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

As the group traveled along, all they could see were palaces and stone platforms; there was no coffin or remains of the deceased.

He then guessed that the real burial site of the secret artifacts and the storage of the ancient coffin must be in the Wuliang Hall right before his eyes.

Recalling the ancient legends of the Corpse King of Xiangxi, and connecting them with the strange occurrence of the gathering and movement of poisonous insects underground, a sense of dread inevitably arose in everyone's hearts.

Their steps slowed unconsciously, their expressions were uneasy, and they exchanged glances.

In the end, they could only crowd around Chen Yulou and Partridge Whistle and cautiously step into the Wuliang Hall.

The hall was sparsely furnished, but the most eye-catching feature was a huge circular opening embedded in the rock strata of the earth in the center of the hall.

Its shape resembles a deep well, with a huge, pure white jade plate spread out above the well opening.

The jade has a warm and substantial texture, and the surface is carved with Taoist cloud patterns, appearing perfectly natural.

The well opening was completely covered, and at first glance it looked like a decorative stone platform in a palace.

The group of thieves looked around, but none of them noticed anything amiss.

Only Partridge Whistle has a keen eye, having spent years searching for ancient tombs and secret realms, and is well-versed in all kinds of ingenious mechanisms and tricks in ancient tombs.

Carrying the lantern, he slowly approached the jade plate. He ran his hand over the patterns on the plate's surface, his eyebrows twitching slightly, and in a moment he understood its secrets.

He turned to Chen Yulou beside him and said, "Brother Chen, this jade plate is not just for decoration; it is a mechanism for turning things over."

As he spoke, Partridge Whistle bent down to find the weight on one side of the jade plate, put his weight on his shoulders, and pressed down with his arms.

With a whooshing sound, the heavy jade disc spun and rotated along the underground axis, revealing a huge black hole.

A chilling aura emanated from within, so deep it was unfathomable.

Like the gaping maw of a lurking beast, looking down, one sees only swirling black mist, making it impossible to discern the scene below.

Chen Yulou peered over for a moment, considered the situation carefully, and then immediately raised his hand to order his men: "Get ropes and torches, and send two men down to find out the details."

Several daring thieves were ordered to tie ropes and lower themselves into the well, carrying torches as they descended to investigate each level.

Then, after waiting for most of the day, the two people finally climbed out of the well.

The two men explained that the bottom of the well was wide, with many old coffins and countless withered corpses scattered around, but there were no poisonous insects lurking there, nor any malevolent spirits moving about.

Upon learning that there was no danger below, Chen Yulou found it rather strange.

Those poisonous insects and centipedes all came to this palace.

Now there are no insects in the hall, and no centipedes in the well. So where did these insects go?

However, since there's nothing to worry about, there's no point in overthinking it.

We should act quickly and take the treasure out of here, lest things get complicated.

So they selected a dozen skilled men, who climbed down the ropes one by one and all landed at the bottom of the alchemy chamber.

After landing, they immediately saw a huge stone slab that had been partially lifted, revealing a dark and deep cave entrance.

The stone slab is carved with two bas-reliefs of evil spirits. The fierce ghosts have disheveled hair and ferocious expressions, with hollow eye sockets, exuding an indescribable eeriness and gloom.

Hong Guniang was meticulous and skilled at deciphering lock mechanisms. Her gaze fell on the joint between the stone slabs, and she immediately noticed something amiss: "Strange."

Chen Yulou recognized the lock and, upon seeing it, asked Hong Guniang what she had noticed.

Red Girl replied, "Chief, this cave entrance was sealed with a dog-head lock from the Song Dynasty."

This lock has an interlocking, complex mechanism that requires a special key to open and close; brute force will only break the lock cylinder.

The lock is perfectly intact, without a single crack. If it wasn't opened with a key, then this person must have extensive knowledge of cracking mechanisms and hidden locks.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yulou's expression suddenly darkened.

This place is buried deep underground and rarely visited by people. How could anyone else have arrived here before them, except for this group?

The first image that flashed through his mind was Li Yue.

The young man was eccentric and left without saying a word halfway through, his intentions unknown.

Chen Yulou composed himself and spoke in a deep voice:

"Could it be Li Yue? He disappeared without a trace halfway, but with his strange abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for him to bypass us and sneak into this place first."

Perhaps he has already gotten there first.

At this point, Chen Yulou was both angry and anxious, inwardly cursing Li Yue for being hypocritical.

Previously, he spoke frankly and openly, full of righteous rhetoric about saving the people, but in the end, he turned out to be so impatient and greedy.

Acting selfishly, they have absolutely no sense of morality.

No wonder this kid refused to swear an oath!

Upon hearing this, Partridge Whistle did not immediately agree.

By the dim light of the lantern in his hand, he bent down to examine the surface of the lifted stone slab closely.

The surrounding stone walls were covered with years of grime, insect carcasses, and foul odors.

This stone slab, however, was clean and tidy, with only a thin layer of dust, a stark contrast to the surrounding filth and disorder.

His eyes flickered slightly as he surveyed the entire alchemy room, and slowly revealed his insights:

"If you look closely at the layout here, you'll see that in ancient times, alchemists would have used alchemical furnaces and cauldrons for refining elixirs."

This place has a shady and secluded terrain, making it an excellent place for alchemy. Although there are traces of burning medicinal stones around it, the most important alchemy furnace is missing.

The surface of this stone slab is clean and should be covered by heavy objects for a long time.

My guess is that what was previously placed there were the alchemy furnace and equipment used for refining pills.

At this point, Partridge Whistle paused, recalling what he had seen before, and added:

"Ordinary alchemy furnaces are made of thick bronze and weigh hundreds of kilograms. Even several strong men would find it difficult to move them even an inch. We would not be able to move them easily."

But Brother Li was able to single-handedly contend with a mountain demon like the six-winged centipede that day; his strength and skills far surpassed those of ordinary people. It's not impossible that he moved the giant furnace.

That is to say, even if he could move the alchemy furnace, where could he take it by himself?

There are only a few places here where you can hide things.

Everyone looked around blankly.

Yes, but what about the alchemy furnace?

With the valuable goods before him, and fearing that all the treasures would be taken away, Chen Yulou could no longer restrain himself. He waved his hand and sternly addressed his subordinates:

"There's no time to lose. Since someone has gotten there first, we can't delay any longer. Grab your weapons and follow me into the cave to find out what's going on!"

……

……

Deep within the Medicine King Pavilion, four pavilions built of cast iron are experiencing unprecedented pressure.

A dense swarm of rustling insects could be heard outside the iron building.

The sounds of tiny carapaces rubbing together and feet crawling were continuous.

In an instant, it enveloped the entire iron building, layer upon layer covering the outer walls.

The buildings were completely silent, so the sudden sound seemed extremely abrupt. It was a fine, teeth-grinding sound that made one's hair stand on end.

Li Yue remained calm and focused, concentrating all his energy on cultivating and breaking through, but the noise and commotion became increasingly clear, with wisps of yin and evil energy surrounding him, making it difficult not to notice.

But he never opened his eyes.

The angry rooster beside him, protecting him, remained calm and still.

The absence of a warning signal indicates that the situation is not life-threatening, and there is no need to distract oneself and disturb one's cultivation.

This is a crucial moment for his cultivation breakthrough.

The dense Yin energy that had been absorbed through the layers of the underground palace was heavy and powerful, and it was all compressed and swirled outside the Qi Sea.

He deliberately suppressed the yin energy that was eager to break free of its shackles, restraining and conserving it.

The reason for not rushing into a breakthrough is to accumulate enough Yin energy to achieve full form in one fell swoop.

Then you can steadily and safely cross the barrier of the mid-stage of Qi Refining!