Chapter 217: Flowing Clouds Chasing the Moon Robe

Guo Ming returned with a treasure chest; Chu Danqing glanced at it and seemed disappointed.

It was still Fine-grade, but the chest was covered in large, shimmering patterns.

They covered about two-thirds of its surface—better quality than the treasure chest from the Xuannü Mushroom.

He estimated only S-rank treasures could yield a chest with complete shimmering patterns.

As for Excellent-grade, such chests were no different from the Fine-grade chests of the Reserve tier; perhaps only through accumulated tasks could a qualitative transformation occur.

This was already significant progress; back when he was in the Reserve tier, even an Excellent-grade shimmering chest required accumulation.

After returning, Guo Ming handed the chest to Chu Danqing and said, “Why are there so many graves beneath this river? And many of them contain yin-sha corpses.”

“I barely held back—if I hadn’t, I might’ve unleashed something monstrous.”

“Chu brother, you’re not planning to enter a grave next, are you?” Guo Ming asked.

Chu Danqing nodded. “Yes. I need to find something.”

“So I’ll need you to accompany me—but first, we must identify which tomb it is.” Chu Danqing’s gaze settled on the Huanglong River.

The spreading river water was receding, and due to Guo Ming’s actions, parts of the burial grounds had been exposed.

Yet the number of graves was overwhelming, making Chu Danqing’s scalp tingle—he couldn’t make sense of it.

Clearly, generations of princes, dukes, generals, and ministers had been buried along the Huanglong River, accumulating over time into this vast necropolis.

Zhong Ting had never seen such a sight before, and his expression was far from pleasant.

“Master Zhong, look.” Chu Danqing turned to Zhong Ting.

He knew nothing about the Prince of Yuanping—how could he possibly know which grave belonged to him?

“The Prince of Yuanping is tragic—he was originally the Crown Prince, but he was weak-willed and dominated by powerful ministers.”

“He was later deposed and demoted to Prince of Yuanping.”

“After death, he could only be buried on the outskirts of Cangmang Guling, among the graves of princes and generals, with no distinction.”

“Fortunately, he was buried with royal rites, so historical records refer to him as Emperor Kan the Lamented.”

“That makes identification much easier,” Zhong Ting said, his eyes scanning the cluster of tombs.

Just thirty seconds passed before Zhong Ting locked onto his target.

“Chu young master, look here,” Zhong Ting pointed: “The earthen mound is shaped like an inverted dou, surrounded by a city wall.”

“In front, a spirit road is lined with que gates, stone statues, steles, and huabiao pillars.”

“Beyond the spirit road stands a que tower.”

“The undulating, opening-and-closing space of the spirit road should have amplified the grandeur of the tomb’s architecture.”

“But the Prince of Yuanping was merely a deposed emperor; though buried with royal rites, he was never truly an emperor, so the scale was greatly reduced.”

“All these arrangements didn’t enhance his dignity—they only made it look absurd, petty, and out of place,” Zhong Ting explained to Chu Danqing, drawing on his knowledge.

Otherwise, if he just pointed to any random grave, Chu Danqing would have no way to verify it.

Hearing this, Chu Danqing felt this man was truly professional.

No wonder he dealt with corpses—he spoke with such authority. Chu Danqing himself couldn’t tell the difference between them.

Other tombs had similar exteriors, but their meanings were entirely different; without expertise, no one could distinguish one from another.

“Thank you, Master Zhong,” Chu Danqing said, then added: “Our agreement is fulfilled.”

“Master Zhong, if you have urgent business, you may leave now. If you’re willing to accompany me into the Prince of Yuanping’s tomb, I’d be deeply grateful—and I offer this as payment.”

As he spoke, Chu Danqing pulled out the Python-patterned Flowing Robe.

When asking for help, one must show sincerity—not just toss something away as a token.

Zhong Ting immediately recognized the robe’s high value and wanted it badly.

But someone in his family needed a centipede pearl to survive, and returning home would take time.

If he helped Chu Danqing descend into the tomb, complications were inevitable.

Entering the tomb meant certain disaster.

“I’m sorry—human lives are at stake. I can’t assist you, Chu young master,” Zhong Ting declined firmly.

“Tombs are perilous. Be careful when you and this young man descend,” Zhong Ting warned. “The world inside and outside the tomb are two different realms.”

“Even the corpse-jiao, capable of harnessing heaven and earth to transform into a dragon, dares not touch these tombs.”

“It’s not because the corpse-jiao is benevolent—it’s because the tomb’s occupants are no ordinary beings. They are feared by the corpse-jiao.”

“Those buried in Cangmang Guling were extraordinary in life; after death, interred in this ominous land, they became even more formidable corpses.”

Zhong Ting held a favorable impression of Chu Danqing, so he offered these final warnings to prevent him from walking into a trap.

“I’ll be careful,” Chu Danqing replied, then handed him a silver ingot: “This is for your efforts these past two days.”

Silver meant nothing to him—he could give it away freely.

But if he needed to use it for business maneuvers or economic warfare, he had no such skill.

Throwing money around was easy—but how you threw it mattered. Purely smashing cash without strategy only turned you into a lamb, not a pathfinder.

After all, the trial worlds Chu Danqing had experienced were filled with supernatural forces.

They wouldn’t necessarily listen to reason.

“Then I’ll accept it,” Zhong Ting said, no longer refusing. After taking it, he added: “When you retrieve the item you need, if you ever come to Lin County, Qinzhou, find me—I’ll sweep the floor and welcome you.”

Zhong Ting bowed, then left immediately.

His words were both true and false.

If Chu Danqing ever came, Zhong Ting’s words would be true.

But Zhong Ting knew full well—this world was vast, and now that they’d parted, reunion was impossible.

Though Chu Danqing had left a strong impression, it ended there. They were merely strangers who crossed paths, with no bond.

To forge deep ties quickly, the best way was to share life and death—they had not endured that together, so no connection formed.

After Zhong Ting left, Chu Danqing, with Guo Ming’s help, swiftly reached the Prince of Yuanping’s tomb.

Then he realized he could only enter through physical means.

“Too hasty—I should’ve had Zhong Ting open the tomb before leaving,” Chu Danqing muttered, his face darkening.

Zhong Ting assumed that since Chu Danqing had come, he must have a flawless plan—opening a door was nothing.

Opening a door was indeed simple for Chu Danqing—but opening a tomb gate? That was truly difficult.

That’s why tomb robbers dug tunnels instead of using the main entrance.

It’s like direct assault versus stealthy ambush—the difficulty levels differ.

“Should I go chase him back?” Guo Ming could simply break the door open and use a formation to seal out the river water.

But it would be a destructive measure.

“No— if you chase him, he’ll think we’re trying to kill him,” Chu Danqing reasoned instantly.

This wasn’t unsolvable.

He still had some underused feng shui knowledge in his mind—perfect to apply here.

“I’ll try. Maybe I can open it. If not, we’ll blow the door up,” Chu Danqing said, beginning to examine the tomb’s structure.

On the other side, Guo Ming said nothing—just started pulling things out.

“Chu brother, I found the Fine-grade dragon materials you wanted,” Guo Ming said, producing a large bundle.

Inside were dragon scales, dragon sinews, dragon bones—the nine most vital parts of a dragon.

Clearly, these were carefully selected, and all were top-tier Fine-grade materials.

Chu Danqing took them, inspected them, and was satisfied—he stowed them away.

“I brought Excellent-grade materials too, but… Chu brother, do you have enough points?” Guo Ming asked.

Fine-grade cost a thousand Park Points per item—nine items totaled only nine thousand.

But Excellent-grade cost five thousand Park Points each—nine would be forty-five thousand.

“We’ll deal with that later,” Chu Danqing said. “But did you bring the equipment I requested?”

As soon as he asked, Guo Ming pulled out a long robe.

“Yes. I had it specially crafted by family artisans. Chu brother, check if it suits you,” Guo Ming handed it over.

[Flowing Clouds Chasing the Moon Robe]

[Type: Equipment · Robe]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Defense: 1000]

[HP +10000]

[MP +10000]

[Spirit Leap (Active): Consume 100 MP to teleport 1 meter in a designated direction. Cooldown: 1 second.]

[Flowing Clouds (Passive): Gain a shield equal to your movement speed while moving.]

[Chasing the Moon (Passive): Movement speed +1000]

[Clear Sky (Passive): All summoned creatures gain +10 to all attributes.]

[Sunlight (Passive): When hit by melee attack, deal 500 damage to the attacker.]

[Ten Thousand Li (Passive): Reduce ranged attack damage by 500.]

[Treasure Robe (Passive): MP recovery efficiency +100%, HP recovery efficiency +100%]

[Protection (Passive): When HP drops below 30%, instantly restore 50% HP. Cooldown: 48 hours.]

[Equipment Requirement: Five Elements Spirit Beast Scripture LV.MAX]

Chu Danqing could tell at a glance that this gear had been made for him.

Who else but a fool would require a Level-5 Five Elements Spirit Beast Scripture as gear?

“This isn’t about whether it’s suitable—it’s that I won’t need to change gear until I reach Stage 3.” Chu Danqing loved it so much he equipped it immediately.

“Do you want these? They’re a bit low in quality.” Chu Danqing removed all green-quality gear except the Yunfeng White Jade Seal that boosted Charm.

Gear isn’t better in greater quantity; too many pieces may interfere with each other.

This isn’t fully digitized—gear isn’t just a string of bonuses, but contains actual corresponding power within.

So if better gear exists, there’s no need to wear them all; too many pieces will hinder their effects.

Higher quality gear suppresses lower quality: Fine gear suppresses Common, even if still in reserve status; Excellent gear strongly suppresses Superior.

(End of Chapter)