Outside the insect eggs, countless black insects were wriggling.
Beneath the black river water, the insect eggs appeared exceptionally large.
Around the insect eggs, there were also some broken shells, indicating that some insects had already hatched.
Zhang Tian's gaze shifted to the area behind the insect eggs.
Further behind the river, there were even larger insect eggs.
These insect eggs were arranged in a seemingly orderly fashion, madly releasing black insects outwards.
"So scary."
Looking at the insect eggs, which were as large as giant jellyfish, Xiao Guang swallowed, his heart filled with excitement.
He almost choked on his breath while holding it.
"Damn it, these giant insect eggs, if you could eat them, how delicious would they be? Definitely crunchy."
Fatty was also shocked by the scene and couldn't help but sigh.
Zhang Tian looked at the insect eggs.
"Your oil pot wouldn't be big enough for this."
"These are likely eggs of some kind of poisonous insects. The King of Xian made me wary of this."
"It was to prevent anyone from entering the water to search for the ancient tomb. This should be the final defense to enter the tomb."
Zhang Tian said.
Xiao Guang suddenly understood.
He was even more impressed by the King of Xian's methods.
The King of Xian was not only skillful but perhaps more accurately described as insidious.
"Boss, what should we do now?"
"Burn these things?"
Fatty asked.
"There are too many insects here. If we attack, I'm afraid we can't handle it."
"So we can just ignore them. I presume they won't attack us if they sense danger."
Zhang Tian said.
As he finished speaking, Hu Bayi chimed in.
"There's an entrance ahead!"
"The entrance is in the center of the insect eggs!"
Hu Bayi's voice called out. Zhang Tian took a breath; it was too disgusting, as if the insect eggs were intentionally placed there.
Once Zhang Tian got close, the endless insects would undoubtedly attack.
At that time, Zhang Tian's thin wall of fire would be difficult to defend against so many insects.
"It seems we have to go this way."
Zhang Tian murmured, his brow furrowed.
Zhang Tian noticed that the structure of these insect eggs was peculiar. The insects seemed to be very dependent on the eggs, yet also fearful of them.
Insects were constantly being produced from within the eggs.
An unending stream.
And there was a lot of black liquid outside the eggs. The insects' nourishment likely came from this liquid.
Yet, the insects dared not approach the giant insect eggs, as if the eggs were dangerous.
"Boss, the door is between two insect eggs. Fatty thinks if we just burn them, we should be able to..."
Fatty started to say.
"No, that would definitely provoke a frenzy of attacks from the insects, and we'd need to burn them instantly."
Zhang Tian shook his head.
He thought for a moment and said.
"This way, Old Hu, we'll use talismans. Let's stick all the talismans onto those insect eggs first, and then, once we're further away, activate them."
Zhang Tian said to Hu Bayi.
The aggressive ones were the insects, not the insect eggs themselves.
Therefore, sticking the talismans onto the insect eggs would likely not cause the insects to stir.
A talisman was just a piece of paper; its impact on these black insects should be minimal.
Hu Bayi seemed to understand Zhang Tian's intention and nodded, his gaze fixed on the insect eggs before them.
The two of them took out many talismans and drew on the yellow paper.
Almost instantly, several fire talismans were thrown out by Zhang Tian and Hu Bayi.
As the fire talismans slowly drifted onto the insect eggs, the insects seemed to notice nothing unusual.
To Zhang Tian's surprise, when the talismans landed on the insect eggs, the eggs absorbed them.
"So, the nourishment for the insect eggs is some floating matter in the river. This matter is absorbed by the eggs, which then hatch more insects."
"And the insects, in turn, absorb the liquid released by the eggs to survive, forming a self-sustaining food chain."
Zhang Tian's voice echoed.
This food chain astonished many present.
Although Professor Li was not a biologist, he was captivated by this simple yet complex food chain.
"This must be the unique method of raising gu by the King of Xian. This should be a type of gu worm."
Hu Bayi said.
Zhang Tian nodded and looked at the insect eggs before him.
"Let them explode."
Zhang Tian commanded.
He was afraid that once the insect eggs digested the talismans, they would no longer be effective.
Hu Bayi nodded, and then both of them waved their hands almost simultaneously.
With a fluctuation of energy, the insect eggs that had swallowed several talismans began to burn with intense flames from within.
The surrounding black insects seemed startled, wriggling frantically around.
As the speed of the surrounding insects increased, they gradually seemed to realize something was wrong.
Upon seeing the insect eggs burning, the dark insects around them began to charge towards the eggs with frenzy.
They seemed to want to use their bodies to extinguish the flames on the insect eggs.
But it was to no avail. As the heat of the flames increased, more and more surrounding insects were burned to death.
Perhaps due to the burning of their mother source, the insects paid no heed to Zhang Tian's group.
Looking at the dying, burning insects, Zhang Tian showed no expression.
The insects were like fireworks in the water, giving a sense of romance.
"Moo moo."
On the side, Xiao Guang could no longer hold his breath and made a muffled sound.
Seeing this, Zhang Tian waved his hand, channeling true qi.
Xiao Guang felt as if his lungs had received more air.
He looked at Zhang Tian in surprise.
Zhang Tian's abilities were truly astonishing.
He was like an immortal.
As the fiery blossoms fell.
Shirley Yang's eyes seemed to gleam with surprise.
This kind of beautiful underwater scenery was perhaps something only they could witness.
Shirley Yang's hand instinctively reached for Hu Bayi's.
A sense of sweetness washed over them.
Hu Bayi looked at the fireworks, embracing Shirley Yang; for a moment, there was even a touch of romance underwater.
Professor Li: ??????
Did you consider my feelings, an old man?
Professor Li was utterly bewildered.
Good heavens, tomb raiding could involve public displays of affection these days?
Professor Li couldn't understand it, not at all.
He was freezing to death, while Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang were watching fireworks.
He shouldn't have followed Hu Bayi.
In the water, the red flames continued to fall into the black river.
As the embers, like tiny stars, burned out.
The entire river turned black and lightless again.
However, the insect eggs before them had vanished.
And not far away, there were other insect eggs, but it no longer mattered.
Because before Zhang Tian's eyes, a large circular opening had appeared.
"Boss, it's the tomb door!" Fatty exclaimed.
Professor Li and Xiao Guang also saw the tomb door before them.
They were also somewhat astonished.
So what Zhang Tian said was true!
The real tomb was not in the sky, but underground.
But how did he know?
And why did Zhang Tian know so much?
At this moment, Professor Li doubted who the real archaeology expert was.
No wonder so many tombs had disappeared; it turned out that civilian teams had broader knowledge than professional teams.
Professor Li's perception of Zhang Tian and his group was once again refreshed.