all over town, while you'll still be pissing while watching the sunset." Zhang Tian took a deep breath, wishing he could send Fatty ahead to clear the path.
"Fatty, despite your small stature, limited abilities, and unremarkable appearance, you certainly have a wide range of interests," Zhang Tian remarked. Ahead, at the end of the passage, another grand door appeared. This door was far more impressive than the previous one. On either side of the massive entrance stood statues of Niu Tou (Bull Head) and Ma Mian (Horse Face). Between these two statues protected an ancient, unadorned door. In front of the door, countless ghost lamps flickered with a ghostly blue light, looking extremely terrifying.
"These are ghost fires, they haven't extinguished for a thousand years," Zhang Qilin stated, feeling as if he had returned home.
"Ghost fires? Then Second Brother, if we take these away, can't we have free fire? I heard our China is researching new technologies. If fire can be used for power generation, Boss, we'll be rich!" Fatty's imagination ran wild. Zhang Tian ignored him and looked at the Ghost Gate ahead.
"The eighteen ghost lamps represent the eighteen layers of hell in the underworld, and the Bull Head and Horse Face statues flanking this door should be the guardian beasts of this tomb," Hu Bayi said, his voice trembling as he surveyed the surroundings. "This place is like a Palace of Yama." Hu Bayi couldn't understand if there was truly a gold vein here.
"This is not the Palace of Yama, but a Ghost Palace. Someone has been so insane as to build their tomb like the Palace of Yama, challenging the authority of the true King of Hell!" Daoist Yimei exclaimed. Zhang Tian seemed to recall something.
"Then, according to this, this Palace of Yama has not only failed to help the tomb's owner but might have even harmed him." It's like after death, instead of going to the underworld, you build your own Palace of Yama. Isn't that courting death? Challenging King Yama? Hu Bayi, after trembling, became excited.
"Boss, even if we don't know if there's a gold vein here, the feng shui is excellent, indicating a major tomb." "I want to go in and see, I can learn a lot," Hu Bayi said, his fascination with identifying burial sites growing, especially encountering something like this. Zhang Tian nodded, and the group then walked across the bridge of ghost fires. They stood before the door. Above the door was a plaque inscribed with several large characters.
"Huang Shuliang!"
"Holy crap, Huang Daxian!" Fatty exclaimed in shock. Everyone was stunned, even Daoist Yimei furrowed his brow. Was this a coincidence? Or was it not the same person? They all shared the surname Huang?