Chapter 200: The Tomb of the Human Emperor!

Lu Yuan was in no rush to hurry to the ruins of the Yunluo Kingdom; instead, he spent time circling around more than ten large and small counties in the Zhongyuan Prefecture area that had been severely affected by drought and locust plagues, and he performed the two arts of disaster relief and rain prayer to bring blessings to the common people.

After all, he was revered by the entire New Nation as the Supreme Heavenly Master and worshipped by countless commoners across the world as a deity, so naturally, he would not stand idly by when seeing such natural disasters.

Under such divine miracles, the drought and locust plagues were immediately resolved, and the commoners in each county who had suffered bitterly from the natural disasters were naturally moved to tears, feeling a gratitude that could not be surpassed.

It was not just because an Immortal had descended to perform immortal arts to save them from suffering, but more importantly, they had witnessed it all with their own eyes; it could be called the greatest honor, enough to be remembered for a lifetime and then recounted to their descendants.

Just like that, spending less than two days, Lu Yuan basically resolved the drought and locust plagues in the Zhongyuan Prefecture area, and then on the morning of one day, he descended upon the sky above the government office of Zhongyuan Prefecture.

When he descended upon Zhongyuan Prefecture, the whole city was in an uproar; countless commoners ran outside their houses to look up at the high sky, shouting excitedly from afar.

The Prefectural Assistant of Zhongyuan Prefecture, having received the news in advance, was the first to come out from the government office with many officials to welcome him excitedly:

"We respectfully welcome the Heavenly Master to Zhongyuan Prefecture."

"The Heavenly Master has used supreme Supernatural Power and Dharma Power to eliminate natural disasters and save the masses; such kindness is like a rebirth. We have no words to express it, and can only represent the commoners of Zhongyuan Prefecture in kowtowing to thank the Heavenly Master!"

As they spoke, dozens of officials, large and small, rushed to kneel on the ground.

Lu Yuan had never liked people kneeling before him; he just flicked his sleeve casually, and a gust of breeze emerged, stopping the actions of the group of officials:

"No need for such formalities. I just saw the natural disasters were severe on my way and did it while I was at it. My arrival today is mainly for the ruins of the Yunluo Kingdom; is there anyone among you who has studied these ruins?"

The ruins of the Yunluo Kingdom had quite a reputation in Zhongyuan Prefecture, and every year there were tourists from other places who came for its fame. Although the Prefectural Assistant did not understand why an Immortal would be interested in this, he answered immediately:

"Reporting to the Heavenly Master, an old clerk in the government office named Liu Yuansong, who is in charge of archives, is well-read in both ancient and modern times, especially familiar with the Yunluo Kingdom ruins as if they were his own family treasures, and he has even gone to explore them many times. Please enter the government office to rest, and I will have him come to see you right away."

Lu Yuan shook his head:

"No need, just call him here directly."

The Prefectural Assistant dared not say more, immediately agreed, and ordered people to call an old man over sixty years old, who was trembling as he walked, from the government office.

As soon as the man saw Lu Yuan, he bowed excitedly:

"This old man, Liu Yuansong, pays respects to the Heavenly Master!"

Lu Yuan raised his hand: "No need for formalities. I heard you are well-read in ancient and modern times and are as familiar with the Yunluo Kingdom ruins as your own family treasures?"

Liu Yuansong hurriedly said: "This old man does not dare to claim to be as familiar as family treasures, but I have studied them for twenty or thirty years and have some understanding. I wonder, Heavenly Master, you..."

Lu Yuan smiled:

"I am going to see the ruins of the Yunluo Kingdom in person now. I will take you with me to go and talk; do not be alarmed."

Having said that, he pointed his hand, and a wisp of light breeze seemed to have gained life, circling around Liu Yuansong, and then lifted his figure to float up. Even considering that the man was of advanced age, he simultaneously cast a Rejuvenation Technique to prevent him from being overly frightened.

Suddenly floating up, Liu Yuansong was naturally scared quite a bit at first, but immediately after, he became excited and danced with joy.

Subsequently, amidst the extremely envious gazes of the group of officials, Liu Yuansong was taken by Lu Yuan into the high sky and quickly went far away.

Not until the two figures disappeared at the edge of the sky did the Prefectural Assistant and other officials, large and small, look at each other, and then beat their chests and stamped their feet, being both jealous and envious:

"What a lucky old Liu, to actually receive the favor of an Immortal; this is truly a great stroke of luck!"

"Sigh, I regret it so much. I also studied the Yunluo Kingdom ruins for a while, but I gave up later, far less than old Liu. If I had known the Heavenly Master would be interested in this, I... sigh!"

"Who is to say otherwise? If old Liu makes a contribution on this trip, the Immortal might give him some rewards; it really makes people envious."

"But come to think of it, the Yunluo Kingdom ruins have weathered into ruins like this after so many years; what is the Heavenly Master going there for?"

"Who could know that? That is not something we can worry about."

Unaware of the discussion among the officials of Zhongyuan Prefecture, Lu Yuan, after asking Liu Yuansong about the specific location of the Yunluo Kingdom ruins, arrived at the destination in just a moment.

In fact, the location of the ruins was only a hundred miles away from the prefecture city, and it was situated in a plain valley. Lu Yuan looked down from the high sky and could faintly see weathered broken walls and ruins vaguely appearing on the ground, and it was full of pits and bumps everywhere, exposed to the bright daylight without any protection, making it almost impossible to identify anything.

In this era, there was no concept of protecting ancient ruins, and the Yunluo Kingdom was at least six or seven thousand years old; it was perfectly normal for the ruins to become what they were today after the vicissitudes of life. Lu Yuan landed slowly with Liu Yuansong and asked:

"Why have these ruins been destroyed so severely?"

Liu Yuansong had now recovered from the excitement of Wind Control and flying in the sky, and sighed:

"Reporting to the Immortal, according to ancient records, this Yunluo ruin was the place of sacrifice for the royal family of the Yunluo Kingdom. If it hadn't been revealed by an earthquake three hundred years ago, the world probably wouldn't even know about it until now.

This ruin should have possessed extraordinary research value and significance, but after the ruins were discovered, the Jin Dynasty immediately sent troops to dig three feet into the ground, searching and looting, making the already dilapidated ruins fragmented and difficult to distinguish their full appearance.

After the Jin soldiers left, the commoners of Zhongyuan Prefecture came one after another to dig in the ruins, looking for gold and silver treasures, which caused even more devastating destruction to this place. Now, wanting to explore any history from these ruins is extremely difficult."

Lu Yuan frowned slightly:

"I heard that the Yunluo Kingdom was the first kingdom at the beginning of the Middle Ages after the end of the Ancient Era?"

Liu Yuansong nodded repeatedly:

"That is correct. The sign of entering the Middle Ages was that the tribal ancestors were completely unified, established the first kingdom, and appeared with hereditary rulers, nobles, and so on. The Yunluo Kingdom was just like that."

Lu Yuan nodded:

"Then do you know the legends of the Ancient Qi Practitioner before the Middle Ages?"

Liu Yuansong was slightly stunned:

"This old man knows. It is rumored that in the Ancient Era, the world was full of spiritual charm, and there existed Qi Practitioners in the world who could call the wind and summon rain and control thunder. These Qi Practitioners ruled the mountains and the earth, were tyrannical and lawless, and eventually incited a comprehensive resistance from the tribal ancestors.

Later, I don't know what happened, but in the end, the Ancient Qi Practitioner completely disappeared from the land of Shenzhou, and the victorious tribal ancestors became the masters of the wild land and established the first kingdom. However, there is no evidence to support this statement, and this old man does not know if it is true or false."

Lu Yuan scanned the ground below and could not help but sigh:

"There is evidence, but unfortunately, it has already been destroyed."

Liu Yuansong thought for a while and said:

"Heavenly Master, although these Yunluo ruins have been destroyed, this old man thinks that there might still be ruins buried deeper underground here and in the surrounding area."

"Oh?" Lu Yuan's gaze shifted:

"What is the basis for that?"

Liu Yuansong said:

"Six or seven thousand years ago, this should have been the location of the royal city of the Yunluo Kingdom, and the place of royal sacrifice was an extremely important place. Those royal nobles with extremely noble status would be buried here after death. And at that time, the construction methods of the craftsmen were not to be underestimated; they could already build tomb chambers underground.

Although the earth's veins have fluctuated for thousands of years, most of these tombs were either destroyed by earthquakes or exposed to the outside, but some may have sunk to deeper underground. It is a pity that wanting to excavate them would probably require tens of thousands of laborers to dig for several years; it is truly too labor-intensive and costly."

After hearing this, Lu Yuan showed a smile:

"Interesting. Saying it like this reminds me. Wait here for a moment; I will be right back."

Having said this, he formed a seal with his hands and cast the Earth Travel Technique; as his Dharma Power glowed, his entire body sank into the ground, leaving Liu Yuansong standing there in a daze.

After sinking into the ground.

Lu Yuan also cast the Clone Technique to manifest a clone, which he also protected with the Earth Travel Technique, and then began to explore the underground in all directions.

Having advanced to the perfection of Refining Essence into Qi, the clone he condensed not only lasted longer, but its controllable range of activity was also much wider, reaching a radius of at least five li.

Within this range, he could also receive the clone's sensory feedback, much like operating a humanoid drone.

Just like that, he and his clone acted simultaneously, continuously delving deep into the ground and weaving back and forth; as a result, not long after, he discovered large, broken, and orderly boulders in the soil dozens of zhang below the surface, which seemed to be stone materials used to build a tomb chamber.

This discovery made Lu Yuan's heart stir, and he continued to shuttle around; soon, when he had reached a depth of nearly a hundred zhang, his clone discovered a fairly intact, massive tomb chamber that blocked their path.

Through the clone's senses, that tomb chamber seemed to have subsided to this depth, and the stone used for it was of an unknown material that shimmered with a faint light, showing no signs of weathering or decay.

Lu Yuan's physical body immediately headed over, and after circling the tomb chamber once, he discovered that the entrance was in a completely sealed state, making it quite troublesome to enter without causing damage.

Of course, this minor problem could not stump him; he immediately communicated with the Heavenly Book, lit up another Earthly Fiend Art, and after casting it, he easily passed through the thick stone wall and entered directly into the tomb chamber.

【Earthly Fiend Technique-Stone Penetration】: Can enter metal and stone without obstruction, truly unimpeded.

This Dharma Technique is similar to Earth Travel, but while one can travel through underground soil, the other can pass through mountains, rocks, and even walls, which was exactly what was needed at this moment.

And after entering this still-intact tomb chamber.

Lu Yuan's entire body erupted with golden light, illuminating the interior environment, which immediately caused his gaze to tighten sharply.

Because the inside of the tomb chamber was empty and devoid of other objects, with only a massive stone coffin placed in the very center; he did not know who was buried inside.

At the same time, what caught his attention was that the wall of the tomb chamber directly facing the stone coffin was carved with a large number of ancient and strange characters, which were clearly ancient script!

Such a major discovery filled him with joy, and he stepped forward at once to examine it carefully, only to find that the characters above were quite complex; apart from a small portion, he did not recognize most of them.

After all, the ancient era spanned three thousand years, and the script of different periods differed; those that have been passed down to the present are few, and what he learned in the Cangjingdian was truly not much.

"Sacrifice, Human, Emperor?"

Lu Yuan identified them for a long time, then suddenly turned his head to look at the stone coffin behind him:

"Could the person buried inside this stone coffin be a Human Emperor of the ancient tribal ancestors!?"

In all records of ancient books, the title of Human Emperor only appeared in the ancient era; it was the ruler pushed forward by the major tribes as they gradually merged in the late ancient era, and this title ceased to exist after entering the middle ancient era.

And since this place was the first kingdom of the middle ancient era following the ancient era, it was not impossible that the last generation of the Human Emperor was buried here!

At this moment.

Although the Sprout Sensing Technique did not give any warning, Lu Yuan still felt his heart shake while a sense of alertness arose; the Seven Star Dragon Abyss appeared in his hand, and after staring at the stone coffin for a long time, he finally condensed a Qi with his other hand, grabbed the coffin lid, and lifted it up.

It could be seen that the material of the entire stone coffin was quite extraordinary, only having lost its spirituality over the long passage of time; and the moment Lu Yuan opened the stone coffin, nothing earth-shattering or corpse-king-rising-from-the-coffin occurred, and the entire tomb chamber remained calm and peaceful.

Lu Yuan frowned slightly, stepped forward two paces, and swept his gaze across it, only to see that there was no corpse inside the stone coffin; all that remained was a set of ancient and decayed clothing and headwear.

"Is this tomb chamber a cenotaph?"

Lu Yuan suddenly realized, and turned his head to look at the wall filled with carved characters again:

"That's right, it seems this is a cenotaph erected by the royal family of the Yunluo Kingdom for a certain generation of the Human Emperor, and it is very likely the last generation of the Human Emperor..."

"As for these ancient characters on the wall, they might just record the life of this Human Emperor, and it is very likely that they record the reason for the disappearance of the Ancient Qi Practitioners!"

Deeply feeling that he was already infinitely close to the truth, Lu Yuan's eyes flickered, and without another word, he cast the Stone Penetration technique again to leave the tomb chamber and returned to the surface.

Liu Yuansong, who had been waiting among the ruins, looked happy to see Lu Yuan appear, but before he could speak, Lu Yuan pressed a hand onto his shoulder:

"I discovered a tomb chamber suspected to be the cenotaph of a Human Emperor underground; come down with me to identify it."

Having said this, the Earth Travel Technique enveloped his entire body, and he took the incredibly astonished Liu Yuansong to dive into the ground, traveling rapidly.

Finding himself drilling into the ground and traveling like a fish, Liu Yuansong, at his age, had never experienced such a thrilling event; he almost fainted from the excitement and shock, but fortunately, the Rejuvenation Technique that Lu Yuan had casually cast on him earlier allowed him to barely remain conscious.

And after only a few breaths of time, Liu Yuansong's vision blurred, and he had already appeared inside the tomb chamber.

While he was still in shock and terror, Lu Yuan pointed to the ancient characters on the wall:

"How many of these characters can you recognize?"

Liu Yuansong came to his senses and was immediately attracted by the characters on the tomb wall, stepping forward quickly with his eyes fixed intently on them:

"This is ancient, no, the script of the Yunluo Kingdom!"

"Offer, Sacrifice, Human Emperor Qi..."

"Qi Refiners harvested Heaven and Earth, were tyrannical and lawless, and Heaven sent down its wrath..."

"Human Emperor Qi obeyed the summons of Heaven, gathered the ancestors of the people, cut off, cut off..."