Minglong

Chapter 202 Gravekeeper

"Gurgle~~Gurgle~~..."

In the long, quiet night, a group of more than seventy people walked through the thorny wilderness, using the tree canopy for cover.

The chained cultivators had their acupoints and meridians sealed, making it difficult for them to move forward through the forest. Some of them were already so exhausted that they were about to collapse.

He Can, leaning on his hiking stick, surveyed the endless mountains and fields, somewhat puzzled:
"No wonder a blood-red aura appeared in Zihui Mountain; the Corpse Ancestor's Tomb is buried in this godforsaken place."

The geomancer walking beside them, who possessed genuine skills and had not been silenced, let out a sigh:
"If one wants to suppress evil spirits, one should be buried in a place of extreme yang. From a feng shui perspective, if there is a tomb for suppressing demons, it should be nearby."

Zhang Chu felt he might not survive the night, and was therefore extremely cautious.

"This place is far from human habitation, and it doesn't seem like there's a powerful figure stationed here. Is the Corpse Ancestor's Tomb definitely buried in this place?"

The monk Fachen, draped in a black cloak, walked slowly ahead, carrying a compass and a book, comparing the celestial map with the terrain:

"The location of the Corpse Ancestor's Tomb is recorded on the Imperial Secret Records, there's no mistake. The people guarding this place should be from Danyang Academy or Zihui Mountain, but unfortunately, all the experts have been transferred away, and it's hard to even find a first-rank expert within a radius of three hundred."

He Can was a little puzzled:

"Even if you managed to get your hands on the Vajra Pestle, the Imperial Secrets are said to be known only to the Emperor and the Director of the Imperial Observatory. How did you see it?"

Monk Fachen calmly replied, "The Buddhist sect had just entered the Central Plains, and Monk Wuxin had only just become the deputy supervisor, yet the Underworld God Sect obtained the Great Qian's top-secret document. What do you think is the reason?"

He Can said incredulously, "The monk Wuxin is really unlucky to have met such an ingrate like you. If this gets out, the Chan Ding Sect will probably have to go to the Southern Frontier to watch the monsters bar their teeth with Patriarch Sikong."

The monk Fachen said calmly, “Therefore, whether or not we can dig it open is not important to me, nor is it important to the Underworld God Cult. When I took this step, Buddhism was already doomed. With Buddhism defeated and Taoism losing faith in the Great Qian, only the Confucian school could stabilize the situation. When all the religions and schools of the Great Qian disintegrate, that will be the day when chaos reigns again…”

He Can nodded: "Indeed, that was a brilliant move. Now it seems the Great Qian Righteous Path is truly a terrible player; without Xie Jinhuan's intervention, they would have been finished long ago. I don't know how they managed to maintain their position in such a vast empire..."

During this casual conversation, the group walked deep into the mountains and stopped outside a patch of withered yellow hills.

Monk Fachen compared the celestial phenomena and the mountain range's trajectory: "It's in this vicinity. Search in all directions. After digging up the Demon-Suppressing Tomb, it may trigger a soaring evil spirit. If you can cover the Corpse Ancestor's escape, you will all become demon generals in the future."

As he spoke, he looked at He Can:

"If you become the vessel of the Corpse Ancestor, with good luck, you might even ascend to the heavens and see those gods and Buddhas with your own eyes."

The geomancer stopped in his tracks and asked:

"And what about us..."

He Can spread his hands slightly: "Like me, I've become part of the Corpse Ancestor. Speaking of your fortune telling, when you said I'd live a long life, were you referring to my physical body or me as a person?"

"Looking at the 'face' means referring to the physical body. But looking at the birth date and time and interpreting characters are what determine one's destiny."

He Can felt that his life was over.

Zhang Chu, armed with a long-handled shovel and a magical artifact for observing qi, joined many followers in exploring the large tomb buried underground, inch by inch, among the mountains...
-
Luoyang, the imperial city.

The gates of Linde Hall were tightly closed, but the interior was brightly lit, with many palace servants waiting outside.

Inside the spacious hall, there were more than ten tables and chairs. Crown Prince Zhao Jinghuan sat in the main seat, listening to an old Confucian scholar discuss the current situation.
"The Northern Zhou Dynasty appears to be ruled by Empress Dowager Guo, but internal divisions exist. The Northern Kingdom outwardly submits, but in reality, it has long suffered under Zhou's rule. The divination and ritual factions are irreconcilably at odds. Empress Dowager Guo's autocratic rule also displeases Confucian scholars, though they dare not speak out..."

The Confucian scholar was Li Yanru, the head of the Hualin Li clan and one of the representative figures of the Confucian school in the Great Qian Dynasty. Li Jing was his relative, and Li Gongpu was indeed a distant relative of his collateral branch. As a family with a history of thousands of years, there was even a "Northern Li" in the north. However, that branch was loyal to the Northern Zhou Dynasty and separated from the Northern Zhou Dynasty hundreds of years ago, and they have long lost contact.

Sitting next to him was Xu Tong of the Xu family of Jiangzhou. Most scholars in the southeast had some connection with him. In addition, Xu Guanfu, one of the Seven Heroes of Martial Arts, claimed to be his nephew. However, the Xu family considered it shameful and did not recognize this rogue who neither studied nor entered officialdom and went to hang out at the docks.

Further down the line are Fan Li, Mu Yunling, Wu Zheng, and others, all of whom are from Ye Sheng's lineage.

Although it seems like they are all helping the old Confucian scholar ascend the throne, Confucianism emphasizes both literary and martial prowess, or "cultivating a strong body and a civilized soul." In this world where practitioners are everywhere, without real skills, no one will listen to your reasoning. Li Jing, sitting at the bottom, is the one with the lowest cultivation among everyone.

On the other side of the main hall, at the head of the group was Lu Wuzhen, followed by Monk Wuxin, and several leaders from the Mo Fabing sect.

Because Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism dominate the political landscape, other organizations don't have much say in the Great Qian Dynasty. They only come to hold meetings as a courtesy, which can be considered as an early introduction to the new emperor.

Lu Wuzhen sat with an air of otherworldly elegance, quietly listening to the old scholar opposite him ramble on and on for half an hour, which was indeed a bit hard to bear.

However, after rambling on for a while, Li Yanru seemed to suddenly forget his words, paused, turned to look north, stroked his beard, and frowned in thought.

Seeing this, Zhao Jinghuan was not annoyed, and calmly asked:
"Mr. Li, would you like to have some tea first?"

"Hehe, after talking for so long, my mouth is indeed a bit dry."

As Li Yanru spoke, he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at the Taoist and Buddhist sect leaders opposite him with a questioning gaze.

Lu Wuzhen was silent for a moment, first glancing at the uncharacteristically furrowed brows of the monk Wuxin, and finally turning his gaze to Crown Prince Zhao Jinghuan...
-
Huaijiang River. Rumbling...

The rolling river rippled under the moonlight, a white wave rushed upstream, accompanied by a black eagle in the sky, disappearing into the distance before any passing merchant ships could even see it.

Xie Jinhuan strode across the water, flying high. Although the river was wide and unobstructed, the distance between the Three Rivers Estuary and the Demon-Suppressing Tomb was more than 700 miles. Even though he had already reached the first rank, running there at full speed on his own two legs was exhausting.

Fortunately, in preparation for the battle, he had already meditated during the day to replenish his Qi. Although his arms were bandaged, the muscle strain had mostly recovered with the help of the medicine.

To prevent his Qi from being depleted upon arrival, Xie Jinhuan had been consuming Qi-nourishing pills along the way. Now, drenched in sweat as he sped along, he inquired:

"how is the situation?"

Ye Hongshang, carrying a red umbrella on her shoulder, floated in front of me. I carefully sensed her presence:

"The umbrella hasn't appeared yet; they're probably just digging nearby. Hmm... there seem to be quite a few people there."

"Huh?" Xie Jinhuan's heart skipped a beat: "Could it be that the Demon-Suppressing Tomb was searched by the Danyang government?"

"It's possible. You've cleaned up all the traces, so there's nothing to worry about."

"I'm not afraid. If the Demon-Suppressing Tomb is found, how will I ever replenish my Golden Light Mantra again..."

Xie Jinhuan finally managed to get a powerful healer who could infinitely refill the Golden Light Spell, only to find that the garage was gone, causing him to frown deeply.

But if the imperial court finds it, there's nothing he can do. So he continued his journey at full speed. Seeing that he had already reached the eastern part of Ziwei Mountain, he changed course and entered the Endless Wilderness...
-
North of Danzhou, Zihui Mountain.

Under the silent starlight, dozens of captured cultivators huddled together in the shade of a tree, their faces deathly pale, waiting to have their souls extracted.

He Can was on the verge of death and certainly wouldn't work. He was squatting on the ground, munching on a fruit, while gazing at a large wild boar that was standing and observing on the distant hillside.

"This pig is huge, could it be a guardian beast of the tomb?"

Zhang Chu, using a shovel, probed the area, glancing over casually:

"A wild boar that dies with a single blow, what kind of mythical beast is that...? Huh?"

As they were talking, they noticed something was wrong with the shovel.

Zhang Chu frowned and quickly dug away the mud. Inside the pit, he found tent cloth, straw mat, water bag, and other debris, as well as a severely decomposed corpse...

?

The surrounding believers were taken aback, then came over with shovels in hand.

Monk Fachen's expression darkened. He glanced around briefly, then surveyed his surroundings.
"They've been dead for at least a month, and it looks like they were tomb raiders. There seems to be someone protecting this mountain."

He Can spread his hands: "The various religions and schools of thought aren't brainless. How could such a huge tomb of the Corpse Ancestor be left unguarded? If you dare to dig, the tomb guardians will be here immediately. Why don't we leave? Or you can just self-destruct and take the Buddhist sect with you to your deaths. Why drag so many people down with you?"

Monk Fachen did not respond; he was examining the body and the traces of the tent when a noise came from the hillside not far away.
"Master, there are corpses here too."

Upon seeing this, the group approached and discovered three more corpses, matching the tents and other equipment, but the times when the bodies were buried were clearly inconsistent.

He Can glanced at it and secretly shook his head:

"These three bodies have only been buried for ten days at most, so the gravedigger must be nearby."

Fa Chen glanced at the body briefly: "Despite the continuous rain, the body has dried out, indicating it was moved from the Demon-Suppressing Mausoleum. Judging from the time of death, it should have been around the days when the bloodthirsty aura appeared at Ziwei Mountain."

"Yes, that makes perfect sense. A few tomb raiders were courting death by digging into the Demon-Suppressing Tomb, and the tomb keeper came and killed them all. When he checked again, he found more bodies in the tomb... Wait, these three were murdered. Why didn't the tomb keeper bury them the first time?"

He Can was somewhat puzzled, and Zhang Chu and the others were equally baffled.

The monk Fachen was examining the corpse, but soon frowned and looked up at the ridge.

A response came from the ridge:
"Because I was busy capturing you and your master Taishu Dan last time, I forgot to clean up."

His words were spoken with a slight panting, but his clear voice was like a death sentence, instantly striking everyone's mind!

He Can and Zhang Chu's faces turned pale instantly, but they silently shielded everyone in front of them.

Monk Fachen and the others looked up in disbelief and saw a figure appear on the mountain ridge.

A figure stood on the mountain ridge with two weapons hanging from his waist. His white robe fluttered in the wind. His cold eyes swept over the many figures below. His aura was so strong that it was as if he had a built-in 'Dragon Soaring' passive ability, leaving the wild boar 'Ada' on the opposite hillside dumbfounded!
(End of this chapter)