Entering the Tomb

Instead of covering her eyes the next second, she pulled out her phone, opened the camera app, and started recording.

"So overbearing. No wonder Senior Sister couldn't resist either," Chunwan thought to herself while filming.

We kissed with such abandon that it was quite a while before I finally parted my lips.

We were both panting heavily, having kissed for so long without coming up for air.

Ling Xinyue’s hazy eyes gradually cleared. She threw a heavy punch at my chest with a dainty fist, and with a mix of shyness and anger, scolded, "Are you insane?"

"Guilty as charged. That's why I just asked you for some medicine to relieve the condition temporarily. I'll have to ask you for more next time," I said with a straight face.

Ling Xinyue pushed me away forcefully. Over on the other side, Chunwan put away her phone, turned around, and stared intensely at a large tree, acting as if there was something fascinating about the bark.

At that moment, I stripped off the pelt and the pair of golden eyeballs from the golden-eyed bear demon, though its internal organs had already been blasted to shreds.

"Here, take these." I handed the two items to Ling Xinyue.

"I have plenty of resources already. You keep them," Ling Xinyue said. She wasn't lying; as the treasured darling of the Supreme Lingyan Temple, the sect heaped its most precious resources directly onto her.

Hearing this, I didn't stand on ceremony. The pelt of the golden-eyed bear demon was completely intact, and as a high-tier fierce beast hide, it was worth a small fortune.

As for the golden eyeballs, they emitted a bizarre demonic energy fluctuation and possessed astonishing hardness, making them top-tier materials for refining magical artifacts.

"Wife, what brings you to the Wolong Mountain Range?" After disposing of the bear demon's carcass, I asked Ling Xinyue.

Ling Xinyue shot me a sidelong glance, wishing I would stop calling her "wife," especially with Chunwan right there—how awkward was that?

However, knowing my shameless nature, she realized I wouldn't listen anyway, so she simply decided to pretend she hadn't heard.

"I'm here to complete a sect mission—to retrieve an item from the nirvana cave dwelling of the Holy Monk Cangyang," Ling Xinyue said.

"A holy monk? Sounds immensely badass. Where is it?" I asked.

Ling Xinyue stated the location, which startled me somewhat, because the place she named was right near the Emperor's Tomb I was heading to.

Who would have thought an emperor and a holy monk would become neighbors after death?

"What about you? The entire Yin-Yang Master community is buzzing with news about you lately. Why did you run to the Wolong Mountain Range? The netherworld rifts aren't anywhere near here," Ling Xinyue said.

"I'm going to check out an emperor's tomb, right next to the nirvana cave dwelling of Holy Monk Cangyang," I replied.

"What a coincidence. Why don't you come with me to the holy monk's cave first, and then I'll accompany you to the emperor's tomb?" Ling Xinyue suggested.

I shook my head and said, "That won't do. The emperor's tomb has already been plundered and contains evil entities. I need to go have a look as soon as possible to prevent any unpredictable events."

Ling Xinyue and I share certain personality traits; we are both fiercely independent individuals with strong egos who won't easily let others sway our decisions.

To put it bluntly, we are both the kind of people who act as the core of a team, expecting others to accommodate us.

As a married couple, that's definitely a handful, so we decided to split up and act independently once we reached the destination.

For the next three days, Chunwan was utterly resentful.

She felt like an absolute third wheel—uncared for by her elders, unloved by anyone, and fed a daily diet of PDA along with plenty of emotional collateral damage.

When Ling Xinyue and I were sweet, we were intensely sweet, but whenever our opinions on a matter diverged, Chunwan would retreat far away because we would immediately resort to fierce arguments.

Yet, just when Chunwan thought we might actually sever ties forever over a disagreement, I would typically lunge forward with a forceful kiss, and instantly, all tension between us would vanish.

Three days later, the three of us arrived at the foot of a mountain peak, which was already deep within the Wolong Mountain Range.

We stopped in our tracks. Ling Xinyue turned around to look at me, while Chunwan tactfully stepped aside.

"Your target should be on this mountain peak, and mine is on the neighboring one. Let's part ways here," Ling Xinyue said softly.

"Alright, be careful," I nodded.

Ling Xinyue suddenly stepped forward, stood on tiptoe, and gently pressed a kiss to my lips with a slight curl of her mouth. "You be careful too. I'm off."

There was no way I was going to let her leave just like that. I reached out, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, placed my other hand behind her head, and leaned down to capture her lips in an overbearing, deep kiss.

Not far away, Chunwan blushed fiercely, taking out her phone to snap pictures while muttering to herself, "Honestly, they have no regard whatsoever for the presence of a minor."

After a long while, our lips finally parted. The cool and aloof face of Ling Xinyue was already covered in a rosy blush.

"I'm leaving," Ling Xinyue said, dragging her gaze away from the star-like eyes of the man before her; if she stayed like this any longer, she wouldn't be able to leave at all.

"Take care, Brother-in-law!" Chunwan called out, trailing behind Ling Xinyue and occasionally turning back to wave at me.

The two women soon vanished into the dense mountain forest. I withdrew my gaze and let out a whistle.

Immediately, a streak of purple light flashed through the air and landed squarely on my shoulder.

Over the past few days, this purple marten had been trailing us from a distance, seemingly unwilling to stay close to Ling Xinyue and Chunwan.

"I'm heading to that emperor's tomb now. You'd better wait outside," I said, flicking the purple marten lightly on the head with my finger.

The marten squeaked twice and scampered up into a tree.

"Haha, be careful not to get swallowed by any fierce beasts," I chuckled, then leapt into the air and dashed toward the summit of the mountain.

Reaching the peak, I looked around, taking in the various protruding and sunken rocks and pits scattered across the terrain.

"Ah, it's an array formation," I thought to myself, pulling out my luopan compass to calculate. I then went up and down, down and up repeatedly.

Each time, the scenery before me changed completely.

When I descended to the foot of the opposite side for the eighteenth time, a natural subterranean fountain appeared before my eyes. The spring water jetted several meters high into the air, carrying a faint, milky fragrance.

Carved into the cliff face behind the fountain was a massive relief sculpture of a figure draped in blood-red armor and wielding a crimson spear. Kneeling in rows before the relief were hundreds of statues of men and women, young and old alike.

"What the hell? What kind of emperor is this, pulling off such a grand spectacle even after death?" I mused inwardly.

I walked forward a short distance before suddenly coming to a halt, noticing that several nearby statues had been smashed to pieces, revealing actual human skeletons embedded inside.

In other words, these statues had been crafted using living humans.

Continuing onward, I arrived at a violently smashed entrance leading into the front burial chamber.

However, as far as the eye could see, rows upon rows of skeletons lay collapsed all the way to the far end of the cavern.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped directly inside.

Walking forward step by step, I moved seemingly slowly, yet I felt as though the tunnel-like cavern was rushing past me in a blur.

Gradually, I felt my body grow heavier and heavier. A crushing force bent my spine, and I watched as my hands and feet withered like dead branches, shrinking away with every single step I took.

It felt as though decades of time flew by with each stride I made.

Yet my pace never faltered; I continued forward with unwavering determination. Having weathered the trials of the Gate of Karma, I reasoned that if I wasn't mistaken, this was an assault on my state of mind, and maintaining a calm composure was all that was required.

After all, if this truly was my future, no matter how terrifying or frightening it might be, this day would eventually arrive.

Birth, old age, sickness, and death are the natural laws of existence for ordinary mortals.

Even though legends say that Yin-Life masters can cultivate to the Saint realm, or even the God realm, and thus contend with the heavens for their fate.

What humans fear most is watching themselves age and witnessing the slip of life—that is the ultimate terror.

Yet, I was able to face it with equanimity.

My body gradually turned to sand and instantly shattered into nothingness.

The next second, I materialized once more, my posture still upright and my stride continuing forward.

This time, I witnessed a series of scenes unfolding upon my own life.

Step by step, I ascended to become an Eighth-Rank Yin-Yang Master, a Ninth-Rank Yin-Yang Master, a Grandmaster, a Saint...

I was high-spirited and brimming with vigor, surrounded by beauties, and even lofty Grandmasters submitted to me as their master.

I flattened the netherworld, and countless netherworld beings and cultivators knelt before me, letting me slaughter them at will.

I lost my passion, turning sinister and ruthless instead. I regarded all mortals under heaven as mere ants, treating everyone as tools to be exploited.

I no longer killed out of enmity, hatred, or sentiment, but simply because I felt like killing.

In pursuit of a breakthrough to the God realm, I dragged the netherworld into the mortal realm, attempting to break through using the blood of all living things.