Chapter Forty-Six: The Treasure of the Burial Chamber (Part Two)

Hearing their conversation, Wood secretly found it amusing. In truth, the extinguishing of the candle was orchestrated by Cloud Immortal. Though each page of the "Harem" book was a world unto itself, Cloud Immortal, borrowing the power of the Golden Flood Dragon Shears, could attain the level of a novice immortal. Such magical items of cultivation were no match for her, allowing her to come and go as she pleased. Witnessing these people "opening the coffin for profit," she was stirred by a mischievous impulse, though as her spiritual avatar, only Wood could see her.

Uncle Li and Gu Yueguan watched nervously as Wood lit the candle. To their surprise, the flame burned steadily without even a flicker. Uncle Li and Gu Yueguan exclaimed, "It seems this young man is indeed connected to the tomb’s owner. She must be willing to gift you these things!"

Both were seasoned tomb raiders and firm believers in the notion of destiny and spirits. Seeing Wood's candle remain lit, they instructed their bodyguards to open the coffin. This time, the candle did not waver in the slightest.

The bodyguards carefully moved the coffin aside and peered inside, uttering a collective "huh?" Uncle Li and Gu Yueguan, with the help of their bodyguards, climbed onto the platform and looked within, also surprised. The coffin contained no remains, only a woman's garments and some burial gold, silver, and jade artifacts, indicating it was merely a ceremonial burial.

Since it was only a ceremonial tomb, the amount of treasure was limited. Uncle Li and Gu Yueguan searched for a while but found nothing of interest and descended from the platform, disappointed. Uncle Li, a rather decent man, instructed the bodyguards to pack up the jade artifacts and help Wood bring them down.

"Xiuyuan, is this not the place?" Uncle Li asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Well..." Xiuyuan was uncertain. "The records are very old and their contents are questionable. I just followed the directions described in the text to find this spot."

Uncle Li thought for a moment, then asked, "Old Gu, how did you all end up here as well?"

Gu responded mysteriously, "Every mouse has its path, every snake its trail. We’re after the same thing, so it’s no surprise we all ended up here."

Uncle Li said, "Old Gu, you’re misunderstanding me. I mean, we got our information from two different sources, yet we wound up in the same place. That suggests we haven’t searched the wrong area, and furthermore..."

Gu Yueguan was visibly moved. He had thought they had come to the wrong place for nothing, but after Uncle Li’s words, he quickly instructed the bodyguards to inspect every corner, even turning over the base of the coffin. Still, they found nothing.

Wood, however, was even more astonished. It seemed what they sought was the very stone tablet he had seen. The tablet was clearly a cultivation artifact or perhaps even more advanced. How could they possibly know about such things? With Earth’s technological progress and atheism deeply ingrained, anyone who still believed in gods or spirits would be ridiculed. Yet these two not only believed, they seemed to be searching for the secret of immortality, like emperors of ancient China.

From a mortal’s perspective, cultivation indeed appeared to be a means of attaining immortality. But... how did they know about all this?

"Uncle Li, are you looking for the so-called immortal artifact?" Wood feigned ignorance. "I thought you were just joking last time."

Old Gu shot him a look and remained silent, while Uncle Li chuckled and turned to Xiuyuan.

Xiuyuan understood and said, "Brother Wood, do you know why we specifically asked you to come with us?"

Wood shook his head.

Xiuyuan explained, "Let’s speak frankly. From the moment I met you, I sensed that your cultivation had reached the innate realm. I thought your sect might have records on these immortal arts. So, we hoped to study together, seeking mutual enlightenment—perhaps we could find the legendary artifact."

As he spoke, he watched Wood’s expression, hoping to discern something, but Wood had already guessed their intent and remained impassive. "Immortal arts? I’ve never heard of such things, and besides, in this day and age, wouldn’t immortals be exposed already if they existed?"

"Not necessarily," Gu Yueguan countered. "There are countless places on Earth yet unexplored. Who’s traversed all of the Greater Khingan Mountains? No one knows the end of the Nine Elder Cave on Mount Emei, and there’s the Bermuda Triangle as well."

"By the way, Brother Wood, who is your master? When might you introduce him to us? Perhaps we could pursue a common goal." Uncle Li finally revealed his true purpose. He had brought Wood along mainly because Xiuyuan claimed Wood’s cultivation was exceptionally high and his sect might possess legendary immortal arts.

Wood understood their intentions and merely smiled, refraining from answering. Uncle Li, Gu Yueguan, and their companions were all seasoned veterans. Seeing Wood smile without responding, they were secretly pleased, all the more convinced that Wood’s sect must possess the legendary immortal arts. If they could just learn a bit, they could achieve immortality.

Following the exploded passageway, the group exited the tomb. The moon hung bright in the sparse sky—it was still night. They realized they had been trapped inside the tomb for three days and nights.

Upon seeing Uncle Li and the others emerge, the bodyguards waiting outside hurried to greet them. Uncle Li smiled wryly. "Ah! There are still more than ten miles of mountain road to travel. Let’s leave the mountains under cover of night so as not to arouse local suspicion."

One bodyguard whispered to Uncle Li, who replied, "Just some petty crooks—they wouldn’t dare cause trouble."

It turned out that after Uncle Li and his group entered the tomb, the four tomb robbers they’d encountered at the cabin followed, only to be discovered by the bodyguards, who were armed. The four left grudgingly. Since China had strict gun control laws, the bodyguards were concerned the four might report them, so they sought Uncle Li’s instructions on how to handle the weapons.

Gu Yueguan said, "I noticed those four, but reporting us would only get themselves tangled up." With that, the group left the Qinling Mountains under cover of night, passing through the small village and onto the mountain path. Fortunately, vehicles were waiting outside the path, and once aboard, everyone fell asleep at once—they had been on edge in the tomb and no one had slept soundly.

The journey was uneventful. The group arrived at a five-star hotel Gu Yueguan had reserved locally. Wood knew that such hotels cost about a thousand yuan per night—back when he was an ordinary man, that was nearly a month’s wages.

Daylight was just breaking by the time they reached the hotel. Though hours of jolting in the car had left everyone exhausted, they went straight to their rooms and slept. Only Wood, whose constitution differed from ordinary people, circulated his vital energy a few times while in the car, dispelling all fatigue. Upon entering his room, his first act was to meditate and carefully sense the power he had gained in the tomb.

In truth, he still didn’t understand how he came to possess such strength. His memory was simply of tracing the strange symbols on the stone tablet, trying to record them, and somehow unconsciously began cultivating the technique. Or perhaps the script forcibly guided him into cultivation. If not for his ability to quickly restore his vital energy thanks to the energy fruit and Cloud Immortal’s concentrated immortal power, he might have been drained dry and perished.

"Xian’er, what exactly is this thing?" Wood summoned Cloud Immortal and asked, "Why is the stone tablet beneath the Dragon Binding Pillar?"

"Xian’er doesn’t know!" she replied. "I was left there originally, and the tablet must have existed before I was imprisoned. Unfortunately, I never knew about it, otherwise I would have learned its secrets and escaped long ago."

Wood fell silent in thought. Perhaps this truly related to the hidden attribute of "fortune" that Lu Daoxuan theorized was a reward from the Space-Time Administration. Otherwise, how could there be such a serendipitous coincidence? This expedition had been immensely fruitful for Wood—not only had he acquired a miraculous cultivation method, but also rescued a creature possessing the power of a novice immortal.

Moreover, based on this adventure, Wood suspected that the old legends might not be mere myth. At least, he had obtained the Golden Flood Dragon Shears, the very treasure wielded by the Three Immortals in the "Investiture of the Gods" myth.

After pondering for a while, Wood was about to contact Lu Daoxuan when someone knocked at his door. It was Uncle Li.

"Brother Wood, you’ve gained quite a fortune this time!"

Wood realized he was referring to the gold, silver, and jade artifacts brought from the tomb. Truth be told, he hadn’t even opened them yet. Hearing Uncle Li, he took out the bundle given by the bodyguard and laid out the items one by one.

"Ah! Congratulations, Brother Wood—you’ve struck it rich!" Uncle Li’s eyes lit up.

Wood was stunned by what he saw. Though he wasn’t an expert in antiques, he could tell from a few items that they were extremely valuable. Yet he couldn’t understand how such precious artifacts ended up in a ceremonial tomb. Among the items he recognized were a jade dragon with a gold belt hook, a jade belt hook with entwined dragon and tiger motifs, a tiger and dragon jade belt hook, a horn-shaped jade cup, a double dragon pendant, a hollowed jade ring with dragon and phoenix patterns, and jade sword accessories. Not only were they numerous, but their craftsmanship was exquisite, the designs endlessly varied, full of dynamism and vitality.

Gold and silver have a price, but jade is priceless. Wood understood that just these few pieces were already worth a considerable sum. After a brief moment of shock, he regained his composure. Though the items were highly valuable, it would only be practical if he could convert them to cash. But how to do so was the question. After a moment’s thought, he asked, "Uncle Li, what do you think of these items?"

Uncle Li knew Wood had worked in the antique trade and likely had a rough idea of their worth. However, he had his own agenda. Even if Wood was unsure of the value, Uncle Li would be honest. "It’s a pity this was only a ceremonial tomb—otherwise, there would be much more gold and jade. These jade artifacts are probably from the Han Dynasty, and their total value is likely no less than six million. But you’ll need a good channel to sell them! What do you say—need Uncle Li’s help?"