After seeing the entrance to the tomb, Zhang Tian no longer hesitated and immediately led the few people charging forward.
Hu Bayi and the others followed closely.
Shirley Yang, at this moment, displayed astonishing swimming talent. She was like a mermaid, fast and graceful.
Passing through the passage, Zhang Tian began to climb upwards.
Without a doubt, the basic principle of this tomb passage was similar to the one in the underwater tomb.
It was a mechanism designed to block the flow of water.
However, this further confirmed one thing: the Tomb of King Xian was located here!
After a while, Zhang Tian and the others poked their heads out of the water.
Taking a deep breath, the aura around Zhang Tian dissipated. Looking at the dark passage ahead, Zhang Tian once again felt a surge of corpse qi.
Furthermore, this corpse qi was stronger than what he had felt in Lingyun Palace before.
Zhang Tian frowned slightly. The corpse qi above Lingyun Heavenly Palace was formed by the accumulation of many dead bodies.
But there shouldn't be so many corpses in the underground palace of King Xian.
Zhang Tian had a bold guess: this corpse qi was likely emanating from King Xian himself.
"Plop!"
After Zhang Tian emerged, Hu Bayi and Zhang Qilin also landed one after another.
Professor Li clutched his body, trembling slightly.
Zhang Tian looked at everyone and waved his hand, conjuring a ball of flame.
The surrounding temperature immediately rose.
The group's clothes were still wet, but with Zhang Tian's fireball, they were instantly dried.
The cold passage also seemed to have warmed up.
Professor Li finally recovered.
A look of relief washed over his face. He was glad to be alive.
Professor Li was not young, and coupled with the sudden immersion in cold water, it was a miracle he survived.
"Teacher Li, are you alright?"
Xiao Guang's first action after coming ashore was to look at Professor Li.
Professor Li shook his head.
"I'm fine, still alive."
Professor Li said softly, his voice hoarse.
"I never expected your guess to be so accurate, Brother Zhang. The Tomb of King Xian actually has an underground palace!"
Professor Li exclaimed, a hint of admiration in his eyes as he looked at Zhang Tian.
Zhang Tian did not reply, instead focusing his attention on the passage ahead.
"Old Man Li, this is a critical moment, don't disturb our boss."
Fatty interjected. Professor Li quickly nodded, not daring to say more.
Zhang Qilin's gaze was also fixed ahead.
"The corpse qi here is very strong."
Zhang Qilin spoke.
"Could this also be a burial pit?"
Hu Bayi mused, holding his compass.
Zhang Tian shook his head.
"It's unlikely. If it were the corpse qi of multiple people, it wouldn't feel like this. The corpse qi we're sensing should be from someone who has turned into a zombie."
Zhang Tian said.
"Zombie? Fatty, are you talking about a reanimated corpse?"
"Or a zombie?"
Professor Li looked at Fatty and asked.
Fatty shook his head.
"This Fatty doesn't know the difference either. There are reanimated corpses, zombies, and other strange things. Anyway, it's quite peculiar."
Fatty waved his hand, indicating his confusion.
"Teacher Li, it is said that zombies and reanimated corpses are different. Zombies might have intelligence, but reanimated corpses do not. Reanimated corpses are instinctual reactions of the body."
"For example, the one we encountered last time was likely residual muscle memory from when it was alive."
Xiao Guang chimed in.
Professor Li frowned.
He was confused about what to call these corpses.
"Zombies are zombies, and reanimated corpses are reanimated corpses. They form in different ways."
Zhang Tian stated.
Then, Zhang Tian's footsteps moved into the cave.
Shirley Yang's flashlight illuminated the path ahead.
Seeing that Zhang Tian did not elaborate, Professor Li stopped asking questions.
"We just need to follow the direction of the corpse qi, and we might find King Xian."
Hu Bayi said softly.
This corpse qi was undoubtedly the best guide.
Soon, the group passed through a waterway.
They entered a vast underground palace.
The immense space was quite dark.
If not for Shirley Yang's flashlight, Professor Li and the others would not have been able to see their surroundings.
Under the beam of the flashlight, the surroundings were revealed.
In the vast space, numerous colossal statues were arranged around.
The statues were nearly three meters tall.
Their attire and appearances varied, and they held different weapons.
This indicated that these statues represented different entities.
"Good heavens, such a large space, and so many statues, how did they get them in here?"
Xiao Guang exclaimed, marveling at the giant statues.
The previous waterway was narrow, and with all the detours, it was impossible to transport stone statues.
"These stone statues were carved from the mountain's rock walls. The carvings are ancient, resembling sculptures of some deities."
Zhang Tian observed the surrounding statues.
"Boss, there's an oil trough here!"
While Zhang Tian was examining the statues, Fatty had wandered off and pointed to a trough.
Zhang Tian looked over.
Indeed, behind the statues, a long oil trough appeared.
Zhang Tian noticed that there seemed to be some oil in the trough.
Zhang Tian estimated that this oil was refined from human fat.
The reason it hadn't dried up after a thousand years might be due to the unique environment of the tomb.
Professor Li and the others were studying the surrounding statues, extremely curious about them.
Zhang Tian, looking at the oil trough, did not hesitate. He waved his hand, and a great fire ignited within the trough.
In full view of everyone, the flames began to spread rapidly.
The once dark underground palace now appeared very bright.
"Damn, it's finally bright. It was too dark and unpleasant."
Fatty grumbled.
Under Zhang Tian's gaze, the entire underground palace was revealed.
Professor Li also stopped studying the statues, his eyes fixed on the underground palace.
The underground palace was vast. Before them lay a long flight of stairs.
On the walls of the underground palace, there were many protruding and recessed grooves. Within these grooves, corpses were hung.
Only bones remained of the corpses, looking extremely eerie.
The entire underground palace resembled a hell rather than a place of immortality.
The sight of the massive walls of the underground palace made everyone's eyes water.
Especially the corpses hanging on the walls, Zhang Tian counted them casually. There were at least a hundred.
However, the corpse qi was definitely not emanating from these corpses.
"It seems King Xian did not intend to leave any path for future generations. He even personally destroyed his entire kingdom."
Hu Bayi remarked, looking at the corpses hanging on the walls and the oil in the flames. They had no idea how many corpses had been reduced to such a state.
"That corpse oil must have dripped from the corpses hanging above. This method is truly barbaric."
Professor Li sighed.
Zhang Tian looked at the massive walls and the illuminated statues, his interest piqued by the layout of the tomb.