The next day, as soon as it was light, Commander Luo's loud voice began.
"Get the hell up. Get your gear ready, let's go."
Lu Xuan and the others also got up. They washed their faces with rainwater and set off with the team.
After walking for a while, we realized that Commander Luo hadn't even let us have breakfast before setting off.
They say looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death. Walking is about the same. Ping Mountain was right in front of us. But actually walking there took a whole morning before we finally reached the top of Ping Mountain and arrived at the great canyon from the original story.
Everyone rested and ate on the spot. At the same time, they began preliminary exploration.
At this moment, Partridge Whistle walked up to Lu Xuan. Since last night, he had been trying to find an opportunity to talk to Lu Xuanjue. However, Lu Xuanjue wouldn't respond, which made him so anxious that he couldn't sleep well all night.
"Senior Lu, I'd like to ask where you learned about the curse on my clan. Do you have any solutions?"
"I'm sorry, I can't help it. To be honest, the level of the curse on your people is far beyond my capabilities."
This isn't an exaggeration, but the truth. While the stories in *Ghost Blows Out the Light* are generally very restrained, they contain a wealth of hidden worldviews. The Ghost Cave Curse of the Taklamakan tribe happens to touch upon the ultimate secret of this world. The Muchen Pearl, the Demon Eye, the Serpent God, and the Imaginary Space—these things are all of an extremely high level. They are completely beyond the capabilities of a novice Qi cultivator like Lu Xuan to contend with.
Partridge Whistle's face showed disappointment.
"I wonder how much you know about the Muchen Pearl, senior?"
"I know a little bit. To be honest, you made the right move with the Muchen Pearl. But as far as I know, there shouldn't be a Muchen Pearl in the Ping Mountain Tomb."
Partridge Whistle fell silent, seemingly stunned by the news. After a long while, he finally spoke.
"Whether it's there or not, I have to go in and take a look myself. Besides, even if there's no Muchen Pearl, I might still get some clues."
“I know, so I won’t try to persuade you. But if you don’t mind, you can come see me after this job is over. I can try to see if I can alleviate your symptoms.”
Partridge Whistle instinctively wanted to refuse. His people had already exhausted all medical methods, but to no avail.
But the words caught in his throat, and he hesitated. This Mr. Lu's skills were unparalleled in his life. He was likely a reclusive master. Perhaps it would be effective.
"Alright, now that this matter is settled, I will go and bother you again, senior."
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Chapter 189 The Big Guy (Chapter 2, please subscribe)
After feeling stifled for half a day, Chen Yulou finally had a chance to show off. Not only were his eyesight exceptional, but all five senses were far beyond that of ordinary people. His ability to locate objects by sound allowed him to vaguely discern the terrain deep within the canyon from just two gunshots. In terms of these five senses alone, he was not far behind Lu Xuan before he began cultivating immortality.
The Unloading Ridge group was large, and many of them possessed unique skills. Sai Huohou and Dili Zong were both agile and adept at climbing. Chen Yulou ordered them to scout ahead.
The two used the Centipede-Shaped Mountain Ladder to quickly descend into the thick fog of the canyon. But once they left, they were left without a trace. They waited and waited, but no one returned.
After a long time, Commander Luo couldn't wait any longer.
"Chief Chen, waiting like this isn't going to work. I might as well send a large army down and blast a passage through, no matter what traps or hidden weapons we have."
To be honest, Commander Luo's method is actually the best counter to all those fancy traps. No matter how much you scheme, I'll just use explosives to clear the way. Even the most sophisticated traps are useless against it.
However, many ancient tombs contain mechanisms designed to destroy everything in their path. Once triggered, they would completely collapse, leaving nothing behind. Even if the Unloading Ridge faction were extremely unconventional, they wouldn't resort to explosives from the start.
"No rush, let's go down and take a look first. I'll take the brothers from the Unloading Ridge team down to check things out. Commander Luo, if you're worried, send a team with us too."
"Hey, what's there to worry about, you two brothers? Lieutenant Yang, you take a team and go down with Chief Chen."
Chen Yulou rolled his eyes. He didn't bother with the scoundrel. He changed into the inner armor of the Unloading Ridge faction, packed his weapons, and prepared to enter the canyon.
"Are we just going in like this?" Lu Xuan suddenly asked from the side.
"Brother Lu, do you have any other opinions?"
"Your two brothers didn't respond after they went down (in the original plot, they should have fired a signal arrow). Something must have gone wrong. We don't know what's going on down there, so the first thing we think of is that there's something wrong with the fog."
"The brothers are all wearing masks!"
"If it is truly a long-standing poisonous miasma, covering the face will not be very effective."
Deep within the canyon, a thick fog shrouded the area. The bottom was invisible, hence the need to rely on sound to pinpoint locations and send scouts. However, this Ping Mountain was once the imperial alchemy site for several emperors. Countless residues of elixirs and poisons were scattered around, seeping into the soil over the years, creating a uniquely toxic environment deep within the canyon.
While the mist wasn't fatal in the original story, it was definitely harmful to people. Seeing this, Lu Xuan wanted to complain; the methods used by the Unloading Ridge faction were indeed crude. These people were top-notch gangsters, but their tomb raiding skills were truly mediocre. They didn't even have N95 masks, yet they wanted to prevent disease?
"That makes sense, that makes sense!" Commander Luo was the first to react. These brothers were there to help him conquer the world. They were all his trusted confidants, and he couldn't afford to lose them easily.
"Then what suggestions do you have, Brother Lu?"
"Fetch a bucket of water."
"Quickly, quickly, get a bucket of water!" Commander Luo shouted. Immediately, a soldier ran to a nearby spring and fetched a bucket of water.
Lu Xuan took a medicine pouch from his clothes and threw it into the water. After a short while, the water darkened slightly. However, other than that, there was no other significant change.
"Brother Lu, are you suggesting we drink?"
"No need to drink. The first person to go down should soak their scarf in the water and then cover their nose and mouth. This medicine pouch is specially prepared by me to resist the miasma in the mountains. It has a neutralizing effect on those poisonous fogs."
"Oh, quick, try it." Several soldiers immediately stepped forward, soaked their headscarves, and covered their faces. After a while, they nodded.
"Commander Luo, I can't detect anything else. But I feel my breathing is much smoother, and my mind feels more alert."
"Alright, Brother Lu. I, Commander Luo, was right about you. You really have a knack for this. Hurry up, everyone cover your faces." Chen Yulou looked annoyed, but he couldn't be careless about this kind of thing, so he found a scarf and covered his face as well.
Hong Guniang also wanted to step forward, but Lu Xuan stopped her.