Chapter 1451: Raising Ghosts
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Chapter 1449: Raising Ghosts
Sensing the aura from underground, Iron Mountain Tiger and the others couldn’t help but feel a shock in their hearts.
“Such dense Yin Qi must indicate a large tomb.”
Even Smiling Face’s eyes revealed a hint of excitement.
“Let’s not delay—shall we enter the tomb?” Iron Mountain Tiger said.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Mo Hua, as he, the “Black-Faced Fiend” wearing a ghost mask, was the Grave Head for this expedition.
Mo Hua nodded. “Alright, I’ll lead the way.”
After speaking, he was the first to jump into the tomb pit.
Iron Mountain Tiger and the others were all stunned. Although it was customary for the Grave Head to lead, jumping into the tomb without assessing the aura, testing the soil, or taking any protective measures was still too reckless. They had never seen such a way of leading before.
The group shook their heads.
But since Mo Hua had already jumped into the pit, they didn’t hesitate either and followed him into the tomb one after another.
Inside the tomb pit, it was pitch black.
Mo Hua landed first, using spiritual power to seal his breath. However, the surrounding Yin Baleful Qi poured in like icy water, making him shiver involuntarily.
Once the chill subsided slightly, Mo Hua released his Divine-Sense to perceive his surroundings. He felt that the passageways were intricate and eerie, with a faint, lingering smell of damp earth in the air.
It was like a gloomy “ice cellar” sealed by an Earth-Ground Formation.
The aura of the earth’s veins seemed to have changed.
Only then did Mo Hua understand why, when he was above ground, even after drawing the Imperial Decree, he couldn’t summon the Earth God.
Because the earth’s veins here were too sinister, unable to “house” anything except buried corpses.
Although the Earth God’s divine status was minor, he was still a “deity” who preferred cleanliness and naturally couldn’t adapt to such a gloomy earth aura.
While deep in thought, the sound of footsteps landing echoed one after another.
It was Iron Mountain Tiger and the others descending.
Sensing the surrounding Yin Baleful Qi, Iron Mountain Tiger and the others also grew more solemn.
Iron Mountain Tiger looked at Mo Hua, his eyes revealing a hint of scrutiny, and asked: “Brother Black-Faced Fiend, can you discern the direction and lead the way?”
Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then nodded. After releasing his Divine-Sense to perceive for a while, he pointed to the right and said, “This way.”
Iron Mountain Tiger and the others were taken aback. Mo Hua didn’t listen to the wind, taste the soil, use a compass, or a south-pointing chariot—he simply relied on his Divine-Sense perception and pointed with his bare hand. They thought he was a master at tomb raiding and pathfinding.
Who would have thought that after just a few forks in the road, they ended up back where they started.
Mo Hua wore the “Black-Faced Fiend” mask, so his expression couldn’t be seen, but he was actually feeling a bit embarrassed.
The Earth-Ground Formation beneath the tomb was obscure and complex, precisely the kind he wasn’t good at.
In terms of tomb raiding experience alone, he was also quite lacking, essentially a novice for the most part.
Mo Hua wanted to try again, but Iron Mountain Tiger wouldn’t let him.
Tomb raiding was dangerous enough, let alone raiding such a “large tomb.” This was no joke.
Iron Mountain Tiger said, “Skinny, you go.”
Skinny Cicada nodded, walked to the stone wall, pressed his ear against it, and listened for a moment before pointing to the left: “The Yin wind comes from the left.”
Iron Mountain Tiger nodded and led the group to the left.
Mo Hua silently followed behind them without saying a word.
After walking for a while, they encountered another trap.
This was a trap that combined quicksand laced with poison, needle spikes, and fire arrows—powerful enough to pose a threat even to Golden Core Realm cultivators.
Iron Mountain Tiger looked at Mo Hua again and asked, “Brother Black, are you skilled at breaking traps?”
Mo Hua nodded and said, “I know a little.”
Iron Mountain Tiger said, “Then we’ll trouble you.”
Mo Hua stepped forward and began dismantling the tomb’s mechanisms.
His Mechanical Arts were not particularly poor—barely considered entry-level—but in the eyes of true experts, they were somewhat unsightly.
After several failed attempts, arrows rained down like rockets, nearly killing Iron Mountain Tiger and the others.
Pangolin was almost scared to death and said, “Let me! Let me do it.”
Mo Hua was reluctant to stop but had no choice.
Pangolin began using his expertise in mechanisms to dismantle the quicksand needles and rocket traps before them.
They were Tomb Raiders, and tombs were often filled with mechanisms. Thus, anyone in this line of work had to know at least a little about Mechanical Arts.
Pangolin was clearly a master in this regard.
Before long, the complex tomb passage mechanisms were dismantled.
Mo Hua felt a bit embarrassed and didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.
After all, he was wearing a mask, so his awkwardness wasn’t visible. He simply swore silently to himself that he would find time to properly learn “Mechanical Arts” when he returned.
The group continued forward until they reached a door.
This was a tomb door reinforced with an Array Formation, constructed using a simple Five Elements Formation.
Mo Hua could even tell that this was Elder Tian’s handiwork.
Elder Tian specialized in Spiritual Plant Formations and was not particularly skilled in defensive or offensive Five Elements Formations.
Moreover, since this was not a critical tomb door, the Array Formation was only Second-Grade High-Tier, primarily serving to “reinforce” the door.
This time, it was Mo Hua’s task.
But when Smiling Face looked at him with a smile and asked, “Brother Black-Faced Fiend, can you break this Array Formation?”
Mo Hua couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.
He said aloud, “A mere Array Formation is no problem.”
But in practice, he put in the effort, taking out his brush and paper to step-by-step restore, deduce, and search for flaws.
His Formation Patterns were somewhat crooked.
The deduction process was also a bit stumbling.
Smiling Face stood behind Mo Hua, watching him calculate. After a while, he first sneered, then frowned, and finally found it absurd.
He could see that Mo Hua’s Array Formation deductions were rather rough and casual.
There was even a significant element of “gambling” involved.
The most absurd part was that the majority of Mo Hua’s deduction “processes” were wrong and self-contradictory.
Yet, despite his mistakes, the final result he arrived at was somehow correct.
Smiling Face’s expression was incredibly vivid and utterly speechless.
Mo Hua, however, used his “wrong but right” answer to break the defensive Array Formation before him. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze triumphant, as if he had correctly deduced everything through his own skill.
Smiling Face’s face twisted slightly, almost unable to hold back from tearing his own skin off, but he managed to restrain himself in the end.
The following passageway was somewhat quieter, with no mechanisms or Array Formations.
The group walked silently, no one speaking.
But in the air, extremely faint Thunder-Magnetic Signals drifted.
Mo Hua remained expressionless, quietly taking out a Jade Slip to record the Thunder-Magnetic Runes and decipher them into text, wanting to see what these people were secretly saying.
The first line was: “This person is truly useless.”
Mo Hua’s face remained impassive as he continued reading.
“Jack of all trades, master of none—seems to know a little of everything, but everything is just half-baked.”
“I misjudged him. I thought with a name like ‘Black-Faced Fiend,’ he’d at least have some real skills to rely on, but it turns out it’s just an intimidating name.”
“Also, he really is only at the Early Golden Core stage. I thought I might have been mistaken earlier.”
“That Manager Zhao is quite something too—hiring someone at the Early Golden Core stage as a grave head… and even warning us to be extra careful, to avoid bad luck and dying in the tomb.”
“An Early Golden Core stage cultivator daring to lead a tomb expedition? No wonder people die.”
After a while, someone else chimed in: “How did this Black-Faced Fiend even discover this tomb? With his limited abilities, it’s impossible.”
“Who knows… maybe he just got lucky. A blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.”
“Do you think that corpse is in this tomb? Those people said if we find that person’s body and bring it back, they’ll give us fifty million spirit stones.”
Mo Hua’s heart skipped a beat, thinking he must have misheard.
Fifty million spirit stones? For a corpse?
He continued reading:
“From what we’ve seen so far, it seems plausible. But without opening the coffin at the bottom of the tomb, no one knows what’s really sealed inside.”
“We’re all seasoned veterans here. It’s not like we haven’t encountered situations where things aren’t what they seem.”
“True. These days, cultivators are too cunning. You can run into all sorts of shady business.”
“Alright, enough talk.”
The tone sounded like Iron Mountain Tiger’s: “Show some respect to that ‘Black-Faced Fiend.’ Even if he’s a fraud, don’t openly disrespect him, lest he holds a grudge.”
Another voice agreed: “Wearing a mask like that, unwilling to show his true face… he must be hideously ugly, narrow-minded, twisted, and harboring sinister intentions… Be careful.”
Mo Hua: “…”
If he weren’t prohibited from killing, he’d be tempted to do so right now.
Iron Mountain Tiger and the others stopped chatting.
As they continued, they encountered more traps, branching paths, and array formations.
Iron Mountain Tiger and his three companions each handled their respective tasks, resolving them one by one.
No one paid any attention to Mo Hua, no one consulted him, and no one even glanced his way.
Mo Hua, the supposed “leader,” was thus sidelined.
But Mo Hua took it in stride.
Different fields require different expertise, and specialized tasks should naturally be left to professionals.
The only thing he focused on was following behind the others, especially Smiling Face, to secretly observe him drawing array formations.
This Smiling Face—while his other formations were unclear—was undoubtedly far more skilled in Earth-Ground Formations than Mo Hua.
Mo Hua knew this person was definitely problematic.
What exactly the problem was, Mo Hua couldn’t pinpoint yet, but there was no harm in learning from his formations.
From his formation patterns to the formation pivot, and even his approach to solving formations.
Mo Hua meticulously “imprinted” them all into his Sea of Consciousness.
Formations are difficult to master—no one can learn them just by watching once. Except for Mo Hua.
As they dismantled more traps, Mo Hua absorbed more knowledge about Earth-Ground Formations.
Just then, Iron Mountain Tiger suddenly halted, frowning. “Something’s off.”
Skinny Cicada asked, “What’s wrong, boss?”
Iron Mountain Tiger replied, “This tomb shouldn’t be an ordinary one. How could it only have these simple tricks?”
So far, the obstacles they’d encountered were hardly life-threatening.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Pangolin said.
Iron Mountain Tiger shook his head. “Regardless, stay alert.”
When tomb raiding, you either encounter no “dead things,” but once you come across something truly terrifying, a person becomes as insignificant as grass, their life snuffed out in an instant, with no psychological preparation whatsoever.
However, such words were ultimately inauspicious, so Iron Mountain Tiger kept them to himself.
The others, because of this, grew even more cautious.
After walking a while longer, they arrived before a large gate.
Everyone looked up and saw that the gate had a green plaque and red doors, unnaturally vibrant, with murals carved on both sides.
On the murals were depicted a group of green-faced, fanged Little Ghosts.
These Little Ghosts were chained and roasted over lantern flames, their expressions twisted in agony.
Wisp after wisp of green smoke drifted from their bodies, flowing into the lanterns.
The crimson ghostly gate, the struggling Little Ghosts.
This scene in the dimly lit tomb felt unnervingly horrifying.
Iron Mountain Tiger and the others exchanged glances, frowning.
Skinny Cicada asked, “Big brother, how do we open this gate?”
Iron Mountain Tiger surveyed their surroundings before slowly walking up to the gate and pushing against it. The green-plaqued, red-doored gate didn’t budge an inch.
No matter how much force he exerted, it remained immovable.
Iron Mountain Tiger released his Divine-Sense, probing for a moment, then muttered: “Strange, there are no mechanisms, no Array Formations, and the gate doesn’t seem particularly heavy. Why won’t it move?”
Skinny Cicada also looked around and suddenly said, “Aside from the gate and the murals, there’s nothing else here. Could the key to opening the gate lie in the murals?”
Iron Mountain Tiger pondered for a moment, then nodded. “That makes sense.”
With that, he approached the murals again, examining them carefully.
Inside the tomb chamber, eerie ghostly flames illuminated the murals. The Little Ghosts depicted, though carved from stone, were so lifelike they seemed almost alive, sending shivers down one’s spine.
The longer Iron Mountain Tiger looked, the more uneasy he felt. And after studying them for a long time, he still couldn’t discern any hidden secrets.
Unable to resist, he reached out and touched the mural. The moment his fingers made contact, his expression froze: “It’s soft?”
Skinny Cicada and the others were taken aback. “What’s soft?”
Iron Mountain Tiger said, “The bodies of these Little Ghosts are soft… This is… flesh and blood!”
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly looked up in alarm. The Little Ghost on the mural, having absorbed his human aura from the touch, had “come to life.” It bared its fangs at him, saliva dripping from its mouth.
“Not good!”
Iron Mountain Tiger was horrified and quickly stepped back, but the Little Ghost from the mural had already leaped out, fangs bared, lunging at him to bite.
In a moment of desperation, Iron Mountain Tiger threw a punch, sending the Little Ghost flying. Its limbs shattered as it crashed to the ground.
Cursing, “You vile creature,” Iron Mountain Tiger instantly condensed his dan force in his arm, making it as hard as steel. With even greater force, he punched the oncoming Little Ghost, sending it flying once more.
This time, the Little Ghost was directly pulverized into a bloody pulp.
Just as Iron Mountain Tiger was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a “creak, creak” sound suddenly echoed in his ears, sending chills down his spine.
He turned to look and saw that all the Little Ghosts on the entire mural had crawled out, revealing their heads and claws, their eyes gleaming with excitement as they sized up the group.
The entire mural was carved from stone.
But the Little Ghosts on the mural were molded from flesh and blood, embedded alive and intact into the wall.
Once they came into contact with the aura of a living person, these Little Ghosts would leap out of the mural, choosing their prey to devour.
Seeing so many little ghosts, Iron Mountain Tiger’s face turned pale, then his gaze hardened as he activated his steel-like arms and began fighting and killing these little ghosts.
Many little ghosts were smashed into pulp by his iron arms, twisted and deformed.
But there were still cunning little ghosts that took the opportunity to jump onto Iron Mountain Tiger’s back, bared their fangs, and bit down on the back of his neck.
Unfortunately, Iron Mountain Tiger was a body cultivator, his entire skin as hard as iron.
That little ghost broke its own teeth without even piercing Iron Mountain Tiger’s skin.
Being bitten on the neck by a little ghost initially startled Iron Mountain Tiger, but seeing that the ghost’s teeth couldn’t break his defense, he couldn’t help but feel smug. He then sneered, grabbed the little ghost with his hand, and tore it apart barehanded.
Just as Iron Mountain Tiger tore apart the little ghost, showing off his might and feeling somewhat proud, suddenly a flash of red light passed before his eyes. A little ghost had jumped onto his face, hugging his head, opening its large mouth toward his glabella, and sucked fiercely.
No blood, no torn flesh, not even a single visible wound on the surface.
But Iron Mountain Tiger’s divine-sense was sucked out through the air and flowed into the little ghost’s mouth.
Soul absorption.
Not only Iron Mountain Tiger, but Skinny Cicada, Pangolin, and Smiling Face also couldn’t escape their fate.
Amid the chaotic battle, they too were hugged on the face by little ghosts and had their divine-sense devoured.
For Golden Core cultivators with formidable physical bodies and crystallized spiritual power, injuries at the flesh level could hardly harm them anymore.
But these “soul-absorbing” little ghosts were completely different.
Once ambushed and hugged on the face by these little ghosts, one could easily be sucked dry into a “human husk,” utterly impossible to guard against.
Mo Hua, observing all this, shook his head slightly.
He hadn’t revealed a trace of his aura, so none of these little ghosts could “see” him.
Thus, while Iron Mountain Tiger and the other three were being “gnawed” on the head by little ghosts, his surroundings were empty, without a single ghost.
Judging by the current situation, barring any accidents, Iron Mountain Tiger and the other three would meet their end in this tomb.
Once a cultivator’s divine soul is completely drained, no matter how high their cultivation, it’s useless.
This is the most sinister and perilous aspect of the divine soul path.
Tomb raiding is like this—people can die in an instant.
However, Mo Hua didn’t want to see this outcome either.
He didn’t want Iron Mountain Tiger and the other three to all die in this tomb; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to explain it to Manager Zhao afterward.
His “Black-Faced Fiend” reputation would be ruined first.
Moreover, since Elder Tian’s body hadn’t been found yet, these “workers” couldn’t die just yet.
Mo Hua flicked his finger, and a fireball shot out, exploding on the little ghost that was hugging Iron Mountain Tiger’s head and absorbing his soul.
The fireball wasn’t particularly powerful, but it knocked the little ghost’s head askew, disturbing its “appetite.” Enraged, it looked at Mo Hua with a savage glare.
The other little ghosts also realized that there was actually another “person” in the tomb.
Pairs of crimson, ferocious eyes all turned to look at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua’s gaze was calm as he looked back at these greedy little ghosts.
In that instant, it was as if the King of Hell in the underworld had opened his eyes, staring at these little ghosts.
Fear instantly spread, and all the little ghosts shrieked shrilly, like monkeys fleeing a falling tree, frantically covering their heads and scurrying away, afraid that if they escaped too slowly, they would be eaten by the “big monster.”
Before long, the scene was instantly cleared.
Not a single little ghost remained.
And when all the little ghosts had fled, the green plaque and red door gradually opened.
The key to opening the ghost door was to drive away all the little ghosts from the mural.
Mo Hua thought to himself, so that was how it worked.
But he didn’t enter the door immediately. Instead, he waited where he was for Iron Mountain Tiger and the others to wake up.
These people had had their Divine-Sense devoured by the little ghosts.
Fortunately, these little ghosts weren’t particularly powerful, and thanks to Mo Hua’s timely intimidation, their Sea of Consciousness hadn’t been completely drained. They still retained some, preventing their Divine Souls from drying up and dying.
After about half an hour, once their Sea of Consciousness had calmed slightly, the group gradually woke up one by one.
The terrifying memory of being gnawed at before losing consciousness still lingered in their minds.
Iron Mountain Tiger was filled with lingering fear, his face pale with panic as he looked around. But he didn’t see a single ghost—only Mo Hua, wearing a ghost mask.
“What… happened?” Iron Mountain Tiger looked bewildered, his Sea of Consciousness throbbing with pain.
Mo Hua said, “It’s nothing. I drove the little ghosts away.”
The others also wore expressions of disbelief.
Could such ferocious evil spirits be driven away so easily?
But they had had their souls absorbed by the little ghosts, their heads throbbing and feeling as if pierced by thousands of needles. The pain was unbearable, leaving them with no mental energy to think about anything else.
Mo Hua didn’t want to explain further and simply said, “Let’s keep going.”
Everyone nodded, enduring the pain.
Iron Mountain Tiger glanced back at the empty mural, recalling the soul-absorbing little ghosts. His face turned pale as he murmured softly: “It’s actually… a Ghost-Raising Life-Extending Scheme.”
His voice was faint, but it didn’t escape Mo Hua’s ears.
Mo Hua’s expression changed, and he silently turned to look at Iron Mountain Tiger, his tone turning cold: “…Life-extending?”
Iron Mountain Tiger nodded, his voice trembling with fear: “Yes, raising little ghosts and confining them in this mural. The little ghosts are violent and will kill tomb raiders, absorbing their souls. The soul power they absorb is used to light Soul Lamps, extending the lives of the dead… This is the legendary… Ghost-Raising Lifespan-Extending Method.”