Chapter 126: A General’s Tomb

"Understood!" Le Cheng's voice crackled over the radio. Ye Dong knew that once Le Cheng and Huang Wuchang descended, they would officially step into the Tomb of Immortality.

"Good grief, isn't this a bit too exaggerated?" Le Cheng frowned as he surveyed the floor littered with severed limbs and remains. "No wonder you lot have been dragging your feet for so long. Any combat casualties?"

"None. A few sustained minor injuries," Master Wei replied coldly through his gas mask.

"Master!" "Great Master!" Seeing Huang Wuchang descend, the group hurried to greet him.

Huang Wuchang nodded with a smile. "Well done, everyone. Your hard work is appreciated." He turned to the others. "Li Xing, He Wentian, you two performed very well just now."

To Ye Dong's surprise, Huang Wuchang had actually commended him.

Li Xing gave a bitter laugh. "I didn't expect that brute to break free from the three of you. We almost suffered a major setback."

"Just be more careful next time." Huang Wuchang didn't seem to care about the process, only the result.

*You make it sound so easy, standing up there smoking and watching the show without lifting a finger,* Ye Dong thought with disdain. *An old fox who puts on airs the moment he arrives.*

Huang Wuchang kicked aside a corpse blocking his path and walked up to the wall inscribed with the characters for "Gallant Battalion." After a careful examination, he remarked, "It seems that in all these years, no one else has entered through here besides me."

Ye Dong, following behind, pricked up his ears. *What? He’s been in here before?*

He followed Huang Wuchang's gaze and noticed three yellow and black talismans marked with the word "Edict" stuck to an inconspicuous patch of the stone wall.

*Is that... a sealing talisman?* Recalling the knowledge Chen Yao had taught him, Ye Dong began to grasp the nature of the charms on the wall.

"Master, you’ve been in here before?" Master Wei seemed quite surprised as well.

"That's right. Ten years ago, while searching for the Tomb of Immortality, I traveled all over the country and finally discovered this General’s Tomb. I found the secret passage leading to the Tomb of Immortality right here. It was here that I first met Daoist Yuelang."

"Oh!? Yuelang!?" Ye Dong felt a jolt. *Just as my master said, this matter is inextricably linked to his nemesis, Yuelang!*

Master Wei nodded repeatedly. "So, that is where you and Daoist Yuelang first met, Master."

Huang Wuchang squinted, smiling thinly. "At the time, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I never expected to find a hidden master as daring as I was, someone who would venture into dragon-vein tombs all alone."

*Judging by his tone, he seems to admire Yuelang quite a bit,* Ye Dong thought with contempt. *Hmph, so even villains can find mutual appreciation in one another!*

The three subordinates exchanged looks of astonishment.

Huang Wuchang continued, "That day, he and I entered this General’s Tomb together. After clearing the obstacles along the way, we finally found the entrance to the Tomb of Immortality. However, it was far too mysterious, and we ultimately decided to retreat."

*The obstacles in this General’s Tomb were cleared? Then why are there still so many ghost loaches?* Ye Dong was puzzled.

Seeing He Wentian being tactless, Master Wei chided him, "How could these beasts compare to the Master's heaven-defying arts?"

"Not necessarily. He Wentian's question is a different matter entirely," Huang Wuchang chuckled. "I was able to enter successfully back then only because of Yuelang's help."

"Oh!?" The group was stunned to hear the usually arrogant Huang Wuchang offer praise to Yuelang.

"Yuelang's magic was heaven-defying, and his combat prowess was truly rare. His 'Gale Technique' was a masterpiece of the world, capable of rivaling the 'Water Ripple Technique' of the Fivefold Gate." Huang Wuchang shook his head with a smile. "That day, it was his unparalleled agility that allowed us to bypass the gate guarded by these ghost loaches with minimal effort. That is why there are still so many of them left today. In terms of sheer physical skill, I am indeed no match for Yuelang."

Everyone present naturally understood the implication: *In terms of magic, I am his equal.*

Hearing such praise for Yuelang, Ye Dong felt a sourness in his heart. *So Yuelang is truly that formidable!? Wait a minute! Master said he has been hunting Yuelang for decades—doesn't that mean my master is incredibly powerful too!?*

With that thought, Ye Dong’s confidence returned. *If that's the case, won't the clash between my master and Huang Wuchang be a sure victory for us?*

"Master, everything is ready," Le Cheng reported in a low voice after checking their gear.

"Good." Huang Wuchang nodded and signaled for Master Wei to give the order.

Master Wei shouted, "Once we enter the General's Tomb, no one is to touch anything without my command! Just stick to the path and keep moving!"

Ignoring their plans, Huang Wuchang stepped forward, looking around before letting out a long sigh at the stone wall.

*What is he doing?* Ye Dong wondered as he watched.

He heard Huang Wuchang chanting rapidly: "Heavenly spirit, earthly spirit, connecting the Heavenly Gate above and the Earthly Gate below. In the vastness of Fengdu, through the layers of Diamond Mountains, may the infinite light of the spiritual treasure illuminate the burning pits of suffering!"

*The Breaking Hell Mantra? He can apply that spell here? The depth of his knowledge is truly profound,* Ye Dong noted, his sharp ears catching every word.

After finishing the chant, Huang Wuchang flicked his wide sleeve. The three talismans drifted toward him. He smeared a drop of his own essence blood onto them and roared, "Seal, break!"

"Boom! Boom!" The sound was so thunderous that everyone instinctively backed away. A massive crack appeared exactly where the "Gallant Battalion" inscription had been. The fissure spread downward, crackling all the way to Ye Dong's feet.

*Is there an earthquake!?* Ye Dong scrambled to avoid potential danger.

As the roar echoed through the illuminated cavern, something unexpected happened. A seam split open on the stone wall opposite the crack, revealing a stone gate over ten meters high and seven or eight meters wide—a passage previously hidden in plain sight.

*Clever! The sealing formation was here, but the entrance was across the way!* Ye Dong was both shocked and delighted. He realized this was a deliberate design by the tomb's creator to waste the intruders' time and energy, especially since the area between was swarming with ghost loaches.

"Wow!" The group gasped in unison; only Huang Wuchang wore a smug smile.

"If you've brought your gear, follow me." Huang Wuchang chuckled and strode into the General's Tomb, the gateway to the Tomb of Immortality.

*Master, please protect me!* Ye Dong realized his mistake and corrected himself internally. *Pah, pah, pah! Sorry, Master! Disciple Ye Dong humbly begs the ancestors who have already ascended to gods to protect this handsome and upright little flower, so I may pass through this trial and bring the wicked to justice!*

His prayer finished, he followed Li Xing into the tomb.

*My god, the presence of this place!*

As soon as they entered, the tomb lit up automatically. Ye Dong looked ahead: a five- or six-meter-wide stone path led into the depths. On either side, stone lions crouched every ten meters, glaring fiercely at the intruders. Beside the five-meter-tall lions were weapon racks etched with ancient patterns. Despite the passage of time, the weapons still glinted with a cold, sharp light.

"Master Wei," Ye Dong whispered, "which dynasty is this tomb from?"

Master Wei, eager to show off, replied, "The Yuan Dynasty. It’s likely the tomb of a Mongol general who died during their southern campaign. Look at the size and shape of those lions—you wouldn't be allowed to build so many large stone lions in your tomb back then unless you had achieved significant military merit."

Ye Dong nodded repeatedly. "I see. I've learned something new today."

"And do you know why there are only weapons here, but no soldiers?" Master Wei asked with a smug grin.

Ye Dong thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Because the soldiers guarding the tomb were buried underneath! Underneath these very weapon racks, they were buried alive as sacrifices!" Master Wei chuckled. "If it weren't for the Master's heaven-defying arts, they would have crawled out to spar with us by now."

"Oh!" Ye Dong smirked. "Ancient burial customs are truly something. Killing hundreds of people just to keep you company in the afterlife."

"It was the custom of the time. Most of the sacrifices were prisoners of war. Killing them was no big deal—just a quick slit of the throat and a pit. It saved on rations, too. Very efficient."

Ye Dong chuckled. "The general must have really hated those prisoners to turn them into living 'ghost loaches' and bury them here to guard his tomb."

"Ancient warfare wasn't like today. It was face-to-face combat with real blades; the hatred ran deep."

Li Xing chimed in with a grin, "If Brother Wentian were a general in ancient times, he’d probably slaughter the whole city and burn everything to the ground for three days and nights, right?"

Ye Dong smirked. "Hmph, if I were an ancient general, this tomb would be even grander. I’d need more sacrifices, so a whole city would barely be enough."

"The dried corpses buried beneath the floor are much harder to deal with than those ghost loaches," Master Wei said, shaking his head. "They have deep-seated resentment, and as dried corpses, they don't fear bullets. You have to hack their heads off to truly put them down."

"In that case," Ye Dong replied coldly, "isn't it more satisfying to take them down one swing at a time?"

"The true purpose of these sacrifices is to use the resentment of the dead to guard the tomb. There are all sorts of twisted ways to play with that resentment," Master Wei laughed. "You'll see once we get deeper."

Ye Dong nodded, pretending to understand, while his gaze drifted to Huang Wuchang's back. *With Huang Wuchang leading the way, I wonder how those idiots on the other side are doing now?*