Chapter 166: Sword Emperor Mausoleum

Chapter 166: The Sword Emperor's Mausoleum

The tale with Sisi had been told for quite a while, and by now it was already dusk.

No one even had the heart for dinner, heading straight for the Sword Emperor's Mausoleum.

Since the two spaces had been connected, there was no longer any need to enter from the Lu family side as before. The original Sword Pool had been torn open by that sword shadow into a massive gap, allowing direct descent.

Tang Buqi had said, "There's no back mountain anymore," but that wasn't quite so exaggerated.

The entire Tiger Hill still stood, albeit in some disarray. The Sword Pool had become a large pit, with trees snapped and rocks shattered all around—a scene of devastation. Yet overall it remained a fine place, making the "forbidden ground" truly live up to its name.

Some members of the Tang family guarded the edge of the pit with great caution. Within, occasional bursts of sword aura still emerged, and thick baleful energy coiled around—clearly a very dangerous place.

Even without Tang Wanzhuang's strict orders, none of the Tang family cowards dared to touch it.

Originally, Tang Wanzhuang had planned to wait a few days for the sword aura and baleful energy to dissipate, for the area below to stabilize, and for Zhao Changhe's injuries to heal, before exploring together.

But then, inexplicably, tremors suddenly arose from below, leaving no time to wait—they had to find out the cause immediately.

Moreover, it wasn't just Tang Wanzhuang coming alone; the entire elite of the Demon-Suppression Bureau assembled, including Wu Weiyang and over a hundred seasoned soldiers who had traveled from afar. They divided their tasks and methodically began surveying every path of the mausoleum.

Their organization and professionalism suggested they were highly experienced in such explorations.

But Zhao Changhe still trusted Sisi more. She was a remnant of the previous era, and no one understood its architectural styles and prohibition types better than she did—perhaps even the places she had lived in were filled with similar mausoleums.

The way she found the path that day was like returning home—where the sword aura was sparse, where the main tomb lay; the Lu family's generations of relentless exploration were solved in the blink of an eye by her. Even the Demon-Suppression Bureau, no matter how professional, probably couldn't match that level.

This time was no different. While the Demon-Suppression Bureau members surveyed everywhere, Zhao Changhe and Sisi headed straight for the main tomb gate. If there was any trouble, it would most likely originate from the main tomb, not the peripheral passages.

Tang Wanzhuang silently followed beside the two, offering protection.

Arriving outside the main tomb gate, the corpse of the old Lu family man still lay on the ground, his face still bearing the lingering trace of the laughter he had died with.

Under the contamination of the thick baleful energy around, it actually gave an impression of strength, seeming even more formidable than his frail appearance before death, as if he could rise at any moment and strike you with a sword.

Zhao Changhe said, "My first thought was that the baleful energy had caused this corpse to reanimate, but it seems not."

Tang Wanzhuang nodded. Zhao Changhe's guess was reasonable; the baleful energy here was still dense and undispersed. Driven by such intense destructive killing intent, even unconscious sword aura could burst out on its own, so it wouldn't be strange for this body to rise and start slashing wildly.

For now, it hadn't happened, but it was the kind that could rise at any moment.

This further proved the possibility of the Sword Emperor's revival.

Tang Wanzhuang examined the heavy stone door. Inside was the main tomb, but the main tomb was not merely a burial chamber; it would contain a vast complex of buildings, with guards far beyond the simple sword aura outside, hiding countless terrifying killing mechanisms.

The so-called tremors came from within.

If there had been no change, Tang Wanzhuang felt that Zhao Changhe's earlier proposal to "permanently seal this place" would have been the best answer—no need to disturb the tomb of a predecessor, just treat it as if it didn't exist.

But since a change had occurred, they had to deal with it, didn't they?

But the door wouldn't open, and they didn't even know what change had occurred—how could they resolve it?

Zhao Changhe was asking Sisi, "Do you know how to open this door? We can't just hack at it like that old man, can we?"

"Of course not, that would only anger the imperial tomb again."

"Then how do we get in? Are there mechanisms left in the outer passages?"

Sisi said very seriously, "When people see a door, they always want to open it, but they never think—this is someone's tomb. After you are buried, would you want others to enter? Why leave a mechanism that can be opened from the outside?"

"Uh, then why make it in the shape of a door?"

"Because the tomb is built during one's lifetime, and the door is for the person to enter at the end of life. Or if he dies outside, his relatives or disciples carry him in... The meaning of the door, from its design, is that once closed, the mechanism disengages and it is permanently sealed. If you or I designed our own tombs, it would be the same—there is absolutely no preset for outsiders to open it."

"Makes sense... Then how do tomb raiders manage it?"

"Tombs are nothing but brick, stone, and earth—you could dig your way in, but no one dares to recklessly dig or blast the tomb of such a powerful being; one wrong move and you'll die without a complete corpse."

Sisi sighed. "But actually it's not that difficult. We can use some corrosive substances to slowly and silently melt an opening in this heavy stone door, making no noise and thus not triggering any prohibitions."

Zhao Changhe's eyes widened. "There's such a thing?"

Sisi glanced at Tang Wanzhuang, who had been listening quietly. "I don't have any, but the Demon-Suppression Bureau surely has something similar. In all the years since the Great Xia was founded, they must have explored many such tombs."

Tang Wanzhuang finally spoke. "I do have some, but there is also a type of prohibition that triggers if the door is damaged in any way. This method may not be safe. I was hoping to hear if you had any other ideas."

"No," Sisi shook her head. "I'm saying this door doesn't have such a prohibition. Because this method of silently and stealthily avoiding detection was a technique developed by tomb raiders after many deaths, so later tombs began to counter it. But the Sword Emperor fell in an earlier era; his time had not yet begun to consider such things."

Zhao Changhe stood with his hands in his sleeves, like a novice auditing a professor's lecture.

Even Tang Wanzhuang's eyes flashed with admiration. This understanding of the previous era was almost unbelievable—you actually know which year the Sword Emperor died?

Most people's impression of the powerful beings of the previous era is that they all died in the apocalypse that destroyed that era. Few seriously consider that the previous era itself spanned an unknown number of years, containing multiple historical periods.

And even those who have thought about it find it difficult to verify the era of each legendary figure due to the gap between eras.

Not to mention the previous era—even the history of this era has much that cannot be verified... At the very least, the Demon-Suppression Bureau truly doesn't know which year the Sword Emperor died.

Tang Wanzhuang did not question Sisi's judgment. She decisively took out a bottle and gently sprinkled some liquid that looked like clear water near the door.

Before long, a corner of the hard, heavy stone door visibly began to soften and become brittle. Even Zhao Changhe could sense it; he tried digging lightly with the Dragon Sparrow and effortlessly pierced through.

Zhao Changhe clicked his tongue in amazement. "There really is such water? If someone drank a little of this, it would be more terrifying than any poison."

How did they develop such technology...

"It can't be made odorless, so it's hard to use for poisoning. But be careful not to get splashed." Tang Wanzhuang said simply, then bent down and crawled through the small hole she had made.

Watching her bend over to crawl through, Sisi pursed her lips. "Wouldn't have guessed her butt is so perky."

Tang Wanzhuang: "..."

Zhao Changhe rubbed his forehead. "You sure have leisure for that. Go on, crawl in. I'll cover the rear."

"You just want to see my butt, don't you? You go first!" Sisi made as if to kick him, shooing him ahead.

Zhao Changhe rolled his eyes, couldn't be bothered with her, and crawled in first.

Actually, he knew what Sisi was afraid of.

Just like Chi Chi back then... Chi Chi had said, don't show your back to others... especially in such a narrow space, facing the possible treasures ahead.

Tang Wanzhuang showed sincerity, and with her overwhelming martial power, she had no fear of ambush, so she took the lead.

But Sisi dared not... Actually, Sisi should have known that even if something were to happen, it wouldn't start when nothing had been seen yet—that's not how things work... It was just instinct, a subconscious choice to be last.

She said they were already like friends, joking and bickering, but deep down, she had never trusted anyone.