Tomb raiding: It all started with shocking the archaeological team.

Wow…

Large amounts of mercury poured in through several openings in the dome of the stone chamber, like a floodgate being opened.

"Cough cough..."

Someone in the archaeological team coughed violently twice.

When mercury is exposed to air at room temperature, it evaporates into mercury vapor. This mercury vapor is highly toxic and will first infect the respiratory tract, causing a burning sensation in the throat and coughing.

In more severe cases, it can lead to coughing up blood, dizziness, and fainting.

"This mercury is poisonous. First, wet your clothes with water and cover your mouths and noses!"

Chen Yibai loudly reminded everyone.

Yan Wanlei and his colleagues also knew this basic chemical knowledge.

The special operations team carried tactical masks with them, and they quickly wet them and put them on. Although they were not as effective as gas masks, they could cope for a short time.

Then again, in this situation, there's no need to deal with it for too long...

Since the members of the archaeological expert team did not have tactical masks, they could only wet their clothes with water and cover their mouths and noses.

"And what about us? What about us?"

As for Brother Chicken and his four henchmen, who were tied up like a string of grasshoppers, they got anxious and said, "Our lives matter too. You can't just abandon us, can you?"

"Captain, we've run out of water..."

Xiao Hu checked his backpack. He had been so focused on soaking his tactical mask with lots of water that he had forgotten about the tomb raiders.

"We... we're out of water too..."

Wang Haichuan quietly gave Yang Qingyun a look. Water resources are precious now, and we can't waste them on these tomb raiders.

In the eyes of archaeologists, their hatred for tomb raiders is second only to that for their father's killer...

"Depend on!"

Chicken Bro gritted his teeth and almost cursed. He quickly pulled up his clothes to cover half of his face. Fortunately, Chen Yibai had just used the Corpse-Suppressing Nails to draw a lot of blood, and his blood-soaked shirt was still wet. The effect should be more effective than water.

They were just Brother Chicken's four henchmen, and all they were wearing were floral shorts.

Mercury vapor is colorless and odorless, but it makes my throat feel increasingly itchy, and I even feel a burning pain.

This panicked Chicken Bro's four henchmen so much that they forgot about the two women in the group.

Saving his life was the priority; nothing was more important than his life. He quickly pulled down his underwear, peed on his face, and covered it with his urine.

"Brother Mao, leave me a little bit, I'm a little nervous, I can't pee..."

"Damn it, I haven't drunk any water all day, and it's only been a little bit, and I still have such a serious case of internal heat..."

Brother Mao gritted his teeth, straining and preparing himself.

"Woo!"

Yang Qingyun, who was not far away, turned her head, and coincidentally, the headlamp shone directly on her, like a spotlight on a stage. The long snakes startled Yang Qingyun so much that she quickly turned her head away. She wanted to speak, but her mouth was covered by her clothes, so she couldn't say anything.

By this time, the influx of mercury had already flooded the entire ground.

It looked as if you were standing on a giant round mirror.

Especially under the refraction of the flashlight beam, the entire huge stone chamber was dazzlingly bright.

"The first hexagram, the most auspicious hexagram, is Qian (☰)! A trapped dragon finds water and ultimately achieves imperial power!"

Chen Yibai was holding his breath and concentrating, rapidly rotating the outer three circles of the bronze Yin-Yang disc, attempting the first hexagram, Qian, from the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching for the first time!

The Qian hexagram symbolizes heaven and has the meaning of "a trapped dragon finds water, and all things begin to grow". It is the best hexagram among the sixty-four hexagrams in the Book of Changes. Legend has it that Liu Bang obtained this hexagram and became emperor.

However, when Chen Yibai spelled out the 'Qian' hexagram, the bronze yin-yang plate did not react at all, and the mercury continued to pour out like a flood.

"Damn it! It's not the Qian hexagram!"

Chen Yibai gritted his teeth and cursed.

At this point, the mercury had completely submerged the entire bronze yin-yang plate on the ground.

"It's over...it's over! This time it's really over!"

Wang Haichuan, standing nearby, saw Chen Yibai's grave expression. Even after the mercury had completely submerged the bronze Yin-Yang plate, it hadn't stopped flowing, and the bronze door remained unopened. It seemed that even the tomb raiders were no longer effective, and this time they were truly doomed.

Upon hearing Wang Haichuan's words, everyone instantly descended into chaos.

"Captain Yan, how about we gamble with a bomb?"

Xiao Hu gritted his teeth, looked at Yan Wanlei, and said loudly.

The mercury has now submerged the bronze yin-yang plate, so it seems there's no hope left.

Since even the tomb raiders can't do anything about it, it's better to give it another shot than to wait here to die. Maybe there's still a chance.

In fact, Yan Wanlei thought the same thing, but he didn't nod immediately. Instead, he looked at Chen Yibai.

"Damn it! Everyone calm down!"

Chen Yibai, somewhat annoyed by the noise, cursed.

This is only the first time we've made a mistake; there's still time ahead!

Although the mercury submerged the bronze yin-yang plate on the ground, Chen Yibai had already memorized the position of the bronze yin-yang plate and all the ancient Bagua runes in the outer three rings.

Therefore, even if it's a blind operation, it won't affect Chen Yibai at all.

The Book of Changes has sixty-four hexagrams. Due to time constraints, it is impossible to try each of them.

Since the auspicious Qian hexagram doesn't work, let's try the Kun hexagram instead.

Chen Yibai plunged his hand into the mercury, recreating the entire bronze yin-yang disc in his mind, and began to spin it rapidly.

The Kun hexagram is the second of the sixty-four hexagrams. Qian represents heaven, Kun represents earth, and earth represents yin. Heaven creates all things, and earth follows the growth of all things.

The Taikang clan revered the gods. King Kang worshipped the Zhulong (a mythical dragon), but dared not call himself Heaven. Instead, he lived on Earth and submitted to the gods in Heaven.

Therefore, it can be deduced that the 'Kun' hexagram is also highly probable.

Click! Kaka!

Under Chen Yibai's blind operation, the bronze yin-yang disc beneath the mercury slowly rotated with a 'click-click' sound, changing from the original 'Qian' hexagram to the 'Kun' hexagram.

The divination result is complete!

But nothing Chen Yibai expected happened; the bronze yin-yang plate below still didn't react.

This shows that the 'Kun' hexagram is also incorrect!

"Gan!"

Neither Qian nor Kun is correct, so what could it be?

Chen Yibai's brain was working at full speed, almost overloaded and smoking.

By this time, the amount of mercury that had been poured in had risen to nearly 20 centimeters.

The entire archaeological team stood cautiously on the mercury, watching Chen Yibai nervously, not daring to breathe loudly for fear of disturbing him again.

Personal experience has shown that mercury is dense enough for a person to stand on.

But this is not a good thing for Chen Yibai.

It's still possible to operate blindly now, but once the mercury has submerged to a certain extent, if you can't reach it, then it's truly all over.

There are at most five minutes of useful time left.

Chen Yibai forced himself to calm down, because time was running out and he couldn't continue to make mistakes blindly.

Only a correct hexagram can unlock the Yin-Yang mechanism below. Since neither the 'Qian' nor the 'Kun' hexagram is correct, there must be a hexagram with a more special meaning.

In any case, it's absolutely impossible to randomly use a 'divination symbol' as a password.

The sacrificial culture of the Shang Dynasty was of paramount importance. Whether it was windy or rainy, going to war, or even eating a meal, people would consult the oracle first.

Therefore, divination is very important for merchants.

The hexagram that unlocks this Yin-Yang mechanism is definitely the one that King Kang desires most!

Let's continue exploring along this line of thought.

What hexagram did King Kang most desire?

The 'Qian' hexagram, which represents unifying the world and becoming emperor, is incorrect, as is the 'Kun' hexagram, which represents obeying the gods!

"Shine all the flashlights on the surrounding stone walls!"

Chen Yibai suddenly shouted loudly.

Perhaps the answer lies in the sacrificial murals on the stone wall!

Upon hearing this, everyone dared not slack off and quickly raised their flashlights, shining the beams onto the surrounding stone walls.

Although thousands of years have passed, the massive sacrificial scenes on these stone walls remain clear, without any weathering or erosion, and are so lifelike that it's as if you were there in person.

There are no written records of it.

However, upon closer examination and analysis, these walls on the stone wall appear more like a series of comic strips.

First, countless slaves were dismembered, bled, and gutted, then placed into bronze gui and bronze ding vessels. On the sacrificial altar stood a priest in a long robe, holding a deer-headed staff, who was divining the heavens.

Directly in front, there was still a figure kneeling on both knees, just like the one we saw on the bronze door earlier. It must be the tomb owner, King Kang!

wrong!

Different!

Chen Yibai's pupils dilated in surprise!

Upon closer inspection, the figure of King Kang is blurred; he is not kneeling, but rather 'crossed'.

And what's coiled up isn't legs, it looks like... a snake's tail?

understood!

Chen Yibai suddenly realized what was happening.

Legend has it that King Kang devoted the entire nation's resources and spent over forty years building his tomb in order to be posthumously granted an 'immortal' title!

Judging from the murals on the stone wall, the legend is actually true!

To be granted an immortal title and ascend to heaven?

There really is such a hexagram in the I Ching!

However, it is not among the sixty-four hexagrams; it is a set of hexagrams called "Gui Xu"!