“I happened to get it from Heichi Gu,” Zu An said, counting his blessings.

Fortunately, back then, he had seen that not even the White Lotus Flame could burn the key, and thus put it away. He hadn’t expected it to just happen to be of use here. It really was too much of a coincidence, as if a pair of invisible hands had prompted Zu An into doing all that.

“The Heichi Clan really were double-crossing bastards!” the Fiend Emperor exclaimed with an ugly expression. The Imperial Palace’s treasury had been entrusted to the Heichi clan to oversee. If something from the treasury had appeared in Heichi Gu’s possession, what else could it be but embezzlement?

The Golden Crow Crown Prince was alarmed. The Heichi clan was his maternal uncle’s family, which should have been his most secure ally and shield. From his perspective even though the Heichi clan was a bit greedy, compared to their help, this wasn’t a big deal at all. Furthermore, his uncle’s family weren’t outsiders, so they had still technically been keeping good things on their side.

However, from the Fiend Emperor’s perspective, it was completely different. He wasn’t so charitable to the Heichi clan, and thought of the incident as already sufficient to prove their disloyalty.

The Golden Crow Crown Prince was so frightened he immediately changed the topic. He berated Zu An ferociously. “No wonder we couldn't find anything from Heichi Gu’s disappearance! So you killed him!”

You have successfully trolled Golden Crow Crown Prince for +110 +110 +110…

Zu An said indifferently, “You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want. Be careful of speaking slander!”

“Hmph, this key was clearly in Heichi Gu’s possession, so why would it be with you?” the Golden Crow Crown Prince asked coldly.

“If this key could be moved from the Imperial Palace’s treasury into Heichi Gu’s possession, then why can’t it be in mine?” Zu An replied with a smile. Heichi Gu had been trying to kill him back then, and furthermore, he had only acted out of self-defense. There was no way he was going to admit to that at all, though.

Of course, the Fiend Emperor’s side undoubtedly knew that Zu An was the one who had killed Heichi Gu. Either way, they had already offended each other, so a bit more wouldn’t make a difference as long as he didn’t give them anything they could use against him.

The Golden Crow Crown Prince was about to continue when the Fiend Emperor stopped him, saying “We should not talk about past matters for now. The most important thing right now is opening up this gate.”

Zu An flicked his finger outward, and the key inserted itself into the hole in the center. He wasn’t in a rush to open the door, however. On the contrary, opening the door could put him in danger.

The Fiend Emperor had confidence in his high cultivation and wasn’t too scared. Thus, he grabbed the end of the key and slowly turned it.

When he turned it to a particular angle, the four gemstones began shining again with a crisp click. The patterns around them once again lit up like electrical circuits. They converged into four streaks of light that poured into the key’s position at the very center. The previously dark golden key began shining with rainbow brilliance. Then, the light spread in all directions before disappearing into the depths of the tomb through the pattern’s grooves. Several waves of rumbling followed, as if the entire tomb were coming alive.

Zu An thought to himself, If this key is so special, why did it end up with the Golden Crows?

The Golden Crow race had probably passed it down from one generation to the next since ancient times. However, Yu the Great should have appeared after Yi shot down the suns…

He only got more and more confused the more he thought about it, so he decided to just not spend any more effort brooding over the matter. Instead, he focused on the gate in front of him.

Suddenly, the gate split in two down the middle and slowly opened inward, revealing a dark tunnel amid a shower of scattered rocks.

The Fiend Emperor took large strides forward with a fervent expression. The Golden Crow Crown Prince quickly followed behind him. In a secret dungeon like this with terrifying beings at every turn, it was still safest at his father’s side.

Meanwhile, Wu Liang had a conflicted expression. The Fiend Emperor wasn’t paying attention to him and was focused on what lay inside, creating a great opportunity to flee. But how could he, who had robbed tombs his entire life, resist the temptation of such a grand ancient tomb? He gritted his teeth and followed them inside, muttering, “If I’m going to die, so be it!”

Zu An and the others exchanged a look, then followed at a moderate pace behind them. They expected that it would be dark inside and thought of making a torch, but it was actually brightly lit. 

There were lamp-like objects hanging from the walls, surrounded by an assortment of runes that resembled electrical circuits. It was as if the light that had emanated from the four gemstones and the key from earlier had provided the entire underground palace with a light source.

Zu An was quite surprised. Why did such ancient things bear a strange resemblance to modern technology? He thought, Don’t tell me there were aliens or something back then, were there? No wonder even after so many years have passed, we still haven’t been able to find the Xia Dynasty’s remains…

The group clicked their tongues, in awe of the tomb. Along the way, they saw many mechanisms. However, with a tomb raider like Wu Liang present, they got through each one feeling more scared than hurt. His prowess was such that he was able to find hidden switches to open up passages even when it seemed like there was nowhere left for them to go.

“This damn fatty is quite the talent…” Zu An muttered, amazed. He thought to himself, If I run into any more tombs in the future, I’ll have to throw him an invite. That would increase our chances of success a lot!

They continued for some time just like that. Eventually, Wu Liang activated another mechanism, opening a gate that led to a spacious room.

“This should be the main tomb room,” Wu Liang said, swallowing his saliva. He looked at the very center of the room, where there was a rectangular stone platform covered in runes; it seemed to have had some kind of seal applied to it.

Zu An noticed that there were two giant statues, more than ten meters tall, standing on either side of the room. One statue had the body of a giant snake, and there were nine heads on it; when he first saw it, he thought it was of the Nine Infants. Only upon closer inspection was he able to tell that it was different.

Even though the statue also had nine heads, the Nine Infants had nine snake heads, while it  had nine human heads. It resembled a sort of ancient demonic deity, emanating mysterious intimidation and pressure.

The other statue looked like a giant bear. It was completely red, with an extremely sinister expression. It didn’t look like a being that belonged to the righteous faction.

Zu An wondered whether the two statues were just there to accompany the stone altar in the center, or if they were guarding something.

The Fiend Emperor kneaded Dan Zhu in his palm, asking “Did you not say that Emperor Yao knew about the immortal medicine? If one really existed, why would he be lying in a coffin?”

Indeed, the rectangular platform resembled a coffin. The Fiend Emperor quickly felt incredible disappointment when he thought about how Emperor Yao could be inside. He was close to the end of his life; what he desired the most was none other than immortal medicine and a higher level of power. Now, it looked as if neither of them seemed too likely to be obtainable.

Zu An was startled. The Fiend Emperor also had information regarding immortal medicine?

That makes sense. If that spirit really is Emperor Yao’s son, it’s not too strange for them to know. it and Emperor Yao are both from ancient times, after all.

Dan Zhu quickly said, “He’s sealed… sealed inside. He definitely isn’t dead and should know about the undying medicine!”

When he heard Dan Zu, the Fiend Emperor looked at the rectangular stone altar, seemingly feeling a bit moved.

Zu An quickly stepped forward to stop him, asking, “If there really is an ancient emperor sealed inside, would you be able to win against him if you unseal it?”

What if something terrifying came out and killed everyone?

The Fiend Emperor hesitated a bit too. He was seriously injured from fighting against the Four Perils several times. Even though he had recovered through the Golden Crow Sacred Fire, he was close to his limit. He was no longer in his best condition.

However, his longing for eternal life made him harden his resolve. He replied, “Don’t I still have you here?”

Zu An was speechless.