An Appraisal Artifact

"What on earth is that?" The Immortal Fairy looked thoroughly baffled. She had no idea what the penal code was. During the ancient era, clan bloodlines served as the core ties, and people gathered as tribes. Punishments meted out to kinsmen relied on "household rules" and "clan laws." Or people gathered as sects, where disciples were punished by "sect rules." Back then, there was no concept of a nation-state, so the idea of statutory law was naturally nonexistent. Still, the Immortal Fairy was not inflexible. From the substance of the provisions, she could roughly deduce what the penal code was meant to do. *I understand the general idea, but why on earth are penal code statutes written on the first page of Tomb Raiding Insights?* Lu Yang coughed twice, signaling that everything was well in hand. "Don't take it the wrong way, Fairy. Books from our era all follow this style. As the saying goes, calculate the sentence before committing the crime so you know what you're getting into." The Immortal Fairy gave Lu Yang a suspicious look, but still murmured, "Oh." The second page was the table of contents, which looked far more legitimate. Looking at the list, the book covered types of zombies, casket specifications, burial chamber designs, common traps and mechanisms, and so on. Shang Zhongtian truly lived up to his reputation as a notorious grave robber in the field. The material he wrote was the real deal—solid, practical knowledge that Lu Yang desperately needed right now. "'Let me check these two rows of warrior figurines... Found it, right here. Figurines: full-sized statues of soldiers sculpted from clay and wood, usually arranged in ranks within tombs as burial goods. Note: if you encounter figurines at the tomb entrance, flee immediately—they are very likely to reanimate!'" Lu Yang stiffly raised his head toward the towering figurines. Green light flared in the figurines' eyes. They reached out their massive hands, lunging straight for Lu Yang! "I knew nothing good was going to happen!" Fortunately, Lu Yang's footwork was agile—honed back at the barbecue restaurant. He dodged the figurines' strikes by the narrowest of margins. More figurines began to move. Lu Yang tried to retreat, only to find the path behind him completely blocked off. His only choice was to bolt forward, fleeing deeper into the cavern. Glancing back, Lu Yang saw the green light gleaming in their eyes as they stared at him, yet they held back from pursuing further. It seemed their range of movement was limited. Deeper within the cavern was no longer a cramped passage, but a vast open expanse. However, the lighting was dim, offering only vague, hazy outlines. *Drip... drop... drip... drop... drip... drop...* From somewhere unknown came the sound of falling water droplets, intermittent and jarringly sharp in the cavernous space. Terrified, the Immortal Fairy shrank into a tight ball, praying that Lu Yang could overcome this ordeal and find an exit. In this immense tomb, there was only the dripping water and Lu Yang's heartbeat—an eerie silence that made one's blood run cold and the hairs on their body stand on end. Lu Yang was terrified as well. Decisively, he sealed his pores so his hairs wouldn't stand up. He lowered his head to study the book, frantically cramming tomb knowledge: "'Zombies: monsters frequently encountered during grave robberies. Their types are categorized as purple zombies, white zombies, green zombies, hairy zombies, flying zombies, wandering corpses, dormant corpses, and drought demons. Purple zombies correspond to the Qi Refinement stage, white zombies correspond to the Foundation Establishment stage, green zombies correspond to the Golden Core stage... and so forth.' "'Zombies are natural creatures of yin, dreading True Fire of supreme yang and unyielding vigor most of all.'" Just as Lu Yang was reading with rapt attention, a hand clapped onto his shoulder. He casually brushed it aside. "Fairy, weren't you terrified just now? How do you have the leisure to play pranks?" The Immortal Fairy whispered softly, sounding as though she was afraid of disturbing something: "...I'm inside your spiritual world. How could I clap your shoulder?" Only then did Lu Yang snap to his senses. He whipped his head around, only to see a horde of purple-skinned zombies trailing behind him. The one that had just patted his shoulder was a white-furred zombie! "Purple zombies and a white zombie!" Remembering the words from *Tomb Raiding Insights*, Lu Yang opened his mouth and spat out a burst of Three-Flavor True Fire, scorching the zombies. Sure enough, the zombies feared True Fire. Facing the blazing wall of flame, they dared not take a single step forward. "That's True Fire?! You actually know how to use True Fire?!" the Immortal Fairy cried out in shock. She had never heard of a Foundation Establishment cultivator mastering True Fire. "And from the look of the flames, it looks like Samadhi True Fire!" Lu Yang had once again shattered the Immortal Fairy's worldview. Among the one hundred and eight types of True Fire, Samadhi True Fire was illustrious. Let alone a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even if a Golden Core cultivator managed to master it, it would be considered utterly monstrous. Lu Yang said nothing, merely flashing an enigmatic smile. It gave him an aura of profound mystique. Having an ancient immortal marvel at his talent felt immensely satisfying. Besides, if he opened his mouth and said, "This is authentic Three-Flavor True Fire," wouldn't the cat be completely out of the bag? In any case, True Fire was True Fire; close enough. Lu Yang spat out another gout of Three-Flavor True Fire. The fireball hovered above his shoulder, both illuminating his surroundings and deterring the zombies lurking in the shadows. "'Finding the exit of a tomb chamber is a technical art. One must hold an Eight Trigrams compass, form the Immovable Seal with the hand, and silently chant: "To seek the dragon and part the gold, observe the coiled mountains; each coil passed is another pass cleared." Only then can the exit be found.'" Lu Yang fell into thought. He had neither an Eight Trigrams compass nor knowledge of the Immovable Seal. He pulled a small wooden stick from his identity jade token and propped it upright on the ground. "Eldest Senior Sister bless me, Eldest Senior Sister bless me." The stick fell toward the northeast. Lu Yang was a cautious man. In his past life, he had made a habit of checking his work when doing math problems. Now trapped in a perilous tomb, he needed to be doubly vigilant. He stood the stick up again and muttered, "Eldest Senior Sister bless me." The stick toppled toward the northeast once more. Confirmed. The exit was to the northeast. An answer verified by double-checking could never be wrong. "Is this a burial chamber?" Following the direction indicated by the stick, Lu Yang found a chamber, unsure whether it was the main or secondary burial chamber. "Let's see what the book says... 'The distinction between the main and secondary chambers is determined by local geomancy, requiring divination using an Eight Trigrams compass and tortoise shells. The specific method is as follows... '" Lu Yang's eyes glazed over. None of the methods described were remotely usable. "This is the main chamber," the Immortal Fairy stated with certainty. "How do you know?" Lu Yang asked in surprise, amazed that the Immortal Fairy was finally being useful for once. "Just now, the words 'Main Chamber' were written at the entrance." Lu Yang stuck his head out the doorway. Sure enough, the two words "Main Chamber" were thoughtfully carved above it. *Was this written for the zombies to read?!* "Look, there are so many burial goods in this chamber! They're all treasures!" the Immortal Fairy exclaimed. Lu Yang looked down. Sure enough, a dazzling array of treasures met his eyes. The tomb owner had clearly been exceedingly wealthy during life, though why they had chosen to build their tomb in such a place remained a mystery. "Huh? The book is glowing?" Lu Yang stared in astonishment at *Tomb Raiding Insights* in his hands. "This book was refined as an artifact?" A ray of light from the book locked onto one of the jade burial goods, scanning it up and down as if assessing its value. Lu Yang froze, his heart pounding with excitement. Could Master Shang have gifted him an incredible appraisal-type Dharma treasure? The light from the book enveloped the funerary object, and six prominent characters materialized within the projection of light: "Five years of fixed-term imprisonment." The light shifted, sweeping over another burial item—a sharp bronze short sword. The words in the projection changed accordingly: "Seven years of fixed-term imprisonment." Lu Yang: "..." *Master Shang, just what kind of book did you give me?!* The Immortal Fairy clicked her tongue in wonder. So this was the popular literature of today? What an eye-opener.