"Interesting," hearing Wang Zizai's deduction, Old Dong and Professor Li's eyes lit up.
With the Terracotta Army of the Qin Mausoleum as a precedent, such large-scale terracotta figures automatically came with a "hot topic" buff.
Let alone ten thousand demon俑, even a hundred demon俑 would be enough to shock the nation and create a craze!
And now, looking around, the formation of the Eight Divisions of Ten Thousand Demon 俑 was no less impressive than that of the Qin Mausoleum Terracotta Army, and in terms of imposing aura, it even surpassed it.
This was partly because the casting technology of the Eastern Han Dynasty had made great progress compared to the Qin Dynasty;
Secondly, compared to the Terracotta Army, the demon and monster images depicted in the Ten Thousand Demon 俑 were more sinister and terrifying, thus exerting a greater oppressive force on human perception.
These were the differences between the Eight Divisions of Ten Thousand Demon 俑 and the Qin Mausoleum Terracotta Army, and also the selling points of the future mausoleum.
"I have a premonition, we're going to make a fortune this time!"
"We didn't have the chance to participate in the excavation of the Qin Mausoleum, but we are the witnesses and creators of the excavation of Zhang Ling!"
"These Ten Thousand Demon 俑 will definitely shock the whole world! Becoming the ninth wonder that everyone talks about!"
Old Dong said excitedly.
Professor Li and Wang Zizai also showed longing expressions.
As archaeologists, who wouldn't want to excavate a relic that would be passed down through the ages in their lifetime?
And now, this relic had appeared!
Right before their eyes!
The three of them felt an irrepressible emotion surging within them, which drove them to subconsciously walk into the underground palace.
Entering the densely packed Ten Thousand Demon 俑.
When viewed from afar, these figures were already imposing, making one feel suffocated;
But now, looking at them up close, they found the detailed sculpting of these figures to be of devilish quality!
Even the hair was extremely delicate and lifelike.
Old Dong even saw, inside the nostril of one of the demon 俑, a strand of nose hair!
And the nose hair was depicted with varying degrees of curvature and angles!
"Superb craftsmanship, absolutely superb!"
"Professor Li, you research the left area; Professor Wang, you take the right area, and I'll go through the middle. Let's not stray too far and meet at the end of the main hall!"
Old Dong instructed.
Professor Li and Professor Wang Zizai agreed and moved to their respective sides.
Initially, Old Dong could still see them, but within ten seconds, he found that both of them had disappeared!
"We explicitly said not to go too far, why aren't you listening?"
Old Dong grumbled in dissatisfaction.
"Forget it, they're young. When they see something like this, the ninth wonder of the world, they can't help themselves. Even I, an old man, can't control myself, so how can I blame others?"
Old Dong quickly put the matter out of his mind and immersed himself in the observation and study of the Ten Thousand Demon 俑.
The entire process from the three of them entering the formation of the Ten Thousand Demon 俑 to their disappearance was extremely rapid.
And not a single one of them had informed Ying Chen!
Ying Chen had merely used his "Gazing at Qi" technique to observe the entire underground palace, and then he found that Old Dong and the other two were nowhere to be seen!
"Oh no!" Ying Chen's expression changed.
During his observation just now, Ying Chen had detected different energies within the underground palace.
Logically, a tomb for the deceased, sealed for thousands of years, how could it possess different energies?
It should only have the smell of decay.
But this underground palace was filled with all sorts of colorful energies!
Especially at the end of the main hall, the energies were even more intense!
As if some great secret was hidden there!
Just as Ying Chen was about to remind Old Dong and the other two not to act rashly, he realized that the three of them had disappeared.
Ying Chen could only step into the formation of the Ten Thousand Demon 俑 himself, trying to find the three of them.
...
"The eyes of this statue... are so strange... Although they are covered in dust and stone debris, and the eyes are closed, they give me the illusion that they could open at any moment."
Old Dong stopped before a stone figure with wings on its back, a monkey-like face, and a human-like body, studying it repeatedly.
"Yu Rong 俑?"
Old Dong soon found a line of small Lishu script on the back of the stone figure, which marked the name of the figure.
Yu Rong was a mountain spirit.
It resembled a monkey and had a cruel disposition.
It was fond of tearing and eating humans.
It had once caused trouble, and was a demon subdued by Zhang Daoling in legend.
"It seems Wang Zizai's deduction was correct, these stone figures are all used to showcase Zhang Daoling's great achievements. I just didn't expect Zhang Daoling to have subdued so many demons and monsters in his lifetime."
"Of course, legend is legend, and the truth is likely that one day Zhang Daoling subdued an evil monkey, and then it spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred, until it became the story of subduing the man-eating Yu Rong."
"After all, history is like a young girl who can be dressed up as anyone pleased! Perhaps in a hundred years, my actions today will also be transformed into a feat praised by people!"
Old Dong said, as if he had an insight into history.
He then took a picture of the Yu Rong 俑, made a note, and continued forward.
However, Old Dong did not notice that the moment his camera flash went off, the Yu Rong 俑, which had been keeping its eyes closed, suddenly opened a sliver of its eyelids!
And after Old Dong finished taking the picture and turned to move forward, the Yu Rong 俑 fully opened its eyes!
"Hmm, this stone figure is also interesting... It's like a flying squirrel baring its teeth. The most crucial part is the skill in shaping the entire face, which vividly portrays the ferocious and terrifying appearance of a mouse that has grown to human size!"
"Humans might not be afraid of a palm-sized mouse, but when a mouse grows to human size, people might scream and flee."
"This stone figure perfectly expresses this fear."
Old Dong picked up his camera, preparing to take a picture of this flying squirrel figure as well.
However, the moment he raised his shoulder, he suddenly felt something bump against his back.
He instinctively turned around.
Immediately, his whole body trembled, and he gasped.
Behind him, there was a stone statue!
It was none other than the Yu Rong 俑!
"What's going on? I remember clearly that the Yu Rong 俑 was not in this position, but more than a meter behind me!"
"Why did it suddenly appear behind me?"
"And..."
Old Dong, as if struck by a thought, hurriedly picked up his camera and looked for the photo he had just taken.
Then his face changed drastically.
In the camera, the Yu Rong 俑's arms were hanging down at its sides!
Its posture was one of being subdued and defeated.
But now, the Yu Rong 俑's arms were raised!
Its long claws extended forward, stopping near Old Dong's head, as if about to peel open his skull!
Most importantly, the Yu Rong 俑's eyes were also open!
Completely different from Old Dong's memory!
Old Dong had specifically commented on the Yu Rong 俑's eyes, saying that although they were closed, they had a sense of impending opening that was oppressive.
Now, Old Dong's words had come true, and the Yu Rong 俑's eyes had indeed opened!
"No, no..."
Old Dong muttered to himself, realizing something was wrong.
He suddenly began to regret his impulsive action of entering the formation of the Ten Thousand Demon 俑 without informing Ying Chen.
But it was too late to regret it now. Old Dong could only suppress his unease, stop moving forward, and prepare to turn back.
But before he could take another step, his body trembled again, and he turned to look back.
Then Old Dong shivered and almost collapsed to the ground!