Chapter 1365: Old Friends Reunite

Zu An reverted to his original appearance after entering the imperial tomb. There was no longer any point in pretending to be the Demon Emperor, and his real face made the three women uneasy.

The three women's expressions changed simultaneously, "Could it be a fierce creature like a Deathworm?"

The scaled Deathworms from the Yu family's mine had clearly left a deep psychological scar on them.

Zu An shook his head, unsure himself. The group focused their attention, staying vigilant, staring intently at the shifting wall, ready to attack whatever emerged.

The earth and stone of the wall undulated, then a large hole broke open, and something crawled out.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, I almost suffocated this old fatty to death..." a rotund figure grumbled.

Zu An and the others instinctively attacked, but upon hearing a somewhat familiar voice, they looked closer and exclaimed, "It's you?"

It was none other than Wu Liang, the fat Taoist priest who had told their fortunes in Qingqiu Country and accompanied them to the Marquis Sui's Tomb.

"Huh? Why are you here?" Wu Liang was initially startled to see people, but upon recognizing a few "old acquaintances," he relaxed.

"How did you get here?" Zu An asked, bewildered. This man carried too many mysteries, making it impossible not to be suspicious.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? How did so many of you get into the imperial tomb? If I'm not mistaken, you have a vendetta against Prince Jinwu, right? Oh, could it be..." Wu Liang's mouth formed an 'O' of shock.

"Enough chatter. We're asking the questions now, not you," Yun Jianyue snapped impatiently.

Perhaps sensing the killing intent in Yun Jianyue's gaze, Wu Liang dared not quip further. He chuckled awkwardly, "I'm just a bit short on money lately, so I came here to see if there were any treasures."

"Grave robbing, even in the imperial tomb?" Yu Yanluo's expression was odd. "You really aren't afraid of death, are you?"

Wu Liang rubbed his hands, smiling sheepishly, "No choice, the imperial tomb has high risks, but also high rewards."

Yan Xuehen questioned, "This imperial tomb is heavily guarded, filled with various killing formations. The walls inside aren't ordinary either; I noticed they're reinforced with runes and equipped with various protective measures. How did you dig your way in so easily?"

Precisely because she understood runes and formations, she felt his words weren't entirely truthful.

The others also looked at Wu Liang, their gazes turning dangerous.

Sensing the genuine killing intent, Wu Liang hastily held up an object in his hand. "I got in with this."

They looked closely and saw a dark, somewhat golden-glowing claw in his hand.

"Is this the one you got from Marquis Sui's Tomb last time?" Zu An recalled.

"Marquis Sui's Tomb? So that's what that tomb was called," Wu Liang paused, then explained, "Yes, that's right. This is the weapon of the old Pangolin Ancestor, a sacred relic of our Pangolin Tribe. It allows us to burrow freely through earth and even break through some defensive formations."

The others also recalled the legend of the Pangolin Tribe—a clan skilled in grave robbing, which was why they incurred the wrath of other tribes and were nearly annihilated by a joint extermination effort.

They never expected Wu Liang, a descendant, to surpass his predecessors, even daring to rob the tombs of successive Demon Emperors.

Yun Jianyue subtly transmitted a message to the others, "We can't let our presence here get out. Should we kill him?"

Yan Xuehen frowned, remaining silent. While she didn't condone such wanton killing, they could simply leave. However, Yu Yanluo couldn't; if anything happened to the Serpent Tribe because of this, they would deeply regret it.

Wu Liang, being astute, immediately noticed their strange gazes and quickly said, "Don't get any ideas. While I can't beat all of you alone, I'm not a pushover either. I can definitely alert the guards outside before I die, and then we'll all go down together."

Zu An and the others were speechless.

This fellow was quite brazen, directly laying his cards on the table.

However, they were also somewhat unsure, as this man was too mysterious. Who knew what life-saving abilities he possessed? If they truly fought to the death, he might indeed find a way to alert those outside, which would be bad for everyone.

So, Zu An smiled and said, "Daoist Priest, you worry too much. We're hardly cruel or bloodthirsty people. It's just that entering the imperial tomb is a matter of great importance, which is why we're a bit concerned."

Wu Liang immediately said, "You can rest assured. I can swear that I will absolutely not reveal anything about seeing you after this. Furthermore, if you're still uneasy, I can accompany you for the rest of this journey. That way, anything I do will be under your supervision."

The group exchanged glances, all somewhat surprised. They hadn't entirely believed his grave-robbing story. If he were allied with the Prince or sent by the Demon Emperor, letting him go would be problematic. Yet, he had actually made such a "considerate" suggestion.

This left them with little to say.

"Then let's go together," Zu An said gravely. For now, this was the only option. They would observe him along the way to see his true purpose in the imperial tomb.

"Alrighty then~" Knowing his life was safe, Wu Liang's eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled.

The group continued deeper, subtly communicating with each other and cautiously guarding against any sudden attack from Wu Liang, while also surveying their surroundings.

The passage here was very wide, not gloomy and narrow like ordinary tombs. Every few meters, small, Golden Crow-shaped lamps illuminated the way, resembling sacred flames.

Wu Liang exclaimed, "As expected of an imperial tomb! These lamps are fueled by deep-sea fish oil, which burns smokelessly and is said to keep the flame alive for a thousand years."

"Mermaid oil?" Zu An, who had heard similar legends, couldn't help but blanch. After all, Shang Liuyu was from the Mermaid Tribe.

"No, no, the Mermaid Tribe holds a very high status among the sea creatures," Wu Liang explained. "This is oil from a giant deep-sea whale, extremely valuable even to the sea creatures themselves. Without a doubt, it must have been a special tribute from the sea creatures to the Demon Emperor."

"You certainly know a lot," Zu An remarked, giving him a surprised look.

"Hehe, it's my profession," Wu Liang said, a hint of smugness on his face.

After walking further, they noticed various murals on the surrounding walls. "Murals" wasn't quite right; these seemed to be etched onto the surface using a special method.

The content was vast, seemingly depicting wars or battles against terrifying fierce beasts.

Wu Liang explained, "These depict the proud achievements of successive Demon Emperors, meant to inspire future generations to revere their great deeds."

Yun Jianyue cast a sideways glance at him. "You're so familiar with this place, I doubt it's your first time here, isn't it?"

"No, no, I just did a lot of research beforehand. Coming to the imperial tomb is extremely dangerous, so I made sure to investigate everything I could," Wu Liang explained earnestly.

The group remained suspicious. Even with extensive research, it would be difficult to discover the conditions inside the imperial tomb beforehand.

However, considering the level of security here, it also seemed unrealistic for him to have entered multiple times.

It had to be said that the Pangolin Tribe was indeed skilled in grave robbing. With Wu Liang present, he preemptively helped the group avoid many dangerous traps along the way.

The token given to them by the Little Demon Empress was only effective against the killing formations outside the imperial tomb, not the formations inside.

Along the way, Wu Liang, ever familiar, tried to inquire about their purpose for being there. Unfortunately, Zu An and the others were too shrewd to reveal anything.

The group continued to delve deeper. Upon reaching a fork in the path, Wu Liang pointed straight ahead and said, "Prince Jinwu should be undergoing the trials of the successive Demon Emperors in there."

"Then we'll go this way," Zu An said, choosing the other path.

Wu Liang was clearly surprised. "So you're not here for him? Are you, like me, after the imperial tomb's treasures?"

"What treasures?" the group asked sharply, staring at him.