I, a cultivator, have ended up in the world of tomb raiding.

As the sun sets in the west, the outlines of the mountains gradually become hazy.

Torches lit up the courtyard of the mortuary, where the bandits raised their cups and swore an oath, making a pact to steal from Ping Mountain three times.

Only after everyone had chopped off the chicken's head and burned yellow paper, thus establishing the alliance, did Li Yue slowly walk out from the side room.

He and his band of tomb raiders, who had lit lanterns, torches, and pine torches, set off again toward the Ping Mountain tomb.

The large group left the Old Bear Ridge mortuary in a grand procession and, under the moonlight, headed into the mountains overnight. The lead group was the engineering battalion under Luo Laowai's command.

Many of them had already joined the band at Changsheng Mountain, considered to be one of their own in the bandit world. They all wore cinnabar silk ribbons tied around their arms as a mark, dressed like the bandits of the Unloading Ridge gang.

The remaining soldiers were simply there to collect their pay and rations. They carried machine guns and explosives, along with pickaxes, axes, shovels, and pry bars. Each of them also had a bamboo cage with a live chicken hanging from their waist.

The crowing of roosters was chaotic, and the line of soldiers was loose and disorganized, dragging itself erratically along the mountain path.

However, the soldiers were all excited, showing no fear of the two previous losses at Ping Mountain.

A few days ago, Li Yue was resting at the mortuary. Because of the crowds and noise, he was unable to meditate and cultivate, so he mingled with these soldiers and bandits.

Listening to their casual conversations gave me a better understanding of the current chaotic world, the warlord conflicts, and the hardships faced by ordinary people.

For these soldiers, going into battle to kill the enemy meant risking their lives for food.

Although tomb raiding is dangerous, once the underground palace is opened, the usual reward is ten silver dollars and a large piece of fat.

It's much more worthwhile than getting shot on the battlefield.

Having just undergone a blood oath and been enthusiastically encouraged by Chen Yulou, everyone was filled with excitement.

With everyone harboring the thought of getting rich, their steps were naturally light, and no one paid any attention to the dangers in the mountains.

The truth is, people die for wealth, and birds die for food.

Li Yue had no contempt for these engineers and bandits who fought so relentlessly.

His cultivation of immortality was also against the will of Heaven, only his goals were different.

Li Yue walked behind these engineering teams, together with the Xieling bandits, carrying a bamboo basket on his back.

The Angry-Sun Chicken lay quietly in the basket, occasionally letting out a low crow that silenced all the other birds around it.

Beside him were the three mountain-moving men, among whom Lao Yangren and Hua Ling occasionally glanced at the Angry Sun Chicken in his bamboo basket, a hint of curiosity flashing in their eyes.

All three were clad in heavy mountain-splitting armor, with twenty-shot mirror-finish pistols concealed at their waists, and their steps were steady.

Although he was somewhat curious about Li Yue, who was neither under Luo Laowai's command nor a member of the Xieling bandits, he did not ask any questions.

The four of them remained silent, focusing only on the mountain path ahead as they moved forward in a harmonious manner.

The Xiangxi region boasts eight hundred unique peaks and three thousand beautiful streams, with a new vista every ten steps, and its mountainous terrain and water features are quite different from those of the Central Plains.

By the time the large group arrived at the foot of Ping Mountain, the sky was already beginning to lighten, and the mountains were lush and verdant with dense forests.

Yet, a layer of gloomy mist lingered between the mountains and valleys, with a sinister wind swirling and a sinister aura hanging heavy.

"The Yin energy in this bottle is so strong. It absorbed some of it a while ago, but it has returned to normal in just a few days. It seems that there must be a source in the mountain that breeds and gathers Yin energy."

Li Yue glanced at the mountain's shape and a guess formed in his mind.

"But the killing intent of these thousands of men is so strong that it has forced the demonic mist to thin out quite a bit. It's really frustrating," he sighed to himself.

There were too many people, and the crowds were too mixed.

Although the elite troops of the Unloading Ridge faction are few, they are all skilled fighters trained by Chen Yulou. In their two previous raids into the mountains, they had already lost more than a hundred of their elite troops.

He then transferred a group of skilled fighters from Xiangyin overnight. Each of them was armed with both open and concealed weapons, fully equipped, and were all tough fighters who could fight and struggle, but they were still able to control themselves in a crisis.

But Luo Laowai's engineers were just a bunch of opium addicts and brothel regulars. If it weren't for the guns and the pressure from their officers, they wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything.

If they actually encounter traps and evil spirits in the tomb, these people will not only be of no help, but will become a burden and a source of trouble.

More importantly, his purpose in entering the tomb was to absorb the Yin energy and evil energy and refine it into his own cultivation.

But when so many people gathered together, their large-scale activity dispersed much of the yin energy.

If he wants to devour it, wouldn't he have to pull the yin energy back?

This is a bit too strange; I'm not a vacuum cleaner.

"I need to find an opportunity to quietly shake off these people," Li Yue thought to himself.

By this time, they had all arrived at the foot of Ping Mountain, and Chen Yulou ordered his men to set up camp.

Then, gazing at the distant, mist-shrouded Ping Mountain, he sighed with a sense of longing and despair:

"It's a pity that the Mountain Moving and Ridge Unloading officers don't have the ability of the Tomb Raiders to examine the mountain shape and investigate the earth's veins."

Using our usual methods, we would find a weak spot on the mountain ridge, lay blasting holes, and blast open the underground palace.

He turned to Li Yue and the three men from the Mountain Moving Group who were walking up from behind and asked:

"Brother Partridge Whistle, Brother Li, why don't we take a look at the situation at Ping Mountain together? Do you have any other insightful opinions?"

He ostensibly invited the two to view the mountain, but in reality, he was also testing Li Yue's abilities.

I want to see if this extraordinary person who can subdue the Angry Rooster has any knowledge of the skills of tomb raiding, such as observing mountain shapes, examining earth veins, and locating dragon veins.

Partridge Whistle's gaze swept across the mountains, and he slowly shook his head: "The Mountain Moving lineage is only good at digging and opening up mountains, and is not familiar with feng shui and geomancy. We still have to rely on General Manager Chen to take charge of this matter of observing the mountains and determining the burial site."

"I am not proficient in the art of feng shui and dragon vein searching," Li Yue said, making no attempt to hide his shortcomings.

He said, "However, the mountain is shrouded in mist that does not dissipate, the dragon vein has long been severed, and the corpse energy and poisonous miasma are intertwined, making it a very ominous place. If a large tomb is built in it, it cannot be judged by ordinary standards."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yulou, Partridge Whistle, and the others knew there was more to the story, so they all looked at him.

Li Yue continued, "This mountain is shaped like an ancient bottle, and its interior is hollow, just like the belly of a bottle."

Therefore, tomb raiders have always focused on the caves in the mountains, while ignoring the bottle opening on the mountaintop.

Judging from the gathering of clouds above it, the mouth of the bottle at the top of this mountain is the eye point where the energy of the entire mountain range gathers and locks in the veins.

The earth's energy from all directions converges from the valley into the mountainside, eventually rising and gathering at this narrow, confined opening, forming a natural acupoint for gathering energy and suppressing evil influences.

Upon hearing this refreshing answer, both Chen Yulou and Partridge Whistle were moved, realizing that it made perfect sense.

When the Yuan soldiers built the tomb here, they had the intention of suppressing the Dongyi people, and they used ruthless methods of suppression.

It is rare to see tombs used as amulets or talismans. The claim that this Yuan Dynasty general used his own body as a talisman to lock in the mountain and river energy and the dragon's energy of the Miao region in western Hunan is indeed quite plausible.

However, the summit of Ping Mountain is extremely dangerous, and the large number of the Xieling bandits could not maneuver properly to climb up and plunder.

The strength of the Xieling tribe lies in "gathering the masses to open up mountains and break through hills and mounds".

If only a small force is sent up, the advantage will be completely lost.

Moreover, no matter which direction you look at it from, the terrain of Ping Mountain is extremely precipitous.

Having already suffered a major setback at Wengcheng last time, Chen Yulou wanted to play it safe this time. If possible, he would rather go slower than encounter traps or poisonous insects while climbing the mountain.

In addition, for some reason, he still harbored some doubts about Li Yue's words at this moment and was unwilling to believe them completely.