Chapter 163: A Horrific Death Awaits You

Qin Yang led the group to an exit, only to suddenly notice the bearded man and his associates acting somewhat dazed not far away. A ghostly figure was lurking behind them. Inwardly, Qin Yang cursed Red Phoenix for being utterly ruthless—even more vicious than himself. Through his Yin-Yang eyes, he could clearly discern a bizarre entity manipulating the minds of the bearded man and the others. It felt precisely like the sensation that had surged forth when Red Phoenix had pricked his palm back then, though that had been neutralized by the underworld.

Bothering with them no further, Qin Yang led his companions to the exit, arriving near the surrounding karst caves. He glanced around, leapt into the air with a spin, and kicked a protruding stone. To the utter astonishment of Professor Guan and the others, a stone slab suddenly began to rotate. Just as they were about to step inside, a sharp arrow came whistling toward the entrance.

Startled, the group spun around to see that the zombie monster from earlier had appeared out of nowhere, holding several bows with lethal arrows aimed squarely at them.

"Go."

Qin Yang kicked a wooden beam straight inside. At the same time, the divine wolf let out a roar that directly reverberated through the entire mausoleum. The massive, floating resentment wailed unceasingly, and heart-rending shrieks echoed simultaneously. Qin Yang clearly saw powerful zombies charging toward the spot one after another, instantly killing a few pathetic tomb raiders in the process. Amid the panic, however, Red Phoenix remained unhurried; she grabbed something from a burial chamber, swiftly used the bearded man and his crew as human shields, and slipped away through a secret door.

Old Qin had no time to track where she had fled. He commanded a ghost soldier lurking in the shadows to strike. Taking advantage of the lingering might of the divine wolf's roar, which left the zombie archers trembling, he and the divine wolf charged through the secret door and triggered the mechanism. Just as the stone slab was sealing shut, through the narrowing gap, he caught sight of zombie cavalry mounted on withered horses charging over. Seeing the long halberds in their grasp sent a shiver down Old Qin's spine, especially when he spotted Stephen's severed head impaled on one of the zombie horsemen's halberds.

Once the stone door closed, the faint sound of clashing metal could still be heard echoing.

Too terrified to venture anywhere in the secret passage, the group waited until Qin Yang entered before asking him to lead the way. After winding this way and that and climbing a very long slope, they spotted a glow ahead. Upon walking closer, they discovered they had reached a hall that appeared to be an alchemical chamber. The hall was three zhang high, supported by four pillars carved with divine dragons, each gripping a night-pearl the size of a fist in its mouth. The surrounding walls were inlaid with beads emitting a faint, eerie luminescence, and an oil lamp flickered in a corner. The group stared in awe; how could they fail to realize that the mysterious glow illuminating the entire hall came from that single oil lamp? They sighed in admiration at the masterwork of the ancients.

They watched as Qin Yang walked up to the large tripod at the center.

Holding a jade bagua in his hand, he carefully placed it inside the tripod, leaving everyone utterly bewildered.

"Mr. Dong, is this all it takes?" Qin Yang noticed that the bronze tripod contained a taiji fish symbol, and neither it nor the jade bagua in his hand looked carved—they appeared utterly natural, as if formed by heaven. Furthermore, several sarira relics rested within, presumably left behind after Dong Feng's cremation.

"This is sufficient." Dong Feng seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Your divine wolf's roar earlier actually shook all the malevolent spirits. If not for today being a special day, I fear even you would have faced grave misfortune."

"I am blessed with great fortune," Qin Yang chuckled.

With that, he pulled a pitch-black bronze mirror from his bosom and said, "Mr. Dong, if you please."

"Very well."

With a single stride, Dong Feng vanished directly into the bronze mirror. A flash of dark light swept across the surface of the mirror—the task was successfully completed!

At that very moment, perhaps due to the jade bagua, the night-pearls in the mouths of the four carved giant dragons suddenly erupted with gentle rays of light, illuminating the entire hall in a comforting glow. Professor Guan and the others stood dumbfounded, having no inkling of what method Qin Yang had employed. Since Dong Feng had been successfully welcomed into the mirror, Qin Yang's spirits were high. "It is relatively safe here now. Let's go," he said.

"What on earth is going on here?" Professor Guan and the others asked eagerly.

"It's very simple. Down below is a nest of zombies, and this is the core location of the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation that suppresses them. It's just that back in the year 280 AD, something went wrong here. Though the suppression still held, it could only last until July of this year. I came here simply to reinforce the seal," Qin Yang said, stretching lazily. "You folks certainly have sharp instincts, managing to sneak in right around the third day of the third lunar month."

The group exchanged glances, feeling that Qin Yang's explanation sounded somewhat absurd, yet the reality below matched his words precisely.

"Time is almost up; we should leave. This grand array will be completely sealed in twenty minutes. If we don't leave now, we won't get out," Qin Yang smiled.

"What?" Professor Guan was startled. "What do you mean?"

"To prevent anyone from coming in and causing trouble, I've sealed it," Qin Yang said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Do you have any idea how much significance the countless cultural relics below hold for filling in the gaps of our nation's history?" Professor Guan, seemingly forgetting the pain now that his wound had healed, spoke in a loud voice. "By rashly sealing this place, do you know what a massive loss it is to the country?!"

Qin Yang laughed amusedly. "There's still a chance. If you want to make a contribution to the country, you can go back down right now. Shall I tell you how to open the secret passage below? How about that?"

"You!" Professor Guan was so angry he was at a loss for words.

Qin Yang shrugged. "I don't care about national history or anything of the sort. I only know that if the things down below rush out, a lot of people will die."

"We can completely mobilize the military to come here," Professor Guan suddenly thought of something. He slapped his thigh and said excitedly, "Even if the great array is sealed, there will be a way to break back in. The treasures buried below are immensely rich; I must report this to the state."

"As you please." Qin Yang truly had nothing more to say to him.

Professor Guan snorted. "Once the army arrives, the monsters below will undoubtedly be wiped out."

"Whatever." Qin Yang was extremely confident. "I will escort you out anyway. Since your remaining lifespan is only a few days, I really can't be bothered to manage your affairs."

"What?" The group was startled.

Qin Yang continued, "Naturally. Down below is inherently a land of extreme yin, and the resentment is profoundly deep. You've lingered down there long enough; the yin energy you've inhaled is enough to cause you to die a gruesome death. Over the next few days, you'll dream every night of Dong Zhou's army being slaughtered in a brutal encirclement. Then, you'll feel as though your internal organs are being chewed apart by ants, and your entire body will begin to rot away slowly. I'm only bringing you out because I pity you and want to let you die in peace."

Everyone's complexion turned pale.

Xiaolu collapsed straight to the ground, her face completely drained of color. "What's written in the books is true... What's written in the books is true."

"Stop trying to alarm us with sensationalist nonsense," Professor Guan said, refusing to believe it.

Bothering with him no further, Qin Yang walked over to a side wall and pushed open a secret door. "We must leave. If we don't go now, we won't get out."

The group fell into a heavy silence, wanting to say something yet not knowing what to utter. Professor Guan wanted to claim that Qin Yang was spouting falsehoods, but found himself unable to refute him. In silence, they followed Qin Yang out. As they reached a stone cavern, a deep, rumbling sound suddenly echoed from behind. Looking back, they saw no trace of the corridor they had just traversed. A massive boulder blocked the way—a rock easily the size of a two-story Western-style house. At that moment, spring water from an unknown source began to slowly well up. Daring not to linger, they scrambled out through another cave, only to discover that it was already broad daylight. Before they could even relish the feeling of solid ground, they felt the earth beneath their feet tremble repeatedly. The cave system seemed to cave in, quickly collapsing into a small pit—what cave was left? The same fate befell the other caverns. The largest among them collapsed into a lake roughly ten meters in diameter, and groundwater slowly seeped up through the soil, quickly filling the greater part of the lake.