Chapter 1415: Contentment Brings Happiness

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Chapter 1413: Contentment Brings Happiness

Mo Hua and Old Mo stared at each other, neither speaking.

Just then, Da Shan, who had inhaled the Illusion powder dust, woke up. Rubbing his forehead, he glanced at Old Mo and Mo Hua, frowned, and asked:

“Why is it just you two? Where’s Scholar?”

Old Mo remained silent.

Mo Hua’s eyes dimmed slightly, and he sighed. “Scholar… slipped and died in a trap.”

Upon hearing this, Da Shan was stunned, then suddenly jolted in shock. Turning his head, he saw the Mechanism Passage covered in blood, and the Scholar… now nothing more than a mangled pile of flesh, his golden core’s luster already faded.

The gruesome sight drained the color from Da Shan’s face.

He whipped his head back toward Mo Hua and demanded, “The Scholar… he’s an expert in trap mechanisms. How could he possibly die in one?”

Mo Hua cast a faint glance at Old Mo before replying,

“Scholar… didn’t die because of a trap mechanism. He was blinded by the illusion powder dust, his mind clouded. He took a wrong step and triggered the trap. That’s what killed him. Before he died, it seemed like he was murmuring something about… Miao’er?”

Da Shan clearly recognized the name “Miao’er.” Hearing this, his face twisted with a mix of fury and disgust. He spat and cursed,

“Damn it. I told him ages ago, he’d die because of a woman. Running off to the Jade Spring Pavilion every other day, chasing that fleeting pleasure… And in the end, at the critical moment, lost his mind and his life.”

Da Shan glanced once more at the Scholar’s unrecognizable corpse, his expression hovering somewhere between mockery and pity.

“All his life he loved women and mechanisms. In the end, because of a woman, he died miserably inside a mechanism… Damn it, fate’s got him both ways.”

Mo Hua felt a pang of emotion. After a moment, he asked, “What do we do now?”

(TN: In case you think the term is inconsistent, it is not. They are both the same word; I’m just using “Burial Chamber” for the upper one and “Tomb Chamber” for the lower one, purely to distinguish them.)

“What else can we do?” Da Shan sighed. “We’ve come this far. No turning back now. Let’s keep going. See if there’s anything worthwhile in the tomb chamber.”

Mo Hua nodded.

“By the way,” Da Shan turned around but suddenly remembered something and asked, “What about Scholar’s storage bag? Did either of you see it?”

Old Mo shook his head, then fixed a cold stare on Mo Hua.

Mo Hua glanced briefly at Old Mo, noticing his unfriendly expression, and shook his head as well. “No idea. It’s probably still on Scholar’s body…”

Da Shan sighed regretfully, “What a shame. That Heavenly Crystal was still on Scholar.”

Heavenly Crystals were incredibly precious. Da Shan wanted to retrieve it, but the Scholar’s body lay within a brutal mechanism formation trap, mangled beyond recognition and fused with tattered clothing. Going in to retrieve it risked triggering more traps, or meant tearing apart what was left of the Scholar’s corpse.

Either way, it wasn’t a good idea.

“We’ll deal with it later,” Da Shan said, shaking his head. “First, we need to find the main coffin. That’s what really matters.”

Mo Hua nodded.

Da Shan then turned to Old Mo:

“With Scholar gone, we’ll have to rely on you if we encounter any more mechanisms.

I’m useless with all this clever contraption stuff. You’ve seen more, done more. You at least know a thing or two.”

Old Mo nodded and sighed, “It can’t be helped…”

“Let’s hope we don’t run into any troublesome mechanisms ahead…” Da Shan said.

“Let’s hope so…” Old Mo’s gaze was murky.

…

Of the five who had entered the tomb to plunder it, only three remained in the blink of an eye.

Inside the dim tomb chamber, Mo Hua, Old Mo, and Da Shan continued forward in silence, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.

Fortunately, the journey afterward went relatively smoothly.

After all, this wasn’t a large-scale tomb. To evade Corpse Dissolution, it had to remain hidden from prying eyes, and constructing a “tomb within a tomb” along with a dangerous mechanism passage already made it impractical to set up too many complex, deadly obstacles.

Thus, after passing through the mechanism passage and walking a bit further, they arrived at the final tomb door.

This door was heavier, sturdier, and simpler in design.

There were no patterns or markings on it, making it impossible to determine the sect or the tomb owner’s origins.

However, from behind the door, a powerful aura of earth-based formations continuously seeped out.

Mo Hua’s mind was momentarily drawn to it.

Da Shan and Old Mo, however, frowned, their expressions turning grave. Clearly, breaking through this tomb door wouldn’t be easy.

Old Mo said, “This is a genuine third-grade tomb door. It incorporates some Mechanism Trap Arts and is made of Third-Grade stone material, making it extremely heavy.”

“But…” Old Mo’s eyes flickered, “the true coffin and the most valuable burial goods should all be behind this door…”

“There might even be inner-sect inheritances from the Kun Province Fifth-Grade Great sect, the Earth Sect… those are secrets never passed on lightly…”

Da Shan’s expression visibly brightened with excitement.

“How do we open this tomb door?” he asked.

Old Mo replied, “First, try using brute force to test the door’s weight. I’ll see if I can use mechanisms to lift it by force…”

Da Shan nodded. “I’ll give it a try.”

With that, he stepped forward, channeled his Golden Core strength, and with fingers like diamond, gripped the edge of the door and tried to lift it.

But after some effort, the door didn’t budge at all.

Da Shan’s strength was already beginning to wane.

Throughout the journey, all the brute force had been provided by Da Shan alone, and his energy was mostly depleted.

Seeing this, Old Mo stepped forward, about to speak, when Da Shan suddenly slumped to the ground, gasping heavily.

“I… can’t do it…”

Old Mo looked concerned and asked, “Are you alright?”

Da Shan shook his head. “I need to catch my breath.”

Old Mo nodded. “Then I’ll try using mechanisms first.”

“Alright.” Da Shan moved aside, sat down to meditate, and took several pills to replenish blood, qi, and spiritual power.

Old Mo then took Da Shan’s place and began studying how to open the tomb door with mechanism techniques.

Naturally, Old Mo’s Mechanism arts were far inferior to those of the Scholar he had killed, but that was in terms of knowledge and breadth of the art.

If it didn’t involve profound theory—just using mechanisms to lift a door—then Old Mo, with years of grave-robbing experience, still had a few personal tricks.

He took out a mechanical arm.

The arm was exquisitely crafted, shaped like a human arm, seemingly designed specifically for lifting heavy objects.

Old Mo began operating the arm to lift the final tomb door.

Mo Hua stood quietly to the side, watching.

Old Mo and Da Shan paid no attention to Mo Hua, as if at this point, the matter had nothing to do with him.

Thus, Old Mo worked on the mechanism, while Da Shan meditated nearby, occasionally taking pills to restore his strength.

But even though Old Mo’s mechanical arm was a Third-Grade mechanism tool, lifting the tomb door still seemed nearly impossible.

Old Mo tried several times, but each attempt ended in failure.

At that moment, Da Shan had already recovered well, his blood and qi were replenished. Seeing this, he stood up and said, “Old Mo, let me help you.”

Old Mo nodded. “Alright.”

Da Shan walked toward Old Mo, speaking as he went, “Use the mechanical arm to pry open a gap in the door… I’ll channel the Divine General’s power and strike it. Let’s see if the force can pass through the door and wear down the formation inside…”

Old Mo complied, fixing the mechanical arm to a corner of the door.

Meanwhile, Da Shan’s muscles bulged as he began to channel the Divine General’s power. Once his force was fully condensed, he struck without a word, aiming directly for the back of Old Mo’s head.

If this punch landed, Old Mo’s skull would have shattered on the spot.

Old Mo tilted his head and activated his movement technique, his body twisting away like a grotesque toad.

Da Shan’s punch instead slammed into the tomb door. With a thunderous boom, the door trembled.

At that instant, the mechanical arm Old Mo had left behind suddenly activated, firing several black short arrows straight at Da Shan’s face.

With a sweep of his arm, Da Shan knocked all the arrows aside and turned to look at Old Mo.

Old Mo had already retreated, his face filled with anger as he glared at Da Shan, “Have you lost your mind? You tried to kill me?”

Da Shan replied coldly, “If I don’t kill you, you probably would have killed me.”

Old Mo said, “We’ve known each other for years. Why would I kill you?”

Da Shan’s expression remained indifferent. “We’re grave robbers. What ‘friendship’ is there? If you could kill the Scholar, why not me?”

Old Mo calmly replied, “Scholar died to the mechanisms. How could I have killed him?”

Da Shan sneered coldly. “Do you think I’m an idiot? You bought the Heart Illusion Powder from Manager Zhao. Scholar may have been lustful, but inside a tomb, in a life-and-death situation, would he really dare indulge that? He’s spent his life playing with mechanisms, how could he die to one?”

“It was all your scheme.”

“And…” Da Shan glanced at Mo Hua, “this Young Master Mo knows everything too. He saw it all. He just didn’t dare speak the truth because he fears your cunning and ruthlessness.”

Mo Hua remained silent, saying nothing.

Old Mo said indifferently, “These are just your assumptions. How can you take it as truth?”

Da Shan, already convinced, didn’t care whether Old Mo admitted it. Still, the thought made him somewhat disheartened.

“Over the years, Scholar has accompanied us into many tombs and helped us countless times. Even if he had no great achievements, he worked hard. And you just killed him like that… how can you bear it?”

At this point, Old Mo stopped pretending. He smiled faintly, a trace of mockery in his expression.

“Scholar’s already dead. Who are you putting on this show for? Don’t forget, we’re grave robbers. What good people are there among us?”

“Scholar, you, me—how many have we killed underground all these years? Whose hands are clean?”

“A horse cannot grow fat without night grazing, and a man cannot grow rich without windfall gains. And where do windfalls come from? If your hands aren’t stained with blood, how can you expect such wealth? What a joke…”

Da Shan lost patience. He simply asked, “Is Scholar’s storage bag in your hands?”

Old Mo smiled at the corner of his mouth upon hearing this. “Yes. If you kill me, both Scholar’s and my storage bags will be yours.”

A glint flashed in Da Shan’s eyes. He turned to Mo Hua, his tone softening.

“This matter has nothing to do with Young Master Mo. It is a personal grudge between the two of us. No matter what happens, we will not involve you…”

Clearly, Da Shan still held some respect for Mo Hua, the “young formation master.”

Mo Hua stepped back a hundred zhang and nodded politely. “No problem. Go ahead and fight, fight…”

Da Shan turned back to Old Mo, his expression cold. “Today, I’ll avenge Scholar.”

Old Mo scoffed. “That depends on your ability.”

With a low roar, Da Shan activated his movement technique, his body surging with monstrous strength as he charged at Old Mo.

Old Mo, in turn, wielded a sinister dagger, engaging him in a fierce battle.

Da Shan’s magical artifact was related to the Mighty Divine General tattoo on his back. Having observed it many times along the way, Mo Hua realized that this tattoo was actually an intricate embroidery (tapestry) woven from blood-red threads, forcibly sewn into Da Shan’s skin.

This artifact tattoo seemed capable of stimulating Da Shan’s latent energy, amplifying his physical strength.

Old Mo’s magical artifact, by contrast, was simple—the venomous dagger in his hand, seemingly coated in lethal poison.

Once struck by it, even if one didn’t die instantly, they would be gravely injured, and the poison would be nearly impossible to remove.

The strengths and weaknesses of such an artifact were glaringly obvious.

If caught off guard and allowing Old Mo to get close, one could be killed with a single strike. That unfortunate Qian Jin had met such a fate.

However, if one was prepared, there were many ways to counter it.

Especially in group battles, where spells and artifacts clashed with wide-ranging overwhelming destructive force, a dagger-type artifact that required close proximity to deal high damage became extremely impractical.

Often, before one could even get close enough to strike, they would perish in the residual shockwaves of others’ artifacts.

But in a tomb… in dark underground tunnels… in narrow passages… when everyone was “cooperating” yet wary of each other…

In such conditions, Old Mo’s sinister, high-damage artifact reached its peak effectiveness.

No wonder Old Mo was the oldest among this group.

In this line of work, those who lived long were never simple.

Yet at this moment, the vicious Old Mo was completely suppressed by Da Shan.

Da Shan was estimated to be two to three hundred years old, still in his prime. His body-refining artifact, though bizarre in appearance, seemed exceptionally powerful. When activated, his skin became as hard as iron, as if he were naturally clad in armor. Combined with his brute strength, every punch and kick he delivered forced Old Mo into retreat, leaving him barely able to breathe.

Youth overcomes age—it had the advantage in physical combat.

No matter how deadly Old Mo’s dagger was, it first had to cut through flesh to draw blood before the poison could take effect.

But Da Shan’s skin was as hard as armor, Old Mo couldn’t even cut it.

Thus, the effectiveness of Old Mo’s artifact was greatly diminished.

In just dozens of exchanges, Da Shan completely dominated the fight, overwhelming Old Mo.

Old Mo’s body was covered in bruises of blue and purple from the blows, his expression extremely grim.

Watching from afar, Mo Hua thought to himself: “No wonder Da Shan dared to turn on Old Mo at this moment…”

As a fellow grave robber, Da Shan had a naturally deep understanding of Old Mo’s magical artifact and was well aware of its flaws.

He also knew that as long as he prevented Old Mo from resorting to underhanded tricks, Old Mo was no match for him in a direct confrontation.

Under normal circumstances, Da Shan might not have acted against Old Mo.

But now, Old Mo had already started killing, having taken the lives of Qian Jin and Scholar one after another. So knowing he wouldn’t be spared either, Da Shan struck first.

It seemed that Old Mo, looking disheveled, was about to be beaten to death by Da Shan.

Mo Hua, however, let out a soft sigh.

Because he knew that Old Mo was actually far more sinister than he appeared.

And this was something Da Shan had failed to realize from beginning to end.

Sure enough, in front of the narrow tomb gate, Old Mo and Da Shan continued their close-quarters struggle for a while longer.

Seeing that Old Mo was about to die in his hands, and thinking that at least three of the four Heavenly Crystals would soon fall into his possession, Da Shan grew increasingly ecstatic, his killing moves becoming even more ferocious.

But when a person is overjoyed, they tend to grow careless. The fiercer the attack, the more openings they reveal.

Silent as ever, Old Mo seized several of Da Shan’s openings and thrust his dagger toward Da Shan’s side.

At first, Da Shan didn’t pay it any mind.

After all, Old Mo had already stabbed him many times before, yet none of those strikes had even broken his skin.

But this time, strangely, Old Mo’s dagger suddenly managed to wound him.

Da Shan froze, instantly realizing something, a chill running through his entire body.

And in that fleeting moment of fear, he exposed even greater openings.

Old Mo moved like a slippery eel. Within a few exchanges, he stabbed Da Shan in the chest, lower back, and neck.

The magical dagger was coated with Third-Grade lethal poison, which acted instantly upon contact with blood.

With so many wounds inflicted, the poison quickly spread throughout Da Shan’s body. He could only manage a bitter smile, curse under his breath, and then, his face turning as pale as paper, slowly collapsed to the ground, his breath ceasing.

Only after confirming that Da Shan was truly dead did Old Mo finally let out a slow sigh of relief.

Mo Hua looked at Old Mo, sensing the aura around him, his gaze sharpening as he silently thought to himself:

“Mid-stage…”

This old fox, Old Mo, had actually been a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator all along.

Among their group, his cultivation was the highest, and the most deeply concealed.

But to be fair, even though Old Mo was at the mid-stage Golden Core level, defeating Da Shan would have been easy, but ensuring his death with absolute certainty would have been difficult.

What happens in the tomb must never be leaked out.

To guarantee Da Shan’s death without leaving any future trouble, Old Mo had no choice but to deliberately feign weakness, waiting for a single fatal strike.

He had acted like a dying dog, letting himself be suppressed and beaten the entire fight.

Only at the very end, in the instant Da Shan grew careless, did he stab him several times and kill him…

Sometimes, the deadliest move is hidden within the most ordinary moments.

After killing Da Shan, Old Mo wiped the blood from his dagger, tucked Da Shan’s storage bag into his own robes, then turned to look at Mo Hua with a gentle smile on his face, as if nothing had happened:

“A bit of a farce… I’ve let Young Master Mo witness something laughable.”

Mo Hua shook his head and praised, “Fellow Daoist, what impressive methods…”

Old Mo cupped his hands. “You flatter me, you flatter me.”

Mo Hua then asked, “Scholar is dead, Da Shan is dead, so how will we open this tomb door now?”

Old Mo shook his head. “We won’t open it.”

Mo Hua was slightly taken aback. “We won’t open it?”

Old Mo patted the Storage bag in his robe, a simple and honest smile on his face. “Three Heavenly Crystals are in hand. This is already a windfall, it is more than enough.”

“One should be content to find happiness. There’s no need to risk one’s life for unnecessary danger. An old man like me has lived this long, and it hasn’t been easy…”

Mo Hua’s heart trembled slightly, then gradually understood.

This old fox, from the very beginning, had never intended to open the final coffin.

In this tomb, killing all his companions, hoarding the Heavenly Crystals for himself, and making off with this huge fortune… that was his true goal.

As for what lay in the real tomb, he simply didn’t care, nor had he ever planned to risk his life to open the coffin…