Hearing Ying Chen's praise, the fear in Elder Dong and the other two immediately subsided. At the same time, they scratched their heads sheepishly, "Mr. Ying is too kind."
"If Mr. Ying hadn't arrived in time, our reaction would have been insufficient to deal with these demon puppets. These demon puppets are truly terrifying. I really don't know how Zhang Daoling managed to refine them..."
Ying Chen swept his gaze over them and replied, "It's nothing special. It's just a matter of extracting the souls of some ghosts and spirits and sealing them within stone figures!"
"These stone figures are actually specially made sealing magical artifacts. Various runes are carved inside the stone figures, and the stone figures themselves are mixed with a large amount of cinnabar and other raw materials."
"In terms of value alone, these stone figures are quite valuable. If they could be sold outside, each one might fetch over a million. Some more uniquely shaped stone figures might even sell for more."
"However..."
Ying Chen's tone shifted.
"Who would dare to sell these things? They'd likely be devoured by the demon puppets before they could even be sold. Zhang Daoling forged these things not only to achieve some purpose but also to use them to guard the tomb."
"After all, these things are much more effective than any mechanical traps. Let alone ordinary people like yourselves, even martial arts masters and sorcery grandmasters would falter here."
Hearing Ying Chen's explanation, Elder Dong and the other two exchanged glances.
It seemed they had survived today by sheer luck upon sheer luck!
"Mr. Ying, what do we do next? Should we temporarily leave the underground palace, or continue forward?"
The eyes of Elder Dong and the other two flashed with anticipation, as they clearly hoped for the latter.
At times, the mentality of archaeologists and tomb robbers was identical.
When tomb robbers finally dug through to a tomb and entered it, they would regret it if they returned empty-handed, unable to sleep.
Archaeologists were the same.
Having already entered Zhang Daoling's tomb, they would be unwilling to turn back now.
At the very least, they wanted to understand the layout of Zhang Daoling's entire tomb and take some photos as evidence.
Ying Chen saw through the thoughts of Elder Dong and the other two at a glance and smiled, "We've come this far, so of course we must continue forward."
"Moreover, these demon puppets have already voluntarily cleared a path to guide us. How can we possibly refuse their kindness?"
Only then did Elder Dong and the other two notice that all the surrounding demon puppets had indeed neatly retreated to the sides, clearing a path.
Waiting for Ying Chen and the others to pass!
This scene made Elder Dong and the other two sigh with emotion.
Who was the true owner of this underground palace?
If one didn't know better, they might think this underground palace was called Ying Chen's Tomb instead of Zhang Daoling's Mausoleum!
Ying Chen stepped forward.
Wherever Ying Chen walked, the demon puppets in that area trembled.
Clearly, they sensed the same powerful aura from Ying Chen as they did from Zhang Daoling, reminding them of the days when Zhang Daoling had crushed them.
However, after Ying Chen passed, the demon puppets instantly returned to their original state.
They looked at Elder Dong and the others who followed with greedy and covetous expressions.
If Ying Chen hadn't been present, they would have played another game of "Red Light, Green Light" with Elder Dong and the others!
Tens of thousands of demon puppets lined up on both sides like an inspected army, allowing Ying Chen to pass.
In this way, Ying Chen continued forward and soon reached the deepest part of the main hall.
At this point, a high platform could be seen at the deepest part of the main hall.
The platform was a peculiar, translucent black, as if it were made of black jade.
Upon the platform, a sarcophagus lay quietly.
There were no protective measures around the sarcophagus; it was simply placed in the center of the platform.
As for the material of the sarcophagus, it was impossible to tell at first glance.
It wasn't until Elder Dong took out his camera, zoomed in with the lens, and carefully observed the details of the sarcophagus that he exclaimed, "This sarcophagus... seems to be made of bamboo! But I can't be sure, as I've never seen such a large piece of bamboo that could be formed into a whole sarcophagus and carved!"
"Huh? There are bamboo leaves at the bottom of the sarcophagus! The bamboo leaves are still a vibrant green, as if they haven't withered at all, but have been alive and growing for over a thousand years!"
"This is bizarre. How could this happen? The entire tomb is devoid of sunlight and moisture. Even if bamboo, a plant, has a low demand for sunlight and water, it wouldn't be completely unnecessary!"
"Incomprehensible, utterly incomprehensible..."
Elder Dong muttered to himself, shaking his head repeatedly.
Clearly, the appearance of the bamboo coffin had unsettled even Elder Dong, an experienced and knowledgeable archaeologist.
Wang Zizai and Professor Li also showed expressions of surprise.
Bamboo coffins were not unheard of, but they were used for the burial of the poor.
How could a truly wealthy and noble person use a bamboo coffin?
They would more likely use precious wood, such as golden nanmu.
Zhang Daoling was, after all, the founder of a sect. He couldn't possibly be so poor that he couldn't afford a golden nanmu coffin, could he?
Only Ying Chen looked calmly at the bamboo coffin on the high platform.
In the eyes of Elder Dong and the other two, it was just a bamboo coffin. But in Ying Chen's eyes, it was a magical artifact!
The entire sarcophagus was indeed made entirely of bamboo, as Elder Dong had said. However, this bamboo was not the ordinary bamboo that Elder Dong assumed!
It was Phoenix Feather Golden Thunder Bamboo!
Legend had it that this type of bamboo was where phoenixes dwelled. The phoenixes often resided there, and the bamboo grew by relying on the nirvana power that flowed from the phoenixes themselves.
When it grew to a certain extent, the bamboo would, at the stroke of midnight on a certain night, receive the baptism of heavenly thunder.
After the heavenly thunder, the bamboo would turn a翠 gold color, possessing both the power of thunder and the power of nirvana.
When made into magical artifacts, they were incredibly powerful, belonging to the top tier of magical artifacts.
Of course, this was just a legend. Ying Chen didn't know how the true Phoenix Feather Golden Thunder Bamboo grew.
However, Ying Chen had encountered and destroyed magical artifacts made from Phoenix Feather Golden Thunder Bamboo several times.
He could only say that artifacts made from Phoenix Feather Golden Thunder Bamboo were strong enough, but they couldn't compare to truly ultimate innate magical artifacts.
Therefore, Ying Chen hadn't paid much attention to Phoenix Feather Golden Thunder Bamboo before.
But now, Zhang Daoling's sarcophagus had shocked him.
Because even Ying Chen had never seen anyone so extravagant as to use an entire stalk of Phoenix Feather Golden Thunder Bamboo to craft a whole sarcophagus!
Ying Chen looked at Zhang Daoling's sarcophagus with only one expression in his eyes.
Money!
All money!
Even if Ying Chen didn't need this sarcophagus made of Phoenix Feather Golden Thunder Bamboo, he could split it open and make countless magical artifacts!
For example, he could split it into ninety-nine eighty-one parts and make ninety-nine eighty-one flying swords, and then Ying Chen could form a Hun Tian Sword Formation.
With the sword formation unleashed, no matter who the opponent was, they would die under a barrage of piercing swords.
"This trip was not in vain, not in vain!"
"Zhang Daoling, good brother, I'll remember you!"
Ying Chen couldn't help but exclaim.
And if Zhang Daoling knew this, he would definitely jump out of his coffin and slap Ying Chen hard.
Who the hell is your good brother?