Yang Hao slowly opened his eyes, not knowing how much time had passed. Everything around him was pitch black. After his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, he realized he had fallen into a deep well. About five meters above his head was an opening just large enough for a single person to pass through. The place where he now found himself was surprisingly spacious—it must have been an underground chamber.
Yang Hao felt sore all over, but miraculously, he wasn’t injured. Sitting there, he recalled what had happened. He had originally come here to meet Ais on a date, but ended up fighting with two noble youths. In a desperate moment, he had channeled his Origin Energy into his body, causing an explosion that sent him plummeting into this deep pit.
Ais and the others hadn’t come looking for him. They had probably already returned on their own. After all, to those nobles, the life of a commoner meant nothing.
Yang Hao felt bitter about it for a while, but then decided not to dwell on it. Anyway, he was already trapped here. He could think about those unpleasant matters once he managed to escape.
Using the dim light from above, Yang Hao noticed that the pit he had fallen into didn’t seem to have been created by his fall—it looked like it had been deliberately excavated.
Squinting and scratching his head, Yang Hao muttered, “Grave robbers?”
In modern times, grave robbing had become a legitimate profession. Across the Empire, thousands of professional grave-robbing spacecraft flew to ancient planets, excavating valuable antiques discarded by ancient civilizations. It was said that even a simple ancient bronze sword could fetch the price of a shuttle.
Yet Yang Hao had never imagined he would unexpectedly encounter grave robbers here. But why were they digging around the back hill of the school? Although there were countless legends about hidden treasures behind the school, no one had ever found anything. Could it be that he had accidentally stumbled upon the real thing?
Before Yang Hao could fully process this thought, he heard faint voices coming from a distant corner of the underground chamber.
“Hey, are you sure this is the place? We’ve been digging for ages.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. The information I got said it’s definitely here.”
“But would an immortal really cultivate in a dump like this?”
“Who knows how immortals think? They could be anywhere. Besides, even though this place is damp and dark, it’s built in a very complex way. The caves are connected by winding tunnels, forming a very effective whole. This kind of structure is architecturally significant—apparently, anything we say here can be heard clearly at the farthest end of the cave.”
The voices of the two grave robbers were surprisingly clear from such a distance. Their careless conversation made Yang Hao alert—he realized that any sound he made might be heard by them.
Modern professional grave robbers were no petty thieves—they usually came equipped with advanced shuttles and even carried firearms. If they discovered him, they might even kill him to keep things quiet.
Yang Hao quickly and quietly got up, determined to find an exit and escape. After some exploration, he realized that this underground chamber had been carved out from a large portion of the hill itself. Without the tunnels dug by the grave robbers, no one would have ever found their way in.
The underground chamber was divided into many caves. Since climbing back up the five-meter entrance was impossible, Yang Hao followed the faint sound of running water, hoping to find an exit near a lake.
After passing through five or six caves, the sound of the robbers’ machinery grew clearer. It seemed Yang Hao was actually getting closer to them.
After hesitating for a while, Yang Hao decided not to risk going forward and instead turned back to think of another plan. Just as he was about to turn around, a strange feeling suddenly came over him.
It was the power granted by his Sensitivity Art.
In school, students were required to learn five major skills: Origin Energy, Sensitivity, Flight, Swordsmanship, and Object Control. These skills were linked to various professions within the Empire. Yang Hao had only mastered one of them—Sensitivity. The Sensitivity Art gave people an intuitive sense when searching for things, somewhat like a sixth sense, allowing them to quickly locate objects or even guide spaceships through asteroid fields.
Yang Hao now felt that something was about to happen in a yet-undiscovered cave in the direction opposite to where the grave robbers were digging. The Sensitivity Art could only provide a vague feeling, not specific knowledge. Sometimes it led to treasure, sometimes just to trash.
But Yang Hao desperately hoped this was the way to escape. Following his intuition, he finally entered a very small cave. It was pitch black and extremely damp. His feeling told him that the exit was behind a wall of earth directly ahead. He pushed it a few times, but the wall was solid and unmoving.
“There’s nothing here. Let’s go check the other side,” the grave robbers’ voices came again. Soon after, the sound of the digging robot stopping its work and turning direction could be heard.
Hearing them coming his way, Yang Hao broke into a cold sweat. Thinking quickly, he suddenly remembered how Origin Energy had given him immense strength earlier. If he could channel it into his hands now, maybe he could use them like digging tools.
Without hesitation, Yang Hao focused all his attention and channeled the little Origin Energy he had into his hands. Surprisingly, this time it flowed much more smoothly, as if his entire body’s meridians had been opened. In an instant, his hands began to glow with a brilliant light.
Yang Hao seized the moment and pushed the earthen wall with all his might.
With a loud crash, the wall—previously as hard as stone—collapsed like tofu. But the noise it made was enormous.
The grave robbers clearly heard it.
“What was that sound?”
“It sounds like someone’s here!”
“Damn! Go check it out—kill whoever it is!”
He could hear them urging their robot to move faster.
But Yang Hao was now in the dark cave, filled with despair and confusion. Because behind the collapsed wall wasn’t the exit he had hoped for—it was an even thicker wall, this time made of stone.
However, when the earthen wall fell, two objects landed in Yang Hao’s hands. Though he couldn’t see clearly, by touch, he determined they were a book and a very large pill.
This pill was almost half the size of his fist. It smelled fragrant, but he had no idea what it was for.
The grave robbers were getting closer. Yang Hao had no way to escape and was now completely cornered. He thought about pretending to be just an unfortunate victim who had fallen here by accident, but holding these two items made that explanation hard to believe.
So Yang Hao quickly tucked the book into his clothes. The pill, however, was too large to hide anywhere. He was at a loss.
At that moment, the grave robbers, as if on cue, started talking again.
“Why are you moving so slowly? Why are you dragging the robot? Be careful, or I won’t give you any of it after we dig it out.”
“Coming, coming. It’s so big anyway—missing one bite won’t matter.”
Yang Hao’s mind clicked. It seemed that what he had found was exactly what the grave robbers were after. And from their conversation, it sounded like the pill was edible.
Resolving himself to his fate, Yang Hao simply popped the pill into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it.
Whoever had made this pill must have had some strange ideas—it was huge. Yang Hao clenched his teeth, desperately producing saliva to help swallow the dry, powdery substance. After great effort, he finally managed to swallow the entire thing.
Almost at that exact moment, two figures in black flight suits appeared at the cave entrance. Their digging robot’s lights illuminated the entire cave.
When Yang Hao and the two grave robbers saw each other, all three were shocked. What surprised Yang Hao most was that the two men were holding large sushi rice balls.
“So that’s what you two were talking about eating?” Yang Hao suddenly understood.
The stunned grave robbers nodded. “Who are you?”
“I’m your grandfather!!!” Yang Hao roared in anger. He felt like he had the worst luck in the world—listening to their nonsense and swallowing that cursed pill, whose effects he had no idea about. Now, who knew what kind of illness or side effects it might cause?
As if to confirm his fears, Yang Hao’s stomach suddenly started to ache.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage