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

In front of the magnificent and imposing Dragon Tower Palace, the figures of the dozen or so members of the archaeological team appeared exceptionally small.

Especially at the very top of the Dragon Tower Palace, there is a lifelike stone statue of a candle dragon, baring its teeth and claws, with a ferocious expression and majestic aura. Its eyes hold a mysterious and eerie quality, looking down at the people below. It seems as if it might come to life at any moment, bringing an invisible sense of oppression to everyone's hearts.

As they got closer, they began to feel the temperature of the flames burning in the huge furnaces atop the Dragon Tower Palace.

The archaeological team had just climbed out of the icy river and were shivering from the cold. The heat of the flames on their bodies created a sensation of being in both "ice and fire."

In addition, the heatwave in the air was accompanied by an indescribable stench.

The smell of decay indicates the presence of a rotting corpse!

Therefore, smelling a putrid odor in an ancient tomb is considered an ominous sign.

This also indicates that the air here is not circulating, but fortunately the place is large enough that there is enough oxygen.

"Mr. Chen, could it be that the fire here has really been burning continuously for thousands of years? Is there really such a fuel in the world?"

Yan Wanlei stared at the enormous furnaces burning with flames on the Dragon Tower Palace, completely baffled.

If a technology that can burn for thousands of years without going out were truly available and brought into modern society, it would definitely be a 'new energy source'!

Wang Haichuan seemed to be thinking about this as well, and said, "I read in a book that the ancients used the oil of mermaids as eternal lamps in ancient tombs..."

Chen Yibai chuckled and joked, "Professor Wang, if I'm not mistaken, you've been reading 'Ghost Blows Out the Light,' right? There is indeed a story about using merman oil to make everlasting lamps. But to keep the fire burning so fiercely and for thousands of years, even if you wiped out the merman race a thousand times, it probably wouldn't be enough..."

Mermaid oil has a low flash point and strong fire resistance, but it's definitely not that strong.

"Mr. Chen, do you know the principle behind this?"

Yan Wanlei looked at Chen Yibai with a strong thirst for knowledge and asked.

Chen Yibai shook his head: "I can't be sure, I can only guess. This fire probably wasn't started by fuel, it's probably 'underground fire'..."

"I understand. There's a coal seam beneath this mountain. It spontaneously combusted because certain combustion conditions were met. We've seen similar situations in southern China!"

Upon hearing the words "earth fire," Wang Haichuan immediately took over and explained in detail.

After all, as an archaeological expert and the chief commander of the archaeological team, he needs to make his presence felt from time to time.

Chen Yibai nodded. Although he wasn't 100% sure, this explanation was the most reasonable at the moment.

On the dragon towers and palaces, beneath each cauldron should be a 'fire pit', which may have been formed naturally or carved out in a special way.

As long as the coal seam is deep enough, it's not unusual for it to burn for tens of thousands of years, let alone three or four thousand years.

Chen Yibai speculated that the reason why the Kang King's tomb was located here must be absolutely related to the special geographical environment of this place.

The practice of considering feng shui when building tombs began in the Jin Dynasty.

Before the Jin Dynasty, the most important factor in choosing a site for a tomb was the geography.

This is a very crucial piece of information.

The further you go, the higher the temperature in the air becomes.

Looking far ahead, the air itself appeared distorted under the scorching heat.

Just a moment ago, everyone was shivering from the cold, but now they're sweating profusely, feeling that the temperature in the air is at least close to forty degrees Celsius.

Such a high temperature is definitely not simply due to the flames burning on the palace towers, but rather originates from the ground.

Because Chen Yibai was wearing sneakers, he felt that the soles of his feet were hot, as if he were stepping on a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).

Directly in front of the Dragon Tower Palace is a square plaza built with massive, quarried stones.

More accurately, this should be a sacrificial altar. The steps, which are more than ten meters wide, are divided into two parts, with 99 steps on each level, extending upwards layer by layer, and are estimated to be nearly two meters high.

This altar appeared twice, once on the bronze gate and once on the murals in the 'Central Palace'.

Nine times out of ten, the inhumane human sacrifices depicted on the bronze gate and the murals in the "Central Palace" must have taken place here at that time.

"Everyone, follow carefully and stay alert to your surroundings at all times!"

Chen Yibai walked at the front of the group, loudly reminding everyone as he led them up the steps.

Although the place was temporarily lifeless and quiet, Chen Yibai's reminder still made everyone hold their breath and tread carefully.

In particular, the special operations team, armed with Type 95 rifles, kept a keen eye on all directions and remained ready for combat at any moment.

When everyone went up to the sacrificial altar, they were once again deeply shocked by what they saw.

The scene on the altar seemed familiar, even somewhat familiar, as if I had been there before.

It's because the scene of the altar is exactly the same as what I saw before in the bronze gate and the 'Central Palace' mural.

At the four corners of the altar stood dragon-carved pillars, with qilin perched on them. In the center, in a special formation, were arranged the "Nine Tripods and Eight Vessels." The three-legged tripods, more than a meter tall, were engraved with a hundred beasts, while the bronze vessels, shaped like water vats, were engraved with demons and monsters.

Both the ding and gui were important sacrificial vessels used at the time, and both were used to place human sacrifices. The difference between the two is that the gui was used for cooking, while the ding was used to hold dismembered limbs and internal organs.

To put it simply, this is equivalent to offering 'cold dishes' and 'hot dishes' to the gods.

As for why it is "nine tripods and eight vessels", there are many explanations, but it is sufficient to simply understand that it is a complete set of sacrificial vessels used in the most important sacrificial activities.

Therefore, what everyone sees in the 'Nine Tripods and Eight Vessels' are all disassembled limbs, heads, and organs!

Perhaps due to the temperature here, the limbs inside the cauldron did not decompose, but instead became pieces of blackened 'dried cured meat' stuck together.

Inside the bronze vessel, it was even more terrifying. The limbs, after being steamed and boiled, were soaked in a viscous black liquid, like black jelly, with a layer of white oily substance floating on top, and round heads floating on top of it.

However, what is truly terrifying, causing goosebumps, tingling scalp, and even suffocation, goes far beyond these.

Apart from the 'Nine Tripods and Eight Vessels', the entire sacrificial altar was covered with a large, dark mass of specially 'treated' corpses.

Some were disemboweled from neck to navel, their internal organs removed, and then hung up to become mummies.

Some were bound into a curled-up position and made to kneel on the ground facing the dragon towers and palaces directly in front of them.

The enormous sacrificial altar had become an execution ground and a living hell, so densely packed that there wasn't even room to put one's feet down. This could not be described simply as 'cruel'.

It's no wonder that there's an indescribable stench in the air that has lingered here for thousands of years.

As long as the 'offerings' on the altar remain, the stench will never dissipate.

"vomit!"

The experts nearby, including Wang Haichuan, could barely tolerate the stench permeating the air.

But when faced with this horrific scene, her mind couldn't take it, and she began to vomit violently, her stomach churning.

The sacrificial murals I saw on the bronze gate and the 'Central Palace' murals were already chilling.

Now that he's actually there, among everyone present, Chen Yibai is probably the only one who can remain calm throughout.