The light was bright yet gentle, warming the heart and bringing tranquility. Wisps of black qi evaporated and vanished without a trace, transforming the sinister, deadly place into a pure Buddhist land.
“Indeed, it’s the lamp before the Buddha. Even damaged, it still possesses such mighty power,” Meng Qi held the lamp calmly and praised.
Jiang Zhiwei took a deep breath, smiling faintly, “After all, it was once a treasure of a Dharma Body cultivator.”
In the previous battle, except for Meng Qi and Jiang Ruanqi, the others had used their most powerful techniques, leaving them exhausted and barely able to speak.
Meng Qi, drained of energy, saw the lamp’s flame shrink back to its original size. Though restored to normal, its warmth and light still surrounded them, preventing the resurgence of yin energy for a brief moment.
“What is this…?” Meng Qi picked up an object at his feet.
It was an azure jade pendant, smooth to the touch and untainted by yin energy. Several carved lightning marks adorned its surface, with inscriptions on both the front and back.
“Jushen Manor… Huangfu Tao…” As Meng Qi’s mind recovered slightly, he softly recited the six characters.
Ruan Yushu repositioned her guqin, her face pale, her black hair disheveled. Her beauty, tinged with a ghostly aura, made her resemble a wandering female spirit even more.
She had played “Phoenix Soaring in the Heavens,” and was now too weak to speak. Seeing Meng Qi glance over, she shook her head silently, indicating she didn’t know about Jushen Manor or Huangfu Tao.
After a brief contemplation, Qi Zhengyan said, “I don’t know its origin.”
“It should be a powerful figure from this Nine-Town World. He must have given you the pendant to inform his family and seek a method to free him,” Jiang Zhiwei mused. “He obtained some of the Thunder God’s legacy, and the sect he left behind should be related to it. This is not only a task but also an opportunity.”
“That makes sense. If the chance arises, we should deliver the pendant to Jushen Manor.” Recalling the previous battle, Meng Qi became increasingly convinced that Huangfu Tao, even without mastering the Nine Heavens Annihilation, possessed an external cultivation technique derived from a Dharma Body-level martial art.
He put the pendant away and looked at the entrance to the main burial chamber. “Shall we go in now? The evil ghost is inside…”
Their group was only partially recovered, with less than thirty percent of their strength. Encountering the evil ghost would be extremely dangerous. Hence, Meng Qi asked whether they should wait to fully recover or seize the opportunity without delay.
“The evil ghost was driven back into the chamber by the lamp’s light. We must find the clues left by the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu before it and the living corpse regain their strength, and then leave the mausoleum,” Jiang Zhiwei, always decisive and resolute, declared.
Qi Zhengyan agreed, “Besides, it’s already suppressed and unable to act. There’s no difference between staying here or entering the chamber.”
“Complete the mission as soon as possible,” Ruan Yushu, her usually cold face showing a hint of disgust, said. The transformation from life to death and the conditions of the tomb made her uncomfortable and without appetite. “If it becomes too dangerous, we should abort and leave.”
“Alright.” Holding the lamp tightly and gripping Tianzhishang, Meng Qi approached the entrance to the main chamber. Staring at the pitch-black stone door, he took a deep breath, filled with excitement, as if about to witness history and travel back to ancient times.
Before him was about to appear an ancient master who once dominated the ancient world, whose myths still echoed across the nine heavens and ten lands.
It was an era when lifespans were measured in millennia, an age when stars were grasped and moons seized, when gods were slain and realms destroyed. And the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu was among the greatest of that time.
With a firm push, the stone door slowly creaked open, emitting a heavy, grinding sound as it revealed the chamber’s interior.
Nine copper dragons extended from all directions toward the center, encircling a coffin—a simple black coffin.
Each copper dragon was lifelike, exuding the aura of true dragons, seemingly possessing all the characteristics of the legendary beasts, including the mysterious acupoints of a true dragon.
“Refined Yuan copper transformed into dragons…” Qi Zhengyan blurted out, but quickly fell silent as he noticed a figure standing before the ordinary black coffin.
The figure was tall and imposing, with bulging muscles beneath his armor, wild hair, and crackling electricity.
Each black scale on his armor felt oppressively heavy, as though each represented a mountain or a star.
This familiar presence… Meng Qi swallowed hard. “Thunder God…”
He was actually here, inside the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu’s mausoleum!
This unexpected twist left Meng Qi and the others momentarily stunned.
After a brief pause, Jiang Zhiwei regained her composure and whispered, “It’s merely a residual shadow formed by his lingering aura, preserved by the tomb’s concealment and suppression mechanisms.”
Her words reminded Meng Qi, who now noticed the Thunder God’s figure was illusory and insubstantial.
“Perhaps, after the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu disappeared, the Thunder God—who had once joined forces with him to suppress the Nine Nether and eradicate demons—came searching for his traces and discovered this place,” Meng Qi speculated.
Qi Zhengyan remained expressionless. “Such a powerful figure wouldn’t leave his aura lingering unless he intended to. What message is the Thunder God trying to convey to future seekers?”
“Perhaps he was too emotionally stirred to control his aura,” Ruan Yushu mused. If someone had stolen her favorite delicacy, she would certainly be agitated too.
What could have disturbed the Thunder God so deeply? Wondering, Meng Qi slowly approached, hoping to see if any message remained.
Jiang Zhiwei guarded his rear as Ruan Yushu and Qi Zhengyan followed cautiously.
Before they could get close, the aura pulled at them, and the Thunder God’s figure gradually faded, vanishing into thin air. Only on the opposite wall remained deep, lingering lightning marks.
These lightning marks lacked vitality or the majesty of thunder, merely appearing bottomless, as if leading into a realm of darkness.
“This is caused by the Thunder God’s overflowing aura. Any remaining essence within it is long gone,” Meng Qi, who had inherited the Thunder God’s legacy, instantly realized.
Jiang Zhiwei mused, “Huangfu Tao must have learned the ‘Thunder Sacred Art’ here.”
“I wonder where these lightning marks lead…” Qi Zhengyan gazed at the seemingly endless depth of the marks.
Beyond them was not a wall or another tomb chamber, but an abyss of pitch-black darkness.
“These Yuan copper dragons have also lost their vitality and reverted to lifeless objects,” Ruan Yushu’s eyes gleamed slightly as she looked at the nine copper dragons. Her family didn’t even have this many Yuan copper artifacts, especially not ones that had attained spiritual awakening. If converted into merit points, they could be exchanged for delicacies…
But none of them dared to disturb the Yuan copper dragons, fearing that doing so might disrupt the tomb’s formation and release the evil ghost. Even if they wanted to, their Ji Zi Rings couldn’t contain such massive objects.
On the surrounding walls, apart from the one scarred by lightning, were paintings. One depicted a Taoist elder reclining on nine layers of clouds, his sword manifesting heaven and earth. Another showed an imperial figure riding a Teng Snake and seated on a black tortoise, escorted by attendants. Yet another portrayed two figures battling in the void, with star-like suns falling around them.
These were symbolic paintings, devoid of any true essence. They might have been painted here to depict the life of the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu.
The four didn’t pay much attention to the paintings and instead focused on the black coffin encircled by the copper dragons.
It appeared ordinary, slightly tinged with deathly energy, yet in the context of the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu’s mausoleum and surrounded by extraordinary artifacts, it seemed strangely out of place.
“There are words on it,” Meng Qi, with his sharp eyesight, quickly noticed two lines of seal script on the coffin lid.
Jiang Zhiwei carefully examined the inscription, “Slay one sliver of evil thought to take one’s place in death…”
Her voice grew softer as she continued, as if afraid of awakening the evil ghost. “…Bury one’s lifetime body here.”
“One sliver of evil thought taking one’s place in death… a lifetime body…” Meng Qi felt a jolt, repeating the words.
“Could the ‘evil ghost’ be a manifestation of the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu’s sliver of evil thought? But how has it survived until now?” Jiang Zhiwei furrowed her brows, puzzled. If the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu himself couldn’t escape death, how could the sliver of evil thought that replaced him still exist?
They exchanged glances, unable to comprehend the mystery, and turned their attention back to the coffin.
“Is the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu’s lifetime body inside?” Qi Zhengyan’s usually expressionless face showed a rare flicker of excitement.
Meng Qi stared straight ahead. “It should be. Perhaps the clue lies within his lifetime body…”
“Could the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu have entered reincarnation? Even so, that would still count as perishing. Finding his lifetime body should complete our mission… The answer to the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu’s disappearance might be his return to the cycle of rebirth…” With Anan’s precedent in mind, Jiang Zhiwei easily reached such a conclusion, further deepening her confusion.
After a brief pause, both Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei spoke simultaneously:
“Shall we open the coffin and take a look?”
Ruan Yushu glanced at her guqin, noncommittal. Qi Zhengyan sighed, looking up at the ceiling. This was indeed their usual approach.
Since they could abort and retreat, they didn’t object.
Meng Qi stepped over one of the Yuan copper dragons and walked with Jiang Zhiwei toward the coffin.
Though seemingly ordinary, the coffin completely blocked all spiritual perception. Meng Qi couldn’t sense anything inside, as if facing an impenetrable, towering cliff.
They exchanged a glance. Jiang Zhiwei raised her sword in readiness, while Meng Qi held the lamp in his left hand, wary of any corpse transformation. With Tianzhishang, he inserted it into the gap beneath the coffin lid and pushed with all his might.
It didn’t budge…
It was so heavy! Meng Qi took a deep breath, channeling his qi to its peak, exerting all his strength.
A grating sound echoed as the lid finally shifted. Meng Qi’s face turned red from strain as he pushed with all his might.
Tianzhishang bent precariously, nearly breaking, but the lid finally moved aside, revealing the interior.
Crimson-red inside, completely empty, and perfectly intact—there was no sign of the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu’s lifetime body!
“What…?” Both were shocked. The inscription clearly stated that the lifetime body was buried here, yet the emptiness was beyond their comprehension!
Where had the lifetime body gone?
Had it merged with the evil thought?
“That’s not right,” Qi Zhengyan and Ruan Yushu stepped closer, their eyes narrowing as they muttered.
Jiang Zhiwei immediately realized, “Indeed, something’s off. If the lifetime body had truly been buried here, its posthumous aura should have left indelible traces inside the coffin. Yet, there’s absolutely nothing.”
“In other words,” Meng Qi frowned, “the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu prepared this mausoleum intending to pass away here and entomb his lifetime body, but suddenly vanished without entering the coffin, leaving the evil thought without a replacement?”
“No wonder the Thunder God was so emotionally disturbed and let his aura leak!” Qi Zhengyan added.
No wonder it’s called the Zhenwu’s false tomb…
Suddenly, Meng Qi noticed a small indentation on the bottom of the coffin and grew solemn. “The Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu must have placed something here. Whether he took it with him when he left or someone else obtained it remains unknown.”
As his words faded, a cold wind blew through, and with a loud bang, the tomb door slammed shut!
At the same time, the cold voice of the Master of the Six Realms echoed in their ears: “Step Two of the Benevolent Sage Emperor Zhenwu’s Demise Mystery: Seek the Xuanwu Pendant.”
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