Ghost Immortal

Li Feng walked out of the courtyard gate; it wasn't completely dark yet.

As he walked, he pondered how to deal with the four tomb raiders that night.

The four tomb raiders came from four different schools of tomb raiding.

The tomb raiders, mountain movers, mountain unloaders, and tomb raiders.

The one-eyed old man is the leader. He is incredibly skilled with the Yin-probing Needle and his cultivation is at the peak of the Seven-Inch Spiritual Root. He should be a Mountain-Moving Taoist.

The burly man is both a laborer and a thug. The earthen-yellow magic on his shovel is used to break through stone walls and mechanisms, making him a strongman of the Unloading Ridge.

The bronze seal in the hand of the tall, thin man in the black robe was probably some kind of ritual object for suppressing corpses. In the tomb raiding trade, it's called a corpse-suppressing seal or a tomb-raiding seal, specifically designed to ward off the zombies in the tomb. He came from the Heavenly Official of Tomb Raiders.

As for the woman, the black bead hanging at her waist emitted the coldest aura. It was probably a spirit-detecting bead used to detect the concentration of yin energy in the tomb and the risk of corpse transformation. It is unknown which sect it belongs to.

Each of the four has their own strengths, and their combined efforts are truly formidable.

Their advantage lies in the tomb environment. Once they leave the tomb and engage in a direct confrontation, Li Feng is confident that, with Gao Feng's cooperation, they can wipe them out in one fell swoop.

However, now is not the time to turn against them; he still needs to use them to go into the tomb.

He walked halfway, then suddenly turned and headed towards the government office.

If you're going to go into a tomb, you have to leave yourself a way out.

Zhao Tiezhu pleaded for him yesterday, which shows that this person is someone you can get along with.

Moreover, he was a head constable in the yamen, an eighth-rank official, and considered a second-level expert in the officialdom, equivalent to a Qi Refining Realm cultivator in the Daoist sect.

With such a person backing them up, even if something terrible happens in the tomb, at least there's the government as a safety net.

The lights were on in the duty room in the back hall of the yamen, and Zhao Tiezhu was sitting at the table reviewing case files.

Seeing Li Feng knock and enter, he was slightly surprised. He put down the file in his hand, frowned, and said, "Shouldn't you be on night watch at this hour? What are you doing at the yamen?"

Li Feng closed the door, walked to the table, took out the golden crescent moon from his pocket, and gently placed it on the table.

Zhao Tiezhu's gaze fell on the crescent moon, his brows furrowed.

He reached out and picked up the crescent moon, examining it for a moment by the light of the oil lamp. His expression gradually turned serious: "Where did you get this thing? It's so full of yin energy."

"I found the stone that Zhao Laosan hid in the crack before he died."

Li Feng didn't hide anything and told the whole story about being kidnapped by four tomb raiders the night before and having no choice but to agree to go down into the tomb with them.

After listening, Zhao Tiezhu put the crescent moon back on the table.

He stood up, rummaged through the cabinet behind him and pulled out a yellowed old booklet, opened it to a page, and pushed it in front of Li Feng.

The booklet contained a pattern almost identical to the crescent moon, only larger and with clearer details.

A line of small text describes the image.

Moon Soul Key: An ancient magical artifact used to open the tombs of cultivators. It is made by fusing moonstone with burial soil and can separate yin and yang, allowing access to the tomb. This item is usually buried beside the tomb owner and cannot be possessed by anyone other than the tomb owner's trusted confidant.

After reading the line of text, Li Feng was startled. No wonder these guys were so determined to get their hands on this.

This is the key to open the tomb!

Zhao Tiezhu turned to another page, which had even more intricate patterns.

It is a complete full moon with a dark red bead embedded in the center.

The accompanying note reads: "The Moon Soul Pearl is the core of the Moon Soul Key. It is formed by absorbing the essence and blood of the deceased in the burial soil. The holder of the pearl can maintain life by using the tomb's energy. Even after death, the pearl will not decay and can still move."

"However, the Moon Soul Pearl also carries the risk of backlash. If the holder harbors deep resentment before death, he will surely transform into a vengeful ghost seven days after death, turning against everyone associated with the tomb."

Zhao Tiezhu closed the booklet, his tone heavy: "Zhao Laosan was still able to walk ten days after he died, all because of this bead!"

"He must have brought this Moon Soul Key out of the tomb. The power of the Moon Soul Key allowed him to maintain the form of a living person after death, but he was just an ordinary person after all. He couldn't withstand the erosion of the tomb energy of the Moon Soul Key. Ten days later, the power of the Moon Soul Key was exhausted, and he died completely."

Li Feng's mind raced, and he instantly understood why the woman had asked him before she left whether Zhao Laosan's eyes were open or closed when he died.

The fact that the dead person opened their eyes indicates that their resentment has not subsided, making the backlash from the Moon Soul Pearl unavoidable.

The woman was trying to determine whether Zhao Laosan would become a vengeful ghost after his death and come to claim their lives.

"Officer Zhao, this tomb is a bit eerie," Li Feng said, looking at Zhao Tiezhu with considerable trepidation.

Zhao Tiezhu sneered and sat back down in his chair.

"Of course it's not an ordinary tomb. If I'm not mistaken, these four tomb raiders have their eyes on a burial mound!"

Li Feng asked curiously, "What is a burial mound?"

Zhao Tiezhu slowly spoke: "Burial soil is a special burial material used by ancient cultivators to suppress great demons or evil spirits. By sealing the tomb with burial soil, the things inside cannot get out, and the living outside cannot get in. Only the person who holds the Moon Soul Key can open the tomb door."

"The mass grave north of Qingyan City was part of an ancient battlefield hundreds of years ago. Countless things of unknown origin are buried underground. The black aura that has been drifting from the depths of the mountains in recent months is probably related to this burial mound."

Li Feng felt a chill run down his spine. If what Zhao Tiezhu said was true, then what was suppressed in this tomb was definitely not simple.

Fortunately, he didn't act rashly and go down into the tomb with those bastards. Instead, he went to see Zhao Tiezhu first.

Those who could make ancient cultivators go to the trouble of sealing their tombs with burial soil were either extremely powerful evil cultivators or great demons at the level of transformation or above.

Neither of them could be dealt with by four tomb raiders with only seven inches of spiritual root power.

He was merely a cultivator with a nine-inch spiritual root, so he couldn't possibly have much ability.

"What do you plan to do now?" Zhao Tiezhu stared at Li Feng, seemingly surprised by his composure.

Li Feng stated his plan directly: "I want to go down into the tomb with them to find out what's inside. Officer Zhao will lead men to meet me outside. If anything goes wrong, I'll ask Officer Zhao to save me."

Zhao Tiezhu narrowed his eyes: "You're quite fearless, kid. Those four tomb raiders all have seven-inch spiritual roots. You, a mere four-inch spiritual root watchman, going down into the tomb with them is like a lamb to the slaughter."

Li Feng loosened his concealment technique slightly, raising his spiritual energy fluctuations to around six inches of spiritual root level. He then cupped his hands and said, "To be honest, I have indeed concealed my cultivation level. After my family's decline, I have always relied on concealment techniques to hide my true strength, so as not to attract attention when I travel outside."

A strange light flashed in Zhao Tiezhu's eyes, and he became even more surprised by Li Feng.

"A six-inch spiritual root is not bad for your age, but it's still not enough to deal with four seasoned veterans with seven-inch spiritual roots."

"I do not seek a direct confrontation, but only self-preservation. Besides, the environment inside the tomb is complex, and they need my talismans and spells to find their way. They will not turn against us in the short term."

As Li Feng spoke, he took out a Thunder Explosion Talisman from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

"This is a lightning explosion talisman I drew myself. Its power is equivalent to the full-force attack of a cultivator with an eight-inch spiritual root. If it really comes to a last resort, I still have a few more talismans I've hidden away. I'm not necessarily afraid of them."

Zhao Tiezhu picked up the Thunder Explosion Talisman and examined it, his eyes filled with even more admiration: "You do have some skill. No wonder you were able to walk all the way to this city by yourself. Alright, since you have the guts, I, the constable, will cover for you. I will lead a team of constables to ambush near the quarry. If there is any unusual activity in the tomb, we will immediately rush in."

Li Feng breathed a sigh of relief and bowed again to express his gratitude.

Before leaving, he couldn't help but turn back and ask, "Officer Zhao, is this case related to the embezzlement case reported by the county magistrate?"

Zhao Tiezhu looked surprised, then gave a wry smile: "You're quite clever. That's right, the black aura has been drifting into the city for several months now, and the county magistrate has been investigating it in secret."

"As soon as Zhao Laosan's case came out the day before yesterday, the county magistrate suspected it was related to the black miasma, but there was no conclusive evidence. If you can find the source of the black miasma in the tomb, I will give you the top credit."