Chapter 502: The Artificer

The cold pool was icy, and upon entering, everyone immediately felt a bone-chilling cold.

Following Luo Zhu, they swam straight downward.

Even the weakest among them had reached the Supreme realm; at this level, holding their breath underwater for twenty to thirty minutes was no problem.

Although Zhao Feiwu's strength was lacking, with Jin Conghai continuously infusing true qi to form a protective shield, he didn't feel suffocated.

Going down, initially aided by sunlight filtering through the water surface, they could see ahead, but as they went deeper, it became pitch black, unable to see their hands in front of them.

Luo Zhu had prepared in advance, taking out several night pearls and giving one to each person. Under the gentle glow, the underwater world appeared clearly before them.

Because the pool was so cold, there was no life. They continued downward until reaching a depth of about seventy or eighty meters, where they finally saw the ground, covered in various deep-colored water plants.

Unable to speak underwater, Luo Zhu waved to everyone and, familiar with the path, slowly moved forward along the plant-covered ground. Soon they arrived at a rock wall.

It was a smooth stone wall that looked unremarkable. If one didn't know about the Witch Soul Tomb, they wouldn't notice anything special upon approaching.

Turning his wrist, Luo Zhu took out a smooth stone disc, felt around the wall for a moment, found the right spot, and pressed it against the surface.

Creak!

As if activating some mechanism, the wall slowly opened. This seemingly intact stone wall was actually movable.

“Such exquisite craftsmanship!”

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Carving a mechanism from stone with no visible seams on the surface—the craftsmanship, though not as good as the earlier Artificer's Ingenious Box, far surpassed many treasures he had seen before.

It seemed the craftsman who built this Witch Soul Tomb was of no low rank, at least reaching the Nine-Stroke level.

Legend has it that Nine-Stroke craftsmen could create mechanical puppets indistinguishable from real ones even to Mortal Transformation realm experts. Now, it seemed true.

No wonder Luo Zhu was confident that no one else could find this place. Such a secret location was indeed hard to discover.

The stone wall opened, revealing a doorway. Luo Zhu stepped in first.

Inside the door, special waterproof mechanisms were arranged, allowing living beings to enter while keeping water out. As soon as they stepped in, everyone felt the air circulating and didn't feel stifled.

“This is the passage to the Witch Soul Tomb. At the end is the tomb chamber!”

After everyone entered, the stone wall closed automatically. Luo Zhu said.

“Mm.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Everyone looked inside, full of curiosity.

It was a long, narrow corridor with various murals carved on both sides, many depicting Witch Soul rituals. Under the night pearls' glow, they appeared particularly eerie.

“Don't rush. This corridor has very dangerous mechanisms. We need to probe step by step to enter!”

Seeming very familiar with tomb environments, Luo Zhu grabbed in the air, and two child-sized puppets appeared before him.

He must have prepared them specially over the past few days.

He placed two spirit stones into them, and the puppets walked one after the other along the passage.

Creak! Creak!

The first puppet had taken less than three steps when a whistling sound rang out, followed by a crisp crack, and it exploded into pieces.

Everyone's pupils contracted.

The puppet Luo Zhu had just taken out was made of special materials, extremely hard. Even someone like Jin Conghai would find it troublesome to shatter it in one blow.

Yet it was directly blown up by some unknown mechanism. If Luo Zhu hadn't been cautious and stopped them, they would have rushed over and died long ago.

In an instant, cold sweat poured down.

Truly the most bizarre profession—this Witch Soul Tomb was indeed extraordinary.

If Zhang Shi hadn't resolved the matter of the soul-possessing spirit and let it lead them here, they might have been wiped out before even entering.

Creak! Creak!

While everyone was in shock, the second puppet also took a few steps before being attacked and exploded like the first.

“Within five steps, there are two deadly mechanisms. I'll lead the way and mark the footholds. You must follow closely without any mistakes, or else... I can't guarantee safety!”

Luo Zhu said with a grave expression.

“Alright!” Everyone understood and nodded simultaneously.

Whoosh!

Luo Zhu cautiously stepped forward. As soon as his foot landed, a whistling sound was heard, and a blade of qi swept past not far from him. It seemed that if hit, he would be severely injured if not killed.

However, thanks to the puppet's earlier probing, he was prepared and wasn't hurt.

“Is this... a formation?” Seeing the corridor full of dangers, Sai Gezhu was puzzled and looked over.

With danger everywhere, could there be a powerful killing formation here?

If so, with Zhang Shi's understanding of formations, could he find a way to break it and make things simpler?

“No.” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

If it were a formation, he could definitely sense the spiritual energy fluctuations, find the core, and kick it to stop. But obviously, this wasn't.

“The Witch Soul Tomb's main defense is not against humans but against Soul-Eating Ants. Formations are useless against them... So there should be no formations here. If I'm not mistaken, these are special mechanisms.”

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Xuan analyzed.

The natural enemy of Witch Souls is the Soul-Eating Ant, so the tomb was built to guard against them. Soul-Eating Ants can devour the spiritual energy in formations, rendering them ineffective. Therefore, formations would be useless here; mechanisms are more effective.

Everyone nodded.

“If it's mechanisms, we're in trouble. None of us are familiar with mechanical devices. If an Artificer were here, it would be much simpler!” Sai Gezhu frowned.

“Artificer?” Sun Qiang and others looked over.

Zhang Xuan hadn't mentioned this profession, so they knew little about it.

“Yes, an Artificer, also called a Machinist, is one of the lower nine professions. They specialize in designing these mechanical contraptions. They can place sword qi or martial techniques inside seemingly ordinary objects, unleashing immense power when opened. Even many experts can't withstand it.”

Sai Gezhu explained: “This profession also has a specialized organization called the Artificer Hall, dedicated to designing the world's most ingenious weapons and mechanisms. However... I've only read about this profession in books. The Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance doesn't have one. It's said that only the Phantom Feather Empire is qualified to establish a branch.”

“The things designed by this profession are extremely precise. Without knowing the principles, it's indeed hard to get through!”

Zhang Xuan nodded, frowning.

He had experienced the complexity of the Artificer's Ingenious Box firsthand. Without the Library of Heaven's Path to know its flaws, opening it would have been impossible.

A small box was so exquisitely designed. If this corridor truly involved such a person, the danger would be unimaginable.

Pfft!

As he was thinking, suddenly a sound of a blade cutting into flesh was heard. Then they saw Luo Zhu's face turn red as he retreated, his arm cut by something, blood gushing out.

“Are you alright?”

Jin Conghai and others came over to help stop the bleeding.

“I'm fine!” Luo Zhu shook his head: “The mechanisms in this passage seem harder to navigate than before...”

“Harder? How long is this passage? How long did it take you to reach the end last time?” Zhang Xuan looked over.

“It's about three hundred meters. Last time I came, using puppets to probe step by step, it took me about four days to reach the end.”

Luo Zhu frowned: “But these mechanisms, like formations, change each time you enter. Last time's experience is completely useless now, otherwise I wouldn't have been injured...”

“Four days?” Zhang Xuan was speechless.

Four days to cover only three hundred meters—that was indeed too difficult.

“Yes, but there's no other way. The sword qi contained in the passage's mechanisms is at least at the peak of Mortal Transformation Fourth Layer, and some even reach the Fifth Layer. If you can't dodge in time, you'll be cut in two on the spot, dying without knowing how!”

Luo Zhu shook his head.

“Peak Mortal Transformation Fourth Layer sword qi?” Everyone was astonished.

Seeing the puppet instantly destroyed, they knew the sword qi shooting out was terrifying, but they didn't expect it to be so powerful.

In such a narrow passage, with no way to block or defend, if struck by such powerful sword qi, even a peak Mortal Transformation Fourth Layer expert would find it hard to survive.

“Is there no other way but to probe step by step?”

Zhao Feiwu also frowned.

“No. The mechanisms left by an Artificer are extremely complex and constantly changing. Without knowing the pattern of change, it's very hard to get through.” Luo Zhu shook his head.

“Can't we destroy the mechanisms in this passage?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

Formations could be stopped. If they could find the switch or the crux of these mechanisms, they might be able to destroy them.

“Destroy?”

Luo Zhu smiled bitterly: “How could it be that easy? Things left by an Artificer, like a waterwheel, are constantly rotating. Even if you've seen the blueprints, without knowing the principles, it's useless. After all, it's a formidable profession, like formations. If it were so easy to break, it wouldn't be so feared!”

Mechanisms, like formations, are useless even if you've seen the blueprints without knowing the operating principles.

Because mechanisms are constantly moving. If you know nothing about this profession, forget destroying them—surviving is hard enough.

“Yes, that's what makes Artificers so fearsome. They can use machinery to combine items that kill people, and these items don't need spirit stones to power them... If I'm not mistaken, all the mechanisms in this passage are powered by the waterfall above. Without knowing the principles, even with a compass, you can't locate them!”

Sai Gezhu nodded.

A compass can locate the flow of spiritual energy, detect the strength of formations, and find weaknesses. But mechanisms don't use spirit stones; they use physical forces, like the power from the waterfall above.

How could they break them?

Hearing their analysis and seeing everyone's expressions darken, their excitement from before gone, Zhang Xuan shook his head and spoke:

“Just because a compass can't find them doesn't mean other methods can't. Don't worry, let me try.”

With that, everyone saw him smile faintly, place his palm on the ground of the passage, and gently touch it.