Yan Shouyi and the others hid in the bamboo forest, cautiously observing the movements of the camp.
However, the field of vision in the bamboo forest was extremely limited, and they couldn't see much.
So, Yan Shouyi gently patted Sanyuan's head resting on his shoulder and said, "Sanyuan, fly up and take a look."
This terrain was precisely what Sanyuan excelled at. Sanyuan immediately flapped its wings and soared high.
At the same time, Yan Shouyi closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation. He and Sanyuan were connected mentally. Although he couldn't directly share Sanyuan's vision, he could construct the scene Sanyuan saw in his mind based on its descriptions.
The ability to visualize spatial structures was a fundamental skill for a descendant of Lu Ban, for a carpenter.
Sanyuan flew into the sky, approached the camp, and then circled above it.
The camp was vast, with over twenty tents of various sizes spread around, as well as some light mountain bikes.
The entire camp consisted of about thirty-odd people, all appearing very busy.
Behind the camp, there was a shaded cave. A tent of camouflage color was set up above the cave, and fallen leaves were piled around it. If one didn't look closely, they might not even notice the cave's existence.
Yan Shouyi mused, "Could this be the so-called mining cave?"
Although Jianzhou Province was mountainous, its mineral resources were not abundant. The usual sights were quarries; there were hardly any mines.
Therefore, when Boss Zhou mentioned that the Jiang family's mountain had mineral deposits, Yan Shouyi had doubted it from the beginning.
Later, Yan Shouyi learned from a Jiantou master that Boss Zhou, to cover his tracks, had dug a large hole on the other side of the mountain, pretending it was a mine. The cave in front of them was Boss Zhou's true objective, and the people in the camp were all Boss Zhou's core subordinates.
Just as Yan Shouyi was about to instruct Sanyuan to get closer, Sanyuan refused his command.
It turned out that Sanyuan had discovered that the camp was surrounded by restrictions, and any living creature that approached would be detected immediately.
If they had ventured closer rashly, their presence would have been exposed.
With no other option, Yan Shouyi had to let Sanyuan continue observing.
But at this moment, Yan Shouyi suddenly noticed a problem.
He had previously smelled sulfur. Initially, he thought it was to ward off snakes and insects. Later, he sensed that something else was mixed with the sulfur.
And now, Yan Shouyi realized that the placement of the sulfur was very strange.
It wasn't scattered around the camp but rather around the cave entrance. Rather than preventing snakes and insects from approaching the camp, it seemed to be encircling the cave, preventing whatever was inside from escaping!
"Sanyuan, keep watching."
After instructing Sanyuan, Yan Shouyi opened his eyes and, with a peculiar expression, told Long Feicheng and Lin Zitong about his discovery.
Upon hearing this, the two also found the situation quite peculiar.
Lin Zitong said, "Boss Zhou is searching for something in the cave, but he's also worried about danger inside. And according to what you said, the danger from the cave might even come out."
Long Feicheng swallowed and asked, "So, what exactly is in the cave?"
The three looked at the little sparrow.
The sparrow shook its head directly, "Although I gained Boss Zhou's trust, it was only to bring me this far. I could only wander around the periphery during my previous two visits and couldn't get close to the cave at all, so I don't know what's inside."
Yan Shouyi thought for a moment and said, "Then let me ask in a different way. How many of the extraordinary individuals around Boss Zhou do you know?"
The sparrow replied,
"Their true identities are impossible for me to know, but I can infer some things from their attire. Boss Zhou's most trusted are three people. Two of them look like Mo Jin Xiao Wei, and the other is likely a Ban Shan Dao Ren. There are about ten more people, like me, who are talented individuals from the common folk."
Long Feicheng listened and said curiously, "There really are Mo Jin Xiao Wei and Ban Shan Dao Ren? Aren't those from tomb-raiding novels?"
"The world still believes the Lu Ban book doesn't exist," Yan Shouyi shot Long Feicheng a glare. "In fact, many of those novels aren't entirely groundless. Perhaps the authors of those tomb-raiding novels were all tomb robbers themselves. You think they're writing tomb-raiding notes; maybe they're writing tomb-raiding diaries."
Long Feicheng chuckled dryly, "So, what are these Mo Jin Xiao Wei and Ban Shan Dao Ren capable of? Are they like what's written in the novels?"
Lin Zitong said, "We don't know which novel you're referring to, but it's likely very close. Mo Jin Xiao Wei originated in the Three Kingdoms period and were officially appointed tomb robbers by Cao Cao. They have the most varied methods and the most rules, making them quite troublesome. Ban Shan Dao Ren, on the other hand, originated from the ancient Western regions. They are often eccentric and independent, always prioritizing destruction. They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals and are keen on destroying ancient and intricate tombs to establish their prestige. Therefore, they have a bad reputation in the underworld."
"Are the Ban Shan Dao Ren easier to deal with than the Mo Jin Xiao Wei?" Long Feicheng pressed.
Lin Zitong shook her head. "Although Mo Jin Xiao Wei have many tricks, they also have many rules. Ban Shan Dao Ren have no rules at all and are extremely troublesome. Encountering them is a big problem."
Yan Shouyi sighed, "There are only so many ancient tombs. Those that could be excavated have been over the years, so we haven't heard much about the tomb-robbing industry in recent times. I never expected to encounter Mo Jin Xiao Wei and Ban Shan Dao Ren here... But then again, precisely because there are few tombs left to rob, it might have brought these two arch-rivals together."
Mo Jin Xiao Wei enjoy studying mechanisms and require taking one or two "mingqi" (funerary objects) to make a living, without damaging the original structure of the tomb.
Ban Shan Dao Ren are simple and crude, directly destroying the tomb and not taking any mingqi, preferring to have the ancient artifacts buried along with the tomb.
Their styles, methods, and objectives are completely different, naturally making them bitter rivals.
In the past, if these two groups met inside a tomb, it would have been a life-or-death situation. But now, times have changed, and it's quite poignant that people from these two factions can still cooperate.
"We've discussed a lot, and it wasn't entirely useless. I've discovered another detail," Yan Shouyi said. "Boss Zhou recruiting Mo Jin Xiao Wei and Ban Shan Dao Ren can only mean one thing – there are no mineral deposits in Uncle Jiang's mountain at all. Instead, there's a grand tomb!!"
A tomb of earth-shattering proportions!
Otherwise, no one would go to such great lengths, even resorting to causing deaths!
The Jiantou master also strongly agreed with Yan Shouyi's view. "I thought the same thing before and planned to take advantage of the situation when they entered the tomb. Who knew..."
Who knew he would encounter Yan Shouyi and his group.
Yan Shouyi looked up at the sky, frowning, with a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Since ancient times, emperors and generals have always meticulously chosen auspicious locations for their eternal resting places.
It can be said that grand tombs are always accompanied by excellent feng shui.
However, Yan Shouyi had lived in Chenjia Village for so many years and only felt that the feng shui of Chenjia Village was decent, nowhere near the requirements for a grand tomb.
This was very strange.
Lin Zitong said, "Big Fool, don't your Lu Ban descendants also understand feng shui? Can you discern the surrounding terrain and what level of tomb is buried here?"
Yan Shouyi sighed and shook his head.
"This truly stumps me. Although the Lu Ban book compiles the strengths of various schools, feng shui is not something that can be explained in a few words. Therefore, the most lacking knowledge in the Lu Ban book is feng shui. And this isn't the feng shui of a household, but the skill of locating dragons and selecting acupoints. When it comes to finding dragons and selecting acupoints, I only know a little. At most, I can help people look at small burial sites. As for determining the location of a tomb, I don't have that skill."
Long Feicheng couldn't help but tsk. This was the first time he had seen Yan Shouyi at a loss.
In the past, Yan Shouyi had been omnipotent.
Just as everyone was contemplating, a sudden change occurred!
A deafening roar came from beneath their feet, and the earth itself shook!
Long Feicheng was so startled that he sat down on the ground.
"What the hell is going on?" Long Feicheng covered his mouth and asked.
Yan Shouyi gritted his teeth. "It must be that fellow named Zhou again, using explosives in the cave! Aren't they afraid of the cave collapsing from the explosion?!"
The sound of the mountain exploding could be heard even in Chenjia Village, and it even caused the primary school in Chenjia Village to collapse.
Now that Yan Shouyi and the others were directly above the explosion, one could imagine the immense force.
Not long after, Sanyuan also sent word. Yan Shouyi quickly closed his eyes and began to communicate with Sanyuan.
From Sanyuan's description, Yan Shouyi constructed the scene near the camp in his mind.
He saw that the extraordinary individuals in the camp had all taken out their tools and were surrounding the cave entrance as if facing a formidable enemy.
The special sulfur scattered around the cave entrance was also replenished with a thick layer!
Soon, there was movement from within the cave!
With a series of terrified screams, a middle-aged man in tattered clothes scrambled out of the cave on his hands and feet. He leaped over the sulfur on the ground and then lay on the ground, panting, laughing as if he had narrowly escaped death.
Immediately after, more people poured out of the cave one after another.
The extraordinary individuals outside the cave also wore serious expressions, as if what they were anticipating was about to emerge.
After more than fifty people rushed out of the cave in succession, there was a moment of quiet.
Then, a man with a slight limp emerged from the cave, hobbling along.
He saw the sulfur on the ground and thought his chance of survival was at hand, so he slowed his pace.
However, in the next second—
A massive snake suddenly emerged from the cave and bit the man, devouring his upper body!
The bloody lower half of his body knelt powerlessly on the ground.
The snake was completely red, with dense scales. Its body was thicker than an electric pole, and its head was as large as a window. If it opened its mouth, it could probably swallow a cow whole!
Following the appearance of the large snake, countless small red snakes swarmed out of the cave. These small snakes, densely packed, covered the ground and surged outward like a tide!
However, because the special sulfur was scattered on the ground, both the large snake and the small snakes found the smell extremely unpleasant. Thus, shortly after emerging from the cave, they stopped and did not advance further.
At this point, the extraordinary individuals began to display their skills, using their lifelong learning to slay the red snakes before them!
These red snakes were clearly not ordinary snakes. Ordinary swords and blades could not harm them. Only Taoist charms and magical artifacts could affect them.
Moreover, when the red snakes were killed, they did not bleed nor leave any corpses. They merely trembled and then dissipated into smoke.
Even Yan Shouyi had never witnessed such a scene, nor did he know what these red snakes were.
After watching for a while, he finally had some idea:
These red snakes were not living creatures, but rather the souls of dead red snakes!
In other words, they were snake ghosts.
No wonder Boss Zhou sought out these extraordinary individuals to come to Chenjia Village, as ordinary people could do nothing about these snake ghosts.
The small snake ghosts' attack power was not strong; any extraordinary individual could easily deal with them. What was difficult to handle was the large snake ghost.
Despite its large size, the large snake ghost was not clumsy in its movements and could easily evade attacks.
Even more terrifying was that when the large snake ghost was angered, it could forcefully push its head out against the special sulfur, which it found extremely repulsive, to attack the extraordinary individuals in the camp!
"Brother Yan, what did you see? Why is your expression so dramatic?!"
Long Feicheng could only hear the shouts from the camp but could not see what was happening there. Seeing Yan Shouyi's dramatic expression, he couldn't help but ask.
Yan Shouyi replied, "Be quiet. You and Zitong, be careful of your surroundings, especially of red snakes!"
He was worried that if any stragglers escaped to their location, it would expose them.
The battle between the large snake ghost and the extraordinary individuals continued. The two sides exchanged blows, with casualties on both sides, fighting fiercely.
However, humans were ultimately smarter than snake ghosts. After several confrontations, the number of snake ghosts rapidly decreased, and the large snake ghost could no longer cope with the combined assault of so many people, so it began to retreat.
Just then, a burly man wielding a large, black-backed sabre rushed out of the camp!
The burly man completely ignored the special sulfur on the ground and rushed to the front of the large snake ghost, delivering a swift blow to its head!
This blow landed squarely on the large snake ghost's head, opening a large gash. Black smoke continuously leaked from this wound.
The large snake ghost was also enraged. It swung its tail and struck the burly man's hand, knocking his sabre away.
Who would have thought that the burly man would remain unfazed, showing no sign of panic, and instead pounce forward with his bare hands!
He leaped onto the large snake ghost's back, wrapped his arms around its seven-inch (vital point), and then, with veins bulging on his arms, "locked" himself onto the large snake ghost's body!
Seeing this, Yan Shouyi was dumbfounded.
He had only ever seen snakes constricting people, never people constricting snakes!
The large snake ghost seemed to be in great pain and struggled incessantly, but the burly man tightened his grip even further!
After about three minutes, the large snake ghost collapsed to the ground, incapacitated.
Its seven-inch area had been forcefully squeezed from the thickness of an electric pole down to the size of a bowl!
It was difficult to imagine the immense strength of the burly man.
After falling to the ground, the large snake ghost quickly dissipated into spirit essence, but an oval-shaped stone was left on the ground.
The stone was a deep red, with golden patterns wrapping around its exterior. It was clearly not an ordinary object.
The burly man picked up the stone and weighed it in his hand, muttering to himself,
"Thirteen tomb-guarding snakes, we have killed twelve. Collecting one more tomb-guarding snake gall will complete the twelve keys to opening the gate."