Chapter 1459: Not You Yet?

"I got it by chance from Hei Chigu," Zu An replied, secretly relieved. He felt fortunate that he had kept the key after realizing even the Sacred White Lotus Flame couldn't destroy it. He hadn't expected it to be useful in this exact spot. Everything felt too coincidental, as if a higher power was orchestrating events.

"The Hei Chi family are indeed turncoats!" The Demon Emperor's face darkened. The Imperial Treasury had been entrusted to the Hei Chi family, yet now its contents were found on Hei Chigu. What was that if not embezzlement?

Crown Prince Jinwu's heart pounded. The Hei Chi family, being his maternal uncles, were his staunchest allies and strongest support. From his perspective, a little greed from the Hei Chi family was acceptable; their support far outweighed such minor losses. Moreover, his uncle's family wasn't external; it was best to keep wealth within the family.

However, from the Demon Emperor's perspective, it was different. He had no such close ties with the Hei Chi family, and this behavior was a clear sign of disloyalty.

Startled, Crown Prince Jinwu quickly changed the subject, fiercely rebuking Zu An. "No wonder the investigation into Hei Chigu's disappearance at the royal court yielded no results! You murdered him!"

Rage points from Crown Prince Jinwu +110+110+110...

Zu An calmly retorted, "You can eat what you like, but you can't speak carelessly. I might accuse you of slander."

"Hmph, the key was clearly on Hei Chigu. How did it end up with you?" Crown Prince Jinwu sneered.

"Speaking of which," Zu An replied with a half-smile, "if this key could travel from your Imperial Treasury to Hei Chigu, why couldn't it end up with me?" He knew Hei Chigu had tried to harm him, and it was merely self-defense, but he wouldn't admit it outright. Of course, the Demon Emperor and his company surely knew he was the killer. He had already offended them irrevocably, so adding to his transgressions wasn't a concern; he just needed to avoid giving them any explicit leverage.

Crown Prince Jinwu was about to retort, but the Demon Emperor stopped him. "Let's set aside past matters for now. The crucial thing is to open this grand door."

Zu An flicked a finger, and the key neatly slotted into the central circular opening. He didn't rush to open the door; in fact, doing so might reveal a new danger.

The Demon Emperor, with his formidable skills and daring nature, showed no fear. He grasped the end of the key and slowly turned it. When it reached a specific angle, a crisp click echoed. The four gems previously mentioned glowed once more, and the surrounding lines lit up like circuits, finally converging into four beams that flowed into the central keyhole.

The formerly dull key now glowed with multi-colored light. These lights then dispersed, tracing the patterns on the grand door and vanishing into the depths of the mausoleum. A series of rumbling sounds followed, as if the entire mausoleum was awakening.

Zu An pondered to himself: this key was so unique, why would it be in the Jinwu family's possession? He speculated that it must have been passed down through generations of the Jinwu clan since ancient antiquity. Yet, the era of Yu the Great came after Hou Yi shot down the sun... The more he thought about it, the more confused he became, so he decided to stop overthinking and instead focused on the grand door before them.

A scattering of sand and stones fell, and the grand door split in two, slowly opening inward to reveal a deep, dark tomb passage.

With an eager expression, the Demon Emperor strode straight inside. Crown Prince Jinwu quickly followed; in this secret realm teeming with terrifying beings, he felt much safer beside his father.

Wu Liang's face showed a flicker of internal struggle. The Demon Emperor was now engrossed by the contents within and hadn't noticed him, making it an opportune moment to escape. Yet, having spent his entire life plundering tombs for treasure, he found it impossible to resist the allure of this ancient grand mausoleum. Gritting his teeth, he followed suit, muttering, "If I die, I die!"

Zu An and the others exchanged glances before following unhurriedly. They had expected the interior to be dim and had even considered creating a torch with fire, but to their surprise, it was remarkably bright. Lamp-like fixtures adorned the surrounding walls, connected by various circuit-like patterns. It appeared the light from the four gems and the key had flowed into these, providing illumination for the entire underground palace.

Zu An was secretly astonished. He wondered why artifacts from such an ancient era possessed such a strong sense of advanced technology. Could there have truly been extraterrestrials back then? No wonder, in his past life, the ruins of the Xia Dynasty were never discovered for such a long time...

The group was equally amazed by the tomb. As they ventured deeper, they encountered numerous mechanisms, but with an expert tomb raider like Wu Liang present, resolving these traps was thrilling yet uneventful. He even managed to uncover hidden mechanisms and open pathways in seemingly impassable areas.

"This fat man truly is talented," Zu An thought to himself, musing that he should invite Wu Liang along for any future tomb expeditions to significantly boost their success rate.

After Wu Liang activated yet another mechanism and opened a large door, the group entered a spacious burial chamber.

"This must be the main burial chamber," Wu Liang murmured, swallowing hard. He gazed at the rectangular stone platform in the center, which was covered in dense runes, resembling a powerful seal.

Zu An, meanwhile, noticed two enormous statues, dozens of meters tall, standing on either side of the room. One statue depicted a giant serpent with nine heads. At first glance, he mistook it for Jiuying, but closer inspection revealed a crucial difference. While both had nine heads, Jiuying's were all serpentine, whereas this statue's nine heads were human. It resembled an ancient demon god, exuding an inexplicable sense of deterrence and oppression. The other statue resembled a giant bear, entirely vermillion and with a ferocious expression, looking far from benevolent.

Zu An wondered if these two statues were meant to suppress the central stone platform or were guarding something else entirely.

At that moment, the Demon Emperor clutched the cinnabar in his hand. "Didn't you say Emperor Yao knew about the elixir of immortality? If such an elixir truly existed, why would he be lying in a coffin?" The rectangular platform in the center strongly resembled a coffin. The thought that Emperor Yao might be interred within caused the Demon Emperor's composure to waver. With his lifespan nearing its end, his greatest desires were the elixir of immortality and a higher level of power. Yet, neither seemed likely at the moment.

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. Had the Demon Emperor also learned about the elixir of immortality? Well, if this ghost truly was Emperor Yao's son, then it wouldn't be surprising for them, both being from ancient times, to possess such knowledge.

At this, Dan Zhu hastily interjected, "He was sealed... sealed here. He definitely isn't dead and should know about the elixir of immortality."

Upon hearing this, the Demon Emperor's gaze fixed on the rectangular stone platform, appearing somewhat swayed.

Zu An quickly stepped forward to interject. "If an ancient emperor is truly sealed within, will you be able to defeat him once he's released? What if a terrifying entity is unleashed and everyone here is wiped out?"

The Demon Emperor hesitated. He had successively battled the Four Fiends, sustaining severe injuries multiple times. Though the Sacred Jinwu Flame aided his recovery, it had its limits, and he was not currently at his peak. Nevertheless, his yearning for longevity made him resolute. "Don't we still have you?"

Zu An was speechless.