Chapter 1790 - 2092: Du Yunzhi (1)
"Impossible!" He Honggang looked at the altar before him and muttered, "There can’t be just this, there should be other secrets." After saying that, he glanced around and started searching the ground inch by inch.
Seeing his actions, everyone shook their heads silently. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Obviously, there was no secret in this burial site, only a group of dead bodies and coffins. Chen Younian walked over to the altar, examined it carefully for a few moments, then withdrew his gaze and turned to the others, "There’s no need to stay here. We should leave immediately before the Guardians arrive."
Hearing this, He Honggang said firmly, "You guys can leave if you want, but I’m not leaving. There are definitely other secrets hidden here that we’ve just failed to uncover."
Chen Younian coldly retorted, "Stop deceiving yourself. Everyone can see this haunted place has nothing. If you really want to look for so-called secrets, you might as well open a coffin and see—maybe there’s more to discover."
"Fine." He Honggang nodded, saying, "I don’t believe there’s nothing here. If it’s just useless corpses, why would the Guardians spend hundreds or even thousands of years guarding this place? What’s the point? Since they have been guarding this place for generations, it indicates they are protecting more than just a bunch of coffins; there are other things." With that, without waiting for others to speak, he began walking back along the passage.
Seeing this, the group followed his steps. Soon, they arrived at a nearby cave. Seeing a coffin placed in the center, He Honggang did not hesitate, walked straight up, lifted his arm, and slapped the side of the coffin lid.
Immediately, with a ’bang’ sound, the coffin lid slid directly from the top, falling to the ground. As the coffin lid opened, everyone, driven by intense curiosity, crowded closer to look inside at the corpse.
Ling Chen was no exception; he followed closely behind Ling Gengqiu and peered into the coffin. When he saw the contents clearly, his complexion changed.
Is this... still a human?
The coffin indeed contained a corpse, but Ling Chen struggled to describe it—it was bizarre. After a few hundred years of storage, the corpse had already become a mummy. Besides having the normal arms, legs, and body, the mummy had an extra hand, which was smaller than the other two, seemingly underdeveloped. Moreover, the hand grew at the waist.
In addition, the mummy’s legs were abnormal, approximately 1.5 meters long, incredibly strange, and completely disproportionate to the rest of the body.
"Is this a deformed body?" He Honggang frowned, asking.
"Must be." Chen Younian nodded slightly, "How could a normal person develop into such a monstrous appearance?" Saying that, he glanced at the side of the coffin carved with a few small words, "It says two hundred and forty-eight years here, seems he didn’t live long."
He Honggang examined the mummy, then took a small transparent glass vial and a pair of tweezers from his pocket, pinched a bit of skin and flesh from the mummy, and placed it in the vial. Seeing his action, Chen Younian gestured to Chen Qinghua nearby, who promptly took out tools to collect samples from the mummy.
Ling Chen stood to the side, watching their actions, wanting to collect some samples to research later. However, since Ling Gengqiu hadn’t spoken, he did not act on his own accord.
As the two finished collecting samples, He Honggang proceeded to the next cave. With the prior experience, everyone no longer worried about danger from the coffins. Soon, the coffin lid was opened, and the contents revealed before the group once more.
Compared to the previous mummy, this corpse was better preserved, not yet fully mummified, with some elasticity in the body still. But the appearance was quite horrifying, especially the mouth—its teeth were not only sharp but also incredibly dense, all exposed like a fierce beast.
Additionally, the ears were much larger than normal, and the arms were disproportionate—one fat, one thin.
After viewing the corpse, everyone frowned. Another deformed body? Why were all the people buried here deformed? Is it a coincidence or a different reason?
While pondering, He Honggang spoke, "Let’s go to the next cave."
Soon, everyone sequentially opened coffins in four caves, all with the same condition. The bodies were all well-preserved, but every corpse was deformed. If there were only one or two, it could be dismissed as coincidence, but every body being like this surely indicated something unusual.
Just as the group prepared to search further for the cause, a middle-aged man from the Dark Pavilion suddenly ran in from outside, speaking in a low voice, "Someone’s coming, we should leave immediately!"
He Honggang looked at the bodies in the coffins, nodded, and then turned to instruct everyone, "If we encounter them, avoid direct confrontation, try to find a chance to get out of here." After speaking, he took a piece of cloth from his backpack and wrapped up a corpse from the coffin.
Ling Chen was slightly surprised that this guy intended to pack away a corpse.
At this moment, footsteps outside the cave grew rapidly closer; there was no time to think much. Everyone quickly rushed outside. As they were about to reach the middle of the passage, a few figures suddenly appeared at the corner ahead. Looking closely, two dozen Guardians surged forward, blocking their way.
"No one move!" shouted an elderly man at the front.
However, He Honggang paid no attention, his speed didn’t diminish—instead, he accelerated, charging directly toward the crowd ahead. The group followed behind him, ready to break through in one go.
"Seal the net!"
The elderly man shouted, and the Guardians immediately dispersed to both sides. Simultaneously, a huge net was pulled open, sealing the entire passage. Seeing this, Ling Chen lightly tapped his toes, employing the Nine Yang Qiankun Step, wielding a Wave-cutting Sword, surged forward.
Among the group, only he held a weapon. As he approached, he grasped the sword with both hands, leaped high, and struck; directly splitting the net in half.
Taking advantage of this, the group charged through the gap in the net.
Their speed was swift, in an instant, reaching the entrance to the burial site. As they were about to pass through the stone gate to leave, dozens of people poured in from outside, sealing the exit tightly.
"Stop them!" someone shouted, and the Guardians swiftly wielded their weapons, stepping forward to form a defense line.