Ancient tomb excavation traces

The murderous intent was palpable in the ancestor. He threw away his crossbow, mechanically pulled out arrows from the leather pouch behind him, and gripped them tightly in both hands. "Die!" he spat out the words through gritted teeth, his eyes fixed on the four witches standing to one side.

I was stunned and at a loss. If this was what our ancestors looked like when they were serious, then what was the difference between them and a fierce evil spirit?

Suddenly, four or five strange men wielding bizarre weapons charged at us. We had encountered two of them on the suspension bridge before, and they almost tortured us to death. Now, our ancestor alone is going to take down so many of them!

However, my worries were unnecessary. The Ancestor, having seen much of the world, remained calm in the face of danger. Using both hands and feet simultaneously, he moved with the agility of a cheetah, his arrows whistling through the air, unstoppable. Four fell, and more followed, but for some reason, the Ancestor didn't kill them outright as before. Instead, he showed mercy, avoiding vital organs. He leaped up, his feet meeting in a single motion, and the heads of two strange men collided, instantly rendering them unconscious. As for the eager children, the Ancestor gently tapped their necks with his palms, seemingly unintentionally harming them.

The old ancestor's imposing manner and swift, decisive actions terrified the strange figures behind him, who hesitated to advance. Just as the fierce battle caught its breath, a shadowy figure slowly emerged, his face leaving me utterly astonished.

That was the most deformed face I had ever seen. His eyes were cloudy and milky white. His teeth were crooked and uneven, like tombstones in a mass grave. These "tombstones" were very sharp, like those of a ferocious beast. Imagining him biting his ancestor's neck, there was almost no chance of survival. But what was most disgusting was that his face looked fake, with undried bloodstains on it. I looked at that face and it seemed vaguely familiar.

At this moment, Chu Ba, who was standing beside him, noticed something was wrong. He cried out in despair, "No!" His twin swords fell to the ground. Chen Yu saw him swaying precariously and knew something was wrong, so he immediately scrambled to the ground to cushion the fall. Chu Ba's fall landed squarely on Chen Yu's wounds, adding fuel to the fire. Chen Yu screamed in pain, his face contorted in agony.

Before I could understand why Chu Ba had reacted so strongly, Bao Cai exclaimed, "This...this is Ninth Master's face!"

Hearing this answer, my heart skipped a beat. Before a major war, what two opposing countries need most is the morale of their own army. The bravery and skill of our ancestors have given us confidence that we are invincible. However, when we saw Liang Jiu's face, everyone was shocked.

Liang Jiu died a tragic death, becoming a Gu person, his bones gnawing away at by insects, leaving only a skeleton entwined with flesh and blood. Even so, he broke free from evil thoughts and went into the sea of ​​hellfire to save us, but in the end, he couldn't even keep his head intact, ending up in such a state. No wonder even someone as carefree as Chu Ba couldn't bear it, his blood churned, and he fainted.

I trembled, while the ancestor stared at the strange man with an extremely gloomy expression, his eyes seemingly about to bleed. Looking at that face, I felt a mix of emotions—grief, shock, regret, and anger all intertwined—but looking at the ancestor's appearance, I only felt a chill run down my spine.

The holy white light overhead emanated from the vast, boundless world outside. It was now noon, yet the light grew increasingly dim and indistinct, much like the mood of an ancient ancestor. Faced with the horrific reality of Liang Jiu being skinned alive, he remained unmoved, his face revealing utter rage.

The clouds quickly obscured the light, and the white light had already dimmed. In the vast main coffin chamber, only a sliver of hope remained on Lan Quexi's hand. However, in such a large space, this light was like a lone boat on the sea, utterly insignificant...

Darkness offers no advantage to us, who are originally adapted to light. The descendants of the Eight Witches thrived in the cave and adapted to the environment. They lacked good vision but possessed exceptional hearing and senses.

Suddenly, the main coffin chamber fell into a somber silence. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the storm to break...

The flames burned steadily, but soon they began to flicker wildly. The ruthless man was already beside me; I gasped, my palms sweating.

"Get back!" Just as I was on high alert, the young Taoist shoved me, then strode forward and swung his bronze sword at the man in the darkness, striking him squarely on the shoulder. The man screamed and reached out his hand. I heard a "snap" sound as the young Taoist's chest was slashed open by his sharp fingernails, leaving several bloody gashes.

These people moved stealthily in the darkness, their movements swift and sinister. At the same time, a shadowy figure stealthily approached Chu Ba and Chen Ting, who were lying on the ground. My heart skipped a beat. I quickly turned around, grabbed the strange man with the bone knife, and pulled him aside, saying to Lan Quexi, "Miss Lan, take them to safety!"

The strange man was furious when his sneak attack failed. He carried me on his back and struggled frantically, stabbing me more than a dozen times with his bone knife. Even though I was protected by sharkskin, my ribs were still painfully stabbed, and I unconsciously let go.

The strange man, now free, stood up, grinning maliciously. He raised his withered hand and thrust the knife straight at my face. Ignoring my fear, I instinctively kicked him in the groin. He was a man after all, and that kick nearly killed him. I watched as the bone knife fell to the ground, and he clutched his sensitive area, stamping his feet in pain.

In the chaos, a figure screamed and swung a silk bag at the strange man. With a "thud," the strange man was knocked unconscious.

Seeing that the person inside was a treasure, I quickly stood up and asked, "What kind of thing is inside that's so powerful!"

Bao Cai crouched low, shrewdly observing his surroundings. He assumed a fighting stance and said, "I'm not good with a knife, but this bag looks useful, so I filled it with two bronze wine cups!"

Hearing Bao Cai's words, I was both amused and exasperated, thinking to myself, "The nickname 'Thief Monkey' is really well-deserved. With the experience of rescuing Chen Yi just now, Bao Cai immediately learned to adapt and even managed to steal two funerary artifacts."

However, the current situation is unfavorable to us, so I kept Zan Baocai's words to myself, saving them for later. Now, we sat back to back, one on each side, and I said to him, "Old Tiao is seriously injured, and Chu Ba was further traumatized. Our top priority is to protect them!"

With a formidable enemy at hand, Bao Cai, emboldened by an unknown source, declared resolutely, "If my friend dies, I'd rather die than destroy this! Let's follow the barbarian girl's trail of fire!"

If Bao Cai said something like this on a normal day, I would definitely think he had taken the wrong medicine. But at this moment, we have no choice. Life and death are right in front of us. If we don't fight, we'll just be fish on the chopping block.

Bao Cai and I moved towards the firelight, but we didn't encounter any strange creatures attacking us. All we heard was chaos ahead. Screams and gasps filled the air. I was filled with unease, wondering how the young Taoist and the old ancestor were doing. But I figured they were both incredibly strong, capable of taking on a thousand men single-handedly, so they should be alright. Chen Yi and the others, on the other hand, were a combination of women and wounded soldiers. If we weren't careful, they could be killed. Bao Cai and I were wearing sharkskin; if we couldn't win, we could at least act as human shields for Dang Dang.

Thinking this, we quickened our pace and arrived at the base. There we found the tomb guardian's torch stuck in the hand of the female mummy playing the zither. Blue Magpie probably left the torch there because she was afraid it would catch the wind. Bao Cai and I looked around, and then we heard a "splatter... splatter..." sound coming from the base.

I recognized the voice as Chen Tiao's, and just as I was about to go up, Chen Tiao lowered his voice and said, "Liuzi, bring the torch up. I found a lamppost with a light here!"

Upon hearing this, I was greatly excited. Darkness had given us too much unknown fear, and if light were to return, it would definitely be an advantage for us. With this thought, I took the torch back from the female mummy, went to the platform, and lit it on the lamppost. Unexpectedly, something strange happened at this point.

Flames shot down from the base like the fuse of fireworks, burning to the very end of the main coffin. The darkness was instantly illuminated as if it were daytime, thanks to two fire trenches on either side of the main coffin. A row of maidens knelt beside the trenches, resembling "bronze figures," but larger, seemingly also funerary victims. They held lamp holders, with sections of asbestos at their waists. As soon as the fire ignited the asbestos, the lamp holders lit up instantly, filling the air with the smell of animal fat—Bao Cai said it smelled like whale oil. This was a kind of perpetual lamp, perhaps deliberately extinguished because there were living beings in the tomb who disliked light. If it were relit, it could probably burn for a thousand years.

With the light, the entire main coffin became visible. It was brightly lit, and ancient, mysterious patterns were cast on the tall bronze pillars. Two rows of imposing bronze human figures stood majestically. The opening we had come from seemed like a heavenly gate, through which tiny humans had entered a magnificent otherworld, a palace. The palace walls on both sides were made of bronze, their carvings far more spectacular and grand than those of the sacrificial site we had just visited. However, due to the height of the space, the carvings did not reach directly to the sky, but stopped halfway up the main coffin. The other half, devoid of bronze, consisted mostly of hanging stalactites and stone curtains, adorned with stone carvings of celestial birds with outstretched wings. These stalactites were coated with mica powder, shimmering and creating the appearance of a majestic celestial palace. I don't know how much blood and sweat the ancient craftsmen shed to create such a magnificent miracle, but it truly exists, leaving one utterly awestruck.

The strange creatures feared the light, and all that could be heard were their panicked screams. They were blindfolded and scurried around like rats in the street.

Chen Yi silently stood up and said, "Damn, we stumbled upon this by accident. But these blind people can't see, yet they're afraid of the light?"

"Living in a place like this, never having seen the outside world, light is foreign to them. Sometimes, the unfamiliar is fear. They're not completely blind, just half-blind, and they react to the light!" I said quietly, but then I saw the little Taoist priest using red copper to brace himself against the ground, struggling to get up. His body was covered in scratch marks. In an instant, I understood why Bao Cai and I were able to reach the platform so easily. It turned out the little Taoist priest had attracted all the strange people for us.

My mind was buzzing. I saw a group of strange, half-dead people lying around him. I ran over, helped him up, and wanted to say something to thank him, but the words wouldn't come out. He looked up at me, smiled faintly, as if he understood what I meant, and said, "It's nothing, just superficial injuries..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he spat out a mouthful of blood. I was extremely anxious, as I knew his condition very well. He was clearly injured but was still holding on. However, the more serious his injury, the easier it was for his mind to be devoured. If the evil spirit inside the Death Jade were to cause trouble at this time, he would soon be exhausted and die.

I was very worried. The young Taoist priest looked at me and said, "Brother Feng, I'm a little tired. Could you please take me to the wall so I can rest for a while?" I didn't know what he meant by that. My throat tightened and I couldn't make a sound. I could only nod.

After settling him in, Lan Quexi immediately had to look after the three fierce warriors in our team.

Now, the only ones capable of fighting are me, Bao Cai, and the Ancestor. Fortunately, once the monsters saw the light, they had nowhere to hide and all rushed towards the door we opened, falling into the sacrificial site. The Ancestor is in a worse state right now; he's holding Chu Ba's face in his hand, and his hands have many knife wounds. Given the Ancestor's skills, the only ones who can hurt him are the children he doesn't want to hurt.

He stood up. The strange man who had once worn Liang Jiu's face was lying on the ground. Arrows were stuck in the man's forehead and both his palms. This was his way of taking revenge: destroying the hands that had cut off Liang Jiu's face...

At this moment, the four witches coldly looked at the strange people on the ground, as if they were pawns, insignificant ants. Judging from their fearlessness of fire, they were not people living in the ancient tomb. If they were not people here, then what was their identity?

Just as I was pondering this, the coldest woman said to the other three, "It's time..."