Chapter 1264: Genius Earth Treasure

At this point, the crowd completely disregarded what had just happened and rushed to the giant bronze gate, attempting to open it.

However, no matter how hard they tried, the bronze gate remained immobile.

So, the group turned to Zu An. After witnessing his prowess, they implicitly regarded him as their leader.

Zu An stepped forward, placed his hand on the bronze gate, and channeled his vital energy into it. Unfortunately, his vital energy seemed to be channeled away by the bronze door to an unknown destination, completely unable to affect the gate.

He said in a deep voice, "This door clearly cannot be opened by brute force."

Hearing him say this, everyone was disappointed. Had they toiled for half a day only to be left empty-handed outside a treasure mountain, with no reward whatsoever?

At this moment, Yan Xuehen also approached the bronze gate. Her slender fingers gently traced the lines on the door, then her gaze fell upon the various auspicious beasts and divine birds carved in relief on the bronze gate. "There should be a mechanism on it."

Having witnessed her abilities in the misty forest earlier, someone immediately sprang into action upon hearing her words. They exclaimed in surprise, "These reliefs seem to be rotatable!"

Yan Xuehen pondered, "They probably need to be rotated into a specific arrangement, but without other clues, I have no idea at the moment."

There were dozens of such reliefs, implying an enormous number of possible combinations. It would be almost impossible to test them one by one to find the correct answer.

"Everyone, look for clues around," Jin Shi called out. As elites of various races, they naturally understood that mechanisms in such places should not be tampered with casually. A wrong move could lead to something terrifying happening.

After all, the encounters they had experienced along the way suggested that whoever set these up was not a benevolent person.

Soon, everyone began searching everywhere, not even overlooking a patch of grass.

Just then, Fatty Wu Liang walked over, rubbing his hands and saying, "How about I give it a try?"

Princess Changning frowned, "Don't just randomly try things. What if this mechanism has a limited number of attempts, and if you exceed it without the correct answer, it's completely destroyed? Then all our efforts would be in vain."

Although the man had shown impressive abilities in the mist, his shifty eyes made it hard to associate him with a master.

Zu An looked at the fatty thoughtfully. "Let him try."

His influence was extraordinary now, and since he had spoken, others naturally found it hard to object.

Wu Liang, despite his plump physique, was surprisingly agile. He nimbly scaled the tall bronze door, stopping at each relief to rotate it to a specific position, seemingly without any hesitation from beginning to end.

Not long after, all the reliefs from top to bottom had been rotated.

As Wu Liang landed on the ground, the reliefs suddenly emitted faint blue lights. Following this, tendrils of blue spread across all the lines on the bronze door.

A profound sound resonated, and the giant bronze gate slowly opened, revealing a deep, dark entrance.

Everyone's gaze fell upon Wu Liang. Even the most oblivious person realized that there was something unusual about this fatty.

Zu An said lightly, "Daoist Priest, aren't you going to say something?"

"Daoist Priest?" The other demon clan experts were startled. This man's ordinary attire gave no indication he was a Daoist.

However, his methods in the misty forest did indeed possess a Daoist style.

Wu Liang chuckled, "Please don't misunderstand, everyone. I accidentally came across an ancient notebook that seemed to mention this bronze door. I just tried what was written in it, and I didn't expect it to actually open."

Others wanted to ask him about the contents of the notebook and what lay inside, but Wu Liang very smoothly claimed there was nothing more.

Others knew he was likely lying, but they had no way to prove it.

At this point, some people couldn't resist rushing inside. After all, everyone was wary of Zu An's strength. Getting a head start now might allow them to snatch a rare treasure and escape.

Seeing this, the others no longer bothered questioning Wu Liang and scrambled to rush inside.

Zu An reminded the three women beside him, "We don't know what's inside. Stay close to me later, and don't get separated."

Yun Jianyue seemed a little displeased. "Though I'm injured, I'm not so weak as to need your protection."

Yan Xuehen's heart skipped a beat, because although his words were outwardly directed at all three of them, he had looked more at her when he spoke.

She was also aware of her physical condition and did not feign modesty. She nodded almost imperceptibly.

Yu Yanluo said, "We should be careful of this fat Daoist. I always feel he's rather strange."

Zu An nodded, secretly sending a wisp of his divine sense to watch him.

The group quickly entered. They had expected a dark tomb, but instead, they found a self-contained world within. Though not bright, visibility was perfectly fine, and they couldn't tell where the light was coming from.

"Oh, there are drawings on this wall!" The person had barely exclaimed when he secretly regretted it. How foolish of him! He should have quietly observed first. What if it was a diagram of some divine art or secret technique left by a master of old?

Clearly, many others shared this thought, and they all gathered around.

Zu An and his companions, with their extraordinary cultivation, didn't need to get so close to clearly see the contents of the murals.

The first few murals seemed to be destroyed. The first remaining image showed a group of warriors escorting a carriage, accompanied by many eunuchs and palace maids. This procession suggested the journey of a monarch.

The next image depicted the foot of a strange mountain, whose contours resembled a large snake, but with a distinct break in the middle. Coincidentally, there was indeed a large snake broken in two at the foot of the mountain.

The third mural showed the monarch's subordinates attempting to kill the dying great snake, but they were stopped by the monarch in the carriage, who then sent people to treat the snake.

The fourth mural depicted the monarch's party encountering a storm on a boat many years later. Just as the boat was about to capsize, a large snake swam from the water, holding a crystal-clear pearl in its mouth, which it presented to the monarch.

Several murals after this were destroyed. The only surviving one depicted the monarch's grand wedding, with the pearl embedded in the queen's phoenix crown.

The murals beyond this were also missing.

Seeing that there were no cultivation techniques or secret manuals, everyone dispersed in disappointment. However, they all kept in mind the snow-white, crystal-clear pearl depicted in the murals. Even through the paintings, it seemed extraordinary, perhaps a supreme treasure.

Zu An and his group trembled, turning to Yu Yanluo. "Could the item the great snake in the swamp mentioned, which could help you break through, be this pearl?"

Yu Yanluo looked somewhat bewildered. "I don't know. The first time I saw this pearl, I did feel an inexplicable tremor in my heart, and I can sense something calling to me from deeper within."

"Could the great snake in the swamp be the same great snake from these murals?" Yan Xuehen offered a conjecture.

Zu An shook his head. "Probably not. This ancient tomb seems very old. It's unlikely that snake could live for so long."

Yun Jianyue smiled. "Thinking too much is useless. We'll know once we go inside. It would be best if the snake outside is the one from the murals; then Sister Yu can communicate with it amicably."

Just then, shouts of surprise came from ahead: "It's Dan Ding Treasure Ginseng, and Silver Thread Flower, Soul Severing Underworld Grass... I found these, don't try to take them from me!"

No sooner had the words faded than the sounds of clashing and fighting erupted.

A hint of sarcasm flickered at the corner of Yun Jianyue's mouth. "Greed corrupts hearts. I didn't expect them to turn on each other so quickly."

"What are those things?" Zu An had never heard these names before.

Yan Xuehen explained, "Silver Thread Flower and Soul Severing Underworld Grass are extremely rare, top-grade materials for refining pills. Especially the Soul Severing Underworld Grass. Many Grandmasters easily encounter problems when condensing their spirit souls, or their spirit souls get damaged later. The Soul Severing Underworld Grass can mend fragmented souls, making it a rare item highly sought after by many Grandmasters."

"As for Dan Ding Treasure Ginseng, it can extend a person's lifespan. Depending on its quality, it can add anywhere from 10 to over 100 years of life. Of course, this kind of item has no effect on those above the Earth Immortal realm."

Zu An was startled. "Why?"