Catching Monsters

Chapter 548 The Holy Tomb Opens

According to the map carried by the eldest prince, the sacred tomb is located in the north, among the mountains and ranges near the grasslands.

Between the grasslands and the Zhou Kingdom lies a mountain range stretching for thousands of miles, known as the Ancestral Court Mountain Range.

Within the territory of Luobei County, there were Jiang Yun, Hyena, Vulture, Lingxin Monk, the First Prince, Tuoba Anyi, and the sorcerer named Tuoba Kun who accompanied him.

A group of seven people were riding horses along the official road in the north.

On the muddy ground of the official road, a thin layer of ice had formed, and the horses' hooves were wrapped with straw ropes to prevent them from slipping.

Tuoba Kun, who was about fifty years old and had many wrinkles on his face, rode beside Tuoba Anyi and asked in a low voice in their Hu language, "Chief, can these people really be trusted?"

"Whether we believe it or not, we have no choice but to believe it," Tuoba Anyi said in a deep voice.

At the same time, the eldest prince, who was ahead, whispered to Jiang Yun, "What are those two barbarians saying in their barbarian language?"

Jiang Yun smiled, not caring about it. It had been three days since they left the capital.

Looking at the endless mountains ahead, Jiang Yun put the map away and said in a deep voice, "We're almost there. We should be able to reach the location on the map by evening."

Along the way, the hyena had a cold face and didn't say much, while the vulture enjoyed the scenery and talked quite a bit.

Looking at the mountains before him, the vulture couldn't help but sigh, "Who would have thought that the tomb of a sage would be in this godforsaken place?"

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, there was no road left, so the group dismounted and proceeded on foot towards the foot of the mountain as indicated on the map.

The location of the sacred burial mound marked on this map is at the foot of a four-cornered peak.

This mountain is quite distinctive, with four corners, making it easy to identify.

From a distance, Jiang Yun and the others could already see the four-cornered peak.

Jiang Yun walked in front, clearing away branches and other obstacles in his path, with Xiao Jingzhi following closely behind.

"Donor, please wait."

Just as Jiang Yun was clearing the way, the voice of the monk Lingxin suddenly came from behind.

"Slow down, there are some ants ahead, don't hurt them." Monk Lingxin kept a close eye on Jiang Yun's footing.

Jiang Yun looked down and saw that there were indeed some ants under his feet. After he stepped over the ants, Monk Lingxin kept reminding the hyena, Xiao Jingzhi and the others to be careful.

Jiang Yun and the others, of course, did not say anything about this.

It is evident that this Master Lingxin was a rare ascetic.

However, what puzzled Jiang Yun was how Xiao Yuzheng had managed to persuade Master Lingxin to join the Tongyou Guard.

Around dusk, the group finally arrived at the foot of Sijiao Peak, which resembled a basin surrounded by mountains on all sides.

"The entrance to the Holy Tomb should be in this basin."

"Let's set up camp and rest for the night, and then search for the entrance to the Holy Tomb first thing tomorrow morning," Jiang Yun said.

The group quickly set up camp. While everyone was busy, Xiao Jingzhi slowly approached Jiang Yun and whispered, "Brother Jiang, should we take action and kill those two barbarians?"

“Once we enter the Holy Tomb, they will also be our competitors.”

Knowing that Xiao Jing would have such thoughts, Jiang Yun wasn't surprised. He slowly said, "Your Highness, once we enter the Sacred Tomb, will there be no competition between these two?"

"Tuoba Anyi knows more about the Sacred Tomb than we do, and he will be of great help once we enter the Sacred Tomb."

Hearing what Jiang Yun said, Xiao Jingzhi nodded. The group had just set up camp.

Tuoba Anyi then walked towards Jiang Yun with a smile.

Tuoba Anyi was somewhat excited. For so many years, his Tuoba family had been searching for the sacred tomb.

As the leader of the Tuoba clan, he was finally about to enter the sacred tomb.

"Sit down." Jiang Yun pointed to the side next to him and then asked curiously, "Brother Tuoba, now that we're here, why don't you tell us what this Sacred Tomb is like?"

After Tuoba Anyi slowly sat down, he thought for a moment, then took out the map he was carrying and said, "As far as I know, this sacred tomb is actually a labyrinth full of dangers."

"As you and I can see from the map, the terrain here is complex, and there are countless dangers lurking within."

"And this maze is actually only the first level."

"Only after passing through this enormous labyrinth can we truly reach the saint's coffin."

"Moreover," Tuoba Anyi paused, a smile appearing on his face, but did not continue.

Seeing his mysterious demeanor, Jiang Yun couldn't help but ask curiously, "And what?"

"You'll understand once you actually enter the Holy Tomb."

Jiang Yun stroked his chin and asked another question: "Since your ancestors once entered the Sacred Tomb, why did the Sacred Tomb open by itself?"

"Logically speaking, since this is a sacred place where a saint is buried, the saint who is buried here should hope that he will never be discovered."

"Now, this sacred tomb will open on its own."

Tuoba Anyi shook his head: "How would I know that..."

As the two were chatting, Jiang Yun suddenly sensed something and quickly lay down on the ground, pressing his ear to the ground.

Slight tremors were constantly emanating from underground.

"Something's wrong!" Jiang Yun shouted.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake more and more violently, and the tents that had just been set up collapsed. With the help of the hyenas, Xiao Jingzhi managed to stand up.

The tremor lasted for nearly two minutes before stopping, and the group exchanged glances.

"Let me see what's going on." After saying that, the hyena leaped into the air and flew for a moment before landing. His eyes were also filled with joy as he pointed towards the direction of the northern mountain range: "There's a crack at the foot of that four-cornered peak; it looks like an entrance!"

Upon hearing this, everyone disregarded their rest and quickly headed in the direction the hyena had pointed.

At this moment, the mountain wall at the foot of the mountain split open, revealing a huge entrance that was ten meters wide and about seven meters high.

The entrance was pitch black, bottomless, and a chilling aura emanated from it.

"Hiss." The hyena's eyes gleamed: "The legendary sacred tomb."

"Let's go." Seeing this, Tuoba Anyi also wanted to enter immediately, but Jiang Yun stopped him and reminded him, "Brother Tuoba, hand over the map."

The dangers here are unknown. If the other half of the map is left on Tuoba Anyi, what if they encounter some danger and get separated? Wouldn't that be the end of them? Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Tuoba Anyi subconsciously took a step back, narrowed his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Jiang Yun, what do you mean?"

Jiang Yun calmly said, "Just to be on the safe side, we'll also make a copy of our map for you."

"Without a complete map, who knows what you might encounter inside?"

Hearing that Jiang Yun was also willing to give them a copy of their map, Tuoba Anyi felt a little more at ease.

Without delay, on Jiang Yun's side, the monk Lingxin quickly began to copy the design.

The shaman brought by Tuoba Anyi also took out paper money and sketched a map.

Soon, the two maps were copied, and after comparing them to make sure they were correct, they were exchanged.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind them again.

The crowd held up their torches and shone them over.

"Brother, it's me." Xiao Jingqing, along with Qin Hong and other experts, finally arrived at this place. Looking at the huge entrance in front of him, he couldn't help but say, "Brother, we've been traveling day and night, but I didn't expect you to arrive before us."

Jiang Yun, Hyena, and the others bowed to Qin Hong, as they were all Qin Hong's subordinates.

Qin Hong calmly raised his head, his gaze fixed intently on the entrance to the Sacred Tomb, and slowly said, "Your Highness, Eighth Prince, let's hurry and go inside."

Xiao Jingqing was quite respectful to Qin Hong, but after giving Xiao Jingzhi a deep look, he led his men inside first.

Now that he had obtained the complete map, Tuoba Anyi could no longer contain himself and, accompanied by the shaman protecting him, hurriedly went inside.

"Let's go." Jiang Yun took a deep breath, touched the many talismans he carried with him, and then felt a little more at ease.

Once inside the entrance, the passageway is enormous; the entire cave is seven or eight meters high and nearly ten meters wide.

The people who built the sacred tomb must have accomplished a considerable feat simply by carving out such a massive labyrinth inside the mountain.

After Jiang Yun and his group entered the building, Jiang Yun immediately sensed something was amiss.

At this moment, a strange and inexplicable power surged from above the sacred tomb, instantly draining the magical power from his body.

Jiang Yun's expression changed slightly. He hurriedly tried to gather his magical power, but no matter how much magical power he gathered in his body, it was quickly drawn away.

"What's wrong."

Standing to the side, Xiao Jingzhi had no magical power in his body and felt nothing about it.

However, it was clearly not just Jiang Yun, but also Lingxin Monk, Vulture, Hyena, Tuoba Anyi, and that Hu shaman.

All the magical power within his body was instantly drained.

"hiss."

Master Lingxin clasped his hands together and said in a deep voice, "Esteemed benefactors, are you all like this? The magical power within your bodies..."

“They’re all gone.” The vulture said slowly, its eyes dark. “Does this sacred tomb prohibit the use of magic?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun breathed a slight sigh of relief. Holding the torch, he shone it forward and soon saw Qin Hong and his group standing in front of a stone tablet.

The others quickly followed.

The stone tablet is about three meters high and is covered with a lot of writing.

The main part of this content, of course, introduces the life of the tomb owner.

The general idea is that the tomb's occupant was born in the 376th year of the Saintly Calendar. After experiencing many hardships, he finally became a saint. In a battle against the ancient demon saint, the saint suffered severe injuries that could not be cured, and ultimately perished and was buried here.

Jiang Yun knew about the Sage Calendar, which started from the first sage's attainment of sainthood and lasted for five hundred years. After the establishment of human dynasties, the calendar was based on the calendar of those human dynasties.

The sage lived 376 years ago, roughly estimated to be around 1700 years ago.

Of course, this is not the most important content on the stone tablet.

the most important is.

The following content roughly means that if later generations wish to inherit the sacred path and its fruits, they must find three golden toads within the maze. Only by obtaining the three golden toads can they open the hall where the coffin is located.

After reading this, Qin Hong slowly put away the torch in his hand. He looked up at the sky and said in a deep voice, "This saint probably set up this magic array to absorb people's magic power on purpose."

Xiao Jingqing frowned and asked in confusion, "Why would this sage forbid people from using their magic here?"

"I'm afraid it's for selection." Monk Lingxin put his hands together and said slowly, "After all, it's about selecting the successor to the Holy Path Fruit. Whether it's temperament, perseverance, talent, or any other aspect, they all have to be at their best."

"Preventing the use of magic should be about putting everyone on the same level when going on adventures."

Jiang Yun nodded slightly. Perhaps even this sage hadn't expected so many people to come here.

"If I had known it was like this, I should have brought more soldiers," Xiao Jingzhi sighed upon hearing this.

Xiao Jingqing turned to look at his elder brother, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Brother, there are many dangers in here, please be careful."

After saying that, he quickly walked deeper into the building.

Jiang Yun and his group bypassed the stone tablet and officially entered the sacred tomb.

……

In the capital of Zhou, late at night, Shan Tiangang, the leader of the Demon Spirit Sect, was sitting cross-legged in his room when Xie Yifeng suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had sensed something.

"You felt it too." Shan Tiangang opened his eyes. After the Sacred Tomb was opened, that special feeling spread outwards like a ripple.

Those whose cultivation level has reached a certain level can sense it.

"The Holy Tomb has opened." Xie Yifeng said to Shan Tiangang with a deep gaze, "Sect Leader Shan, remember, we must cooperate sincerely on this trip."

At the same time, Monk Hongguang also sensed that the sacred tomb had been opened. In the dead of night, he quickly disappeared from the inn, dressed in a black monk's robe.

Such scenes played out repeatedly in the capital. Many experts who had arrived in the Zhou capital ahead of time sensed the opening of the Sacred Tomb.

He immediately mounted the fast horse that had been prepared and quickly headed north towards the capital of Zhou.

The once quiet official road was bustling with activity late at night, with fast horses galloping along it. In less than half an hour, over a hundred people had passed by.

Of course, these hundreds of people were not only experts at the first-grade level, but also included people at the second and third-grade levels who wanted to try their luck in the Holy Tomb.

(End of this chapter)