The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

Fang Yun waved his hand and continued, "Brother Chen, the real underground palace has not yet been found. Have you made any discoveries here?"

Chen Yulou sighed and shook his head.

"Not yet discovered."

"We've searched the surrounding area and found no trace of an entrance. So my fellow Daoist and I believe the entrance to the underground palace is hidden here. We plan to clean this place up first and then investigate it more thoroughly."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yun nodded and found a place to sit down and rest.

I've already gotten the two biggest rewards from the three missions: Qilin Blood and Kui Xing Kick the Dipper. All I'm missing is the Dragon Scale Armor bulletproof vest.

Although this bulletproof vest is not as useful as bloodline and secret techniques in the tomb, it is still a rare treasure of this era.

The secret art of precious blood protects against evil spirits, while the precious armor protects against villains.

"Why are there so many coffins here?"

At this moment, Hua, who had nothing to do, sat down next to Fang Yun and asked in a low voice.

The cave contained alchemy furnaces and bottles, clearly indicating it was a place for alchemy, but the surrounding area was also filled with so many coffins and mummies, which was quite eerie.

Upon hearing Hua's words, Fang Yun's smile faded slightly, and he explained:

"Ancient alchemists emphasized the three elements of celestial timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony when refining elixirs."

"They believed that people who died without decaying were lucky, and that the earth's dragon energy that clung to their bodies was the key to longevity."

"So at an auspicious time, they dug up those incorruptible people buried in auspicious places, cooked them in an alchemical cauldron, and cooked the earth's dragon energy within the corpses into corpse oil and corpse paste, which were then used to make elixirs."

"Even in ancient times, this technique was considered a form of sorcery. Emperors who considered themselves to be born with the destiny of a true dragon would naturally not do such a thing. It must have been those sorcerers who used such a sorcery to deal with the imperial envoys."

While explaining the cruel ancient techniques to Hua, Fang Yun also observed the actions of the Unloading Ridge Warriors around him.

The Unloading Ridge faction is ruthless...

They didn't even spare the mummies, stripping them dry of any gold or silver on their bodies. If they encountered a mummified creature with gold or jade in its throat, they would go even further, chopping it in half.

In less than half an hour, the huge cave was completely cleared out.

Hundreds of coffins and countless mummies were moved out by the forces of the Xieling and warlords.

"Boss! There's a sealed hole here!"

"There's a hole?"

The group crowded forward and took a closer look, only to discover that there were two different colors on the rock wall, which were not noticeable unless you looked closely.

In the center of the rock face, there is a hard earthen wall; tapping on it will reveal that there is a hollow space behind it.

"Men, tear down this wall!"

Chen Yulou immediately decided to break through the wall to investigate.

The group of unloading warriors all picked up their shovels and started digging at the hard earthen wall.

The hard earthen wall was sturdy, but not very thick, and it was completely demolished in just a few minutes.

Behind the wall, there is a stone staircase that slopes gently upwards.

Looking inward from the entrance, it seemed as if a layer of black mist shrouded the interior, completely swallowing the light and making it impossible to see anything.

Even though Chen Yulou was born with night vision and could see in the dark, he couldn't figure out what was going on in the cave.

"You two light torches and go in to investigate. If you hear any noise, come back immediately."

Left with no other choice, Chen Yulou had to send two experienced men to scout ahead.

The two veterans lit torches, threw stones into the cave to test it, and then slowly climbed the stone steps to probe upwards.

Before long, a low cry came from inside the cave.

"Chief, there's another platform up here, with a big tree in the middle, and a building standing on each of the four sides of the mountain wall!"

"Four buildings?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, this may be the real Yuan Dynasty underground palace."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yulou's eyes lit up, and he led the way into the cave. Partridge Whistle and Old Foreigner followed eagerly after him.

Hua was the only one left, pitifully lagging behind at the back of the group, and had no choice but to follow Fang Yun.

After ascending the stone steps to the upper cave, a breathtaking view suddenly opened up before me.

Illuminated by numerous firelights, everything around was clearly visible.

This upper cave is enormous, even larger than the entrance to the palace when we first entered Bottle Mountain, and could easily accommodate a thousand people.

A bluestone platform has been built here, with a two-story pavilion at each of the four corners. In the center of the four pavilions, there is an enormous osmanthus tree.

There was not a trace of dampness here, only a bone-chilling cold.

Upon seeing the large osmanthus tree and the four pavilions, Fang Yun's pupils contracted as he recalled where this place was.

A thousand-year-old osmanthus tree, absorbing shade and dispelling dampness!

Four iron towers, a treasure palace hidden in the clouds!

This was once the alchemists' warehouse, a hidden cave that was never discovered by the Yuan people!

If I remember correctly, these four iron buildings contain countless pieces of gold and jade, and piles of medicine.

Most importantly, this Cloud Treasure Hall also contains the inner cores of various spirits and monsters, as well as stones produced in the bodies of various domestic and wild animals!

He could forgo the gold, jade, and precious goods, but he would keep all those rare and precious pills for himself!

(Still asking for flowers, ratings, and comments; please help me out with some free data, brothers!)

Chapter Fifteen: Making a Fortune!

"The chill seeps into your bones; the closer you get to this osmanthus tree, the stronger its yin and cold aura becomes..."

Partridge Whistle glanced around, took out twenty sniper rifles, and gradually approached the large osmanthus tree.

"This is a corpse cassia!"

As soon as they got close, Partridge Whistle cried out in surprise.

"Corpse Cinnamon? Fellow Daoist, do you have any explanation?"

Chen Yulou looked puzzled and walked over to Partridge Whistle to ask him a question.

"Could it be that the osmanthus tree has become a spirit? If you ask me, we should just burn it down and be done with it!" Old Luo also chimed in.

Having already witnessed the six-winged centipede, it's not unacceptable to say that the cassia tree has become a spirit.

"Hey, Commander Luo, don't be in such a hurry. Let me finish speaking first."

Upon hearing Luo Laowai's words, Chen Yulou patted Luo Laowai on the shoulder, his face full of helplessness, his disappointment evident on his face.

However, Partridge Whistle's next words surprised him.

"It wouldn't be wrong to say that the cassia tree has become a spirit. Just to be on the safe side, it's best to cut it down before burning it!"

"This osmanthus tree is inherently yin, absorbing all the yin and corpse energy from this mountain into its trunk. Look..."

As he spoke, Partridge Whistle struck the osmanthus tree with the butt of his rifle. After the bark of the osmanthus tree was broken, blood flowed out of the trunk!

"How could it be so evil!"

"Could this tree blood have been used by ancient alchemists for alchemy? To absorb dragon energy?"

Chen Yulou frowned, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

"This is the first time I've ever seen this Corpse Cinnamon. I've only ever known about it in the sect's records."

"According to records, if a person stays under a cinnamon tree for too long, it can lead to death or at least a serious illness. Therefore, it is best to burn it!"

Partridge Whistle shook his head, took the torch directly from the Unloading Ridge Warrior beside him, and was about to throw it onto the osmanthus tree.

"Brother Dao, please wait!"

At this moment, Fang Yun stepped out from the crowd and stopped Partridge Whistle.

Seeing the puzzled expressions on Partridge Whistle and Chen Yulou's faces, Fang Yun smiled knowingly and said:

"It's not too late to burn it after we've retrieved the treasure."

"Brother Fang, you mean... those four attics?"

Chen Yulou's eyes lit up as he scanned the surrounding pavilions.

The four pavilions were very conspicuous; he had seen them early on, but he didn't rush to take action because he thought that there might be hidden mechanisms inside.

"Correct!"

Fang Yun answered affirmatively, pointing to the corpse cassia tree in front of him:

"This corpse tree is so large that its roots have long been connected to the cave."

"The reason for planting an osmanthus tree here is to allow it to absorb yin energy, which is why this place is exceptionally dry and damp."

"Look at those four buildings again. They look completely black, but that's because they're all made of cast iron."

Chen Yulou and Partridge Whistle were both quick-witted people, and when they heard Fang Yun say this, they both showed a look of sudden realization.

"Brother Fang, do you mean that the reason osmanthus trees were planted here and the building was cast in pig iron was to preserve the treasures inside?"

"exactly!"