Chapter 865: How Could It Be Him

He expressed his doubts to Mi Li. Mi Li shook her head and said, "That's unlikely. Although this tomb is quite grand, it's still far from an emperor's specifications." However, she remained full of questions: "Hmm, this is the ancestral land of the Qin kings. Besides the past Qin kings, who else would be qualified to be buried here?"

Just then, Bi Linglong's voice rang out, "Look quickly, there are paintings on the wall." Zuan and Mi Li turned around to see several paintings on the wall, just as she said. Having learned from previous experiences, he knew that tomb owners often used murals to record important events in their lives, so he examined them carefully.

The first two paintings depicted a general leading his army to conquer many cities, clearly indicating brilliant military achievements. The third painting showed him leading a mighty army to build a long city wall. The last painting depicted him surrounded by several envoys, forced to swallow poison and commit suicide.

Bi Linglong couldn't help but sigh, "This general had such a magnificent life, yet he ended up like this. It truly is a case of 'when the birds are gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dogs are cooked.'""Could this be Meng Tian?" Zuan couldn't help but say, looking at the murals.Mi Li was a bit surprised. "How did you know?"Zuan pointed to the third painting on the wall. "Isn't that the Great Wall being built? It's recorded in history books that Meng Tian led a 300,000-strong army to construct it."

Mi Li sighed. "That's right. The ancestors of the Meng clan were from the State of Qi. They later came to Qin, producing many capable officials and famous generals, becoming one of the most prestigious families in Great Qin. He also had a brother, Meng Yi. At that time, with one brother handling internal affairs and the other external, the Meng family was at its peak. Unfortunately, they supported Fusu, which undoubtedly brought disaster upon them later." Having spent so much time together, she had already heard Zuan mention the later history of Qin and naturally knew that Fusu and the Meng brothers were later ordered to commit suicide.

Zuan's expression was a little strange. "Fusu is your son?"Mi Li's eyebrows twitched, but since their relationship had grown closer, she thought for a moment and decided not to hide it from him. "Fusu is my elder sister's son. My sister died young, and later I took on the responsibility of maintaining the relationship between Qin and Chu, coming to Qin to become the new empress. I never expected Qin to begin conquering the six states. The moment they went to war with Chu, those of us from Chu who were relatives by marriage in the Qin royal family naturally became unwelcome. Because Fusu had Chu blood, Ying Zheng most likely wouldn't have let him inherit the throne."

Bi Linglong was inwardly shaken. Her earlier suspicions were confirmed: this woman was indeed a figure from ancient times, and a dignified empress at that. No wonder her demeanor was so noble and majestic. She resolved to ask Zuan more about what dynasty they were referring to as 'Qin' when she had the chance."That's good, that's good," Zuan breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, he felt inexplicably happy upon learning that Mi Li had no children of her own."What's 'good' about it?" Mi Li retorted irritably. To her, the fate of the Chu relatives by marriage was hardly a fond memory. She looked up at the coffin suspended in the air, her eyebrows furrowed. "What do these iron chains binding the coffin so tightly mean? It looks like suppression. Do they hate him so much that they won't even let him rest in death?"

At this point, Bi Linglong also spoke up. "Do you two feel that the elemental energy in the room is a bit strange?" Mi Li and Zuan, with their minds complicated by knowing too much, had overlooked this most direct observation. After sensing for a moment, they both said, "The earth element in this room is exceptionally active and dense."As Mi Li spoke, she walked around the room, examining it. She squatted down and swept her sleeve across the floor, clearing away the dust to reveal various strange runes."Oh, this is a formation, and it has a strange, evil aura..." Mi Li's eyebrows furrowed."Can you tell what kind of formation it is?" Zuan asked.Mi Li shook her head. "There are too few clues, and the formation we see isn't complete. We need to look elsewhere."

Just then, the ground suddenly undulated, and the entire room began to shake."Could it be that the rooms are going to shift and move again, like before?" Bi Linglong quickly moved closer to Zuan, worried about being separated into different rooms, which would be a truly desperate situation in this eerie place."Doesn't seem like it," Mi Li said, her gaze fixed on the ground directly beneath the coffin nearby. The ground there suddenly cracked, and then a mound of earth slowly rose, growing larger and larger. The mound twisted and changed continuously, finally forming a giant bear several zhang tall. It was fortunate that the room was originally spacious and tall; otherwise, it probably wouldn't have been able to stand upright. It had no eyes, but its huge head still "looked" towards the group, letting out roars before charging at them.

Mi Li quickly explained, "When certain elements become exceptionally dense and active, they can form corresponding demonic creatures. This one's yours." Zuan understood her situation; she conserved energy by not acting unless necessary, so he naturally had no objection. "Watch me," he said."A real man should... argh, spit, spit, spit... should face it head-on!" he roared, charging directly forward.

Bi Linglong was worried and quickly reminded him, "This demonic creature is called the Earth Bear. It has a very volatile temper, immense strength, and extremely high defense. It's very difficult to defeat...?" In her view, Zuan charged forward without dodging, allowing the creature to punch him. Yet, he seemed completely unfazed. He then delivered a punch of his own, striking the Earth Bear's head. With a thud, the Earth Bear's head shattered instantly, and its massive body crashed to the ground.Bi Linglong rushed over and pulled Zuan's sleeve to check on him. "Are you alright?""I'm fine," Zuan laughed."But you clearly took a punch from the Earth Bear just now..." Bi Linglong said, her face full of worry. Although she had never fought an Earth Bear herself, she had read about them in books. A single punch from it carried the force of a thousand jun, enough to severely wound even a Grandmaster if they didn't dodge."Don't worry," Mi Li scoffed. "This kid has no other strong points, except that his body is incredibly hard. An Earth Bear's punch won't hurt him." Zuan had just undergone three rounds of body tempering with the Primordial Chaos Sutra, making his body incomparably tough, unmatched by anyone before or after him. How could he be injured so easily?"What do you mean 'no other strong points'?" Zuan was instantly displeased. Just as he was about to retort, strange noises came from behind him.

He turned around to see the headless body of the Earth Bear begin to move. The scattered clumps of earth on the ground automatically coalesced into a head, which it then awkwardly reattached. Mi Li said, "As long as there's a continuous supply of earth element, this thing can keep regenerating. It's difficult to kill, which is why it's so troublesome." The Earth Bear roared and charged at Zuan again. Clearly, his previous attack had successfully drawn its ire.

Zuan's mind raced, and he instantly had an idea. He summoned the Fire Phoenix, whose flames quickly enveloped the creature. The extremely high temperature instantly dried out the moisture in its body, causing its surface to visibly crack and even show signs of crystallization. Immediately afterward, he quickly withdrew the Fire Phoenix's flames and then summoned the Snow Phoenix. The room instantly transformed into a world of ice and snow, and the Earth Bear's body was rapidly cooled. After experiencing both ice and fire in such a short time, its body could no longer hold together and instantly shattered into countless tiny clumps of earth. Zuan waved his hand, and a layer of frost covered the earth clumps, freezing them and preventing them from reassembling."It's truly a profound truth that 'mastering science and engineering will let you travel anywhere without fear'," Zuan clapped his hands, thinking that if he had enough time, he could even bake these clumps of earth into ceramics."Before the ice melts, let's leave here and check other places," Zuan said. He wasn't stubborn enough to stay and waste time fighting this unkillable creature. Who knew where the emperor was now? He couldn't let him get ahead.

Mi Li and Bi Linglong naturally had no objections. Soon, the group passed through a long corridor and arrived in a new room. Unlike the previous one, this room was vibrant with life, covered everywhere in lush green grass, as if they were in a primeval forest."Those vines seem to be wrapping something," Bi Linglong said, pointing to the tightly clustered vines in the center. Both Zuan and Mi Li were skilled and bold; they walked directly towards it to investigate without any fear. Although many vines blocked their path, the sharp Tai'a Sword quickly cleared a way."Another coffin," Zuan said in a deep voice."Let's open it and see. I'm very curious who is buried here." Mi Li could somewhat understand Meng Tian being buried in the previous room, as he was a meritorious official of Great Qin and arguably qualified to be interred there. But it was unclear whose coffin this was, as there were no murals or other indications of the tomb owner's identity around it.Zuan was equally curious. He directly lifted the coffin lid; with his current strength, it was easy. However, upon seeing what was inside, his scalp tingled, and a chill ran down his spine. "How could it be him!"