The doggerel Sun Guofu recited was: "What a great king, with a body but no head."
The mountains will not open unless the lady comes;
We lit a fire and cooked the liver and lungs in the pot.
They dug wells and extracted salt, asking ghosts for money.
The bird path winds and twists, turning nine times out of a hundred steps;
...this poem.
The phrase "drilling wells and harvesting salt, asking ghosts for money" likely refers to the ruins of the underground salt mine they traversed, facing the bottomless Coffin Mountain Gorge. The next line, "bird paths crisscross, turning nine times in a hundred steps," refers to the intricate network of cliffside paths before Lu Xuan.
These bird trails are densely packed, covering the cliff face. At a glance, there must be hundreds or even thousands of them.
"You mean to say that one of the bird paths is the entrance to the Immortal Village?"
"That's the idea. Although I can't directly pinpoint the ancient tomb, I can use the Zhou Tian Gua Mirror to identify which path is the real entrance. However, after this, the Zhou Tian Gua Mirror might become unusable. After all, it's already damaged and won't last much longer."
"Then let's do it. Once we find the entrance, we won't need it for the rest."
............
By the time the group entered the actual passage, it was already late. They had no choice but to spend the night in the tunnel. However, after nightfall, Lu Xuan vaguely sensed climbing sounds and footsteps coming from the outer edge of the mountain. There were countless footsteps and climbing sounds.
He gave Partridge Whistle a subtle instruction. Partridge Whistle immediately led his two junior brothers and sisters out. With Lu Xuan's current cultivation level, even through the mountain, he could tell that it was a group of apes approaching.
As long as it was a living creature, his three disciples would have no problem handling it. The key was that they had just left when they heard the sounds of running coming from deep within the tunnel.
Without Lu Xuan saying a word, the accompanying 'archaeological team members' immediately raised their submachine guns. This was a national-level archaeological team. Bringing a few submachine guns wasn't excessive, was it?
The next second, a chaotic and ear-piercing roar echoed from the cave. Countless dark figures surged madly along the tunnel walls.
However, what came towards them were dozens of military flashlights. The bright light instantly revealed the shapes of countless monsters. They turned out to be ferocious-looking apes with blue faces and fangs.
If these things were in ancient times, even ten tomb raiders probably wouldn't survive. But times have changed. This time, it's a national archaeological team. And they're not relying on Luoyang shovels and black donkey hooves, but rather a dozen Type 50 rifles.
A burst of gunfire tore more than thirty apes to pieces before they even got close to the archaeological team. However, a few of them were extremely resilient and survived despite being shot multiple times.
Lu Xuan stepped forward and examined them. He confirmed that these items had been specially cultivated.
"It seems we've found the right direction. These things have all been cultivated using some kind of secret method. They're even more ferocious, and the key is that they've still managed to stay here after several generations. Guanshan Taibao really has some skills. I wonder if this method of controlling beasts has been passed down."
At this moment, Partridge Whistle and the others also returned.
"Master, it was a group of monkeys. We've already chased them away."
"Very good, take a rest. This is only the first hurdle. There will definitely be even more dangerous lines of defense ahead."
That night, everyone rested directly in the tunnel. Lu Xuan retreated outside the cave, stood on the bird path in the canyon, and looked up at the sky. Sun Guofu followed beside him.
"Does Master Lu wish to divine the secrets of heaven?"
"I suppose so. I'm not very good at this. But judging from the current situation, the celestial phenomena haven't changed at all. It seems a bit strange."
Lu Xuan still remembered that before the Corpse King of Ping Mountain was born, the celestial phenomena changed drastically, with thunderclouds gathering, almost clearly indicating that something big was about to happen.
"I think the reason this happened is that the Guanshan Taibao tampered with things and sealed off the energy of the Earth Immortal Village, preventing any leakage. In this way, the heavenly secrets outside cannot be sensed, and naturally, no strange phenomena will occur."
"To achieve immortality through corpse dissolution, though seemingly a pipe dream, must have been done with considerable confidence. Regardless, it defies the will of Heaven, and naturally must be kept hidden from divine scrutiny. Once we enter the Immortal Village and disrupt its internal structure, the heavens will surely sense it."
"Yes, that's good. The chances of success are much higher now."
"Success?" Sun Guofu sensed that something was off about Lu Xuan's words.
He might have interpreted Lu Xuan's words as referring to reducing the success rate of the Earth Immortal Village. However, Lu Xuan's true intention was actually the opposite. He wasn't there to stop Feng Shigu from becoming an immortal. If possible, he even wanted to help him achieve the so-called corpse liberation and immortality.
Lu Xuan couldn't possibly stage a parade of a hundred ghosts in China. Therefore, he had to find another way. He needed to create an event that would cause a significant disturbance in spiritual energy, but also minimize the harm to ordinary people.
For example, create a real immortal from the underworld, and then kill him.
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Chapter 227 Yin gives rise to Yang, one step to immortality
The process of achieving immortality through corpse liberation, using the evil art of furnace fire, is definitely not the kind of cultivation everyone imagines.
In reality, Feng Shigu may have tricked thousands of people into entering the Earth Immortal Tomb, providing them with energy for his path to immortality. And before him, the Black Sheep King had countless slaves sacrificed for him.
As the group ventured deeper into the area, Lu Xuan even began to feel an unusual chill in the air. No one else could sense it, because it wasn't a chill in the objective sense.
Just as Sun Guofu said, the entire layout of the Earth Immortal Village was extremely perfect. Not a single trace of its aura leaked out. What Lu Xuan felt was a chilling coldness at the level of his soul. The yin energy permeated the entire mountain, triggering his soul's perception.
With a sigh, Lu Xuan called a halt to the group.
He had been too naive. Unless a construction team of over a thousand people used violent means to excavate the entire mountain, ordinary people simply couldn't get close to this place.
Although they hadn't actually entered the tomb yet, the environment was already unknowingly harming these ordinary people. Besides the few cultivators, only Elder Liao Chen, carrying the genuine Tomb Raider Talisman, and Sun Guofu, carrying the Zhou Tian Divination Mirror, were capable of venturing deep inside.
However, even with these two, Lu Xuan didn't intend to bring them in. Sun Guofu helped find the entrance. Elder Liao Chen had originally planned to keep them to solve the mechanism. But since they were both quite old, Lu Xuan didn't want to make things difficult for them any further.
“Hong Gu, take the two of them out. Don’t rush to object. You have other tasks. Remember my previous instructions? After you go out, start preparing. Once I break the formation in the tomb, the suppressed energy inside will leak out. At that time, Sun Guofu will be able to easily locate us. I want you to communicate with the government departments and make preparations outside. If things become unbearable, proceed according to plan.”
Hong Gu thought for a moment and ultimately didn't refute him. Over the years, she had come to know Lu Xuan all too well. She knew his pursuit of the Dao was exceptionally firm and he would absolutely not abandon this mission.
"Alright, I'll take them away." Without making any promises, Hong Gu swiftly led the two old men away. Only Lu Xuan remained, leading his three disciples and the silent Corpse King, heading deeper into the tunnel.
The deeper you go, the denser the darkness becomes. Even the powerful flashlight in your hand seems unable to dispel the intense darkness.