CHAPTER 233: CHAPTER 233: HOPING LI TIANYAO HURRIES UP

"BANG!"

After a loud crash, the bluestone slab was blasted open.

Below was a gloomy space: walls assembled from mottled bluestone strips, and the ground paved with bluestone slabs.

"It’s an Ancient Tomb!"

Wen Ya tossed a glow stick inside, revealing a surprisingly large space.

Once the air quality inside was tested and confirmed safe, they descended into the tomb one by one.

The tomb passage was paved with bluestone and, over countless years, had accumulated a thick layer of dust.

In the center lay a coffin.

Wen Ya’s face lit up.

"Miss," she exclaimed, "could there be Golden Thread Worms inside? It’s clear nobody has been in this tomb chamber before!"

An Yan touched the coffin, but the leaves in her mind relayed no feedback.

"Open it and see."

An Yan also hoped there would be Golden Thread Worms inside!

However, when they opened the coffin, they didn’t find any Golden Thread Worms. Instead, they encountered two Living Dead!

Withered hands gripped the coffin’s edge as they leaped out.

Such theatrics!

An Yan grew more convinced that Gu Shifang must be here. Using Living Dead to guard the entrance is exactly something he would do.

Having already endured one battle, everyone moved swiftly, deftly evading the Living Dead’s attacks.

In a little over ten minutes, the battle was over.

The group split up to search for the way forward.

Wen Ge discovered a peculiar stone. All the other stones were covered in dust, but this one was spotless!

She pressed down on it hard. With a few soft CLICKS, a hole opened in the ground, revealing a staircase leading downwards.

Wen Ya tossed a few more glow sticks down. They revealed a spiral staircase, and the sticks tumbled down it for over twenty meters before coming to a stop.

"Finally found it!" Gu Shifang exclaimed excitedly.

Back when I was still Qin Song, I often sensed someone trying to sever my connection with the ring. At first, I suspected Li Tianyao. It wasn’t until Li Tianyao, though provoked by me to near fury, still desperately restrained himself from killing Qin Song, that I realized Li Tianyao had no connection to the ring. Then, the one connected to the ring must be An Yan. Now, it seems my suspicions were correct; An Yan truly is connected to the ring! In that case, this woman cannot be allowed to live!

Gu Shifang’s expression darkened. The tattoos on his face writhed and shifted, making him resemble a green-faced, tusked fiend.

His dry, rough fingers slowly stroked the rim of the water basin.

"Ajie, where is An Yan’s team now?"

"Ten minutes ago, we received word they had reached the vicinity of Wulitou and were almost within cellphone signal range."

"Good. I hope Li Tianyao hurries!"

Let him hurry and watch An Yan die before his eyes; then Li Tianyao will lose his mind. So what if a maddened Li Tianyao possesses terrifying destructive power? I now have an army of insects! I can wear Li Tianyao down and kill him, even if it takes time! No, I don’t just have an army of insects; I also have birds! Haha, Li Tianyao, you’re finished this time!

Gu Shifang turned, retrieved a bottle, and placed it before him. He formed a Seal Gesture with his hands and began chanting. A few minutes later, the muscles on his tattooed face began to twitch uncontrollably.

A moment later, the bottle cap popped open on its own, and a swarm of tiny flying insects poured out, heading for the sky outside.

"Great Witch, word has come from the Mo Family. They say Mo Shiyan is mobilizing his forces."

"Mo Shiyan? It seems those people informed Mo Shiyan first!

Relay my orders: erase all traces of An Yan and her team. All our personnel are to withdraw."

"Understood."

An Yan and her group continued their descent. The staircase ended at a long passage.

Stone statues lined the sides, appearing almost every two meters. Each one had a fierce, angry glare, looking extremely menacing.

However, An Yan and the others, all skilled in Martial Arts, were undeterred by these and proceeded smoothly until they reached a stone door.

I wonder if using explosives here would cause the whole tomb to collapse... Just as An Yan was thinking this, Luolie pressed a stone brick. The mechanism inside the stone door CLANKED a few times, and then the door slowly retracted upwards.

An Yan had initially thought Gu Shifang’s lair might be behind the door and had already assumed a fighting stance.

But inside was merely another tomb chamber.

It was enormous, about half the size of a football field!

On a stone platform in the center rested an enormous coffin. It was vermillion red.

By the light of their torches, they could see intricate carvings of various patterns and beasts on its surface.

An Yan activated her Clairvoyant Ability. Inside the coffin, she saw it was densely packed with fingertip-sized beetles.

Among the beetles were various complex mechanisms. Due to the insects’ constant movement, she couldn’t get a clear view of the mechanisms within five minutes.

An Yan deactivated her Clairvoyant Ability and looked elsewhere.

Besides the central coffin, seven other coffins were arranged in a circle on the platform beneath it, surrounding the main one.

An Yan placed her hand on one of the coffins. After a moment, her expression suddenly changed.

"Quickly open it!"

Inside the coffin were the men Li Tianyao had sent to find the Golden Thread Worm for her.

And this one was still alive!

Rescuing them might be dangerous, but even knowing the risks, I have to save them. They came here because of me, and it’s because of me they’re in this predicament!

The first coffin was opened.

Inside was a man in his early twenties with a crew cut. He wore the Li Family’s distinctive uniform, an ’L’-shaped badge on his left collar.

"It’s He Peng!"

Luolie dropped his weapon, bent down, and reached towards the man’s nose.

"He’s still breathing! Miss, he’s still breathing! Save him."

In Luolie’s eyes, He Peng had always been an indomitable man of iron will. But now, he was so frail it seemed a gust of wind could carry him away!

An Yan nodded.

"I’ll save him. You all open the other coffins!"

An Yan took He Peng’s wrist; his pulse was barely perceptible. She gently pried open his eyes. His pupils weren’t dilated, but they were dull and lifeless. They were terrifyingly empty.

He’s been infected with something malevolent.

An Yan took out a medicine vial and fed an elixir pill into his mouth.

A minute later, some color returned to He Peng’s face.

With some effort, I can probably save his life.

"Sister Yan, come look at these men."

Seven coffins, seven men from the Li Family.

An entire squad!

All were males in their early twenties. All were in critical condition, barely clinging to life.

After a period of frantic work, the vital signs of all seven men finally stabilized.

Under An Yan’s direction, Luolie and the others carefully moved them out of the coffins.

An Yan returned to He Peng’s side. The blood that had first seeped out had already congealed. Its reaction with the medicine indicated the presence of many foreign components in his bloodstream.

"Tie them up."

This feels somewhat cruel, but for everyone’s safety, it’s a necessary decision.

"Tie them up? Miss, they can’t even move..." Wen Ya was bewildered.