At this moment, the corpse puppet had opened its eyes, its crimson glow shooting out three feet, filled with boundless cruelty.
It raised its arm and lunged towards Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan slashed out with his sword, and with a *puff*, he actually severed the corpse puppet's right arm, causing blood to spurt out.
But strangely, this blood did not fall to the ground. Instead, it floated in mid-air, then transformed into an extremely dense Yin Sha demonic energy, which instantly surged into Zhou Yan's body.
*Hummm~~*
Instantly, Zhou Yan felt all his pores open, greedily absorbing this demonic energy. His entire body felt warm, incomparably comfortable, and his cultivation speed was more than ten times faster than usual.
"As expected, this is good stuff."
Zhou Yan clicked his tongue inwardly. If not for the guards outside, he would have killed all these corpse puppets long ago.
However, it was almost time now.
*Bang!*
Zhou Yan leaped out, kicking several corpse puppets away.
"Roar—"
These corpse puppets roared in anger, their roars deafening, carrying boundless malevolence as they madly pounced towards Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan snorted coldly, his long sword sweeping horizontally, its blade sharp, like a shimmering ribbon cutting through the void.
Several corpse puppets shattered upon impact, turning into masses of grayish-white powder that drifted in the air.
At the same time, the black jade detached itself from the corpse puppet and fell directly into Zhou Yan's hand.
As soon as the black jade was in his grasp, it felt bone-chillingly cold, as if he were holding a piece of thousand-year-old cold iron.
"This black jade... seems to have a connection with me."
Zhou Yan murmured, "Perhaps, this is the legendary opportunity."
Thinking this, Zhou Yan couldn't help but smile. He put away the black jade and turned towards another bronze coffin.
This coffin also contained a corpse puppet, but compared to the previous ones, this one was slightly weaker.
Zhou Yan dealt with this corpse puppet effortlessly and then collected the black jade.
Entering the ancient tomb this time, besides finding some elixirs, he had also successfully obtained a black jade, making the trip worthwhile.
Zhou Yan surveyed his surroundings and continued to explore deeper.
"Hmm?"
Zhou Yan suddenly realized that this great hall did not just contain six bronze coffins.
On the left side of the hall, there was another passage leading deeper, which appeared particularly eerie.
Zhou Yan hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and stepped inside.
*Crunch!*
As his foot landed on the passage, a faint crisp sound immediately echoed.
In the quiet environment, this sound was extremely clear, sending a shiver down one's spine.
The passage was very long. Zhou Yan walked for hundreds of meters, and his vision suddenly opened up.
It was a huge stone chamber.
Various sacrificial items were placed in the stone chamber.
"Husband, what is this place? It looks a bit terrifying." Diao Chan looked around, feeling that this place was not simple.
"This is a place of sacrifice. This should be the tomb of a divine royal family," Zhou Yan replied after a moment of thought.
"Ah? Then we've intruded into a tomb? That's not very good, is it?" Diao Chan listened, looked around carefully, and seemed to sense an uneasy aura.
Zhou Yan chuckled, patted Diao Chan's shoulder, and said softly, "What are you afraid of? I'm here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw chains hanging in the corners of the stone chamber.
At the ends of these chains were stone tables, stone chairs, and stone cauldrons.
Zhou Yan approached and saw that the stone tables were inscribed with dense patterns.
These patterns were extremely complex, crisscrossing each other like a spiderweb, covering the entire stone chamber and exuding an arcane aura.
"This... is the Art of Grand Dao Inscription?"
Zhou Yan was startled.
The Art of Inscription was a powerful secret technique recorded in martial arts manuals, possessing numerous incredible and magical effects.
For example, an ordinary silver coin, if embedded in an inscription array, could unleash an attack power comparable to Innate True Qi.
The stronger the inscription, the greater the attack power unleashed.
Inscription was an extremely rare cultivation method; one in ten thousand cultivators might not cultivate it.
Zhou Yan had read many classics about inscription and knew that its power was immense, even stronger than some low-level martial arts. Moreover, the Art of Inscription was extremely difficult to learn.
Even a master of inscription would need to spend a long time in arduous practice to even get a glimpse of it and achieve some success.
"It seems the owner of this cave mansion was a master of inscription."
Zhou Yan guessed inwardly, then walked towards a stone table.
On the stone table lay a golden booklet.
Zhou Yan opened it and found that it was indeed an inscription technique, and moreover, a top-tier one, the "Nine Heavens Inscription."
Inscriptions were divided into nine tiers.
The lowest tier of inscription was simply carving arrays to enhance the offensive and defensive capabilities of martial arts;
Mid-tier inscriptions were for reinforcing talismans, making them as hard as metal;
High-tier inscriptions included amplification talismans, armor talismans, and even summoning talismans...
Each tier of inscription had extremely profound effects, magnificent and breathtaking.
Unfortunately, the methods for creating these inscriptions were all lost. Most of the inscriptions circulating in the market now were of the lowest level and had little value.
However, Zhou Yan was still delighted.
He collected them all, intending to give them to the inscription masters in his territory later.
With inscriptions, his strength would definitely advance by leaps and bounds.
Furthermore, this was a fifth-tier inscription technique, enough for the inscription masters in his territory to study for a period of time.
"Husband, how do you know this is an inscription technique?" Diao Chan asked with a puzzled expression.
"Hehe, didn't you forget? I am a grandmaster of inscription. I can carve inscriptions with my eyes closed," Zhou Yan said with a faint smile. "With just a glance, I can determine that this is a top-tier inscription technique, the 'Nine Heavens Inscription.'"
"I see." Diao Chan suddenly understood, then couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of you, husband, to even understand top-tier inscription techniques!"
Zhou Yan chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.
Then, he walked to the stone wall and examined it closely.
"What is carved on this stone wall?"
Zhou Yan was curious and began to examine the stone wall. After a moment, he frowned, "Something's wrong! This is an illusion!"
The patterns on the stone wall depicted a strange scene: a humanoid monster was madly chasing a figure.
The figure was being pursued and was desperately fleeing.
Although the figure was running, it showed no panic and was extremely fast, disappearing from the stone wall in the blink of an eye.
"Is that..."
Zhou Yan's gaze sharpened. He saw that the figure was enveloped in a faint blue light. Vaguely, wisps of water vapor seemed to emanate from within the figure, condensing behind it and forming a pair of blue wings, half a zhang long.
"Could this be a treasure robe?" Zhou Yan looked at this treasure, his heart pounding.