Chapter 869: Emperor's Tomb

Zu'an frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Lu Sheng shook his head, "Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed. You will naturally learn many things soon enough."

"I hate it when people speak in riddles," Zu'an clenched his fists. "Since you can foresee the future, can you guess if I'm about to punch you?"

Lu Sheng's expression froze, and he gave an awkward laugh. "There's no need to get angry. If you help me complete this task, I will give you the *Lu Tu Shu* as a reward."

Upon hearing about the *Lu Tu Shu*, even Mi Li's expression shifted, clearly indicating she understood its immense value.

Zu'an scoffed, "Offering a power transfer right away? That usually means trouble or deception."

Ever since he was almost possessed by Old Man Mi shortly after arriving in this world, he had become inexplicably wary of such unprovoked kindness, always suspecting it was a trap.

Lu Sheng seemed surprised that Zu'an was unmoved. "Don't you know how extraordinary the *Lu Tu Shu* is?"

"What good is foreseeing the future if you couldn't change your own fate back then, ending up as just a wisp of a soul hiding here for so many years?" Zu'an said calmly. "Besides, I don't trust unprovoked kindness."

Hearing his words, Lu Sheng was stunned. After a long pause, he sighed, "Your insight is indeed remarkable. Back then, I relied too much on the *Lu Tu Shu*, and by the time my impending fate arrived, I was utterly despairing, not even having the courage to think of changing it. You are truly the fated one; this book will certainly achieve greater things with you than it did with me."

As he spoke, he pointed a finger, and a golden light shot directly into Zu'an's forehead.

Zu'an was startled, quickly stepping back while touching his forehead. "What did you do to me?"

To his dismay, no matter how he touched his forehead, there was no sensation. He was shocked, knowing his body had undergone three temperings by the Primordial Chaos Sutra, which should have made it incredibly tough, difficult to harm with ordinary blades. Yet, it had offered no defense against this golden light.

"Don't worry, I merely imprinted the *Lu Tu Shu* into your Sea of Consciousness. It caused you no harm at all," Lu Sheng said weakly. His eyes were no longer as bright as before, as if his body had become frail.

Mi Li was somewhat surprised. "The *Lu Tu Shu* isn't actually a book?"

Lu Sheng shook his head. "Of course not a book. The one I showed the Emperor back then was merely a diversion. This is the *Lu Tu Shu*'s true form. Fortunately, that great calamity back then prevented it from falling into that person's hands."

"That person?" Mi Li mused thoughtfully.

Zu'an quickly looked inward and indeed found a faint golden book emerging in his Sea of Consciousness, exuding an ancient, desolate aura—the very essence of the Dao.

However, he felt no joy. Instead, he looked at Mi Li and asked, "Master, is everything really alright?"

Mi Li replied, "Don't worry, this is your good fortune. You're quite lucky, young man."

Hearing her confirmation, Zu'an finally breathed a sigh of relief. Still, he piteously mumbled, "Master, I feel... tainted."

He felt as though someone else's possession had entered him, and his mind had been reshaped by another, which was truly vexing.

Mi Li was speechless.

"Get lost!"

At this moment, Lu Sheng looked at her in surprise. "So this fated individual is your disciple, Your Majesty."

"Hmph, he's just a lazy good-for-nothing. He pleaded so persistently that I reluctantly agreed," Mi Li said, her chin held high, looking as smug as possible.

Zu'an was speechless.

*Who was begging whom?* he thought, but decided to save her some face in front of her subject.

"It seems the *Lu Tu Shu* did not deceive me after all. With Your Majesty's assistance, that wish will surely be fulfilled," Lu Sheng said. As he spoke, his form gradually became transparent and dim, dissipating into the wind at a visible rate.

Watching this scene, Mi Li remained silent, her expression exceptionally mournful. Seeing old acquaintances fade away one by one, she felt the immense power of time ever more profoundly.

The group continued walking through the palace. Mi Li remained silent, while Bi Linglong asked Zu'an with concern, "Are you alright after that *Lu Tu Shu* entered your body?"

Zu'an shook his head. "I don't see any abnormalities for now, but I have no idea how to use that thing, nor did it come with any instructions."

He had tried several times, but neither his elemental energy nor his Primordial Chaos energy could activate the golden book in his Sea of Consciousness.

Bi Linglong, however, looked worried. "Even that person who could foresee the future couldn't escape a great catastrophe. I have a feeling the danger we're about to face must be terrifying."

Zu'an laughed heartily. "The more terrifying, the better! Remember, there's also a terrifying Emperor waiting to kill us. If this unknown danger is too weak, how will we find a ray of hope?"

Mi Li couldn't help but nod. "Though you're greedy and lecherous, your disposition is broad-minded and cheerful. Little girl, while you're clever, you're far inferior to him in this regard."

Bi Linglong wasn't offended at all; she merely smiled faintly. "I already knew I couldn't compare to him."

A month ago, her proud nature would never have allowed her to admit that, but now, her admiration was genuine.

"Heh, women," Mi Li said with a look of disdain.

"The next room should be for the Water element, right? Most of the previous rooms belonged to people you knew. Do you have any idea who the master buried in this room might be?" Zu'an asked.

"No, I don't. I've thought back to the people from those years, and none seem to have been associated with the water element," Mi Li shook her head slightly.

"Could it be Xu Fu?" Zu'an asked curiously.

Mi Li gently cupped her chin. "It's not impossible. Xu Fu spent a lot of time at sea, dealing with water for most of his life."

Just then, five branching paths suddenly appeared ahead. Mi Li stopped, her eyes filled with doubt.

"What's wrong? Which path do we take?" Zu'an asked curiously.

Mi Li said, "Based on the Five Elements formation, any of these five paths could be the correct one."

Bi Linglong picked up a small stone and tossed it into one of the tunnels. Immediately, various arrows shot out from within. "It seems only one of these five paths is real; the others are traps."

Mi Li replied, "That's true. Unfortunately, the one with traps isn't necessarily fake, and the one without traps could be a dead end."

As the two women pondered, Zu'an suddenly had an idea. He pointed to the second path on the left and declared, "This one!"

"How do you know?" Bi Linglong asked, perplexed. This was the same path she had just tested, and it clearly had many traps.

Even Mi Li looked at him in surprise, waiting for his explanation.

"It seems the *Lu Tu Shu* told me," Zu'an rubbed his temples. "Just now, for some reason, an image of the second path suddenly appeared in my mind."

"Then this one it is," Mi Li said, stepping into it first, as if she had immense trust in the *Lu Tu Shu*.

Zu'an initially wanted to warn her to be careful, but then he thought that with her cultivation level and his own abilities, they should be able to handle anything.

The path ahead indeed contained some traps, but both of them dealt with them effortlessly. After the initial dangerous section, the rest of the path was smooth. Soon, the group arrived at a grand gate adorned with rows of neatly arranged gilded door-studs, presenting a particularly magnificent appearance.

"Oh?"

"What's wrong?" Hearing Mi Li's voice, Zu'an thought something had happened and looked around warily.

Mi Li, however, was staring blankly at the gate, saying nothing. Bi Linglong beside her explained, "This gate has eighty-one door-studs in total—nine rows and nine columns. The number nine represents the pinnacle of yang and symbolizes the supreme emperor. The 'nine-nine' standard has historically only been permitted for emperors. Anyone else using it would be committing usurpation, a crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of their clan."

Zu'an was startled and looked at Mi Li. "Master, is that really true? Is Qin Shi Huang buried inside?"

Mi Li replied, "We didn't have such strict rules back then, though there were similar customs. As for this place, it's clearly not Qin Shi Huang's tomb. He was such a show-off; there's no way he'd settle for a tomb of this scale."

Zu'an agreed. While the gate before them was impressive, it was merely that—impressive, but not truly grand.

In the world he came from, Qin Shi Huang's tomb was an entire mountain. While many imperial tombs throughout history had been looted, no one had ever managed to steal from his. And in this Xianxia world, Qin Shi Huang could wield far more resources than in his previous life, so how could he possibly have settled for something modest?

"I'd like to see who's buried in there," Mi Li snorted coldly and walked directly toward the gate.

Behind the tomb door, a Dragon-Breaking Stone sealed it off, but this couldn't stop her. As a soul body, the physical gate was no barrier at all.

She seemed to become transparent, passing directly through the gate. Not long after, the gate slowly opened, indicating she had activated a mechanism from within.

Zu'an and Bi Linglong quickly followed, eager to discover what secrets this tomb chamber held.