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

I said I was resting, but I only sat for less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

Partridge Whistle was not the kind of person who wallowed in self-pity; he had already regrouped.

As they walked through the rapidly darkening forest, they noticed the surrounding demonic mist thickening, its aura ominous.

He then looked up at Li Yue, who was walking ahead, and spoke with a hint of caution:

"Brother Li, this ancestral cave of the Yi people is ancient and may harbor hidden dangers."

"It's getting late, and a thin mist is rising in the forest. This is no safe place. Should we be cautious and proceed slowly?"

Li Yue had already told them the location where the tomb chamber had fallen.

It is near the largest and deepest cave in the area that the ancestors of the Dongyi people have been buried.

Upon hearing Partridge Whistle's words, Li Yue looked up and scanned his surroundings.

In the dark corners unseen by others,

The centipedes and venomous insects he had summoned earlier were now rapidly slithering along tree roots and grass stems, their segments barely making a sound as they slid across decaying leaves and moss.

The swarm of insects stood in orderly ranks, like a silent shadow, following closely behind the group, ready to obey commands at any moment.

This is the source of those eerie mists.

Li Yue was surprised by Partridge Whistle's intuition, nodded slightly to him, and slowed his pace.

The people behind them understood and began to move quietly, using the shadows of the trees to their advantage.

Before long, a mournful wail suddenly drifted from the depths of the dense forest, sounding like crying and sobbing, extremely poignant.

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances.

Besides the Miao guide's sudden change in expression and the look of fear,

The others, being more experienced, didn't immediately think about ghosts and spirits; they simply walked even more quietly.

For a moment, only the soft crunching sound of six people stepping on withered branches and fallen leaves could be heard in the forest.

The deeper you go, the clearer the crying becomes.

It sounds very similar to human wailing, yet it also has an inhuman, bizarre quality, and its location is unpredictable, as if it is coming from all directions at the same time.

The sobbing was dry and direct, sorrowful and piercing, like the wailing of a funeral procession, echoing between the cliffs, sending chills down one's spine.

The moon was about to rise but had not yet risen, and the world was shrouded in darkness.

Walking in the forest, surrounded by hazy tree shadows and scattered white mist, I felt a bit fuzzy.

The guide knew that there was no one else in this deep mountain forest, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he couldn't stop trembling.

It was so intense that my hair stood on end, and my legs felt weak as if I were walking on cotton wool. I almost collapsed to the ground on the spot.

Partridge Whistle reacted quickly, grabbing him by the back of his collar and lifting him up so he couldn't make a sound.

"A ghost! It's a ghost!" The guide was pale, his voice trembling, terrified to the extreme.

"It's a monkey crying, not a ghost," Li Yue said softly, looking in the direction from which the crying sound came.

Miao Renxiang was taken aback, looking at him with lingering fear, and asked cautiously:

"Young driver, how did you know?"

Having witnessed Li Yue's extraordinary abilities firsthand, he formed a preconceived notion that Li Yue was a wizard or Taoist priest hired by Chen Yulou to help with tomb raiding.

Furthermore, Li Yue has long hair, so this conjecture is not entirely unfounded.

The local cave dwellers collectively refer to shamans or priests as "Lao Si," and because Li Yue was young, they called him "Xiao Lao Si."

They often held shamans and Taoist priests in awe of those who possessed magic and could exorcise evil spirits.

Therefore, he respected Li Yue greatly and dared not offend him.

"You don't need to call me that," Li Yue said.

Although he was not familiar with the local customs, he could roughly guess the meaning of the terms of address.

He then explained to the seedling, "The ape's cry is sharp and high-pitched. This sound is flat and dry, without any emotional fluctuation. It is the sound of a beast, not a human."

The group listened intently again, and as he had said, the crying, though poignant, was monotonous and repetitive, lacking any of the intonation or rhythm of human crying. They immediately felt much more at ease.

"Alright, then may I call you Master Li?" The guide quickly and respectfully agreed, but couldn't help but wonder, "But what are these monkeys crying about? Why are they so pitiful?"

Li Yue didn't want to say more, so he raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said softly, "Let's go."

The group then fell silent and, following the continuous sound of wailing, quietly made their way into the depths of the dense forest.

Before long, they arrived at the core area.

Before me appeared a dense cluster of ancient trees, their shadows swaying, exuding a chilling aura.

The wailing and howling sound came from the depths of the forest, from the direction where the giant rock had rolled down.

The closer one gets, the more chaotic and unpleasant the sobbing and weeping become, as if hundreds or thousands of people are wailing in unison, echoing repeatedly through the forest.

Upon closer examination, it is indeed as Li Yue said, that all of them are dry and flat howls.

Moreover, it only has monotonous and repetitive mournful sounds, unlike human voices, but more like the desperate cries of beasts in despair.

Even though it was already confirmed that the monkeys were responsible, the group still felt something was strange and unusual.

I can't fathom why this group of monkeys is gathered here, crying so miserably.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, everyone held their breath, kept their heads low, and cautiously moved forward step by step, using the trees as cover.

The hazy moonlight filtered through the trees, casting a cold, pale glow.

Behind the forest, a large section of the mountainside, broken off and rolled down from the front of Ping Mountain, lay horizontally on the ground, dark green, like an ancient beast that had been sleeping soundly.

The tomb is covered with crisscrossing cracks, and its interior is dark and deep, with the exposed structure of the tomb chamber vaguely visible.

The ground in front of the rock was littered with broken tiles and bricks, and gold, silver, bronze, jade, pottery figurines and funerary objects were scattered all over the place. It was clear that the tomb was violently impacted by the landslide, and all the objects inside were shaken apart.

Amidst the rubble, a remarkably tall and opulent purple-gold coffin lay askew, its opulence unparalleled.

The outer garment, adorned with pearls and jade, and the body of the coffin, inlaid with flawless jade discs, was now shattered beyond recognition, with pearls and jade scattered all over the ground, a scene of utter devastation.

The coffin was pitch black, obscured by half a seven-star board, making it impossible to see the condition of the Yuan general's remains.

Only the continuous sound of weeping echoed through the forest.

As the group walked under the tree, cries came from all directions, making it impossible to discern the source or determine the number of monkeys.

Partridge Whistle was always cautious in his actions, and he originally intended to stand still and observe the situation, ascertaining the true situation before taking any action.

Li Yue ignored all of that and continued walking straight toward the coffin without stopping.

None of the crowd dared to stop him; after a moment's hesitation, they had no choice but to follow closely behind.

A moment later, Li Yue had already taken the lead and walked to the giant rock.

The shattered purple-gold outer coffin lay askew on the ground, revealing a lacquered coffin made of golden nanmu wood inside.

The coffin lid had been shaken open, and was only partially covered by a seven-star board.

Under the immense pressure of the golden coffin, a thick, white-haired arm was suddenly revealed.

Its claws, several inches long, were covered in white, downy fur, and stretched out from under the outer coffin, remaining motionless.

"This must be the old ape," Li Yue thought to himself.

In the original story, it was the kindness shown by Miss Red and Partridge Whistle that allowed the monkey to survive, which then led to many other troubles.

Behind them, the three mountain-moving men, the Miao guide, and the red-clad girl also approached one after another.

Upon seeing the giant white-furred claws exposed at the bottom of the coffin, everyone looked surprised.

However, they were either skilled outlaws or Taoist priests who frequently dealt with the malevolent spirits of these ancient tombs.

I've seen quite a few cases of corpses turning into zombies, but I haven't shown much panic.

The Miao guide, being timid by nature, mistook it for a white-haired zombie and was immediately terrified, his legs trembling.

Before anyone could react, the sounds of weeping suddenly gathered in the forest.

Figures jostled among the trees, the leaves rustling softly.

A large group of dark figures leaped toward the purple-gold coffin.

Night had fallen, and the cold light was hazy.

Li Yue looked up and saw a large group of monkeys emerging from the woods.

There were over a hundred of them, including both old and young.

Some mother monkeys even came along, holding their newborn babies in their arms.

The older monkey led the way, while the mother monkey protected her cubs from behind.

Tears welled in every monkey's eye.

At this moment, however, they all put away their grief, baring their teeth and staring at the crowd warily and hostilely.

Upon seeing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

These monkeys were clearly there to guard their old ape leader, who was buried under a coffin, just like people attending a funeral.

"So it was just a white ape." Miao Renxiang, the guide, breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid of ghosts and zombies, but not so much of a wild monkey, and immediately said:

"Wild monkeys roam the Mengdong River area, and there's even a place called White Ape Cave in Laoxiong Ridge."

These monkeys are the most unruly; they often block the road, throw stones, and steal food from merchants. Merchants and guides alike would sing monkey songs to scare them away.

His tone was tinged with deep disgust, then he frowned and said with concern:

"These monkeys are blocking our way; they probably don't want us to get closer. What should we do?"

The monkeys stopped a dozen paces away from them.

Seeing the crowd approaching the shattered coffin step by step, they immediately revealed their ferocious nature, each one arching their backs and growling, threatening roars rolling from their throats.

The first few were baring their claws, ready to pounce and fight at any moment.

Li Yue disregarded the threat posed by the group of mischievous monkeys and leaped directly toward the shattered purple-gold coffin.

Shul then stepped over the troop of monkeys and looked down at the old ape under the coffin.

The ape's two cunning eyes darted around.

Seemingly emboldened by the presence of his monkey followers, he acted with impunity.

He bared his teeth at Li Yue, making a threatening gesture, his eyes filled with a sinister and malicious intent.