Chapter 520: Entering the Tomb

"Be careful..."

Luo Zhu felt dizzy watching Zhang Xuan fumble around on the ground instead of studying the patterns of the passage and mechanisms. "Do you expect to understand the mechanism by touching the ground?"

The mechanisms designed by Heavenly Craftsmen were as profound and varied as formations, with countless classifications. Even mechanisms of the same type, though appearing similar, had at least tens of thousands of variations. Furthermore, the same mechanism could produce different external effects depending on its mode of operation. One could say that to decipher such a challenge, even a true Heavenly Craftsman would need an extensive period of study. No matter how skilled one was in other professions, without knowledge of the Heavenly Craftsman profession, it would all be in vain.

"Don't worry, everyone," Luo Zhu said with a reassuring smile, seeing the decline in their enthusiasm. "I'll make some adjustments and send out a puppet to test again. We have plenty of time anyway, and I've brought enough food and water for our daily needs!"

His profession was actually tomb raiding, and he had entered countless perilous places, accustomed to such situations. These others were different; having never encountered such formidable mechanisms, they naturally felt like retreating.

"That's all we can do. We know nothing about these mechanisms, so we'll have to rely on you to figure things out," Jin Conghai nodded.

"Don't worry, even though this mechanism has become more difficult, as long as we have enough time, I can still reach the end. You just need to follow closely behind me..." Luo Zhu nodded.

Many tombs of powerful or wealthy individuals hired Heavenly Craftsmen to design them. He had been dealing with such mechanisms for years, and even if this passage's mechanism became more dangerous, he was confident he could navigate it safely to the end.

Just as Luo Zhu was brimming with confidence, preparing to make further arrangements before re-entering the passage, he saw Teacher Zhang on the side, who had finished touching the ground. Zhang Xuan stood up, stretched, then casually lifted his foot and walked into the passage.

"Teacher Zhang..." Luo Zhu's pupils constricted; he nearly died of fright. Moments ago, his puppet had been painstakingly prepared, only to be almost sliced in half by sword qi. Rushing in so recklessly was surely an act of suicide, wasn't it?

His face was etched with anxiety, and just as he was about to reach out and pull Zhang Xuan back, he saw the young man lift his foot and kick the wall to one side.

Boom!

A violent roar echoed, and everyone immediately felt the ground shake. "Alright, the mechanism has stopped!" Immediately after, the young man's calm voice rang out, and without waiting for anyone to react, he strode further inside.

"Stopped?" Luo Zhu's face contorted in disbelief as he watched Zhang Xuan walk further and further away, with no mechanisms triggering. What was going on? He had just tested it himself; the passage's mechanism was far more powerful than their last visit. Even for someone like him, who spent their days in tombs, it would take at least ten days to half a month to decipher. Yet, the other person simply kicked it... and it stopped?

Was this a joke? This was a powerful mechanism designed by a Heavenly Craftsman. He had been prepared to sacrifice hundreds of puppets, only for it to be stopped with a single kick... Luo Zhu felt like he was going insane.

He turned to look at the others, and saw them staring back with equally bewildered expressions. "Didn't you just wax eloquent about how powerful this thing was? How did it end with just one kick from Teacher Zhang?"

"Let's go see..." A stifling sensation filled Luo Zhu's chest. He knew that this Teacher Zhang could even deal with soul possession, so it wasn't entirely impossible for him to understand Heavenly Craftsman techniques. Feeling slightly more at ease, he hurried to catch up.

Indeed, the passage's mechanism had stopped. Moving forward, there was no danger whatsoever. It wasn't long before everyone reached the end, which was a spacious and vast hall.

"The last time I came here, I was subjected to soul possession, so I didn't dare to proceed further..." Luo Zhu explained with a solemn expression upon seeing the hall.

Zhang Xuan looked up. It was an underground palace, approximately twenty to thirty meters wide. In the very center stood four colossal coffins, crafted from an unknown material, appearing bluish-gray and exuding a sense of immense weight.

"Eye of Insight!" Without rushing in, Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows and looked. A moment later, he frowned. With his cultivation only at the peak of Transcendent Mortal 1-dan, observing these coffins was still somewhat challenging. It seemed a barrier had been set by someone more powerful than him.

"Let's see if the ground can form a book!" Unable to see through with his Eye of Insight, he didn't rush. He bent down and continued to touch the ground.

He had just thought of the method used for the Heavenly Craftsman's Ingenuity Box, reasoning that any mechanism must have flaws. With a testing mindset, he touched the ground and found it indeed worked. The Library of Heaven's Path immediately displayed the name and flaws of the passage mechanism. After reading it, he understood. Like formations, mechanisms had both 'death gates' and 'life gates'; otherwise, how would the designer enter or exit after setting it up? Moreover, they also had a central hub. Once found and shut down, even the most formidable mechanism would become mere decoration.

It was like cutting off power to a machine; no matter how powerful it was, without energy supply, it became useless. This was precisely why he was able to stop the mechanism with a single kick after touching the ground, allowing everyone to enter.

A book appeared in his mind. "Bluish-gray rock, originating from extremely deep underground, hard texture..." Zhang Xuan nearly spat blood after just one glance. He had thought that even if his Eye of Insight couldn't penetrate, he could still use the Library to identify problems with these coffins or the hall and deal with them accordingly. He never dreamed that what was analyzed was merely the rock he had just touched on the ground.

"The previous passage was a complete mechanism; touching it naturally revealed the mechanism's characteristics. But this is ordinary ground; whatever I touch is what appears, just like when I touched the bookshelves before!" After his initial frustration, Zhang Xuan understood. He had encountered a similar situation when he touched bookshelves in the library, attempting to collect the books within. It seemed the identification process worked on a holistic unit; otherwise, whatever he touched would simply be what it was. Indeed, if merely touching the ground allowed him to know the entire continent's situation, it would be far too miraculous.

"There's no danger here; you can go straight in!" Seeing Teacher Zhang's fluctuating expression, unsure what he was thinking, Luo Zhu explained and led the way forward. His foot stepping into the hall caused no changes. The others followed, filing in one by one.

"These coffins contain soulless golden figures. The one I took was one of them!" Standing before the coffins, Luo Zhu pointed forward, a hint of nervousness in his voice. The last time he was here, he had opened a coffin and, just as he retrieved a soulless golden figure, was possessed by a hidden soul within. A shadow now lingered in his heart, making him hesitant to approach.

"Let me see!" Zhang Xuan nodded and stepped forward. Of the four coffins, one was indeed open and completely empty. He reached out and touched the empty coffin.

A book appeared in his mind. "Finest Gold Seventh-Grade Coffin, refined by Four-Star Artifact Forger Zhe Xu, designed to contain soulless golden figures, impervious to decay for ten thousand years. Disadvantages: 1. Cannot contain normal corpses..." The text meticulously detailed the coffin's origin, purpose, and flaws.

"Finest Gold Seventh-Grade Coffin?" Zhang Xuan found it strange after reading the description. According to the Library of Heaven's Path, this item was for containing soulless golden figures and should not have any souls within. How then was Luo Zhu possessed?

He reached out and touched another unopened coffin. It was also a Finest Gold Seventh-Grade Coffin, meant for containing soulless golden figures, identical to the one already open, with no significant differences. He touched the remaining two, reaching the same conclusion.

Knowing they were all for soulless golden figures, Zhang Xuan lost interest. His primary goal for coming here was the Witch Soul Master's legacy; the golden figures were optional for him. However, these items were incredibly valuable and had previously sold for extremely high prices. Even if they weren't what he truly wanted, selling them would bring a massive profit, making the trip worthwhile.

"Teacher Zhang, I was possessed right here... Should we open them?" Seeing him touch all four coffins, Luo Zhu looked over anxiously, and the others also awaited his decision.

"Don't open them yet!" Although he knew there was nothing inherently wrong with these coffins, he couldn't guarantee what might happen once they were opened. If it was just the soul that possessed Luo Zhu, it would be easy to deal with. But if it were a powerful entity, it was hard to say if his Heaven's Path True Qi would be effective. It was always better to be careful.

"Just take the coffins into the storage ring, and we'll open them outside!" Zhang Xuan said after a moment's thought.

"Alright!" Sun Qiang had been waiting for this. He eagerly stepped forward, and with a sweep of his hand, he collected all four enormous coffins into his ring. "These all belong to the Young Master; no matter who you are, don't even think about contesting them..."

"Cough, cough!" Zhang Xuan's face flushed at Sun Qiang's shamelessness. He turned away, gave some instructions, and walked forward.

"You all wait here; I'll look around first!" The palace was gloomy, giving off a chilling sensation. The surrounding walls were inlaid with hard bluish-gray rock, indicating that not only was the underground space hollowed out to construct this palace, but it was also reinforced with the hardest rock, ensuring its preservation for ten thousand years.

After exploring the rock walls, Zhang Xuan found no mechanisms or traps and continued straight ahead. Connected to this room was another long, narrow passage.

Upon reaching it, he squatted down and gently touched it. A book appeared in his mind. "Just an ordinary corridor, not a mechanism?" It described the rock's composition, not a mechanism.

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, understanding after a moment's thought. It made sense to have mechanisms before entering the tomb, but once inside, further mechanisms would be futile. It was better to cease them rather than incur more costs.

"No danger here, come on over!" he called out, turning his head. Everyone quickly followed. Zhang Xuan walked in first.

The passage wasn't long, only about ten meters. At its end was another spacious hall, noticeably wider than the previous one.

"To my knowledge, the first chamber in a Witch Soul Tomb contains the soulless golden figures as guardians, and the second is the main burial chamber. This should be where the Witch Soul Master's soul is interred..." Luo Zhu swallowed.

"You mean... there's a Witch Soul Master's soul here?" Zhang Xuan looked at him.

"Since it's the main burial chamber... there should be one!" Luo Zhu nodded.

Upon his confirmation, Zhang Xuan looked up. After just one glance, his brows suddenly furrowed, his face filled with disbelief. "This... what's going on?"