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

Chapter 180 Corpse Dissection of the Mural, Jade Chime Cries for Help!
Just as Qi Yun and his group were listening to the conversation inside through the wall.

Suddenly, the sound of mechanisms activating rang out again, and then the wall in front of them began to shake and move.

Lei Bao immediately took out the black box and transformed it into a shield, blocking the way in front of everyone. Zhang Guisheng and the others also took out their pistols from their pockets, loaded them, and stood guard.

As the walls were completely removed, a much larger tomb chamber came into view!

A chilling wind, carrying the pungent smell of decaying corpses and stale lamp oil, rushed in, making people almost nauseous.

In the center of the room, a huge bronze crane-beak lamp was relit, its tiny, eerie green flames flickering and casting a ghostly glow over the surroundings.

In the dim light, countless pale skeletons could be seen scattered throughout the room, their postures contorted, clearly the pitiful victims who had been buried alive with the dead. They were piled up like a mountain, and the yin energy was so thick that it almost materialized into a black mist that lingered and could not be dispelled.

In the center of this burial pit, a bizarre coffin, clearly moved in later and carved from a single piece of black stone, stands out conspicuously.

The surface of the coffin was covered with twisted and writhing eerie runes, which were now emitting a faint but unsettling dark light.

An old man dressed in a black Tang suit, with his hair neatly combed and his face withered and gloomy, was holding a dark red bone dagger and intently carving on the seal of the coffin lid, muttering incantations.

A viscous black liquid flowed from the tip of the dagger, corroding the sealing runes with a hissing sound, and causing their light to dim rapidly.

Four men dressed in tight-fitting clothes and with fierce expressions spread out on guard, each holding a pistol equipped with a silencer, their sharp eyes fixed on the suddenly opened tunnel entrance.

The two sides suddenly came face to face!

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Damn it, Officer 749 is here! Dodge!"

Upon seeing Qi Yun and his companions, the people inside immediately scrambled to hide behind the black coffin.

"Bang! Bang bang bang!"

Immediately, scorching bullets rained down on each other!

The flames spitting from the gun barrels were particularly glaring in the dim tomb!
The bullets struck the shield made of special metal, producing a dense barrage of explosions and sending sparks flying.

The powerful kinetic energy caused Lei Bao's arms to go numb and his feet to become unsteady, forcing him to stumble backward.

On the other side, the black coffin deflected all the bullets fired by the crowd, and stray bullets flew around wildly in the tomb!
The old man in the Tang suit who had immediately hidden behind the black coffin flashed a fierce look in his eyes and suddenly swung his free left hand forward!
A clump of dark green, viscous mist flew out of his hand, swelling upon contact with the wind and emitting a chilling buzzing sound. Upon closer inspection, the mist was actually composed of countless tiny, winged, and ferocious Gu worms!
"Corpse Poison Technique! Be careful!" Old Jin exclaimed in horror.

The green mist swept over the white bones in the burial pit, instantly corroding the surface of the skeletons into countless holes, and wisps of green smoke rose up!
Qi Yun's eyes turned cold. As the swarm of insects approached, he slashed out with his sword from behind his shield, unleashing a burst of Crimson Hunting Fire that crashed into the swirling mist.

The terrifying swirling mist was instantly incinerated, and the remaining scattered Gu worms scattered in panic.

The old man in the Tang suit trembled slightly, clearly not expecting his magic to be broken so easily. His sinister gaze was fixed on Qi Yun.

Just then, with a crisp "crack," the seal on the coffin beneath his dagger shattered completely!
Before either side could make another move, a sudden change occurred!

The black stone coffin suddenly shook violently, and the lid was blown away by a huge force with a "bang," crashing hard against the top of the tomb chamber and smashing down countless pieces of stone and dust!
Lei Bao, however, keenly sensed that the other party's attention was drawn to the strange changes in the coffin.

He suddenly rolled away from behind the shield, trying to force his way into the side of the black coffin so he could effectively shoot at the people hiding behind it.

But just as he set off...

A surge of extremely pure black Yin energy, far surpassing any previous chilling aura, erupted from the coffin like a volcano that had been suppressed for a thousand years!

It swept through the entire tomb chamber in an instant!
This yin energy was not simply cold; it also carried a strange power that seemed capable of freezing everything!

From the floor of the tomb and the water in the surrounding burial pits, several pale white water puppet arms, formed from extremely cold yin energy, suddenly emerged. Like crazed seaweed, they instantly wrapped tightly around Lei Bao's legs and waist, dragging him downwards!

More water puppet arms climbed up and covered his mouth and nose!
Lei Bao's eyes widened, his face instantly turning blue and purple. He only had time to let out a short, suppressed scream before he suddenly suffocated, his eyeballs rolled back, and his muscular body was covered in frost at a visible speed. He fell straight backward and was instantly knocked unconscious!

"Lei Bao!" Zhang Guisheng's eyes widened in fury, and he was about to step forward.

Qi Yun moved even faster. The instant the Yin energy erupted, the Crimson Hunting Fire within his body surged on its own, enveloping him in a faint layer of crimson-gold light, thus isolating the Yin energy from the outside.

He dashed out like lightning, reached out and grabbed Lei Bao's belt. With tremendous force, he pulled Lei Bao back from the many water puppet arms and flung him toward Lin Wei behind him.

But even in that brief moment of contact, Qi Yun felt a terrifying chill spread along his arm. Even the Crimson Hunting Fire couldn't resist the chill, causing his speed to noticeably slow down.

Zhang Guisheng was a step slower than Qi Yun. After rushing into the tomb, his blood and qi seemed to freeze instantly. His movements suddenly froze in mid-air, his face drained of color, his lips turned black, and the light in his eyes dimmed rapidly. Without uttering a sound, he fell straight forward and lost consciousness.

"Hmph! Ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth!" Upon seeing this, the old man in the Tang suit snorted coldly, a hint of fear yet also a touch of smugness flashing in his eyes.

They were clearly located on the side of the coffin emitting yin energy, and each of them had a blood-red talisman lit up on their chest, yet they were not affected in any way.

After the yin energy erupted from the coffin, there were no corpses inside. Instead, a dark, downward-extending passageway was revealed!
The old man in the Tang suit glanced at Qi Yun, who was surrounded by faint flames and could still move slowly, with extreme apprehension in his eyes.

"This person didn't have any talismans left by our ancestors, yet he was only slightly affected! How amazing!"
"Shoot that Taoist priest dead!"

The men hiding behind the coffin immediately extended their guns, aimed them at Qi Yun, and pulled the triggers.

Then, after the bullet left the muzzle, it seemed to sink into an invisible quagmire, its speed becoming visibly slow, drawing a clear, scorching trajectory in the air, slowly rotating forward.

Under the eruption of that Yin energy, the profound chill actually carried a certain power of rules, which even froze the speed of the bullets, greatly reducing their speed and making their trajectories visible to the naked eye.

Qi Yun's body was surrounded by a crimson-gold light, and although his movements were much faster than those of ordinary people, it was as if he were carrying a mountain on his back.

He moved with difficulty, narrowly avoiding the trajectory of the slow-flying bullets, and then used his sword to deflect the bullets that were difficult to dodge. He reached the unconscious Zhang Guisheng and dragged him behind the shield standing on the ground.

In that brief moment of delay, the old man in the Tang suit and most of his men had already moved extremely slowly, step by step, into the entrance to the passage under the coffin and disappeared.

Only one subordinate remained to cover the rear, using the heavy obsidian coffin as cover, to provide continuous suppressive fire in slow motion, firing bullets one by one to block the enemy's path.

A cold glint flashed in Qi Yun's eyes.

They immediately set off towards it, proceeding slowly.

He kept drawing his sword on the road, deflecting the incoming bullets.

Amidst the flying sparks, Qi Yun had already taken five steps. When the man saw how fierce Qi Yun was, terror appeared in his eyes. He immediately turned around and entered the passage inside the coffin.

Just then, Qi Yun took a deep breath, and the five streams of true qi within his body were frantically injected into Chengyun Sword at an unprecedented speed.

On the sword, earth-yellow qi instantly condensed, as thick as a mountain. Then, the qi was extremely restrained and compressed, and at the extremely solid core, it gave birth to a golden edge that was incomparably sharp and could cut through all evil!

"Gold born from native soil will destroy evil spirits!"

Qi Yun swung Cheng Yun Sword in slow motion and slashed forward fiercely!
A highly refined, crimson-gold sword aura flew out from the sword!

It was also affected by the rules. Its flying speed seemed slow, but it carried a resolute will to break free of shackles and destroy all evil, steadily advancing forward! The evil cultivator who was covering the rear was instantly filled with boundless fear. He wanted to dodge, but although he was not affected by the cold, his movements were as slow as a snail.

They could only watch helplessly as that deadly sword energy relentlessly approached, inch by inch!

"No—!" he cried out silently.

The crimson-gold sword energy silently sliced ​​through the heavy obsidian coffin, splitting it in two, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.

It then precisely swept past the body of the person behind it.

The terror on his face froze instantly. A fine golden line appeared in the center of his body, and then the upper and lower halves of his body slowly slid apart. Before the blood and internal organs could be spurted out, they were annihilated by the remaining sword energy.

The sword's momentum continued unabated, slamming fiercely into the rock wall behind, leaving a deep, scorching sword mark, with rubble falling in a flurry.

The tomb chamber fell into a deathly silence, with only the eerie green flame of the eternal lamp flickering.

The power of rules still permeates the space.

After a while, Lei Bao and Zhang Guisheng, who were unconscious, almost simultaneously let out a weak groan and slowly woke up. Although they still felt cold and stiff all over and moved slowly, they finally regained consciousness.

Everyone was still shaken and looked at each other in dismay.

Qi Yun sheathed his sword, and the crimson flames around him slowly receded.

He looked at the split coffin and the passage beneath it, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

Then they slowly walked to the entrance of the passageway.

"Come on, take my hand and let's go inside."

Everyone nodded. Zhang Guisheng took Qi Yun's outstretched hand and immediately felt streams of heat flowing into his body, instantly dispelling some of the lingering coldness.

Then he took Lei Bao's hand, and Lei Bao did the same to the person behind him.

Thus, under the protection of Qi Yun's Crimson Hunting Fire, the group avoided attacks from the ghosts lurking in the Yin energy.

They began to move slowly, step by step, toward the eerie entrance of the passage.

Passing through the split coffin passage, the burial chamber is not directly below, but rather a steep set of stone steps leading downwards.

The stone steps were also shrouded in a powerful chill, and each step required a great deal of mental and physical effort.

The further down you go, the more stagnant the air becomes, and the chilling, biting feeling intensifies, as if it penetrates your skin and seeps into your very bones and soul.

The surrounding walls were no longer rough masonry, but had turned into some kind of dark, iron-like black rock, with a relatively smooth surface, and large, mottled murals began to appear on them.

When the flashlight shone on it, the content of the mural was extremely disturbing.

In the images, people of different forms undergo "transformation" in all sorts of unbelievable ways:
Some were placed in cauldrons and burned by the raging fire; others drew knives and committed suicide, dismembering their bodies.

Some sank to the deep pools, decaying alongside insects; others hung on high cliffs, enduring the harsh winds and frost...

The process was painful and agonizing, yet it was imbued with an extreme desire and fervor for the state after the "transformation".

The murals are filled with an eerie, ritualistic style that sends chills down your spine and makes your stomach churn.

"This...this is corpse dissection!"
The tomb's occupant was a madman obsessed with achieving immortality through corpse liberation!

Old Jin's voice trembled as he struggled down the steps, trying his best to decipher the content of the murals. "Moreover... judging from the techniques and rituals, they are extremely evil and vicious, definitely not the righteous path!"

Finally, after stepping down the last step, the view opened up before me, but the feeling of oppression only intensified.

They seemed to have entered a completely different world.

This is an extremely vast underground space, as if the entire mountain's belly has been hollowed out.

The ground was paved with flat, black boulders, and the space was vast and seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

In the distance, massive stone pillars supporting the dome can be vaguely seen, and further away, the silhouette of what appears to be a palace stands in shadow, majestic yet deathly silent, permeated with an eternal desolation and chill.

The chill here seemed even more powerful and eerie, making even thought seem sluggish.

"This is the true core main tomb chamber! Or rather... the place of corpse disintegration!" Old Jin exclaimed in shock.

Zhang Guisheng's face was still pale, but he forced himself to stay alert: "We must find Captain Liu and Captain Song as soon as possible! Could Abbot Qi have detected Song Wan's presence?"

Qi Yun nodded, signaling everyone to pause for a moment.

He closed his eyes, forcibly calmed his mind, and sank his spirit into the illusory image of the causal furnace within his body.

Inside the furnace, countless golden threads flickered and shimmered, floating and sinking in the vast void.

He cleared his mind of all distractions and focused all his attention on sensing the karmic connection between him and Song Wan, the bond between master and disciple.

The sensation was extremely faint, like a candle flickering in the wind!
Qi Yun suddenly opened his eyes, his expression icy cold.

"We can only confirm that the person is still alive, but their breathing is extremely weak."

But we don't know the location!

Upon hearing this, everyone looked dejected.

Before Qi Yun could finish speaking, suddenly, from the darkness in the far northwest, a faint yet exceptionally clear and melodious sound came from.

"Ding!"

A gentle tap of a jade chime, ethereal and clear, is like a spring flowing into the heart in this deathly silent and despairing environment, bringing a moment of clarity and peace!

"It's Captain Liu's Jingxinqing!" Xiao Zhou exclaimed in surprise. "She's still alive! They're over there!"

Zhang Guisheng was even more excited: "That's right! It's them!"
This is a sealed artifact in the Chuancheng branch; they must be relying on it to survive!
They heard a noise and were indicating their location to us!

The group was struggling to move towards the direction of the chime.

suddenly!

Qi Yun, Lao Jin, and Zhang Guisheng, who had just recovered a little, almost simultaneously felt an indescribable and chilling sense of being watched!
It was as if, in the deepest part of this vast, dark space, a colossal being that had slumbered for countless years was awakened by these uninvited guests and by the sound of that chime.

(End of this chapter)