Chapter 31: The Truth

Two thousand years ago, Shen Zong and the royal family of Western Wei clashed violently because of an unknown conflict. Shen Zong was the Lord of the South Saint Sect of that era, but he took severe wounds as he was surrounded and attacked.

Up to that point, the records on the murals in the Ancient Tomb were correct. But for what came later, the Old Man and Zuo Qingcang misunderstood the murals under Shen Zong’s guidance.

Shen Zong was indeed captured. However, the plan to ‘seal’ him here was actually run by the South Saint Sect. They pretended to serve the royal family and told the Emperor it was a seal. Secretly, they built this place into something different.

This was not a real tomb at all. Instead, it was a spot for Shen Zong to heal safely, to think deeply, to hide away, and to avoid danger. If not for the Taoist Priests from the Imperial Court who watched over it and insisted on putting Shen Zong in a coffin, he might not have been locked inside it.

Originally, Shen Zong was meant to heal fully in ten years. The South Saint Sect would then send someone to take him away. Sadly, a century passed, then two, then three centuries, but no one showed up. To keep his body alive, Shen Zong had to go to sleep again and again.

Over a thousand years later, a group of descendants from the South Saint Sect reached this island using old records from their ancestors. But too much time had gone by. They lost too many details about the traps, arrays, and labyrinths in the Ancient Tomb. In the end, they all died horribly after the Labyrinth of the Eternal Lamp.

Countless years passed after that. The Ancient Tomb crumbled from neglect, and the arrays faded bit by bit. A few outsiders came here after a shipwreck.

They barely survived death many times to enter the Ancient Tomb. After an earthquake, they stumbled into its deepest area.

When they glimpsed amazing treasures and secret manuals, they quickly decided to open Shen Zong’s coffin. By custom, the grave goods inside the tomb master’s coffin are often the most valuable.

But tragedy began right there. Only after cracking open the coffin and seeing Shen Zong did they sense trouble. Even though Shen Zong’s long sleep had weakened his strength to almost nothing, to the Old Man and his group, he was still frighteningly powerful and made them feel hopeless.

After a brutal and terrifying fight, the Old Man fought hard and managed to shut the coffin again. Yet, all his friends were already dead.

He had no clue that just before he closed the coffin, a piece of Shen Zong’s Mental Force had stuck to him. It slowly poisoned his mind, giving him false memories and feelings. Shen Zong couldn’t fully control the Old Man’s actions, but he could slowly sway his choices and thoughts.

But since this Mental Force was so weak, Shen Zong could only command the Old Man’s body for tiny bits of time most days. Much of the time, it lay hidden in the Old Man’s mind, asleep.

At first, Shen Zong thought he just needed more time to make the Old Man open the coffin. But human thoughts and feelings are truly mysterious. Not even someone as mighty as Shen Zong could grasp them all.

It wasn’t clear if the memory of his friends dying was too deep or his hate for Shen Zong was too fierce. Even with false memories filling his brain, even as his senses and judgments were twisted by countless mental nudges.

Each time he got to the last step, as the Old Man stood before the coffin, he refused to open it. Sometimes, real memories even came back to him.

Through all those failures, as the Old Man’s life was running out and Shen Zong felt despair, Zuo Qingcang’s coming brought Shen Zong fresh hope.

Shen Zong wished Zuo Qingcang would just rush down unprepared to free him right away. He also wanted to spill all the secrets about the traps and dangers.

But deep down, the Old Man didn’t want Zuo Qingcang to go down. If he did, he urged him to learn Martial Arts and Dao Arts to become very strong first.

Caught between these two mental pushes, Zuo Qingcang was still led to the coffin. But under the Old Man’s effect, he got only tiny hints on the journey.

The Old Man still taught Zuo Qingcang Martial Arts. Yet, under Shen Zong’s sway, he failed to learn Dao Arts and missed out on the Dao Arts stuff Shen Zong had hidden.

It was this string of bad luck and mix-ups that resulted in the situation now.

Of course, Shen Zong told only a simple version of the story to Zuo Qingcang. He kept out the part about his weak Mental Force in the Old Man—how it could only tap into power leak from the coffin to act now—and the troubles between the South Saint Sect and Western Wei royalty.

Shen Zong stared at Zuo Qingcang, who was trapped like a wild beast, and murmured softly, “Now that I think back, my master must have seen trouble ahead when he stored the sect’s books and treasures here. Those hateful dogs of Western Wei! Once I get out of this Ancient Tomb, I’ll wipe out every last one of their descendants.”

A strange light flickered in Zuo Qingcang’s eyes. He said, “So now you need my help to open the coffin?”

“That’s right.” Shen Zong snapped his fingers. Fire snakes coiled in the air around Zuo Qingcang. Under the searing heat, sweat dripped from Zuo Qingcang’s body. “Do it or I’ll roast you dry.”

“Plus, I’m the only one who knows how to get past the Shifting Stars and Changing Constellations Grand Array to escape. If you want out, you have to free me. And for those treasure and secret manuals you saw—set me loose, and I’ll share some. Enough to keep you rich, fed, safe, and happy for life.”

Zuo Qingcang glanced at the restless fire snakes and the explosive powder, then gave a bitter chuckle. “Seems like I’ve no good reason to say no.”

So at Shen Zong’s order, Zuo Qingcang crawled slowly down the chains along the cliff wall. His eyes darted over the shape of the coffin, the gaps between the canyon and chains, and the land nearby. His look shifted often, hinting at unknown thoughts.

Reaching the back of the sarcophagus, he found an old opening already gaping. Inside, like a small room, a coffin about one meter wide and over two meters long lay quietly in the center.

Zuo Qingcang moved close and spotted a large three-headed bird etched on the coffin lid. Its human face, bird head, and serpent head were just like the one in the Dwarf Spirit’s grave. But here, it seemed more eerie and grim.

Just then, Shen Zong’s voice drifted from outside the sarcophagus: “See that bird? There are two bulging eyes on the human face. Press them down, then twist the knobs on each corner of the coffin.”

Although he couldn’t drive the Old Man’s body here, Zuo Qingcang still picked up a hint of haste in Shen Zong’s tone.

The coffin felt cold to the touch, made of some unknown stuff. Zuo Qingcang twisted the knobs hard. With a series of clicks and snaps, the coffin lid slid open.

Utter darkness poured out before Zuo Qingcang. Despite the open space and the lava’s fiery glow outside, no matter how he squinted, the coffin stayed pitch-black, showing nothing at all.

But in the face of this odd sight, Zuo Qingcang didn’t waver. He pulled out the fourth small vial from his pocket and flung all its strong acidic liquid over the coffin.

He aimed to use this moment to finally kill Shen Zong.