Could it be that in the timeline before Ding Yijie's death, they were experiencing something real?
This was clearly a recreation, not that they had truly returned to the past, as Ye Tiancheng had mentioned when discussing it.
Even if the Kunlun Mirror could alter the past, it would only be a recreation and mirroring of the past, thereby achieving the result of modifying past causality through the law of cause and effect, and then influencing the present.
It was unlikely that it could truly allow them to travel through time and space.
Even if there were divine artifacts capable of such a feat, it was unlikely to be the Kunlun Mirror.
Mirror, mirror, as the name suggests.
The abilities of a mirror are nothing more than what they are; it can only reflect.
Moreover, let alone Nie Chongyang and his companions, and Ye Tiancheng and his group, arriving in different timelines, even before traveling through timelines, they were not in any normal place.
In reality, what they experienced should have been another layer of illusion.
It was like an infinite nesting of dreams within dreams; they were probably just on one layer of multiple spaces.
From the very beginning, none of it was real.
Nie Chongyang finally sighed and said, "Regardless, the fact that we're still alive is good. We didn't really get stuck here. I was really startled when the ground suddenly gave way beneath my feet, reminding me of the time we were almost forced to jump off a building together."
"I thought we were done for this time, going to lose our lives here."
Liang Ping rubbed his forehead. It was better not to mention it; bringing it up, how could he himself not be shaken?
Who could come out of the shadow after experiencing such a thing, let alone repeatedly?
He asked Nie Chongyang, "What should we do now? This place is probably going to be even more dangerous. Thinking about it, coming here probably won't lead to anything good."
Nie Chongyang also sighed and said, "We're trapped here now, and we can't send any information back to Ye Tiancheng and the others. They probably have no way of knowing what happened to us. If they don't hear back from us for a long time, they'll likely be worried."
Liang Ping followed with a sigh.
"I really didn't expect such a change to occur, but no matter what, we can only try our best to find a way out. We can only rely on ourselves now."
Nie Chongyang nodded, looked at the surroundings, and then said, "I remember that for places like this, whoever could afford to build such a tomb chamber must have been quite wealthy. To prevent theft, there would probably be many mechanisms and traps inside."
"And everyone knows that there are many non-human existences in this world. This place will likely be very perilous, so we need to be extra careful."
Liang Ping said, "That's true. Moreover, the methods Ye Tiancheng and the others taught us, we probably still have to use them. If this is also some kind of deceptive illusion or trap, and we encounter what happened before again, it would be troublesome."
They now had to be on their guard with all their might.
Nie Chongyang carefully observed the tomb chamber and then looked at the coffin, appearing somewhat hesitant.
As Liang Ping and Nie Chongyang had been partners for so many years, Liang Ping was extremely familiar with Nie Chongyang's every move. With just a glance, without Nie Chongyang needing to say anything, he could vaguely guess what Nie Chongyang intended to do.
Basically, with just a look or a gesture, they had a very deep understanding of each other.
In another sense, Nie Chongyang could do the same.
At that moment, Liang Ping saw Nie Chongyang's intention. After thinking for a moment, he said to Nie Chongyang, "Are you thinking of opening the coffin?"
Nie Chongyang rubbed his chin.
That was indeed what he was thinking, and at this time, there was no question of disturbing the deceased.
The law also had provisions for emergency self-defense. If it was unavoidable, an offense was an offense. Moreover, neither Nie Chongyang nor Liang Ping feared the dead. In their previous work, they had not had little contact with the dead.
Ordinary people in such a place might be afraid, not daring to touch the dead or move the coffin.
However, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping were not superstitious or afraid.
After thinking for a moment, Nie Chongyang said, "Opening the coffin. Given our current situation, and not seeing any obvious clues elsewhere, we have to open the coffin to confirm. Only after seeing can we decide."
Indeed, this tomb chamber looked quite simple, but considering how it was built, so simple yet appearing abnormal, and the coffin itself was not of particularly good quality.
Therefore, it could only be said that this was definitely not the most important tomb chamber.
All they could see was a closed stone door. They had tried it earlier, and the door was tightly shut and could not be easily opened. Either it was sealed shut, or they needed to find a mechanism.
In front of the door were two oil lamps, but the lamps had clearly gone out.
However, there was still oil in the lamps.
But for safety reasons, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping honestly used their flashlights and did not rashly light the two oil lamps.
If lighting the lamps caused something bad to happen, or if the lamp oil contained harmful substances, it would be disastrous if they lit the lamps.
The two of them were not so reckless.
Then, there was nothing unusual on the walls. They were stone-hewn walls, with no inscriptions or murals. In a corner of the tomb chamber, there was a pile of miscellaneous wooden fragments, but they had already rotted.
The coffin, however, looked as good as new, which was very strange.
Apart from that, this tomb chamber was truly empty; there was nothing else to be seen.
Therefore, they could only choose to open the coffin.
After all, at present, the only potential exit they could see was that closed stone door.
It could only be said that if they wanted to get out, they either had to find a way to open that stone door, or that stone door might be a deception. The real exit might be related to that coffin.
After Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping agreed, they walked to the side of the coffin and carefully observed it. They found that the coffin was not only new but also had no nails. The handles were on the lid, and it could be pushed open.
The two of them exchanged glances, confirming that they were both prepared, had made all necessary arrangements, and had heightened their vigilance. Nie Chongyang placed his hand on the coffin lid and slowly pushed it open.
As the lid was opened, no unpleasant smell emanated from it.
As the lid was gradually pushed open, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping finally saw the scene inside the coffin clearly.
There was no corpse inside this coffin.
This was unexpected for Nie Chongyang and his companions.
However, being able to avoid seeing a corpse was a good thing. But this coffin was as empty as the tomb chamber. Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping saw a very old-looking book placed inside the coffin, as if it would fall apart at the slightest touch.
Next to the book was a wooden sword.
Besides that, there was a square door-like opening at the bottom of the coffin.
If this door could be opened, it looked like it was large enough for an adult to crawl through.
With Liang Ping keeping watch, Nie Chongyang placed his hand on the pull ring of the square door and tried to pull it open, but he couldn't move it. He then wondered if the door was not opened by pulling up and down, and changed to pushing.
However, the door remained unmoving.
After several attempts, Nie Chongyang could not budge the door at all. Only then did he withdraw his hand and shake his head at Liang Ping, saying, "This door also won't open."
Liang Ping observed and had been watching Nie Chongyang's attempts. Upon hearing this, he said, "There might be a mechanism, or perhaps some other situation."
"It might be something to deceive us."
"Just like that stone door that won't open."
Nie Chongyang could only look at the other two items in the coffin and rub his chin, saying, "I don't know what material this wooden sword is made of. Could it be the peach wood sword mentioned in folk tales?"
Peach wood swords were not as useful in stories as they were made out to be, but their appearance in such a place easily brought to mind peach wood swords.
Of course, willow wood was also possible.
Or perhaps some other types of wood, like locust wood or poplar wood. Some were used to attract Yin energy, but they could also deter some non-human existences.
Or perhaps, it simply had a more sinister purpose.
Liang Ping said, "Why don't we see what's written in that book? I think the possibility of finding clues there is much higher."
Nie Chongyang retorted, "This book is so dilapidated, I'm afraid it will turn to dust if I touch it."
Despite saying that, Nie Chongyang still took out gloves from his storage space, put them on, and then tried to pick up the book.
This was also a necessary precaution.
What if there was something bad on the book, like toxins?
They had to be careful not to fall into a trap here.
Nie Chongyang picked up the book, and it was quite risky. Although the book was old, when held, at most the pages would come apart. If they looked carefully and didn't mess up the pages, there would be no problem.
There was no need to worry about this book turning to dust.
Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping huddled together and looked at the contents of the book.
The content inside the book was quite mysterious and complicated. However, based on their cultivation and understanding of the cultivation world, what was recorded in it was not something proper; it should be something quite sinister.
It looked quite brain-twisting, and there were many things they dared not think about after reading them.
Things like forbidden texts and evil spells could easily confuse one's mind. They dared not read too much, for fear of being bewitched, and who knew what would happen.
However, this was also their most useful clue at the moment, and they had to read it.
Fortunately, after flipping through it for a while, they did find some useful information.
Nie Chongyang pointed to a page in the book and said, "With locust wood... pierce? The Five Elements Yin-Yang... can open this formation? Ah! It's so complicated. Liang Ping, do you understand?"
Liang Ping also looked at the content of the book and thought for a moment before saying, "Regarding locust wood, if there is any in this tomb chamber, it would either be that pile of broken wooden fragments in the corner. But this book is not so fragile that it would turn to dust with a touch, but those wooden fragments might be."
"However, it could also be this wooden sword in the coffin."
"I think this wooden sword couldn't have appeared in this coffin for no reason. Perhaps it's a prop placed here according to the book's content."
Nie Chongyang looked at the wooden sword.
From its appearance alone, it was impossible to tell what material the wooden sword was made of. It was even painted with bright red paint. This wooden sword was as new and bright as the coffin.
He said, "Then let's take it and try it out. If we try things one by one, we'll know."
Then, Liang Ping continued to read, his expression also somewhat confused, as he could only understand parts of it. His knowledge in this area was also very limited, and he had no clue.