Chapter 151 - 92: Offering Incense
Luo Qian took out his lighter again and lit the incense.
Luo Qian leaned close to his ear, his voice hushed to a whisper:
"Lin, remember this. If you ever enter a tomb on your own in the future, you can’t skip this ritual. The offering is a required procedure. It might not have any real effect—it’s just a formality—but it shows basic respect to the tomb’s occupant. It shows we aren’t some petty, skulking tomb raiders, but that we’ve come to disturb our predecessor’s eternal rest out of necessity, with no ill intent..."
At that moment, the dean of students, Teacher Li, cleared his throat. In a solemn, archaic tone, he began to recite the eulogy:
"Illustrious ancestors, we humbly beseech you to accept our offering! We, your unworthy descendants, bow our heads in deepest reverence!"
"Today, the Human Race has grown weak, surrounded by powerful foes. Our lands weep blood, and our people suffer. We Martial Artists shoulder the responsibility of our race’s survival, yet our strength is insufficient, our blades are dull, and our armor is incomplete. To seek a glimmer of hope, to protect our kin, we have no choice but to venture into this perilous place, disturbing the peaceful slumber of our ancestors. We seek an opportunity to strengthen the very bones of the Human Race."
"Our intentions are as clear as the sun and moon; our purpose is sincere and not for personal gain. We beg your boundless forgiveness for this disturbance and pray you pardon our transgression."
"This meager offering of incense is but a small token of our sincerity. May heaven and earth bear witness to our profound respect!"
"We humbly beseech you... accept this offering!"
The sound of the eulogy echoed in the silent valley.
After a long while, the sound of the eulogy faded from the empty valley.
Chen Zhenguo looked at the dean of students and asked, "Are you finished?"
The dean of students nodded. "I am!"
"Good!"
Chen Zhenguo stepped forward and planted the three burning incense sticks in his hand firmly into the soft earth before the tomb’s entrance.
Wisps of green smoke curled upward.
Then he drew his blade. "Kill!"
He led from the front, the first to charge into the ancient tomb.
Close behind him, the teachers of Yang City No. 1 High School, their expressions grim and determined, stepped forward one by one. They planted their own incense sticks around the spot where the principal had placed his, forming a small array.
Once the incense was planted, they drew their weapons without hesitation, channeled their Qi and Blood, and plunged resolutely into the dark tomb.
In the blink of an eye, the only things left on the surface were the curling smoke from the incense sticks and the solemn-faced Lin Yi and Luo Qian.
Lin Yi also stepped forward and carefully placed his three incense sticks next to the array left by the teachers.
He straightened up, staring at the pitch-black entrance.
His heart was filled with worry for Chen Zhenguo and the others.
Although Yang City No. 1 High School had dispatched six powerful Fourth-Grade Martial Artists this time—an impressive lineup...
...the tomb’s guardian Corpse General was in the Fifth Grade Realm!
’Can the principal and the others... really handle it?’
Beside him, Luo Qian had a mournful look on his face. "My black dog’s blood, my Donkey Hooves... I prepared them for nothing!"
...
Led by Chen Zhenguo, the team from Yang City No. 1 High School cautiously descended the corridor behind the shattered Dragon-Breaking Stone.
Every step on the rubble and thousand-year-old dust created a soft scraping sound, exceptionally clear in the dead silence of the tomb.
They were well-equipped, each wearing a special protective helmet.
Suddenly, the powerful, professional-grade searchlights on their helmets switched on.
Several beams of light, like sharp swords, pierced through the thick darkness.
They instantly illuminated the vast, gloomy side chamber at the end of the corridor, making it as bright as day!
The moment they stepped into the side chamber, a collective, sharp gasp echoed through the room.
Even for this group of worldly and experienced people, the sight before them made their skin crawl!
The enormous space was densely packed with over a hundred heavy, black-lacquered coffins!
A smell of decay mixed with a bone-chilling coldness washed over them.
What was even more horrifying was that amidst this forest of coffins, more than twenty zombies with ashen-gray skin and withered muscles were wandering back and forth, stiffly and silently, like string puppets!
The searchlights swept across their empty eye sockets and sharp fangs, reflecting a terrifying, malevolent gleam.
"ROAR!!!"
The instant the aura of the living flooded the room, the once-sluggish zombies snapped to life as if injected with a potent stimulant!
Their murky eyes snapped to the group at the entrance. They let out a blood-curdling shriek as a foul stench of rot exploded outwards on a gust of wind!
The twenty-odd ashen-gray figures, like starving wolves that had caught the scent of blood, lunged forward with air-rending shrieks, completely heedless of their own safety!
"How is this possible?!" a veteran teacher cried out, his voice trembling with disbelief. "How could a mere Tang Dynasty tomb have spawned so many zombies?!"
The conditions for zombie formation were extremely stringent. For this place to have over a hundred coffins and more than twenty wandering undead, there had to be an earth-shattering secret behind it!
Wang Yiming’s eyes burned with fanaticism. He stared intently at the charging zombies and roared rapidly:
"The Wangwu Mountain lineage! They must be inheritors of the Wangwu Mountain lineage! Even during the End of Dharma Era, when Spiritual Qi was depleted, they couldn’t create a spiritual cultivation technique. But their Spiritual Power in life must have been unparalleled! Their spirits didn’t perish after death and were reactivated by the Spiritual Energy Revival, which is what turned them into zombies! This is irrefutable proof! Their legacy is crucial for us to create a Spiritual Power Cultivation Technique. We have to get our hands on it!"
Chen Zhenguo’s gaze was as sharp as a knife. He swept his eyes over the ferocious, charging zombies and commanded in a stern voice:
"These things fear light like tigers. They dare not leave the tomb during the day, but if we let them survive until nightfall, they will become a plague upon the land! Kill them! Leave none alive! Eradicate this menace for the people!"
"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"
The instant the command was given, the sounds of clashing metal, exploding Qi and Blood, and shrieking zombies erupted!
The side chamber instantly transformed into a bloody battlefield!
𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
The teachers from Yang City No. 1 High School reacted in a flash. A web of death, woven from flashing blades, sword shadows, and a storm of fists and kicks, met the oncoming horde of zombies!
These zombies had tough, thick hides. Ordinary swords and blades striking them actually produced the sound of clashing metal, and they were resistant to both fire and water!