Chapter 486: Stagnation

Chapter 486: Chapter 486: Stagnation

Last time when the Sword Emperor’s Tomb opened, it quickly sealed itself again. The people from various sects came and went, each getting quite a bit of benefit. But later, for some unknown reason, the tomb closed earlier than expected and now it’s as stagnant as dead water.

Shen Hao had already tried before. He found he could ignore the mass of cloud mist blocking the entrance to the tomb—at least, when he reached his arm into it, he didn’t feel anything strange.

Everyone knows the Sword Emperor’s Tomb is a treasure ground. Although it’s filled with dangers, it’s also full of opportunities. Just thinking about how even first-class sects like Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute select only their best disciples to "train" here shows how important the tomb is. After Shen Hao realized that, thanks to his Black Beast Tattoo, he could ignore the tomb’s closure, he started making secret plans.

Whether it was having Liu Kuan build an extra house over the tomb or setting up defensive and concealing arrays, all these seemingly unnecessary acts were done intentionally by Shen Hao. He figured one day, once his cultivation was reliable enough, he could sneak over and enter the Sword Emperor’s Tomb to seek out opportunities.

But the heavens don’t always agree with human plans. The Black Beast Tattoo was clearly less patient—it gave him a round of threats, forcing Shen Hao to take the risk and come early to Tu Kui City. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Still, luckily for him, thanks to the previous preparations: the covered house blocked the sight of outsiders, the Concealment Array shielded their perception, and Liu Kuan was so smart—this gave Shen Hao a temporarily relaxed environment to try if he could really pass through the cloud mist into the Sword Emperor’s Tomb.

Leaving Liu Kuan off to the side, Shen Hao leapt down into the large pit at the center of the house, then walked straight to the entrance blocked by cloud mist.

"Hiss..." Taking a deep breath, Shen Hao drew out the Yanji Saber from his waist, then grabbed a Defense Talisman in his hand. After making sure everything was ready, he raised his leg and charged toward the cloud mist in front of him.

Unlike how others felt it was "impassable," to Shen Hao it really was just "cloud mist"—he could hardly sense any barrier at all. He stepped a leg inside, then pulled it out again, repeating several times.

Once he confirmed he could retreat, Shen Hao wasn’t hesitant anymore. He stepped forward half a pace, his whole body slipped inside!

If he had to describe it, he would say the light in front of him suddenly disappeared, like entering a world with not the faintest glimmer—so much that even his handy Night Eye Skill was completely useless.

"Breath..." Shen Hao inhaled, discovering there was still air inside to breathe, and not that dank, stale stench from long-sealed air—instead, it was rather fresh, like the scent in forest after rain.

Shen Hao didn’t act rashly. He spread his perception to the fullest and stood absolutely still for more than ten breaths before taking a Fire Stick from the Storage Bag and lighting it. He didn’t hold it, but tossed it ahead, about six zhang away. The Fire Stick, in the brief moment it dropped to the ground, illuminated a lot—Shen Hao’s nerves tightened instantly by what he saw.

"Pah pah pah..."

The Fire Stick rolled on the ground for a distance, still burning without going out, stopping right next to a pitch-black foot, close enough that the little flame burned at the foot but didn’t get any reaction.

Tomb Beast!

The closest one was right in front and to the right of Shen Hao, barely less than a zhang away. And within the area lit up along the Fire Stick’s trajectory, Shen Hao saw at least five Tomb Beasts!

Shen Hao hadn’t fought a Tomb Beast before, but he’d seen Nie Yun battle them. He estimated that with his current strength, he could handle one or two Tomb Beasts head-on, but five... would be certain death.

He didn’t go further, choosing instead to observe from where he stood, and even prepared himself to run back at any moment—after all, he’d just come in, and half a step behind was the entrance; if there was danger, he could just dodge back out.

After waiting another dozen breaths, Shen Hao realized the light from the Fire Stick didn’t attract any attention from the Tomb Beasts. The sound of it dropping rang out far, but still none of the Tomb Beasts moved at all—not even the little flame burning against the Tomb Beast’s foot got any reaction.

"Are they... paused?" Shen Hao felt a surge of surprise.

He’d asked Nie Yun before about what Tomb Beasts were, and Nie Yun said they were puppet-like things, not actual creatures. Shen Hao had seen Nie Yun slaughter Tomb Beasts—the only fatal wound was the head; decapitation killed them, but no corpse remained. After "death," they dissolved into a puddle of Black Water and seeped underground, vanishing without a trace.

According to Nie Yun, Tomb Beasts were endless. Maybe the Black Water left behind allowed these puppet-like Tomb Beasts to regenerate?

So these Tomb Beasts could be "activated" or "deactivated." Right now, they’re deactivated?

After a couple rounds of thoughts, Shen Hao felt lucky at what he’d discovered. Those Tomb Beasts that should be extremely sensitive were now like statues, each holding a similar pose—standing or crouched—without a trace of vitality.

He took out a lump of broken silver, rubbed it hard into a thin strip, then flicked it forward with a wave.

This time, Shen Hao infused the silver strip with True Qi, so it flew like a hidden weapon and stabbed straight into a Tomb Beast’s head about a zhang away. With a soft thud, it sank two inches deep.

"Still no reaction?"

This time, Shen Hao swung his saber—a stroke of Black Cut slashed at the neck of the nearest Black Beast. In the blink of an eye, its head dropped to the ground.

It should be dead, right?

Shen Hao stayed ready to retreat at any time, but after waiting a moment, everything was still silent. Even the Tomb Beast he’d decapitated just sat in two parts, not dissolving into Black Water and vanishing.

That settled him. Shen Hao tried walking several steps forward to the Tomb Beast he’d cut down, squatting to take a careful look—the beast’s neck was cleanly sliced, but inside it was solid, like a stone carving, not at all what he’d imagined, with no complicated internal structures.

He picked up the Fire Stick, then took out a torch he’d prepared from the Storage Bag, lit it, and raised it high, walking through the frozen poses of the Tomb Beasts. Shen Hao felt inexplicably exhilarated.

If these Tomb Beasts "wake up," he’d be dead for sure, but now it was safe—the contrast kept his nerves taut.

He left a jar of wine at the entrance, unsealed it—to serve as a marker. The scent would carry far in here; using smell as a mark in the dark was best. It was a bit wasteful for good wine, though; left open, it’d lose much of its flavor.

Continuing forward, Shen Hao was curious why he hadn’t seen the "Cloud Swords," those dangerous yet opportunity-filled swords. When the Sword Emperor’s Tomb emerged last time, all of Cloud Sword Domain was filled with drifting Cloud Swords of varying sizes, and he’d gotten quite a few benefits from them.

The most crucial thing this time was—the Cloud Sword was Shen Hao’s main goal, and not seeing one meant he had no clue how to find that golden Soul Energy.