Chapter 873: Emperor's Tomb

Zu An frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Lu Sheng shook his head. "Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed. You will naturally learn many things very soon."

"I hate it when people only say half of what they mean," Zu An said, clenching his fists. "Since you can foresee the future, can you guess if I'm going to beat you up next?"

Lu Sheng's expression stiffened, and he gave an awkward laugh. "There's no need to be angry. If you help me complete this task, I will give you the *Book of Records* as a reward."

Upon hearing "the *Book of Records*," even Mi Li's expression shifted, clearly indicating she understood its immense value.

Zu An sneered, "Offering such a powerful artifact right away usually means mischief or robbery."

Ever since he was almost taken over by Old Man Mi shortly after arriving in this world, he had been wary of such inexplicable kindness, always feeling that the other party was using it to bait him.

Lu Sheng was clearly surprised by his lack of reaction. "Don't you know how extraordinary the *Book of Records* is?"

"What good is predicting the future if you couldn't change your own destiny back then, leaving you as nothing but a wisp of a soul hiding here for so many years?" Zu An said calmly. "Besides, I don't trust this kind of unprompted generosity."

Lu Sheng paused, taken aback by his words, then sighed after a long moment. "Your insight truly is extraordinary. Back then, I relied too much on the *Book of Records*, and as a result, I became completely despairing when my inevitable fate approached, without even the courage to think about changing it. You truly are the destined one; this book will surely be of greater use in your hands than it was in mine."

As he spoke, he pointed a finger, and a golden light shot directly into Zu An's forehead.

Zu An was startled. He quickly stepped back, touching his forehead. "What did you do to me?"

To his dismay, no matter how much he touched his forehead, there was nothing unusual. He was shocked, knowing that his body had been tempered three times by the Primordial Chaos Scripture, making it incredibly resilient and difficult to harm with ordinary blades. Yet, it had offered no defense against this golden light.

"Don't worry, I merely imprinted the *Book of Records* into your spiritual sea; it won't harm you at all," Lu Sheng said, sounding somewhat weak. His eyes were no longer as bright as before, as if his body had been depleted.

Mi Li was somewhat surprised. "The *Book of Records* isn't actually a physical book?"

Lu Sheng shook his head. "Of course not a book. The one I showed the Emperor back then was merely a diversion. This is the true form of the *Book of Records*. Fortunately, it remained safe during that great calamity and didn't fall into that person's hands."

"That person?" Mi Li mused thoughtfully.

Zu An quickly turned his perception inward and indeed found a faint golden book appearing in his spiritual sea, emanating an ancient and desolate aura—the very essence of the Dao.

Yet, he felt no joy. Instead, he looked at Mi Li. "Master, is everything really alright?"

Mi Li replied, "Don't worry, this is your good fortune. You're quite a lucky fellow."

Hearing her reassurance, Zu An finally breathed a sigh of relief. Still, he complained pitifully, "Master, I feel defiled."

He felt as if someone else's possession had entered him, and his mind had been reshaped by another, which was truly unpleasant.

Mi Li was speechless.

"Scram!"

At this moment, Lu Sheng looked at her in surprise. "So, this destined one is Your Ladyship's disciple."

"Hmph, he's just a lazy good-for-nothing. He begged me incessantly, and I reluctantly agreed," Mi Li said, lifting her chin high, clearly reveling in her pride.

Zu An was speechless. He thought to himself, "Who was begging whom? But I guess I should let her save face in front of her former subject."

"It seems the *Book of Records* didn't mislead me after all. With Your Ladyship's assistance, I believe my wish can be fulfilled," Lu Sheng said. As he spoke, his figure gradually became transparent and faded, dissipating into the wind at a visible pace.

Watching this scene, Mi Li remained silent, her expression exceptionally mournful. Seeing old acquaintances fade away one by one, she felt the immense power of time even more acutely.

The group continued walking through the palace. Mi Li remained silent, while Bi Linglong asked Zu An with concern, "You're okay after that... *Book of Records* entered your body, right?"

Zu An shook his head. "I don't see any abnormalities yet. It's just that I have no idea how to use the thing, and it didn't come with instructions."

He had tried several times, but neither his elemental energy nor his Primordial Chaos energy could activate the golden book in his spiritual sea.

Bi Linglong, however, looked worried. "That person who could foresee the future couldn't escape a great calamity. I have a feeling the danger we're about to face will be truly terrifying."

Zu An laughed heartily. "The scarier, the better! Remember, there's a formidable emperor waiting to kill us. If this unknown danger is too weak, how will we ever find a glimmer of hope for survival?"

Mi Li couldn't help but nod. "Though you're greedy and lustful, your disposition is broad-minded and optimistic. Little girl, though you're clever, you're far inferior to him in this regard."

Bi Linglong wasn't offended at all; she simply smiled faintly. "I was never his equal to begin with."

A month ago, the proud and arrogant her would never have admitted this, but now her admiration came from the heart.

"Heh, women," Mi Li said with a look of disdain.

"This should be the Water Element room next, right? The previous rooms mostly contained people you knew. Do you have any idea who the master buried in this room is?" Zu An asked.

"No, I don't," Mi Li shook her head slightly. "I've tried to recall the people from that era, but it seems none of them were associated with the Water Element."

"Could it be Xu Fu?" Zu An asked curiously.

Mi Li gently rested her hand on her chin. "It's not impossible. Xu Fu spent a lot of time at sea and dealt with water for most of his life."

At that moment, five diverging paths suddenly appeared ahead. Mi Li stopped, her eyes filled with confusion.

"What's wrong? Which way do we go?" Zu An asked curiously.

Mi Li said, "According to the Five Elements formation, any of these five paths could be the correct one."

Bi Linglong picked up a small stone and threw it into one of the tunnels. Immediately, various arrows shot out from within. "It seems only one of these five paths is real; the others are traps."

Mi Li remarked, "Indeed. Unfortunately, a path with traps isn't necessarily fake, and one without them might actually be a dead end."

As the two women pondered, Zu An suddenly had an idea. He pointed to the second path from the left and declared, "This one!"

"How do you know?" Bi Linglong asked, perplexed. This was the same path she had just tested with the stone, and it clearly contained many traps.

Even Mi Li looked at him in surprise, waiting for his explanation.

"It seems the *Book of Records* told me," Zu An said, rubbing his temples. "Just now, for some reason, a vision of the second path suddenly appeared in my mind."

"Then this one it is," Mi Li said, leading the way, as if she had immense trust in the *Book of Records*.

Zu An had initially wanted to warn her to be careful, but then he considered that with her cultivation and his own abilities combined, they should be able to handle anything.

Sure enough, they encountered some traps along the way, but both of them dealt with them easily. After the initial dangerous section, the path became smooth. Soon, the group arrived at a grand door, adorned with neat rows of gilded door studs, appearing exceptionally magnificent.

"Oh?"

"What is it?" Hearing Mi Li's voice, Zu An thought something was wrong and looked around cautiously.

Mi Li, however, was staring blankly at the door without speaking. Bi Linglong beside her explained, "This door has nine rows and nine columns of door studs, totaling eighty-one. Nine represents the ultimate Yang, symbolizing the supreme emperor. This 'nine-nine' specification has historically been reserved only for emperors. For anyone else to use it would be an act of usurpation, a grave crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the clan."

Being from a royal family herself, she was quite sensitive to such ceremonial protocols.

Zu An was startled and looked at Mi Li. "Is that true, Master? Is Qin Shi Huang buried inside?"

Mi Li said, "We didn't have such strict regulations back then, though similar ideas certainly existed. As for this place, it clearly wouldn't be Qin Shi Huang. Someone as ostentatious and ambitious as him wouldn't settle for a tomb chamber of this scale."

Zu An agreed. Although the grand door before them was impressive, it was merely that—impressive, but not truly magnificent.

In his previous world, Qin Shi Huang's tomb was an entire mountain. While imperial tombs throughout history were often plundered, no one had ever managed to loot his. And in this cultivation world, Qin Shi Huang would have had far greater resources at his disposal than in his previous life, so there was no way he would have settled for less.

"I'd like to see who's buried inside," Mi Li scoffed and walked directly towards the door.

Behind the tomb door was a Dragon-Severing Stone, but it couldn't block her. As a spirit body, the physical door was no obstacle.

She seemed to become transparent and merged directly into the door. Soon after, the door slowly opened, clearly indicating she had activated a mechanism from within.

Zu An and Bi Linglong quickly followed her inside, eager to discover what secrets this tomb chamber held.