Immortality Through Array Formations Chapter 1960 - 950: Tomb Exploration

The graveyard was a realm of oppressive shadows, damp and chilling to the bone, saturated with a suffocating atmosphere.

Ahead, a dark corridor stretched into the gloom; its true length was a mystery, and its ultimate end remained hidden.

Gripping a compass, Mo Hua served as the guide, navigating the party through the cramped, pitch-black tunnels.

Mr. Hui and several others scanned their surroundings with wary eyes, remaining vigilant against the grotesque corpses that haunted the tomb.

As they progressed, corpse spirits did indeed manifest. They were few in number—usually appearing in pairs or alone—silently lunging from the darkness with the intent to feast on flesh.

The group, however, was prepared for such encounters. Seven Golden Core experts stood on high alert, covering every blind spot.

The moment these corpse spirits revealed themselves, they were ruthlessly struck down.

Not a single person suffered a bite from the undead creatures.

Secretly, Mo Hua felt a pang of disappointment.

The lack of injuries meant he had fewer subjects to observe, which hindered his research into using evil spirits as a form of poison.

He wasn't certain if anyone had ever attempted such a feat before.

Achieving success would be an uphill battle, requiring immense effort.

The sheer complexity of sealing, storing, breeding, and transforming evil spirits—not to mention the process of nurturing and administering the poison—demanded exhaustive study.

Because of this, he actually hoped someone would be bitten a few times; seeing the symptoms manifest would have provided invaluable data.

Nonetheless, the group was still in the cooperative phase of their tomb exploration. Since the final burial chamber remained undiscovered, there was no reason to be impatient.

Mo Hua pushed these stray thoughts aside and concentrated on leading the way.

The trek felt eternal, but eventually, the passage abruptly opened up into a wider space.

The environment underwent a sudden transformation.

Walking at the front, Mo Hua stopped dead in his tracks. He carefully retreated into the center of the formation, making sure he was shielded by the Golden Core experts before peering toward the large stone chamber ahead.

The chamber was stark and simple, though its walls were adorned with various carvings.

These murals were crudely executed, primarily illustrating Oxhead and Horseface clad in the official robes of the Taoist Court as they captured and tormented sinners.

Mo Hua examined the artwork with focus, probing them with his divine sense, only to eventually knit his brows in confusion.

These drawings appeared to be nothing more than ordinary murals.

They weren't contemplation maps, they held no hidden formations, and they didn't seem to harbor any occult secrets.

Regardless, the sight of Oxhead and Horseface overseeing gruesome punishments left Mo Hua with an unsettling sensation.

A strange suspicion entered his mind.

It felt as though these murals were "rubbings" or copies of an original work. The person who carved them clearly didn't grasp the profound meaning behind the images, merely mimicking the shapes upon the tomb walls.

Even a mere "copy" was enough to make Mo Hua feel a sense of freezing dread.

If the mere imitation was this chilling, the "essence" of the original work would likely be terrifying beyond imagination.

Mo Hua’s expression turned grim as his worry deepened.

In contrast, Mr. Hui grew animated upon seeing the carvings. He turned to the others and announced:

"These murals mark the perimeter of the underground palace; we have arrived."

"Once we navigate the underground palace and reach the inner sanctum, we will find the coffin. All the tomb’s treasures will be interred there alongside it."

"We take the items, retrace our steps, and the mission will be a success."

Greed and excitement flickered in the eyes of the cultivators.

After a moment of reflection, Mo Hua finally voiced the question weighing on him: "Whose tomb are we actually pillaging, and what exactly is hidden inside?"

Though Mo Hua spoke softly, his voice reached everyone's ears.

Despite this, none of the cultivators offered an answer, behaving as if he hadn't spoken at all.

Mo Hua pursed his lips, feeling a bit awkward.

"Time is wasting, let us move," Mr. Hui stated. He paused for a beat before adding gravely:

"I must warn you all: we are at the heart of the palace now. It was built to shield the burial chamber and is riddled with lethal killing formations and traps. We must be extremely cautious."

The young man in black robes gave a silent nod of agreement.

The group moved past the perimeter murals and advanced roughly a hundred paces.

The masonry of the walls shifted, and they were soon faced with five diverging paths leading into the vast underground palace.

"These forks are designed to mislead intruders and safeguard the burial site," Mr. Hui explained.

The black-robed youth nodded slightly and inquired, "Which route is the correct one?"

Mr. Hui and his companions went quiet, their eyes turning toward Mo Hua.

Normally, the task of navigating a tomb and identifying paths belonged to Mr. Pi, who was an expert in earth formations. With Mr. Pi dead, the responsibility fell to the only remaining formation master, Mo Hua.

Even if his mastery of earth formations was largely self-taught.

Mo Hua looked deep in thought.

This was his first time raiding a tomb—or rather, being "forced" to participate in one—and much of this was unfamiliar to him.

The practical application of earth formations in such a setting was something he was experiencing for the first time.

To his divine sense, the five paths ahead felt virtually identical.

The structural layout and the lingering aura of the formations within each tunnel were indistinguishable, making it nearly impossible for Mo Hua to tell which one led to their goal.

"Give me a moment to study this..." Mo Hua muttered.

Mr. Hui’s eye twitched with impatience.

The young man in black robes looked at Mo Hua with an increasingly odd expression.

Ignoring their stares, Mo Hua began rummaging through Mr. Pi’s storage pouch.

Inside the pouch, alongside various formation manuals and diagrams, were several notebooks and miscellaneous texts.

Some of these notes contained Mr. Pi's personal insights regarding tomb exploration.

The records detailed the synergy between formations and burial sites, covering the use of the Five Elements Formation, the Eight Trigrams Array, and various concealed earth formations within tombs.

It also contained advice on how to use formations to bypass obstacles and solve the very problems they were currently facing.