Chapter 62: Underground Palace

After Yan Buji went deep into the robber tunnel, he discovered that this tunnel was not as simple as he had imagined.

Although Yan Buji was not a professional tomb‑digging expert, he knew that for experienced grave robbers, daring to dig with a shovel meant they had already confirmed the exact location of the burial chamber; after all, they make a living by tomb‑robbing, and if they could not even determine the chamber's direction, how would they dare act? Normally, even if they failed to dig straight into the main chamber, they would not be far off, likely ending up in a nearby side chamber or some other peripheral spot.

Moreover, going straight up and down is the best choice, so it is rare for a robber tunnel to deviate from its direction while digging.

The key point is that the other tunnel Yan Buji saw at the junction was not digging downward but was being dug toward the upper left.

It's a bit strange.

However, this did not stop Yan Buji from continuing his exploration; following the twists and turns of this strange tunnel, it is hard to imagine what mental state the tomb robbers were in when they dug it so haphazardly.

Feeling the marks left by hoes and shovels on the wall, Yan Buji's face looked very strange.

"How interesting—what on earth is going on here?"

Yan Buji was sure he had not misread the map, which meant that Chen Li was hiding something from him.

Fortunately, after advancing a while through the narrow tunnel, Yan Buji immediately felt that the view ahead had opened up.

We've arrived!

Yan Buji stepped inside; even though he was tens of meters underground in the tomb, his eyes could still see the surroundings—this is one of the bodily changes that occur after reaching the Heavenly Human Realm, where an empty chamber gives rise to electricity.

The sight around him made Yan Buji's pupils contract; although he had never been a subterranean gentleman, he had never seen such a miraculous and splendid scene!

Astonishingly, the surrounding walls were not made of ordinary earth or stone, but were completely covered by a layer of splendid blue gemstone. These gemstones emitted a mysterious and alluring light, their surfaces finely carved with all kinds of wondrous patterns.

At this moment, the place where Yan Buji stood looked like the center of an underground palace. Inside the palace stood sixteen bronze pillars carved with dragons, positioned in the four cardinal directions—east, west, south, north—steadily supporting the entire space. Each pillar was carved with a lifelike dragon, its body twisting and turning, majestic and extraordinary.

However, before Yan Buji could carefully examine this magnificent underground palace, he suddenly raised his head and keenly sensed some unusual signs! A strange feeling welled up in his heart, putting him on alert.

Above, the seven‑colored glazed dome unexpectedly let a thread of sunlight shine through from deep underground; warm light radiated from the dome's center outward, and suddenly a picture appeared in Yan Buji's eyes.

On the dome was carved a scene that seemed to show what ancient people had obtained: a twisted, bizarre mass of flesh covered with countless strange tentacle‑like hairs.

The flesh mass appeared to have just been taken from a huge sea monster's body; the people around, staring at that eerie mass, went mad and lunged at it……

Strangely, the picture on the dome suddenly shifted to a figure who seemed to have used some method to completely seal the flesh mass, imprisoning it with large amounts of blue‑white jade stone……

What?!

Yan Buji wore a strange expression; could that flesh mass be the one sealed here?

However, Yan Buji felt no danger; the appearance of that picture seemed merely intended to warn later generations to stay away from such eerie flesh masses.

Yan Buji lowered his head and looked at the patterns on the surrounding jade walls.

Most of these patterns depict strange‑shaped creatures, as well as the techniques and weapons ancient people used when fighting them.

Er….

Overall, it looks like these are not mystical arts but rather mundane martial techniques?

Although Yan Buji did not understand, he was still quite curious about the martial techniques used by those ancient people.

Like the ordinary martial world, no one can clearly say where martial arts come from; even those famous jianghu sects have only a few hundred years of history, and only dynasties with a heritage spanning over a thousand years might know a thing or two about such ancient secrets.

"This martial skill is… wait, isn't this the Absorption Yuan Hand from the Blood Essence Skill?!"

Yan Buji froze, then carefully studied the trajectory and method of the figure's strike on the painting, and found it completely matched the martial art attached to his Blood Essence Skill.

Yet, although it is the same martial skill, the person in the picture could drain a strange giant beast with a single palm, while Yan Buji himself dared not use it lightly in face‑to‑face combat. Because this skill requires a period of mobilizing qi and blood to complete a complex and variable preparation; otherwise, not only would he fail to hurt others, he might injure himself first.

Yan Buji's face turned extremely strange, and in a blink he glanced at the other murals around him.

"Spirit Demon Fist, Howling Moon Leg, Seventy‑two Paths Flowing Wind Finger… even the martial arts of Guān Tiān Dēng Mó Zhuàng are here? No, no, no—these are used in succession; these several pictures clearly form a series, there can be no difference, they should run from here to there and end, that is to say!"

Yan Buji's mind gave rise to a bold idea.

The origins of Blood Essence Skill and Guān Tiān Dēng Mó Zhuàng are certainly not ordinary; they might even come from the martial techniques used by people in ancient times!

Moreover, when Yan Buji practiced these two sets of techniques he had already noticed their similarities, but he never expected to find confirmation here!

From the perspective of martial skills, whether it is Blood Essence Skill or the martial arts attached to Guān Tiān Dēng Mó Zhuàng, they should belong to the same set of techniques within one cultivation method, and it seems that Yan Buji is just missing a guiding principle to harmonize these two internal arts.

Yan Buji's martial talent is extraordinary; merely from the hand‑movements of the figure he happened to see on the mural, he could roughly infer that his two internal arts are missing a unifying principle.

"If that is the case, Blood Essence Skill enhances qi and blood, while Guān Tiān Dēng Mó Zhuàng excels in internal qi… then what is missing is a overarching principle concerning the spirit!"

Spirit?!

In other words, ordinary martial arts can also embark on the path of cultivation?

Even though Yan Buji's understanding of the cultivation world is not thorough, he knows that for a cultivator, spiritual awareness is extremely important. Spiritual awareness arises from the mind and surpasses it; the ancients could find a way to refine the spirit on the martial path—doesn't that make them cultivators?!

"It seems this overarching principle wonderfully helps martial artists condense their spirit, enabling them to more quickly open the mud‑pellet and break through the Heavenly Human Realm… moreover, ancient martial artists could slay a giant beast with a raised hand, showing that the power they used was not mere internal qi, but something superior to internal qi, even on par with a cultivator's magical power!"

Yan Buji's eyes lit up; he could not contain his joy.

What a great gain!

Sometimes it is not obtaining a treasure that makes one happy; broadening one's horizons is more important than any treasure!