Chapter 24: Great Terror

Shang Zhongtian whispered: "I tiptoed down the cold, dry tunnel, flanked by fist-sized night-luminescent pearls that had glowed for untold years. Their faint blue light barely sketched out a silhouette, leaving facial features a blur. I felt a persistent gaze upon me, hair-raising in its intensity, yet whenever I looked back, nothing was there. At the time, I chalked it up to mere nerves."

"Following the luminescence through the rugged passage, I reached the central master chamber."

"The grandeur of that main chamber was breathtaking; for a fleeting moment, I forgot I was standing in a dark, dreadful tomb."

Shang Zhongtian closed his eyes and paused, seemingly reconstructing every fragment of the scene from memory, before continuing slowly: "Never had I beheld a sepulcher of such vast proportions. The ceiling soared like the vault of heaven, beneath which terracotta warriors wielding sharp bronze spears stood in loyal vigil over their lord. An array of dazzling burial goods was laid out according to the Eight Trigrams, perfectly aligning with the celestial laws and worldly order."

"Though the ancient corpse had been dead for centuries, the terrifying ripples of power emanating through the coffin still made my heart quail. It was as though that old Nascent Soul monster were not dead, but merely asleep, ready to awaken at any moment."

"Hesitation is not in my nature, so I made a swift decision to sweep away half of the funerary items. Just as I prepared to make my exit, footsteps echoed through the empty chamber from not far off, sending a shiver down my spine."

"What followed was a horrific situation unlike any I had encountered in all my years in the trade."

At this point, Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye leaned forward involuntarily, eager for the rest.

Shang Zhongtian's expression twisted into profound agony, his voice trembling: "I ran right into the descendants of that Nascent Soul cultivator, who had come to pay respects to their ancestor!"

"What?" Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye heard him clearly, but their minds failed to process it.

"Those people brought offerings and magical treasures to worship their ancestor, praying for the family’s longevity, the rise of geniuses, and success in the imperial examinations. On their way to the altar, they noticed me looting the tomb, so they swarmed me and pinned me down. It was terrifying; even now, the memory leaves me in a cold sweat."

"…I actually think their reaction was quite reasonable," Lu Yang said candidly, thinking that not hacking him to death on the spot showed excellent breeding on the family's part.

"Is this the great horror you spoke of?" Tao Yaoye asked.

Shang Zhongtian scratched his head, failing to understand their reaction: "Well, yes. Graverobbing and running into the owner's descendants—what could possibly be more horrifying than that?"

"And then?"

"And then I was beaten within an inch of my life, causing my cultivation realm to plunge from the peak of Qi Refining down to the mid-stage. I was thrown into prison, forced by the authorities to compensate for everything I had stolen in the past, and locked up for ten years. After my release, I decided to wash my hands of it all, turn over a new leaf, and steer clear of these treacherous affairs."

"Tell the truth."

"I was too ashamed to face my peers."

"……"

Shang Zhongtian's earnestness left both of them completely at a loss for words.

After Shang Zhongtian personally buried Housekeeper Zhang's skinless corpse, he invited Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye to stay for another night, but Tao Yaoye declined.

Had it not been to lure out the painted-skin ghost, Tao Yaoye would never have chosen to stay overnight; traveling by night posed no difficulty for two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Before their departure, Lu Yang found Shang Yuan once more and patted the parrot's head.

If Taiping Township hadn't mistaken the parrot for a demon beast, they wouldn't have had the chance to come to the Shang estate and resolve the painted-skin ghost matter.

"This parrot is quite something. It might truly be a demon beast; nurture it well."

Shang Yuan was startled and hastily inquired about the reason.

"In the early stages, a demon beast's strength is very vague and hard to distinguish from a common animal. I can't quite tell its exact nature either."

"However, after leaving your estate, Little Green didn't fly off to distant lands. Instead, it kept circling Taiping Township, knowing your house was in danger and keeping its distance. Whether that was a coincidence or a sign of awakening intelligence is hard to say."

Lu Yang smiled, offering no further explanation.

Shang Zhongtian felt his hospitality had been lacking; after all, the two had saved twelve lives in the Shang household, yet the best he could offer was a story about his retirement.

"This is a manual of graverobbing insights I penned myself. If you two don't despise it, please accept it. It might come in handy someday." Shang Zhongtian drew a blue, thread-bound book from his robes and presented it to them.

Lu Yang accepted it politely, and the two waved their goodbyes.

On the return journey, Lu Yang asked, "Do you want this manual of graverobbing insights?"

Tao Yaoye shook her head; she wasn't a graverobber, so what use did she have for such a thing?

Lu Yang also found it of little practical use, but stowed it away nonetheless.

"Why didn't you warn me beforehand when you released the poison in my room?" Tao Yaoye remained somewhat perturbed by the incident.

Fortunately, her Ascendant Immortal Body granted her an extremely high resistance to all poisons; otherwise, wouldn't she have caught athlete's foot just like Housekeeper Zhang?

How would it look for a beautiful young maiden to have athlete's foot?

Lu Yang shrugged, having naturally released the poison only because he knew it was harmless to her: "I did tell you."

"When?"

"During dinner, with my eyes."

"So you weren't failing to reach the dishes and asking me to pass the plate?"

"I am not that superficial of a person."

The two successfully returned to the Cloud-Rising Sect, where, as luck would have it, Meng Jingzhou had also just completed his mission and was currently venting his grievances to the senior brother in charge of assignments.

"Junior Brother Meng, this mission of yours was rather straightforward. How did you manage to get a complaint from the fox demon, claiming your attitude was problematic and that you refused to cooperate with her?" The senior brother found it rather strange; it was merely delivering a dual cultivation technique, so what could possibly go wrong with his attitude?

"Senior Brother, you need to look into that fox demon; there is definitely something wrong with her. I went there simply to provide the dual cultivation technique, yet she actually demanded a product inspection and wanted to practice it with me to verify its authenticity."

Meng Jingzhou said righteously, "If it weren't for the fact that I cannot break my Pure Yang Body, I would have practiced it with her right then and there!"

It remained unclear whether he was furious about his Pure Yang Body costing him a romantic encounter, or furious that the fox demon had underestimated his devotion to the Dao.

Seeing the assignment-issuing senior brother's look of utter helplessness, Lu Yang stepped forward to defuse the situation: "Senior Brother, the two of us have completed the mission regarding the demon beast."

Lu Yang detailed how the people of Taiping Township had mistaken a parrot for a talking demon beast, and how he and Tao Yaoye had intentionally exposed a flaw to lure out the painted-skin ghost before eliminating it.

Concluding his report, Lu Yang handed the ashes of the painted-skin ghost to the senior brother.

"To perform so excellently on your very first mission—you are quite impressive." The senior brother viewed Lu Yang in a whole new light; when he posted the mission, he thought it was simple, never expecting such hidden complexities.

Hearing how Lu Yang had applied the perfect poison to quickly end the battle made him respect the youth even more. Without the poison, subduing the painted-skin ghost would have required a great deal of effort, and it might well have escaped.

Most importantly, this junior brother carried a poison that induced athlete's foot on his person. At that thought, the senior brother quietly shifted his seat a bit further away.

"The two of you have exceeded the mission requirements. Your original contribution points are quadrupled to one hundred and twenty points, and Junior Sister Tao Yaoye, having played a supporting role in this mission, receives ninety points."

Tao Yaoye had no objections; Lu Yang had played the critical role in this mission, while she had merely served as the bait.