NOVEL WEB Chapter 89 The Dead
"Hey, hey."
Yan Xie seemed a bit helpless, "This is the Bai Ze Secret Tomb, the tomb countless people have sought over a thousand years with no results. How would I know what's inside this tomb?"
"..."
Qin Qianlian remained silent, just staring directly into Yan Xie's eyes.
Everything was understood without words.
"Although I have dealings with Lu Yuzhen, he hasn't set foot in this tomb either."
Yan Xie shrugged, "You probably saw it earlier, right? The 'Primordial Energy' provided by the Great Chu Treasure Ship became the last straw to open the Secret Tomb... Before that, no one had set foot here; everyone was a guest of the tomb."
"Without a backup plan, Lu Yuzhen would not have opened the tomb."
Qin Qianlian calmly said, "Your ability to transmit thoughts to my Heart Lake within the tomb shows that you're different from the others."
"...Alright."
Yan Xie sighed deeply and said earnestly, "I do indeed have some advantages. But let me explain—I only understand the basics of this tomb. The reason I can transmit thoughts is because the Yin Yang Mirror connects our spirits. The tomb is frantically absorbing primordial energy but does not suppress divine thought techniques. If we're too far apart, even using the Yin Yang Mirror to transmit thoughts won't work."
Qin Qianlian frowned.
After spending time with Yan Xie, he could still judge the truth of words by observing the other's reactions.
Yan Xie wasn't lying.
"This is what I saw earlier..."
Qin Qianlian leaned against the mountain wall to recover his divine thought, slowly sending his heart thought to replicate the image of the grand hall seen earlier through the Yin Yang Mirror.
Twelve armored giants, each guarding a treasure.
He looked at Yan Xie again and asked, "How many halls like this are there?"
"You've come to the right person for that."
Yan Xie chuckled lightly, "It's said that Bai Ze Great Saint had four disciples during his lifetime, all of whom cultivated to the 'Great Venerable' realm. But in that era, it was extremely difficult to break through further. None became new Great Saints and all lived to the end of their natural lives. After they died, Bai Ze collected their remains and brought them into the Secret Tomb. The scene in the Secret Hall you saw should be the 'relics' left by the four Great Venerable disciples."
"These relics weren't even left by Bai Ze?"
Qin Qianlian was mentally shaken upon hearing this.
"The Thousand-year-old Dragon Heart Fruit is indeed precious... but it's not that rare."
Yan Xie shook his head, "The Secret Hall should merely be arranged to commemorate the old Great Venerable disciples... If I haven't guessed wrong, there are three more such Secret Halls."
"Where did you learn all this?" Qin Qianlian asked with a frown.
"Actually, stories about 'Bai Ze' are recorded in the Taoist Tianyuan Mountain."
Yan Xie said quietly, "A thousand years ago, Bai Ze and the Taoist Patriarch were close old friends. Once you become a Quasi-Sect Master and enter Tianyuan Mountain, you will naturally learn about this history."
"..."
Qin Qianlian fell into silence.
Because of the scandal involving Yan Xie at Longevity House ten years ago, the selection of disciples became extremely rigorous.
With Qin Qianlian's strength, he could have long since become the new Pavilion Master.
But this matter was always suppressed by Great True Master Chong Kan, with no further action.
In terms of cultivation realm alone, the Pavilion Master Li Chen of the neighboring Tai Shang House may not be much stronger than him.
"Speaking of which, there's a troublesome matter you need to be careful about."
Yan Xie noticed a hint of sadness in his junior brother's eyes.
He quickly changed the subject, smiling as he pointed not far away, "I sensed an extremely powerful divine thought earlier, quite near here. I suspect that direction is where another Secret Hall is located."
"You found the second Secret Hall... that should be a good thing..."
After resting for a while, Qin Qianlian felt much better.
He took a deep breath to revive his spirit.
The Bai Ze Secret Tomb was vast and interconnected. After stepping into the periphery through the massive gate, the formation operated, shifting everyone to different locations. But all roads lead to the same destination; as long as they stayed alive and delved deeper, they would eventually converge. This tomb was pitch-dark, unable to use primordial energy, and in his eyes, the biggest trouble was not knowing the Earth Abyss's full scope, making it impossible to meet up in time.
"No, no..."
Yan Xie shook his head, his expression serious, "Didn't you just encounter 'Master Wen'?"
Qin Qianlian was momentarily stunned.
"The White Ghost Red Immortal is cautious... but the First Disciples of the Three Great Sects have all entered the Secret Tomb."
"Though I'm not sure about this tomb's exact situation, not everyone is as strong as you, able to contend with a first-disciple level cultivator from the Three Great Sects."
Yan Xie showed some hesitation, slowly saying, "Junior brother... The divine thought I sensed earlier came from Yin Mountain's White Crane True Man. Their Secret Hall has already been completely cleared. If the Yin Yang Mirror's perception was not mistaken, then all the Da Chu practitioners in that hall were completely slain by White Crane True Man."
After a pause.
Yan Xie sighed a long sigh and said regretfully, "Alright, some things must be said, and I won't hide it from you... I actually sensed the presence of Longevity House disciples. If I haven't guessed wrong, then the unfortunate ones who ran into White Crane True Man would include the Bingyou from Xuanzhui Mountain."
The word Bingyou hit like a thunderbolt.
Qin Qianlian's expression turned slightly dazed for a moment.
This time he brought a number of disciples south from Longevity House. He remembered every face among them, including an especially young junior sister named Song Yu. The reason she was so memorable was that, while cultivating in the sect, his unpromising nephew Su Hong was always circling around her, trying to win her favor and frequently asking him whether Taoist disciples could not marry after joining the sect.
Who couldn't see through the mind of the little brat?
This time heading south, Ren Shou Palace made a list, and Su Hong begged him not to let junior sister go south with them.
At the time, he told Su Hong it was alright, that purging demons in the south posed no great danger.
He had promised these disciples.
To come safely and leave safely.
But Qin Qianlian hadn't expected the situation to turn out like this. He hadn't expected Qingfu Mountain to suffer such a decisive assault from the Three Great Sects, hadn't expected the Great Chu Treasure Ship to be unable to sail out after entering the South Border, and hadn't expected his well-meaning 'protective actions' would ultimately get the Longevity House disciples who boarded the Bingyou killed.
A treasure ship full of wounded met White Crane True Man.
Qin Qianlian couldn't bear to think about what his sect's young disciples would go through.
"Junior brother."
Yan Xie squatted down, patted Qin Qianlian's shoulder, and gently comforted him, "Entering this tomb... deaths are destined. Don't be too upset. White Crane True Man might pass by here later. You should properly deal with Master Wen's corpse. These Evil Cultivators have quite the keen noses as well. If they catch a familiar bloody scent, things could really turn bad."