Chapter 1173 - 801: No Way Back

The Primordial Spirit division Secret Technique was crucial; it was tied to the Tree of Life, tied to the progression of his own Law of Life.

So Zhang Chen had to find the Secret Technique for dividing the Primordial Spirit, and the best place to hide such a Primordial Spirit division Secret Technique was, in all likelihood, precisely the Ancient Divine Demon Tomb.

All techniques in this world ultimately came from the Ancient Divine Demon Tomb.

Beside them, Chen Xu, hearing this, said, "You two elder brothers are far too polite. Once we enter the tomb, let’s each take what we need. The Creation within the tomb won’t be lacking; there’ll be more than enough for us to divide up."

Zhou Chuan nodded. "We’re all brothers of the same family. What’s there that we can’t talk through?"

Once they finished their discussion, it was Chen Xu’s turn to get to work.

Chen Xu began moving with the laborers, roaming among the mountain ranges, searching for the entrance leading into the tomb, while Zhang Chen and Zhou Chuan sat upright in the house, patiently waiting.

Time flowed by slowly. After roughly three days, on this day, Zhang Chen and Zhou Chuan were sitting in the house drinking tea when Chen Xu suddenly burst in from outside, face full of excitement. "Found it! I’ve found the entrance to that tomb."

Hearing this, delight appeared on Zhang Chen’s face. "You’re something else. Where is the entrance to that tomb? Let’s hurry over and take a look."

Zhou Chuan, off to the side, also praised him upon hearing this. "Truly, there is a sequence in learning and a specialization in the arts. I admire Brother Chen’s methods."

"You two elder brothers, come with me." Chen Xu led the two of them, weaving through the mountains. Before long, they arrived before a low little hill. Pointing at that utterly inconspicuous hill, he said, "The entrance to the tomb is at the foot of this hill."

The hill was so small, not even thirty meters high. Compared with the surrounding mountains that soared several hundred meters, it was utterly unremarkable.

"Who would have thought the Ancient Divine Demon Tomb would actually be hidden beneath such an inconspicuous little hill." Zhou Chuan looked at that hill, a trace of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

"A mountain need not be high; with an immortal it becomes sacred. From the Ancient Era down to today, hundreds of thousands of years have drifted by; seas have turned into mulberry fields. Those famed mountains and great rivers of the past might well have become oceans. So for a great mountain to weather away into a small hill really isn’t anything strange." Zhang Chen added from the side.

"Let’s hurry and find people to open up the tomb." Chen Xu rubbed his fists, eager to try. The allure of the Ancient Divine Demon Tomb for him was far too great. The Ancient Divine Demon Tomb meant limitless resources, inexhaustible treasures—how could he possibly keep himself from feeling anxious?

"I’ll go mobilize those laborers right now, seal off all the nearby hills, and prevent any word from leaking out." Zhou Chuan, too, was finding it hard to bear the pressure coming from the Gong Family; inevitably a trace of impatience rose in his heart.

"We don’t need those laborers to make a move. With too many people, eyes get mixed; if there’s some unforeseen variable among them, that would be troublesome. I have the ability to open mountains and split stone; I can silently carve out an underground passage. Big Brother, first quietly redeploy the laborers and bandits around here away from this place, then I’ll make a move and open up a tunnel." Zhang Chen said.

He possessed the Authority of Earth; when it came to excavating underground passages, how could ordinary laborers possibly compare to Zhang Chen’s level of expertise?

"So you have this sort of skill as well, Brother. That truly is astonishing. Wait here for a bit. I’ll go relocate those bandits and laborers, have them go develop another mountain." Zhou Chuan turned into a streak of flowing light and shot off. Before long, a bandit leader appeared, shouting for the gathered laborers to head to a more distant hill.

After roughly half an hour, all the bandits and laborers here had left completely. Only then did Zhang Chen turn his head to look at Chen Xu. "Where is the tomb entrance?"

"Come with me." Chen Xu led Zhang Chen through the mountain, walking and stopping, constantly divining as they went, until finally he halted beneath a large tree at the foot of the hill.

That great tree had been growing for a thousand years, its canopy wide like a pavilion, lush and verdant. Within it strands of Divine light circulated, making it look rather extraordinary.

"The entrance to the tomb is beneath this tree." Chen Xu said.

"Wait for Zhou." Zhang Chen wasn’t in a rush to make a move; he wanted to wait for Zhou Chuan.

After another cup of tea’s time, Zhou Chuan arrived. Before he had even reached them, his voice called out first, "Have you found the entrance to the tomb?"

Zhang Chen said, "You’ve come at just the right time, Big Brother. Watch as I display my methods."

Zhang Chen’s Authority of Earth Element activated. The next instant, the underground strata writhed and twisted, then a passage took form. The passage was square and straight, even complete with steps, looking thoroughly orderly.

Seeing this trick of Zhang Chen’s, Zhou Chuan couldn’t help but praise, "Excellent means, Brother! Such a ’moisten things silently’ method—Even a Yang God level expert couldn’t match it!"

One had to know this place was a land where the Dragon Vein was attached; even a Yang God expert could not shake it. Yet Zhang Chen was actually able to open it up, which spoke volumes about how formidable his methods were.

"Let’s go in." Zhang Chen replied, then was the first to walk into the passage.

Zhang Chen had explored the Princess’s tomb before and knew the Ancient Divine Demon arrays were extremely deep, so he’d long since prepared himself mentally. With their group moving forward and stopping in turns, only after they had opened up a passage two thousand meters long did a great white jade gate finally appear before Zhang Chen.

With Zhang Chen triggering his skill, the entire white jade gate emerged before their eyes. They saw that the white jade gate towered three hundred meters high, upon which countless Divine patterns were carved. Those Divine patterns were vivid and life-like, as though they were living beings; within their eyes Divine light flowed.

"There’s a tomb inscription here." Zhang Chen looked toward a tomb inscription not far off, likewise sculpted from white jade, curiosity flickering in his gaze. He didn’t know which legendary Divine being had been buried here.

Zhang Chen stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the stone stele, and saw that on its front were carved countless jade-like blossoms and Immortal Grass, and above them a range of rolling mountains, with innumerable Divine beings faintly looming upon the peaks.

Zhang Chen glanced at the front of the stele, then turned to look at its back. There, densely packed fine characters were engraved. When Zhang Chen saw those tiny strokes, he couldn’t help but feel that this was just as he’d expected: "Innate Text."

Only, the content recorded in those characters filled Zhang Chen’s face with question marks: "Can’t go back! Can never go back again!"

A single simple sentence, yet its iron strokes and silver hooks carried an indescribable sense of being Venerable and awe-inspiring, making Zhang Chen involuntarily stare in a daze.

The entire stele was filled with repeated engravings of this sentence.

There was no text introducing the tomb’s owner, only these few simple words, yet the regret surging from them seemed to rush straight toward him, piercing through Zhang Chen’s soul.

"What do these words say?" Chen Xu didn’t recognize the Innate Text and asked aloud.

"Can’t go back! Can never go back again!" Zhang Chen recited.

"What?" Zhou Chuan and Chen Xu froze, staring blankly at the stele. This counted as a tomb inscription?

If not for the fact that the two trusted Zhang Chen deeply and knew he would never deceive them, they would probably already have drawn their blades at him.

Looking again at that Feng Shui Grand Tomb, a probing look surfaced in Zhang Chen’s eyes: "This tomb... I’m afraid it won’t be easy to open."

Because the entire tomb showed no flaws at all; there wasn’t a single gap in the gate. That jade wasn’t ordinary jade, it seemed to be imbued with some unknown power, giving off a feeling of being Immune to All Laws.

"This gate is linked to the Feng Shui Grand Array of the entire tomb, and the tomb as a whole can mobilize the Dragon Vein of this region of Heaven and Earth. So if we want to find a way to enter the tomb, we must locate the mechanism that opens it. Otherwise... if we try to rely on brute force alone to break this gate, we’re simply indulging in wild fantasies." Chen Xu turned his head to look at Zhou Chuan and Zhang Chen. "Even if a Twelfth Tier powerhouse descended, they still wouldn’t be able to shake this Earth Vein."

"The Earth Vein under that old turtle is quite unique. It’s connected to the water veins of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, stretching for four thousand eight hundred li. Once this Earth Vein collapses, Celestial Punishment will definitely descend; even a Twelfth Tier powerhouse would be doomed without a doubt." Chen Xu said with great certainty.

"Truly worthy of an Ancient Divine Demon-level figure—after death he still leaves behind such a huge pit." Zhang Chen sighed beside him.

"Spread out and look for the mechanism that opens the tomb. We might find a way to open this gate." Zhou Chuan made his decision, and the few of them spread out, constantly searching for the mechanism to open the tomb.

Zhang Chen’s eyes swept across the tomb gate, looking at that towering jade door. He reached out and pressed his palm against it, trying to feel the power attached to the jade gate.

"There’s Power of the Dragon Vein, and... the power of fate, and a kind of force that can’t quite be put into words. That power is truly peculiar." Zhang Chen carefully sensed the forces within the entire gate, and found that the power inside the tomb carried a feeling of forbidding Ten Thousand Techniques. When Zhang Chen’s Magical Power probed into it, it was actually completely absorbed by that force.

The three of them wandered about for quite a while, yet still couldn’t find a way to open the gate.

"Can we open a passage into the tomb from some other direction?" Zhou Chuan turned his head toward Chen Xu.

Chen Xu shook his head. "If you can withstand the backlash of the Dragon Vein, then by all means use the Mountain-moving Technique of splitting mountains and cracking stone to cleave this whole mountain apart. When that happens, the tomb will naturally appear before our eyes."

Hearing this, Zhou Chuan gave a bitter smile. Don’t be fooled by the fact that he was a Tenth Tier Martial Artist who could tear open a thousand li of earth and perform Mountain-moving and Sea Overturning—before Celestial Punishment, he was still nothing but an ant.

"Brother, do you have any ideas?" Zhou Chuan looked at Zhang Chen.

"I’m working on it." Zhang Chen replied.

Since they couldn’t find a way to open the tomb, Zhang Chen could only think along other lines, and before long he really did come up with an idea.

They themselves didn’t know how this tomb was opened—but what about the Princess? Would the Princess know?

By rights, the Princess and the various gods lived in the same era; she should have some understanding of the methods of the gods.

"Why don’t I go into the Spiritual World and ask the Princess." With that thought, Zhang Chen immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, forming a Spell with his hands. In the next instant, his Primordial Spirit had already appeared before the Li Spring.

Looking at the Princess soaking in the Li Spring, Zhang Chen asked, "There’s something I’d like to consult you about."

"What is it?" The Princess in the Li Spring opened her eyes and turned to look at Zhang Chen, her gaze full of doubt.

"I’ve discovered an Ancient Divine Demon Tomb in the Material Realm, and I’d like to ask you about the origin of the tomb’s owner." Zhang Chen inquired.

"You’re digging up tombs again?" When she heard this, the Princess began grinding her teeth, and ripples of water spread across the Li Spring.