The expert team was silent for a moment.
"We come for archaeology not for ourselves, but for the cultural preservation of Xia, and if we don't do some things, no one else will."
"Do you expect tomb robbers to protect cultural relics?"
"Chin up, Xia needs us, children who are not afraid of hardship."
Professor Chen spoke slowly, his old voice carrying a hint of determination.
The group exchanged glances and nodded one after another.
"Yes, ever since I joined archaeology, I've held a dream: to find historically significant national treasures for Xia. My dream is not yet fulfilled, how dare we rest!"
A young man said.
The group seemed to transform into fearless warriors.
This era was not like the modern day; most experts still needed to find their own teams to descend into tombs.
At the same time, they needed proof of the existence of ancient tombs before the government would send manpower and resources to assist.
After all, in this backward era, the authorities could not afford to spend so many resources searching for ancient tombs.
The group seemed to regain their passion, their gazes turning towards the Ten Heavenly Kings.
"This should be a Heavenly King of Taoism. Let's go up and see."
Professor Chen said, somewhat excited. This was the best archaeological experimental material.
When a person is overly obsessed with something, they don't consider the potential dangers at all.
Clearly, Professor Chen was one such person.
He loved archaeology too much.
The other experts hurried up the steps, and not far away, a stone door slowly opened.
Wu Tianzhen, along with Fatty and a few others, emerged from the stone door.
As the expert team and Wu Tianzhen made eye contact, both parties approached each other.
"Haha, I didn't expect to meet young friend Wu here."
Professor Chen said, and Wu Tianzhen also ran up.
"Professor Chen, where did you come from? This tomb chamber seems to be a connected tomb chamber."
Wu Tianzhen was somewhat puzzled. Wang Pangzi's gaze fell on Shirley Yang.
"Miss Xue, we meet again."
Wang Banyue said, and Shirley Yang didn't say much.
Her gaze was fixed on the statue beside her.
"Professor Chen, since we've met again, let's go together. Many hands make light work."
Wu Tianzhen said, and Professor Chen smiled and nodded.
Thinking of the deaths of his team members before, if Wu Tianzhen and the others had been there, perhaps they could have survived.
Professor Chen felt a pang of regret.
The group looked at the tomb chamber that Zhang Tian had passed through and smelled a burnt odor.
"What's that smell?"
Wang Banyue had a sensitive nose. He sniffed and spoke.
"It seems something is burning. Let's examine the statue first."
Professor Chen paid no mind to the burnt smell; the statue was his research target.
The group didn't say much more and began to explore the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Zhang Tian had already arrived at a tomb chamber.
There was a large pool of water in the chamber.
And beside the pool, there was a rusty coffin.
"Damn, it's worthy of being an underwater tomb, so much water. Fatty is soaked."
Fatty looked at the large pool inside and couldn't help but complain.
Zhang Tian and Hu Bayi looked around.
It was pitch black all around. Apart from the pool and the coffin, there seemed to be nothing else.
The coffin was suspended by red tentacles or chains at the edge of the pool.
It looked like it had been moved. If it hadn't been moved, Zhang Tian guessed it should have been in the central area.
The coffin was covered in water stains.
Rust marks were everywhere.
"This is a coffin from the Warring States period, but from its appearance, it should be from the early Ming Dynasty."
Zhang Tian looked at the coffin, while Fatty's searchlight illuminated him.
"Boss, regarding this early Ming Dynasty, it reminds me of someone: the Ghost Hand Divine General of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Canghai!"
"It is said that Wang Canghai was always searching for the secret of eternal life, and the tombs he built were impossible to break into and extremely bizarre."
Hu Bayi explained with his limited knowledge. Zhang Tian nodded; he already knew all this. However, this bronze coffin was something Wu Tianzhen and the others had not opened.
Zhang Tian decided to see what was inside first.
His gaze fell upon the entire bronze coffin.
"Item: Bai Mao Han Ba Coffin!"
"Status: Awakened"
"Item Description: The resting place of a Bai Mao Han Ba. There is a chance of finding a Bai Mao Han Ba inside."
The coffin's attributes flooded Zhang Tian's mind.
Zhang Tian's entire being felt off.
Fortunately, he hadn't opened the coffin. It was no wonder people said Wang Canghai was a strange person; he truly was. In this day and age, he had brought a Bai Mao Han Ba to guard his tomb.
"Boss, are we opening the coffin?"
Fatty asked excitedly, his small shovel already in hand, impatient.
"Open it, my ass."
"This is called a corpse-hiding coffin. There might be a zombie inside. To avoid unnecessary trouble, let's just forget about it."
Zhang Tian wasn't being a coward, but he was considering the team's best interests.
After all, although he didn't know the strength of a Han Ba, it was best to avoid trouble.
Zhang Qilin's gaze fell on the coffin.
"Dangerous inside."
He said simply, and Hu Bayi nodded.
"Forget it, let's go find a mechanism,"
Fatty grumbled, then shouldered his large backpack and looked around.
Xiao Bie perched on top of the backpack, its small eyes scanning the surroundings.
"Ding ding dong..."
As Fatty passed by a wall, Xiao Bie's tail made a sound.
Everyone looked over.
It was another familiar brick wall. This time, the little brother was much more careful.
Zhang Qilin's slender fingers probed the bricks several times. After confirming it was correct,
he inserted his index and middle fingers and pulled out the stone brick.
The mechanism was triggered, and the water in the pool began to recede.
"Holy crap, there's more inside! Boss, why do I feel like we've been going down all along?"
Fatty was confused, and Zhang Tian nodded slightly.
"This tomb extends downwards all the way. Let's be careful."
Zhang Tian said, and the four of them began to walk into the submerged passage.
Fatty looked at Xiao Bie.
"Good boy, you can actually find mechanisms. Fatty really admires you. From now on, Fatty will make an exception and call you Bie Ye!"
Fatty said to Xiao Bie on his backpack.
Xiao Bie shook its bell, indicating its happiness.
The group descended the tomb passage.
They were very cautious, even contemplating each step before taking it.
It was very dark inside, with a damp and cold feeling.
Following the light, they could see some stone tablets and carved patterns.
The group then quickened their pace.
Soon, they reached the bottom of the stone tablets, and under the light, Zhang Tian saw the inscription.
"It's in English. Have foreigners been here?"
He frowned. The last time, in the Tomb of the King of Lu, there had been foreign corpses. Good heavens, they were here too.
Did they have X-ray vision, the ability to see through things, to locate ancient tombs?
And how did the Ten Marshals from before get here? This tomb chamber was difficult to pass through unless one went through the formation of the Ten Marshals.
Unless they also had the help of a master.
"Holy hell, foreigners have been here. Boss, do foreigners like digging tunnels in this era?"
"Damn it, fighting a tunnel war with Fatty!"
"And robbing Fatty's ancestral tombs. They're really not human!"
Fatty's anger flared instantly upon seeing the foreign text, as it was natural to be angry when foreigners trespassed into their ancestors' paths.
Zhang Tian took a breath and looked at the inscription above.
It seemed to be a record, or perhaps something else.