Chapter 122: Eternal Life and the Tomb

Inside the cage were three women, all of whom were blindfolded, gagged, and had their ears covered. They appeared extremely weak.

"My god, these animals actually grabbed three 'primers'!? And one of them is a child?"

Ye Dong forcefully suppressed the rage in his heart and asked with feigned indifference, "Hey, what do you need these people for?"

Master Wei smiled slightly. "Naturally, they have a great purpose."

"What purpose?"

He patted Ye Dong on the shoulder. "Brother Tian, just play the part of a tourist tonight and don't worry about anything else."

Ye Dong understood clearly that Master Wei was afraid he would stir up trouble, hence the incessant warnings.

"What about those excavation workers?" Ye Dong asked coldly. "Didn't we bring several useless fools along last time we went to the Blazing Tomb?"

"These matters don't require your concern, Brother Tian." Lixing handed Ye Dong a small knife and smiled. "This blade is stained with dog blood and can ward off ghosts."

Ye Dong took the dagger, inspected it, and tucked it into his waistband. "Preparing so much equipment today... it seems there's more than just ghosts, right?"

Lixing responded with a grin, "Brother Tian, the blade is for ghosts, but more importantly, it's for killing monsters."

"Killing monsters?" Ye Dong gripped the knife, acting exceptionally curious. "Are we playing a game? What kind of monsters!?"

"Monsters that will take your life!" Lixing joked. "We had better not get bitten by them, or we'll be in big trouble." Seeing Ye Dong's odd expression, he scoffed inwardly, *Tch, is this He Wentian getting cold feet?*

"Interesting, very interesting!" To his surprise, Ye Dong let out a cold laugh. "To think there are such things—doesn't that mean I can have a real go at it!?"

"Damn it, I knew this lunatic wasn't afraid of anything!" Master Wei felt a sense of distress. After exchanging a look with Lixing, he whispered, "He is our source of wealth; we can't let anything happen to him, but we also can't let him cause trouble!"

Lixing nodded helplessly. He said to Ye Dong, "Brother Tian, just follow behind me later. If something were to happen to a precious body like yours, we wouldn't be able to forgive ourselves."

"Don't worry, my skills are fine," Ye Dong sneered. "I won't be any worse than the helpers you've hired!"

Seeing He Wentian so arrogant, Lixing began to feel annoyed. *If it weren't for your money, I would have killed you already!*

Little did he know, you are no longer a match for Ye Dong.

Le Cheng, who had been keeping an eye on the time, waved his hand to gather everyone. He walked over to Huang Wuchang and whispered, "Master, it is time to set off for the Eternal Companion Tomb."

Huang Wuchang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them and signaled for Le Cheng to proceed.

Le Cheng smiled faintly and walked to the altar with the four Taoist priests to begin the ritual.

Ye Dong watched intently as the four men stood at the cardinal directions, each holding a three-meter-long yellow and black hemp talisman, while Le Cheng stood in the center.

He danced with a yellow talisman in his hand and began to chant slowly: "Masters lead the way ahead, the younger generation follows with respect. Winds rise and clouds fall, each has its fate; as days pass, the truth is revealed. The gate of the netherworld opens for the dead, while the path of the living remains for the living."

Ye Dong possessed the memories of Guang Qi, so he knew this was the "Song of Yin-Yang Alternation" created by Huang Wuchang. It was intended to warn the living to stay away and to ask for passage from the dead, as they were going to retrieve items from the grave of a deceased person.

Under the cover of night, after Le Cheng and his group had sung and danced for several minutes, the spiritual talismans in their hands were ignited. On the side, Master Wei pulled out a flute and began to play a mournful tune, while Lixing and the eight men behind him scattered paper money into the air.

The night was filled with floating yellow and white paper money, and with Master Wei’s eerie funeral music as background, the scene was truly terrifying. Any living person who saw this would turn and run without needing a warning.

Suddenly, Huang Wuchang let out a low shout, and the paper money floating in the air ignited without fire. The red glow illuminated the area within a hundred meters like a flashbang.

"Good guy, is he doing acrobatics?" Seeing Huang Wuchang's formidable sorcery, Ye Dong cursed inwardly, *This old fox's magic is truly remarkable, and his ability to escape is even better. He is incredibly difficult to deal with.*

As the wind passed, the fire died out and the ritual concluded. Master Wei waved his hand and led the group toward the deep mountains.

"Report: they are heading into the deep mountains." A special police officer looking through binoculars noticed the change and immediately notified Officer Li.

"Good. Is Ye Dong safe?"

"Safe!"

"Continue observation!"

"Yes!"

Officer Li pressed the button on his headset and whispered to Chen Yao, "Brother Chen, as you predicted, they have finished the ritual and are heading into the southern mountains."

Chen Yao nodded and responded in a low voice, "Brother Li, proceed with your plan."

"Understood." Officer Li opened the map and pointed. "Master Wei and his men are old hands; they climb through the mountains much faster than ordinary people. I expect their speed to rival that of our specially trained scouts, so it should take them only fifteen minutes from the ritual site to the location of the companion tomb you identified."

"Here." Chen Yao handed a dagger to Officer Li.

"Isn't this Ye Dong's Qinggang?" Officer Li looked at the dagger. "Why give it to me?"

"This Qinggang is imbued with malevolent energy and has the power to ward off ghosts. It is perfect for your protection. As our commander, you cannot afford any mishaps." Chen Yao explained, "Furthermore, it is imbued with my life essence, making it much stronger than standard artifacts."

"Then I shall not decline." Officer Li smiled and fiddled with the dagger. "A truly fine blade."

Zhi Zhang touched his chest; he clearly had something to say, but he couldn't get the words out.

Not far away, the Taoist Wei Zi ignored their conversation and drank wine from his flask.

"Our grand-uncle's calm demeanor is truly like an immortal," Da Chun nudged Xiao Bao. "Look, doesn't he look like one?"

"I guess you've been brainwashed by his 'Silver Twilight Dharma Aspect'?" Xiao Bao whispered. "If our master and grand-uncle were to fight, who would be stronger?"

Da Chun muttered, "On that question, I'd guess our master is a bit stronger. After all, the grand-uncle is over a hundred years old; his bone density must be worse than the master's."

"A mortal with eyes of flesh, only looking at the surface," Xiao Bao said with disdain. "For us practitioners, if we persist in cultivation, our Taoist attainments grow with age. Although the grand-uncle is always drinking, he has never stopped his practice. Just based on the gap of being several decades older than our master, he must be stronger, right?"

Da Chun shook his head repeatedly. "Xiao Bao, did you forget how our grand-uncle evaluated our master? He said the master is a cultivation genius born once in two hundred years. His talent is so high that he ranks among the top of all schools of thought. The gap created by talent is something effort can't make up for. And most importantly, our master has been working very, very hard to cultivate!"

"Listening to you, that seems right too," Xiao Bao murmured. "But they won't actually fight. I guess if we pick a reference point between them, we can compare who is better."

Da Chun giggled. "You mean, they are going to beat up Huang Wuchang?"

Xiao Bao shook his head. "Besides Huang Wuchang, there might be even more formidable characters present. After all, that is the tomb of the Taoist master Sikou Xuan."

"The master said tonight is the night with the heaviest Yin and malevolent energy of the year. It seems Huang Wuchang is quite particular about choosing the right date."

Ye Dong felt that although the moon tonight was exceptionally bright and much larger than usual, the night was abnormally dark. In the deep mountains, he could barely see his own fingers, and the mountain winds were howling, causing the leaves to rustle incessantly. All of this made Ye Dong start to feel uneasy.

"Hey, do you feel like the moon is brighter than usual tonight?" Ye Dong asked Lixing beside him, feigning a low voice.

Lixing chuckled inwardly. *This idiot really doesn't know anything. Tonight is the day with the heaviest Yin energy of the year; how could the moon not look big and round against the backdrop of Yin energy covering the sky?* He said with a wry smile, "Brother Tian, that's just a psychological effect. Relax."

*Thinking I'm a novice?* Hearing Lixing try to pull the wool over his eyes, Ye Dong cursed inwardly, *This grandson isn't honest at all; he just wants to play me.*

He withdrew his gaze from the moon and muttered to himself, *I wonder how the master and the others are doing? Zhi Zhang and the others are sharp; they shouldn't have any trouble.*

*Sigh, forget it. With the master and grand-uncle by their side, who am I to worry? I should just look after myself.* Ye Dong smiled bitterly and followed Lixing deeper into the mountains.

The deep forests were never short of wandering ghosts, but when they saw Master Wei’s group wearing Taoist robes and the men behind him fully equipped, they chose to flee their territory without exception. After all, no one wanted to provoke these people, who clearly didn't look like righteous practitioners.

Of course, in a large forest, you find all kinds of ghosts, and naturally, some ignorant evil spirits came to cause trouble. But before they could even get close and act maliciously, they were sucked into the large talismans held by Le Cheng and his men, becoming sacrifices for the magic array.

"Hmph, ignorant ghosts who don't know the height of the sky!" Master Wei sneered. Seeing the destination not far ahead, he turned to report to Huang Wuchang, "Master, we are less than a hundred meters from the companion tomb."

"Hmm. This companion tomb is not like the little trinkets of the past; you brothers must be careful," Huang Wuchang said in a low voice.

"We will follow your orders."

Master Wei walked forward quickly and waved his hand again. "Le Cheng, you lot go ahead and set up the array immediately. No mistakes allowed!"

Ye Dong had never seen Master Wei and his group looking so serious. He sneaked a glance at Huang Wuchang and saw his eyes half-closed, staring intently at an unremarkable pile of dead wood ahead.

*Is that the place?* Ye Dong guessed. *Could that be the companion tomb of the Eternal Tomb the master mentioned?*

Just as Ye Dong was guessing, an eerie, giggling voice drifted over. "He Wentian, come here."

Ye Dong was startled to see Huang Wuchang looking back at him, smiling as he tossed the dice in his hand. "Old man, I want to have a gamble with you."