Supreme Emptiness

On both sides of the secret chamber, countless holes were chiseled.

Inside, various sizes of spirit tablets were displayed.

The materials of the spirit tablets were quite high-grade.

Nonetheless, most were decayed beyond recognition.

Some had even completely crumbled into dust.

It was worth noting.

The wood in that hidden space near the Great Wall, despite enduring the erosion of a thousand years, had only become incredibly fragile.

The spirit tablets before him must have existed for even longer than a millennium.

At this moment.

Jiang Fan noticed a spirit tablet that was relatively well-preserved.

He activated his eyesight to examine the inscriptions on it.

At first glance, he couldn't help but be slightly startled.

The writing on it was extremely distorted.

It was neither from the Human Clan nor the Demon Race.

Instead, it resembled the inscriptions on the Hell Beast Bronze Artifact.

He instinctively asked, "Senior Sister Wu, what kind of script is engraved here?"

"Did that notebook mention it?"

If there were any clues, they could break the code of the inscriptions on the bronze artifact.

"Do you think I'd tell you?"

Her mocking hum echoed from afar.

Jiang Fan glanced at the footprints left in the dust on the ground.

The two of them had already gone deeper.

Jiang Fan had no choice but to suppress the questions rising in his heart.

He carefully stepped on their footprints and followed cautiously.

The secret chamber was narrow and winding.

Twisting and turning, it was much like a coiled mosquito coil.

Along the way, the stone walls were carved with rows and rows of spirit tablets.

"Who carved these spirit tablets here?"

"And when were they chiseled out?"

Jiang Fan's expression revealed a contemplative look.

What kind of place was the underground world of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion?

Why were there traces of activities by beings from other races?

Isn't this supposed to be Human Clan territory?

Just then.

He suddenly noticed that the footprints of the two halted abruptly.

A surge of caution filled his heart, and he flashed to the side, clinging to the stone wall on guard.

Focusing his gaze.

The narrow secret chamber ahead suddenly opened up into a wider space.

Faint streaks of green ghostly light flickered in the dimness, appearing eerily strange.

Jiang Fan scanned the footprints of the two.

It seemed as though they were wary of something, hesitant to move recklessly.

Jiang Fan decided it was best to stay put as well.

But as his thoughts turned, he pondered deeply, "Little Qilin, where are they now?"

The Little Qilin replied, "They've already gone beyond the chamber ahead, heading deeper inside."

So, the two had deliberately feigned hesitation here to deceive Jiang Fan into not advancing.

"The way these two cooperate so seamlessly—there must be some method they're using to communicate secretly without my notice."

Jiang Fan mused silently.

Since they were playing tricks, Jiang Fan wouldn't hold back either.

He immediately retrieved the Purple Sword.

Under the effect of the Dustless Talisman, anything Jiang Fan touched also entered an invisibility state.

He performed the Sword Control Technique and was surprised to find that the Dustless Talisman even concealed the fluctuations of Spiritual Power.

This Dustless Talisman truly was a valuable artifact.

Far more practical than the Turtle Breath Cloak.

If the chance arose, he absolutely had to acquire more.

Guiding the Flying Sword cautiously three feet ahead of his body.

And moving toward the spacious chamber ahead.

With a passing glance, his eyes widened in shock.

This chamber resembled a communal dining hall.

Stone benches and stone chairs were scattered around.

On a chair in the corner, someone—or something—was sitting, its back turned toward him.

A skeletal figure, resembling but not entirely human.

Its form was strikingly similar to human beings.

However.

Its skull had two sharp horns.

It resembled the humanoid forms of the Demon Race.

Jiang Fan cautiously moved closer.

He observed that the skeleton was slumped over the table, its hands cupped as though holding something.

Whatever had been in its palms was no longer there.

Considering how some senior disciples had gained treasures and broken through to the Ninth Layer of Core Formation.

He supposed it must have been taken by one of the senior disciples.

Based on this assumption, Wu Manyue and Ren Guhong didn't bother inspecting the skeleton, opting instead to head straight into the deepest area.

Clearly, there was something even more significant inside.

They didn't want to waste time on a skeleton that had already been scavenged.

Jiang Fan, however, pondered quietly.

"This skeleton, unmarred by the passage of time, must have been an exceptionally powerful being in life."

"The object it held, even after endless ages, likely retained miraculous effects."

"If there are any remaining items, they must be extraordinary as well."

With this thought, he took out a strand of Heavenly Mountain Silk and used it to wrap around the skeleton from a distance.

Then he retreated further, ready to flee at a moment's notice.

And gave the silk a tug.

The skeleton didn't budge.

"This skeleton is quite heavy!"

"Even for a Demon Race skeleton, this weight is unusual."

Activating his Physique's strength, he pulled hard.

Crash—

The skeleton immediately disintegrated.

After all, it had been lifeless for over a thousand years.

Just like the wood from that secret space, it appeared untouched, but crumbled easily when exerted upon.

Seeing no traps nearby.

Jiang Fan finally moved closer and began searching through the pile of bones.

Aside from some fabric scraps from decayed clothing, there was nothing else to find.

Clearly, the skeleton had been thoroughly scavenged by that senior disciple back then.

He couldn't help but feel some disappointment.

But suddenly.

He sensed something was amiss.

Taking a few steps back.

He reexamined the skeleton and its surroundings.

Eventually, he noticed something peculiar.

When the heavy skeleton fell apart.

The stone bench it had been sitting on seemed to have risen slightly.

"Could there be something underneath the bench that's lifting it up?"

Jiang Fan used the Heavenly Mountain Silk to wrap around the stone bench.

From a distance, he pulled the bench down, revealing its base.

A burst of blood-red light shot out from within the bench's base.

There really was something hidden!

Jiang Fan moved closer to inspect.

Underneath the bench, he found an elastic, red, gel-like substance.

When the heavy skeleton fell.

The gel-like substance had pushed the stone bench upward.

Simultaneously.

Within the gel-like substance, Jiang Fan faintly saw a black scripture scroll.

The scripture bore Buddhist Path Sanskrit inscriptions.

Jiang Fan looked astonished.

"Why would an ancient tomb of another race contain items from the Human Clan's Buddhism?"

What was even more bizarre.

Was that the scripture scroll was black.

Buddhism was majestic and sacred, upright and luminous. Its artifacts and texts were typically gold, white, red, or other bold colors.

A black scripture stood in stark contrast to the typical style of Buddhism.

Clang—

Suddenly.

From the other end of the chamber came the sound of a long, narrow passage leading deeper inward.

Intense combat erupted within.

Jiang Fan didn't have time to study the black Buddhist scripture.

He hastily threw it into the Heavenly Thunder Stone.

After confirming there was nothing else near the skeleton, he restored the stone bench.

Then he soared forward using Sword Control Technique.

Sizzle—

Just as he rounded a corner.

A bolt of Thunder Arc surged toward him.

Jiang Fan reacted quickly, grabbing it and channeling his internal Thunder Power to neutralize it.

Focusing his gaze.

Within the narrow tunnel ahead.

A blood-soaked humanoid creature with sharp teeth and horns on its head was viciously battling two wisps of seemingly empty air.

From the air emerged Thunder Path and Fire Dao Divine Skills.

Each strike landed heavily on the corpse, eliciting painful howls, which only enraged its ferocity even more.

Its clawed hands, adorned with black fingernails, swiped fiercely.

The stone walls on the side were torn apart like soft tofu.

Jiang Fan's eyelid twitched.

The power of that swipe rivaled the Ninth Layer of Core Formation.

He shifted his gaze to the blood corpse's rear.

Near the corner ahead, a slightly broader chamber could faintly be seen.

It seemed that Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue had startled the blood corpse when approaching that chamber.

Years ago, that senior disciple likely encountered the chamber but fled from the blood corpse out of desperation.

Jiang Fan stole another glance at the two invisible presences fighting fiercely against the blood corpse.

His lips curled into a subtle smirk:

"You two can take your time fighting."

"I'll see what treasures there are first."

Silently, he guided his Flying Sword.

And glided over their heads.