Chapter 1797: Tomb Inside the Tomb
Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng reflexively stood at Zu An’s side, vigilant against any sudden moves from Zhao Han.
Zhao Han’s eyes narrowed slightly. However, after sizing up Zu An for a moment, he said with a smile, “Why would this emperor care about the items of a junior? Besides, we already have an alliance between us.”
The Soulburn Firecrystal was extremely precious, but it wasn’t an essential item for him now. For Zhao Han, with the immortal opportunity up ahead, he could let anything else go for now.
Zu An said with a smile, “Your majesty is magnanimous, as expected…”
Upon hearing the praise, Zhao Han’s expression improved considerably. He looked at Jing Teng and asked, “Miss Jing, how far are we from that place you spoke of now?”
“It isn’t that far anymore,” Jing Teng said, her pretty brows furrowing slightly. It was difficult to tell what she was thinking.
“Then let’s seize the moment. It’ll be bad if the Ghost King gets there first,” Zhao Han said as he looked at the remains of the lake.
The once boiling-hot lava had already more or less cooled into black stone. Even though there was still some smoke emanating from it, with their group’s cultivation, it wasn’t much of a problem. Only Jing Teng was a bit troubled. She hadn’t recovered her strength yet and couldn't fly.
Zu An was the first to suggest, “How about I carry you over?”
Jing Teng blushed, but she still nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll be troubling you.”
Qiu Honglei’s brows twitched. She squeezed her way between them and said, “I think I should do it. It’ll be more convenient.”
Zu An shook his head and didn’t step aside, replying, “It’ll be hard for you to carry someone. We need to preserve our stamina right now, so I should do it.” He didn’t wait for her reaction, and just wrapped his arm around Jing Teng’s waist with one arm and held her hand with the other as they flew over.
Qiu Honglei was stunned.
Why do I feel as if I’m watching a happy couple right now?!
She instinctively felt anger, but she quickly calmed down.
Even though Ah Zu is a bit perverted, he wouldn’t normally be in such a rush. He definitely has a reason for acting that way.
But even though she had guessed a few things, she still felt really annoyed when she saw Jing Teng lean intimately against her lover’s chest.
Does this woman have no tact at all?!
You have successfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +288 +288 +288…
When he saw that Qiu Honglei was about to explode from anger, Zhao Han suddenly felt a bit refreshed.
Young people will be young people. Do you think having girls on all sides is that easy?
Even this emperor’s harem fights constantly against each other. Those women look gentle and weak on the surface, but they’re actually each more vicious and treacherous than the next. This brat will definitely have his fair share of suffering in the future!
What made Qiu Honglei feel a bit better was that after they crossed the region of hardened lava, the two naturally separated.
…
The following path became more and more complicated. There were forks everywhere, as if they had entered a labyrinth. However, Jing Teng seemed to recognize the road and slowly walked forward. She didn’t hesitate whenever she encountered a fork.
Qiu Honglei thought, Don’t tell me she’s already recovered her memories? Still, she knew that Jing Teng wouldn’t talk about it even if she asked, so she could only swallow her suspicions back down.
Even though she was still a bit upset at him, she moved over to Zu An’s side. There was something more important to deal with. She secretly asked him, “Ah Zu, how are you going to deal with the emperor later?”
Even though on the surface, it was all pleasant cooperation, hostilities would resume the instant the Ghost King was defeated. Zhao Han would have an absolute advantage then, and their own side would have no way of retaliating. Zhao Han could even betray them while they were fighting against the Ghost King. After all, Zhao Han had tossed both Xuan Bajing and Li Changsheng over to feed the Ghost King in order to protect himself. She didn’t want to repeat that disaster.
Zu An gently patted her hand and said, “Don’t worry, I have a plan.”
Qiu Honglei was confused as to what kind of plan he had and how he could still remain so calm. However, Zhao Han was nearby, so she couldn't ask any further.
Zhao Han chuckled, perhaps because he had heard their conversation. He didn’t expose them, however; instead, he asked, “Miss Jing, how many more creatures are there in this great tomb that are similar to that Earthflame Devil?”
“I don’t know exactly. I only know that there are many monsters in this tomb,” Jing Teng said. She paused for a moment before continuing, “Whether it’s the Earthflame Devil or the Death Reaper, they aren’t actually the strongest in this great tomb. There are many terrifying beings sealed in the tomb’s depths. In the past, even the immortal ruler felt a bit of apprehension toward them.”
Zhao Han was now stunned. He hadn’t expected the Earthflame Devil to actually not even be that strong compared to others in this tomb! After all, that thing had even been able to threaten him to some extent. Didn’t that mean he wouldn’t necessarily be able to win against the monsters in the tomb’s depths? He thought, That’s impossible!
Zu An asked in confusion, “Does this great tomb have many floors?”
Jing Teng replied with a nod, “That’s right. This great tomb looks massive on the surface, but the space inside is actually even larger than that. It might even be connected to some special space. In the past, the immortal ruler also only explored the uppermost floors. He even felt threatened by what lay deeper down. Then, some things happened and he didn’t have any time left to continue exploring.”
The others were shocked. Immortal Ruler Baopu was an immortal publicly acknowledged by the world. Even that glorious immortal was apprehensive of what lay in the tomb’s depths? Just what exactly was going on with this great tomb?
Zhao Han was actually secretly glad. He really had made the right choice in coming with Zu An’s group this time. Otherwise, if he hadn’t known anything about that and just charged straight in, he likely would have suffered as a result. However, he was getting more and more excited. If this tomb was that mysterious and powerful, that meant the immortal opportunity could actually be real.
Then, Jing Teng brought the group to a set of stairs and climbed down. They all clearly sensed that the stairs went down for quite a bit. When they recalled how she said that this tomb was divided into many floors, they wondered just which floor they were on now.
Along the way, perhaps because of good luck, or perhaps it was because Jing Teng was leading them, they actually didn’t run into any other monsters. At first, she responded to some of their questions, but after a while, she seemed to start brooding over something. When the others asked her questions, it was almost as if she didn’t hear them, no longer even paying them any attention.
Zu An couldn't help but tug on her hand, asking, “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Jing Teng said, her face a bit pale. She forced a smile and continued, “We’re almost there.”
The group noticed a downward-sloping path ahead, surrounded by walls.
Zhao Han stirred, remarking, “A tomb passage!”
He was an emperor, and furthermore an emperor who was nearing the end of his lifespan, so he had naturally ordered the creation of an imperial tomb according to the standard procedure. He was naturally quite aware of such burial sites. He hadn’t expected that even though this entire place was a great tomb, there would be another central tomb inside.
“The immortal ruler’s remains should be inside,” Jing Teng said, pointing down. Their party vaguely saw a bronze gate at the end of the passage.
Zhao Han was overjoyed. He was about to rush down, but he still stopped in the end. Since the other person was an immortal, there was no way he hadn’t set up anything to protect himself. It was still safer to follow Jing Teng. He wondered just what kind of relationship she had with that immortal ruler. Didn’t she know a bit too much?
Jing Teng didn’t rush either as she walked straight toward the tomb’s depths.
Zu An asked out of concern, “Didn’t you come here to find your original body? Should we look for that first? Where is it?”
Jing Teng shook her head and said, “It’s fine. Let’s find the method to restrict the Ghost King first.”
Zu An put away his puzzlement for the time being and became vigilant towards his surroundings. Normally, tombs often had deadly traps, and this was the tomb of an immortal.
However, surprisingly, there weren’t any mechanisms at all. The group quickly arrived in front of the bronze gate. Zhao Han carefully examined it; he wanted to see if he could glean some information from its appearance and designs, but it was plain and simple without any engravings. It looked just like normal bronze.
Jing Teng stood in front of them. She raised her hand and was about to push, but she stopped midway. She seemed a bit conflicted.
Qiu Honglei warned her, “Be careful of any traps on this door.”
Even though this woman is flirting with my man, that’s just a personal grudge. Right now, everyone’s safety is more important and we can’t let any accidents happen.
Jing Teng shook her head slightly and reached out her hands to push forward.
Ka ka ka…
With a strained noise, the heavy bronze gates actually slowly opened just like that.
Zu An and the others were a bit confused. Why hadn’t Immortal Ruler Baopu locked the door to his own tomb?
Zhao Han also became guarded. The more normal things seemed, the more likely it was for there to be danger.
Jing Teng seemed unconcerned about any dangers and just walked straight in. However, the others couldn’t help but tense up as they entered.
Inside was a spacious area. The great tomb was quite dark to begin with, but there were traces of gentle starlight scattering down from above them.
Qiu Honglei was the most sensitive to light and pointed up, exclaiming, “Ah Zu, look at that!”
Zu An looked up, and couldn't help but become stupefied. It wasn’t a pitch-black ceiling above them, nor were there any murals. Instead, it was a whole sky with a multitude of stars. He could vaguely make out some special constellations that seemed to resemble the azure dragon, white tiger, vermilion bird, and black tortoise. The other stars were all surrounding it.
Meanwhile, the four great constellations were all surrounding and protecting one position at the very center. The star there was the brightest. Right beneath that star rested a giant bronze coffin.