Chapter 503: Entering the Tomb

"Careful..."

Seeing that instead of studying the patterns of the passage and the mechanisms, he was groping around on the ground, Luo Zhu felt dizzy.

Did you think touching the ground would tell you what kind of mechanism this was?

The mechanisms designed by a Master Artificer, like formations, were infinitely profound, with countless classifications. Even mechanisms of the same type, though similar in appearance, had at least tens of thousands of variations.

Moreover, the same mechanism, operating in different ways, would produce different external effects. It could be said that falling into such a trap, even a true Master Artificer would need to study it for who knows how long to crack it. Even if you were skilled in other professions, each trade had its own specialty; without knowledge of the artificer profession, all efforts were in vain.

"Don't worry, everyone. I'll adjust a bit and send out puppets again to test. We have plenty of time anyway, and I've brought ample dry rations and water, enough for our daily needs!"

Seeing that the group's morale was not as high as before, Luo Zhu smiled reassuringly.

His profession was actually tomb raiding; he had entered countless dangerous places and was long accustomed to it. These people were different; having never encountered such formidable mechanisms, they naturally felt like retreating.

"We have no choice. We know nothing about this kind of mechanism; we can only rely on you to feel your way forward." Jin Conghai nodded.

"Rest assured, although this mechanism has become more difficult, as long as we have enough time, I can still reach the end. You just need to follow closely behind me..." Luo Zhu nodded.

Many tombs of powerful individuals or wealthy people would invite Master Artificers to help design them. He had been dealing with such mechanisms for many years. Even if the mechanisms in this passage had become more dangerous, he could still figure them out and reach the end safely.

Just as he was full of confidence and planning to prepare further before entering the passage, he saw Zhang Shi, who had finished touching the ground, stand up, stretch, and then, with a lift of his eyelids, stride into the passage.

"Zhang Shi..."

His pupils contracted, and Luo Zhu was nearly scared to death.

He had used puppets to probe for a long time, and they were almost split in two by the sword qi. Rushing in so recklessly—wasn't that asking for death?

Full of anxiety, just as he was about to reach out and pull him back, he saw the young man raise his foot and kick the wall on one side.

Boom!

A violent roar, and then everyone felt the ground shake.

"Alright, the mechanism has stopped!"

Then, the young man's calm voice rang out, and without waiting for the others to react, he strode inside.

"Stopped?"

Seeing him walk farther and farther without triggering any mechanism, Luo Zhu was frantic.

What was going on?

He had personally tested it; the passage's mechanism was far more powerful than the last time he came. Even someone like him, who spent every day in tombs, would find it hard to crack without ten days or half a month. The other guy kicked it... and it stopped?

Was there a mistake?

This was a mechanism designed by a Master Artificer, immensely powerful. He had already prepared to sacrifice hundreds of puppets, but it was stopped with a single kick...

Luo Zhu felt like he was going crazy.

He turned to look at the others, only to see them looking back with equal confusion.

Weren't you just talking about how formidable this thing was? How did it end with a single kick from Zhang Shi?

"Let's go see..."

His chest tight with frustration, knowing that this Zhang Shi could even handle possession and might understand artificer techniques, he felt a bit better and hurriedly chased after him.

The mechanisms in the passage had indeed stopped; walking along, there was no danger.

Before long, everyone reached the end, a spacious and vast hall.

"Last time I came here, I was possessed and didn't dare go further..." Seeing the hall, Luo Zhu introduced with a grave expression.

Zhang Xuan looked up.

It was an underground palace, about twenty or thirty meters wide. In the center were four huge coffins, made of some unknown material, bluish-gray, giving a sense of heaviness.

"Eye of Insight!"

Not rushing in, he raised his brows and looked over.

After a moment, he frowned.

His cultivation was only at the peak of the Mortal Transformation First Layer, and observing these coffins was somewhat difficult. It seemed they were shielded by someone stronger than him.

"Let's see if the ground can form a book!"

Unable to see through with the Eye of Insight, he wasn't anxious. He bent down and touched the ground again.

Recalling the method with the Artificer Puzzle Box, he thought that since it was a mechanism, it must have flaws. With a tentative mindset, he touched it, and unexpectedly it worked.

In the Library of Heaven's Path, the name and flaws of the passage's mechanism immediately appeared.

After reading it, he understood.

Like formations, mechanisms have a death gate and a life gate; otherwise, how would the designer enter and exit after setting it up?

Moreover, there is a central hub. If found and shut down, no matter how powerful the mechanism, it becomes useless.

Just like cutting off power to a machine; no matter how strong, without energy supply, it is useless.

That was why, after touching the ground, he could kick it to a stop and lead everyone in.

Whoosh!

A book appeared in his mind.

"Bluish-gray rock, produced deep underground, hard in texture..."

Zhang Xuan almost spat blood after just one glance.

He had thought that since the Eye of Insight couldn't see through, the Library of Heaven's Path could also identify these coffins or the hall's issues, allowing him to respond. He never dreamed that it would analyze the rock he had just touched on the ground.

"The passage just now was a whole mechanism; touching it naturally gave feedback on the mechanism's characteristics. But this is ordinary ground; touching it reveals what is touched, just like when I touched the bookshelf before!"

After his frustration, Zhang Xuan understood.

Back then, when he touched the bookshelf in the library to collect books, a similar situation had occurred.

It seemed the Library of Heaven's Path's recognition was based on the whole; otherwise, touching something would only reveal that thing.

That made sense; if touching the ground revealed the entire continent's situation, that would be too overpowered.

"There's no danger here; we can go straight in!"

Seeing Zhang Shi's expression shifting uncertainly, lost in thought, Luo Zhu explained and walked forward first.

His foot stepped into the hall without causing any change.

The others followed in single file.

"These coffins are the ones that held the Soul-less Golden Men. The one I took was one of them."

Approaching the coffins, Luo Zhu pointed forward, speaking with slight tension.

Last time he came, when he opened the coffin and took the Soul-less Golden Man, he was possessed by the hidden soul. He had a shadow over his heart and dared not approach.

"Let me see."

Zhang Xuan nodded and stepped forward.

Among the four coffins, one was indeed open, empty inside.

He touched that empty coffin.

Whoosh!

A book appeared in his mind.

"Refined Gold Seventh-Grade Coffin, forged by Four-Star Artificer [Zhe Xu] to hold Soul-less Golden Men, incorruptible for ten thousand years. Flaws: 1. Cannot hold normal corpses..."

It detailed the coffin's origin, function, and flaws.

"Refined Gold Seventh-Grade Coffin?" After reading it, Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

According to the Library's description, this item was used to hold Soul-less Golden Men and should not contain souls. How had this guy been possessed?

He reached out and touched another unopened coffin.

It was also a Refined Gold Seventh-Grade Coffin, used to hold Soul-less Golden Men, identical to the one just opened, with no major difference.

He touched the remaining two as well, reaching the same conclusion.

Knowing they all contained Soul-less Golden Men, Zhang Xuan lost interest.

His main purpose here was the Soul Shaman inheritance; the Golden Men were optional.

However, these items were extremely precious; he had sold one for a very high price before. Even if they weren't what he wanted, selling them would be a huge profit, making the trip worthwhile.

"Zhang Shi, I was possessed right here... Should we open them?"

Seeing him touch all four coffins, Luo Zhu looked at him nervously, while the others awaited his decision.

"Don't open them yet."

Although he knew the coffins were probably fine, he couldn't guarantee what would happen when opened.

If it was just the soul that had possessed Luo Zhu, it would be manageable, but if a stronger one appeared, his Heavenly Dao true qi might not work.

Better to be cautious.

"Let's just put the coffins into the storage ring and open them outside." After thinking, Zhang Xuan said.

"Got it!"

Sun Qiang was waiting for this. He quickly stepped forward, grabbed the four huge coffins, and stored them in his ring.

These were the young master's; no matter who you were, don't even think about competing...

"Ahem!" Seeing his shamelessness, Zhang Xuan's face reddened. He turned away, gave instructions, and walked forward.

"Wait here; I'll look around."

The palace was eerie, giving a desolate feeling.

The surrounding walls were inlaid with hard bluish-gray rock. It seemed that building this palace not only hollowed out the underground but also reinforced it with the hardest rock to ensure it lasted ten thousand years.

After groping along the rock wall and finding no traps, Zhang Xuan continued straight ahead.

Connected to this room was another narrow passage.

Approaching it, he crouched down and gently touched it.

Whoosh!

A book appeared in his mind.

"Just an ordinary corridor, not a mechanism?"

It described the rock's structure, not a mechanism.

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking about it, he understood.

Having mechanisms before entering the tomb was one thing, but once inside, having more mechanisms would be pointless. Rather than spending the effort, it was better to stop.

"No danger here; come over!" He called out.

Everyone quickly followed.

Zhang Xuan walked in first.

The passage was short, only about ten meters. At the end was another spacious hall.

This one was clearly larger than the previous.

"As far as I know, the first chamber of the Soul Shaman tomb holds the guardian Soul-less Golden Men, and the second is the main burial chamber. This should be where the Soul Shaman's soul resides..."

Luo Zhu swallowed.

"You mean... there's a Soul Shaman's soul here?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Since it's the main chamber... there should be."

Luo Zhu nodded.

Hearing his confirmation, Zhang Xuan looked up. As soon as he glanced, he suddenly frowned, full of disbelief.

"This... what is this?"