Tomb Raiding: The Bloodline of Dragons and Snakes, Starting from the Kunlun Divine Palace

"Vines growing under the bronze coffin—that's rare even among all the tombs I've ever encountered in my life!"

Wang Yueban stared at the dark green vines not far away and subconsciously spoke up!

"No! That's not how it works!"

Just then, Jiang Jiaxu, a tall young man in the crowd, shone his powerful flashlight on the bottom of the bronze coffin, and his expression became extremely exaggerated:

"Hey! Look! Am I seeing things? Look, this vine is actually growing out of inside the bluestone bricks! This is unbelievable!"

Hearing the other person's exclamation, Wang Yueban shoved them in return.

"Pah! What's so incredible about it? Don't you have any common sense? Have you ever eaten bean sprouts? These root vegetables usually have extremely strong growth during their growing season. Some can even break through the soil and grow through rock strata! You call yourself an educated person? You don't even have this most basic common sense!"

As the tall young man Jiang Jiaxu listened to Wang Yueban's explanation, he subconsciously shrank back, still muttering to himself:

"It's just a vine, nothing like the amazing thing you described, 723. Putting everything else aside, the Shoushan stone in the main tomb chamber is as hard as cement. I've never seen a plant that can break through cement during its growth period! Do you think a bean sprout is a drilling machine..."

Wang Yueban's eyes widened in surprise:

"Hey! You bookworm, how can you be so inflexible? This is a metaphor! A metaphor! Don't you want to..."

................

"Alright, stop arguing!"

Wu Xie, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward to stop the two from bickering, staring ahead with a serious expression:

"Didn't you hear Ah Ning's explanation? This isn't an ordinary vine; it's called Gelsemium elegans! Wild kudzu vine!"

Everyone looked at Wu Xie with some surprise! A Ning was also stunned and asked uncertainly:

"Wu Xie, I just subconsciously felt that the thing on this bronze coffin resembled a wild kudzu vine! But I know very little about it, after all, I only glanced at it at the time, and there was no detailed information in the documents!"

At this point, Ah Ning reached into her pocket, took out her phone, and opened the search page. Unfortunately... there was no outside signal at all inside the main tomb!

Wu Xie carefully examined the vines on the bronze coffin in front of him, his eyes unconsciously narrowing into slits:

"There's no mistake! This thing looks almost exactly like the one described in a notebook I once read!"

"I still remember the description in that book!"

【Gelsemium elegans, also known as wild kudzu vine, belongs to the Loganiaceae family!】

"Wild kudzu vine is an annual vine. It prefers sunlight, has opposite, ovate-oblong leaves, small yellow flowers, funnel-shaped fruits, and ovate capsules. It flowers from August to November and fruits from December to February. The earliest record of it is in the documents of the Qin Dynasty!"

"The entire kudzu vine contains highly poisonous barbs, hence its name, Gelsemium elegans!"

When Wu Xie said this, A Ning, who was standing next to him, almost cried out in surprise:

“I remember now! I’ve seen this vine somewhere before. I was fortunate enough to participate in a visit to the Imperial Academy, and I saw this wild kudzu vine in a research project building!”

"At the time, I thought the person in the white coat was pointing to the wild kudzu vines being used for experiments not far away and explaining to me that the wild kudzu vines were being used for animal experiments, and the lethal dose was 0.8 milligrams..."

"The usual symptom in mammals is respiratory paralysis, but what's really bizarre is that even when an animal is completely paralyzed, its heart is still beating!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Tianjiao instinctively thought of something unpleasant. He turned to look at the crowd behind him and spoke slowly and deliberately:

"So, this Gelsemium elegans, also known as wild kudzu vine, is a highly poisonous vine, and its toxicity has a sedative-like effect?"

Upon hearing Wu Tianjiao's voice, A Ning was momentarily confused by its meaning and instinctively responded:

"That lab worker told me that small amounts of Gelsemium elegans are relatively weakly toxic and can be used as an analgesic, with better results when combined with aspirin. However, neither of them has the effect of paralyzing ganglia, but they do have an inhibitory effect on adrenaline and smooth muscle, meaning they can inhibit the heart and lower blood pressure..."

At this point, Ah Ning's face turned inexplicably horrified. She subconsciously took a step back, raised her arm and pointed at the bronze light in front of her, unable to utter a single word for a long time!

"Ah Ning, please tell me! What exactly is going on?"

Wang Yueban looked somewhat anxious. He realized that something was wrong and had a bad feeling. He desperately wanted to know the answer!

But Ah Ning seemed to have lost the ability to speak, her mouth agape for most of the day without uttering a single word, which drove Wang Yueban somewhat crazy.

Wu Tianjiao, standing in the crowd, also looked displeased, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"That's right! This might be the legendary 'turtle breathing,' which can also be called 'immortality'!"

"Ah Ning explained it very clearly before: the toxicity of Gelsemium elegans and wild kudzu vine can paralyze 'animals,' making their hearts beat, while also inhibiting adrenaline and smooth muscle, causing the heart and blood pressure to drop!"

"If I'm not mistaken, this state can put a person into a state of 'suspended animation,' greatly delaying the decline of life..."

Wu Tianjiao's words had already left everyone present feeling both bewildered and impressed!

[Turtle Breathing] [Immortality] [Feigned Death] [Longevity]

These keywords, when strung together, create a feeling of being trapped in a maze:

"Well... I've done some research on the history of the Qin Empire. The kings who ruled the empire back then, through every dynasty, sought 'immortality' and 'longevity,' hoping to ensure that their kingdoms would last forever!"

"But... without exception, they all failed; there are no clear success stories!"

At this point, Wang Yueban seemed to remember something. He turned to look at the entrance to the main tomb chamber, his voice slightly hoarse:

"No wonder! I've felt something was off ever since I entered the main tomb chamber of the Qin Empire!"

A person who is loyal, trustworthy, benevolent, righteous, thoughtful, and constantly strives for self-improvement is a virtuous person!

[A beautiful arm like Xi Shi's; a heart as full of wisdom as Bi Gan's!]

This is a live experiment using the entire Qin Dynasty's tombs...

That's inhumane...

Chapter 245: The peach, the essence of the five elements, controls all evil!

Inside the main tomb chamber of the Qin Dynasty, in front of the bronze coffin, Kong Zhengye, upon hearing Wang Yueban's voice, instinctively broke free from Duan Tao's restraints. He knelt on the ground, his eyes slightly red.

"I understand! I understand everything... All the strange things that have happened along the way have been caused by this one plant, the Gelsemium elegans, the wild kudzu vine!"

"Why do people who have been dead for more than four days not have lividity? Why is the blood of these dead brothers still warm? And many other strange phenomena have appeared, but now it seems there are explanations for them! Perhaps their bodily functions were greatly slowed down..."

"Brothers! I, Old Kong... I'm so sorry... Even in death, I can't let you 'rest in peace'..."

Kong Zhengye's emotions infected everyone present, and for a moment the scene became somewhat quiet.

Just then, Master Yuanxin stepped forward from the crowd, his fair face slightly flushed, and his eyes, which had been squinting, slowly opened. At that moment, he seemed to have grasped some key word.

[Immortality...]

This time, it seemed to touch his soul. His eyes, usually fixed on the intricate patterns and wild vines above the bronze coffin, moved Master Yuanxin, his hands clasped together, as he twirled his prayer beads.

"I saw before that the deceased's epitaph described him as loyal, trustworthy, benevolent, righteous, thoughtful, and self-reliant, a truly virtuous person. Even the epitaph sculptor wrote a couplet for him: 'A curved arm like Xi Shi's; ~A heart with seven orifices like Bi Gan's!'"

"At the time, I was puzzled and felt that the wording here was very inappropriate. General Chang Shiwan was not recorded in any relevant documents after the Qin Dynasty. Based on this, we can judge that his achievements could not reach the level of being remembered for all time, but he was engraved with such an evaluation!"

"Now everything seems to make sense. This tomb of the Qin Empire is probably not the true mausoleum of General Chang Shiwan, but rather a site used by the Qin Empire's king to conduct 'immortality' experiments..."

As Master Yuanxin finished speaking, the last embers of hope in everyone's hearts were extinguished.

Just then, Jiang Jiaxu, a tall young man in the crowd, carrying a camera on his shoulder, fixed his gaze on the bronze coffin in front of him and spoke somewhat uncertainly:

"Along the way, we encountered 'blood red lice,' which can actually burrow into the human body and control the movement of a 'dead' person! This thing is very similar to a creature I saw before, the 'horseman worm,' which can parasitize mantises and control their movement and walking!"

"Could it be that the Qin Empire had extraordinary individuals who cultivated these 'scarlet lice' and thus promoted the research on 'immortality'?"

"And... since they are all 'immortal,' do you think it's possible that General Chang Shiwan, who is buried in this bronze coffin, is still 'alive'?"

........

Although Jiang Jiaxu's voice was not loud, it was extremely penetrating, as he voiced the deep-seated worries in everyone's hearts.

"boom!"

Just then, a large hand suddenly slapped Jiang Jiaxu hard on the shoulder. The force of the slap was so great that Jiang Jiaxu staggered several steps, almost dropping the camera to the ground.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but Jiang Jiaxu, you should at least have some common sense. Don't you have any basic biological knowledge? You can't expect a 'zombie' that's been dead for over 1,500 years to be alive now?"

"Living for a thousand years is longer than the lifespan of a sea turtle. If a sea turtle lives for a thousand years, it will become a demon or a monster. If a human lives for a thousand years, he can definitely pluck the sun, moon, and stars from the sky and tread on the Milky Way!"

"Wake up, you blockhead! Wu Xie already said that the wild kudzu vine is highly poisonous, and A Ning also said that the lethal dose is 0.8 milligrams. Even in experiments, it's only a slight dose! Look at this bronze coffin, it's wrapped with a whole vine. Putting everything else aside, even an elephant would probably die!"

Wu Xie, standing to the side, nodded almost imperceptibly and looked at everyone:

"Actually, you don't need to be so worried. A long time ago, during the Qin Dynasty, the discovery of poison was accidental. Perhaps it was discovered that some plants contained deadly poison while cooking."

"However, people with knowledge of poisons were called 'immortal arts' or 'magic arts' by the people of the Qin Empire at that time!"

"However, as time went on, the number of sorcerers in the countryside of the Wang Qin Empire gradually increased. Because of the evolution of poisons, 'immortal arts' or 'magic arts' gradually became less effective. Some people gradually increased the amount of poisons they consumed in order to achieve immunity to them..."

"Just like arsenic, a chemical element in our daily lives, it cannot be broken down and is widely used in industrial production, so it is relatively easy to obtain, including in many household products: wallpaper, paint, varnish, etc. Trace amounts of arsenic are present in the human body!"

"This element is toxic, but mild doses won't be fatal. If you look closely, many things in life are toxic, but we don't hear of anyone dying from burning plastic, do we...?"

....... .. ...

Hearing Wu Xie's words, the tall young man Jiang Jiaxu subconsciously patted his chest and abdomen, and said somewhat uncertainly:

"So, we don't need to worry about this poison from 1,500 years ago at all? Anyway, the locals of the Great Xia Federation have developed antibodies after such a long period of evolution!"

"Hey! Looks like I was overthinking it. What I'm worried about now is a 'zombie' suddenly jumping out of the bronze coffin!"

........

"Shut up! Stop your babbling!"

Wang Yueban was completely baffled. Why did Jiang Jiaxu associate everything he saw with 'zongzi'? Did he really want another one?

"Jiang Jiaxu! Let me make this clear, even if there are 'zombies,' don't panic! There are plenty of ways to deal with these things! I'll show you a couple of tricks right now!"

"The Miscellaneous Records of Jingchu clearly states that the peach is the essence of the five elements, capable of warding off evil spirits and controlling all kinds of strange phenomena!"