Ye Fan's words stunned everyone.
A sacrificial pit?
Just these three words made many people feel nauseous.
Many found it difficult to accept the cruel ancient system of human sacrifice.
After all, in today's law-governed society, such a heinous act was difficult for ordinary people to comprehend.
"Let's go in and take a look. Wear your gas masks."
Nodding at Shen Bao, Ye Fan then took out a gas mask from his pocket.
These were prepared by Elder Lei and the others. Since they would have to descend once an ancient tomb was found, these gas masks were the best choice.
Ye Fan, Shen Bao, Elder Lei, Kong Weiren, and Dong Dabiao stepped over the rubble and walked in slowly.
The rest of the people remained outside, constantly observing their surroundings.
This was a stone chamber about a hundred square meters, with walls built of marble and adorned with murals.
In the center of the chamber, within a pit about seven to eight meters square, dozens of coffins were stacked layer upon layer.
The stench of decay emanated from these coffins.
Ye Fan frowned and didn't look at the coffins first. Instead, his gaze fell upon the murals on the surrounding walls.
"These murals were created by a highly skilled painter after the sacrificial victims were buried alive, vividly depicting the scene on the stone walls.
According to these murals, the tomb owner was likely a general who had achieved great military success. During his campaigns, he captured many slaves. After his death, the sovereign held a grand funeral for him, and all his slaves were buried alive as sacrifices."
After interpreting the content of the murals, Ye Fan couldn't help but sigh.
Although human sacrifice was not considered wrong in the context of that era, it still represented the lives of dozens of living people being buried alive, which was horrifying.
Elder Lei, standing beside him, nodded in admiration. "Judging by the materials used for these paintings, they were rendered with gypsum and egg white, mixed with dyes. This liquid mixture can be preserved for a long time without fading from wind and rain. This technique appeared in the late Northern Song Dynasty, so this tomb should be from after the Northern Song. Based on the attire and adornments of the figures in the murals, as well as the style of the murals, it can be determined that this is a tomb from the Liao Dynasty, though it's still impossible to determine precisely who was buried here."
"The Liao Dynasty was an era of constant warfare and many talents. There were countless generals with great military achievements. Judging solely from the murals, there's no way to pinpoint the identity. Therefore, only by finding the epitaph can we determine the tomb owner's identity."
Ye Fan echoed Elder Lei's words.
Now, he was no longer concerned about the tomb owner's identity. Since there were so many sacrificial victims here, it meant that the main tomb chamber would undoubtedly contain rich burial goods.
His purpose for coming here was precisely for those burial goods.
After finishing the murals, Kong Weiren exclaimed in surprise, "Since this is a sacrificial chamber, it should connect to the main tomb passage. But why is there no exit door?"
The surrounding walls were entirely covered with murals, making the entire stone chamber appear isolated and quite peculiar.
It was evident that Kong Weiren had experience exploring tombs and had some understanding of tomb structures.
At this moment, Elder Lei stroked his beard and said, "Typically, sacrificial pits are located at the front of the tomb, or to the side of the main tomb. Since these sacrificed individuals were meant to serve the tomb owner even in death, they wouldn't be too far from him."
As a professional archaeologist, Elder Lei was quite knowledgeable about this.
"In that case, there must be an exit door here."
Shen Bao made the final conclusion and began searching the area.
Only Ye Fan's gaze remained fixed on the murals until the very last one.
After viewing all the murals, Ye Fan slowly closed his eyes, recalling the paintings in his mind.
One by one, they formed a complete picture.
"So that's how it is."
A faint, cold smile appeared on Ye Fan's lips.
It turned out that the murals were originally a single piece, painted and divided across the walls. Between the third and fourth murals, there was a small break.
The entrance to the stone chamber should be there.
Ye Fan walked over slowly and felt along the wall, which was only about half a meter wide. He pressed a protruding stone.
Immediately, the stone wall beside him slowly split open, revealing a stone door that could only accommodate one person at a time.
"The artist's skill is truly superb, and the design is incredibly ingenious, using murals as clues. It's magnificent!"
Seeing Ye Fan open the stone door, Elder Lei couldn't help but praise.
"Let's go. Outside should be the main tomb passage. Everyone must be careful. Do not act recklessly, or you might lose your lives."
This tomb was filled with strangeness everywhere, so they could not afford to be careless. A slight misstep could cost them their lives.
As Ye Fan finished speaking, a gust of cold wind blew in from outside, causing everyone to shiver.
"Where there's a cavity, there's often wind. Be careful."
Ye Fan cautioned again, then, holding his hiking staff, he was the first to walk out of the sacrificial chamber.
Outside, a wide tomb passage, two meters in width, appeared.
The ground was entirely paved with rectangular marble slabs.
Neatly arranged, without any disarray.
"How did they manage this? To polish the marble so smoothly and seamlessly?"
Shen Bao gazed at the tomb passage in front of him, filled with astonishment and deep emotion.
Even with modern technology, without experienced bricklayers, it would be difficult to achieve such craftsmanship.
"Never doubt the wisdom of the ancients. It is a pity that in the long river of history, many skills have been lost."
Elder Lei sighed and stepped out, seeing the wide tomb passage.
"It can accommodate a horse-drawn carriage. One can imagine how much labor was required to build such a massive project at that time."
Kong Weiren and Dong Dabiao also followed out. As oxygen continuously flowed in, the torches on the walls were instantly ignited, and the dim tomb passage was finally illuminated.
"Let's go. Let's find the main tomb chamber as quickly as possible."
Ye Fan calmly instructed.
Then, the group slowly proceeded forward again.
As this was the main tomb passage, it connected to every stone chamber.
Ye Fan and the others entered over a dozen, but found nothing of note.
In ancient tombs, many structures were simply used to house items and did not serve much purpose.
Especially those chambers specifically for sacrifices. This tomb had been built for a thousand years; would anyone still come to offer sacrifices here? Therefore, these places were abandoned.
After a full half-hour, the group finally arrived before a stone door.
This stone door was four to five meters long and ten feet high.
It was inscribed with lifelike birds and beasts, appearing almost real.
In front of the stone door stood two massive stone lions, majestically guarding the passage.
"Such grandeur! It's no wonder they say only someone for whom the sovereign would hold a funeral could command such stone lions."