Chapter 1797: Immortal Lord's Remains

Zu'an was somewhat surprised. He had previously studied "Di Tian Sui Chan Wei" and knew that most emperors and generals focused on geographical features for feng shui. But the master of this place actually studied astrology? That was a significant step up in caliber.

He wondered how the starry sky above was created; it was as if he were in a science fiction scene.

Zhao Hao quickly shifted his attention from above to the bronze sarcophagus. From historical experience, tomb owners often buried their most valuable possessions within the sarcophagus.

Qiu Honglei looked around. "It's strange," she remarked, "there aren't any burial artifacts nearby."

Generally, tombs are filled with many items used by the deceased during their lifetime, as well as various burial goods. But this tomb chamber, apart from the coffin, contained not a single burial artifact. It was even cleaner than if grave robbers had visited dozens of times—after all, grave robbers usually leave behind some unwanted items.

She even suspected that the tomb door hadn't been locked previously, and someone might have already been here, clearing out all the contents.

Jing Teng replied, "The Immortal Lord isn't truly dead; this is merely the resting place of his physical remains, so it's normal for there to be no burial artifacts."

Zu'an was puzzled. What exactly were these "physical remains"?

A corpse?

But everyone clearly said he had ascended to immortality, so did Immortal Lord Baopu's body die while his soul became immortal?

Zhao Hao was also pondering the same question. Could all his previous assumptions be wrong? The physical body, sustained by worldly food, was destined not to achieve immortality; only the soul could.

Thinking of the immense power of the primordial spirit, a light flashed in Zhao Hao's mind. No wonder no one had achieved immortality for thousands of years; everyone had been trying to achieve immortality with both body and soul, but in reality, the physical body was destined not to become immortal or attain eternal life.

His heart pounded with excitement at this moment, feeling as though he had touched upon a crucial threshold.

But the physical body was the vessel for the soul, protecting its existence. Without the body, however strong the primordial spirit, how could it endure eternally?

He had too many questions that needed answers, but he didn't lose his composure and rush to open the coffin. How could an immortal's possessions not have some contingency or safeguard?

Jing Teng, however, didn't hesitate. She walked directly to the enormous sarcophagus and pushed open its lid.

Zu'an and the others were speechless.

This woman was too reckless.

They worried for her, but surprisingly, nothing unexpected happened.

They quickly rushed over. There was no typical putrid smell of a tomb; instead, a faint medicinal aroma wafted from within.

After the outer lid was opened, various items were arranged in a circle around a small bronze coffin that lay quietly in the very center.

A sarcophagus consists of an outer coffin (guo) and an inner coffin (guan). The outer structure they had just seen was actually the guo, and the space between it and the inner guan was filled with various bottles and jars. These were items the tomb owner had used during their lifetime.

However, they appeared to be mostly everyday household items, and in one corner, there were some weapons.

It was evident that many of the weapons were of high quality, but Zu'an and Zhao Hao both possessed divine-tier weapons. Although the weapons looked sharp, they didn't even seem to be of sky-tier quality, merely a pile of earth-tier weapons. While truly precious to ordinary people, they didn't particularly impress anyone present.

Zu'an was even somewhat suspicious, wondering why an Immortal Lord of such standing would use weapons so... ordinary?

Just then, Zhao Hao, with swift eyes and hands, reached out and, with a subtle grasp in the air, seized a small alchemy furnace. A rattling sound came from within, evidently indicating pills or elixirs.

"I just gave you the precious Soul-Burning Fire Crystal; it's not too much for me to take something now, is it?" Zhao Hao's divine sense had already entered the alchemy furnace. Inside were three pills, each emanating a rich fragrance. Even his divine soul, which had sustained minor injuries from his recent battle with the Ghost King, felt nourished. Clearly, these pills were of the highest quality.

The rich medicinal aroma throughout the sarcophagus emanated from this very alchemy furnace. How could pills buried with an immortal possibly be ordinary?

Perhaps these were the legendary immortal elixirs!

At the thought that he might very well become immortal, Zhao Hao's face twitched slightly, unable to suppress the excitement in his heart.

He was usually very self-controlled, but now that his lifespan was nearing its end, and the method for eternal life he had sought for so long finally presented itself, how could he not be excited?

Of course, it wasn't convenient to consume them immediately. He would find a safe, secluded place later to slowly absorb them.

Zu'an frowned. "I hear there's more than one pill in that alchemy furnace. Couldn't you just take one and share the rest with us?"

In truth, he didn't believe these pills were very valuable, after all, they were merely placed between the outer and inner coffins, not inside the inner coffin itself.

Moreover, the pills were perhaps too fragrant. If they truly emitted such a strong aroma, their medicinal properties would have mostly dissipated over so many years.

Even more crucially, Jing Teng had just subtly given him a wink, indicating that these pills were indeed not the legendary immortal elixirs.

The reason Zhao Hao was so agitated was primarily because his anxiety was getting the better of him. He desired the immortal elixir too much, so even a slight possibility would make him think in that direction.

"You are all young; these pills wouldn't be very useful to you. You'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. And strictly speaking, these pills might not even be as precious as the Soul-Burning Fire Crystal we found earlier." Zhao Hao naturally wouldn't give them any.

"If they're so precious, why don't we trade?" Zu'an sneered.

"No need to trade," Zhao Hao smiled faintly. "How about this: for the next item, I'll let you choose first."

Anyway, if there was truly some extraordinary divine object, he would definitely snatch it for himself, no matter what. He was just giving Zu'an a little hope for now.

Zu'an then took the opportunity to give up the argument. After all, he was essentially getting something for nothing this time; the pills weren't of much use anyway, and obtaining a promise from Zhao Hao was also good. Although he knew that Zhao Hao wouldn't yield if they encountered a truly supreme treasure, for things like the Soul-Burning Fire Crystal, which Zhao Hao didn't urgently need, he wouldn't immediately turn hostile.

Next, their gazes fell upon the coffin in the center. Seeing Jing Teng reach out, Qiu Honglei couldn't help but swallow. "Wouldn't it be disrespectful to disturb his rest like this?"

Even Zhao Hao became cautious. It was one thing for there to be no restrictions elsewhere, but how could there be none for the coffin, the most crucial item? Was Immortal Lord Baopu not afraid of his body being desecrated by later generations?

Jing Teng shook her head. "It's fine."

As she spoke, she had already pushed open the coffin lid. The others faintly saw a flicker of flame, and their hearts jolted. How could there be fire inside a coffin?

As the coffin lid slowly moved aside, they finally saw what the flame was.

A single flame floated quietly at the head of the coffin, and faintly, a small wick could be seen within the flame.

But there was no lamp present, nor any fuel like lamp oil. Moreover, the coffin should have been a sealed space, so there shouldn't have been much air.

Yet this flame seemed to have been burning continuously.

Zu'an thought to himself, 'Newton's coffin lid must be rattling loose!'

Although he knew that this cultivation world contained various miraculous phenomena that couldn't be understood through the lens of his past life's science, this scene before him was still too outlandish.

Qiu Honglei's heart stirred upon seeing it. She was a light-element practitioner, and she had used the Changxin Palace Lamp. This mysterious flame gave her an intuitive feeling, as if it were something profoundly important to her.

By this time, Jing Teng had fully pushed open the coffin lid. The flame emitted gentle rays of light, clearly illuminating the space inside the coffin.

An old man lay quietly inside, wearing a Seven-Star Crown on his head and a plain Daoist robe. Although his eyes were closed, his entire being still exuded an ethereal, immortal aura.

His complexion was ruddy and luminous; he didn't look like a corpse in the slightest, but rather like someone merely asleep.

Even Zhao Hao took a step back. A person's reputation precedes them; before, he might have retained some arrogance, but after witnessing the Ghost King's power, how could he not be cautious when facing an Immortal Lord even more powerful than the Ghost King?

Jing Teng gazed at the Daoist in the coffin, her expression turning blank, and her eyes seemed to grow somewhat hazy.

Zhao Hao hastily asked, "Is this Immortal Lord Baopu?"

This was his most pressing question, as it concerned the path to immortality.

He felt somewhat strange, for although the Daoist looked quite extraordinary, there was no terrifying oppressive aura that he had imagined.

"Probably..." Jing Teng replied casually, seemingly distracted.

"Either it is, or it isn't. What do you mean 'probably'?" Zhao Hao was highly displeased. On such an important matter, she was speaking so vaguely.

Zu'an frowned. Jing Teng's state was clearly amiss at the moment, yet Zhao Hao was pressing her so aggressively.

Knowing that a direct warning would likely be useless, he suddenly had an idea. He noticed a snow-white porcelain bottle beside the Daoist. Thinking that anything placed here couldn't be ordinary, he reached out and took it.

As expected, Zhao Hao's attention was immediately drawn. He stared intently at the porcelain bottle.

After Zu'an opened it, he found it contained a milky-white, translucent liquid, which looked extremely viscous, like liquid jade.

"Elucidation Jade Marrow! It's Elucidation Jade Marrow!" Mi Li's excited voice suddenly rang out in his mind.