Ma Xiong saw there was nothing left to look at, so he tidied his gear, pulled his dagger from the bamboo insect's neck, wiped it on its head, and slid it back into the sheath at his waist. It turned out that where Ma Xiong had stabbed it in the neck earlier, the dagger had only sunk a small way into the flesh; most of it had gotten stuck in the gap between its head and neck, which explained why it hadn't inflicted much damage.

They had been inside the ancient tomb for quite some time now, a period marked by almost non-stop action. Now, both man and beast were weary, and they needed to get out of the flag formation first to rest by the wall.

Lu Zong, that kid, was still fixated on the Golden Wings left behind in the tower-shaped burial chamber. Now that the bronze bell was useless, those wings should be removable. He told them to wait a moment, then, propping up his flashlight, he dashed back toward the tower chamber.

Ma Xiong could only call out to him to be careful, then let the others follow him out. We exited the flag formation and returned to the base of the wall. By this time, the Soul-Soothing Holes on the wall had all closed, presumably because the formation had been broken. Everyone sat down against the wall, ate a little something, and was immediately hit with a wave of exhaustion. Before long, Lu Zong came scurrying back, clutching the pair of Golden Wings in his hands.

He was somewhat excited now, slumping down against the wall. “Damn it, the last few raids didn’t yield anything good. Even that Water Luster Pearl from the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb was taken by Old Man Wu to study formations. This time, Ma Xiong is taking these wings out even if it kills him.”

As Lu Zong spoke, he took off his backpack, opened it, and yanked the zipper down to shove the wings inside.

Ge Mei blinked, suddenly grabbing Lu Zong’s hand. “Brother Zhang, don’t be such a miser. These wings are gorgeous; let Ma Xiong have a look.”

Lu Zong found it hard to refuse and handed the wings over to Ge Mei.

Ge Mei carefully took the wings, holding them up to the light to examine them closely, sighing, “The craftsmanship is too miraculous. Look, the feathers on these wings are layered, the grain is incredibly clear, and they’ve been preserved perfectly in a tomb this ancient, completely undamaged, except for…”

Lu Zong, who cared most about this treasure, grew instantly tense when he heard Ge Mei speak. “Except for what?”

Ge Mei deliberately paused for effect, then suddenly couldn’t help but laugh. “Except for Brother Zhang’s tooth mark!”

Hearing this, the others burst into laughter. Lu Zong’s old face flushed red as he scratched his head. “Ma Xiong… Ma Xiong—at the time, I was just in a hurry to inspect it! Damn it, if only we could have taken the stone carving out along with the wings. I heard that matching antiques only fetch a small sum individually, but together, the price could skyrocket! Ah, just taking a pair of wings out… it’s a damn shame to think about it.”

Ma Xiong told him, “Stop being so ungrateful. These Golden Wings alone are enough to buy a few sports cars.”

Lu Zong retorted, “What do you know? As the saying goes, you can never have too many friends, nor too much money. If these wings could have been sold with the carving, damn it, even if the four of us split it, Ma Xiong’s descendants for eight generations wouldn't have to worry.”

Ge Mei interrupted us. “Don’t always measure treasures by their monetary value; look at their artistic and ancient aesthetic worth.”

The other three of us exchanged bitter smiles upon hearing this. Which tomb raider isn’t practical? We aren’t collectors; there’s no need for us to understand things on that level.

Lu Zong then took the wings back from Ge Mei and carefully placed them in his backpack before saying, “Actually, we are cultured people too. We know talking about money is vulgar. While our ideological enlightenment might not be high, we are still youths striving for ideals. But the philosopher said it well: material things are the foundation. Especially for us tomb raiders, we stick our necks out in dangerous places just to dig up a few valuable treasures, right?”

Ge Mei chuckled when she saw Lu Zong holding his own on this topic and said no more.

After resting for a while, everyone continued moving forward. What they needed to do now was find the Coiled Dragon Black Gall. Since this was the main burial chamber, the Black Gall was likely hidden here. However, apart from the four walls, the central flag formation, and the bronze bell overhead, there was nothing else here. Finding the treasure was going to take some effort.

Thinking of that large bronze bell, Ma Xiong suddenly pondered: since Lu Zong had removed the wings, would the bell disappear too? With this thought, Ma Xiong raised his wolf-eye flashlight and shone it toward the location of the great bronze bell. As the strong beam illuminated the spot, the bronze bell reappeared before our eyes. Seeing that the bell seemed unchanged, Ma Xiong was about to move the light away when his peripheral vision caught sight of something on top of the bell!

Ma Xiong quickly moved the light upward and immediately saw that something was perched on top of the great bronze bell. The object didn't look like a part of the bell at all; they hadn't noticed it before. But the distance was still great, so they couldn't make it out clearly.

Everyone else saw the object too and exchanged glances. Ma Xiong told them, “Let’s go take a look.”

Saying that, Ma Xiong drew his dagger and prepared himself, then led the way toward the bronze bell. The others followed closely behind him, maintaining their guard. As they approached, Ma Xiong suddenly realized the object wasn't some monster but a stone box. The box was large, and they had no idea when it had appeared up there.

Lu Zong scratched his head when he saw it. “Damn it, this tomb is truly strange. Why put a coffin on top of a bell?”

Liu Quansheng said, “A coffin shouldn’t be that short. Ma Xiong, it looks like a box.”

Ma Xiong told everyone, “Whether it’s a coffin or a box, we first need to figure out how to get it down.”

Ma Xiong said that, then looked up at the bell and then down at the dark pit beneath the bronze bell. He told everyone again, “This bell is wider than the pit. If we break the rope suspending it, the bell will fall.”

Ge Mei suggested, “Let’s burn it down with fire.”

Ma Xiong nodded, then picked up a flag from the ground, poured fuel from his backpack onto it, and then raised the flag to smear the fuel onto the rope holding the bronze bell. He then lit the fuel.

With the help of the fuel, the rope quickly began to burn. The rope was very thick; the fierce fire burned for nearly ten minutes before the rope snapped in the middle with a crack.

Instantly, the bronze bell lost the upward tension and began to drop with a deep wum. The bell fell straight down, landing with a tremendous BOOM that shook the ground, heavily striking the floor and covering the shadowy pit.

The shockwave from the falling bell, accompanied by the massive sound, rushed toward us, forcing everyone to raise their hands to shield their faces. After the dust settled, Ma Xiong walked toward the great bell. The bell was truly heavy; now that it had fallen, the ground beneath it had cracked in several places.

The bell was about three meters tall. However, when it fell, the stone box on top shook violently, causing more than half of it to slide off. With a slight nudge from a flag pole, the stone box tumbled down. We had stacked many pieces of flag cloth thickly on the ground beforehand because we were afraid the box would break when it landed. When the box finally hit the ground, there was a dull thud.

The group walked over and righted the box before examining it carefully.

The box was large, cubic, with sides measuring over half a meter. Ma Xiong stepped forward and tried the lid, only to find it wouldn’t open; it seemed to be locked from the inside with a mechanical latch.

Lu Zong knocked on the box and told us, “It’s definitely hollow inside. Since the box is here, Ma Xiong thinks the Coiled Dragon Black Gall is probably inside. We need to see how to open it. If that treasure is truly inside, we need to leave immediately. Damn it, Ma Xiong doesn’t want to spend another second in this damned place.”

Ma Xiong said, “The box won’t open; it’s probably locked.”

At this moment, Ge Mei crouched down, pointed at the box’s surface, and suddenly said to us, “Look, there are bas-reliefs on it—some kind of painting.”

Ma Xiong immediately crouched down when he heard this and found that the box was indeed covered in intricate bas-reliefs, adorning all four sides, but not the lid. Ma Xiong lowered his head to examine one side and was met with the image of a procession.

The scene depicted in the relief was a mountain range. A troop of armed men, carrying spears and swords, were leading horses and camels along the foothills. At the rear of the column was a carriage, upon which stood a large umbrella, its curtain draping down. A vague human figure could be seen seated inside.

Ma Xiong shone his flashlight onto the relief, observing closely, and quickly noticed two large coffins among the procession. These two coffins were of equal size and painted black. This relief likely depicted the troop carrying the coffins up the mountain for burial.

But what was strange was that a funeral procession should be wearing mourning clothes. Yet, this group looked entirely like fully armed soldiers; they bore no resemblance to a burial party. Even stranger, following behind the two coffins were several burly men pushing a two-wheeled cart carrying a round object. This object was also black and, judging by its proportions, was about one cubic meter in size.

Liu Quansheng also noticed the strangeness, tilting his head. “It looks like these people are going up the mountain to bury someone, but why are they a troop of soldiers who look ready for battle? There are battle standards and weapons everywhere, but not a single white mourning banner.”

Lu Zong waved his hand dismissively. “What’s so strange about that? Maybe this troop was in the middle of a fierce battle and didn’t have time to change into mourning clothes.”

Ma Xiong shook his head. “Impossible. Respect for the dead is paramount, especially in ancient times. A coffin procession must have everyone in mourning attire, scattering paper money along the way while a shaman chants until the coffin is interred and the earth sealed. Otherwise, it’s grave disrespect and invites retribution. Unless…”

“Unless the person dead in the coffin is their enemy? Or someone utterly wicked and vile, who deserves no respect,” Ge Mei caught on quickly and interjected.

Ma Xiong nodded. “Exactly. But if that were the case, why would they carry the coffins all the way into the mountains to bury the dead? And who is that person in the carriage behind, and what is their relationship to the deceased? What’s even weirder is that black sphere behind the coffins?”

The carriage clearly evoked the style of the Han Dynasty, and the sculptor’s skill was superb; every figure was lifelike, except for the occupant of the carriage, who remained blurred, showing only a vague human outline seated within. Clearly, the sculptor intended to show the person was shielded by the curtain, not showing themselves easily. This suggested the person inside might be a woman. Although the carriage’s specifications suggested a lower status, it was still considerably more dignified than a commoner’s.

Having examined this relief for the time being, Ma Xiong shone his flashlight around to the next side. The stone box had reliefs on all four sides, and this next one seemed to continue the narrative of the first.

In this relief, the procession still occupied the center of the composition, but they were now halfway up the mountain, heading toward a smaller peak. The more Ma Xiong looked, the stranger it seemed; he felt like he had seen the setting of this relief somewhere before. At first, when he saw the troop at the foot of a large mountain, Ma Xiong had assumed it was Mount Bogda where they currently were. But looking at the scenery around the halfway point, the setting in the relief was not Mount Bogda. This meant the place where they were burying the two coffins was not this Serpent’s Tomb.

While Ma Xiong was contemplating the location shown in the scene, he suddenly heard Lu Zong exclaim, “Hey, doesn't this place look a lot like the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb?”

Ma Xiong slapped his forehead. Wasn’t this relief depicting Dahuluo Old Mountain, the main peak of the Helan Mountain Range where the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb was located? And wasn't the small hill the troop was approaching—with its inverted, triple-maleficent arrangement—the exact location of the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb?

Liu Quansheng was equally astonished, clicking his tongue repeatedly. “I didn’t expect that after all this time, we’d see something related to the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb again. If anyone tells Ma Xiong now that these Four Great Taboo Tombs are unrelated, Ma Xiong wouldn't believe them even if they hit him!”

Ma Xiong said, “No wonder there are two coffins. Ma Xiong thinks those coffins must contain the Blood Fiends we encountered in the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb. Damn it, Ma Xiong finally understands—this troop must be the contingent the Commander in charge of escorting Wang Zhaojun gave to the Nightingale Maiden. Does everyone remember the unofficial legend Ma Xiong mentioned earlier? The Nightingale Maiden accompanied Wang Zhaojun on her journey beyond the frontier. Along the way, one of Zhaojun’s maids conspired with a Han Dynasty official escorting her, attempting to steal the priceless Night Luster Pearl gifted to Zhaojun by Emperor Yuan of Han. The two were eventually captured by the Nightingale Maiden. The Commander ordered the pair who tried to steal the treasure to be executed on the spot. As the soldiers beheaded the two, a meteorite suddenly fell onto a nearby mountain. The Nightingale Maiden immediately calculated with her fingers and told the Commander that this was an omen of great misfortune, detrimental to Zhaojun’s mission. She insisted she must stay behind to properly inter the bodies of the two villains using a secret method to resolve the malevolent energy. The Commander, well aware of the Nightingale Maiden’s esoteric skills, and considering the marriage alliance between the Xiongnu and Han dynasties was of utmost importance, dared not treat the matter lightly. However, Zhaojun’s convoy could not be delayed, so the Commander ordered a troop of soldiers to remain and assist the Nightingale Maiden in burying the villains here, while Wang Zhaojun’s procession continued toward the Xiongnu capital. Later, Wang Zhaojun reached the Xiongnu safely for the alliance, but the Nightingale Maiden and the remaining soldiers vanished without a trace.”

Ge Mei listened, utterly confused. Ma Xiong then remembered that Ge Mei had not accompanied them into the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb. So, Ma Xiong recounted the connection between the Blood Corpse Tomb and the Nightingale Maiden to Ge Mei, who finally understood, her eyes wide with astonishment.

Then, Ge Mei asked, “The route Wang Zhaojun took passes right by the Helan Mountain Range. So, does that mean the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb was set up by the Nightingale Maiden at that time to bury those two villains? But now it seems the Nightingale Maiden’s goal was not as simple as ensuring Wang Zhaojun’s safe passage. Right, Brother Ouyang?”

Ma Xiong nodded. “Of course. As one of the Four Great Forbidden Places, the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb holds the Essence Soul of the Demon Wall. Its secrets are so profound that many people might spend their entire lives trying to decipher them, and the main obstacle, naturally, is the perilous array of anti-theft measures within.”

Liu Quansheng then pointed to a section of the relief. “That sphere behind the coffins is most likely that meteorite that fell from the sky. Did the Nightingale Maiden have people carry the meteorite into the ancient tomb because the great formation inside required the meteorite to be activated?”

Ma Xiong replied, “Ma Xiong thinks it’s more than that simple. Meteorites have always been celestial bodies carrying mysterious energy from beyond Earth. Ma Xiong guesses that since Dongfang Shuo was rumored in unofficial histories to be a master of Taoist magic, the Nightingale Maiden, having received his true teachings, must have also thoroughly understood the uses of meteorites. In ancient times, various extraordinary individuals often utilized the special energy and matter of meteorites to set up formations, refine elixirs, and so on. Take the Water Luster Pearl, which ignites upon contact with water; it was made from rare materials found on meteorites. Many of the strange things in the Four Great Forbidden Places are likely inextricably linked to that meteorite.”

Hearing Ma Xiong say this, Liu Quansheng suddenly had an epiphany. “That’s it, that’s it! That Water Luster Pearl, that magical Five Elements Plum Blossom Teleportation Formation, those unknown monsters—they should all be related to the special radiation and unique materials from the meteorite. Damn it, what was the Nightingale Maiden trying to achieve by using a meteorite to build the Four Great Forbidden Places and create so many harmful things?”

Ma Xiong concluded, “The biggest mystery now is the Nightingale Maiden’s objective. It seems she never intended for the secrets of the Four Great Forbidden Places to remain sealed forever, yet she wrapped those secrets in so many layers of obstruction. It seems the only way we can know all the secrets is by traversing all Four Great Forbidden Places.”

Lu Zong cursed, “Damn it, if that bunch of sons of bitches from ‘Heaven’s Punishment’ hadn't kidnapped Grandpa, Ma Xiong wouldn’t care about any secrets. This Nightingale Maiden is probably just an immortal demon; anyone associated with the Four Great Forbidden Places is unlikely to live long.”

Ma Xiong told him, “Stop talking nonsense. Aren’t we connected to the Four Great Forbidden Places right now?”

Having said that, Ma Xiong moved on to examine the third relief. This relief seemed to depict the Nightingale Maiden hiring numerous craftsmen to build the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb. Finding nothing particularly unusual, Ma Xiong looked at the relief on the final side. The moment he saw it, Ma Xiong was stunned.

The last relief was entirely unexpected. It showed no people, no coffins, and no meteorite. Instead, it was carved with a stone chamber, which was entirely empty except for a single stone stele standing upright! As soon as Ma Xiong saw this stele, he immediately recalled the experience in the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb when Old Man Wu and Wang encountered Liu Lan, who had transformed into a Corpse Fiend. Liu Lan had tricked them into a chamber and asked them to help move a blank stone stele. Fortunately, Old Man Wu had seen through Liu Lan’s deception and prevented him from succeeding. Now, seeing this relief, was the stele inside the one Liu Lan had desperately tried to move?

If he hadn't seen this relief now, Ma Xiong would have almost forgotten Old Man Wu’s ordeal. It seemed something must be suppressed beneath this stele, something Liu Lan wanted to release. According to ancient records, a blank stele carved from the stone of Mount Tai could suppress all evil spirits. This implied that whatever was underneath this stele was certainly not friendly!

But why would a relief describing the stele appear in this Serpent’s Tomb? Did entering the Four Great Forbidden Places have a prerequisite sequence? Did one have to enter the Serpent’s Tomb first to see this relief before being able to discover the secret beneath the stele in the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb? Or did the Serpent’s Tomb also contain such a stele, not just the Blood Corpse Tomb?

This relief described the process of the Nightingale Maiden constructing the Three Generations Blood Corpse Tomb and concluded with the image of the blank stele, intended to convey what message to later generations?