Chapter 273 - 115: Harvesting a Precious Treasure

Chapter 273: Chapter 115: Harvesting a Precious Treasure

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Muffled thuds and the roar of exploding energy once again shattered the deathly silence of the small world within the ancient tomb.

Lin Yi’s team of six had once again run into zombies!

This time, they faced a total of three of them!

And these were far more ferocious.

One was a zombified Lion Demon, enormous in size with fangs like halberds.

Another was a zombified Tiger Demon, swift and agile, its sharp claws glinting coldly.

And the last was a zombified Wolf Demon, relatively small but incredibly fast!

Without exception, all three zombies were at the peak of the Fourth Grade!

The three zombies surrounded them, their combined ferocity overwhelming.

The battle erupted in an instant!

Lei Gang’s giant golden shield groaned under the zombified Lion Demon’s frenzied assault, emitting the grating screech of twisting metal.

Liu Mei’s verdant saber light wove like silk threads, desperately trying to ensnare the swift tiger zombie.

Meanwhile, Du Qi’s throwing knives, Zhao Zhuo’s longspear, Zhou Tiankuo’s sword Gang Qi, and Lin Yi’s Star Spear focused their attacks on the Wolf Demon zombie, which constantly tried to launch sneak attacks.

For a moment, the entire area was a whirlwind of crisscrossing Gang Qi, earth-shaking roars, and flying rubble!

The team members threw everything they had into the fight, their coordination growing more seamless by the second.

But facing an assault from three zombies, all at the mid-to-high levels of the Fourth Grade, the pressure on them skyrocketed.

Lei Gang was forced back repeatedly, a trickle of blood even seeping from the corner of his mouth. While dodging the tiger zombie’s claws, Liu Mei’s sleeve was torn, leaving several bloody scratches on her shoulder. Du Qi had nearly exhausted his supply of throwing knives...

After a grueling battle, the three zombies were finally slain by their combined efforts, crashing to the ground.

"Quick! Get the Crystal Cores and let’s go, now!"

Zhou Tiankuo, his face pale, barked the order. He scanned their surroundings warily.

"We made too much noise! We’ll probably attract more zombies from the area! We can’t stay here!"

Hearing this, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.

Without pausing to catch their breath or check their wounds, Lei Gang and Zhou Tiankuo hurried forward. They deftly cut open the zombies’ chests and retrieved three Crystal Cores, each as black and chilling as the last.

The moment the Crystal Cores were in hand, the team turned and fled without the slightest hesitation.

They took a fork in the path and retreated at top speed, leaving the battlefield reeking of blood and battle.

Before they knew it, Lin Yi and his team had been painstakingly exploring the perilous third level of the ancient tomb for nearly three hours.

Those three hours had been like dancing on a knife’s edge.

They had weathered several waves of zombie attacks, and each encounter had been a brush with death.

Relying on their wealth of experience and ever-improving teamwork, they had established a set of rules for their exploration—

If they spotted more than three zombies, or if their auras felt too powerful, they would immediately conceal their presence and take a detour, never engaging directly.

If they encountered one to three zombies whose strength was manageable, they would attack all at once, aiming to overwhelm and destroy them with lightning speed to avoid attracting more trouble.

By now, the special backpack on Zhou Tiankuo’s back was filled with over a hundred Fourth Grade zombie Crystal Cores of various sizes!

These were, after all, Fourth Grade Crystal Cores. Though saturated with death energy, the power they contained was astonishing.

In the outside world, each one was worth a fortune, starting at a minimum of one million Huaxia Coins!

The haul of Crystal Cores alone was enough to make this expedition to the ancient tomb a massive success.

However, no one looked particularly pleased.

Aside from these zombie Crystal Cores, which could only be exchanged for money, they hadn’t seen even a shadow of the substance of longevity or any other ancient treasures they so desperately sought!

"Come on, let’s keep moving! I have a bad feeling about this area."

Zhou Tiankuo urged, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

The group quickly moved on.

They continued to traverse the third level of the tomb, which was like a small world unto itself.

"Strange..."

Lei Gang muttered under his breath, his eyes scanning their surroundings vigilantly.

"We’ve been in here for a while now, but why are all the zombies we’ve encountered made from Demon Beast corpses? Tigers, wolves, leopards, lions... I haven’t seen a single humanoid zombie. Boss Zhou, were the first and second levels of the tomb like this too?"

He looked toward Zhou Tiankuo.

Zhou Tiankuo nodded in confirmation.

"That’s right. It was the same on the first and second levels. Only zombies born from reanimated Demon Beast corpses, not a single one made from a human body."

Du Qi gasped, a flicker of shocked disbelief in his eyes.

"Hss... This... this doesn’t make any sense! How could there be no human corpses in the tomb of a Pre-Qin Qi Cultivator? Could it be... this isn’t the headquarters of a Pre-Qin Qi Cultivator sect at all, but a small world created by some ancient Great Power of the Demon Race?"

This bold conjecture shrouded everyone’s minds in an even deeper fog of mystery.

Filled with this new doubt and on high alert, the group continued to advance cautiously.

「A few minutes later.」

They arrived at a small, slightly elevated hillock.

Huge, weathered Beast Bones were scattered across the slope.

A faint purple miasma hung in the air, blurring their vision.

Du Qi, who was scouting ahead, suddenly stopped, dropped into a crouch, and waved his hand sharply behind him. He made a hushing gesture and hissed in a barely audible whisper:

"Trouble! In the valley ahead! Five zombies! Their auras are strong!"

Everyone’s hearts tightened. They immediately held their breath, dropping low and using the jagged rocks and dry bones at the edge of the hillock to conceal themselves.

They cautiously peered out toward the valley below, which was shrouded in a faint purple mist.