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Wang Tong turned to the side, the tip of his fan pointing towards the ruins area.

"Please look, everyone. This is the entrance to the mass grave."

Everyone stared intently at it.

It was a low-lying area where the original foundation of the ancestral hall was still faintly discernible.

However, the central part has completely collapsed, forming a hole with an irregular edge, about four or five zhang in diameter.

The opening is not vertically downward, but rather slanted into the ground in a funnel shape, with clear excavation marks visible.

There were even a few charred burn marks and some kind of dark red, dried viscous liquid remaining, as if it had been forcibly broken open using special methods.

A lingering, damp, and chilling aura, mixed with an extremely faint yet nauseating smell of decay, was continuously emanating from the cave, making the air within a few feet around it several degrees colder than elsewhere.

Most strikingly, there were numerous black carapace fragments of varying sizes scattered near the cave entrance.

Some even had dried-out, blackened muscles clinging to them, glistening with an oily sheen in the dim light.

Occasionally, a faint but frequent "clicking" sound can be heard from deep within the cave.

It was as if countless hard objects were rubbing and colliding in the darkness, but it also seemed to dislike the sunlight and was unwilling to come out.

"What are these?" Zhao Feng narrowed his eyes, his hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his knife.

"Corpse beetles prefer shade to light." The long, sinister voice of the Xuan Yin Dao rang out.

He had already squatted down and was using a silver needle to carefully examine a palm-sized piece of carapace.

The texture on the inside and the remaining corrosive slime made him frown.

"The Wang family has some clever methods; they managed to dig such a hole from the outer edge of this ominous cave."

Upon hearing this, Wang Tong's face revealed a hint of smugness, which quickly turned into a wry smile: "Daoist Master, you are wise. To be honest, my Wang family paid a considerable price to find and open this place."

Chen Qian's gaze swept over the artificial traces along the edge of the cave entrance.

The excavation technique was crude, yet it precisely avoided several key support points that could have caused a larger collapse, clearly the work of someone with expertise.

He suddenly spoke, his voice calm yet clear: "Second Master Wang, since we know it's a mass grave, extremely dangerous, and the entrance is clearly not the right way, why insist on risking everything to force our way in? I've heard that some tomb raiders brought back artifacts from Niushou Village before; they probably didn't take this route then, did they?"

Wang Tong's smile froze slightly, then returned to normal. He sighed, "Mr. Chen is indeed meticulous and well-informed. Yes, a group of tomb raiders did manage to steal a few items from Niushou Village and sell them for a high price on the black market. But..."

He snapped his folding fan shut and pointed to the rugged mountains behind the village shrouded in thick fog.

"They took a crevice in the back mountain that had been carved out by a flash flood. It was winding and deep inside the mountain. Moreover, the crevice had completely collapsed and blocked after an earthquake two days earlier, making it difficult to enter."

His gaze swept over the crowd: "According to Elder Li's deduction, that crack probably only leads to the outermost burial area of ​​this great tomb. Who knows how far we'll have to go, and how many unknown dangers we'll face, to reach the true core main burial chamber. We don't have time for that!"

His voice suddenly lowered, filled with anxiety.

"Young Master Zhao should know that we are not the only two families in the Linjiang area who have smelled the fishy smell. At the latest, more people will arrive within half an hour."

"If we can't seize the initiative and advance directly into the core area from here, and everyone rushes in, the situation will become chaotic and unpredictable. At that point, we might not even get a sip of soup, let alone any meat!"

Zhao Feng nodded to Chen Qian, confirming the truth of the matter.

Seeing Zhao Feng's expression, Wang Tong relaxed slightly and continued pointing to the cave entrance: "Although this place is dangerous, it is the only entrance we can find so far. The corpse poison barrier and the corpse beetle tide are indeed terrifying, but as long as we are well prepared and the two families work together, we may be able to get through. We have tried several times and have figured out some tricks."

He explained in detail: "The corpse poison barrier covering the pit entrance and a distance below is formed by the accumulated corpse energy mixed with the earth's yin energy over many years. It is grayish-green in color, and inhaling it will cause dizziness and nausea, and erode the lungs and internal organs. One must hold one's breath or take a miasma-avoiding pill."

"As for the corpse beetle horde..."

A lingering fear crossed his face: "Those ghostly things usually lurk deep in the pile of bones at the bottom of the pit. Once they sense the life force or vibration of living beings, they swarm out, fearless of death. Their teeth and claws are poisonous, and they are only afraid of continuous intense fire and strong light. We can temporarily force them back by throwing flammable hemp balls soaked in hot oil, creating a small safe area."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Feng did not immediately agree. Instead, he led the group behind a broken wall and discussed the matter in hushed tones.

"What do you two think?" Zhao Feng asked, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Chen Qian and Xuan Yin.

Xuan Yin Dao stroked his beard, a glint of greed flashing in his triangular eyes: "I think it's worth a try. Although the corpse poison barrier is troublesome, I still have some ways to avoid it to ensure everyone's safety for the time being. As for the corpse beetles, they are not a concern as long as the fire attack is appropriate."

He lowered his voice and continued, "More importantly, time is of the essence. Those who come later are no pushovers; if they get involved, the contents of this tomb will be difficult to divide. It's better to take advantage of this now, have the two families join forces, and finish this quickly!"

Zhao Feng nodded, clearly somewhat tempted as well.

However, Chen Qian shook his head, his expression cold:

"No."

"Why?" Zhao Feng was taken aback.

"Brother Zhao, do you really believe Wang Tong's nonsense?" Chen Qian sneered.

His gaze pierced through the cracks in the broken wall, landing on Wang Tong, who looked anxious in the distance.

"If he were truly confident, he might have been able to force his way through. Why wait until now? And why offer you treasures to win you over? This shows that the dangers below far exceed the corpse beetles and poisonous barriers he mentioned!"

"Moreover, Wang Tong is a cunning and shrewd man, and he possesses far more intelligence than we do. We know nothing about him, and to cooperate rashly would be tantamount to seeking help from a tiger."

Chen Qian paused, his tone becoming even more serious:

"Moreover, if we go down now, we'll be paving the way for those behind us. If we suffer heavy losses down there and have revealed all our trump cards, how will we face the other forces?"

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Brother Zhao, do you want to be that mantis, the one targeted by the oriole?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Feng felt a chill run down his spine.

He was indeed blinded by greed and almost forgot the danger involved.

"Then, in your opinion, what should we do?" Zhao Feng humbly asked for advice.

A playful smile curved Chen Qian's lips.

"wait."

"wait?"

Chen Qian said calmly, "That's right. We're just waiting for someone to arrive."

"The muddier the water, the easier it is for us to catch fish."

"Let everyone else join this feast. When the time comes, with three powers vying for power, or even four powers clashing, it won't be so easy for the Wang family to monopolize or harm us."

"and……"

A ruthless glint flashed in Chen Qian's eyes.

"Having more manpower, whether for filling holes or for scouting, is much more worthwhile than our own lives."

"Moreover, it's already difficult even before entering the tomb, so it will probably be even more difficult to deal with what comes next."

"Why waste our manpower here!"