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

Chapter 183 One man and one sword are enough!

After successfully reviving Liu Lan, Zhang Guisheng looked at the unconscious people on the ground, and then at the dark and treacherous depths of the tomb. His facial muscles were tense, and he was caught in an extreme internal struggle.

The mission objectives have been largely achieved. The survivors of Liu Lan's team have been found. Although the casualties were heavy and Song Dingqian's whereabouts are unknown and his chances of survival are slim, continuing to take the wounded deeper into the territory would undoubtedly put everyone in danger again.

As the team leader, he had to be responsible for the lives of his team members, and evacuation was the most rational choice at the moment.

However, the group of overseas evil cultivators who intended to unearth their ancestral evil skills still lurked deep within this ancient tomb, like a malignant tumor.

If left unchecked, the consequences could be dire if they succeed.

Whether it's the leakage of evil techniques or the triggering of even more terrifying changes in the ancient tomb...
His fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly, his gaze shifting between the wounded and the dark passageway, unable to make a decision for a long time.

Qi Yun took in his struggle and said calmly, "Captain Zhang, it is your duty to safely evacuate the wounded."

"The remaining issues in this tomb, I will handle them myself."

Zhang Guisheng suddenly looked up at Qi Yun, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something like "we'll advance and retreat together" or "the risk is too great," but when he recalled Qi Yun's raging flames that burned away evil spirits, his miraculous skill in stripping away the seal, and his unfathomable strength, all the words stuck in his throat.

In the end, all his complex emotions boiled down to a heavy nod, his voice hoarse: "Alright! Abbot Qi, be careful in everything! Lei Bao!"

Upon hearing this, Lei Bao immediately rummaged through his backpack and pulled out several high-explosive grenades and a small bundle of plastic explosives, about to hand them to Qi Yun: "Master, take this! Just in case!"

Upon seeing this, Qi Yun chuckled softly and slowly shook his head.

With a slight flick of his wrist, the Chengyun Sword, which was strapped to his back, emitted a clear and melodious hum, and crimson-gold Jiangshou Fire flowed from the hilt of the sword.

The flames instantly coiled around the entire sword like a living thing, pushing back the surrounding cold, deathly aura and illuminating his handsome, jade-like face and deep, star-like eyes.

"One man and one sword are enough."

After saying this, Qi Yun said no more.

His gaze turned to the deep darkness, he took a deep breath, a breath that was long and profound, and then he used the steps of the Qigong, his figure suddenly becoming blurred!

"Shh!"

In the next instant, he seemed to transform into a streak of crimson-gold fire that tore through the thick ink, and charged fiercely into the darkness of the tunnel he had come from.

The fiery tail flames left a brief trail of light in the air, and the powerful airflow made Zhang Guisheng and the others' clothes flutter. Their astonishing speed and unstoppable momentum left behind a slowly dissipating afterimage.

Lei Bao remained in the position of handing out the explosives, staring dumbfounded in the direction Qi Yun had disappeared, muttering, "I... my goodness..."

Old Jin, supporting the still slightly trembling compass, exhaled a long breath, his tone filled with awe and emotion: "The shackles are gone, the hidden dragon emerges from the abyss... Master Qi is about to unleash his power."

We were indeed merely a burden to the Abbot before.

As Lin Wei carefully tended to the wounded, she couldn't help but nod, her eyes gleaming with admiration: "Only today do I truly understand what the demeanor of a master is..."

Zhang Guisheng composed himself, his eyes regaining their sharpness and determination, and ordered in a deep voice: "Alright! We can't stay here any longer!"

Lei Bao, you're in charge of clearing the way and keeping watch!
"Old Jin, watch out for traps along the way! Xiao Zhou, Lin Wei, come with me, carry the wounded on your backs, and we'll evacuate immediately along the same route! Be quick!"

Everyone responded in unison and quickly moved out of the tomb, cautiously and swiftly.

……

Qi Yun transformed into a streak of fire, speeding through the dark tomb passage.

Soon, he passed through the huge underground space again and arrived at the direction where he had sensed the deepest malice.

They then sped deeper into the valley, and soon a precipice appeared before them, below which lay an even more expansive deep valley.

Deep in the valley, a magnificent underground palace stands out!

The palace was entirely constructed of some kind of black megalith, with flying eaves and brackets, its design ancient and strange, and its scale far exceeded any tomb I had ever seen before.

Several powerful glow sticks were deliberately thrown and embedded in key positions of the palace, emitting a cold white light that barely outlined the palace's eerie silhouette, only adding to its sinister atmosphere.

At the edge of the cliff top, several professional mountaineering ropes were fixed, clearly left behind by that group of overseas heretics.

Without any hesitation, Qi Yun grabbed the rope with one hand and slid down to the bottom of the valley like a falling meteor.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he headed straight for the main gate of the black palace without stopping.

The palace gates were several meters high, made of neither gold nor jade, and were icy cold to the touch.

Two ferocious stone sculptures of tomb guardian beasts stand on either side of the gate, resembling evil spirits or bat wings, with protruding fangs and fierce eyes, as if they might come to life at any moment and pounce on the living.

Above the massive door was carved a huge yin-yang symbol, but the eyes of the yin and yang fish were deliberately carved into two twisted and tormented skulls, exuding an aura of malevolence. At this moment, the heavy door had been pushed open a crack large enough for one person to pass through. The interior was deep and deathly silent, with only a low, whistling wind seeping out.

Qi Yun slipped into the crowd.

Behind the gate was a wide, straight path leading downwards. On the walls on both sides, bronze crane-beak lamps were lit, their eerie green flames dancing and illuminating the entire path in a verdant glow.

At the end of the sacred path was the entrance to an even more magnificent hall, which was now radiating an extremely dense, ominous green light that even overshadowed the light of the eternal lamps.

Qi Yun twitched his nostrils slightly, and from the heavy, musty smell in front of him, he could clearly distinguish a fresh and rich smell of blood.

He frowned slightly, quickened his pace, and silently made his way to the entrance of the main hall.

Even Qi Yun, a man of great experience, couldn't help but freeze at the sight inside the hall!
The main hall was extremely spacious, and on the opposite wall was a huge mural that covered the entire wall!

The murals are predominantly dark red and jet black.

In the center of the mural, a blurry figure floats up from the coffin, surrounded by a blood mist.

Around the coffin, in each of the four directions, a person with their abdomen cut open knelt, holding their still-beating internal organs (heart, liver, spleen, and lungs) in their hands. Their faces were contorted with pain, yet also with a strange piety. They were offering their lives and essence to the object in the coffin through some kind of evil ritual!

At this moment, the actual scene inside the hall was strikingly similar to the content of the mural!
In the center of the main hall, instead of the expected coffin, there was a tall white jade platform.

On the platform, there was a crystal-clear, shimmering jade coffin, with a human figure faintly visible on its body.

Directly above the jade coffin, the old man in Tang suit sat cross-legged in mid-air, his palms facing the sky.

His eyes were completely black, with no whites, and his face wore an expression that was a mixture of inhuman numbness and fanaticism, showing no reaction to my entry.

His chest was slightly open, and the tip of his right index finger was broken. He was using his own blood essence to rapidly draw an extremely complex and constantly writhing evil rune on the jade coffin lid beneath him!

Around the jade coffin, there were also four smaller white jade offering tables in the four directions.

On each offering table sat an old man's subordinate, who were the same men in tight-fitting clothes they had encountered earlier.

But by this moment, they had already breathed their last, their deaths were gruesome!

Their chests were all ripped open by sharp blades, and they held their own warm, still slightly twitching organs, which had been pulled out, with reverence in their hands.

Liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys!

Blood stained the white jade platform, flowing along the engravings on its base, gathering into thin streams of blood that slowly flowed toward the jade coffin in the center.

Their faces were frozen in extreme pain and fear, yet strangely twisted into a bizarre, sacrificial smile.

The entire hall was filled with a heavy stench of blood and an eerie, fanatical atmosphere that was nauseating and gave one's scalp a chill!
Qi Yun instantly realized: This was not some matter of descendants returning to claim the legacy of their ancestors!

This was clearly a vicious scheme orchestrated by the tomb's occupant during his lifetime, spanning a century!

That so-called family inheritance technique was probably a decoy that was incomplete or tampered with from the beginning. Its true purpose was to lure his own bloodline descendants to come at a specific time and become sacrifices for the final step of his resurrection.

With the lives, vital essence, and resentment of blood relatives, the boundaries between life and death are broken to complete this final ritual that defies the heavens!
The occupant of this tomb was ruthless, precise, and vicious to an appalling degree in his scheming against his descendants!

Just as Qi Yun stepped into the main hall, the old man in the Tang suit finished drawing the last stroke of the rune!
His life force had been almost completely drained, his skin withered and clung to his bones, but a light of extreme ecstasy burst forth in his dark eyes, and he uttered a non-human, hoarse, and distorted syllable: "Corpse...disintegration...!"

At the same time, Qi Yun made a move!
Without any hesitation, Chengyun Sword slashed out fiercely!

The earth element energy instantly condensed to its maximum, transforming into an indestructible, sharp golden sword light.

Metal born in native soil will destroy evil spirits!

The sharp sword energy tore through the air, producing a thunderous explosion, and slashed straight at the old man above the jade coffin!
However, faced with this terrifying sword strike, the old man neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he lowered his head and revealed a mocking and crazed smile on his withered face towards Qi Yun!
"puff!"

The sword energy swept across the old man's body without any hindrance, cleanly cleaving him in two from head to toe!
After the sword energy struck, the old man's two halves of his body exploded, turning into a thick cloud of blood mist!
Strangely, right in the center of that churning blood mist, a whole heart was suspended, its bright red color dazzling, and it was even beating strongly and powerfully, thump... thump... thump...

The moment that heart beat, the blood-red evil talisman that had just been drawn on the jade coffin lid below suddenly lit up with a monstrous blood-red light!
The entire jade coffin shook violently, and a deep, muffled sound, like the beating of a giant drum, came from inside the coffin lid—thump!

It was as if the heartbeat inside the coffin had been reawakened!

The suspended crimson heart was pulled and was about to fall toward the glowing evil talisman!

"Hmph!" Qi Yun sneered, how could he allow it to complete this final step?
Cheng Yun Sword was swung out again. This time, the crimson-gold Crimson Hunting Flame surged out without reservation, transforming into a raging fire sword that struck first despite being behind, slashing towards that strange heart!
However, just as the Blazing Fire Sword was about to strike his heart...

That withered, black arm, with nails as long and sharp as daggers, suddenly emerged from the blood-stained coffin.

He forcefully carried the raging crimson flames and grabbed that beating heart!
Immediately afterwards, his arm snapped back into the coffin!
Qi Yun frowned, feeling his connection with that part of the Crimson Hunting Fire being forcibly severed!
At the same time, that cold "gaze" descended once more, this time locking onto Qi Yun with unparalleled clarity!
The coffin trembled more violently, and wisps of thick, inky black mist seeped out wildly from the cracks in the lid, spreading outwards...

(End of this chapter)