Tomb Raiding: My Family's Last Clan Chief is Little Brother

Chapter 257 Meteorite Jade
After turning the stone pillar and taking only a few steps, Wu Xiaoxie suddenly felt something prop up his right foot. He bent down and pulled a ceramic shard from the bottom of the water.

Zhang Wuxun shone a light on his hand.

Wu Xiaoxie examined it carefully and suddenly gasped, "I've seen this fragment before."

The fat man and his friends quickly gathered around and asked what had happened.

Wu Xiaoxie explained, "I encountered a shipwreck with A Ning in the Devil City before. The shipwreck's hold was full of earthenware pots made of this material. When A Ning's people were moving them, they accidentally broke one, and all the Corpse Beetle Kings inside flew out."

The water here is very clear. The fat man shone his headlamp into the water and found that the sand and gravel at the bottom were full of these sharp pottery shards, like hidden weapons lying in wait at the bottom of the water.

The deeper they dug, the more uncountable the number of pottery shards became. Some of the larger fragments were covered with a black, hair-like unidentified substance that sent chills down their spines.

The underwater surface extending in all directions was covered with these fragments, and the closer to the direction indicated by the mark, the denser the distribution of fragments became.

"It looks like it was washed down from above by the water." The fat man pulled a semi-circular bone out of the muddy water they had stirred up. It was corroded and pitted, like a honeycomb briquette.

“Tianzhen, according to you, could there also be a shipwreck up there?” he asked Wu Xiaoxie.

Wu Xiaoxie shook his head. "It's probably impossible. There wouldn't be an ancient ship sunk so deep underground unless this lake has a waterway leading to the outside world."

"Furthermore, these jars were offerings to the snakes and should have been placed in places related to sacrificial activities. I think this must be related to the religion of the Queen Mother of the West. With so many of them, it seems that these kinds of jars were not uncommon at the time."

"With so many offerings, the Queen Mother of the West's tomb is very likely to be behind here," the shopkeeper couldn't help but interject.

All eyes immediately turned to him.

The waiter flinched slightly, feigning fear, and chuckled awkwardly, "I was just saying it offhand, gentlemen, please continue."

The fat man turned his head. "Whatever it is, we still have to go check the back. Tianzhen, is your foot alright? Who knows if these rotten bones are poisonous? We should be careful."

Wu Xiaoxie put one hand on Zhang Wuxun's shoulder, took off his right shoe to check it, and said, "It's okay, there's no puncture. The equipment made by Muyu is more sturdy and durable than ordinary materials."

Chen Wenjin's face showed a hint of urgency. "We need to hurry. Since there are offerings here, those snakes might be nearby. It's better to leave as soon as possible."

Strangely enough, since I came here, I haven't seen those plague-like snakes again.

"Where did all those hanging sausages go? Could they really be hiding somewhere, lying in ambush for us?" the fat man asked, feeling puzzled.

Zhang Wuxun said, "Don't worry, the temperature here is so low that it's not conducive to breeding, so those snakes are very unlikely to choose to live here."

The group continued forward, carefully avoiding underwater debris to prevent cuts.

After walking for several hundred meters, there was a small slope in front of us, made entirely of these broken pottery jars.

The group looked at each other, unable to imagine how many layers were piled up below.

The entire area was filled with fragments of pottery jars, large and small, mostly dark red and yellowish-brown in color. Beneath these fragments, there were many more seemingly intact "ghost head" jars buried, with even more piled up underwater.

The scene was truly terrifying. After hearing Wu Xiaoxie's account, they realized how dangerous it was, and the group dared not make any rash moves. They carefully retreated and searched for another way out while carrying their lamps.

Black Bear was somewhat interested in these things. He shoved the rope into Zhang Wuxun's hand and dove into the water to examine the ghost-head jars. Fatty, worried that he might accidentally touch one and everyone would suffer, said impatiently, "Hey, Four-Eyes, haven't you seen enough dead people? What are you going to do with those things? Trying to take them home as urns?"

Suddenly, the bear emerged from the water, splashing water all over the fat man's face.

Just as the fat man was about to unleash a torrent of curses, Black Bear suddenly shushed him, signaling him to be quiet and not to speak, and then pointed above the heads of the group.

Suddenly, the group felt a chill run down their spines and froze on the spot, their necks stiffening as they slowly raised their heads to look up, like in slow motion in a movie.

The dark cave ceiling was riddled with holes of all sizes, their edges protruding, as if something had once been embedded there and had been violently dug away by some supernatural force.

Chen Wenjin quickly adjusted the beam of his miner's lamp to its brightest setting and shone it upwards.

The others quickly followed suit and shone their lights on it as well.

They then discovered that above them was a single, unusually large rock, protruding from the cave ceiling in a spherical shape, its diameter impossible to estimate, almost completely obscuring their view.

Under the light, the molten stone had a very faint bluish-green luster and exuded an ominous aura.

Strangely, the surface of this stone was covered with thousands upon thousands of holes the size of tar buckets, making it look incredibly ugly, like a lotus root hollowed out by insects.

The atmosphere froze instantly.

The fat man muttered, "What the hell is this thing?"

“The Heavenly Stone…” Chen Wenjin murmured to himself, his expression excited, his eyes filled with hope, “This is the Heavenly Stone. My destination must be here. These meteorites are the ultimate secret of the Queen Mother of the West. What Wang Zanghai is looking for is very likely this…”

Wu Xiaoxie asked in confusion, "What is Wang Zanghai looking for meteorites for? Also, with so many holes here, were they all dug out by hand?"

"No, this should be natural. Many meteorites are honeycomb-shaped, it's just that the honeycomb-like holes in these are a bit ugly." Black Bear suddenly said very seriously, his usual carefree smile disappearing.

"Have you heard of an unverified claim that the Qaidam Basin and the Tarim Basin were formed by the impact of a fragmented asteroid? This thing might be a fragment of a meteorite, and the oasis of Tamutuo is the eye of that meteorite impact," the guy with his hands tied suddenly said.

He looked up at the cave ceiling, a flash of fervor appearing on his face, but it was caught by Zhang Wuxun, who had been watching him closely.

"The Queen Mother of the West ordered the construction of the Queen Mother City in the eye of this meteorite, and this meteorite, which is deep in the earth's strata, was discovered during the construction of the underground reservoir. I guess this thing must be a symbol of the Queen Mother of the West's divine authority," the shopkeeper continued.

Chen Wenjin turned around and stared at him, but the man seemed oblivious, his attention still focused on the meteorite above his head.

Chen Wenjin frowned slightly and exchanged a glance with Zhang Wuxun.

Zhang Wuxun nodded to her and mouthed "Don't worry" silently.

Chen Wenjin then turned her head and walked away with the young man.

The fat man wasn't interested in the ugly rock on his head. Seeing the two of them walk to one side, he quickly called Wu Xiaoxie and the others to follow.

Thank you to the generous donor, Nie Mowangqing, for the generous donation!
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(End of this chapter)