Chapter 568: Burial Goods

The main tomb enshrines the ancient Qiongqi, believed to be the most powerful of its kind. The tomb is lavishly decorated, filled with various rare treasures and ancient magical artifacts, as if the ancient Qiongqi could awaken at any moment, wielding these artifacts to fight and conquer.

Any one of these treasures, if put up for auction, would require half a year of preparation and extensive publicity, fetching an astronomical price as the grand finale item.

Even with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's discerning eyes, they couldn't identify the origins of these items and had to ask their third senior sister for an explanation.

Fortunately, Lu Yang had two ears: his left ear listened to his third senior sister's explanations, while his right ear listened to the Immortal Fairy's.

Three identical fluorescent spirit grasses grew resiliently on the wall.

"This is Kunlun Grass," his third senior sister explained. "Legend says it can improve one's innate potential, purify the physique, and even has a one-third chance of transforming one into the Kunlun Immortal Physique, which hasn't appeared in ten thousand years!""Kunlun Grass," the Immortal Fairy countered, "eat too much, and you'll just turn into a Kunlun Immortal Physique. It's useless. The Kunlun Immortal Physique is the weakest of all immortal physiques. The first immortal physique I ever beat was a Kunlun Immortal Physique."

A feather emitting a pure white glow was encased in a man-high shell, appearing extraordinary.

"This is a Qiongqi Feather," his third senior sister said, "the central feather from the back of the ancient Qiongqi. Legend has it that holding this feather allows you to summon any race from the 'Monster Alliance' to your aid. The feather also contains a true mantra from the ancient Qiongqi; anyone who hears it must agree to the Qiongqi tribe's demands.""A Qiongqi Feather," the Immortal Fairy scoffed, "it's just a hair the old Qiongqi pulled from its back, hurting for half a day. You can indeed use this thing to ask other monster races for help, but only the Qiongqi tribe can use it. When you use it, you drip blood on it, then activate it with magic power, and the feather will emit the old Qiongqi's voice saying—'Give me some face.'"

A palm-sized black miniature mountain stood on the ground, incredibly heavy, distorting the surrounding space. If not for the reinforcing arrays, it would have long since collapsed into a black hole.

"This is a Buzhou Mountain Spirit," his third senior sister explained. "Legend says that in ancient times, there were two powerful beings who controlled water and fire. They fought a world-shattering battle for the position of immortal. Water and fire clashed, volcanoes erupted, oceans turned into lava, and stars exploded into countless meteors. In the end, the powerful being who controlled fire emerged victorious. In a fit of rage, the powerful being who controlled water knocked over Buzhou Mountain, and from its collapse, this mountain spirit was born.""A Buzhou Mountain Spirit," the Immortal Fairy interjected, "do you remember that Golden Core cultivator who could turn things into saltwater? He was quite lucky, cultivating all the way to the Tribulation Transcension stage. He had a conflict with a Phoenix clan prodigy, and they fought. Several realms were ruined. The Phoenix clan prodigy, having been guided by me, was incredibly strong. The saltwater Golden Core cultivator, desperate from losing, crashed into Buzhou Mountain and created this thing."

"Is this the core of Buzhou Mountain?" Lu Yang asked."No, he just had an incredibly hard head," the Immortal Fairy replied. "He used his head to crush Buzhou Mountain into this small piece."

Lu Yang was speechless.

All these treasures were sealed. Even a slight movement would alert the Qiongqi tribe, leading to the entire tomb being sealed off, making escape impossible for any grave robbers.

As his third senior sister had said, she was here for archaeology, not grave robbing, and harbored no greed for these items.

In the very center of the main tomb lay a heavy, massive black coffin. It looked less like a coffin and more like a large, isolated black vessel, capable of ferrying souls across the River Styx for another lifetime.

"This is Ten-Thousand-Year Underworld Wood," his third senior sister explained. "It's the best material for coffins, capable of blocking all divine sense detection.""I remember this thing," the Immortal Fairy said. "The old Qiongqi bought it from the Immortal of Time. The Immortal of Time simultaneously used the 'Tree Cultivation Art' and the Dao Fruit of Time to transform a sapling into Ten-Thousand-Year Underworld Wood.""The older a natural treasure is, the more valuable it becomes. People often ask the Immortal of Time to add years to natural treasures, and sometimes, adding too many years can even create minor medicine kings."

The Immortal of Time practiced the authentic 'Tree Cultivation Art,' something Lu Yang couldn't compare to.

As the Immortal Fairy spoke, she unfurled her immortal sense to probe the black coffin. As someone from the ancient era herself, she wanted to know whether the old Qiongqi was truly dead or still alive. There was nothing in the world that could block an immortal sense.

"Alas, he truly passed away," the Immortal Fairy sighed. An old acquaintance lay in the coffin not far away, and she couldn't quite describe the feeling. Without forming a complete Dao Fruit, one's lifespan was ultimately limited. The old Qiongqi had no external injuries; he had died of old age.

However, she wasn't particularly saddened. She had no deep friendship with the old Qiongqi, who used to frequently eat people until the era of the Five Ancient Immortals. That's why she didn't help when the old Qiongqi asked her to extend his lifespan.

"Look here, there's writing," Lu Yang whispered, pointing to a line of small characters at the bottom of the wall.

"'Meng Potian was here.' Who is Meng Potian?" Lu Yang read aloud.Meng Jingzhou looked a little embarrassed. "My father."

When the Meng clan patriarch was young, he believed in reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles, exploring far and wide, leaving his footprints even in the Monster Domain. Given his father's personality, it was perfectly normal for him to leave small inscriptions here.

His third senior sister nodded. "The Qiongqi tribe also discovered this inscription."

Meng Jingzhou was speechless.

"How is the Monster Domain more dangerous than I imagined?" Meng Jingzhou thought. "No, wait, I've already run away from home, so I can't be considered a Meng family member."

Lu Yang patted Meng Jingzhou's shoulder, showing loyalty. "Don't be afraid. If we're discovered by the Qiongqi tribe, I'll just throw you out to buy us some time."

"That won't be necessary," his third senior sister interjected. "The Qiongqi tribe won't do anything to Junior Brother Meng."

Lu Yang was greatly surprised, never expecting the Qiongqi tribe to be so noble as to repay grievances with kindness.

"It's not exactly repaying grievances with kindness. Several centuries ago, the Qiongqi tribe was frantically looking for trouble with the Meng family, but they had their own troubles and couldn't bother with the Meng family."

"What kind of trouble did the Qiongqi tribe have?" Lu Yang asked. He wondered if there had been a chaotic war in the Monster Domain centuries ago, with the Qiongqi tribe caught in a pincer attack and unable to cope, or perhaps internal unrest, like two Qiongqi fighting for the patriarch's position.

His third senior sister explained, "The Qiongqi tribe is naturally prone to poverty. Several centuries ago, they suffered heavy losses in business and incurred significant debt, leading to widespread resentment within the tribe. If not for the Meng family's loans, the Qiongqi tribe might not have survived that period.""I heard they only finished repaying the debt fifty years ago. Junior Brother Meng, as the Meng family's eldest young master, if the Qiongqi tribe knew who you were, they would likely treat you with great respect. They might even agree if you wished to be buried in the Qiongqi tomb."

Meng Jingzhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his Meng family identity wasn't entirely a source of trouble.

Lu Yang glanced at Meng Jingzhou, thinking, *Your Meng family identity is quite adaptable, isn't it?*

His third senior sister bowed three times to the black coffin, her posture dignified and her attitude respectful, observing the proper etiquette. "Senior Qiongqi, please forgive my intrusion," she murmured. It was simply not proper to take burial items without some form of respect.

She walked to a corner of the main tomb and carefully enveloped a clay pot with her magic power, lifting it. This clay pot was the least significant of the burial items, not even qualifying as a magical artifact; its purpose was purely decorative.

The patterns on the clay pot puzzled her greatly.

"Junior brother, take a look at this clay pot," she said to Lu Yang.