Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Guo'er, calm down.

Inside the ancient tomb.

Yang Guo sneezed.

"Who's insulting me?" He rubbed his nose and climbed off the jade bed.

I've been lying in bed for four days; my bones are practically rusting.

Although only a tenth of the medicine's effects had dissipated from his body, the feeling of being on the verge of exploding and dying was gone. As long as he didn't exert himself too much, walking and eating normally was no problem.

Just then, Granny Sun came in carrying a basket. Seeing Yang Guo get down, she was startled: "Oh my little darling, why are you down? Lie back down quickly!"

"Mother-in-law, if I lie down any longer, I'll really be ruined."

Yang Guo stretched, his joints cracking and popping. "I want to stretch my muscles. Lying in bed all the time isn't good. Can I walk around a bit?"

Grandma Sun hesitated for a moment.

After spending these past few days together, she truly treated Yang Guo like her own child. Although his complexion was still pale, his spirits were good, and she couldn't bear to keep him confined any longer.

"Taking a walk is fine."

Granny Sun pointed to a passageway to the east, "That's the young lady's inner room. You absolutely mustn't go there. She loves peace and quiet and hates being disturbed. If you anger her, even I can't protect you."

"Understood!" Yang Guo nodded immediately, looking obedient. "I'm a very rule-abiding person. I wouldn't dare to trespass into the Fairy Sister's place even if you gave me the guts."

"And over there," Granny Sun pointed to the west, "that's where they store miscellaneous items and keep coffins. It's gloomy there, so you should avoid it."

Yang Guo's eyes lit up.

Coffin?

Isn't that the place where Wang Chongyang carved the sutras?

"Okay, don't worry, Grandma, I'll just walk around and get some exercise."

Yang Guo readily agreed verbally, but inwardly he was overjoyed.

While Granny Sun was busy in the kitchen, Yang Guo immediately slipped away.

He was worried about not finding a place to put the coffin when Granny Sun offered to help, and he immediately headed straight for the passageway to the west.

The path inside the ancient tomb is winding and twisting, and lamps are lit at intervals on the walls.

The further west you go, the colder it gets.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; the only sound was the echo of my own footsteps.

"This godforsaken place, it's a wonder that Little Dragon Girl has lived here for so many years." Yang Guo rubbed his arms and muttered to himself.

After turning a few corners, a huge stone chamber came into view.

The stone chamber was empty, with several stone coffins placed in the center.

Yang Guo held his breath and quietly walked in.

This should be the burial place of Lin Chaoying, the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect.

According to his memories from his past life, Wang Chongyang lost to Lin Chaoying and gave her the Tomb of the Living Dead. Later, when Wang Chongyang learned of Lin Chaoying's death, he sneaked into the ancient tomb to pay his respects and discovered that Lin Chaoying's self-created "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra" completely countered the Quanzhen martial arts.

Wang Chongyang was very competitive. In order to break the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, he pondered in the deep mountains for three years, but he still couldn't figure out how to break it. In the end, he finally solved the problem by relying on the Nine Yin Manual.

In terms of martial arts talent, Lin Chaoying was still a cut above Wang Chongyang.

Yang Guo walked up to a stone coffin.

The stone coffin was not sealed tightly, leaving a crack.

He pushed it hard.

Not moving.

"Damn it, my body is too weak." Yang Guo gritted his teeth, channeling the pitiful amount of internal energy in his dantian, until his face turned red and his neck bulged.

"Open it!"

Rumbling--

The stone coffin lid made a dull screech as it was finally pushed open halfway.

Exhausted and panting, Yang Guo leaned against the edge of the coffin and peered inside.

empty.

There was nothing inside, only a thin layer of dust.

"That's not it?"

Undeterred, Yang Guo walked toward another body nearby.

There are seven stone coffins in this ancient tomb. Two of them are nailed shut, presumably the coffins of Lin Chaoying and her maid. The other five are empty.

He then exerted tremendous effort to push away the second body.

It's still empty.

When Yang Guo pushed open the innermost stone coffin, he sensed that something was wrong.

There appear to be inscriptions on the back of the lid of this sarcophagus.

His heart was pounding. Forgetting to rest, he lay down on the edge of the coffin, stuck his head inside, and looked up.

By the dim light, one could see that the inside of the stone coffin lid was covered with densely packed characters.

His brushstrokes are vigorous and powerful, penetrating deep into the stone.

The first line of large characters:

"The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, a skill surpassing that of the Quanzhen School. Chongyang's life was one of unparalleled excellence."

"Found it!"

Yang Guo almost cried out.

He stared intently at the words, his heart pounding.

This is a fragment of the Nine Yin Manual!

Although it is only a part, mainly the method to decipher the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, it also includes exquisite martial arts such as the Yi Jin Du Gu Jian chapter, the secret of acupoint release, and the breath-holding technique.

In particular, the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter is exactly what he needs most right now.

His body's foundation was too shallow, and his meridians were too narrow, which was why he couldn't withstand the medicinal power of the Nine-Turn Life-Extending Pill. If he practiced the Tendon-Changing and Bone-Forging Manual, widening his meridians and strengthening his physique, then the medicinal power within his body could be quickly transformed into his own.

At that time, his internal energy will greatly increase, and combined with the Toad Stance...

"Sister Rong, you wait here."

A fiery glint flashed in Yang Guo's eyes.

Instead of rushing to practice his skills, he took out a piece of white cloth and charcoal sticks that he had prepared beforehand.

This was cut from the pile of silk that Yin Zhiping had given him.

We need to make a rubbing of it quickly.

This place is, after all, a place where coffins are kept. If Xiaolongnu finds out that he keeps coming here, she'll definitely throw him out to be fed to the jade bees.

Yang Guo moved nimbly, tilting his head back as he quickly copied the characters onto the white cloth while simultaneously recognizing them.

"The way of Heaven is to take from those who have too much and give to those who have too little..."

These incantations were obscure and difficult to understand, but Yang Guo was exceptionally intelligent and found them to be infinitely profound after reading them twice.

Just as he was engrossed in copying, he suddenly heard a soft footstep coming from the passageway outside.

Yang Guo's ears twitched.

The footsteps were extremely light, unlike Granny Sun's steady gait; rather, it sounded like...

Little Dragon Girl!

Yang Guo's scalp tingled.

If caught red-handed, it would be considered stealing someone's martial arts skills, a grave taboo in the martial arts world. At best, one's martial arts skills would be crippled; at worst, one would be killed on the spot.

He quickly stuffed the white cloth into his arms, trying to push the stone coffin lid back in.

But when I pushed it away just now, I was driven by a burst of excitement. Now that my strength has dissipated, the stone slab, weighing several hundred pounds, feels as heavy as a mountain.

"It's over."

The footsteps grew closer.

Yang Guo, quick-witted, stopped pushing the lid and jumped directly into the stone coffin.

The stone coffin was large enough to comfortably accommodate a person.

He had just lain down when he heard footsteps stop at the entrance of the stone chamber.

"Mother-in-law?"

Little Dragon Girl called out from the doorway, seemingly looking for Granny Sun.

Yang Guo held his breath, not daring to make a sound.

He lay in the stone coffin, looking at the dense scriptures above his head, and smiled bitterly to himself.

That's good now.

He's really dead.

Little Dragon Girl seemed to stand at the door for a while, and when she didn't hear any movement, she came in.

The white hem of her skirt swept across the ground, making a rustling sound.

She walked slowly, as if checking something.

As Yang Guo heard the footsteps getting closer, his heart leaped into his throat.

Nearly.

closer.

The footsteps stopped beside the stone coffin where he was hiding.

Through the crack left by the stone coffin lid, Yang Guo could see a section of a snow-white robe.

If she just glanced down inside, she could see a living person lying there.

Yang Guo could even smell the faint, cool fragrance emanating from her. It was refreshing yet pleasant.

"strangeness."

Little Dragon Girl muttered to herself, "Why is the coffin lid open?"

Yang Guo's heart skipped a beat.

It’s over.

Just as he was about to jump out and forcefully defend himself, Xiaolongnu did not peek out to check.

She reached out a hand and placed it on the stone coffin lid.

"boom--"

A loud bang.

She casually pushed the stone coffin lid, which weighed several hundred pounds, back.

Perfectly fitted.

Everything went completely dark in an instant.

Yang Guo: "..."

No, ma'am, aren't you going to look inside at all?

You just closed the lid like that?

The sarcophagus was extremely well-sealed; once the lid was closed, the air inside would quickly dissipate.

They're going to bury them alive!

Yang Guo lay in the coffin, unable to shed a tear.

Starting last night, Little Dragon Girl said she was going to bury herself, and she really meant it!