Seeing that the light screen was about to display "life imprisonment," Lu Yang slammed Tomb Raiding Insights shut with a loud snap, and only then did the shimmering projection of his prison sentence vanish.
This time, Lu Yang couldn't even use "it's just a hallmark of our era" as an excuse. The function of this book was truly somewhat ridiculous—and worse, there was a strange streak of logic beneath the absurdity, making it seem all the more preposterous.
Fortunately, the Immortal Fairy's interests came and went quickly. Her attention was soon captured by the funerary goods. The ancient era was so distant from the present that the standards, styles, and nature of grave goods had undergone significant changes.
For instance, people in ancient times believed that after death, souls journeyed to the Nine Nether. To maintain the same awe-inspiring prestige in the Nine Nether as they had enjoyed in life, living humans were sacrificed to be buried alongside them. When later generations unearthed the tombs of ancient mighty figures, they often found funerary goods piled amidst heaps of human skeletons. Nowadays, people had grown more civilized, replacing living sacrifices with terracotta soldier figurines.
This reminded the Immortal Fairy of something. "I recall that at the very beginning, Immortal Ying Tian was originally a funerary sacrifice for some old geezer. Luckily, Immortal Ying Tian had good fortune on his side; he pulled off a feigned death technique to slip through, being carried into the tomb alive."
"Once inside, he broke out of his feigned death state and harvested everything in sight, acquiring a vast hoard of herbs and magical treasures. That old geezer firmly believed he would reincarnate, so he had stored several kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures in the tomb to improve physical constitution—all of which ended up falling right into Immortal Ying Tian's lap."
"Seizing the opportunity to cleanse his marrow, refine his meridians, shed his mortal frame, and transform his physique, he escaped from the tomb. After that, he encountered one serendipity after another, deepening his foundation, rising in fame, and making a name for himself among the younger generation. He became one of the protagonists of the Golden Age, barely qualifying as a rival of mine."
Originally, Lu Yang had thought Immortal Ying Tian must be an overwhelmingly formidable figure. But upon hearing that he "barely qualified" as the Immortal Fairy's rival, Lu Yang decisively dragged him down to her level.
"Do immortals have ranks too? Like ordinary immortals, heavenly immortals, or something?" Lu Yang asked.
Realizing Lu Yang had misunderstood, the Immortal Fairy explained, "Immortal Ying Tian's title is Ying Tian, and his status is an immortal, which is why he is called Immortal Ying Tian."
"He believed he was born by the will of Heaven, following Heaven's mandate—that he was the protagonist of heaven and earth, with the general trend of the world on his side. Thus, he took the name Ying Tian, 'In Accord with Heaven.'"
"There is no distinction of rank among immortals. Everyone's Dao fruit is different, and it's difficult to say who is superior or inferior, so how could there be ranks?"
The Immortal Fairy's words made Lu Yang realize one thing—as it turned out, she was actually somewhat useful after all.
It was a pity the Central Continent had no history examinations; otherwise, Lu Yang would surely score full marks.
Or perhaps his exam results wouldn't turn out ideal at all. The examiner would insist that Lu Yang's answers were completely wrong, claiming that based on his century of research, the ancient era was like this and that. Everyone around would mock Lu Yang for his ignorance, laughing that he dared to challenge the examiner's answers, truly not knowing the heights of the heavens and the depths of the earth.
At that moment, Lu Yang would reveal his identity as the Immortal Fairy's host, slapping everyone across the face in public. The entire hall would fall dead silent, and no one would ever dare question his views on antiquity again.
It felt pretty satisfying just thinking about it.
Lu Yang had already worked out the entire scenario to flex his superiority, only to realize he had nowhere to stage it.
The Immortal Fairy didn't speak further of ancient affairs, instead inspecting the various funerary goods with great curiosity.
Lu Yang did not drop his guard, continuing to study tomb-raiding lore: As a grave robber, one must maintain constant vigilance. Even upon reaching the main chamber and finding funerary goods within, do not let down your guard. Some tomb masters harbor an extreme abhorrence for being disturbed and will lay vicious traps in the main chamber. Exercise absolute caution...
"Hey kid, step forward and take a closer look. Is this something from your era? It looks pretty fun," the Immortal Fairy urged, having spotted something.
Just as Lu Yang took a step forward, his foot pressed down on something—what felt like a sinking stone tile.
Cold sweat instantly beaded across his forehead. He realized he had tripped a trap! What would it be? Poison needles shooting up from the floor, or flights of arrows erupting from the walls?
With no time to overthink, Lu Yang leaped backward on instinct, trying to evade the lethal mechanism.
With the mechanism triggered, the luminous pearl overhead suddenly flared with the brilliance of a miniature sun, illuminating the entire main chamber so brightly that every trace of the eerie, foreboding atmosphere vanished.
Lu Yang waited for a long while, but nothing else happened. The corner of his eye twitched. "So that was just... turning on the lights?"
"What does 'turning on the lights' mean?" The Immortal Fairy had never heard the phrase before.
"Nothing."
Lu Yang found the tomb growing more and more absurd. Carving it into a sheer cliff could at least be explained as anti-theft design, but writing "Main Chamber" right over the entrance, and then putting in a light switch inside the chamber—wasn't that taking things a bit too far?
Was this the kind of setup a normal tomb was supposed to have?
At the very least, Tomb Raiding Insights made no mention of such things.
However, the manual did offer one warning: The more something defies common sense, the more dangerous it is.
"No need to worry! With this Immortal around, nothing will go wrong!" With the lights turned on, the Immortal Fairy's courage clearly swelled, and she spoke with newfound confidence.
With the luminous pearl illuminating the tomb like broad daylight, even if a ghost popped out, the Immortal Fairy would dare to march over and deliver two sharp slaps across its face to teach it who the real phantom was!
How could an esteemed immortal like her be afraid of ghosts?
"That book on your left is rather interesting. Take a look."
Lu Yang picked up the book on his left and softly read out the title: "Tomb Raiding Notes?"
"Move your thumb aside. There's another character above it," the Immortal Fairy said.
Lu Yang slid his thumb away, revealing the book's full title: Anti-Tomb Raiding Notes.
Lu Yang: "..."
He cautiously put away Tomb Raiding Insights, terrified that placing the two books together might cause some bizarre reaction.
Lu Yang flipped through the pages. True to its name, it was entirely about how to properly design a tomb that grave robbers would never visit, along with counter-strategies tailored against common tomb-raiding techniques. It was remarkably professional.
As the saying went, as vice rises one foot, virtue rises ten—it was only natural.
Lu Yang felt that if he mastered both Tomb Raiding Insights and Anti-Tomb Raiding Notes, in all the vast expanse of the world, was there any tomb he couldn't rob?
Tearing his gaze away from the book, his attention was drawn to a gravestone on his right. The stele ought to clearly identify the tomb's master.
It was the perfect chance to see who had constructed such an eccentric tomb.
Turning his head to look at the inscription on the stone tablet, Lu Yang's hair stood on end, a chill creeping down his spine. Startled out of his wits, he leaped backward a great step.
The tablet read: Here lies Qin Jiunian in eternal rest.
"Who is Qin Jiunian? Why such a huge reaction?" the Immortal Fairy asked in confusion.
Lu Yang's voice trembled. "Qin Jiunian... is the current Grand Elder of our Dao Seeking Sect!"
What was going on? Did someone share the exact same name, or had the Grand Elder fallen? If the Grand Elder was dead, who was the person currently active in the Dao Seeking Sect? An impostor? To what end?
The Grand Elder is notoriously elusive, having Senior Brother Dai Bufan oversee the Mission Hall in his stead. Could it be that he avoids interactions specifically out of fear that his identity will be exposed?
A flood of questions surged into his mind, with no immediate answers in sight.
Just then, the coffin shuddered, as if something was breaking free of its bonds and trying to emerge!
Chapter 123