Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 178 Mechanical Ghostly Fiend
The rumbling sound of the broken brick beneath Xiao Zhou's feet was like a thunderclap in the deathly silent tomb passage.

The sound had not completely dissipated.

"Click."

A very faint, yet chillingly clear, click of a mechanism engaging came from beneath his feet. The paving stone he had inadvertently kicked sank half an inch!

"Not good!" Old Jin's expression changed drastically, and he warned in a hoarse voice.

But it was too late.

"Boom!!!"

In an instant, the entire tomb passage seemed to be a sleeping giant beast that had been completely awakened!
The ground beneath my feet trembled violently, and a dull rumble of massive machinery operating came from all directions, the sound carrying the piercing shriek of metal rubbing against rock, as if it came from the depths of the earth!

Behind them, in the direction of the tomb robber's tunnel they had just entered, a huge stone door, seamlessly integrated with the tomb's roof and rock wall, crashed down with the force of a thunderbolt, carrying with it centuries of accumulated dust and rubble!
"boom!!!"

The massive stone door panel slammed heavily onto the tomb passage floor, shaking the entire space and sending up clouds of dust.

In that split second, their escape route was completely and ruthlessly blocked!

"What's going on?" Lei Bao's voice was drowned out by the increasingly dense mechanical noise that followed.

"Chucky!"

On both sides of the wall, countless tiny holes that had not been discovered before suddenly opened, and a dense barrage of crossbow bolts, like swarms of bees leaving their hive, shot toward the group in the center of the passage with a shrill whistling sound!

The arrows were so dense they almost obscured the view, and the rusted arrowheads gleamed with a deathly light under the beam of the headlamp.

In that critical moment, the exceptional skills of this elite team from Bureau 749 were on full display!
There were no gasps, no panic.

Old Jin and Xiao Zhou, who were closest to the wall, reacted the fastest. Almost instinctively, they crouched and rolled towards the center, narrowly avoiding the first and most deadly barrage of bullets.

The crossbow bolts thudded into the spot where they had just stood, their fletchings trembling violently.

Zhang Guisheng let out a low roar, advancing instead of retreating. His fists were instantly enveloped in a layer of pale white energy, revealing a hard-hitting, solid Hung Kuen style!
He stepped into the center, his fists swung like wheels, powerful and heavy, accurately smashing and deflecting crossbow bolts shot towards his front area. The force of his fists surged, producing muffled "thuds".

But Qi Yun was even faster!

The Chengyun Sword was not even fully drawn; only a foot of its blade was visible.

He flicked his wrist, and the sword light transformed into a cold, protective barrier, shielding himself and the others around him.

Where the sword passed, the powerful crossbow bolts were easily cut off and knocked away like rotten wood and withered branches, making a crisp "clanging" sound. Not a single one could break through the range of this sword curtain.

"Thunder Leopard! Shield!" Zhang Guisheng shouted sharply during a break in his block.

"Here they come!" Lei Bao responded and moved with lightning speed.

He threw off his backpack, took out two palm-sized black metal boxes, and pressed the mechanism on the bottom of the boxes with his thumb.

"Click! Click!"

With a click of the mechanism, the two small boxes instantly deformed and extended, the metal sheets splicing and stretching out layer by layer, transforming in the blink of an eye into two lightweight metal round shields with sharp edges and thick centers!

Lei Bao exhaled and his arm muscles bulged as he slammed the two shields together! With a loud clang, the two shields cleverly locked together, forming a larger, curved shield! He then thrust the combined shield into the waterlogged ground beneath his feet, standing like a rock behind it.

Zhang Guisheng immediately and instinctively moved to the other side, using his fists to assist in blocking.

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, acted like reefs, instantly protecting most of the narrow tomb passage.

The stray arrows that slipped through were either dodged or blocked by others using weapons or agility.

The rain of arrows had barely stopped when everyone was caught in the crossfire.

"laugh!"

Even more chilling sounds came from the arrow holes in the walls on both sides.

Thick, grayish-white fumes, carrying a pungent odor of almonds and putridity, began to emanate from the tomb passage in wisps, spreading rapidly as if they were alive.

"Poisonous smoke! Check the masks!" Zhang Guisheng shouted.

Everyone quickly checked the gas masks they were wearing and, after confirming that they were properly sealed, felt a little relieved.

"Damn it!" Lei Bao cursed through his mask, shield in hand. "Didn't Captain Liu and Captain Song come this way before?"

How the hell are there so many deadly traps? They've even cut off our escape route!
Why didn't this giant stone gate trigger before?

While nervously monitoring the air composition and energy readings, Xiao Zhou said urgently, "The energy field became extremely chaotic after the mechanism was triggered, and didn't you notice?"
"This tomb passage... seems to be moving?"

As soon as he said that, everyone immediately understood.

A continuous, low rumbling sound and a slight vibration came from beneath my feet, not from any mechanism, but from the entire structure of the tomb itself!

Even more bizarrely, the wall that should have been a dead end in front of us is now slowly and irreversibly moving to the right!
No, it's not the walls that are moving! If you pay close attention to the subtle sensations of weightlessness and disorientation, it's the entire tomb chamber where everyone is located that is rotating and moving!
"The Suspended Staircase?! No, it's an even bigger mechanism!"

Old Jin pressed down hard on the wildly spinning compass. "I understand!"
This entire tomb is a huge, moving set of mechanisms!
The different tomb chambers and passageways are like Ferris wheel cabins or elevator shaft platforms!

They will rotate, rise and fall, and change positions after being triggered by specific mechanisms!

He spoke faster and faster, his eyes flashing with a mixture of fear and amazement: "Captain Liu and Captain Song must have been to this tomb chamber before, but after they triggered the mechanism, the tomb chamber moved to the entrance."

The organization was also reset.

Now, the tomb chamber has rotated; the entrance has become a dead end, and what we just saw 'ahead' is now connecting to a new passageway!

"So, the structure of this godforsaken place is changing every single moment?"

“That’s right!” Old Jin affirmed.

Just then, the "splashing" sound of water suddenly became louder.

At the base of the walls on both sides and in the cracks in the ground, icy underground river water gushed out like a spring, and the water level rose rapidly at a visible speed, quickly submerging everyone's ankles and continuing to rise.

The biting cold instantly penetrated the boots.

Lin Wei suddenly felt a tightness in her ankle, and a terrifying, bone-chilling force suddenly surged through her!
The force was beyond imagination; she didn't even have time to scream before she was violently pulled into the water with a "plop."

The water, which had only reached her calves, mysteriously swallowed Lin Wei completely.

"Lin Wei!" Zhang Guisheng reacted extremely quickly. Just as her body plummeted, a large, iron-like hand gripped her arm tightly.

But the power of the underwater presence was terrifying. Even a strong man like Zhang Guisheng was pulled along and nearly fell headfirst into the murky, churning water.

Lin Wei was completely submerged underwater, with only one arm desperately sticking out of the water. Zhang Guisheng held her tightly, his knuckles trembling violently from the force, and the muscles in his arm almost ripped his clothes.

"Get up!" Zhang Guisheng's eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead were bulging. He let out a deep roar, and with a burst of strength, he forcefully pulled Lin Wei out of the water!
As Lin Wei was pulled out of the water amidst the splashing water, everyone's pupils constricted.

On her legs, a semi-transparent humanoid figure, formed entirely from murky, foul water, was tightly wrapped! The creature's outline was distorted, its face vaguely resembling the swollen, extremely painful features of a drowned person, with its eyes being two empty, dark holes.

Its body is covered with a layer of sticky, wriggling, and constantly dripping dirty black scales, exuding an intense resentment and chilling aura that is almost solidified, as if it came from the deepest, darkest mud of the underworld!
"What the hell is that!" Lei Bao shouted, reacting with lightning speed. He drew out the military dagger engraved with talismans, and with a flash of light, slashed the water ghost's torso!
However, the blade passed through the void like water, without any resistance, only creating a ripple.

The water ghost's form only blurred for a moment before returning to its original shape. Instead, it seemed to be enraged, opening its blurry mouth that was dripping muddy water and letting out a silent but sharp roar that pierced the depths of the soul. Its rotting ghost claws gripped even tighter, almost digging into Lin Wei's bone marrow!

Just now.

A scorching, dazzling crimson-gold sword light flashed past like lightning tearing through the darkness!

It was Qi Yun who made the move!

The Chengyun Sword, wreathed in crimson flames and carrying a scorching heat that could burn away all evil in the world, slashed precisely at the water ghost's neck.

“Sizzle!!”

A piercing burning sound rang out, accompanied by a shrill, inhuman scream. In an instant, most of the filthy river water that made up the water ghost's body was evaporated by the raging true fire.

The dense resentment and yin energy, like ice and snow thrown into a furnace, instantly burned and collapsed, eventually turning into a wisp of twisted, wailing white smoke that vanished without a trace.

Lin Wei collapsed in the shallow water at Zhang Guisheng's feet, soaked to the bone, coughing violently, her face drained of color, her eyes filled with the extreme terror of surviving a disaster.

On the ever-rising, murky water all around, bubbles began to rise one after another, as if boiling. More similarly distorted, translucent human figures made of sewage appeared.

Silently coalescing into form, it stretched out countless swollen, pale ghostly hands, grabbing at the people struggling to stand in the water from all directions.

The water level had quickly risen above everyone's thighs, and it was icy cold. The water flow had become heavy and viscous, making every movement extremely difficult. It felt as if countless hands were pulling and entangled underwater.

"Hold on tight! Don't get dragged in!"

Zhang Guisheng roared at the top of his lungs, his voice sounding unusually distant due to the distortion of the water.

The group immediately paired up, pulling themselves together back to back, gripping each other's arms or backpack straps tightly, struggling to maintain their balance in the waist-deep icy sewage, and working together to resist the terrifying threats from underwater and from all around.

Even more chillingly, corpses, face up, swollen and pale, with skin almost transparent, began to slowly rise from the bottom of the water.

With their pale, pupil-less eyes wide open, they stiffly and unsteadily rose to their feet like marionettes, parting the murky water and gradually approaching the crowd in the center, emanating a nauseating stench.

Only Qi Yun stood alone amidst the surging, turbid current.

The Crimson Hunt True Fire flowed faintly through his meridians, radiating an invisible, scorching pressure. The cold, slippery ghost hands seemed extremely wary of this, and not one of them dared to approach within three feet of him.

Qi Yun, however, remained calm and strode forward.

The Chengyun Sword in his hand transformed into streaks of crimson-gold light that blazed across the plains. Each strike was as scorching as the rising sun, and wherever the sword wind passed, one or more water ghosts would vanish into white smoke.

The dazzling sword light, intense and domineering, was like streams of fire tearing through despair in this dark, enclosed, and ghostly ancient tomb, creating a small, precarious but crucial safe zone for everyone.

Just then, the wall in front seemed to move faster, and a dark passageway was gradually connecting with the current tomb chamber, with its edge barely visible.

Old Jin, who had been intently listening and trying to discern something amidst the roar and the sound of water, suddenly turned pale and looked up sharply at the top of the tomb chamber, his eyes filled with unprecedented fear: "'Thousand-pound gate'! There's a huge dragon-severing stone on top!"
It's going to fall! Hurry! Get to that tunnel entrance! Quick!!

Upon hearing this, everyone was terrified!
They all looked up and saw that the texture of the tomb ceiling, which originally looked like a natural rock wall, was now making a teeth-grinding "creaking" sound, and the huge stone slab was slowly sinking and separating!

"Master Qi! Come back quickly! Let's go!!" Zhang Guisheng roared at Qi Yun, who was still slaying water ghosts in front of him.

Upon hearing the sound, Qi Yun swept away the obstacles in front of him with a single sword strike, and without lingering in battle, he abruptly retreated.

At this moment, the entrance to the tunnel was only halfway up the tunnel, and it was pitch black inside, with no indication of where it led.

"Go through!" Zhang Guisheng made a quick decision and pushed Lin Wei, who was still somewhat exhausted, toward the cave entrance.

Lei Bao retracted his shield, the mechanism box instantly returned to its original state and retracted, grabbed Xiao Zhou and Lao Jin, and scrambled towards the narrow passage entrance.

Zhang Guisheng followed closely behind.

Qi Yun was the last to arrive. Just as he was about to arrive.

"boom!!!!"

Above their heads, the enormous, several-foot-thick Dragon-Severing Stone, having lost its last support, crashed down with a devastating force!
The shadow instantly enveloped Qi Yun's entire body, and the strong wind pressure even caused the water surface to cave in!
If this hits solid, even the strongest iron will be turned into mincemeat!

A close call!
Qi Yun's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and the true qi within his body surged and roared at an unprecedented speed!

"Stepping the Divine Steps!"

He silently recited the mantra, took a step forward, and stomped hard on the water!
"Bang!!!"

The water underfoot exploded as if detonated by a bomb, creating a huge puddle.

Under the enormous reaction force, Qi Yun's figure instantly became blurred, leaving behind an almost tangible afterimage in the same spot!

His true form had already transformed into a streak of bluish-black light that tore through the air, and with a perilous leap, almost skimming the bottom of the massive boulder that had crashed down, he shot into the narrow passageway that was just wide enough for one person to pass through!

boom!
The dragon-slaying stone crashed down, causing the entire tomb chamber to shake violently. The enormous sound was deafening, and splashes of sewage and the remains of the water ghost flew everywhere.

The afterimage left by Qi Yun was instantly crushed and disappeared.

Inside the passageway, the still-shaken crowd stared at the massive stone gate behind them, now completely blocked, and then at Qi Yun, who had just rushed in, slightly out of breath but unharmed. For a moment, they were speechless, only their heavy breathing and the pounding of their hearts could be heard.

Lei Bao wiped the water and cold sweat from his face, his voice hoarse: "Damn it... this place... it's really weird!"

Lin Wei's face was ashen, and her breathing was still rapid and uncertain.

Almost instinctively, she reached for her waist, her fingertips trembling as she fumbled around.

Only when he touched the hard canvas first aid kit, which was still firmly tied to his side, did he feel as if he had finally grabbed a piece of driftwood and let out a long breath.

She looked up at Zhang Guisheng and Qi Yun, her voice still a little weak: "Thank you, if it weren't for..."

Zhang Guisheng waved his hand, his gaze sharp as a knife, already warily scanning the surrounding dark passageway.

Qi Yun merely nodded slightly, his jawline taut, his eyes darting around in the dim light, as if trying to discern something from the shadows of each stone.

Old Jin, who was standing to the side, spoke up in a hoarse voice.

He raised his hand and wiped his face, as if to wipe away some invisible filth: "This tomb is incredibly evil!"

The tomb owner combined mechanical arts with vengeful spirits, making every step a deadly move.

Those ghostly creatures were probably the pitiful people who were buried alive with us back then... their resentment was suppressed by the water veins.

Using living people as funerary sacrifices to create ghostly guardians for the tomb… the tomb's occupant was certainly no benevolent person in life. The viciousness of their heart and the ruthlessness of their methods far exceed our imagination.

At this moment, Zhang Guisheng should have taken out a wolf-eye flashlight from his bag and shone it into the passageway beside him.

Then you can see that there are continuous murals on it!
(End of this chapter)