Chapter 1862 - A Corpse
Ignoring Yun Xiang, who was facing the most severe mental breakdown in his entire life, the frown on Zheng Yang’s forehead grew deeper and deeper as he walked around the stone tablet to take a closer look. Then, he turned back to look at Wei Ruyan.
Wei Ruyan nodded in response, as if affirming Zheng Yang’s judgement.
So, Zheng Yang took a deep breath before taking several steps back. Following which, his spear shot forth with formidable might.
Hula!
Spatial ripples appeared in the air as the spear struck the direct center of the stone tablet.
Kacha!
The sound of the formation being torn apart echoed as the entire stone tablet trembled. A huge crack appeared in the ground, forming a passageway that led further downward.
The smell of decay was absent in the passageway. However, there was the scent of something ancient and sinister, almost like a pathway leading to the netherworld.
“Let’s head in to take a look!”
The brave Zheng Yang was the first one to step into the passageway, and Wei Ruyan followed behind him.
The passageway was dark and slightly damp. The inscriptions on the wall had sealed the passageway tightly, such that those whose cultivation hadn’t reached Ancient Sage would never be able to sense its existence.
“This seems to be a pathway constructed back during Kong shi’s era…” Wei Ruyan said as she inspected her surroundings carefully.
In truth, the passageway looked as good as new, but the construction method and the inscriptions carried clear indications of the ancient era, thus hinting at its age.
Heading down the passageway, they traveled for several dozen li over the course of an hour before finally arriving before a stone chamber.
Zheng Yang placed his spear before his chest in preparation to meet with any unexpected circumstances. At the same time, Wei Ruyan flicked her wrist and embedded several Night Illumination Pearls to the walls all around, bringing illumination to the area.
The stone chamber was roughly forty meters in diameter, and at the center was a coffin made out of bluestone. It emanated an extremely historic aura.
“There’s only a coffin in here?” Wei Ruyan frowned in astonishment.
Which fool would construct an underground passageway that extended several dozen li and seal it with a stone tablet that only Ancient Sages could breach just to store a single coffin?
It was ridiculously extravagant, was it not?
Perplexed, Zheng Yang slowly approached the coffin. Lifting his spear, he was just about to use it to pry open the coffin when a sharp aura suddenly emanated from the coffin. Following which, he suddenly felt a jolt in his hands.
Weng!
Zheng Yang’s spear fell right to the ground, as if paying respects to the coffin.
“What happened?” Noticing that something was amiss, Wei Ruyan swiftly gathered her poison aura as she rushed forward, ready to reinforce Zheng Yang at any moment.
“My spear has been intercepted by another’s Spear Intent. It seems like the person in the coffin comprehended a higher level of Spear Intent than me!” Zheng Yang replied in astonishment.
Even though his spear was not an Ancient Sage artifact, through prolonged contact with him, it would not pale too much in comparison to one. Despite that, it was still forced to bow in submission to the coffin. It was apparent that whatever was in the coffin commanded a higher level of Spear Intent than him, rendering his spear utterly powerless before it.
“Wait a moment… Are you telling me that the thing in the coffin possesses spearmanship more advanced than you?” Wei Ruyan could hardly believe what she was hearing.
Her senior had learned his spearmanship directly from their teacher, and he had already reached the level of Spear Quintessence. It was no joke to say that he was the second most formidable spear user in their era. Despite that, he was actually saying that the thing inside the coffin was more formidable than him.
How could that be?
“No matter what, we have to open it to take a look. Junior, I need you to coordinate together with me in order to forcefully pry open the coffin!” Zheng Yang said.
Wei Ruyan nodded in agreement.
So, the two of them took their positions on the two ends of the coffin. With an understanding glance, Zheng Yang and Wie Ruyan raised their hands simultaneously and grabbed forth.
They were both Ancient Sage experts who had received Zhang Xuan’s personal guidance over the course of a month, causing their fighting prowess to rise to an exceptional level. Even Blood Reincarnation realm experts would be pushed to a corner against their combined might, let alone a mere coffin!
Jiya!
A hideous screeching sound echoed in the air as a crack appeared on the coffin. An overwhelming aura surged into the sky, threatening to collapse the entire underground cavern on them.
Zheng Yang quickly sealed the aura with a wave of his hand, and only after ensuring that it was not leaking at all did he finally proceed forward slowly.
The aura of Ancient Sages was destructive in nature. Even if a sliver of it leaked out, it could cause a huge calamity. Of course, cultivators of their caliber could deal with it easily, but the same could not be said for the civilians of Tianxuan Royal City.
Their carelessness could easily spell countless deaths.
Walking up to the coffin, they peeked inward, only to see a corpse lying still within. Even though years had passed, the corpse had retained its flesh and blood. From its external appearance, it looked as if it was just a person sleeping.
“It’s the corpse of an Ancient Sage…”
The eyebrows of the two of them shot up.
Only the corpse of an Ancient Sage could possibly retain such frightening might even after death. Only the corpse of an Ancient Sage was non decayable, allowing it to retain its external appearance even after tens of thousands of years.
“This is…”
Taking a closer look at the corpse, Zheng Yang suddenly thought of something that caused his face to pale, and his body stiffened up in shock.
“What’s wrong?” Wei Ruyan asked in intrigue.
Even though they did not interact with one another frequently, she did have a good grasp of Zheng Yang’s personality. This senior of hers had a daring and reckless personality, so it was perplexing to see him getting shaken by a mere corpse.
“He is… Ancient Sage Ran Qiu!” Zheng Yang exclaimed as he clenched his fists tightly.
“Ancient Sage Ran Qiu? You mean the disciple of Kong shi who boasted the greatest fighting prowess, the founder of the Combat Master Hall?” Wei Ruyan was taken aback.
“That’s right!” Zheng Yang took in a deep breath to calm down the chaos in his mind.
Ancient Sage Ran Qiu had been one of the Ten Apostles under Kong shi’s tutelage, and he had been the strongest Ancient Sage aside from Kong shi himself. Just the fact that he was the founder of the Combat Master Hall was testimony to his tremendous strength.
On two different occasions, when he inherited the position of the Progeny of Combat and hall master, he had knelt before Ancient Sage Ran Qiu’s sculpture, which looked identical to the corpse before him. This was also why he had identified the other party with a single glance.
To think that one of the greatest disciples of Kong shi, the second strongest Ancient Sage in the world, would actually have his corpse buried there.
This was something that could not be found in any records!
It was no wonder his spear had bowed down as soon as it met with the coffin. Ancient Sage Ran Qiu was a spearmaster, and the Dragonbone Divine Spear was something that he had forged on his own.
The fact that the other party had forged such a powerful artifact showed how deep his understanding of spearmanship was. It was little wonder that the other party’s comprehension of spearmanship had even exceeded his own.
After recovering from his shock, Zheng Yang turned around and instructed, “Junior, I’ll need you to quickly return and inform our teacher of this matter. Meanwhile, I’ll stand guard here!”
The scale of the issue went beyond their initial expectations. Given the severity of the matter, it was best for them to bring their teacher in to help make a judgement.
“Un!”
Understanding the logic behind Zheng Yang’s decision, Wei Ruyan immediately turned around and flitted back to the surface.
After Wei Ruyan’s departure, Zheng Yang walked slowly around the coffin, wanting to take a closer look at the elder who had founded the Combat Master Hall. But all of a sudden, a series of mechanical clacking noises echoed in the air, and yet another passageway surfaced beneath the coffin.
Zheng Yang hesitated for a moment upon seeing this sight before deciding to venture in.
Bam!
As soon as he stepped into the passageway, the ray of light above him vanished.
The passageway had instantaneously closed on him!
Faced with such a situation, Zheng Yang frowned in bewilderment, but he did not panic. He took out a Night Illumination Pearl before carefully heading deeper into the passageway. A few steps later, he found another massive hall appearing before him. Its layout was very similar to the hall before, and there was also a coffin positioned at the very center of the room.
Zheng Yang pondered for a moment before walking toward the coffin. He raised his hand and pried open the lid, thus revealing a figure before him.
When he got a closer look at the corpse, it was as if a mini explosion had occurred in his mind. He hurriedly retreated several steps, till his back was pressed against the wall. Yet, even so, the disbelief in his mind did not vanish at all.
It was a very long while before a husky voice finally came out of his throat. “K-Kong shi?”