When the blue-black face-covering cloth was torn off by Zhang Tian, a grotesquely shaped figure appeared before him.
The fellow had a flat face, looking remarkably strange.
With a handlebar mustache, short eyebrows, and a naturally short stature, Zhang Tian momentarily thought the man might be a dwarf.
It was known that the average height of people from the Fuji country was extremely low. If it weren't for the later influx of women from the Fuji country "borrowing genes" from the Xia country, the people of Fuji wouldn't have grown so tall.
Zhang Tian recalled that during the Tang Dynasty, and in other eras, officials from the Fuji country had constantly sent women to the Xia country, specifically to get them pregnant.
The person before him had clearly avoided inheriting any of the Xia country's superior genes.
"What kind of creature is this, so ugly and misshapen? Is this supposed to be a ninja? Boss, are you sure he's not a turtle-face?"
"Ninja turtle?"
The fatty looked at the figure before him, a hint of smugness in his eyes. He had finally found someone uglier than himself.
Yes, he felt quite satisfied.
"Fatty, this is no creature."
"Forget it, let's first figure out how they managed to conceal their presence."
Zhang Tian had initially intended to explain to Fatty, but upon reflection, it was pointless.
Talking to this guy was a strain on the brain.
Seeing Zhang Tian rip off the covering from the man's face, Wu Tianzhen and the others also crowded around.
"Wuwu."
The subdued figure let out sounds from his mouth, his body wriggling, but he couldn't break free from Zhang Tian's grip.
In the face of absolute strength, resistance was nearly impossible.
Zhang Tian rummaged through the man for a long time, eventually finding a palm-sized booklet.
And a bag of powder.
"This is..."
"Cement from the village entrance?"
Looking at the powder in his hand, Zhang Tian's mind conjured a peculiar image.
A group of brightly colored youths performing a ritualistic dance at the village entrance.
Shaking his head, Zhang Tian quickly dismissed the thought.
"Huh, what kind of creature is this? It looks so weird."
Wang Banyue exclaimed, echoing Wang Kaixuan's sentiment.
Meanwhile, Zhang Tian picked up the powder and examined it closely.
"Boss, this stuff looks like some kind of pollen."
Hu Bayi sniffed the bag, making his guess.
"No."
Zhang Qilin dipped a finger inside and, smelling it at his nose, spoke directly.
Zhang Tian looked at him, surprised.
Zhang Qilin's role was becoming more prominent.
"Qilin, you explain."
Zhang Qilin looked at the person before him, his voice cold.
"This is a unique powder made from women's blood. It requires virgin blood. I can't recall the rest."
Zhang Qilin rubbed his head, a flicker of pain in his expression.
Zhang Tian quickly patted his back. Zhang Qilin knowing this meant he must have been to a tomb before.
"It seems if we want to find the answer, we must press onward. This Divine Emperor's tomb must hide something unspeakable."
As Zhang Tian spoke, the others nodded in agreement.
Zhang Tian searched the ninja again, finding only a few throwing darts and little else.
"So poor."
Fatty glanced disdainfully at the figure lying on the ground.
Shaking his head resolutely.
"Young Master Zhang, what do we do with this thing?"
Wu Tianzhen asked, looking at the ninja on the ground.
"Let him go where he belongs."
As Zhang Tian spoke, a fire talisman fell, and the figure on the ground was reduced to ashes.
"So brutal, I love it. Right, Tianzhen?"
"We must use such methods against people like them."
Wang Banyue licked his lips and clapped his hands.
Wu Tianzhen nodded, feeling an immense sense of relief.
After dealing with the ninja, Zhang Tian retrieved several ever-burning lamps from his illusory space.
Ever-burning lamps were a common illumination tool used by ancient tomb raiders.
They not only lit up the surroundings but also served to ward off spirits.
"Good heavens, Boss, why did you bring a lamp here? You might as well have brought something useful. I think Miss Yang's... that stick thing is quite good."
"The red one, the big one."
Fatty gestured animatedly.
"Fatty, that's a flare gun!"
Hu Bayi looked at him with a mixture of disappointment and exasperation. Fatty then seemed to realize something, nodding his head with a smile.
Wu Tianzhen looked at the ever-burning lamps, both curious and surprised by Zhang Tian's ability to produce things from thin air.
He had noticed it before but hadn't asked.
It was Zhang Tian's business, and not particularly his concern.
Soon, the ever-burning lamps were lit, and the surroundings were illuminated.
Then, everything around them gradually came into view.
The tomb chamber was as massive as Hu Bayi had estimated, a vast labyrinth stretching at least a hundred meters in circumference.
The ground was covered with the maze walls, pushed over and damaged by Zhang Qilin.
Above the immense tomb chamber, a large totem-like structure was carved.
Outside the maze area, there were lamp-like decorations.
They could likely be lit.
Most importantly, directly in front of Zhang Tian, a grand tomb chamber appeared behind the maze.
It was evident that the ninjas had appeared specifically to prevent Zhang Tian and his group from entering the main tomb chamber.
Unfortunately for them, they were unaware of Zhang Tian's group's strength. Entering such a tomb was akin to a max-level player slaughtering a novice village.
"What a huge tomb chamber, it rivals the underwater tomb we visited before!"
Wu Tianzhen exclaimed.
He had only visited two tomb chambers so far, and both had collapsed.
Although he admitted to having some part in their demise.
"The murals on the ceiling..."
Hu Bayi followed the light of the ever-burning lamp to the massive murals above, his voice trembling slightly.
Zhang Tian also looked up.
"Boss, these murals look very familiar."
Hu Bayi murmured, he felt as if he had seen the murals before.
Zhang Tian's senses tingled.
He suddenly took out the sheepskin scroll from the Buddha head.
Opening the scroll, he saw that the temple depicted in the murals was essentially the same as the one on the sheepskin scroll.
"Holy cow, this can be connected too?"
Zhang Tian was stunned. This thing he'd found randomly was here?
Did the recently deceased Divine Emperor have any connection to this bloodied Buddha head?
Or was this Buddha head originally the Divine Emperor's possession?
Zhang Tian couldn't understand.
"Boss, these two are the same."
Hu Bayi also exclaimed.
"Yes, it seems the Divine Emperor has some connection to our Buddhist temples."
"But, it's not a big problem. We are here to take all the cultural relics. As long as these things don't affect our interests, we don't need to bother with them."
Zhang Tian was quite pragmatic.
Unless absolutely necessary, or if it helped his cultivation or the team, he was disinclined to involve himself.
Why bother with so much when he could just focus on his own cultivation?
"Old Hu, Boss is right. Let's go and rob the tomb in the temple immediately!"
Fatty clenched his fist.
Zhang Tian: ???
Good heavens, has his master's selective amnesia become contagious?
"Let's go, we should go inside and not waste time here."
Zhang Tian beckoned, and everyone's attention shifted.
They walked towards the main tomb chamber.