Now that the gloom-clouds had dispersed, wisps of nether mist still drifted through the forest of graves, but they no longer smothered the sky and earth as before. Li Weiyi's field of vision grew clearer and wider, giving him the eerie sensation of walking through a desolate mass grave.
The burial mounds stood seven or eight meters high, scattered in an irregular expanse.
Ancient and ponderous stone steles rose far above him as he passed below.
Before some steles stood ghost banners; before others fluttered yin streamers, giving off eerie rustling sounds in the wind.
Just who was buried here?
Why were they entombed aboard a ship?
Was this meant to return fallen leaves to their roots, or was it some unique rite of burial?
How had they died? Who had raised these mounds and erected the steles? And where had those builders gone?
Every inch of the Bronze Ship breathed mystery. Surely an ancient, tragic history lay behind it. No one knew who could have forged it, how magnificent it once was, or why it had lain dormant on Earth for thousands of years.
Was it now returning to the place where its voyage had begun?
Or was it resuming an ancient crusade?
Full of curiosity and a yearning for answers, Li Weiyi searched through the grave forest for half an hour until he finally caught the chiming of wind chimes.
*Ding, ding!*
A wind chime crafted from bone hung from a bluestone stele over three meters tall, ringing crisp and melodious in the breeze.
Though it appeared to be made of bone, it was actually translucent and crystalline like jade, carved with indecipherable secret sigils.
The thread linking the chimes was woven from silver wire, unrotted and unbroken after thousands of years.
On the bluestone stele was a portrait. It was impossible to tell what pigments had been used to paint it, for they had not faded in the slightest, remaining vibrant and lifelike.
In the painting, auspicious clouds glowed in five resplendent colors, and a celestial maiden stood exquisitely transcendent.
She looked like an immortal fairy gazing down upon the mortal world from atop the clouds, clad in radiant red robes, her cloud-like hair adorned with gorgeous hairpins. Her wondrous eyes were so vivid that one almost felt she could step right out of the stone stele.
*Could the person buried in this grave truly be a peerless celestial fairy from the distant past?*
Li Weiyi's gaze returned to the bone wind chime. He wanted to take it down and examine it.
This had to count as one of the imperishable items, didn't it?
*Whoosh!*
Exerting strength through his legs, he leapt upward.
Suddenly, the scorching current of energy surged from the sole of his right foot. His body turned light as a feather, slicing through the air and soaring straight onto the top of the three-meter-tall stele.
He swayed before steadying his footing.
Holding his breath, Li Weiyi looked down at the ground—a full story below—and felt utterly amazed.
After cultivating this extraordinary aspect, could he now leap onto roofs and vault over walls?
The sensation was exhilarating; anyone in his position would feel their blood surge with pride and high spirits.
Calming his emotions, Li Weiyi reached out to take the chime. But the moment his hand brushed against the bone chime pieces, dizziness slammed into him. Before his eyes, the peerless celestial maiden in red seemed to materialize.
Her slender, breathtaking silhouette multiplied into layers, pressing relentlessly down upon him.
*Thud!*
Li Weiyi tumbled from the bluestone stele. His head spun violently, as if he had ridden in a vehicle across rugged mountain roads for hours on end.
*There really is something sinister about this thing—it can't be touched!*
If it were that easy to pluck, the other expedition members would have taken the bone wind chime long ago; it never would have remained until now.
Still, Li Weiyi was naturally consumed by curiosity and a desire to explore, which was why he had taken the gamble.
Circulating the Yuxu Breathing Method, he channeled the burning current from the sole of his right foot along his silver trace veins up toward his head. Moments later, the dizziness vanished, and he recovered his senses.
Li Weiyi bowed respectfully toward the portrait on the stele. "Junior meant no offense. Senior, please do not take offense... Well, I must retrieve the Daozu Taiji Fish and the Yellow Dragon Sword, so I fear I must offend once more. Senior is an immortal of the heavens; surely you will not stoop to the level of a mere mortal?"
After bowing three times with utter solemnity, Li Weiyi climbed onto the massive grave mound behind the bluestone stele.
*Senior Brother wouldn't have buried it too deep... Found it!*
Li Weiyi felt through the grayish-white grave soil inch by inch. Near the top of the mound, his fingers struck a hard metal object. Brushing away the dirt, he revealed the Daozu Taiji Fish.
One green fish eye, one red fish eye, each no larger than a bean.
Just as before, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary antique ornament, devoid of any extraordinary spiritual resonance.
*This fish eye must be the Buddha relic they're all after, right? Can its microscopic form truly be an entire planet?*
How was he supposed to activate it?
Before Li Weiyi could fasten the Daozu Taiji Fish back around his neck, the wind chimes upon the bluestone stele began to clang violently. A perception of mortal danger made his hairs stand on end; it felt like needles prickling his back, and a suffocating chill engulfed him.
*Not good...*
*Rustle! Rustle!*
There was no time to flee.
Thick tangles of black hair burst forth from the grave soil beneath him, winding tightly around his legs.
*Did a corpse just animate? But I clearly bowed and paid my respects earlier... Isn't this senior being far too petty?*
The black hair grew with terrifying speed, coiling from his legs up to his waist, spreading to his arms, and creeping toward his head.
Li Weiyi mobilized the burning current in the sole of his right foot, driving it through all thirteen silver trace veins across his body as he tore and struggled with every ounce of his strength.
He endured for only a single breath.
With a dull thud, he was dragged flat against the ground by the black hair, sinking inexorably down into the depths of the grave soil.
*It's over!*
What in the world was going on?
Senior Sister Cai and the others had dug open graves to create farmland, committing far greater desecration, yet had provoked no such calamity. He had come merely to reclaim his own belongings—how had he provoked such a terrifying, evil entity?
Had he truly had the misfortune of offending a petty spirit?
***
"Brother Meng, Old Liu and the others nearly worked themselves to death these past seven days rushing to repair the generator. You've got to speak with Captain Gao and have him set up a couple of good meals for them. We have to celebrate today no matter what, right?"
Chen Hong followed behind Zhao Meng, pleading for credit on behalf of the engineering technical team.
"Naturally. The top credit belongs to them."
Zhao Meng stepped into the compartment housing the cold storage, and his expression instantly twisted.
Old Liu and several members of the engineering technical team lay scattered across the floor, completely unconscious. Only Xie Jin stood inside with his hands behind his back.
The compartment was cluttered and dimly lit, yet Xie Jin's cold, mocking smile remained clear to see.
*Crash!*
A burly security group member standing 1.8 meters tall, lying in ambush by the left side of the door, swung a steel pipe with savage force, smashing it hard against the doorframe. Had Zhao Meng's reactions been a beat slower, his skull would have been shattered.
"An ambush! Get out, quick!"
Zhao Meng shouted a warning to Chen Hong and backed out of the cold storage compartment, raising his gun to return fire.
Another security member waiting outside lunged from behind, wrapping his arms around Zhao Meng's torso and upper arms in a bear hug. With a guttural roar, the man tried to slam Zhao Meng against the bulkhead.
Zhao Meng had practiced martial arts since childhood and had served in the military for years; his reactions were blindingly fast.
Before he could be smashed into the steel wall, he drove both feet against the bulkhead, kicking off with explosive power. The recoil sent both him and the security member crashing heavily to the floor.
Breaking free, Zhao Meng rolled over in a flash and brought his fist down like a sledgehammer.
*Crack!*
The blow landed square on the man's face, knocking the ambusher senseless as blood gushed from his mouth.
The security member wielding the steel pipe rushed out, swinging it violently once more.
With no time to reach for his rifle, Zhao Meng rolled forward across the floor and drove a kick straight into the man's groin. Amid a shrill scream, the steel pipe clattered to the deck, and the man sank to his knees, trembling violently.
Scooping up the steel pipe, Zhao Meng drove an elbow hard into the man's temple, sending him crashing sideways to the floor.
In a split second, he had dispatched two capable ambushers.
Before Zhao Meng could fully regain his feet, a third hidden assailant darted out and drove a stun gun straight into the center of his back.
*Bzzzt! Bzzzt!*
Zhao Meng's whole body convulsed, his muscles numbing as his limbs seized up.
Right in front of him, Xie Jin charged forward, springing into the air and driving his knee toward Zhao Meng's chest with the full momentum of his weight.
A flying knee strike!
If it connected, Zhao Meng's ribs would shatter and his heart would rupture.
In this brush with death, Zhao Meng wrenched himself away from the stun gun at his back and threw himself sideways in a desperate roll. Even though his entire body was weak and limp, sheer survival instinct drove him to bite his tongue, forcing his mind awake through the pain, and hurl the steel pipe from his hand.
With a sharp crack, the pipe struck the third ambusher's hand, sending the stun gun clattering to the floor.
Taking advantage of the opening, Zhao Meng grabbed the rifle from the deck, chambered a round, and aimed it squarely at Xie Jin, who had just landed. Zhao Meng's face was ferocious and cold, murder blazing in his eyes.
*Thwack!*
*Snap...*
From the shadows behind him, Chen Hong swung a length of rebar wrapped in black cloth, pouring all his strength into striking Zhao Meng near his right shoulder.
The sickening sound of bone splintering echoed through the corridor.
Even Zhao Meng's tower-like, formidable physique could not withstand the blow. He cried out in agony, his body sinking as the rifle clattered to the floor.
Struggling to keep from collapsing, he slowly turned around, his lips quivering as he stared at Chen Hong in disbelief.
No one knew Zhao Meng's prowess better than Chen Hong, which was why he had shown no mercy.
He had to be both fast and ruthless.
Not a trace of Chen Hong's usual bright, cheerful smile remained on his face; there was only severe, chilling coldness. He swung the rebar once more, smashing it into both of Zhao Meng's supporting knees.
*Crack!*
Kneecaps shattered, and his legs folded backward.
Zhao Meng could no longer stand, nearly fainting from the sheer agony. Chen Hong tossed the rebar aside, picked up the rifle, and checked the ammunition before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Looking at Zhao Meng's pale face and the fury, confusion, and indignation in his eyes, Chen Hong felt deeply irritated and snapped, "I know what you want to say. But isn't this all your own fault?"
"Didn't I advise you to lead the brothers to take out Gao Xin and make yourself captain of the research ship—or even captain of the entire Bronze Ship? When that happened, everyone aboard would have had to listen to us. Whatever we told them to do, they'd have had to do. If we told them to kneel, they wouldn't dare stand!"
"All those useless old, weak, sick, and crippled people should have been slaughtered early on. They're just wasting rations!"
"As long as we control the supplies and their distribution, we can do whatever we want and survive to the end. But you..."
"You're too pedantic! You don't have a shred of ambition or ruthless drive. You're still bound by those old rules and regulations. Since you refused to make a move, I had to do it myself. I don't want to die!"
Xie Jin glanced warily at the rifle in Chen Hong's hands and chuckled. "Well done. With Zhao Meng handled, no one else on this ship poses a threat. Hand the rifle over to me, and I'll make sure my cousin credits you with the top achievement."
"It's better if I hold onto this gun for now."
Chen Hong was no fool; naturally, he had no intention of handing the weapon over. Keeping an eye on Xie Jin, he began unbuttoning Zhao Meng's outer coat.
Beneath the coat lay a vest of purple leather armor. Over the chest was the crimson imprint of a five-fingered palm, surrounded by bizarre scriptures—resembling the insignia of some mysterious organization.
Touching the soft armor sent an icy chill through his fingers.
"This must be the corpse-garment leather armor he stripped off those skeletal humans. It hasn't decayed after thousands of years, so it has to be a treasure. No wonder he managed to break free from the stun gun."
Chen Hong was overjoyed. He stripped the corpse-garment leather armor from Zhao Meng and slipped it onto himself.
The armor seemed capable of adjusting its size; though Chen Hong was far less muscular than Zhao Meng, it fitted him snugly once put on.
Xie Jin knew he could do nothing against Chen Hong for the moment, so he suppressed his irritation and said in a gentle voice, "Search him quickly. Is the Buddha relic on him?"
Chen Hong searched Zhao Meng thoroughly, only for disappointment to wash over his face. "I'm afraid the Buddha relic is still with his junior brother."
Hearing this, Zhao Meng, who had already resigned himself to his fate, glared with profound rage and roared, "Chen Hong, if you dare lay a finger on my junior brother, I will tear you to pieces!"
Chen Hong looked down at him with pity. "If you could still stand, I might believe you. Brother Meng, you're the one who taught me to be daring, to fight and strive, and never to be someone who indulges in impotent fury. How could you have forgotten your own words?"
Xie Jin walked over, planted his foot onto Zhao Meng's chest, ground his sole down with all his weight, and leaned forward with a sneer. "You're so agitated—it looks like the Buddha relic really is with him, isn't it?"
Zhao Meng drew strength from some unknown reserve, attempting to push himself up with his uninjured arm.
Yet how could he possibly contend with Xie Jin?
Chen Hong called out, "Forget it. Why bother wasting energy on a cripple? We haven't fully secured the situation yet; don't waste time here."
Xie Jin watched Chen Hong walk out with the rifle, then crouched down and searched Zhao Meng once more.
Naturally, he found nothing.
"Tie them all up and take them to the deck. By the way, have any of you seen Cai Yutong?" Xie Jin did not share Xie Tianshu's grand ambitions; in his eyes, securing Cai Yutong was more important than anything else—he wouldn't trade her even for the Buddha relic.
One of the security members replied, "She seems to have gone over to the planting area with those graduate students. She didn't eat the drugged breakfast."
Chapter 13