Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 577: The Heaven Mandate Immortal’s Painstaking Efforts

Chapter 577: The Heaven Mandate Immortal’s Painstaking Efforts

The three of them felt like they were being watched, a bone-chilling sensation.

Gan Tian continued, “It is precisely because of this legend that very few qiongqi come to the Qiongqi Tomb. This is a place even their own tribesmen are reluctant to visit. They fear they might disturb the slumbering ancient Qiongqi.

“But you don’t have to be afraid. I’ve been here several times. Although there’s a feeling of being watched, that’s all it is. Once we enter the tomb below, this feeling will disappear.

“Historically, the Qiongqi Tribe has produced several Transcendent Tribulation cultivators. They all came to the Qiongqi Tomb to check if their old ancestor, the ancient Qiongqi, truly slumbered here. But they always ended up empty-handed. They said the ancient Qiongqi’s cultivation was far above theirs, and that they were unworthy descendants who were not qualified to investigate their old ancestor’s situation.”

In the demon race, Fusion cultivators were referred to as “king,” and Transcendent Tribulation cultivators were referred to as “emperor.” With the Qiongqi Tribe producing several Transcendent Tribulation cultivators, it implied they had several demon emperors—a truly terrifying number.

Qiongqi could be considered the pinnacle of “tiger demons.” Their fame even spread to the Central Continent, giving rise to the idiom “like a tiger that has grown wings,” illustrating the qiongqi’s might.

“Acknowledged by several qiongqi demon emperors, the ancient Qiongqi is recognized as the strongest existence in the Qiongqi Tribe.”

Lu Yang, “...”

Third Senior Sister, please stop talking. I’m afraid you might curse the immortals after learning the truth, increasing the difficulty of your tribulation.

Heaven Mandate Immortal, you really know how to mess around.

“The Heaven Mandate Immortal said that in one’s lifetime, one should not only care about their reputation while alive but also their posthumous fame. That was why he developed this great array to leave behind legends for future generations. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“Aside from the Qiongqi, he probably also set up this array in the ancestral tombs of the Kunpeng, Taowu, Zhuque, and other races—not too many, for building too many would diminish the mystique.”

The great array had lasted three hundred years without failing and could still scare people. This was a testament to the exceptional quality of arrays developed by the Heaven Mandate Immortal. From another angle, it demonstrated how much care and concern he put into this.

“Moreover, to form a legend, the truth cannot be known to later generations. Thus, the matter of the tomb arrays was covered up, becoming a secret.”

Judging by the Qiongqi Tribe’s fear of approaching the tomb, the arrays had indeed become a secret.

“...The Heaven Mandate Immortal is really quite fond of helping people.” Lu Yang racked his brains for words to praise the Heaven Mandate Immortal, hoping to reduce the danger during his future tribulations.

“He wasn’t exactly fond of helping people. Think about it. Whether it was the old Qiongqi or the old Kunpeng, they are what you call ancient demons with boundless powers, right?

“But no matter how boundless their powers are, could they be more powerful than immortals? Probably not.

“The more mysterious the old Qiongqi and the others are, the more it highlights the strength of we Five Ancient Immortals, doesn’t it?”

Immortal Fairy, please stop talking. If you continue, I’m afraid I might truly grow highly disrespectful thoughts toward the Heaven Mandate Immortal.

Similar to how Meng Jingzhou trained his willpower, Lu Yang also trained his willpower when he listened to ancient history.

The three entered the Qiongqi Tomb. The feeling of being watched indeed vanished, and their psychological pressure decreased drastically.

“This is...”

Inside the Qiongqi Tomb were many murals. Most had suffered the ravages of time and become dilapidated. The pigments used for the murals were extremely exorbitant—it wasn’t an exaggeration to say they were worth a thousand gold per drop. Even so, the murals could no longer withstand the cleansing of time and were reduced to this state. This reflected the long-standing age of the Qiongqi Tribe and their tomb.

Lu Yang saw a mural depicting a small qiongqi with wet fur, clearly just born. Then this little qiongqi ran forward, gradually growing larger until it reached its prime, and then it gradually aged, losing its fur and becoming stooped as it walked toward death.

The endpoint of death was the Qiongqi Tomb.

The murals also depicted many major historical events of the Qiongqi Tribe, which they viewed as glories to be engraved in their memories.

Above the murals was a line of ancient text: Death is not the endpoint. One has witnessed your glorious lives.

“These are words left by the ancient Qiongqi, regarded by the Qiongqi Tribe as their spiritual pillar. Because of this, the Qiongqi Tribe does not fear death and accepts it with equanimity.

Gan Tian truly lived up to being a professional archaeological scholar; she could speak of the demon race’s multifarious cultures at will.

“This line... The Heaven Mandate Immortal couldn’t have written this too, right?”

“No, it wasn’t. This was the old Qiongqi’s own improvisation. The Heaven Mandate Immortal couldn’t possibly help each one of them come up with a line—that would make them sound too similar and risk exposure.” The Heaven Mandate Immortal is meticulous in his work and considers things thoroughly.

“Senior Sister, where is this hideout you mentioned?”

“Almost there, almost there.”

The tomb’s interior was pitch black and as complex as a maze. Without guidance from a Qiongqi Tribe elder, it was easy to get lost. One could only wonder how on earth Gan Tian had managed to figure out the structure of the Qiongqi tomb.

The three walked about two li before reaching the end of the passageway. Gan Tian rapped a brick, and a hidden door opened. She gestured for the two to follow.

Lu Yang noticed many arrows facing outward on the hidden chamber’s walls and immediately understood. The Qiongqi tomb contained many traps. If someone stepped in the wrong place, a barrage of arrows would be launched, killing the intruder. After the arrows were shot, they needed to be replenished, hence the mechanism chamber, where the three had paused to rest.

“Senior Sister, you even found a place like this?”

The two were astonished. Hiding in a tomb was one thing, but hiding in the tomb’s mechanism chamber—who would think someone was hiding here? No wonder Third Senior Sister had confidently claimed that hiding in the Qiongqi Tribe is very safe.

The trio rested here for a few hours to adjust their conditions. Although they had Invisibility Talismans and weren’t afraid of being discovered, maintaining invisibility was still draining. Gan Tian was fine, but Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had been using the talismans for almost an entire day, from the branch tribe to the Qiongqi Tomb. Rest was necessary. The two fell asleep as soon as they hit the floor of the mechanism chamber.

While the two slept, Gan Tian took out paper, ink, brush, and inkstone, and wrote about their experiences over the past few days. She had been writing her experiences in the Demon Region into Accounts of the Demon Region, having already completed eight volumes. She was now working on the ninth.

Despite their brief contact, she was certain that her little junior brother knew more about ancient history than she did. Little Junior Brother is so well-versed in ancient history. As long as he’s around, I believe the ninth volume’s content will be even richer than the previous eight volumes.

“Mmm...”

Hearing Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou stirring and about to wake, she put away the Four Treasures of the Study and sat quietly.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had slept a full three hours. Upon waking, they felt clear-headed and refreshed.

“You’re awake? Perfect timing. I’ll take you to the main tomb. The ancient Qiongqi is said to be buried there.”

“Said to be?”

Gan Tian nodded. She slung her guqin behind her back and tied the strings across her chest. Along with her eyes covered with black cloth, she looked like a hermit walking out of a bamboo forest.

She explained, “At the very least, the ancient Qiongqi’s coffin is there. As for whether a qiongqi truly lies inside, I have no idea. But that’s irrelevant to us. We’re here for archaeology, not tomb raiding.”

As a professional scholar, Gan Tian adhered to the principle of seeing is believing.