In a tomb, the presence of a guardian beast already signifies extreme danger, potentially even a life-threatening one.
Those who had arrived before them, managing to find the tomb and survive encountering the guardian beast, were undoubtedly individuals beyond their comprehension.
"Third Uncle, what is this guardian beast?" Wu Xie asked, his gaze sweeping across the rippling river surface, a hint of confusion and curiosity on his face.
"In ancient times, before the tomb owner died, they would raise certain creatures to guard their tombs. Gradually, these creatures absorbed the Yin energy within the tomb, becoming sentient and eventually transforming into guardian beasts," Third Uncle explained. "Guardian beasts can be not only demonic beasts but also humans."
Wu Xie nodded as if he understood.
"Then, Third Uncle, do you think such things exist in this world? I saw something like it in my grandfather's notes." Wu Xie mentioned. Third Uncle waved his hand.
"Third Uncle isn't sure about that. However, having explored many tombs, I have encountered such things before," Third Uncle said with a smile.
"Third Uncle, what things?" Han Shao, standing nearby, asked with palpable excitement, his curiosity piqued by the unknown.
"That thing." Third Uncle suddenly pointed towards the riverbank. A white figure had appeared by the river without them noticing. The figure had disheveled hair, a slumped head, and a chilling wind swirled around it. Upon closer inspection, it was a female ghost in front of them!
"Ah, a ghost, a ghost!" Han Shao exclaimed, collapsing onto the ground in fear.
"Don't scream," Xiao Ge said. Wu Xie covered Han Shao's mouth. The next moment, a small knife slipped, and his finger was cut. A drop of blood fell onto the female ghost, and she instantly vanished.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Third Uncle frowned slightly.
"If we've encountered a 'zongzi' (a type of zombie or undead creature), then the people who entered before us must have encountered it too. If they were ordinary people, how did they get past it?" Third Uncle mused. If it weren't for Xiao Ge, they would have had great difficulty. Did the others also have a Xiao Ge?
"Third Uncle, perhaps they were just lucky," Wu Xie offered, seeing Third Uncle's serious expression and trying to ease the tension.
Third Uncle nodded but remained silent, though his mind was filled with curiosity about those who had entered before them.
The small boat continued to move forward.
Han Shao shivered. "It's so cold. Wu Xie, how much longer do we have to go?" he asked, clutching his chest. His body was trembling with cold.
"Don't rush. Look underwater," Pan Zi said. Everyone looked down.
They saw two shadows darting wildly underwater. The two shadows seemed to be chasing each other, an extremely strange sight. Xiao Ge gazed at the water and said in a cold voice, "Someone must have provoked the things underwater, causing these two to fight each other." With another wave of his hand, Xiao Ge brought up a snake and a corpse beetle. The snake was still green, its tail wriggling constantly, appearing quite terrifying.
Seeing these two creatures, not only Wu Xie but even Third Uncle was stunned. "This kind of snake should be a corpse snake. Look, it's devouring these corpse beetles," Third Uncle said, pointing at the snake and speaking softly. Wu Xie listened as if it were a story, intently.
"Don't go near this snake; it's poisonous," Xiao Ge warned, then said no more. Third Uncle became even more cautious.
"These two creatures have existed in this river for thousands of years and lived peacefully. Why are they fighting each other today?" Third Uncle frowned. This place was too strange. The corpse beetle and the snake were both in the water, and now they were fighting. This was a very peculiar situation.
"Did those people also provoke the corpse beetle?" Third Uncle suddenly thought of this. To provoke two creatures consecutively, those people were truly courting death.
"Third Uncle, perhaps they are already dead. Don't overthink it," Pan Zi interjected. Third Uncle said nothing more, his gaze fixed ahead.
The next moment, the river water began to churn. Simultaneously, ripples spread across the surface. Suddenly, a black, thick tail emerged from the river. Seeing this tail, not only Wu Xie but also Third Uncle and Xiao Ge were stunned.
The guardian beast truly existed! For a moment, everyone's hearts pounded in their chests. Xiao Ge even drew his short sword. This guardian beast seemed difficult to deal with.
"Not good, it's a thousand-year-old Jiaoshe (dragon-like snake). Hurry!" Xiao Ge warned, his voice cold and serious as he looked underwater. His face remained expressionless.
"Snake, snake, I'm most afraid of snakes. Wu Xie, what do we do now?" Han Shao, lying on the boat, looked distressed. He was terrified.
"We'll go first. Look ahead; there's a cave entrance not far away. Let's go in quickly," Third Uncle said. They exchanged glances and immediately jumped into the water, swimming towards the cave. Xiao Ge, meanwhile, swung his sword towards the Jiaoshe. The Jiaoshe thrashed about, its tail flipping the wooden boat over. If Third Uncle and the others hadn't been quick, they would have been crushed.
"Hmph," Xiao Ge snorted, a slash of his hand across his sword revealing his Azure Dragon bloodline. The sword, now imbued with blood, swung towards the Jiaoshe.
"Sss..." The Jiaoshe hissed. When everyone saw its appearance, they were even more bewildered. Especially Third Uncle. The usually meticulous and mysterious Third Uncle was now internally astonished.
"Such a large snake. How did they manage to injure it? This snake has definitely become sentient; firearms would be useless against it. They must have a master in their party!" Third Uncle murmured. The Jiaoshe's eyes were now half-destroyed, leaving only one intact. Could an ordinary person achieve this?
"Third Uncle, hurry! The snake underwater is poisonous; we need to get up quickly," Pan Zi urged. Third Uncle nodded, pulling Wu Xie with one hand and Han Shao with the other. With a flick of his body, he carried the two out of the water and onto the open ground.
Reaching the shore, Third Uncle finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you all alright?" he asked.
"We're fine, but he..." Wu Xie looked at Xiao Ge. Xiao Ge was currently standing on the Jiaoshe's head, repeatedly slashing with his sword, but to no avail.
"Hiss." At that moment, Han Shao's face turned green. A snakebite mark was clearly visible on his arm. He trembled, his lips quivering.
"You've been poisoned," Third Uncle said, looking at Han Shao with a slight frown.
"Let's go!" Before they could say more, Xiao Ge leaped to the shore, dragging them towards the cave. Wu Xie and the others were whisked away by Xiao Ge before they could fully react. The Jiaoshe's head then slammed into the spot they had just vacated. The Jiaoshe was furious. Someone had gouged out one of its eyes before, and now someone had severely wounded it. It had been enraged for a long time. Seeing them enter what looked like a rat hole only fueled its anger.
"He's injured," Third Uncle said quietly, looking at Xiao Ge. Han Shao was now sweating profusely, his face a sickly green. Xiao Ge did not hesitate. He cut his hand and had Han Shao drink some blood. Having consumed the Thousand-Year Qilin's Marrow, his blood had the effect of suppressing poisons. Indeed, after drinking it, Han Shao felt much better, though the poison was not completely eliminated. Seeing this, Wu Xie finally relaxed.
"That giant snake is truly formidable; even Xiao Ge couldn't kill it," Pan Zi remarked.
"This Jiaoshe is over a thousand years old; it's a type of demon," Xiao Ge said coldly, walking ahead.
"I am very curious who it was that managed to get past this Jiaoshe," Third Uncle said, his gaze falling upon a corpse lying on the ground. It was a foreigner. The others also stepped forward to examine it.
Meanwhile, on Zhang Tian's side, Zhang Tian had arrived in front of a tomb chamber. Originally, after leaving the canyon, he was supposed to go directly to the village, but Lin Tian had not done so. Instead, he ventured into the mountains and, by chance, ended up at the tomb described in the plot. Looking at the ancient tomb before him, the entrance had already been opened. The stone lions at the entrance appeared somewhat peculiar.