Chapter 149: Lu Clan Forbidden Area

Chapter 149: Lu Clan Forbidden Area

The two of them stopped talking and slowly walked further inside.

Zhao Changhe carefully observed the walls on both sides of the passage, coming to judge that they had been carved out many years ago. This meant that this passage was not a recent development, but, at the same time, it didn’t seem like it had been dug out as far back as the previous era.

Sisi also observed the surroundings. She seemed to be much more knowledgeable when it came to judging these things than Zhao Changhe. As she scrutinized the walls, she furrowed her brow and commented, “This passage should have been excavated nearly a century ago, with signs of recent expansion. It seems that the Lu Clan has been continuously exploring the secrets here, perhaps ever since the founding of their clan, with each generation picking up from where the last left off.” Fịndd new updates at novelhall.com

Zhao Changhe was stunned. “Why don’t I seem to see any new marks?”

“Here,” Sisi stretched out her hand and lightly tapped a spot on the right wall, and then she gave it a gentle push. To their surprise, that section of the wall could actually be pushed open.

But then, both of them immediately covered their noses and backed away, their eyes widening in unison.

Behind the wall lay corpses too many to count, strewn about in disarray. Among them were garments that had yet to decay, revealing that they were common artisans and laborers.

“It looks like they hired workers to dig out this passage, then killed them all to prevent any leaks...” Zhao Changhe quickly deduced, his expression turning grim.

As frivolous as the Tang Clan may be, they held nowhere near this level of cruelty. They were actually much more endearing and compassionate compared to “noble” clans like the Lu clan.

The two silently closed the stone wall and continued walking further in.

The journey was long, and they did not reach the end of the tunnel even after walking for quite some time. This tunnel was far longer than the underground passage in the White Lotus Temple. In the end, while that secret passage had only been dug out in recent years, this tunnel had been subject to generations of exploration by a large clan for nearly a century.

Along the way, they came across many alternate paths that were clearly the wrong way. It was evident that these were the wrong paths as they had clearly been abandoned after the correct path was found. The correct path was paved with stone bricks and illuminated by bright pearls, while the alternate paths were dark and filled with cobwebs.

This actually made their exploration of this tunnel far easier, as they did not need to navigate through its entirety.

Furthermore, they even saw some stone houses further ahead. There were traces of people having stayed and cultivated there. However, at the moment, they were not there, presumably having gone to the Tang Clan... which also made it easier for the two of them to explore the tunnel.

The more Sisi saw, the more impressed she was by Zhao Changhe’s deductions. On ordinary days, it would have been nearly impossible to make it through this place, but right now was an opportune moment. The Lu Clan had long since been plotting to deal with the Tang Clan. It appeared that they were mobilizing all of their forces to achieve a decisive victory at this moment, but they had probably never anticipated that a third party would sneak up behind their backs out of nowhere.

Their footsteps naturally slowed down as they made it further and further into the tunnel. The presence of the stone houses used for cultivation indicated that the core area was nearby and that there were likely benefits that could be gained from it. Otherwise, why would the members of the Lu Clan go all this way to cultivate? It seemed that the answers they sought in this investigation would be soon right before their eyes.

Finally, as they made it past the last corner of the tunnel, they indeed came upon a small hall. When they cautiously took a peek inside, they saw a bearded old man with white hair. He was sitting cross-legged in the hall with his eyes closed as he meditated deeply. The entrance to the hall was to his side as he faced a wall.

What surprised the two of them was that there were no other passages in this hall. This was the end of their exploration of the tunnel, yet the wall the old man faced showed no signs of anything unusual. It was just an ordinary stone wall. On the contrary, there were strange marks resembling sword marks on the wall behind the old man.

This scene left the two of them confused. If the old man is comprehending some ancient sword marks, then shouldn’t he be facing them? Why is his back faced toward the sword marks? Moreover, the sword marks appeared to be relatively new... Could these sword marks have been left by the old man himself?

Sisi whispered, “That old man is approaching death. He probably only has one or two months left to live.”

Zhao Changhe did not know how she could tell this, but before he could ask, his chest and back began to vibrate at the same time.

Zhao Changhe’s heart skipped a beat, then he sneered, “But Tang Wanzhuang has also arrived, can Maitreya really defeat Tang Wanzhuang?”

The old man’s expression changed slightly as he slowly said, “Thank you for informing me. Well then, I’ll just have to kill you two before heading to the Tang Clan.”

After saying that, he unsheathed his longsword.

Zhao Changhe suddenly burst out into laughter, “Stop bluffing, you definitely don’t have what it takes to participate in a fierce battle. You would probably be out of breath from just swinging your sword a few times. You only dare to act tough here. Otherwise, you would have killed us with a single strike long ago. Why bother spouting all this nonsense? I now understand why your family chose this time to launch their plan. It seems that it’s because you’re close to death...”

Whoosh!

The old man’s eyes flashed with ferocity as he stabbed directly at Zhao Changhe’s throat. “You don’t have what it takes to have a fierce battle with me!”

He was not bluffing this time. From just this single sword strike, Zhao Changhe could not see what he could do. He knew that no matter how he defended, this strike would pierce his throat.

However, he had no intention of defending against the strike in the first place.

Zhao Changhe grabbed Sisi’s hand and suddenly slammed into the stone wall the old man was facing. “But I know how to get you into a fierce battle!”

The stone wall that seemed to be a dead end suddenly rippled, and Zhao Changhe and Sisi disappeared at the same time.

The old man immediately became furious and anxious. He chased after them. “You’re dead!”

Light and shadows flickered, and dimensions shifted.

When their vision stabilized again, Zhao Changhe found himself inside an ancient and solemn tomb, with passages extending in all directions, exuding a myriad of auras.

The aura belonging to the previous era enveloped him once again.

There had to be a reason for the vibration of the golden foil. By combining various conjectures about cause and effect, the most likely conclusion he came to was that the stone wall the old man was facing led to a different dimension, and the sword marks on the wall behind him were caused by the sword qi that escaped from that space.

Zhao Changhe guessed correctly.

Before they could fully discern their surroundings, they were engulfed by sword qi and vicious qi. The fierce killing intent was a hundred times more terrifying than what they had felt in front of the old man.

In Sisi’s mind, a word she knew previously emerged: Sword Emperor.

This is the tomb of the Sword Emperor!

It wasn’t beneath the Tiger Hill Sword Pond, but within the Lu Clan’s territory?

But looking at Zhao Changhe’s expression, it’s as if he anticipated all of this... Did he guess all of this beforehand?

1. This is a reference to the old Chinese saying, “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.” ☜