Seeing the abnormal reaction of the demon puppets, Ying Chen's eyes flickered. He neither spoke nor did anything.
These two demon puppets must know something.
It was only after hearing Ying Chen's so-called "Age of Dharma Decline" that they had the desire to escape.
This means that the Age of Dharma Decline might be an age of death for them!
But why were they fine after being sealed for over a thousand years, only to face death in this era?
There must be a reason for this!
And the instigator of this reason must be the owner of this underground palace tomb, Zhang Daoling.
Ying Chen remained calm, his gaze shifting away from the demon puppets.
The two demon puppets were now in a state of confusion and no longer posed a threat.
Instead, the phoenix feather and golden thunder bamboo coffin on the high platform, and the sundial below it, had many strange features.
Most importantly, Ying Chen's true purpose for excavating the Lei Tai Han Tomb was for the Twelve Zodiac Xuan Yin Bells!
But so far, Ying Chen had not found any trace of the Twelve Zodiac Xuan Yin Bells.
Could they have been taken into the coffin by Zhang Daoling?
With many questions in his mind, Ying Chen's gaze frequently moved between the coffin and the sundial.
Meanwhile, the three elders, Dong, quickly recovered from their previous fear and began to study the sundial.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the sundial was entirely made of jade, with twelve hours corresponding to jade stones of different depths of color.
The craftsmanship of the entire sundial was exquisite, truly a work of art.
The gnomon of the sundial seemed to be not a common gnomon, but something shaped like a flying sword.
The sword body was inscribed with characters such as "Zi Fu Jin Dan" (Purple Mansion Golden Elixir).
"It seems to be Zhang Daoling's Zi Fu Heavenly Master Sword?" Wang Zizai said, glancing at the gnomon.
Legend has it that Zhang Daoling had forged a flying sword in his lifetime, but it was abandoned with his death before it was fully refined.
That flying sword was later called the Zi Fu Heavenly Master Sword by later generations.
Although no one had seen this sword with their own eyes, no one dared to question its power.
After all, it was refined by Zhang Daoling using the spiritual energy of the Nine Peaks of the Purple Mansion.
It was said that once the sword's brilliance was unleashed, nine purple mountain peaks would appear, carrying the power to uproot mountains and overturn seas to suppress enemies.
Of course, this was only "said," as the sword had been abandoned due to Zhang Daoling's death, and it was unknown whether it was finally refined.
He never expected that this sword would be brought into the tomb by Zhang Daoling and become the gnomon of the sundial!
Or, perhaps, from the beginning, this sword was not a flying sword as everyone imagined, but a gnomon!
If that were the case, then this sundial before them would be exceptionally significant.
Otherwise, Zhang Daoling would not have gone to such great lengths to forge such a powerful gnomon!
"I guess... the reason this sundial can tell time without relying on sunlight is most likely because of this gnomon."
"It's just that I can't see through the working principle of this gnomon," Wang Zizai said, shaking his head.
At this moment, Ying Chen walked forward and glanced casually at the gnomon.
"There's no profound principle. It merely uses the gnomon to absorb the power of the eight divisions and ten thousand demon puppets, providing a continuous source of power for the entire sundial!"
"In other words, it's just a continuously running hourglass. In terms of actual technical content, it's probably not as good as modern clocks." Ying Chen sneered.
After all, clocks and watches can be made and used by ordinary people without any cultivation.
But Zhang Daoling's sundial could not.
First, you need ten thousand demon puppets, second, you need to be able to forge a magical artifact like the Zi Fu Heavenly Master Sword, and third, you need to use a Qiankun formation to create a dial.
These three points are indispensable.
So, this thing looks very imposing and very impressive, but in reality, its technical content is just so-so.
It's like assembling the world's top scientific technology to create a device for drilling wood to make fire.
When you look at this device separately, each component is amazing.
But when integrated, it is something from the Stone Age.
"..." Wang Zizai and the other two all felt their foreheads darken upon hearing Ying Chen's evaluation.
Although they understood what Ying Chen meant, they couldn't just negate the value of this thing.
If it were presented to the public intact, they believed the public would be shocked and amazed!
The state would immediately list it as a top national treasure prohibited from being exhibited abroad!
After all, no matter what, this was the first Oriental clock in the world, dating back eighteen hundred years, that could tell time without relying on sunlight!
However, the moment Wang Zizai and the other two thought of "giving it to the state and listing it as a national treasure," Ying Chen's actions shattered their thoughts.
Ying Chen casually reached out and grabbed the gnomon: "The only thing of value in this entire sundial is this. Although it was not one hundred percent refined, it is still a magical artifact of considerable power. When the opportunity arises in the future, it can be completed, allowing the world to know its name and glory."
"No!" Wang Zizai and the other two quickly stopped him.
Without this gnomon, the entire sundial would lose its value, and how could it be exhibited to the public?
How could they boast to the world that it was the first Oriental clock in the world to operate without sunlight?
Ying Chen saw their thoughts and chuckled: "You've taken photos, you've taken videos, you have enough evidence. The rest is just to make a replica gnomon, which shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
"Moreover, once these demon puppets shatter, the gnomon will automatically lose its power source and stop running. It will be no different from me taking the gnomon."
"You can completely claim that the change in the underground palace environment has destroyed the operating principle of the gnomon! This kind of thing is common in your archaeology field, so I don't need to remind you, do I?"
Hearing Ying Chen's words, Wang Zizai and the other two exchanged glances.
If they didn't know better, they would think Ying Chen was the archaeology expert!
He was so clear about the intricacies of archaeology!
"Alright." Finally, the three compromised.
After all, Ying Chen was the major investor!
Ying Chen was the one who truly opened and explored the tomb!
Without Ying Chen, Wang Zizai and the other two wouldn't even find the tomb!
Even if they found it, they wouldn't survive!
Thinking about it this way, let alone taking a gnomon, even taking the entire sundial and moving all the demon puppets home would be perfectly fine for Ying Chen!
Seeing their tacit agreement, Ying Chen then reached for the gnomon again.
He was preparing to take this Zi Fu Heavenly Master Sword into his possession for use after the spiritual energy of the world revived.
However, before Ying Chen's fingers could touch the gnomon, as he released a trace of power, the gnomon suddenly trembled violently.
At the same time, the shadow of the needle on the dial began to rotate rapidly, instantly shifting from Zi Shi (11 PM - 1 AM) to Hai Shi (9 PM - 11 PM), completing a full day's cycle in an instant.
And in the void, a bell sound rang out.
Each bell sound carried a different melody, as if possessing a terrifying magic, piercing the eardrums and striking the heart!