Chapter Twenty-Three: What's the Substitute Theme?
As I passed through layers of mist, a sharp chill rose from my toes and assaulted my brain.
Ye Chi subconsciously closed his eyes, his hands nervously gripping the hem of the person next to him. For a moment, he didn't care about his dignity. The weightlessness brought by the rapid fall from the sky was enough to make any normal person panic. Everything in front of him was pitch black, and he couldn't see the end of the fall. He didn't know how long he would fall. He only knew that he seemed to be choked by this deep blackness until he suffocated.
Just as he felt himself about to die, a cool temperature gently enveloped him.
It wasn't warm at all, and under the impact of such a cold wind, it didn't even offer much protection.
But for some reason, it made me feel exceptionally at ease.
Even my pounding heart seemed to gradually calm down, slowly aligning with the heartbeats behind me.
The unique, cool fragrance emanating from Ya Feiyu gently filled his nostrils.
The scent isn't particularly pleasant; it's a very cool fragrance, like an unknown flower blooming in the snow and ice, carrying the frost and snow brought by the cold wind. You can actually feel more of a chill, but only by savoring it carefully can you feel the faint, soft fragrance that shines through this icy aura.
It's a scent that only those close to you can smell. To put it simply, it's a scent that belongs only to Ye Chi.
When he came to his senses, the biting wind had stopped. He moved and found that his feet were on solid ground. Looking to the side, he saw Ya Feiyu beside him and breathed a sigh of relief. Shi Bai walked up slowly in a few steps, his smooth hair disheveled by the wind, making his pitiful appearance particularly convincing.
"Master, I was so scared just now..."
As he spoke, he raised his shimmering eyes, which were red-rimmed and particularly pitiful.
Ya Feiyu was the type of person who responded better to gentle persuasion than force, especially when it came to his own disciple. He gently smoothed Shi Bai's disheveled hair. Ye Chi silently looked away, choosing to ignore him.
Many torches were stuck in the stone wall, burning faintly and casting a small patch of dim yellow light.
It's obvious that someone has been here.
Ye Chi raised an eyebrow, unable to suppress his curiosity. He took a few steps, only to suddenly feel gusts of cold wind sweep over him, almost freezing his joints in an instant. It was only after Ya Feiyu came up and protected him with her spiritual power that he felt better. Ya Feiyu raised her hand and erected a barrier to block the cold wind, but Ye Chi still shivered with lingering fear and said, "Master, this place is too eerie."
Ya Feiyu withdrew her hand, lowered her eyes upon hearing this, and cast a small shadow under her long eyelashes: "It's probably the tomb of some powerful being."
Shi Bai paused, then gently stroked his chin: "A tomb appearing in a place like this...?"
Linglong Pavilion has never been a place that ordinary people can set foot in since ancient times. Logically speaking, something as large as a mausoleum should not be located here.
The mystery was thick, but Ye Chi said, "What is there that we don't know? If we keep exploring, we'll find out soon enough."
Ya Feiyu nodded in agreement, and the group then headed deeper into the area.
Before him stood a heavy gate, adorned with strange patterns. At least according to Ye Chi's understanding of the book, these patterns seemed to belong to an era other than this one.
This indirectly proves that this should be a product left over from ancient times. Even if it is not from the chaotic period, it is at least a creation from thousands of years ago.
Even from a distance, the gate seemed ridiculously large, requiring one to tilt their head back slightly to see its full size. This feeling intensified when one stood before it, as if humans were compared to tiny insects. In front of this gate, humans appeared as insignificant creatures.
Even Ye Chi, who doesn't have megalophobia, was terrified. His heart was racing for no reason, pounding wildly in his chest.
He had assumed the door required some special mechanism to open, but to his surprise, the patterns on the door suddenly lit up as soon as he approached, even brighter than the torches beside it. The eerie blue light, like tiny streams of water, filled every indentation on the door before it slowly opened with a few muffled thuds, raising a considerable cloud of dust. Ye Chi couldn't help but cough a few times.
Before him was a decor that seemed utterly out of place in the rest of the cave. Luminous pearls were embedded in the jade-white walls, and the floor was inexplicably shiny, almost like a mirror. Several pillars, also made of white jade, pierced the stone walls reaching into the ceiling. Ye Chi couldn't resist touching one; it was slippery. He didn't know much about these things, but he could tell that the tactile sensation was excellent.
Even having witnessed all sorts of outrageous luxury goods in modern times, Ye Chi couldn't help but be astonished, his eyes widening as he stammered, "The owner of this tomb must be incredibly wealthy."
On the walls, on the floor, and in the various cabinets along the way, were displayed all sorts of luxury items that, although unfamiliar, were clearly extremely expensive. Shi Bai stammered, "Could all of these... belong to the tomb owner alone...?"
Those jewels and ornaments are rare treasures worth tens of thousands of taels of gold even now. Just having one of them would be enough for a family of four to live a life without worrying about food and drink, not to mention that almost every inch of this tomb is filled with such treasures.
It would be a lie to say that he wouldn't have any malicious thoughts because of this, but Ye Chi was also smart and quickly realized that the entrance was so obvious that it must have been here for at least several hundred years. In any case, it was definitely not recently formed, and it was impossible that no one had successfully entered like them.
He's not the male lead, he's not that lucky, how could he possibly have such a stroke of good fortune?
The fact that none of these items have been stolen so far is probably because...
"What is that?!"
Shi Bai's voice abruptly pulled him back from his thoughts. Following the direction he pointed, Ye Chi was also horrified—it was a huge fountain, seemingly the center of the tomb, with a long corridor connecting to each of the four cardinal directions. The fountain did not contain ordinary spring water, but golden water, reflecting a dazzling light as it flowed.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Ye Chi moved a little closer. At that moment, a cold wind suddenly blew up, and even Ya Feiyu's barrier couldn't block it for a while. Ye Chi was blown back a few steps. When he looked up, he saw a phantom appear on the fountain that had been empty. Judging from its attire, it was not the style of recent years, but rather the appearance of the ancient chaotic era.
It was a man with a vermilion dot between his brows and phoenix eyes that exuded a powerful aura. Just a glance from him was enough to make Ye Chi want to kneel down.
The man slowly opened his eyes; they were silver, yet his demeanor was completely different from that of Ya Feiyu.
Ya Feiyu's words were faint, like snow falling on a lake, causing no ripples before quickly dissolving into the water. The man, however, was quite different; he was like icy coldness, his gaze truly filled with murderous intent, and his voice echoed: "Demon race?"
Only two simple words. Both Ya Feiyu and Ye Chi looked at Shi Bai simultaneously; he was the only one among the three present with demonic features. Faced with such immense pressure, Shi Bai's legs trembled, and he almost lost his footing.
As if understanding their thoughts, the man withdrew his gaze: "It's not you."
Shi Bai breathed a sigh of relief at first, but was then shocked by the amount of information revealed in the man's words.
"If I'm not a demon... then who is?"
The man frowned, his gaze lingering on Ya Feiyu. He didn't answer Shi Bai's question, just as his previous statement had been casual: "You're a Tribulation Transcending cultivator... not bad."
Ya Feiyu paused slightly, then bowed respectfully: "Senior is too kind."
The man didn't let him off the hook. His icy eyes were fixed on Ya Feiyu's eyes. Ya Feiyu felt uncomfortable under his gaze and had no choice but to look up and meet his gaze. Their silver eyes met across millions of years.
“…Heh,” the man sneered ambiguously, “your eyes remind me of someone from the past.”
"An old friend...?" Ya Feiyu lowered his head, wisely refraining from speaking further. The man finally opened up about the topic, turning his gaze to Ye Chi.
"Outsiders..."
These three words were spoken very softly, but Ye Chi heard them clearly. His face suddenly turned pale, and he stared intently at the illusory figure. No, he couldn't let anyone know. If they told Ya Feiyu that he was a transmigrator…
If he knew that everything he had done so far was just to win favor and have a better life...
He will definitely be torn to pieces by this vengeful villain!
The man seemed to understand his meaning, uttering only those three words before shifting his gaze. He was clearly more interested in Ya Feiyu than in them, probably because of their cultivation levels. He said, "You've come all this way without ever showing any greed for my treasures."
Actually, there is a bit, but I just don't dare to touch it. Ye Chi said quietly.
Unlike Ye Chi's timidity, Ya Feiyu truly didn't care about material possessions like money. However, as the renowned Tianxue Peak Master of the Qinglian Sect, he didn't really need these extra incomes to improve his life. Upon hearing this, he simply said, "Only those with unstable Dao hearts would be interested in these mundane things."
The man nodded in agreement: "That's right, but in recent years, it seems that more and more cultivators don't understand this principle. Just a while ago, a Nascent Soul cultivator found my tomb and even coveted my treasures. Ha... Cultivating immortality without cultivating the mind is truly laughable."
Cultivating immortality without cultivating the mind seems to be a common problem in this world.
This is why, even though demonic cultivators suffered a crushing defeat against cultivators during the chaotic era millions of years ago, they were still able to make a comeback today and gain a foothold in the cultivation world.
Because the most important aspect of demonic cultivation is having enough desires.
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