"Bingyuan, look here, this seems to be a depiction of how people in Persia lived. Judging by the artistry, it doesn't look like it was done by contemporary hands." Zhou Huan held the stone tablet, observing it closely. Finally, his gaze settled on the relatively large figure in the painting. This person looked exactly like the Hun who had brought Zhou Huan here. However, judging by the attire, the scene depicted on this stone must be at least a thousand years old.

Bingyuan flipped the stone slab back and forth, gently rubbing it with his hand, causing a little dust to fall into his palm. "Master, I've followed them to rob tombs before, so I feel I have some authority when judging the age of these antiques."

"Then take a look for yourself, how old is this stone?" Zhou Huan was a little anxious and asked Shi Bingyuan, as he himself felt the stone was ancient, certainly not new, given the layer of dust already settled on it.

Shi Bingyuan broke off another small shard of stone, showing it to Zhou Huan, then stated, "Master, the level of dormancy on this stone suggests it has been here for at least a century. Look at the colors of the painting on it; the only reason the picture is preserved so completely is because no one could unearth it back then, or perhaps they dug it up, saw it was useless, and simply left it on the ground or buried it to serve as a foundation stone."

"Hmm, you make a good point. I'll examine it a bit longer; I think I might find something we need to know." Zhou Huan was carefully studying the figure in the painting—his clothing, the surrounding environment, and the furnishings. It was clear this person was a wealthy merchant or nobleman.

Hong Kun and Tian Xiong were also looking at the stone. Zhou Huan then said, "You two keep digging, see if there's anything else."

Suddenly, Zhou Huan noticed that the figure in the painting—the very person who had sought his help earlier, the Persian Hun—was clutching a very thick vine in his hand. On his ring finger, he wore a ring, the very same five-colored jewel-encrusted pure gold ring that Zhou Huan had seen on the hand of the female corpse in his illusion.

"Apprentices, have you dug up anything?" Zhou Huan asked his disciples.

Tian Xiong and Shi Bingyuan had already dug nearly three meters deep, and calling out was becoming somewhat strenuous, as the three of them had been digging non-stop, expending a great deal of energy. Zhou Huan then told his three apprentices to stop, adding, "Come on, let's go to the tomb chamber. I want to see if there are any clues we missed."

Before they reached the entrance, Zhou Huan spotted two policemen standing guard from a distance. The tomb chamber was still brightly lit. Zhou Huan knew he was barred from entry during the day while work was ongoing, but now that it was nighttime, his status should grant him passage.

"Oh, Master Zhou, why are you back so late?" The two policemen saw Zhou Huan arrive with his three apprentices and knew they intended to enter the chamber, so they performed their duty by blocking Zhou Huan's path.

Zhou Huan smiled and said, "I know you two are working hard, but we must go inside tonight. I've calculated that if a tomb chamber is opened, and if there is any resentment within it, the time until an incident occurs will be very short, especially for those near the chamber."

"Master Zhou, this... you should report this to your superiors. If we abandon our posts or disturb the people working inside..." The expressions of the two policemen became even more troubled than they had been during the day.

Zhou Huan smiled, "How about this: if your leader gives you trouble later, I will explain it for you. I, Zhou Huan, will take full responsibility for whatever happens."

"Master Zhou, absolutely not!"

Just as the two policemen finished speaking, Zhou Huan felt a thick surge of Xue Qi (vital blood energy), and a pungent, bloody stench slowly wafted out of the tomb chamber. Coupled with it was a chilling Yin Qi full of murderous intent that stimulated Zhou Huan's nerves.

"Apprentices, move these two aside. Hong Kun, come with me inside; something has gone wrong." Saying this, Zhou Huan shouldered his bag and pushed past the two officers. Shi Bingyuan and Tian Xiong forcefully held the two policemen back.

Zhou Huan and Hong Kun rushed inside. The first thing that greeted them in the tomb chamber were two painters, one lying face up and the other face down, their hands still clutching paint and brushes. Black, viscous blood streamed from one man's nose, yellow fluid foamed at his mouth, and both eyes stared rigidly at the palette in his hand. The other lay face down on the floor, covered in black blood mixed with a viscous yellow substance that looked like glue, among which floated fragments resembling dried paint residue. The end of one yellow tube was dyed an orange-red, emanating a truly foul, putrid odor.

"Police officers, what are you two doing?" Zhou Huan shouted angrily. The corpses were already stinking, and the two policemen at the door hadn't noticed?

Hearing Zhou Huan's shout, the two policemen immediately ran in, and upon seeing the scene, they were instantly dumbfounded and panicked: "This, this is... what happened?"

"Aren't you going to notify your superiors? Such a major incident, and you can still be this calm? You didn't even realize they were dead?" Zhou Huan questioned the two policemen sternly, which immediately silenced them.

Tian Xiong took out his phone and called Xiao He, who immediately brought her team to the scene. Upon arrival, the two policemen were still stunned, unsure of what to do, their state of shock unresolved, covered in cold sweat, with slight tremors in parts of their bodies.

"You two, go rest for a while. Guarding here for twenty-four hours must have been exhausting enough," Xiao He said upon arriving, moving the two officers aside. Then she asked Zhou Huan, "Brother Huan, is this another supernatural event?"

"One hundred percent. We're in a graveyard, and it's night. These two haven't been dead for long, but judging by the degree of evil decay, they've been dead for at least two hours. The rate of decomposition for a normal death is much slower. If someone dies from spiritual influence, they either stiffen up or decompose rapidly, usually within about four hours. But these two are inside a tomb chamber, in a tomb that is a thousand years old, so this level is quite normal. However, it's hard to say exactly how they died now; we can't locate the specific soul source. We can only temporarily handle the aftermath and pay respects." After Zhou Huan spoke, Shi Bingyuan and Hong Kun began the traditional rites for the two deceased. Meanwhile, Xiao He began questioning the two policemen in the official manner regarding the situation when they arrived.

Zhou Huan paced around the tomb chamber, constantly trying to match the environment with what he had seen in his illusion—he was looking for the vine and the narrow cavern.

Following the path imprinted in his memory, he instead found a solid wall, a stone surface with some ancient paintings and the sharp tip of a wooden fragment sticking out. Zhou Huan casually began digging out whatever was beneath the wood fragment, but the more he dug, the longer the wood fragment became. What he finally unearthed caused Zhou Huan profound astonishment: it was the vine he had seen in his illusion, identical to the one depicted on the stone slab he had just found. This filled Zhou Huan with excitement. He continued digging along the vine, but after less than a meter, the vine snapped, the remaining part pinned beneath a large stone.

"Master, this vine is...?" Shi Bingyuan entered the chamber to help Zhou Huan after completing the rites. Seeing the vine, he also recalled the one on the stone slab. He then offered Zhou Huan an excellent suggestion: "Master, according to the depiction in the painting, this vine was the master's staff, or perhaps a symbol of his status."

Shi Bingyuan's reminder sparked an idea in Zhou Huan's mind. He felt that everything that had happened since evening seemed to carry some sort of subtle implication. But who exactly was this person in the painting, and what was his status? Zhou Huan felt this question had suddenly become paramount—understanding this person's identity was even more crucial than finding the ring.

"Master, Master, we've found the corpses' souls, and we are beginning the summoning rite," Hong Kun ran in from outside. Hearing this, Zhou Huan suddenly felt things starting to move forward smoothly; the previous confusing or unsolvable problems were gradually beginning to surface, all because of that Islamic soul.

Outside the tomb chamber, Hong Kun and Tian Xiong had already set up the soul-summoning altar, waiting for Zhou Huan to ascend it.