Chapter 156

Lin Jiyuan frowned. From the moment he stepped into the secret passage, he felt a gaze following him at all times.

This feeling became even stronger when we arrived at the coffin storage area.

Seeing that everyone's faces were pale, as if they were trying their best to endure the pain, Lin Jiyuan took out a bell and threw it into the air.

The bells jingled crisply, as if a magical power was gradually easing the discomfort in everyone's bodies.

Everyone looked delighted and turned to look at Lin Jiyuan.

Lin Jiyuan looked around warily.

The bell is Lin Jiyuan's natal magical artifact, the Three Pure Ones Bell.

Unseen by the crowd, the bell rang, dispelling the black mist that filled the room and making it clear and bright.

As the black mist almost completely disappeared, Lin Jiyuan's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he shot his gaze to a certain spot, where a bronze figure stood.

He is about the same height as a normal adult male, only much more robust and powerful.

"Get out of the way!" Lin Jiyuan shouted urgently, and the bells in the air rang out rapidly towards the bronze figure.

At the same time, the bronze figure suddenly opened its eyes, and its pupils turned red. The bronze figure held two axes and chopped at the nearest staff member.

Screams erupted at the scene, and the staff member who was about to be slashed fell to the ground in fright, unable to get up for a long time.

Fortunately, Lin Jiyuan arrived in time and placed his peach wood sword directly in front of the staff member.

With a clang, the bronze axe and the wooden sword collided. The wooden sword trembled slightly, and the bronze axe was knocked back.

"Go!" Lin Jiyuan grabbed the staff member on the ground and pushed him behind him. The staff member stumbled and ran to Professor Zhang's side.

Professor Zhang and his group did not leave the tomb chamber, but instead crowded at the exit of the secret passage, watching Lin Jiyuan and the bronze man fight nervously.

What they saw before them was completely beyond their comprehension. The moving bronze figures were not clumsy at all, but rather agile and graceful. The peach wood swords were incredibly sharp, cutting a notch in the bronze axe. And the bells floating in mid-air could make a continuous sound even without a spring.

Lin Jiyuan ignored Professor Zhang and the others, focusing only on dealing with the bronze man. Although the bronze man was powerful, it was not troublesome.

However, just as Lin Jiyuan was about to end the battle, a loud clanging sound rang out and the ground shook. Two bronze figures rose from inside the wall, wielding bronze axes and hacking at Lin Jiyuan.

Lin Jiyuan twisted his body and barely dodged the bronze axe. He then leaped backward, putting distance between himself and the bronze figure.

At this moment, Lin Jiyuan's expression finally became serious, while Professor Zhang and the others were filled with fear and deep worry.

Lin Jiyuan tugged at the bell and swiftly moved between the three bronze figures, occasionally slamming into them so hard they almost fell to the ground.

At the same time, Lin Jiyuan, carrying a peach wood sword, charged towards the bronze figures. He nimbly dodged the bronze figures' axes and quickly affixed talismans to the three bronze figures, with more than three talismans affixed to each one.

After all the stickers were pasted, Lin Jiyuan seized an opportunity to jump out of the battle and yelled at Professor Zhang and the others, "Watch out!"

He then activated the talisman, and with a deafening roar, the three bronze figures exploded instantly, scattering fragments throughout the room. If the entire tomb chamber had not been constructed from the hardest boulders, even the main tomb chamber would likely have collapsed.

When the smoke cleared, everyone happily ran to Lin Jiyuan's side.

"Is the matter resolved?" Professor Zhang asked excitedly.

Lin Jiyuan shook his head, took the peach wood sword, and walked back to the wall where the two bronze figures had been standing. Together with the first bronze figure, the three bronze figures formed a triangle, seemingly guarding something.

Lin Jiyuan stared intently at the scene, while Professor Zhang and the others followed closely behind, not daring to utter a sound.

Finally, Lin Jiyuan thrust his sword at a spot on the ground, where a cloud of black mist suddenly emerged, seemingly trying to escape. Lin Jiyuan quickened his movements and pierced the black mist, instantly eliciting a sharp scream that echoed throughout the entire tomb chamber.

"Trespassers die! Animators die!"

The black mist struggled fiercely, and Professor Zhang and the others felt even more uncomfortable because of its movements. It felt like thousands of needles were piercing their minds, and some of them fell to the ground in pain, rolling around.

The screams continued, and the peach wood sword was also violently shaken by the black mist. Just as the black mist was about to break free, Lin Jiyuan immediately took out a talisman and struck the black mist.

"Trespassers die! Animators die!"

The sound grew increasingly shrill until it finally turned into a meaningless "ah," and then everything returned to calm.

The black mist disappeared, and Professor Zhang and the others returned to normal. It was as if their heavy bodies had been unloaded, becoming light and comfortable. They even felt a surge of energy, as if they could immediately go out and run 800 meters.

"All done? All done?"

We're saved?

Everyone cheered with delight. Professor Zhang stared intently at Lin Jiyuan, not daring to relax until Lin Jiyuan spoke.

Without realizing it, Lin Jiyuan had become his pillar of support and his only hope.

Lin Jiyuan nodded with a smile, and Professor Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The crowd cheered again, and once everyone had calmed down, they immediately got back to work.

They had long been curious about the identity of the tomb's occupant.

Lin Jiyuan also stayed at the scene. On the one hand, he acted as a bodyguard in case there were other strange things in the tomb, and on the other hand, he also wanted to find out the ins and outs of the whole matter.

The black mist just now was clearly a curse, probably for the purpose of preventing theft, to prevent outsiders from entering the tomb and disturbing the tomb owner's peaceful rest.

The painting mentioned by the black mist must be something very important in this tomb, perhaps even more important than the tomb owner himself. Otherwise, the black mist should have shouted, "The one who opens the coffin will die," instead of "The one who draws the painting will die."

To avoid any accidents, Lin Jiyuan was in charge of opening the coffin. The imagined mechanism did not appear, and the coffin was opened quietly.

Everyone looked down and saw the scene before them just as expected.

The ancient corpse, which had been buried for a thousand years, was now just a skeleton, but the clothes on its body were still intact, giving the tomb owner a final moment of dignity.

Various seals were scattered around the coffin, presumably symbols of the tomb owner's identity. These should have been the things that Professor Zhang and his colleagues were most interested in, but no one cared about them at the moment.

All eyes were fixed on the chest of the skeleton, where a scroll lay quietly.

Instantly, everyone remembered the shrill scream from just now.

"Trespassers die! Animators die!"

Animation! Drawing?

Are you referring to the painting in front of us?

Unconsciously, everyone held their breath, as if something terrible was about to happen. They stared intently at the painting, and no one dared to touch it.

Lin Jiyuan looked at Professor Zhang, fearing that his rash actions might damage the cultural relics. Professor Zhang ordered someone to put professional gloves on Lin Jiyuan, and then nodded for Lin Jiyuan to take out the painting.

If it weren't for concerns about some other strange occurrences, Professor Zhang would have insisted on taking the painting himself.

Amidst everyone's tense anticipation, Lin Jiyuan took out the painting and then slowly opened it.

For some reason, the atmosphere at the scene became somewhat serious, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the scroll.

To everyone's surprise, the painting still retained its colors, and a sense of long history emanated from it.

It was a portrait painting, exquisitely crafted. Professor Zhang, with many years of experience, recognized it at a glance as a work by Huang Lao from the Southern Xinjiang period.

The existing paintings by Huang Gongwang are all collected in the National Museum of China. Huang Gongwang's paintings can be said to be the pinnacle of Chinese flower painting, and each one is priceless.

However, his previous paintings were all landscapes and genre paintings, but this one is a figure painting, an absolute unique piece that will surely drive people crazy.

So, is it because this is Huang Lao's only portrait painting, and it may depict the tomb owner, that he went to such lengths to implement anti-theft measures?

Everyone made various guesses, but soon all thoughts vanished, leaving only a blank mind.

The painting had appeared completely before everyone's eyes, and the person in the painting was beyond imagination, unbelievable, and impossible to exist.