Immortal Ying Tian Took Great Pains

The three felt as though they were being watched—a sensation that made one's hair stand on end. Third Senior Sister added, "It is precisely because of this legend that very few Qiongqi ever come to the Qiongqi Tomb. Even their own kin are unwilling to visit, fearing they might disturb the sleeping Ancient Qiongqi. "Still, you don't need to be afraid. I've been here several times. While you do get the feeling of being watched, that's all it is. Once we head into the tomb below, the feeling disappears. "Historically, the Qiongqi Clan produced several masters at the Tribulation Transcendence stage. All of them came to the Qiongqi Tomb to see if their Old Ancestor, the Ancient Qiongqi, truly lay sleeping within. Yet all of them returned empty-handed. They all claimed that the Ancient Qiongqi's cultivation was far beyond their own, and that unworthy descendants such as themselves lacked the qualifications to investigate their ancestor's state." In the demon race, Body Integration experts were called Kings, while those at the Tribulation Transcendence stage were called Emperors. For the Qiongqi Clan to have produced several Tribulation Transcendence experts meant they had given rise to several Demon Emperors—a truly terrifying number. The Qiongqi Clan was considered the pinnacle of tiger demons. Their renowned might had reached even the Central Continent, giving rise to the idiom "like giving wings to a tiger." That alone demonstrated just how powerful they were. "Acknowledged by several Qiongqi Demon Emperors, the Ancient Qiongqi is publicly recognized as the strongest existence in their clan." Lu Yang: "..." *Third Senior Sister, please stop talking. I'm afraid that if you ever learn the truth, you'll start cursing a celestial and make your future tribulation even harder.* *Immortal Ying Tian, you really knew how to stir up trouble, didn't you?* "Immortal Ying Tian said that when one lives a life, one must not only care about one's reputation while alive, but also after death," the Immortal Fairy explained in Lu Yang's spiritual space. "That was why he devised this grand formation—to leave behind a legend for future generations. "Aside from the Qiongqi, he probably set up this formation at the ancestral tombs of the kunpeng, Taowu, and Zhuque clans as well. He didn't build too many, though; building too many would ruin the mystery." After three hundred thousand years, the grand formation remained intact and could still scare people, proving the exceptional quality of Immortal Ying Tian's craft. Looked at another way, it showed just how much painstaking effort he had poured into this scheme. "Furthermore, because a legend had to be formed and later generations couldn't be allowed to know the truth, the matter of the tomb's formation was covered up and kept secret." Judging by how the Qiongqi Clan dared not approach the tomb, the formation truly had remained a secret. "...Immortal Ying Tian was quite keen on helping others, wasn't he?" Lu Yang said, racking his brains for words to praise Immortal Ying Tian to reduce his own risk during future tribulations. "It wasn't really about helping others," the Immortal Fairy chimed in. "Think about it. Be it Old Qiongqi or Old Kunpeng, they were all what you folks call ancient demons, possessing boundless magic power, right? "Yet no matter how boundless their power was, could it match a celestial? Obviously not! "The more mysterious Old Qiongqi and the others seemed, wouldn't that highlight just how mighty us Five Ancient Celestials were?" *Fairy, please stop talking. If you keep going, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from having utterly disrespectful thoughts about Immortal Ying Tian.* Just as Meng Jingzhou trained his willpower, Lu Yang found himself training his own willpower every time he listened to ancient history. The three entered the Qiongqi Tomb, and just as Third Senior Sister had said, the sensation of being watched vanished, drastically reducing their mental pressure. "This is..." Inside the Qiongqi Tomb were numerous murals, most of which were battered by the passage of time and reduced to a dilapidated state. The pigments used to paint them had been immensely valuable—calling a single drop worth a thousand pieces of gold would be no exaggeration. Even so, the murals could not withstand the scouring of the ages and had decayed to such an extent, showing just how ancient the Qiongqi Clan and their tomb were. Lu Yang spotted a mural depicting a tiny Qiongqi with damp fur, clearly newborn. The young Qiongqi then ran forward, gradually growing larger until it reached its prime. Afterward, it slowly aged: its fur shed, its back hunched, and it marched toward death. The final destination of death was the Qiongqi Tomb. The murals also depicted many major historical events of the Qiongqi Clan, which they considered their greatest glory, something to be forever etched in their memories. Above the murals was a line of ancient script: *Death is not the end. I have borne witness to your glorious lives.* "These are the words left behind by the Ancient Qiongqi," Third Senior Sister said. "The Qiongqi Clan regards them as their spiritual pillar. Because of this, they do not fear death and look upon it quite philosophically." Third Senior Sister truly lived up to her reputation as a professional scholar of archaeology, conversant in all manner of demon culture. "Don't tell me... this sentence was written by Immortal Ying Tian too?" Lu Yang couldn't help asking inwardly. "No, it wasn't," the Immortal Fairy replied. "Old Qiongqi came up with that himself. Immortal Ying Tian couldn't come up with a line for every single one of them. That would make them sound too similar, and people might catch on." *Immortal Ying Tian was indeed meticulous and thorough in his planning.* "Senior Sister, where is the stronghold you mentioned?" "Soon, soon." The tomb was pitch-black and as complex as a labyrinth. Without a Qiongqi elder to lead the way, one could easily become hopelessly lost. It was a mystery how Third Senior Sister had managed to map out the structure of the Qiongqi Tomb in the first place. The trio walked for about two li before finally reaching the end of the passage. Third Senior Sister tapped on a wall brick, and a hidden door swung open. She gestured for the two to follow. Lu Yang noticed numerous arrow shafts pointing outward along the walls of the hidden chamber and immediately understood. The Qiongqi Tomb was filled with mechanisms, and this was one of the mechanism control rooms. If someone stepped on the wrong tile, ten thousand arrows would shoot out simultaneously to pierce the intruder to death. Once the arrows were spent, they needed to be restocked. That was why this mechanism room existed—and now, it served as their hiding place. "Senior Sister, you can even find places like this?" The two boys were astounded. Hiding inside a tomb was bold enough, but hiding inside a tomb's mechanism room? Who would ever suspect someone was hiding here? No wonder Third Senior Sister had confidently insisted that hiding in the Qiongqi Clan was completely safe. The three rested in the room for several hours to recover their strength. Although they had Invisibility Talismans and did not fear discovery, maintaining the invisible state continuously still drained a significant amount of energy. Third Senior Sister was fine, but Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had been using the talismans for nearly a full day, traveling all the way from the branch tribe to the Qiongqi Tomb. They desperately needed rest. The two collapsed and fell asleep on the spot. While they slept, Third Senior Sister took out paper, ink, brush, and inkstone to record the events of the past few days. She had compiled her experiences in the Demon Domain into the *Demon Domain Chronicles*. She had already completed eight volumes and was currently writing the ninth. From their brief interactions, she had determined that her junior brother understood ancient history even better than she did. With a junior brother so well-versed in ancient lore by her side, she was confident that this ninth volume would be even richer in content than the previous eight. "Mm..." Hearing stirring from Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou as they began to wake, she put away the four treasures of the study and sat quietly. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had slept for three full shichen. Upon waking, their minds felt clear and completely refreshed. "You're awake? Excellent," Third Senior Sister said. "I'll take you to the primary tomb. Supposedly, the Ancient Qiongqi is buried there." "Supposedly?" Third Senior Sister nodded, slinging the guqin onto her back and tying the cords across her chest. With the black cloth wrapped around her eyes, she looked like a reclusive hermit emerging from a bamboo grove. She explained, "At the very least, the Ancient Qiongqi's coffin is there. As for whether a Qiongqi is actually lying inside, I have no idea. But that has nothing to do with us. We're here for archaeology, not grave robbing." As a professional scholar, Third Senior Sister firmly adhered to the principle that seeing was believing.