The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 414 - 251 Earth Immortal Tomb_2

Chapter 414: Chapter 251 Earth Immortal Tomb_2

Li Yan looked up and saw that all the other trees had their crowns broken off, but only this one remained lush and dense.

He pondered thoughtfully, vaguely discerning the significance.

Crack!

Shortly, less than half a stick of incense later, a tremendous bolt of thunder struck again.

Indeed, the crown of that tree was also split asunder.

Guan Peide’s eyes widened, "What’s going on here?"

Wang Daoxuan exhaled a sigh of relief and said solemnly, "It’s a response between Heaven and Humanity!"

"This place is the burial ground of Emperor Guan, whose body lies without a head, and now the divine astral presence of the Emperor is overwhelming, naturally becoming more efficacious."

"How could a tree with a crown grow in a land without heads?"

"Don’t worry, Mr. Guan, there is no evil being that dares cause trouble here. If I’m not mistaken, there should be no more thunderstrikes from now on."

"This is good news, indicating that Guan Ling has grown even more mysterious. Just reveal this incident before the next temple fair, and no one will dare gossip anymore, while incense offerings will reach new heights."

"But from now on, we’ll need to trim the tree crowns in advance to prevent them from being struck by lightning."

"Is... is that true?"

Guan Peide was both astonished and delighted.

Wang Daoxuan nodded and said, "Such things are not without precedent."

"At the end of the Qin Dynasty, when chaos ruled, there was a mysterious light rising near the Emperor’s Mausoleum, and the people living nearby would often hear the sounds of armies clashing in their dreams at night..."

"During the late Tang Dynasty, Wu Daozi’s murals at the Great Ming Palace began to ooze blood—an omen considered inauspicious at the time..."

"Moreover, there are some Cave Heaven Blessed Lands where if there is a response from the Heavenly People, the surrounding vegetation is the first to change, like the Purple Cypress of Hua Mountain."

Saying this, he looked around and, furrowing his brow, added, "What’s truly puzzling is that this response from the Heavenly People is unexpectedly violent; I suspect the Fengshui layout might also be problematic."

Li Yan, his mind alight with inspiration, promptly inquired, "Mr. Guan, what did the Ju River used to look like?"

Guan Peide said, "Though the river was narrow, its flow was clear as crystal, very much like a jade belt."

"When did it start getting muddy?"

"Hisss, now that you mention it, it was just before the thunderstrikes began!"

"It seems we’re correct."

Wang Daoxuan breathed a sigh of relief, "The Ju River is also a part of the Fengshui of Guan Ling. Its muddiness and violence, along with the appearance of a response from the Heavenly People, have given rise to such strange phenomena."

"That’s good, that’s good."

Finally, Guan Peide felt relieved, but then quickly remembered something and asked with uncertainty, "I often chat over tea with Master Miao Shan, who is also an expert in Fengshui. Why didn’t he notice this?"

Wang Daoxuan was left speechless, shaking his head, "That remains a mystery. I can only perceive so much; perhaps the master has noticed something else."

Regardless, the mystery of the thunderstrikes at Guan Ling was resolved at last.

As dusk approached and the thunderstorm finally ceased, everyone immediately embarked on their journey to Dangyang County with the body of Master Miao Shan.

Guan Peide found a horse-drawn carriage to transport the body; the muddy roads were difficult to navigate, and they reached the town only as night fell.

A small county town like this was no Chang’an. By nightfall, the teahouses and taverns were all closed, with only a few wealthy households displaying lanterns at their entrances.

Puddle-filled stone paths could still be seen.

The Guan family’s servants pushed the carriage straight to the county government’s entrance.

The doorman and government officials, hearing that an incident had occurred, did not dare to delay and quickly called forth the county magistrate and the officials on duty from the back courtyard.

The county magistrate, named Zhang Cheng from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, was of a lean appearance and had a fondness for literary arts. Although not highly efficient, he was known for his fairness and integrity among the local gentry and citizens.

He hurriedly dressed in his official robes and, after examining the body in the hall, was beset by a headache, massaging his forehead, "With the Heavenly Saint Sect causing trouble in Dangyang, I have already sent a message to the Yichang Captain Bureau, expecting them to arrive tomorrow. I didn’t expect another death."

"These Heavenly Saint Sect villains truly have no humanity!"

Just then, the arrest officer Yang Desheng suddenly stepped forward and said, "Sir, this young hero Li asked me to investigate those grave robbers, and indeed I’ve found something."

"Oh?"

County Magistrate Zhang Cheng quickly inquired, "How is this connected to the tomb robbers? Could it be that these people want to meddle with Guan Ling?"

His expression was anxious as sweat beaded on his forehead.

If there were problems with Guan Ling, his career would be over.

Li Yan looked around and cupped his fist in the other hand, saying, "Sir, don’t worry, Guan Ling is fine, but there are many strange aspects to this case, and perhaps it involves more than one group of people."

With so many eyes around, he did not wish to say too much and leak information.

"That’s good."

County Magistrate Zhang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Li Yan, "I’ve heard about Young Hero Li’s deeds, truly insightful and valiant. Just arrived in Dangyang and already identified the real culprit."

"Please proceed with your investigation, young hero, the county government will fully cooperate with you!"

His words sounded pleasant but effectively meant passing the headache and laziness onto someone else.

Li Yan didn’t mind, cupped his fist again, and followed the arrest officer Yang Desheng towards the prison, with everyone else closely following behind.

The jail in the county town was in even worse condition.

The spotty stone walls, the damp straw, and the mix of all sorts of foul odors with rot and mold hit you squarely in the face.

The fire torches flickering in the jail revealed the prisoners with disheveled hair, some moaning, some shouting their innocence, it was like a hell of evil ghosts.

Li Yan really couldn’t stand it, so he closed off his Divine Skills and held his breath, following Officer Yang to the death row cells.

A man covered in boils was snoring away, with several chicken bones scattered around him.

"Young Hero Li, this is the man."

Officer Yang spoke up, "This guy’s known as Ground-drilling Wolf, the leader of a gang of grave robbers. It took a jug of wine and two chickens before he was willing to talk."

After saying this, he pulled out a wooden stick and rapped it against the bars, "Hey, Ground-drilling Wolf, wake up and repeat what you said earlier."

The man slowly got up with an indifferent look in his eyes, carelessly scratched himself, bursting a few boils, and said leisurely, "Alright, bring another jug of wine and two more chickens."

"You son of a..."

Officer Yang immediately became infuriated but didn’t want to mess things up, so he reluctantly ordered his men, "Go, fetch them for him!"

There really was no way to deal with such an uncooperative death row prisoner.

After downing a jug of wine and eating half a chicken, the man glanced sideways at the group and snickered, "How odd, since when did the government take an interest in the affairs of tomb raiding?"

"If you’re going to talk, then talk, no more nonsense!"

Officer Yang cursed fiercely again.

The man was not angered, smacking his lips before saying, "This Dangyang County was known as Quan Kingdom during the Yin Shang period, later destroyed by Chu, and there were quite a few large Chu and Han tombs in the mountains."

"But once Prime Minister Cao arrived, he had his Jiaowei Colonels clear them out completely, leaving behind only smaller tombs, which fellows like us dig up for a living."

"Just around Dangyang, there are three places we dare not approach."

"One is Guan Ling, the second is Purple Cypress Mountain Cave."

"As for the third, it’s called Earth Immortal Cave."

"Earth Immortal Cave?"

Guan Peide frowned, "I have been in Dangyang for so long and never heard of a place called ’Earth Immortal Cave’."

"Heh heh."

Ground-drilling Wolf chuckled, "Of course you don’t know. The name ’Earth Immortal Cave’ is only known among the insiders."

"In the mountains to the southwest of Dangyang, there is an ancient road called Yelang, which originally connected Ba Mountain with Yichang. But later, the earth dragons rolled, the road was completely broken and irreparable, and it was abandoned."

"During the Tang Zhenyuan period, there were rumors that an immortal practiced in the cliff caves of the Yelang ancient road, known by the name ’Xiang Ao’, who had slain a Turtle Demon at Dongting Lake, saving countless lives, so many people went to see him."

"Later, he recruited many disciples, and after his ascension, these disciples built a large Earth Immortal tomb, claiming that ’Xiang Ao’ would return to the world after many years."

"The tomb of an immortal, naturally many coveted it, and many searched for it, but either came up empty-handed or never returned. In any case, it’s very peculiar and is considered taboo in our line of work."

"What immortal tomb?!"

Officer Yang swore, "I think it’s most likely a hiding place for the demons of the Heavenly Saint Sect, scaring people off deliberately."

"You don’t know shit!"

Ground-drilling Wolf said with disdain, "The stories of ’Earth Immortal Cave’ have been circulating since the Tang and Song dynasties, long before the Heavenly Saint Sect even appeared."

"Don’t be so skeptical, that ’Xiang Ao’ was even recorded in the ’Taiping Guangji’ during the Song dynasty. And by the way, she had another identity..."

"That is Mrs. Fan, the immortal of the Eastern Han era!"