Lu Zong stopped abruptly at this point, his gaze slowly sweeping over the Heavenly Lake, his expression stern. Ma Xiong secretly thought that with this last line, this kid was probably preparing to conjure up some dramatic, earth-shattering conclusion, but unexpectedly, the kid suddenly grimaced, scratched his head, and muttered, "Damn it, what was the next line again?"

Ge Mei burst into hearty laughter, while Ma Xiong shrugged, already accustomed to this.

The three of us wandered around, admiring this impossibly beautiful paradise from different angles. Ge Mei kept taking pictures with her camera, clearly having a wonderful time. The period leading up to this had been so tense; we hadn't truly relaxed. Now, arriving here, Ma Xiong felt an unprecedented sense of ease. Suddenly, a thought inexplicably surfaced: once the matter of the Four Great Forbidden Lands was resolved, he would settle down here for the long term.

As Ma Xiong was lost in thought, he heard Lu Zong beside him say, "Yishen Gun, look over there!"

Hearing this, Ma Xiong followed the direction Lu Zong pointed, looking into the distance, and immediately spotted the three figures of Shark, Xiao Tao, and another man standing there. Ma Xiong had met Shark and Xiao Tao before, but the Old Meng beside them was someone he was seeing for the first time. And what a shock it was when he looked—this Old Meng turned out to be the leader of the contemporary Zhenhai Monkeys, Meng Xiong!

Meng Xiong, as the leader of the Zhenhai Monkeys, one of the four major factions of tomb raiders, was certainly known to Ma Xiong. However, the rumor was that he had long since ceased operating personally. To think he would show up this time! It seemed the Zhenhai Monkey faction was truly struggling recently, forcing their leader to come out of retirement himself.

Seeing who it was, Ma Xiong immediately told Lu Zong and Ge Mei, "The one standing on the right is the head of the Zhenhai Monkeys."

Lu Zong glanced at Meng Xiong and then commented, "Damn it, wasn't it rumored this guy hadn't been seen in ages?"

Ma Xiong replied, "It seems they plan to go big this time. The fact they are so confident coming to the Heavenly Lake suggests they've been preparing for a long while!"

Ge Mei chimed in, "Master said Meng Xiong is the most formidable Zhenhai Monkey alive today. He once fought the Shark in the sea with only a dagger. His emergence now suggests he is determined to claim the ancient epitaph in the Heavenly Lake!" We continued to enjoy the Heavenly Lake area while keeping an eye on the three Zhenhai Monkeys. They were incredibly patient, sitting there chatting idly. Not until the afternoon, when the sun began to dip west, did the trio finally start moving. We feigned a leisurely stroll, trailing them from a distance.

As Meng Xiong walked, he continuously surveyed the terrain around the Heavenly Lake, occasionally glancing up at the stars. Seeing this, an idea struck Ma Xiong: why not photograph the topography here and send it to Liu Quansheng to help analyze the Feng Shui of the place?

With that thought, Ma Xiong immediately motioned for the other two to continue tracking the Zhenhai Monkeys, while he began photographing the local terrain. Ma Xiong captured the topography from the North, South, East, and West directions, marked the bearings, and sent the images to Liu Quansheng. After a long wait, he finally received a call back from Liu Quansheng.

The moment he answered, Ma Xiong heard Liu Quansheng say, "Brother Ma Xiong, when did you get to Tianshan? Just touring?"

Ma Xiong managed a wry smile, shook his head, and explained the situation here step-by-step. Liu Quansheng sounded extremely surprised after listening, told Ma Xiong to wait a moment, and then hung up.

A short while later, Ma Xiong received a text message from Liu Quansheng. The message briefly stated: "Send photos of the other four directions, Ma Xiong, and the star charts for the evening!"

Subsequently, Ma Xiong photographed the landscapes of the Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, and Northwest, sending them to Liu Quansheng. After a short interval, he received another reply: "This matter is quite esoteric. Ma Xiong needs to see the star charts you send tonight before drawing a conclusion."

Ma Xiong texted back: "Understood. I'll send them over once the stars are out tonight."

After sending the message, Ma Xiong went to rejoin Lu Zong and the others. When he found them, he saw both were sitting on a chair, staring blankly. Ma Xiong walked up and asked, "What's wrong? Where are the Zhenhai Monkeys?" Lu Zong shrugged. "Damn it, as we were following them, we suddenly ran into a massive flow of tourists descending the mountain and lost them completely! It’s getting dark now, and we can’t see where those three monkeys slipped off to."

Ma Xiong shook his head upon hearing this, saying it didn't matter.

Ge Mei commented, "Brother Ma Xiong, it’s getting late. Perhaps we should head back."

Ma Xiong replied, "Let's wait a bit longer. We need to figure out what's going on with this Heavenly Lake. I already sent the terrain photos to Old Liu. Once the stars are out tonight, I'll send him the star charts so he can assess the Feng Shui of this topography."

Lu Zong scoffed, "That kid Liu Huanggua can read Feng Shui just by looking at photos? Doesn't reading Feng Shui require bringing a compass and an on-site inspection? He doesn't have that kind of skill just from pictures, does he?"

Ma Xiong countered, "The skill of a Mojin Xiaowei in assessing tomb Feng Shui is beyond that of ordinary geomancers. Especially their insights into mountain and river formations in the Xun Long Jue (Dragon Seeking Art). In the tomb raiding world, who dares compare their Feng Shui skills to the Mojin Xiaowei?"

Lu Zong said, "Ma Xiong thinks there’s no need to look further; this Heavenly Lake spot is clearly an excellent Feng Shui treasure location."

Ma Xiong smiled and shook his head without saying more.

The group bought some snacks to tide them over and then returned to the car to escape the chilling night wind. Ma Xiong lowered the back of his driver's seat and settled down to sleep. When he woke, it was past ten o'clock at night. He took out his phone and stepped out of the car to begin photographing the constellations.

The midsummer night sky was dotted with countless stars, and with hardly any clouds, Ma Xiong quickly captured the stellar alignments in every direction before starting the transmission to Liu Quansheng.

After waiting about ten minutes, Liu Quansheng replied with a text message. Ma Xiong pulled out his phone and read: "The Heavenly Lake is situated on the mountainside of the northern slope of Bogda Peak's main summit, facing the main peak to the southeast. Looking at the astral alignment, the Big Dipper has just shifted towards the southeast. Calculated according to the sixty-year cycle (Jiazi), this location at the Heavenly Lake is precisely the most vital energy nexus point of Bogda Peak. Furthermore, because the Heavenly Lake is encircled by mountains, the surrounding topography forms a 'Dragon Wagging its Tail' configuration—a Divine Dragon protecting the corpse—making it an excellent burial site. However, the entrance to the tomb must be situated on the cliff face, not in the water. Since the dragon's head here faces away from the water, placing the entrance in water is ominous. If the entrance is indeed placed in water, the dragon will breed malevolent energy, turning into a Black Dragon, and the protective corpse-guarding will transform into a trapped corpse. If the records on the golden cloth are accurate and the Heavenly Lake is indeed connected to the Four Great Forbidden Lands, I suspect this Heavenly Lake tomb was deliberately constructed to be ominous, with its entrance set in the water, forming the Black Dragon Trapping Corpse configuration. In other words, the tomb at the Heavenly Lake is very likely one of the Four Great Forbidden Lands: the Black Dragon Trapping Corpse Tomb! Brother Ma Xiong, hold on a moment; I’ll gather the gear here and be right over!"

Seeing this message, Ma Xiong was instantly stunned and hurriedly read Liu Quansheng's text aloud to Lu Zong and Ge Mei.

After Ma Xiong finished reading, Lu Zong slapped his thigh. "Damn it, so this place is the Black Dragon Trapping Corpse Tomb! I thought so! I told you that golden cloth linked the Heavenly Lake to the Four Great Forbidden Lands; we should have realized it sooner!"

Ma Xiong sighed, "Yeah, we should have realized it long ago. Back then, the black snake that Earth Rat encountered coiled in front of him—didn't that look exactly like the Black Dragon Trapping Corpse setup? In Feng Shui, a snake is merely an unformed dragon. It turns out the Snake Mound wasn't related to the Four Great Forbidden Lands; the Snake Mound is one of the Four Great Forbidden Lands!"

With that, Ma Xiong began to ponder: to uncover the secrets of the Four Great Forbidden Lands, they would likely need to enter each of these four locations one by one. Ma Xiong was currently being coerced by that "Heavenly Punishment" simply because he knew too little about the Four Great Forbidden Lands. If he understood more of their secrets, taking the initiative wouldn't be an issue. Of the Four Great Forbidden Lands, besides the Fierce Infant Protecting Corpse Tomb where his father died and the Three Lifetimes Blood Corpse Tomb we entered, we now learned that the Heavenly Lake was the Black Dragon Trapping Corpse Tomb. It seemed this trip had to be cancelled.

After a few more words, the group drove back to the hotel.

Early the next morning, Ma Xiong and the other two went out to purchase supplies. He contacted Liu Quansheng, asking him to prepare any specialized equipment unavailable locally.

With all preparations complete, we returned to the hotel to rest while awaiting Liu Quansheng’s arrival. Liu Quansheng finally showed up that evening. He was carrying a large travel pack and wearing a sun hat, looking every bit the traveler. The moment he saw Ma Xiong, he rushed over and gave him a huge hug. Ma Xiong patted his shoulder and said, "I told you before, you're not a strong swimmer; there’s absolutely no need for you to come into the Heavenly Lake with us."

Liu Quansheng replied, "It’s fine. Since it’s the Black Dragon Trapping Corpse Tomb, the entry into the ancient tomb will only involve a short section of water. The tomb itself won't be submerged. Besides, we have diving gear."

Lu Zong picked up a small oxygen tank from the table and said, "Ma Xiong calls this diving gear? Ma Xiong thinks this thing can only supply us with air for ten minutes at most, right?"

Ma Xiong explained, "The Feng Shui for recognizing this tomb entrance is straightforward; as soon as Old Liu confirms the entrance, how long will it take us to get inside? Two tanks each will definitely be enough for the round trip."

Seeing Ge Mei with us, Liu Quansheng asked, "Ge Mei isn't going in with us, right?"

Ge Mei smiled and retorted, "What? Can girls not raid tombs?"

Liu Quansheng quickly shook his head, "That’s not what I meant. It’s just that the Four Great Forbidden Lands are extraordinarily perilous. Miss Ge Mei doesn't need to take such a risk."

Ma Xiong intervened, "Ge Mei’s master must have had a reason for sending her to accompany us tomb raiding; let’s not discuss this anymore. Let’s focus on the tomb entrance."

Liu Quansheng said, "To find the tomb entrance, I need to conduct an on-site inspection before I can make a final judgment. You mentioned those three Zhenhai Monkeys made their move yesterday; I wonder if they’ve entered already. If they’ve already opened the entrance, it will save us a lot of trouble."

Ma Xiong said, "That would be for the best if it happened. By the way, Old Liu, did you get the hardware ready?"

Liu Quansheng nodded. "I contacted some local contacts as you instructed. I bought four short ones and enough ammunition."

Ma Xiong nodded. Having handguns gave him an extra layer of confidence; at least if they encountered the three Zhenhai Monkeys inside the tomb, he wouldn't fear them posing a threat. However, since they had to carry diving gear, they couldn't bring much else. Hopefully, they would all return successfully this time.