Tomb Robber: I, Chen Yulou, am dedicated to cultivating immortality!

The fire starter fell from mid-air.

It hit the stone-paved ground with a thud.

The last bit of fire that was about to die out finally disappeared.

but……

It was obvious that Partridge Whistle was prepared.

He calmly took out a phosphorus cylinder from under his sleeve.

He pulled out the wooden pin and blew gently into it. With a loud bang, flames suddenly shot out of the tube and immediately burned fiercely.

Fire dispels darkness.

The tomb chamber, which had been in deathly silence, became bright again.

"Brother Chen, please."

Say hello.

The two of them walked in, one in front and one behind, without any intention of delaying, and pushed the door open.

It was completely different from the damp and gloomy atmosphere at the wellhead outside.

The air in the stone chamber below was extremely dry.

Suddenly there is a feeling of transition from cold winter to hot summer.

The space is also much more spacious than the two outside, with a length and width of about sixty to seventy meters. The dome is also incredibly high. Standing in it, one does not feel cramped at all, but rather extremely transparent.

However, when he glanced around, he saw that the entire stone chamber was littered with bones.

However, judging from their bone structure, most of them are animals.

There were cows, horses, camels, tigers, leopards, jackals and wolves. If there were more of them, the two of them would have found it difficult to tell them apart.

Moreover, compared to those animal bones, Chen Yulou and the other person were more attracted by the surrounding stone pillars at this moment.

more specifically.

It was a dried corpse tied to a stone pillar.

At a glance, there were people everywhere without exception.

There were more than a dozen dead bodies, their flesh dried by the wind, their heads either drooping or their eyes wide open, with expressions of fear or unwillingness remaining on their faces.

It was like a silent howl and cry for help.

This scene made the two of them subconsciously think of the day at Zhalong Mountain when six black-scaled mermaids were tied to copper pillars and made into oil lamps alive.

An indescribable sense of eeriness makes the atmosphere even more terrifying.

"Human sacrifice?"

After a long silence, Partridge Whistle frowned and let out a breath, breaking the suffocating silence.

Human sacrifice has existed since ancient times.

Especially before the Pre-Qin period, it was almost a standard burial for kings, princes, generals and ministers.

Even the princes of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period viewed this as a competition of national strength.

Countless slaves and prisoners of war had their hands tied and were driven into the burial pits of mausoleums like cattle and sheep, becoming burial objects of kings and princes.

Don't blame him for thinking so.

This scene now.

It is almost the same as human sacrifice.

"I think it's about right now. Let's look ahead."

Did not stay long in the field of bones.

After saying hello, Chen Yulou walked straight over the piles of bones on the ground.

Because the air in the stone chamber was extremely dry, almost all of the animal bones had been weathered. With the slightest touch, a continuous crackling sound could be heard, and then they turned into a pile of powder.

Those ancient corpses were also badly weathered.

There was even a clearly visible pool of corpse oil under the stone pillar, which had seeped into the bluestone slab, leaving a large shadow and emitting a disgusting smell.

Even though the two of them have been robbing tombs for many years.

I couldn't help but frown.

It seems that these people were not simply buried alive. At least apart from the traces of ropes tied to their bodies, there were no sword or knife wounds.

I looked at several ancient corpses silently.

The two of them had the same guess in their minds.

These people might have been moved here after being sun-dried to death.

There were even traces of dried blood on the weathered mummy.

In the light of the fire, brown blood was dripping from head to toe, making those already hideous faces even more terrifying.

“It’s not human sacrifice.”

"This should be some kind of evil sacrificial ritual!"

Chen Yulou gritted his teeth, exhaled a breath of foul air, and his brows were full of gloom.

The mummies had different expressions, and their eyes were almost bulging outwards, which made people feel extremely uncomfortable.

After all, Gumo is one of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions.

There are still big differences between their customs and those of the Han people.

Human sacrifice is simply killing someone and burying them with the deceased.

But all the methods displayed here reveal a sense of evil.

"But... who is being sacrificed?"

Partridge Whistle was slightly startled and his eyes subconsciously looked around.

Inside the huge stone chamber.

Apart from the bones all over the ground and the stone pillars and ancient corpses, no stone statues or god tablets with religious elements have been seen so far.

"Is there a possibility?"

"The one being worshipped is the owner of this tomb?"

Chen Yulou spoke calmly, but the indifference in his tone could not be concealed at all.

"You mean, the people buried here are inextricably linked to religious beliefs?"

Partridge Whistle seemed to be thinking about something.

He suddenly thought of Azhiya, the wizard of the Uighur tribe, and Mobaxigu of Malu Village.

As messengers of the gods, they themselves represent the gods walking on earth.

If the person buried here is a wizard or something like that.

The occurrence of such evil sacrifices seems reasonable.

"Whether it is true or not, we will know once we open the coffin."

Chen Yulou did not explain further, but moved his gaze from the ancient corpse on the stone pillar in front of him to the huge sarcophagus in the distance.

See this situation.

Partridge Whistle immediately took a few quick steps, crossed the white bones on the ground, and stuck the phosphorus tube in his hand into the stone wall beside him.

The fire flickered.

The sarcophagus finally appeared completely in the sight of the two people.

I saw that it was nearly ten feet long and more than one meter tall.

Walked around in a circle.

The more Partridge Whistle looked at it, the weirder it seemed.

He had spent most of his life either robbing tombs or visiting graves, and had seen too many coffins.

Although the styles of coffins have varied throughout the dynasties, they are basically the same, with the only difference being the materials. But the one in front of us is really too different.

Square, integrated inside and out.

Rather than a coffin, it is more like a box carved out of rock. Apart from that, there is no decorative pattern. It is so simple that it is unbelievable.

"It should be a fusion of Han Chinese style, but it turned out to be a weird mixture."

After all, Gumo Prefecture was the most important town at that time. It was located on the ancient Silk Road and had countless merchants coming and going. Especially during the Sui and Tang dynasties, trade with the mainland was extremely frequent.

This can actually be seen from the buildings in the ancient city.

It was deeply influenced by the Han people.

Hearing this, Partridge Whistle sneered.

Without further delay, he took out the vagina-probing claw.

Chen Yulou casually took out the bone knife from his waist that he had not used for a long time.

The cracks in the sarcophagus were sealed with isinglass that was like beeswax, and a blade as thin as a cicada's wing was inserted into it and gently scratched.

In an instant.

The fish glue that had already petrified shattered to the ground.

The other end.

Partridge Whistle saw the opportunity, and with quick eyes and hands, he hooked his claws under the coffin lid and then pulled the hook line with sudden force.

As his blood surged.

The coffin lid weighing several hundred kilograms was lifted up by him.

Seeing that the gap between the coffin lid and the coffin body was getting bigger and bigger, Chen Yulou did not hesitate. He took a deep breath, leaped to the head of the coffin, and kicked it hard.

The force of this kick was extremely amazing.

There was a violent friction sound, and the stone cover that was attached to the edge of the coffin slid back more than two meters before it finally stopped.

call--

There was a gap at the head of the coffin.

The two did not rush forward, but instead took half a step back in tacit understanding.

This ancient coffin that has been sealed for thousands of years, the deadly aura within it is comparable to that of the black snake encountered in the well before. Even if one accidentally inhales a breath of it, the internal organs in the stomach may be dissolved.

Since ancient times, countless tomb robbers have died in this way. As veterans, how could Chen Yulou and Queqiao Shao not understand?

In addition to the miasma in the coffin, this action is also to prevent the device from being destroyed by a mechanism.

Fortunately.

After a while.

Apart from the pungent smell of corpses, no hidden arrows, flowing fire, sword slaves, or bows and crossbows were seen being fired.

After confirming that there was no danger, the two of them moved closer, one on the left and one on the right.

By the light of a phosphorus tube inserted into the stone wall nearby.

Looking down.

Two ancient corpses, a man and a woman, slept in each other's arms.

Similar to the ancient corpses seen along the way, thanks to the unique climate environment of the Black Desert, the corpse in the coffin did not rot, but dehydrated and turned into two mummies.

However, from the clothes and decorations on their bodies, one can easily tell their noble status.

Although it has not reached the level of the Golden Jade Robe.

But it is also a very rare brocade silk dress in the Western Regions.

The man was wearing a red-black robe, with a faint hint of black bird embroidery, the shape of which was flowing and majestic.

As for the woman, she was wearing a white feather dress, as thin as a cicada's wing. Even after thousands of years, it was not much damaged.

As for the two men's hands, they each held an object, which reflected the dazzling luster of gold and silver under the firelight.

"It should be a gold item to prove your identity."

Their eyes moved to their tightly clenched hands, and their eyes lit up.

The Han people have the custom of swallowing jade when they are buried.

The two ancient corpses, a man and a woman, had deeply sunken cheeks due to dehydration, and did not feel full. It was obvious that they had not swallowed any antiquities such as yasheng, jade or yin beads.

Partridge Whistle jumped up and stood on the edge of the coffin.

The claws in his hand carefully reached out to the man's hands.

I tried to hook it with force, but there was no movement.

After all, for thousands of years, the ten fingers of both hands have been crossed and clenched, and it is difficult to separate them easily.

Plus, I didn’t dare to use too much force.

In case the gold artifacts are damaged.

It's not easy to repair.

Chen Yulou was not in a hurry. While he was taking out the funerary objects, he walked around the coffin and looked elsewhere inside.

Except for the things the two people hold in their hands.

There are many funerary objects in the coffin, including gold, silver, jade, glazed wine cups, rhinoceros horns and ivory, and other objects with a strong Western style.

They are all priceless good things.

Chen Yulou naturally would not let it go.

The journey is difficult, and with two or three hundred brothers following us, we cannot return empty-handed.

However, when he was collecting the funerary objects, a gold object with a strange shape caught his attention.

Grab it and hold it in your hands.

It turned out to be a snake head with ferocious pupils!

To be precise, it is the Pure Vision Agama!
Made of pure gold in the style of the serpent mother.

The snake's head was raised high, its tongue sticking out, and its huge pupils were filled with indifference to all living things.

Looking at the overall shape, it seems to have been broken off from something, and there are obvious cross-sections.

'The Queen's throne?'

Chen Yulou studied it carefully, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt that it looked like an embellishment at the front end of the handrail.

Among the thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions, only the Queen of Jingjue dared to carve Jingjian Ahan, the guardian deity of the Ghost Cave, on the chair.

The reason why I thought of her.

There is another most important reason.

If I remember correctly, this should be the joint burial coffin of Prince Gumo.

He led the coalition forces to capture the ancient city of Jingjue and broke the queen's high-pressure rule.

As a victor, he would take down an item from the throne and bury it with the deceased to commemorate his own great achievements.

"Got it!"

While he was holding the golden snake and thinking.

The sound of partridge whistles could be heard in my ears.

"What is it?"

"Gold Seal!"

Partridge Whistle opened his palms.

It is clearly a seal with a camel as the button. It is made entirely of gold and the camel is carved to look lifelike and lively.

However, Chen Yulou only took a glance and looked under the button.

What surprised him was that the inscription under the gold seal was actually Han Li, with a small line of ancient Sanskrit on the edge.

"Gu Mo, Wang Yin?"

Partridge Whistle recited it slowly, then raised his head with a look of surprise.

"It seems that this person is not a wizard, but the ruler of Gumo Royal City..."

Previously, there were bones all over the ground and bloody ancient corpses used as sacrifices. They also speculated whether the owner of the tomb might be a wizard from the country of Gumo.

But now, judging from this golden seal, this is not the case.

"What's one more thing?"

Chen Yulou nodded and subconsciously looked at the female corpse's hands, and found that her clenched fingers had been opened, and the gold hidden in them disappeared without a trace.

"It's a fish."

Partridge Whistle calmly let go of his left hand.

Unlike the gold seal, what the woman held in her hand was a goldfish the size of a baby's palm.

The details of the fish scales, fins and back are all exquisite, even more realistic than the camel, as if it could come back to life and swim happily if thrown into the water.

It is hard to imagine that it is an ancient artifact from the era of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms in the Western Regions thousands of years ago.

"So, this is the tomb where the King of Gumo and his wife were buried together."

Chen Yulou rubbed his eyebrows.

Didn't pay much attention to the goldfish.

Although the design is exquisite and shocking, the goldfish itself does not symbolize power. It is more like something that the woman owned during her lifetime, and she loved it so much that she was buried with her after her death.

"Can't be wrong..."

Partridge Whistle nodded and handed the seal and fish to Chen Yulou.

The Banshan lineage is not for ceremonial objects.

In his opinion, these things were at most interesting, but not enough to attract him.

But it was the snake head in Chen Yulou's hand that made his eyes jump.

The lights flickered, and in a trance, he almost thought that it was the same black poisonous snake as before.

Seeing his eyes fall on his palms, Chen Yulou gave a brief explanation.

"Using a black snake as an ornament...Brother Chen, this is not good news."

Partridge Whistle reacts very quickly.

His face immediately turned ugly.

On the way down the well, he didn't see the black snake again, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But the appearance of this thing now shows that at least thousands of years ago, the black snake had an unimaginable influence in the countries of the Western Regions.

Even...it is very likely a totemic belief.

Chen Yulou knew it well, but he was also amazed at his quick thinking. After a moment of hesitation, he smiled helplessly.

"When the enemy comes, we will fight him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. We can only take it one step at a time."

"That's all it can do."

Although he looked calm, Partridge Whistle's brows were still furrowed.

The depression accumulated in my heart is so strong that it cannot be dissolved.

There is something he has never dared to say.

The moment he saw the black snake attack, ancient memories poured out like a flood.

In the ancient rumors passed down by word of mouth in Zagrama.

The first disaster that befell the high priest because he spied on the ghost cave... was not a ghost curse, but a group of strange snakes that crawled out of hell and bit countless of his people to death.

With the death of the high priest, the tribe could only push forward two saints to stabilize the situation.

The two led the warriors to kill the strange snake and its mother.

All the corpses were thrown into the ghost cave.

Afterwards, the sage used his life as a divination and learned that an invisible disaster was befalling the tribe.

And that disaster was a ghost curse that caused their clan to endure thousands of years of suffering and countless deaths!
But he didn't dare to confirm whether the poisonous snake that appeared in the ancient well was the same as the strange snake passed down in the tribe!
That's why he resolutely followed.

Just want to find out.

However, even Partridge Whistle himself did not expect that what happened after entering the well was completely beyond his expectations.

The imagined snake nest was not seen.

Instead, he found the tomb of Prince Gumo.

"Brother Dao, come and see. These murals...may be able to explain something to us." (End of this chapter)