Chapter 253: Immortal Tomb
"Boom—"
A vibration like muffled thunder suddenly came from the depths of the cave. Immediately following it were countless messy footsteps and roaring sounds, surging from all directions like a tide.
"This is bad!" Jiang Che's expression changed abruptly as he turned his head violently.
He saw that at the end of the gloomy passage, countless scarlet eyes lit up in the darkness, densely packed like evil ghosts crawling out of hell.
Those villagers twisted their bodies, the black lines under their skin wriggling crazily; some were on all fours, some arched their backs, emitting inhuman low roars from their throats, pouncing toward the four people with alarming speed!
"They found the entrance!" Chen Xingcai grabbed Xiao Luo and retreated rapidly.
"Xiao Luo was indeed right, they really caught up."
Han Yu's gaze sank as he glanced at the stone door that was still slowly opening. The crack was already wide enough for a person to pass through sideways, but it would still take time to open completely!
"It seems we have no choice but to go in!" He shouted sternly, "The gap is wide enough for people, get in!"
"Go!" Jiang Che did not hesitate at all; he grabbed Xiao Luo and rushed toward the stone door first. Chen Xingcai followed closely behind, and the two flashed sideways, squeezing into the crack of the door in an instant.
"Roar—!!"
While they were speaking, the oncoming villagers had already approached right before their eyes!
The few villagers at the very front had ferocious faces, their skin cracked, and black lines spread over their whole bodies like living things; their fingers formed claws, pouncing straight at Han Yu!
"Heaven-Resisting Sword: Guard!"
Han Yu's sword edge trembled, and True Essence surged wildly around his body. Sword light poured like a waterfall, transforming into a dazzling barrier in front of him!
"Boom—!"
The villagers rushing at the front slammed ruthlessly into the screen of sword light, flesh and blood splattering everywhere.
However, the monsters behind them advanced wave upon wave, crazily tearing at the sword light; black lines wound upward like poisonous snakes, actually eroding the sword intent bit by bit!
"Second Senior Brother! Come in quickly!" Chen Xingcai shouted from inside the door.
Han Yu's eyes turned sharp, and his figure retreated violently. At the instant he rushed into the door crack, he grabbed backward with a backhand motion—
"Click!"
The jade pendant was forcefully pulled out of the groove by him!
"Rumble—"
The stone door suddenly trembled, and the giant door that was originally opening slowly actually began to close again at a faster speed!
"Roar—!"
An arm as withered as dry wood suddenly probed in through the door crack, five fingers scratching crazily!
"Get lost!" Han Yu slashed down with his sword; the arm snapped in response to the sound, and black blood sprayed out!
"Bang—"
The stone door finally closed completely, isolating the countless roaring and impacting sounds outside.
The inside of the cave instantly fell into a dead silence, leaving only the heavy breathing sounds of the four people.
Xiao Luo sat paralyzed on the ground, her face pale.
Jiang Che wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and chuckled lightly. "That was close..."
At the moment the stone door closed, all the clamor from the outside world disappeared abruptly.
The four had not yet had time to catch their breath when they were shaken to the core by the scene before them.
No one had expected that behind that gloomy water cave, such a world was actually hidden.
This was a world that seemed to be forgotten by time.
The dome was high and distant, seeming to have heavenly light draping down, yet it was hazy like mist, making it impossible to distinguish between dawn and dusk.
The ground was paved with ancient green jade bricks, and silvery-white fine grass grew in the cracks. Crystal-clear dewdrops condensed on the grass blades, each drop reflecting a glimmer, looking like stars fallen to the ground.
In the distance, amidst the lingering thin mist, huge stone monuments stood quietly.
"This is..." Chen Xingcai's pupils constricted slightly, and her voice lowered unconsciously. "Second Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, look quickly."
Following her gaze, everyone's breathing stagnated.
Kunlun Heavenly God, Tomb of Lu Wu.
Eight ancient and unsophisticated large characters were deeply engraved on the grandest tombstone in the center.
The brush strokes were like swords, and every stroke seemed to contain some kind of Great Dao true intent; merely gazing at them made one's eyes sting and one's divine soul tremble.
"Lu Wu..." Jiang Che murmured this name, his expression changing abruptly. "The Heavenly God in Immemorial legends, the supreme existence rumored to be in charge of heavenly rules... He is actually the guardian god of Kunlun? He is actually buried here?"
Even more hair-raising was that surrounding this main tomb, countless tombstones stood like a forest—
True Lord of Pure Void and Wondrous Laws, Tomb of Xuan Xiaozi.
Immortal of Primordial Unity, Tomb of Daoist Tieguan.
Primordial Sovereign of Heavenly Sounds, Tomb of Fairy Miaoyin.
Bladeless Sword Hermit Immortal, Tomb of Cangfengzi.
...
Every tombstone was ancient and vigorous, the bodies covered in fine cracks. Some had even broken, the remnants half-hidden in the silver grass, revealing mottled carvings.
There were no gorgeous decorations or complex patterns on the steles, only simple names, yet they made everyone who read them feel—
These were all True Immortals who had truly dominated the heavens and earth in the Immemorial Era, which was now hard to even catch a glimpse of!
Han Yu walked forward slowly, his fingertips lightly touching the nearest broken stele.
"Crack—"
With a light sound, a layer of stone chips peeled off the face, revealing a jade-like texture inside.
That jade was not ordinary jade, but "Buried Immortal Jade". It was a special material formed only after a true Immortal fell, when their Dao Rhyme interacted with heaven and earth, according to legends.
"These tombstones..." Han Yu's voice was hoarse, "Are all real."
Wind rose from an unknown place.
The silver grass swayed and dewdrops rolled down, splashing into fragmented points of light on the green jade bricks. As the mist flowed, the shadows of the tombstones swayed with it, as if something was awakening.
Xiao Luo unconsciously took a step back, slipped, and almost fell. She looked down and saw a corner of a small stele half-buried in the soil—
Tomb of Kunlun Mountain Guardian, Lu Ming.
"Lu..." Her lips began to tremble, "This is my father's surname..."
Chen Xingcai squatted down and gently brushed away the dust on the stele. The inscription appeared completely:
Tomb of Kunlun Mountain Guardian, Lu Ming.
Born in the Year of Starfall, died on the Day of Kunlun's Collapse.
Guarded the mountain for three hundred and seventy thousand years, finally witnessing the severing of the Immortal Path.
The handwriting was desolate, and the last stroke did not even have a finishing tip, as if the person carving the stele had exhausted their strength when writing up to this point.
"Your father..." Jiang Che looked at Xiao Luo, his eyes full of complexity. "Was not an ordinary Immortal."
"He was a gravekeeper." Han Yu gazed at the main tomb in the distance, his voice low. "Or perhaps, the last witness."
The wind grew stronger.
The mist was blown away, revealing more tombstones.
Only then did they discover that the cemetery was far vaster than they had imagined—
Some tombstones had weathered to the point of being almost unrecognizable, while others seemed to have been erected just recently, the jade surfaces still able to reflect human figures.
The most shocking thing was that the deeper one went, the more hasty the arrangement of the tombstones appeared.
In the end, there were even scenes where several stone steles were squeezed together, as if the person erecting them did not have enough time to bury each deceased person individually.
"What exactly happened here..." Chen Xingcai muttered.
No one could answer.
Only the sound of the wind whimpered, mournful as weeping, passing through the silent tombstones and echoing in the empty cemetery.
Those Immemorial True Immortals who once dominated the heavens and earth, those existences who should have lived as long as the sun and moon, had now all turned into a few characters on cold stone steles, lying silently in this isolated corner.
...
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