The Domain of Ghastly Night, 11:32 PM, the core of the Western Mountains.
Beneath a collapsed peak lay a massive underground mausoleum, its occupant unknown.
Xu Mu and his team had been digging for a long time. Only a small section remained before the passage to the main tomb would be completely clear, spurring them on with renewed vigor.
"Last layer, let's do it together!"
In the narrow passage lit by flickering torchlight, the five men squeezed together. Xu Mu threw down his shovel, his eyes suddenly sharpening.
"Three, two, one, kick!"
As the last word fell, the five poured all their strength into a simultaneous kick against the thick earth wall.
BOOM!
With the forceful kick, the remaining two-meter-thick layer of soil was completely broken open, revealing a dark, cavernous space.
The group rejoiced and immediately rushed in, but were simultaneously pulled back by Changsun Weiying and Xu Mu.
"Wait!" they both exclaimed, each grabbing one person.
"Be careful, there might be traps in tombs like these."
"Weren't those traps already triggered by the previous group?"
Liu He held up his torch, half his body already extended. As a rogue cultivator, such a grand opportunity could change his destiny, and he was impatient with anyone holding him back.
"I don't sense any unusual fluctuations. We can go in now."
Charles spoke up, and Xu Mu finally relaxed slightly.
"Let's go, it should be safe."
With that, he released his grip, and the others surged forward.
"What a massive tomb."
Liu He and Xu Mu each held a torch. Liu He, moving ahead of Xu Mu, had already advanced dozens of meters into the space, yet the torchlight couldn't reach the end. Even their voices echoed for a long time.
The passage had been filled with dust, but this place was eerily clean, as if all the dust had been swept away.
Xu Mu frowned, his expression grave as he stepped into the space and let out a soft shout.
"Ha!"
The others flinched, especially the two timid, portly twins, who thought Xu Mu had suddenly gone mad and was about to attack them before the opportunity.
"The speed of sound is approximately 360 meters per second. I gave a low shout, and the echoes from the furthest points on the left and right returned in six and four seconds respectively. This means the main tomb chamber is over a thousand meters long and about seven hundred meters wide. If we assume a height of 30 meters, that's over 20 square kilometers..."
Ignoring their gazes, Xu Mu silently calculated in his mind.
He was then stunned by the result.
"20 square kilometers spread out is equivalent to 30,000 mu of land. The entire grain-producing area of the Domain of Ghastly Night is likely not this large."
"If an entire ancient tomb occupied such an area, Xu Mu could accept it. After all, Charles had told him about an emperor's tomb on Blue Star that spanned over 50 square kilometers, but that was the total area."
"This 20 square kilometers is just the main tomb. How large is this underground palace?"
...
"Have you guys noticed... this space seems to be getting brighter?"
Before Xu Mu could figure it out, Liu He, who had ventured the furthest, put down his torch with a strange expression. He had noticed that this vast space was slowly becoming brighter. While still dim compared to daylight, it was significantly brighter than before.
He couldn't fathom what was causing it, as there were no torches around, yet it was gradually brightening, like the dim twilight before sunrise.
"The space seems to contain some special substance. I don't have the instruments to analyze it," Charles said.
"Something is definitely strange about this place. Damn it."
Xu Mu inexplicably began to feel uneasy. What unknown secrets lay within this bizarrely large, yet empty tomb?
"This... this..."
One of the fat twins, having tripped over something in the darkness, only saw it clearly when the light emerged. It was a pile of horrifying white bones!
"Only bones remain. They look like they've been dead for many years," his brother said, glancing casually.
"No, these are indeed bones, but look beneath him." Changsun Weiying discovered something amiss. He squatted down, pushed aside the pile of bones, and pulled out a brand-new book.
"Luo He Dao Dian!"
The young man's eyes widened in shock. He recognized this scripture. It was a Daoist technique developed by a third-stage esper from the Hunter's Alliance in his sea region. Why was it here?
"There are more remains over here."
"And here too!"
In a short while, they found countless more skeletons scattered in different locations. All that remained were bones; there was no flesh or blood, as if they had died a long time ago.
Changsun Weiying's body went numb as a terrifying thought suddenly struck him. Could these skeletons not be ancient burial attendants, but the espers who had died here in the past few days?
"Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty... four."
Xu Mu stood at a distance, his Shadow ability spreading throughout the tomb, clearly seeing all the skeletal remains.
Thirty-four skeletons indicated that 34 people had died here.
Hmm... how many people were in that team of rogue cultivators Changsun Weiying mentioned?
Before Xu Mu could think further, a tremendous rumbling sound erupted from the space ahead.
"Rumble...!"
The stone bricks of the entire underground palace trembled. Everyone looked forward in shock to see a platform, resembling an altar, slowly rising. On it was a coffin sealed with iron chains, wrapped around numerous times, as if sealing something terrifying within.
This development stunned Xu Mu and the others, who stared at it with expressions ranging from solemnity to fear.
However, one person continued to walk towards the altar as if possessed, stopping less than twenty steps away.
"Stop! Are you crazy?" Changsun Weiying tried to call out to him, but the young man showed no reaction, advancing like a puppet.
"Damn it!" Changsun Weiying gritted his teeth, his eyes sharpening like a hawk's. His esper energy surged as he debated whether to intervene.
Xu Mu gazed at the altar, feeling an inexplicable pull, and quickly averted his eyes in fear.
"That team was composed of rogue cultivators, 34 in total. Upon reaching the core area of the Western Mountains, they discovered a tomb and entered. It was a maze of passages, and they found many treasures."
"When they opened a coffin sealed with iron chains, darkness surged out, killing almost everyone. Only one person who ran fast and one who didn't enter the tomb survived..."
Xu Mu lowered his head, recalling Changsun Weiying's description and filtering it from beginning to end. His brow furrowed.
He had been excavating in this underground palace for a long time, even uncovering side chambers, and had indeed found many treasures.
But in those side tombs, whether coffins or chests, all were sealed and had not been opened.
The problem was, in that story, the coffins and chests should have been opened, and those rogue cultivators should have obtained very valuable treasures.
Furthermore, the coffin sealed with iron chains that the person mentioned was the only one they had encountered.
If its opening caused the dark energy to surge and trigger the changes in the Western Mountains, then what was happening now?
Why was this coffin locked?
"Thirty-four people, thirty-four skeletons... why did two people return to Buoluo City?"
"Could it be..."
Suddenly, Xu Mu thought of the humanoid domain lord demon he had seen when entering the mountains. His pupils contracted to an extreme, and his expression changed drastically.
"Don't let him open the coffin!"
"That story is false. All thirty-four people died here. This tomb chamber was never opened."
Xu Mu's expression turned frantic, instilling fear in everyone.
"Those who returned to Buoluo City... were not human at all!"