Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 37: First Step into Dragon Ravine

Chapter 37: First Step into Dragon Ravine

The next day. In order to express gratitude for Qisha, A’erzhen agreed to Yu Linxing’s request — to guide us into Dragon Ravine.

He raised a bowl of wine and respectfully bowed toward the northeast. His face bore a devout calmness. Then he turned around. The red sun just rising over the vast grassland dyed his shoulders with a faint red hue. He lowered his head and slowly poured the wine onto the grass.

“Friends from afar, I wish you good luck. It lies at the end of the white mist. The messenger of Qisha will lead your horses to step upon that land,”

The chief of Qisha said. Yet his eyes could not hide their sorrow. He then whistled high into the sky. A giant falcon tore through the air. It circled low a few times with spread wings. Then it soared toward the northeastern sky.

“Let’s go, follow it.”

We nodded to him in gratitude. We then mounted our horses. The horses’ hooves stirred the endless green grass as we galloped off. I looked toward the direction the thick fog stretched. And I felt a tiny seed within my heart slowly sprouting and growing leaves. This restlessness made me uneasy. I had a vague feeling that in that ambiguous world marked by bright yellow cloth, something was waiting for me.

Chasing after that falcon, our group pressed forward at full speed. The mist gradually thinned. And a vast black shadow loomed ahead in the haze. At that moment, the giant falcon suddenly let out a loud cry. It circled once in the sky, then turned and flew back.

Luo Shen looked up at the falcon flying far away and murmured, 

“Be careful, we’ve arrived.” 

Then she pulled her reins to the front. The group’s speed slowed at once. The ground under our horses’ hooves had no grassy cover like in Qisha’s land. The soil was soft, with a strange black-red hue. My heart tightened. That color—looked as though soil had been mixed with crimson bl00d. I looked around and suddenly exclaimed, 

“Stop!”

Yu Linxing turned her horse to my side and asked, 

“What is it?” 

She had drunk a lot last night and still seemed a bit floaty. A faint weariness lingered at the corners of her peach-blossom eyes.

I rode forward a few steps and frowned, 

“Why are there so many fresh hoofprints here?”

There were a great number of hoofprints. It suggested many people had been in the area. The traces looked very recent. They were obviously left not long ago.

Yu Linxing and Luo Shen walked to the chaotic hoofprints and glanced at them. Their faces were covered with dark clouds. I naturally understood their concern — A’erzhen’s tribe had guarded this place for generations. The surrounding area was shrouded in clouds and fog. They even had powerful formations set up. Ordinary people couldn’t even get into Qisha, let alone the outskirts of Dragon Ravine.

So the sudden appearance of these eerie hoofprints was as unbelievable as seeing ghosts in broad daylight.

I said, 

“Could someone have arrived ahead of us?”

As soon as I said that, from the shadows in the distance came a sudden strange noise — as if a flock of startled birds burst out from a silent forest. The surroundings had been so quiet that we could only hear each other’s breathing. The abrupt disturbance was like a cold blade slicing through the solidified air.

Luo Shen’s face instantly turned a bit pale. She said, 

“Let’s go in and take a look.” 

The group gradually approached the shadow ahead. Once within eyesight, a damp, musty smell rushed into our noses. Then we saw a vast forest of towering ancient trees. The trees twisted in deformed shapes. Their roots were entangled. Dim light quietly filtered through. It illuminated the moss and lichens creeping on the ground, shimmering faintly. Enormous vines stretched across gaps. They connected one lush tree to another — looking from afar like massive entangled pythons.

I hadn’t expected such a vast ancient forest to lie at the edge of this wide grassland.

Everyone looked at each other. Yu Linxing clicked her tongue and said, 

“Look at that, ghosts beneath the trees — isn’t that exactly the scene in front of us?” 

She then drew the crimson sword from her waist and warned, 

“Everyone get your weapons out. Who knows what might pop out later!”

She kicked her horse forward. Luo Shen and I drew our swords and followed closely behind.

A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground. The horse hooves crunched noisily over them. It scratched at one’s nerves. It sounded extra eerie in this shadowy forest. Fortunately, the gaps between the trees were wide enough for horses to pass through. Though from time to time, we had to cut through tangled vines in the way with our swords to proceed.

Looking ahead, I saw many severed vines scattered on the ground — clearly someone had come through before us.

Now things were getting more complicated. Another group had arrived before us. If they simply wanted different things, it might not be a problem. But if there was a conflict — it would become troublesome.

Suddenly, a disciple of Mo Yin Valley shouted from the back. It startled all of us. We hurriedly turned around and saw the disciple’s face ashen. He wiped his face with his hand. His eyes were full of fear.

Yu Linxing furrowed her brows and said, 

“What, saw a ghost?”

The disciple trembled and stretched out his hand to show everyone, stammering, 

“V-v… Valley Master… there… there’s…”

“Straighten your tongue, what is it?” 

Before Yu Linxing finished her sentence, we all fell silent — because in the disciple’s outstretched palm was a smear of fresh red bl00d. There were smudges on his pale face from wiping off bl00d. But clearly, that bl00d wasn’t his.

I felt a shiver run through my body. I slowly raised my head and looked above the disciple. There — a man’s corpse hung alone. He was dressed in dark robes, eyes wide open. His face was unrecognizable. He was bound by massive vines. He was swaying in the gap between two trees. But that wasn’t all — looking farther, we realized corpses were scattered above us in this entire area. Some were freshly dead, with traces of bl00d still dripping from their mouths. More had long been dried out. Their clothes had already rotted. They had only strips of fabric fluttering in the wind.

I had never seen such a horrifying scene before. I gasped. The reins in my hands slipped, and I nearly fell off the horse.

Luo Shen beside me quickly reached out to steady me. She shook her head and said calmly, 

“They’re just corpses. Don’t worry.”

Seeing the calm on her face, I couldn’t help but admire her. She had spent years in the underground. She’d probably seen more corpses and mummies than I’d seen living people during my ten years in Shu. I quickly composed myself and pointed to the corpses, 

“How… how did they get up there?”

Yu Linxing said, 

“Who knows. Even if you wanted to die, you wouldn’t pick this spot. Ah Que, go take a look at that one in black. His clothes look familiar.”

“Yes, Valley Master.” 

Ah Que responded and rode over. He stood on the saddle, carefully inspected the man in black, and seemed to find something on him. He rode back and handed it to Yu Linxing. He said,

“Valley Master, the clothing is from the Jue Gu Sect of Nanyang.”

Jue Gu Sect was a minor branch under Faqiu School. Their disciples were notorious in the martial world — not very powerful, but skilled at attaching themselves to stronger factions. After extracting treasures from tombs, they’d hand over a portion to the sects they relied on as funding. It made them fence-sitters who switched sides easily.

Yu Linxing sneered, 

“So it’s just one of those Faqiu Taoist rats. I wondered who it was.”

She took the item Ah Que handed over. I leaned in and saw it was a dark tooth. It was glowing eerily.

My scalp instantly prickled. A flashback came — the corridor in Wind Moon Pavilion. It was where I had seen He Lao Wu. And standing beside him was a gloomy man called Lao Si. He was wearing the exact same dark beast tooth soaked in black dog bl00d. I cried out in shock, 

“It’s… it’s him!”

Luo Shen turned to me and asked, 

“Who?”