Salted Fish was the first to take the lead and walk into the thief hole. At this crucial moment, he, who usually lay low, had finally begun to take initiative.
The others followed in single file; fortunately, the thief hole was not narrow.
When everyone reached the bottom of the thief hole, they found a cavern-like space, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Not far ahead was a thick stone wall, which was obviously the entrance to the Ancient Tomb.
Everyone looked around cautiously, but they did not find any zombies. The only thing was that the ceiling was covered with huge bats, which fortunately were neutral Monsters and did not attack unprovoked.
Xiao Jie used Beast Recognition to take a look.
[Cave bat (Beast), Level 5, Life Value 80.
Taming Difficulty: Hard.
Skills: Sound Recognition, Flying, Bite.]
Not a significant threat—huh, Sound Recognition? That’s a pretty good skill; it would be nice to learn it.
Too bad I already have Xiong Da... I wonder if I should release Xiong Da and switch to learning the skill from the bat?
I’m a bit conflicted, though; Xiong Da, after all, is a reliable shield and can provide effective combat Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories. These bats are so weak in combat; once I switch, I’ll have no capable creatures to rely on.
Why not learn directly? The ’learning from beasts’ doesn’t necessarily require owning the creature, as long as one increases its Favorability enough.
It’s easier to farm Favorability with pets; you can substitute Loyalty for Favorability. If I have to do it directly, it’s going to be troublesome.
I’ll find an opportunity to bond with a bat later, but what do bats eat again...
While they were talking, everyone arrived at the gate of the Ancient Tomb. A stone stele stood in front of the gate with ten large characters inscribed,
Under which was a dense record of text.
Everyone stepped forward to read carefully and saw what was written.
[The Tomb of Zhongwu Marquis Wang Chang of the Ancestor Dragon Empire:
My name is Wang Chang, a man from Beiming State. After decades of military service, having been through numerous battles, I lamented that my offspring were not thriving due to the excessive bloodshed. In my later years, I was fortunate to have a son.
Worried about the continuity of my lineage, I sought out a plan.
Yinlingzi, a Taoist from my hometown skilled in geomancy, found this auspicious burial site for me, ensuring blessings for the prosperity of my descendants upon my passing.
The items interred with me in this tomb only include my personal armor, weapons, and military books from my lifetime, no precious treasures. Moreover, there are dangerous mechanisms and looming threats. Should any gentleman of virtue come upon this stele, I implore you not to disturb my slumber and ruin my geomancy, or you shall face harm. You have been forewarned.]
Xiao Jie thought to himself that this Wang Chang was somewhat interesting, burying a tomb and worrying about tomb robbers, so he put up a warning sign.
But armor, weapons, military books—aren’t all these treasures?
The items used by the Marquis are bound to be Top-Grade.
The Ancestor Dragon Empire must be the empire established by the Dragon Emperor when he unified the Nine States. It’s also a few thousand years old, isn’t it?
Wait, that’s not right. Wasn’t it said to be sealed by Ancient Immortals? Why is it a General’s Tomb?
He glanced at the tomb’s gate, which now clearly displayed a faint Magic Light, with a huge talisman directly sealing the gate. There were slots on both sides.
The Seal on the gate was clearly added later.
Xiao Jie clicked his mouse over the two slots on the door.
System Prompt: A spirit stone seal is required.
So, it was indeed a Seal left by an Immortal. But what is an Immortal doing sealing a General’s Tomb?
"Hey, there’s writing on the back too," someone suddenly exclaimed.
Having walked around, Xiao Jie indeed found more text etched on the blank part of the stone stele’s backside.
In the Year of Tai Sui, when the white dog crosses the border.
As I foresaw the future, a vision of bloodshed appeared.
Seeking and investigating, I encountered this tomb.
A place of great misfortune, where anomalies may await.
The home of the departed should not be disturbed.
Hence, I placed this Seal, do not open it heedlessly.
The scribe—Lin Xuance, the Dangmo Real Man]
It was an acquaintance; Xiao Jie laughed to himself at the thought of Lin Xuance working hard, even here.
And as usual, he liked to leave riddling couplets.
Reading both inscriptions, he quickly contrasted them and spotted the discrepancy. According to Wang Chang, this was an auspicious site selected by Yinlingzi to bless his descendants with prosperity, but Lin Xuance labeled it as a place of great misfortune, possibly hinting at zombie variations—wasn’t that suggesting corpse transformation?
In that case, of course the Immortal’s word would be more reliable. That meant Wang Chang’s fellow townsperson, the Taoist Yinlingzi, was either incompetent or harbored malicious intentions.
Tsk tsk tsk, and to think of the Ancient Tomb Corpse King, Wang Chang ultimately fell victim after all.
While Salted Fish finished reading the text, he didn’t hesitate at all.
"Alright everyone, I’m going to open the tomb," he declared.
Salted Fish said this as he inserted two spirit stone seals into the slots. The Seal on the ancient tomb’s gate flashed a few times, instantly dissolving into light and vanishing without a trace, leaving only the large stone gate. Salted Fish pushed forcefully, and the stone gate of the tomb slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black tomb passageway.
"Let’s go, everyone."
"Salted Fish, lead the way. We’ll follow!"
"What are we waiting for? Let’s all go in."
One by one, everyone voiced their excitement, yet not a single person took the lead; no one was foolish enough. Despite their greed, they knew it was time to let others scout ahead.
Xiao Jie, however, did not rush to enter and instead started examining the structure of the Ancient Tomb.
After all, an Ancient Tomb and a mine are different. Mines lack doors and walls and are unrestricted, with only Monsters to worry about. An Ancient Tomb, however, has doors and walls and possibly mechanisms—if trapped inside, it could be lethal.