Chapter 519: Heavenly Craftsman

The frigid pool was chilling; upon entering it, everyone immediately felt a bone-chilling cold. Following behind Luozhu, they swam straight downwards. Even the weakest among them had reached the Supreme realm; at this level, holding one's breath underwater for twenty or thirty minutes was not an issue. Although Zhao Feiwu's strength was insufficient, Jin Conghai continuously channeled zhenqi to him, forming a protective zhenqi barrier, so he didn't feel any suffocating sensation.

As they descended, at first they could still see their surroundings, aided by the sunlight filtering down from the surface. But as they went deeper, it became pitch black, and they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces. Luozhu had prepared in advance; he took out several luminous pearls and gave one to each person. Under the soft glow, the underwater world clearly appeared before their eyes.

This pool, being too cold, contained no aquatic life. As they continued to descend, they reached a depth of about seventy to eighty meters, where they finally saw the bottom, covered in various kinds of very dark water plants. Unable to speak underwater, Luozhu gestured to everyone. Familiar with the way, he slowly moved forward along the weed-covered bottom and soon arrived at a rock wall.

It was a smooth stone wall, which appeared to have nothing special about it. If one didn't know about the Witch Soul Tomb, they wouldn't discover anything even if they came right up to it. With a flick of his wrist, Luozhu took out a smooth stone disk. He groped along the wall for a moment, found the correct spot, and pressed it onto it.

Creak!

As if a mechanism had been activated, the wall slowly opened. This seemingly intact stone wall was actually animated.

"What exquisite craftsmanship!"

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. Carving mechanisms out of stone with no visible seams on the surface, the strength of this craftsmanship, while not comparable to the Heavenly Craft Mechanism Box he had seen before, far surpassed many treasures he had encountered.

It seemed the artisan who constructed this Witch Soul Tomb was of no low rank; at the very least, they must have reached the Nine-Mark level. Legend has it that the mechanical puppets created by Nine-Mark artisans were so lifelike that even Transcendent Mortal realm experts found it difficult to distinguish their authenticity. Now, it seemed to be true. No wonder Luozhu was confident that no one else could find this place besides him; such a secret place would indeed be very difficult to locate.

With the stone wall opened, a doorway appeared before them, and Luozhu was the first to step inside. Inside the door, special waterproof mechanisms were installed, allowing living beings to enter but keeping water out. As soon as everyone stepped inside, they indeed felt air circulating and didn't feel stifled at all.

"This is the passage to the Witch Soul Tomb. At the end of it is the tomb itself!" Luozhu said after seeing everyone had entered and the stone wall automatically closed.

"Understood!" Zhang Xuan nodded. Everyone looked inside, filled with curiosity.

It was a long, narrow corridor, with various murals carved on both sides. Many of them depicted Witch Soul sacrificial rituals, which appeared exceptionally eerie under the light of the luminous pearls.

"Don't rush forward yet," Luozhu warned. "This corridor contains extremely formidable mechanisms. We need to test them step by step to proceed!"

Seemingly very familiar with ancient tomb environments, Luozhu reached out, and two child-sized puppets appeared before him. He must have specifically prepared them in the past few days. He took out two spirit stones and placed them inside, and the puppets then walked forward along the passage, one in front of the other.

Click! Click!

The first puppet had not walked even three steps when a whooshing sound echoed, followed by a crisp snap, and it exploded into smithereens. Everyone's pupils contracted. This puppet Luozhu had just taken out was refined from special materials and was extremely hard. Not to mention anything else, even someone of Jin Conghai's strength would find it very difficult to shatter it with a single blow. Yet, it had fallen into some unknown mechanism and exploded directly. If Luozhu hadn't been vigilant and stopped everyone just now, they would have rushed in and been dead long ago! In an instant, cold sweat streamed down them.

Truly worthy of being the most enigmatic profession, this Witch Soul Tomb was indeed extraordinary. If Zhang Shi hadn't resolved the issue of the possessing soul, and allowed the other party to lead them here, they might have been annihilated before even entering.

Click! Click!

While everyone was still in shock, the second puppet hadn't walked many steps either when it was attacked, and, like the first, exploded into smithereens.

"Within five steps, there are two deadly mechanisms," Luozhu stated with a grim expression. "I will now lead the way and mark the safe foot placement spots. You must follow closely and not make any mistakes, otherwise... I cannot guarantee your safety!"

"Alright!" Knowing this, everyone nodded simultaneously.

Luozhu cautiously took a step forward. As soon as his foot landed, he heard a whistling sound as an energy streak sliced past not far from him. It looked as if, if struck, one would either die or be severely wounded. However, having the puppets scout ahead, he was prepared in advance and was not injured.

"Is this... a formation?" Seeing the perilous nature of the corridor, Pavilion Master Sai, somewhat puzzled, looked over. With dangers everywhere, could there be a powerful killing formation laid out here? If that were the case, with Zhang Shi's understanding of formations, finding a way to break it would be much simpler, wouldn't it?

"No!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. If it were a formation, he would definitely be able to sense the spiritual energy fluctuations within it, then find its core and stop it with a kick. Unfortunately... this clearly wasn't one.

"The Witch Soul Tomb's primary defense isn't against humans, but against Soul Devouring Ants," Zhang Xuan said after a moment of thought. "Formations are useless against Soul Devouring Ants... therefore, there shouldn't be any formations here. If I'm not mistaken, these should be special mechanisms!"

The natural enemy of Witch Souls is the Soul Devouring Ant. When constructing a tomb, it's natural to guard against such creatures. Soul Devouring Ants can devour the spiritual energy within formations, causing them to stop immediately. So, if formations were truly set up, they would be ineffective; mechanisms would be more efficient.

Everyone nodded.

"If they are mechanisms, then it's troublesome," Pavilion Master Sai said, frowning. "None of us are familiar with mechanical crafts. If a Heavenly Craftsman were here, it would be much simpler!"

"Heavenly Craftsman?" Sun Qiang and the others looked over. Zhang Xuan had never mentioned this profession, so they weren't very familiar with it.

"Yes, Heavenly Craftsmen, also known as Mechanical Craftsmen," Pavilion Master Sai explained, "are a profession among the lower nine streams. They specialize in designing intricate mechanical devices. They can imbue seemingly ordinary items with sword qi or martial techniques, and once activated, their power is boundless! Many powerful experts cannot withstand them." Pavilion Master Sai continued, "This profession also has its own specialized organization, called the Heavenly Craft Institute. They specialize in designing the most wondrous weapons and mechanisms in the world. However... I've only read about this profession in books. Our Myriad Kingdoms Alliance doesn't have it; it's said that only the Illusion Feather Empire is qualified to establish a branch."

"The creations of this profession are extremely precise," Zhang Xuan nodded, his brows furrowed. "Without understanding their principles, it's indeed very difficult to pass through!"

He had personally experienced the complexity of the Heavenly Craft Mechanism Box. Without understanding its principles or knowing its flaws, it would have been absolutely impossible to open. If such a small box could be designed with such intricacy, then if someone like that had been involved in this corridor, the danger would be beyond imagination.

A sudden slicing sound!

While he was pondering, he suddenly heard the sound of a blade entering flesh. He then saw Luozhu's face flush as he retreated, his arm cut by something and bleeding profusely.

"Are you alright?" Jin Conghai and the others came forward and helped stop his bleeding.

"I'm fine!" Luozhu shook his head. "The mechanisms in this passage seem even more difficult to navigate than before..."

"More difficult?" Zhang Xuan looked over. "How long is this passage in total? How long did it take you to reach the end?"

"It's about three hundred meters long," Luozhu replied. "Last time I came, I used puppets to test it bit by bit, and it took me about four days to reach the end!"

Luozhu frowned, "However, these mechanisms, just like formations, are different every time you enter. My previous experience is completely useless this time, otherwise, I wouldn't have been injured..."

"Four days?" Zhang Xuan was speechless. Walking only about three hundred meters in four days was indeed too difficult.

"Yes, there's no other way if we don't go slowly," Luozhu explained. "The sword qi contained within the passage mechanisms has reached at least the peak of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan, and some even reached 5-dan. If you can't dodge them in advance, once you encounter one, you'll be sliced into two on the spot, dying without even knowing how!"

"Sword qi at the peak of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan?" Everyone gasped. They had just seen the puppets instantly destroyed, so they knew the sword qi shot out was terrifying, but they hadn't expected it to be this powerful. In such a narrow passage, with no way to resist or defend, if one were truly struck by such powerful sword qi, even a peak Transcendent Mortal 4-dan expert would likely find it hard to survive.

"Can we only grope our way forward step by step, with no other method?" Zhao Feiwu also frowned.

"No!" Luozhu shook his head. "The mechanisms left by Heavenly Craftsmen are incredibly complex and constantly changing. If you don't know the pattern of their changes, it's very difficult to get through."

"Is there no way to destroy the mechanisms in this passage?" Zhang Xuan frowned. Formations can be stopped; if one could find the switch or the critical point of these mechanisms, they should be able to destroy them.

"Destroy them?"

Luozhu gave a wry smile: "It's not that easy. The creations left by Heavenly Craftsmen, like waterwheels, are constantly rotating. Even if you've seen the blueprints and don't understand the principles, it's useless. After all, it's a very formidable profession; if it were that easy to break, it wouldn't be so feared!" Mechanisms, like formations, even if you've seen the blueprints, if you don't know the operating principles, they're still useless. Because mechanisms are constantly in motion, if one knows nothing about this profession, let alone destroying them, it's hard to say if one can even survive.

"Indeed, Heavenly Craftsmen are formidable precisely because of this," Pavilion Master Sai added. "They can use machinery to create items that can kill people, and such items don't require spirit stones to activate... If I'm not mistaken, all the mechanisms in this passage are powered by the waterfall above. Without understanding the principles, even with a compass, you won't be able to find their location!"

A compass can pinpoint the flow of spiritual energy, assess the strength of formations, and help find their weaknesses. But... these mechanisms don't use spirit stones; they rely on physical power, for example, drawing power from the waterfall above... How could they be broken?

Hearing their explanations and analysis, everyone's expressions grew dim, losing the excitement they had when they first arrived. Seeing their low morale, Zhang Xuan spoke up.

"Just because a compass can't find it doesn't mean other methods can't," Zhang Xuan said. "Don't worry, let me try!"

After speaking, everyone saw him give a faint smile and place his palm on the corridor floor, lightly touching it.