Yang Lingrui followed Li Cheng as they advanced through the passageway.

Judging by the depth, they should have already reached the second layer of the ancient tomb.

"Oh? Forked paths. How interesting."

The four stopped. Before them were five branching paths leading in different directions.

Seeing this, Yang Lingrui understood the layout of the second layer.

Unlike the vast, open space of the first layer, the second layer of the ancient tomb consisted entirely of these corridors.

The passageways extended downward, spiraling and branching off to create a peculiar underground structure.

"Lingrui, is your luck usually good?" Li Cheng asked.

Yang Lingrui thought for a moment. "It should be alright."

"Then you pick. I have been plagued by misfortune since I was young. I've never chosen correctly."

"Hmm..."

After a moment of thought, Yang Lingrui chose the rightmost passageway.

The four entered. Before they had walked far, they encountered their first wave of attacks.

It was a swarm of Corpse-Born Insects bursting from beneath the ground. These strange bugs could devour a cultivator's spiritual power. A single one posed no threat, but a swarming horde was exceptionally difficult to deal with.

However, with Li Cheng-a cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Gathering-present, these insects naturally posed no problem. With a few casual palm strikes, they were all crushed to death.

Li Cheng cultivated a technique of external manifestation, allowing him to condense his various techniques into a physical form to strike his enemies.

According to him, if he was augmented by Five Elements Talismans, he could imbue his techniques with the corresponding attributes, allowing him to adapt his methods against any foe.

Having pushed through the swarm of insects, the four arrived in a chamber where a coffin rested horizontally.

Li Cheng inspected it. After confirming there were no hidden traps, he opened it.

There was no corpse inside, only a pile of burial goods.

The most valuable among them was an initial-stage Qi Gathering Spirit-Awakening Pill, which Li Cheng pocketed.

Continuing forward for a distance, they encountered another fork in the road.

This time, Yang Lingrui once again chose the right.

Nothing happened on this second stretch of the path. The four arrived at a new chamber entirely unimpeded. There, they found three mid-stage Qi Gathering Mountain-Moving Talismans.

These Talismans could drastically enhance a Qi Gathering cultivator's physical strength and were exceedingly practical. Li Cheng handed one to Yang Lingrui and kept the remaining two for himself.

They pressed on. Confronted with the exact same branching paths, Yang Lingrui again chose the right.

On this third path, they encountered a Skeletal Python.

This vile entity was no Demon Beast; rather, it was born from the gathering of numerous corpses that had bred resentful souls.

"Third layer of Qi Gathering. Lingrui, how about you take this one?"

"Just what I intended."

Yang Lingrui knew Li Cheng wanted to gauge his abilities.

He happened to be itching for a fight, so he decided to use this Skeletal Python to stretch his limbs.

"Wind, rise."

Yang Lingrui murmured in his heart, and streaks of astral wind surged at his will.

Crack, crack-

The Skeletal Python twisted its body and lunged.

Cloaked in the fierce wind, Yang Lingrui instantly spun into the air.

He flipped behind the Skeletal Python, then summoned several wind blades and sent them slashing out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The ferocious wind blades struck the Skeletal Python's massive frame, immediately inciting the vile creature's ferocity. It whipped its head around and roared as it charged.

"Gather."

Unhurried, Yang Lingrui condensed several streams of astral wind into his palm.

Waiting until the vile creature closed the distance, he unleashed them in an instant.

A wind cone shot out at astonishing speed. To the eyes of the other three, it was nothing but a blur of gray that pierced straight through the Skeletal Python's skull, hollowed out half of its body, and tore out the other side.

The Skeletal Python collapsed with a heavy crash. Its skeletal frame scattered across the floor, slowly crumbling to ash.

"Excellent technique!"

Li Cheng clapped his hands in praise.

The looks in the eyes of his two trusted subordinates shifted as they gazed at Yang Lingrui.

The Skeletal Python was not an easy foe. If it were them fighting at the same cultivation level, they would never have ended the battle so swiftly.

"This kid's wind arts are formidable."

"Indeed. And his mastery is exceedingly deep. He possesses both power and speed."

The two conferred in low voices, silently weighing their odds of victory if they were to face Yang Lingrui in combat.

"I've shown my lack of skill. To tell the truth, I only know this one technique," Yang Lingrui said with a smile.

"What does that matter? One perfected move can conquer the world! When it comes to techniques, mastery is far more important than variety. Just look at me-I only cultivate external manifestations."

Having witnessed Yang Lingrui's strength, Li Cheng was deeply satisfied. His mood was naturally excellent, and his steps grew noticeably lighter.

In the third chamber, the group found a stone.

Li Cheng examined it, confirming it was a naturally formed Strange Stone.

"Lingrui, do you recognize this object?"

"I know a little. It was recorded in some ancient texts brought back by my family elders," Yang Lingrui replied.

In truth, the moment he laid eyes on the Strange Stone, Yang Lingrui had felt a surge of excitement, though he concealed it perfectly.

Belonging to the stone attribute, this item could be offered to his own Spirit Stone Immortal Venerable.

"Hmm. It's just that without knowing its use, it's hard to determine its value. It might very well be useless."

Li Cheng patted his waist pouch. "How about I trade you something else from my stash?"

"Ah, there's no need, Young Master Li. Don't worry about it. Treasure hunting relies on one's own luck and skill."

Yang Lingrui tactfully declined. "No need to trade. I'll just take this Strange Stone."

"Fair enough. Perhaps it really is a treasure."

The Strange Stone was handed over to Yang Lingrui. Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he tucked it away into his Storage Bag.

"This counts as a true harvest. Once I return, I will present this item to the Immortal Venerable,"

Yang Lingrui thought to himself.

Afterward, the four faced two more forks in the road.

One branching path held no danger. The other contained a fourth-layer Qi Gathering Ghost General. Li Cheng did not intervene; instead, Yang Lingrui and the two subordinates joined forces to slay it.

From these two chambers, they respectively obtained an initial-stage Qi Gathering treasured sword and an initial-stage Qi Gathering Yang-Returning Grass.

After successfully navigating all five passageways, there were no more forks. A single, wide avenue led straight toward the third layer of the ancient tomb.

Yang Lingrui's luck was considered quite good-out of five choices, he had picked two safe passageways.

Looking at it this way, if one had enough luck, even a first-layer Qi Gathering cultivator could simply choose the safe path every time, effortlessly obtaining five Rewards and safely passing through the corridors to the third layer.

Arriving at the third-layer region, a gloomy and foreboding grand hall entered their sight.

By the time Yang Lingrui's group of four arrived, Huang Yan and Zheng Huaming had already gotten there a step ahead.

"You two Fellow Daoists certainly move fast," Li Cheng said with a laugh.

"Not at all, not at all. It is all thanks to Young Master Li yielding the way. Otherwise, how could we have arrived first?"

"Indeed. We hope Young Master Li will not take offense."

The two men apologized.

Li Cheng was naturally not that petty. He did not dwell on the matter, turning his gaze toward the grand hall instead.

The entire hall was constructed from purplish-black stone, the exact same material as the entrance to the ancient tomb.

The lower portion of the hall was carved with a crowd of people kneeling in prayer. The middle section was covered in complex, bewildering incantations. Further up, a figure with a blurred face sat perfectly straight upon an altar.

He now understood why Huang and Zheng had not pushed open the hall doors to proceed, choosing instead to wait for him here.

It was simply because this grand hall was far too bizarre.

The carvings were clearly styled after the imagery of all living beings worshiping a Buddha.

Yet the aura it exuded looked nothing like the worship of a Buddha.

It looked much more like the worship of a ghost.

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