Chapter 1411: Heavenly Crystal
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Chapter 1409: Heavenly Crystal
Mo Hua stood before the formation on the stone wall, frowning one moment and nodding the next, putting on a show of deep contemplation for quite a while. Only then did he take out a brush, draw several “X” marks on the wall, and say:
“These spots are where the formation is weakest.”
It was Old Mo’s first time hiring Mo Hua, and he was somewhat uncertain of his skill, so he asked, “Are you sure?”
“There’s no mistake,” Mo Hua replied.
If he could misjudge something this simple, he might as well go back and eat his Heavenly Pivot Ring.
Still, Old Mo hesitated.
So Mo Hua explained using formation theory:
“This is where the formation pivots intersect. Earth and Wood generate each other, but Metal and Wood counteract. Under the influence of the Five Elements, second- and third-grade spiritual power doesn’t integrate well… As long as you precisely destroy these few pivots, the spiritual power will short-circuit, and the formation will fail…”
Old Mo didn’t understand a word, but he was thoroughly impressed. Nodding, he said, “We’ll do as you say, Young Master.”
Da Shan stepped forward, channeled the strength of the Mighty Divine General, and used his fists to punch through each spot Mo Hua had marked with an “X”.
His force was unique, primarily a hidden force that merged into the earth upon contact.
The stone wall he struck didn’t make much noise, but silently crumbled into powder, falling in fine grains.
The more Mo Hua watched, the more intrigued he became. This technique was quite handy for tomb raiding and breaking formations.
Da Shan punched through all the “X” marks Mo Hua had drawn.
Just as Mo Hua had said, the aura of the formation on the stone wall gradually faded.
The scholar leaned close to the wall, released his divine sense to probe for a moment, then scanned it with a compass. Delighted, he said, “The formation is broken.”
Old Mo was overjoyed as well. He cupped his hands toward Mo Hua and said, “Young Master’s formation skills are exquisite, truly remarkable.”
Mo Hua could only smile faintly.
With such low-level work, he couldn’t find even the slightest sense of accomplishment.
The cultivator named Qian Jin glanced at Mo Hua and couldn’t help muttering, “Formation masters really have it easy, just draw a few X’s and earn spirit stones…”
Da Shan shot him a glance. “You think it’s just drawing a few X’s? If you’ve got the skill, go draw them yourself.”
On the other side, The Scholar also snorted inwardly. This newcomer Qian Jin had no sense at all.
Formations were intricate, where one move could affect the whole.
If those X’s were drawn correctly, all was well. But if even one was wrong and the wrong spot was broken, disrupting the formation and triggering the wall’s mechanisms, forget getting rich from tomb raiding, whether they could leave alive would be uncertain.
Seeing no one pay him any attention, Qian Jin awkwardly fell silent.
Unwilling to waste time, Old Mo said to the scholar, “The formation’s broken. Dismantle the mechanisms. With such a tightly woven formation on this stone wall, the main burial chamber is likely behind it.”
Valuables were usually kept in the main burial chamber.
The scholar’s heart stirred, and he focused on dismantling the mechanisms.
Without the formation supplying power, the mechanisms inside the wall were like toothless tigers, losing all their ferocity.
The Scholar dismantled them one by one with precise techniques.
Standing to the side, Mo Hua watched closely, memorizing every movement. He guessed the scholar must possess an extraordinary inheritance in mechanism arts, perhaps even techniques related to puppetry.
And this “scholar” clearly had remarkable skills. In less than half an hour, he had completely dismantled all the mechanisms on the stone wall.
Da Shan stepped forward again and, using his hand like a blade, forcibly carved open a passage through the wall. He was about to head inside when…
“Wait a moment.” Old Mo suddenly said.
Da Shan stopped.
Old Mo walked forward, reached into the depths of the wall, pinched a bit of soil, and tasted it. Only then did he sign in relief. “It’s Clean.”
“Let’s go,” Old Mo said, turning to the group.
This time, Old Mo led in front, with Da Shan at the rear.
As Mo Hua passed the wall, curiosity struck him. He also wanted to pinch some soil and taste it.
But in the end, he restrained himself.
Only someone like Old Mo, who worked underground year-round, could eat dirt like that.
Mo Hua was afraid of upsetting his stomach.
Beyond the wall lay the main burial chamber. Ahead stretched a long corridor, the air was stale, but there was no foul, sinister odor.
The group relaxed a little.
They continued forward along the corridor, and in less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they came upon a bronze tomb door.
On either side of the door were carvings of tomb-guarding beasts. A heavy bronze lock spanned across it, sealing the entire entrance tightly.
This was a third-grade heavy-lock mechanism tomb door.
The scholar sighed. “My skills aren’t enough, I can’t unlock it.”
Old Mo nodded. “I’ll handle it.” After speaking, he looked at the group and said, “Everyone, please wait a moment.”
Everyone nodded.
Old Mo took out a white wire and inserted it into the keyhole. Muttering under his breath, as if counting something, he seemed to be using some secret technique to break the heavy lock on the bronze door.
Mo Hua followed his usual principle—if it wasn’t his job, he wouldn’t do it; if no one asked, he wouldn’t act—and quietly watched from the side.
Da Shan and the others also waited silently.
As the heavy bronze lock was gradually being unlocked by Old Mo, a sense of anticipation quietly grew in their hearts.
Qian Jin’s eyes gleamed, as he whispered, “I wonder what treasures are buried inside…”
The scholar said, “What else could it be? Spirit stones, treasures, cultivation manuals… there’s bound to be plenty.”
Unable to contain his joy, Qian Jin added, “People often say that entering tombs is dangerous, a matter of life and death. But now it seems that’s an exaggeration…”
Da Shan glanced at him indifferently and said coldly:
“That’s because we’ve been lucky this time. Luck is unpredictable. Some people go underground their whole lives without encountering major disasters. Others, on their very first trip, run into something unclean… and never come back up.”
Qian Jin chuckled awkwardly.
The scholar asked Qian Jin, “Is this really your first time going underground?”
Qian Jin didn’t hide it. “Yes.”
The Scholar asked, “Why did you decide to take on this line of work?”
Qian Jin replied frankly, “It makes money fast. Either you get rich overnight or die a sudden death, very thrilling. I’ve been poor long enough. No matter how I die, I just can’t die poor…”
He then asked the scholar, “Have you been doing this for a long time?”
The scholar nodded. “I need spirit stones too.”
Qian Jin didn’t understand. “You’re skilled in mechanism arts. You shouldn’t be that short on spirit stones.”
The scholar remained silent.
Da Shan said coldly, “He’s got an old flame at Jade Spring Pavilion. That place burns through spirit stones, no amount is enough.”
The scholar looked displeased.
But Qian Jin’s eyes lit up. “Jade Spring Pavilion? I’ve been there too. The girls there are top-tier. Which one do you fancy? I’ve also—”
The scholar said irritably, “You want to die?”
Qian Jin laughed and said no more.
Mo Hua, however, was a bit curious and asked, “What is the Jade Spring Pavilion? Where is it? I’ve never been there…”
Da Shan, the scholar, and Qian Jin all turned to look at Mo Hua. Seeing his handsome appearance, clear eyes, and clean, gentle demeanor, their expressions became somewhat odd.
Da Shan hesitated. “That place… isn’t a good one. It’s better if Young Master doesn’t know…”
He was afraid of corrupting this innocent Young Master Mo, tainting his mindset, and making it hard to explain to Manager Zhao.
But Mo Hua said, “Don’t worry. I would never go to a place like that… just tell me where it is…”
Da Shan’s gaze grew complicated. If you’re not going, what’s the point of knowing?
The three of them fell silent, and the air turned a bit cold.
Those with different paths cannot mix together. This young master Mo was not one of their kind; some topics were simply off-limits.
Mo Hua felt greatly disappointed.
Did he really not look like an improper person?
A place as intriguing as Jade Spring Pavilion, and they wouldn’t even tell him…
As silence lingered on their side, Old Mo had already made progress over side.
As the leader of this trip, Old Mo was clearly experienced and capable—opening a heavy bronze lock was nothing to him.
With a hoarse, rusty creak, the bronze lock was slowly opened.
Old Mo shouted, “Da Shan, quick!”
Da Shan dashed forward, his hands like iron clamps digging into the ground. With a low shout, he channeled his mighty divine strength and gradually lifted the heavy bronze tomb door.
The scholar took out a thousand-jin mechanism pillar and propped the bronze door open.
With that, the bronze tomb door was fully opened.
Everyone’s expressions brightened with joy. Without hesitation, they passed through the door and entered the burial chamber.
It was a very spacious chamber. Murals were carved on the walls on both sides, and rows of chests were placed all around.
At the center of the chamber stood a gold-plated coffin.
On the ground beneath the coffin were intricate formation patterns. The formation was vast, covering nearly half the chamber.
At the edges of the formation stood four floor-standing palace lanterns, positioned according to specific Eight Trigrams directions, anchoring the four corners.
The moment Mo Hua saw those four palace lamps, his heart skipped a beat, as if recalling something, and he frowned slightly.
Old Mo surveyed the chamber and said in a low voice, “This should be the place…”
Just as Qian Jin was about to walk toward the central coffin, Old Mo pulled him back and scolded, “Don’t move recklessly.”
Qian Jin asked in confusion, “Aren’t we opening the coffin?”
Old Mo sneered. “Nonsense. How can you just open it casually?”
Qian Jin frowned. “Then what are we here to raid?”
Knowing he was new, Old Mo didn’t press the issue too much and softened his tone, saying:
“First, gather the wealth outside the coffin to see if it’s worth the cost of this trip. If we’re truly at a loss and there’s no profit to be made, then we can consider opening the coffin.”
“Opening a coffin after burial is taboo. No one knows what lies inside. Anything involving coffins below ground must be handled with extreme caution.”
“Unless absolutely necessary, or if you’re so poor you can’t even afford a meal, don’t lightly open the main coffin.”
Qian Jin disagreed inwardly. If you’re going to gamble, you should go big. Afraid of this, afraid of that, then what’s the point of tomb raiding?
If you’re afraid of death, why go underground at all?
However, Old Mo was experienced and respected, so Qian Jin didn’t dare to defy him. He followed the others in gathering valuables around edges of the chamber.
Mo Hua still hadn’t lifted a finger.
This was what Manager Zhao had told him: not to get involved in these matters, and not to have any entanglement with their loot, while working with these tomb robbers.
After all, whatever they earned would pass through Manager Zhao’s hands, and his share wouldn’t be shortchanged.
Seeing Mo Hua so sensible and knowing his place, Old Mo nodded inwardly in approval.
The group then began searching the surroundings, opening the chests that needed opening, smashing those that needed smashing, and even opening the dusty storage bags. They gathered everything together: Spirit stones, valuables, Cultivation Methods, books, jade slips, and all sorts of miscellaneous items.
Old Mo counted them and nodded silently.
These were all burial items of the tomb’s owner, his cultivation tools and personal wealth from life, ranging from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core grade.
Since they were unearthed goods, they would definitely sell at a significant discount.
Even so, by rough estimation, each person could get four to five hundred thousand spirit stones.
Considering the labor and the inherent risks of entering a tomb, it wasn’t a huge profit, but it was acceptable, at least some hard-earned compensation.
Old Mo then flipped through some of the books and jade slips in the tomb.
He wasn’t interested in Cultivation Methods or Dao Art manuals. Instead, he mainly looked for information related to the tomb owner’s identity.
After a while, Old Mo frowned.
Da Shan asked, “Any clues?”
Old Mo shook his head. “Can’t tell. Some notes and cultivation manuscripts have had their names erased. No idea whose work it is, let alone their identity or background…”
Da Shan nodded. “That’s normal. Since they were avoiding the Corpse Dissolution decree, they wouldn’t dare leave names behind, lest they give others leverage.”
Old Mo nodded slightly, though he still felt some doubt.
Qian Jin, however, grew impatient. “Who cares who it is? We’re here to rob a tomb, to get rich, not to visit relatives. What difference does it make who’s buried here?”
The scholar also looked at Old Mo and asked, “What’s next? Did we earn enough profit? Do we stop here, or open the coffin?”
Old Mo frowned.
Logically speaking, they had already recovered costs. By normal standards—assuming Zhao wasn’t greedy—it would be a small profit.
But they were tomb robbers, living with their lives on the line, not small-time merchants content with minor gains.
If they didn’t seize the chance to earn more in a single descent, there might not be another opportunity next time.
Moreover, this wasn’t a “Corpse Dissolution tomb,” but one built to evade the process, hiding the death and constructing a separate burial.
Tombs like this weren’t something they came across often.
And within the burial chamber, there was no yin energy or evil aura, nor any signs of corpse transformation.
“Should we… open the coffin and take a look…”
Old Mo was still weighing it in his mind when suddenly a voice said, “Look, what’s that?”
Old Mo turned and saw that Young Master Mo was pointing at a floor-standing palace lantern, his face full of puzzlement.
Old Mo also looked at the lantern.
It was crude in design, cast from rough bronze, resembling a clothes-drying stand planted into the ground, utterly unremarkable.
It wouldn’t fetch many spirit stones even if sold, so from the start, Old Mo and the others hadn’t paid it any attention.
But now that Mo Hua pointed it out, Old Mo examined it more carefully, yet still found nothing special.
After years of tomb raiding, his judgment was rarely wrong.
He looked at Mo Hua and said, “Young Master Mo, you mean this lantern…”
Mo Hua shook his head. “Not the lantern, but the thing on top of it. Take a closer look.”
“On top?” Old Mo frowned.
Curious, Da Shan stepped forward and wiped the lantern with his hand.
Only then did he realize that something seemed to be embedded at the very top of the lantern. Its color was nearly identical to the lantern, and it was covered in dust, making it impossible to distinguish at first glance.
Da Shan tried to pry it out a few times but failed. Using brute force, he bent the lantern out of shape and finally managed to extract a stone from the top.
He wiped the stone clean.
Freed from the lantern’s casing, the stone began to emit a faint glow.
The glow was soft, neither dazzling nor ostentatious, yet within it, strands of condensed light seemed to flow and swirl.
Da Shan frowned, trying to figure out what it was.
But Old Mo, standing to the side, suddenly changed expression drastically. He lunged forward, snatched the stone from Da Shan’s hand, his pupils widening as he exclaimed:
“Heavenly Crystal… This is actually a Heavenly Crystal?!!”