Return of the Immortal Emperor Daddy-Chapter 169: Each Generation Worse Than the Last
Wu Tian’s group had already entered the cave. The darkness inside was so thick it felt horrifying. The Xieling Adept’s subordinates brought out their wilderness flashlights, but they only managed to illuminate the cave slightly. In the pitch-black, it felt as if something was about to leap out at them.
Lin Zhan followed closely behind Wu Tian, knowing that being by his side was the safest place to be. But he couldn’t help but wonder aloud, "Whose tomb is this, hidden in a cave like this? It’s too bizarre." Even tombs like that of Cao Cao had been discovered, so who could possibly be buried here? The question was truly intriguing.
Wu Tian held the little one in one arm and walked calmly. The surrounding darkness didn’t faze him in the slightest. To him, this place was no different from the outside. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
"No one knows who is buried in the tomb inside, but one thing is certain: the contents are not ordinary."
When Lin Zhan heard Wu Tian—a man not easily impressed—say that the contents were extraordinary, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. What kind of treasures could be in this astonishing tomb?
"I understand now," Lin Zhan whispered. "The Zhao Family came all the way from Hong Kong for the treasure inside, but what exactly is it?"
"I think even the Zhao Family themselves don’t know," Wu Tian said after a moment’s thought. "It’s probably just that an ancestor once said that if they obtained that item, they would have a chance to restore their nation or something like that."
This was Wu Tian’s speculation, but he was fairly certain he was correct. The Zhao Family had likely been searching for this tomb for a long time because the item within could help them restore the Great Han.
What were the names of the Zhao sisters again? Zetian and Mulan. The intention is much like that of Murong Bo, who gave his son the single-character name ’Fu,’ meaning ’Restore.’
"What? Restore the Great Han? Are you joking? What era is this?" Lin Zhan was stunned.
"You don’t understand the power of a family’s obsession," Wu Tian remarked. "The Zhao Family are purportedly descendants of Zhao Yun, one of Liu Bei’s famous Five Tiger Generals. It’s possible the Zhao Family was once connected by marriage to the Liu Family, sharing their bloodline, or perhaps the Zhao Family itself wants to restore the dynasty. But none of that is important anymore."
"I don’t care whether they restore the nation or not. But I also want to know what it is that has kept the Zhao Family preoccupied for generations."
At this thought, Wu Tian’s eyes brightened. He felt it could also be his opportunity. If it weren’t for his unknown father taking the Heaven-Defying Sword from this place on a family mission, this tomb would have remained unknown. The whole affair was quite a coincidence.
As Wu Tian and the others walked on, the darkness in the cave grew denser. Every so often, the Xieling Adept would drive an iron probe deep into the ground, pull it out, and smell it. This was a Dharma of the Xieling Sect. The various scents brought up by the iron probe from the soil, combined with the tactile feedback from striking the ground, told him whether the earth below was hollow or contained wood, bricks, or stone. Each gave a distinct feel.
The Mount Mover Daoist scanned the area with his compass. The three of them—the Xieling Adept, the Mount Mover Daoist, and the Faqiu General—whispered amongst themselves, discussing what might be inside the cave and the potential dangers. They naturally shared their findings with Zhao Zetian and Zhao Mulan. However, the three tomb raiders were wary of Wu Tian and didn’t want him to overhear, clearly holding a grudge about his earlier refusal to help them carry their equipment.
"They’re not telling us anything. If there’s danger, it seems they’re willing to watch us die," Lin Zhan said, nervously observing their surroundings. He was afraid that traps, like a sudden volley of arrows from the cave walls, might spring from the darkness. Lin Zhan was furious. How could descendants of great Tomb Raiding clans be so petty?
Mouse Tooth grew tense. The little one, however, remained curious, surveying the pitch-dark surroundings from Wu Tian’s arms without a shred of fear.
The Xieling Adept, the Mount Mover Daoist, and the Faqiu General had analyzed what traps might lie in the cave. They didn’t inform Wu Tian’s group, hoping they would have to come and beg for the information. However, Wu Tian’s group didn’t do so, which made the three of them lose some face.
The Xieling Adept in particular let out a snort and whispered a few words to his subordinates.
Suddenly, the beams of their wilderness flashlights shifted. They dimmed the lights before pointing them only along their own path, completely ignoring Wu Tian’s party. In an instant, Wu Tian’s group was plunged into pitch darkness. The Xieling Adept wanted them to become frightened and beg him for help.
"Each generation is inferior to the last," Wu Tian said, shaking his head at the Xieling Adept’s actions.
Where did the Xieling Adepts come from? It is said that during the Yuan Mongol period, due to hostility toward the regime and severe persecution, they began to retaliate on a grand scale, making the destruction of the Genghis Khan Mausoleum’s feng shui and the downfall of the Yuan Dynasty their mission. Ultimately, they damaged several of Genghis Khan’s accessory tombs and helped restore the River and Mountains to the Han people. The Xieling Adepts were mostly extreme nationalists who placed great importance on the heritage of the Yan Huang descendants. Although they were not active in the Central Plains, their successors were chosen only from among the Han people, and they would go to any extreme against a nation that might endanger Han rulership. Regrettably, the current heir to the Xieling Adepts seems to lack his ancestors’ virtues.
"We don’t have any wilderness flashlights," said Lin Zhan.
Mouse Tooth gritted his teeth. "I do."
"Where is it?" Lin Zhan asked joyfully.
"Just now, when the Xieling Adept said they didn’t have enough flashlights, I gave him mine, but he hasn’t returned it," Mouse Tooth said, furious. When he went Tomb Raiding with Yao Sijiu, it was dangerous, but they were comrades who had been through life and death together. It was nothing like this time. Mouse Tooth wished he could go up and bite the Xieling Adept to death.
"It’s no matter," Wu Tian said suddenly. He then reached out and lightly touched the foreheads of the little one, Lin Zhan, and Mouse Tooth in turn.
Lin Zhan and Mouse Tooth didn’t understand what he was doing. But when Wu Tian’s finger touched their foreheads, they felt a cool sensation. This energy surged into their eyes, and suddenly, they could see everything clearly in the darkness. The blackness was no hindrance to them at all.
Lin Zhan couldn’t help but smile. Mouse Tooth, on the other hand, had never imagined Wu Tian possessed such abilities. He was so shocked his teeth began to chatter. "This... what is this..."
Mouse Tooth had been Tomb Raiding for most of his life and had seen many beings with strange powers, but those were animated corpses, female demons, and the like, such as the king of Jing Jue Country.
"Don’t make a sound. Keep it to yourself," Wu Tian whispered.
Mouse Tooth nodded, looking Wu Tian up and down. Wu Tian looked like a normal person, not some animated corpse or any other ghosts and monsters. Among people, Mouse Tooth had always thought his brother Yao Sijiu was already quite an extraordinary man. But compared to Wu Tian, even Yao Sijiu was just an ordinary person.
Zhao Zetian, being the most astute, was the first to notice the abnormality with Wu Tian’s group, but she couldn’t understand it. What are they doing? They’re staring so fearlessly into the darkness. They don’t have flashlights, so they can’t possibly see anything. What are they looking at?
