Chapter 1259: Genius Earth Treasure

At this point, no one paid attention to what had just happened. They all rushed to the colossal bronze door, trying to open it. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they pushed, the bronze door wouldn't budge an inch. Consequently, everyone turned to look at Zu An; after witnessing his recent actions, they implicitly regarded him as their leader.

Zu An stepped forward and placed his hand on the bronze door. He channeled his primal energy, attempting to push it open, but his energy seemed to be directly diverted by the bronze door to an unknown location, rendering it useless against the gate. He said in a deep voice, "This door clearly cannot be opened by brute force." Hearing him say this, everyone was disappointed. Had they toiled for half a day only to stand guard outside a treasure mountain with no reward?

At that moment, Yan Xuehen also arrived at the bronze door. Her slender, fair fingers gently traced the lines on the door, then her gaze fell upon the bas-relief carvings of various auspicious beasts and divine birds. "There must be a mechanism there," she mused. Having just witnessed her abilities in the misty forest, people immediately took action upon hearing her words. They exclaimed in surprise, "These carvings seem to rotate!"

Yan Xuehen pondered, "They probably need to be rotated into a specific arrangement, but without other clues, I have no idea where to start." With dozens of such carvings, there were countless possible combinations, making it nearly impossible to test them all to find the correct answer. "Everyone, look for clues around here," Jin Shi called out. As elites from various races, they understood that mechanisms in such places shouldn't be tampered with randomly; a mistake could lead to something terrible. After all, the encounters they'd had on their journey suggested that whoever set up these traps was far from benevolent.

Soon, everyone scattered to search, leaving no patch of grass unchecked. Just then, the fat man Wu Liang walked over, rubbing his hands together. "How about I give it a try?" he suggested. Princess Changning frowned. "Don't just fiddle with it randomly. What if this thing has a limited number of attempts, and if we exceed it without finding the correct answer, it's completely destroyed? Then all our efforts would be for nothing." Although Wu Liang had performed remarkably in the mist, his shifty eyes made it hard to associate him with someone capable.

Zu An glanced at the fat man thoughtfully. "Let him try," he said. Given his considerable influence now, others naturally couldn't object once he spoke. Wu Liang, despite his plump physique, moved with surprising agility. He used his toes to scale the tall bronze door, and at each carving, he rotated it to a specific position without the slightest hesitation from beginning to end.

Before long, all the carvings from top to bottom had been rotated. As Wu Liang landed on the ground, the carvings suddenly emitted faint blue light. Immediately, tendrils of blue spread across all the lines on the bronze door. A series of obscure sounds echoed, and the colossal bronze door slowly opened, revealing a deep, dark entryway.

Everyone's gaze fixed on Wu Liang. Even the most oblivious person realized there was something unusual about this fat man. Zu An said coolly, "Daoist Priest, aren't you going to say something?" "Daoist Priest?" The other demon clan experts were startled. This fellow, with his ordinary attire, didn't look like a Daoist at all. However, his methods in the misty forest did indeed possess a Daoist style.

Wu Liang chuckled, "Please don't misunderstand, everyone. I accidentally came across an ancient notebook that seemed to mention this bronze door. I just tried what it said, and unexpectedly, it actually opened." Others wanted to ask him what else the notebook contained or what was inside the door, but Wu Liang smoothly claimed there was nothing more. Everyone knew he was likely lying, but they had no way to prove it.

At this point, some people couldn't resist rushing inside first. After all, everyone was wary of Zu An's strength. Getting ahead now meant seizing an early advantage; perhaps they could grab a rare treasure and escape. Seeing this, the others also stopped questioning Wu Liang and scrambled to rush inside.

Zu An reminded the three women beside him, "It's unclear what's inside. Stay close to me later; don't get separated." Yun Jianyue sounded a bit displeased: "Although I'm injured, I don't need your protection." Yan Xuehen's heart skipped a beat, for while his words were outwardly directed at all three, he seemed to be looking more at her when he spoke. Aware of her own physical condition, she didn't feign refusal and gave a barely perceptible nod. Yu Yanluo said, "We should be careful of that fat Daoist. I have a strange feeling about him." Zu An nodded, secretly extending a wisp of his spiritual sense to observe Wu Liang.

The group quickly entered. They had expected a dark tomb, but to their surprise, the interior was a world unto itself. Though not brightly lit, visibility was perfectly fine, and they couldn't tell where the light was coming from.

"Huh, there's something drawn on this wall!" The person who exclaimed immediately regretted it. How foolish, he thought; he should have secretly taken a look first. What if it was a diagram of divine martial arts or secret techniques left by an ancient master? Clearly, many shared this thought, and others quickly gathered around.

Zu An and his companions, being exceptionally skilled, didn't need to get close to discern the content of the murals. Several murals at the beginning seemed to be damaged. The first remaining one depicted a group of warriors escorting a carriage, accompanied by many eunuchs and palace maids. Judging by the procession, it appeared to be a monarch on a journey.

The next mural showed the foot of a strange mountain whose contours resembled a giant snake, but with a distinct break in the middle. Coincidentally, there was indeed a large snake at the mountain's base, severed into two parts. The third mural depicted the monarch's subordinates attempting to kill the dying snake, but the monarch, from his carriage, stopped them and sent people to save it. The fourth mural, set many years later, showed the monarch and his party encountering a storm at sea. Just as their boat was about to capsize, a large snake swam over from the water, holding a perfectly clear, crystalline pearl in its mouth, which it presented to the monarch.

Several subsequent murals were destroyed. The only surviving one depicted the monarch's grand wedding, with the pearl embedded in the queen's phoenix crown. Murals after that were also missing. Upon seeing that the murals contained no cultivation techniques or secret manuals, everyone dispersed in disappointment. However, they all kept an eye on the snow-white, crystalline pearl depicted in the mural; even seen through the painting, it seemed extraordinary, possibly a supreme treasure.

Zu An and his group, however, were deeply shaken and looked at Yu Yanluo. "Could the item the great snake in the swamp mentioned, which could help you break through, be this pearl?" Yu Yanluo looked a bit bewildered. "I don't know. When I first saw this pearl, I did feel an inexplicable stirring in my heart, and I can sense something deeper ahead calling to me."

"Could the great snake in the swamp be the one from this mural?" Yan Xuehen offered a guess. Zu An shook his head. "Probably not. This ancient tomb seems to be very old; it's unlikely that snake could have lived that long." Yun Jianyue smiled. "Thinking so much is useless. We'll know once we go inside. If the snake outside is indeed the one from the mural, that would be ideal; Little Sister Yu could then communicate with it amicably."

Just then, exclamations came from ahead: "This is a Cauldron Ginseng! And Silver-thread Flowers, Soul-severing Dark Grass... I found these, don't you dare try to snatch them from me!" As soon as the words fell, sounds of clashing and fighting erupted.

A hint of sarcasm flashed across Yun Jianyue's lips. "Wealth stirs the heart. I didn't expect them to turn on each other so quickly." "What are those things?" Zu An asked, hearing these names for the first time.

Yan Xuehen explained, "Silver-thread Flowers and Soul-severing Dark Grass are top-grade, extremely rare materials for refining pills. The Soul-severing Dark Grass, in particular, is highly coveted by many grandmasters. When cultivating their souls, it's very easy for them to make mistakes, fail in cultivation, or suffer soul damage later on. This grass can mend fragmented souls, making it a rare treasure that many grandmasters desperately seek." "As for the Cauldron Ginseng, it can extend one's lifespan. Depending on its quality, it can add anywhere from 10 to even hundreds of years to one's life. Of course, such things have no effect on cultivators above the Earth Immortal realm."

Zu An was taken aback. "Why not?"