The flames beneath the bronze great cauldron finally extinguished.
A group of youths sat sprawled on the ground, their expressions utterly content.
"Burp~"
It was the little fatty, who burped contentedly and sheepishly rubbed his bulging stomach.
"I'm stuffed..."
As he spoke, he couldn't resist taking another sip of the meat broth from his bowl, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Of course, it's delicious. Look who made it."
Xu Mu returned from the dense forest, picking a mutated foxtail grass, sharp as a steel needle, to pick his teeth.
Seeing him return, the others exchanged glances and became somewhat nervous.
Changsun Weiying signaled for them not to worry, then stood up somewhat awkwardly, cupping his fists. "Thank you, senior, for saving our lives. We misunderstood you earlier. Please do not take offense."
"If we manage to get out, we will certainly offer you a grand gift."
Xu Mu waved his hand. "No need to thank me, you helped me too." He gestured to the wild boar meat threaded onto branches with a smile. "A whole wild boar demon. If I had to cook it myself, it would take until next year."
As he spoke, the gazes of everyone shifted to the young man who controlled the flames.
At first, they had assumed Xu Mu was after female beauty. Later, they thought he was after male beauty.
In the end, it turned out he was after the fire.
Liu He's expression turned awkward, and he turned his head away with a sullen look.
He was the youngest anomaly user in the Hunter's Alliance, having reached the second stage at nineteen. His fire-based Taoist arts were exceptionally proficient, and he had defeated many heirs of great clans under the guise of a rogue cultivator, earning fame throughout the East Sea.
But now, his anomaly ability was being used to roast a pig.
"Senior seems to have been in the West Mountain for many days."
Having eaten their fill, the next step was to figure out how to leave. Changsun Weiying looked at Xu Mu. This person appeared to have been in the West Mountain for a considerable time and might have some leads to help them get out.
"Only three days."
"Three days..." Changsun Weiying found it hard to believe, as Xu Mu looked like a wild man.
"Then how long do you intend to stay here, senior?"
Xu Mu thought about the partially excavated underground palace and, counting on his fingers, calculated. "About... a month?"
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. Especially the young girl, who burst into tears on the spot.
"I wish I hadn't come here. I should have stayed safely in the clan. Father insisted on bringing me out for training."
Changsun Yuyu hugged her slender, rounded legs, looking extremely wronged. She was not a combat-oriented anomaly user to begin with. Her anomaly belonged to the team type, capable of instilling courage in teammates and awakening their inner potential.
However, for herself, this anomaly was almost useless. She was no different from an ordinary person, and her health was also poor.
Seeing this, Liu He immediately stepped forward to comfort her. "It's alright. Your father should be organizing a rescue party by now and will likely have news soon."
"I rather hope they don't come."
Changsun Weiying's handsome brows clouded with a hint of gloom.
The West Mountain was far too dangerous. Even fourth-stage lord-level great demons were common.
His father was only at the fourth stage, and his strength was significantly diminished here. Even with the Liu family and lords from other factions, they wouldn't be able to reach the core area to rescue them.
The only way was to find the path leading to the black palace. There, they might encounter many powerful anomaly users who could potentially bring them out.
"Do you have any silver on you?"
Xu Mu suddenly remembered that Charles had mentioned needing to build a device to analyze the air of the eerie night, to be used at this location.
However, he lacked sufficient materials. The underground palace only had bronze artifacts, no silver, so progress had been slow.
"Yes, but not much. I only have less than two hundred taels."
As he spoke, Changsun Weiying took out a thick stack of silver notes from his embrace. The others hesitated no longer, pooling all their money. Together, it amounted to over ten thousand taels.
Xu Mu blushed. "I wasn't talking about that. I meant silver, bright white silver!"
Changsun Weiying was perplexed. "Senior, but who carries physical cash when traveling? If you truly like it, if you escort us out, I will have my family head send you a hundred thousand taels, which would be no problem at all."
"I have about ten thousand taels deposited at the Gold and Silver Merchants, and if senior takes us out, I will give it all to you."
Liu He winced inwardly. He was a rogue cultivator and his family background couldn't compare to the heirs of great clans.
"I do have some loose silver. I originally brought it in case this place was too poor and my silver notes would be useless..."
Changsun Yuyu took out a cloth bag containing a handful of silver, looking pitifully at Xu Mu.
Xu Mu stepped forward, took it, and weighed it. "Although this is not as good as outside, it's not that poor yet."
"Put away your silver notes. I'm not trying to covet your wealth, but I genuinely need the silver."
Saying this, Xu Mu walked to a pit in the ground. Inside were many research instruments, which Charles and he had built and refined using lightning arts during the night.
"I understand, you need to forge a magic artifact! You are actually an artifact refiner!"
Changsun Weiying led everyone to the top of the pit and looked at the strangely shaped equipment with astonishment.
Artifact refiners, like alchemists, were extremely rare anomaly users, usually sought after by major powers.
"Artifact refining... you could say that," Xu Mu smacked his lips. After a period of work, he placed the silver into a groove. Now, all they needed was for that fellow to come out at night and refine some elements with lightning arts, and the instrument would be complete.
"What is this place? Why do I always feel an uncomfortable sensation?"
Changsun Yuyu trembled, clinging tightly to her brother's sleeve. She was naturally sensitive and felt that the tunnel below the pit concealed something terrifying.
"This was originally an underground palace, but due to the collapse of the mountain peak, many entrances were buried."
"There should be considerable fortune hidden within. Do you want to dig with me?"
Xu Mu had no intention of monopolizing the fortune. The only fortune he desired at the moment was the holy relic within the black palace.
To obtain the holy relic, they would need to utilize the rules of the eerie night. Otherwise, with their strength, they wouldn't be able to get anywhere near it.
Therefore, under the current circumstances, five people digging together would be much faster than him alone.
"Underground palace..." Changsun Weiying gazed at the dark opening, suddenly realizing that the dark energy here had become incredibly dense.
"Could this be the burial ground of that adventuring party?"
Someone spoke, connecting the current location with what the twin brothers had said a few days prior.
That adventuring party had been searching for Vertan or traces of the holy relic, only to mistakenly enter a vast tomb. They then triggered a restriction, and darkness spewed forth from the ancient coffin.
The collapse of the mountain peak, the movement of the earth's veins, and the appearance of the black palace all occurred after that!
...
"There's such a thing," Xu Mu's expression grew solemn. He turned to look at the hole he had been digging day and night.
This place should be the tomb they spoke of. The dark energy was indeed abnormally dense.
"You don't know?"
Changsun Weiying looked at Xu Mu in surprise. This senior didn't know about these matters? Could he truly be a wild man?
"I was in seclusion before entering the mountain, so I'm unaware of what happened here."
"And if your information is correct, this underground palace should be that vast tomb."
"Have... have many people died here?" Changsun Yuyu took half a step back, her voice trembling slightly. She thought this place was safe, only to find it so dangerous.
That temporarily assembled team was said to have included several fourth-stage lord anomaly users, all of whom died here!
"It should only be a tomb now, with no other dangers," Charles flew out of Xu Mu's body and concluded.
"Are you sure?" Xu Mu sounded doubtful.
"Of course. If there were truly dangers, do you think the one in the Heavenly Palace wouldn't have sensed it?"
Charles controlled the data flow, conjuring a vast and complex map before Xu Mu's eyes.
"Based on the direction of the surrounding mountain collapses over these past few days, the uneven depth of the land depressions, and the uneven force distribution, I have roughly calculated the total area of this underground palace."
"And you have already excavated seven burial chambers, which are, without a doubt, side chambers. These seven side chambers are situated at the eight vertices of the main tomb, following the traditional imperial tomb format of Blue Star."
"Therefore, I have deduced the approximate map of this tomb. You just need to dig in this direction, and within a month, you will definitely find the main burial chamber!"
Xu Mu looked at Charles's map, memorized it, and then nodded thoughtfully.
"I don't sense any danger. How about we dig together?"
He looked up and smiled at the five young people above, asking.
The crowd exchanged glances, seeming unsure of what to do.
"Let's dig," Changsun Weiying rolled up his sleeves and jumped directly into the pit. "In any case, we'll die if we stay here, so we might as well take a chance here!"
Then, the young man who controlled fire and the two little fatties also jumped in.
"That's more like it," Xu Mu smiled and looked up at the hesitant young girl. "You don't need to come down. Stay above and keep an eye on the movements of the great demons around us."
"If there's any danger, immediately hide in here. They won't find you."
As he spoke, Xu Mu picked out many handy tools from the pile of bronze artifacts and threw them to the others.
"This underground palace is very hard. I don't know what it's made of."
"According to my analysis, the collapse of the mountain peak didn't block all its passages, only the outer perimeter. The central part should be intact."
"So, as long as we work hard, it will take at most a day to find the main burial chamber!"
"Once we discover the fortune, it will be every man for himself in claiming it!"