The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

The force that brought peace to Changsha was the Nine Gates.

He was naturally familiar with the Nine Gates.

Most of the forces in the Nine Gates are powerful families with deep roots. The remaining Black-backed Sixth Brother and Qi Tiezui, although they do not have family power, still possess valuable skills and connections.

Nine factions controlled all the underground businesses in Changsha.

Therefore, if you want to do business in the eight unorthodox trades in Changsha, no matter what kind of unorthodox business you are doing, you must go through one of the nine gates; there is no other choice.

Four unfamiliar faces, smelling of dirt, entered the city and naturally attracted the attention of some people with ulterior motives.

Of course, the most crucial reason is that the reputation of the Mountain Moving Clan is too great; everyone in the Eight Outer Trades knows them.

Any group of two men and one woman dressed as Taoist priests, with facial features different from those of people from the Central Plains, are undoubtedly the descendants of the modern-day Mountain Moving Sect.

However, he doesn't have time to contact the Nine Gates right now.

If there is truly a need for contact... perhaps it's for the purpose of finding the tomb of Qingwuzi.

He was interested in cultivating qigong and refining the blood elixir in his dantian. Since Qingwuzi was a disciple of Peng Zu, the founder of qigong, there might be some mysterious qigong methods left in his tomb.

.........

Traveling in this era is really troublesome; for a 'modern person' like Fang Yun, it's simply torture.

Although trains now have sleeper cars, they are still really slow.

The group of four set off at noon and did not arrive in Beiping City until the evening of the next day.

After asking around at the train station, Fang Yun's face fell.

The place they were going to was in the desolate northern desert of Inner Mongolia, where there were no big cities and therefore no trains to take.

There are only two paths you can take to get there.

Either travel by waterway into Mongolia, and then transfer to a land route to northern Xinjiang.

Alternatively, they could charter a truck and head directly to the city closest to northern Xinjiang.

Neither of the two paths is easy to take.

Left with no other choice, he opted for the shorter land route.

Having already rested in Changsha a couple of days prior, the group of four didn't linger in Beiping. Instead, they spent a lot of money to charter a truck and headed straight for Mongolia overnight.

The road into Inner Mongolia is winding and sometimes, when you encounter mountain roads, the car travels slower than a person.

This trip lasted for three whole days.

Three days later, the group finally arrived in Zuoqi, Inner Mongolia.

Starting from this place in Zuoqi, it takes about fifty or sixty miles to travel in a south-southeast direction to reach the desert.

(Um, I feel like I'm being really sloppy, but I also feel it's necessary to write this so that the plot will be easier to write later, hehe.)

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Desert Treasure Hunt

Therefore, Fang Yun and his companions decided to stay overnight in Hubu Town, the closest town to the desert, and set off to find Blackwater City at dawn the next day.

Blackwater City is quite famous; you can easily find out the location of the ruins by asking around.

Many people even say that hunters who go to Blackwater City to hunt often find treasures while digging traps.

Because of this, even though the desert is fraught with danger, a large number of people still flock there every day to search for treasure, and even many foreigners come to search for treasure in the desert.

Over time, that desert became a treasure trove of gold in the eyes of most people.

However, those relics that have survived the test of time are not the target of Fang Yun and his group.

Blackwater City was merely a border fortress of the Western Xia Dynasty and had little value.

What they were looking for was a treasure cave called Dafosi Temple, not the empty ruins of the ancient city of Heishui.

.........

The next morning, when the temperature was at its lowest and humidity was at its highest, the four of them set off on their journey.

Because Chen Yulou gave them a lot of money, the four of them didn't choose to run on foot.

It's still fifty or sixty miles to the desert, and it would take half a day to walk there. But if you buy four horses, you can get there in just half an hour.

When we left the town, there was still a large crowd gathered at the town entrance.

There were locals and foreigners.

These people all had one thing in common: they were all carrying weapons and were covered in dirt.

It's obvious that these are people who make a living underground in the desert.

After leaving the town, Fang Yun and his companions rode their horses in a direction slightly southeast of the town.

The further away from the town they went, the more difficult the road became, and even the horses slowed down considerably.

What was originally expected to be a half-hour walk took a full hour. By the time the four of them reached the edge of the desert, the sun had already risen completely.

Now, looking up, all I see are yellow sand dunes and barren landscapes.

Stopping at the edge of the desert, Fang Yun said to Partridge Whistle:

“Brother Dao, to observe the trends of mountains and rivers, one needs to be in a high place. From now on, we can only walk.”

"it is good!"

"Go, go home."

Partridge Whistle nodded, waved away the four horses, looked at the endless desert before him and laughed, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Heishui City of Western Xia..."

"When I went down the mountain with my senior brother, the previous sect leader, to search for the pearl, I heard a fellow senior mention the Western Xia royal family, saying that the Western Xia royal family seemed to have obtained a divine pearl."

"There are rumors in unofficial histories that Li Dewang, the last king of Western Xia, hid the country's treasures in an empty tomb under a Buddhist temple when the country fell."

"At the time, my senior brother and I, the previous sect leader, happened to have clues about the Muchen Pearl, so we didn't take the rumor to heart."

"Unexpectedly, ten years have passed... and it has finally been confirmed that the Treasure Temple is real. In the end, we still came here."

Upon hearing Partridge Whistle's words, Fang Yun nodded in understanding.

If he didn't have the Eye of God, he would be just like Partridge Whistle.

Compared to rumors, the clues I found myself were clearly more reliable.

.........

The group of four soon entered the desert.

Fang Yun also took out a golden compass and used it in conjunction with the position of the sun to find the direction.

To find the Blackwater City and the Great Buddha Temple of the Western Xia Dynasty, the first thing to do is to find the riverbed of the Blackwater River.

Heishui City was originally called Heicheng (Black City), but it gradually became known as Heishui City because it was located not far from the north bank of the lower reaches of the Heishui River.

Even a thousand years ago, this place was a water-scarce area, and the entire land depended on the Blackwater River for sustenance.

Therefore, neither Blackwater City nor Great Buddha Temple is too far from the Blackwater River.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have to do anything all day but travel to fetch water.

Although the Blackwater River had long since dried up, it was still a huge river. The four of them found the dried-up Blackwater Riverbed in just one hour after entering the desert.

Following the Blackwater River downstream, around noon, the group finally found traces of the city.

Before us, a city wall protruding three or four meters out of the yellow sand appeared, with one corner of the wall thickened and the top shaped like a cone.

Looking at the unique construction technique used in the corner of the wall, Fang Yun's lips curled into a smile, and he turned to the three of them, saying:

"This is the ruins of the Western Xia Blackwater City."

"However, our destination is not here, but the great Buddhist temple where the treasure is hidden."

Upon hearing this, the three brothers, Partridge Whistle and his companions, nodded in agreement.

"If the Muchen Pearl were hidden in Blackwater City, it would probably have been obtained by the Yuan people who destroyed the country long ago."

"The Blackwater City ruins are so conspicuous, no wonder they attract a large number of treasure hunters."

"Hundreds of years have passed, and those ordinary things that were once worthless in the eyes of the Yuan people have now become treasures."

Fang Yun smiled and shrugged, continuing northward along the Blackwater River's riverbed.

"Let's go, it will be even harder to find if we wait until dark."

"Compared to the Blackwater City, which was looted by the Yuan people, I am more looking forward to the Great Buddha Temple."

"Treasures of the Western Xia Royal Family..."

............

The four continued on their way, with Fang Yun still using navigation as he went.

After traversing countless sand dunes and rocky mountains, Fang Yun's eyes lit up, and he led the three brothers, Partridge Whistle and his fellow disciples, to a rocky mountain.

"found it!"

Upon hearing Fang Yun's words, Partridge Whistle's expression changed, and he followed Fang Yun's gaze forward.

But... before us lay a desolate desert, dotted with dozens of hard earthen mounds, each over ten meters high, just like the ones we had seen on the road before.