Li Miao opened his eyes, not returning the greeting, and said indifferently, "I'm a wanderer of the martial world, without much fame, so it's natural that Chief Lao wouldn't recognize me."
"Li Miao, at your service."
Lao Qifeng searched his mind but had no impression whatsoever, which made him even more curious.
He naturally didn't believe that Yin Minjun was truly not participating. So the reason for her change in attitude must lie with these "two martial world friends."
However, masters in the martial world usually become famous in their twenties. Li Miao looked to be in his early thirties, and if his internal cultivation was successful, the nourishment of his True Qi would make him appear younger, meaning his actual age should be estimated even higher.
Someone in their thirties who is still unknown, what kind of person could they be?
One must know that for someone like Li Miao to quietly cultivate martial arts in Shuntian Prefecture and still succeed is highly illogical.
It's a simple principle: if you don't fight, how do you learn to fight?
Cultivating in solitude cannot make one a master. True Qi can be cultivated independently, but moves must gradually grow through one battle after another. There's no one who has become a master by simply practicing against a wooden dummy according to a secret manual, merely imitating.
By their twenties, one's moves should already be proficient, and further intensive training within a sect would yield little improvement. Therefore, sects in this world generally send their disciples down the mountain for tempering when they are in their twenties.
Walking the martial world inevitably leads to battles, and battles can temper one's moves. After completing a circuit and returning, one should have broken free from the rigid patterns of their initial moves.
Feeling curious, Lao Qifeng probed, "Li Daxia, forgive my ignorance, but I haven't heard your name before."
"Tomorrow, we'll be entering the tomb together. Perhaps you could tell us what martial arts you specialize in, so we can understand each other better and assist one another when the time comes."
Li Miao smiled, "I already said I'm a wanderer of the martial world, without fame, so naturally, I'm just an ordinary idler."
"It's just that I'm an old acquaintance of the Hengshan Sect, and it happened to be a good opportunity, so I asked Elder Yin to take me in to see the excitement. I won't hinder any of your affairs."
"As for martial arts…"
Saying this, Li Miao swung a few punches into the air, producing a whooshing sound: "Just ordinary body-tempering techniques, nothing worth mentioning."
Lao Qifeng observed and indeed saw that it was not a very profound body-tempering technique, barely reaching the second-rate level in the martial world.
His mind settled. After a few polite words, he said no more.
"Perhaps he really is just an old acquaintance of the Hengshan Sect. I wonder how much he helped the Hengshan Sect to be treated with such respect."
"Never mind. As long as his martial arts are not strong, there's no need to pay too much attention. Once inside the tomb, where the sun doesn't shine, it will ultimately come down to a true test of skill."
Another hour passed, and everyone finally reached an agreement.
Tomorrow, each family would send five experts of second-rate or higher into the tomb. Independent experts, as long as their martial arts were second-rate or above, could also follow. Once inside, they would first assist each other in exploring the tomb. After finding the Jia Yi Divine Skill, it would be a free-for-all.
Whoever could exit the tomb door with the Jia Yi Divine Skill would claim it. Once outside the tomb door, no one was allowed to contend for it.
Everyone else would remain outside, guarding the perimeter, allowing no one to enter or exit.
Regardless of the outcome, favorable or unfavorable, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. They rose one after another to bid farewell to Yin Minjun, returning to prepare and arrange their personnel.
In a flash, it was the next day, and everyone gathered at the entrance of the tomb.
The Beggar Clan, Cao Gang, Emei Sect, Qingcheng, and Kongtong each sent five people, along with three independent first-rate masters.
Adding Li Miao, Yongjie, and Yin Minjun, there were a total of thirty-one people selected to enter the tomb this time.
It was already getting late. Everyone brought some dried food and water and then entered the tomb, with Li Miao and the other two following at the rear.
As soon as they entered the tomb, Yin Minjun involuntarily shivered.
This was because the walls on both sides of the tomb passage and the ground were densely covered with crawling insects!
A few people walking in front, not paying attention, heard a "squish, squish" sound under their feet, having unknowingly stepped on countless insects.
No matter how high Yin Minjun's martial arts were, she was still a woman and somewhat afraid of insects, so she instinctively hid behind Li Miao.
This was not to say that after only two days, Yin Minjun had come to rely on Li Miao.
Firstly, Deng Boxuan had praised Li Miao too much. Even if Yin Minjun only believed three to five tenths of it, Li Miao was still a rare heroic figure in the world.
Secondly, when Li Miao prevented her from kneeling yesterday, he used True Qi to support her from a distance. An expert recognizes the essence, and as a first-rate master, Yin Minjun naturally perceived the vastness of that True Qi. And martial artists admire masters the most.
Combining these two factors, it was no wonder that Yin Minjun subconsciously developed a sense of admiration for Li Miao.
Li Miao smiled silently and casually flicked a stream of True Qi, hitting Yin Minjun on the side of her neck.
It was precisely the "Ice Soul Divine Palm" that he had used to calm Jiao Qingfeng in Tai'an City, bone-chillingly cold. Yin Minjun shivered from the stimulation and subsequently calmed down.
"Elder Yin is also a renowned first-rate master, and you're still afraid of insects?" Li Miao said with a smile.
"You're making fun of me, sir…" Yin Minjun's face flushed slightly.
The Hengshan Sect was mostly composed of women, a rare major sect in the martial world primarily made up of female disciples. She had entered the sect since childhood and, although beautiful, had never experienced intimacy.
Moreover, she had good aptitude, became famous at a young age, and held a high position, so few men in the martial world could catch her eye.
Li Miao's martial arts were unfathomable, and he was praised to the heavens by the Sect Leader. His appearance was also heroic, making him one of the rare men who could completely surpass her. At this moment, hearing Li Miao's teasing, she naturally felt somewhat shy.
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"No worries. But this is the Miao King's Tomb, and later on, not to mention ordinary venomous insects, even Gu worms might not be uncommon."
"Elder Yin should be mentally prepared, lest you lose your composure and get injured, which wouldn't be good."
Li Miao said with a smile.
"Yes…" Yin Minjun replied softly.
Everyone continued forward and soon reached the point where previous groups had been forced to retreat.
Upon reaching this point, the creatures crawling around were no longer ordinary insects but venomous insects that would actively attack.
Fortunately, the people who entered this time were at least second-rate masters, and they all took action, clearing the ground of venomous insects in less than an hour.
However, at this point, there was no path forward.
Lao Qifeng stepped forward to examine it. Blocking their way was a massive, smoothly chiseled stone, clearly placed there by the tomb owner as an obstruction.
He channeled his True Qi and struck the massive stone with a palm.
Bang!!
The impact was immense, sending stone fragments flying for a moment, leaving a palm print on the surface.
Lao Qifeng frowned.
This massive stone was a single piece, and from the sound, it was at least three to four feet thick.
This thickness meant it couldn't be broken apart by human effort in a short time.
He looked around, struck the surrounding walls a few times, then lowered his head in thought for a moment before turning back and speaking.
"This place shouldn't be a dead end. I think there must be a mechanism to open this stone wall."
"Let's each go explore the surrounding tomb chambers to see if we can discover anything."