Chapter 567: Ying Tian Xian Sha Spares No Effort

The three of them felt a creepy sensation of being watched.

Senior Sister Three added, "It's precisely because of this legend that very few Qiongqi come to the Qiongqi Tomb. This is a place their own kind are unwilling to approach, fearing they might disturb the ancient Qiongqi who is supposedly sleeping."

"But you don't need to be afraid. I've been here several times. While there's a feeling of being watched, that's all it is. Once we enter the tomb below, this feeling disappears."

"Historically, the Qiongqi clan produced several cultivators in the Tribulation Transcending stage. They all came to the Qiongqi Tomb to investigate whether their ancestor, the ancient Qiongqi, truly slept here. But they all found nothing. They claimed the ancient Qiongqi's cultivation was far superior to theirs, and that they, as unworthy descendants, were not qualified to probe their ancestor's condition."

Among the demon race, cultivators in the Integration stage are kings, and those in the Tribulation Transcending stage are emperors. The birth of several Tribulation Transcending stage cultivators in the Qiongqi clan meant the emergence of several Demon Emperors. This was an incredibly terrifying number.

The Qiongqi clan was considered the pinnacle among "tiger demons." Their formidable reputation even reached the Central Continent, giving rise to the idiom "like adding wings to a tiger" (meaning to make something even stronger). This clearly showed the Qiongqi clan's immense power.

"As acknowledged by several Qiongqi Demon Emperors, the ancient Qiongqi is widely recognized as the strongest being in the Qiongqi clan."

Lu Yang was speechless.

"Senior Sister Three, please stop talking. I'm afraid that once you know the truth, you'll curse the Immortals, increasing the difficulty of your tribulation."

Immortal Yingtian, you truly know how to stir things up.

"Immortal Yingtian said that living a life isn't just about fame during one's lifetime, but also about one's reputation after death. That's why he developed this grand formation to leave legends for future generations."

"Besides the Qiongqi, he must have also set up this formation in the ancestral tombs of other races like the Kunpeng, Taotie, and Vermilion Bird. He didn't build too many; building more would diminish the sense of mystery."

The grand formation remained intact for 300,000 years and could still scare people, showing the incredibly high quality of formations crafted by Immortal Yingtian. From another perspective, it showed how much he cared about this matter.

"Furthermore, to create a legend and prevent future generations from knowing the truth, the matter of the tomb formation was concealed and became a secret."

Judging by the Qiongqi clan's reluctance to approach the tomb, the formation indeed became a secret.

"...Immortal Yingtian is quite helpful."

Lu Yang racked his brain for words to praise Immortal Yingtian, hoping to reduce the danger during his tribulation.

"It's not exactly being helpful. Think about it: whether it's the old Qiongqi or the old Kunpeng, they are the ancient demon races you speak of, boundless in power, right?"

"No matter how boundless their power is, can it compare to an Immortal's? Of course not."

"The more mysterious the old Qiongqi and the others appear, doesn't it better highlight the might of our Five Ancient Immortals?"

"Immortal, please stop. If you keep talking, I'm afraid I'll truly start having disrespectful thoughts about Immortal Yingtian."

Similar to Meng Jingzhou's method of training willpower, Lu Yang was also training his willpower while listening to ancient history.

The three of them entered the Qiongqi Tomb, and the feeling of being watched indeed disappeared. Their psychological pressure immediately lessened.

"What is this...?"

Inside the Qiongqi Tomb, there were many murals. Most of them had suffered greatly from the ravages of time, becoming dilapidated.

The pigments used for the murals were incredibly valuable, so much so that calling a single drop worth a thousand pieces of gold would not be an exaggeration. Even so, the murals could no longer withstand the erosion of time, reaching such a state of disrepair. This showed just how ancient the Qiongqi clan and the Qiongqi Tomb truly were.

Lu Yang saw a small Qiongqi on a mural, its fur damp, clearly indicating it had just been born. This small Qiongqi then ran forward, gradually growing larger. It reached its prime, then gradually aged, its fur falling out, its body becoming hunched, and finally, it walked towards death.

The end point of death was the Qiongqi Tomb.

The murals also depicted many significant historical events of the Qiongqi clan, which were considered glorious by the Qiongqi and meant to be remembered forever.

Above the murals, there was a line of ancient text: "Death is not the end. I have witnessed your glorious lives."

"This is text left by the ancient Qiongqi. It's considered a spiritual pillar by the Qiongqi clan. Because of this, the Qiongqi clan does not fear death and accepts it readily."

Senior Sister Three was truly a professional archaeologist. She could effortlessly recount various aspects of demon culture.

"Could this sentence also have been written by Immortal Yingtian?"

"No, it wasn't. This was the old Qiongqi's own creation. Immortal Yingtian couldn't come up with a unique sentence for every single one of them. It would lead to too much homogeneity and make it easy for others to spot the trick."

Immortal Yingtian was meticulous and thoughtful in his work.

"Senior Sister, where is the stronghold you mentioned?"

"Almost there, almost there."

The tomb was pitch black and as intricate as a maze. Without a Qiongqi elder leading the way, it would be easy to get lost inside.

It was unknown how Senior Sister Three had managed to ascertain the Qiongqi Tomb's layout.

The three of them walked for about two miles, finally reaching the end of the passage. Senior Sister Three tapped on a wall brick, and a secret door opened, signaling the other two to follow.

Lu Yang noticed many outward-facing arrows on the walls of the secret room. He immediately understood.

The Qiongqi Tomb had many mechanisms. This was one of the trap rooms. If one stepped in the wrong place, a volley of arrows would fire, shooting intruders to death.

After intruders were killed, the arrows would be used up and needed replenishment. This was why there was a trap room, which now served as the trio's resting place.

"Senior Sister, you can even find a place like this?"

The two were very surprised. It was one thing to hide inside a tomb, but to hide inside a tomb's trap room? Who would think someone was hiding here? No wonder Senior Sister Three had confidently declared it was safe to hide from the Qiongqi clan.

The three of them rested here for a few hours to adjust their condition. Although the invisibility talismans meant they weren't afraid of being discovered, maintaining invisibility continuously was very draining. Senior Sister Three was fine, but Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had been using invisibility talismans for almost a day. After traveling from the branch tribe to the Qiongqi Tomb, they needed to rest.

The two of them immediately fell asleep in the trap room.

While they slept, Senior Sister Three took out her paper, ink, brush, and inkstone to write down the events of the past few days.

She was documenting her experiences in the Demon Realm in a work titled "Observations of the Demon Realm." She had already completed eight volumes and was now writing the ninth.

After their brief interactions, she determined that her junior brother knew more about ancient history than she did.

With a junior brother who was well-versed in ancient history, she believed the content of this ninth volume would be even richer than the previous eight.

"Mm..."

Hearing movements from Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, indicating they were about to wake up, she put away her writing tools and sat quietly.

Lu Yang and the other person slept for a full three hours. After waking, they felt clear-headed and refreshed.

"You're awake, good. I'll take you to the main tomb. It's said that the ancient Qiongqi is buried there."

"It's said?"

Senior Sister Three nodded. She slung her guqin onto her back, securing the strings across her chest. With a black cloth tied over her eyes, she looked like a recluse emerging from a bamboo grove.

She explained, "At the very least, the ancient Qiongqi's coffin is there. As for whether a Qiongqi is actually inside, I don't know. But that's not our concern. We're here for archaeology, not grave robbing."

As a professional scholar, Senior Sister Three adhered to the principle of seeing to believe.

The second update will be at 11 o'clock (tentative).