"Empty!?"
Upon hearing this, Lao Qifeng disregarded everything else, used his light-body skill to leap across the platform, landed on the coffin, and looked inside.
He saw that the coffin was indeed completely empty, not even a cenotaph; there was absolutely nothing inside.
"This... could it be a 'decoy coffin'?"
Lao Qifeng said in surprise.
When high officials and nobles were buried, they would also guard against their tombs being dug up by grave robbers.
This "decoy coffin" was one such method, referring to placing an empty coffin in the tomb, or directly building another tomb, to make it difficult for grave robbers to determine where the tomb owner was actually buried.
In chapter seventy-eight of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," this matter was mentioned: "(Cao Cao) left a dying wish to set up seventy-two decoy tombs outside the Military Training City in Zhangde Prefecture.", "Do not let future generations know my burial place, lest it be excavated by others."
However, although Lao Qifeng reacted, he couldn't help but turn back to look at the bodies kneeling on the ground, choked with emotion for a moment.
These young girls, at the age of twelve or thirteen, had their facial features gouged out, then endured two or three years of torture, and were trapped to death in this tomb.
Was it just for a decoy coffin!?
What kind of beast was this Miao King!
"Amitabha." Yongjie sighed.
Fearing that his voice would be recognized, he had not spoken at all on this journey. He stepped forward to the side of the bodies, placed one hand on a body's head, held the other hand upright before his chest, and began silently chanting sutras for their salvation.
"Heh, it's not surprising." Li Miao snorted coldly.
"There's a reason why Witchcraft has been suppressed by successive dynasties. Dealing with flesh and blood, and poisonous insects all day, raising insects on oneself, making oneself neither human nor ghost—what good could come of it?"
"Let's first open the coffin and see if we can find any clues for an exit."
Upon hearing this, Lao Qifeng reacted, his anger still not subsided. He suddenly lifted the coffin lid and tossed it aside.
He jumped into the coffin, squatted down, and examined it from side to side.
"Huh?"
He seemed to have discovered something and quickly shouted, asking a Beggar Clan disciple to throw over a torch. He then carefully looked with the help of the torchlight.
"Li Daxia... come and see." He pointed to a spot on the coffin wall.
Li Miao stepped forward and took a look.
On that coffin wall, there were hundreds of dense, pale scratches.
From the look of it... they seemed to be made by fingernails.
Li Miao squatted down, ran his finger across the bottom of the coffin, rubbed his fingers together, and his brows furrowed.
"Corpse oil. This is not a decoy coffin."
At this time, everyone who had followed in also approached, but they did not step onto the platform. Hearing Li Miao's words, they were all surprised.
"If it's not a decoy coffin, where's the body?" The Head of Kongtong Sect asked.
"This coffin is locked with iron chains. Even if the person inside was feigning death, they couldn't have escaped."
Li Miao shook his head: "I don't know."
"We're not here to rob a tomb. Let's put this matter aside and see if there are any other clues in this coffin."
With that, Li Miao and Lao Qifeng thoroughly inspected the coffin from top to bottom, but found nothing else.
Aside from the eerie scratches and corpse oil inside, this seemed to be just an ordinary, well-made coffin.
Li Miao and Lao Qifeng descended with their light-body skill, and other persistent individuals also went up to inspect it, but found nothing at all.
Li Miao rubbed his fingers, examining the hall from side to side.
Lao Qifeng walked over and quietly said to Li Miao: "Li Daxia, what should we do?"
After the previous incidents, Lao Qifeng had already understood that Li Miao was their reliance for getting out. Moreover, his martial arts were not inferior to his.
At this moment, while everyone was taking turns inspecting the coffin, he secretly came over to discuss countermeasures with Li Miao.
"Everyone present has their own intentions. Food is insufficient. If we are trapped here for a day, morale will begin to crumble, and at that point, blood will likely be shed."
"If Li Daxia finds anything, whether confirmed or not, please say it first. With hope, we can persist a little longer."
Li Miao turned to look at him, just about to speak.
"Shen Ziyang, you!"
But then, an exclamation came from behind!
Li Miao suddenly turned his head, only to see someone had already stepped one foot onto the platform where the coffin was placed.
The Head of Kongtong Sect cried out in alarm, flashing forward to stop him, but it was too late.
The bodies kneeling below the platform had already raised their heads, their hollowed-out facial features all opening at once.
Just at this instant!
Pfft!
Blood splattered!
Yin Minjun sealed the person's throat with a sword, slicing it open and severing the person's head.
Then she flashed forward and, with a single palm strike, sent the headless body flying, preventing him from taking a second step.
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The Ming Cult had just been half-killed by Li Miao, and then a Miao King's Tomb containing a divine skill appeared, which was too strange. Li Miao naturally had his guard up.
Li Miao had been falling behind, talking with Yin Minjun, and had already told her some things, including being prepared for the appearance of a traitor.
Just now, Elder Yin saw that person pacing back and forth, walking around with his head down, acting suspiciously. She had already become suspicious and secretly used the crowd for cover to get behind that person. Indeed, he had ill intentions!
If he had fully stepped onto that platform, and the Witchcraft worms erupted, seventy or eighty percent of those present would likely have died.
"Whose disciple is this!" Yin Minjun shouted loudly.
"It's Shen Ziyang of the Qingcheng Sect!" The Head of Kongtong Sect said, turning to look at Sect Leader Hao, his hostility already fully apparent.
He had noticed the abnormality just now and tried to stop it but was too late. At this moment, a wave of fear, followed by anger, washed over him. He almost couldn't resist fighting with the Qingcheng Sect.
The incident just now happened too suddenly. Everyone only reacted now, stepping forward to surround the remaining four members of the Qingcheng Sect.
"Sect Leader Hao, what's going on?"
Lao Qifeng stepped forward, glanced at the body on the ground, and turned to look at Sect Leader Hao.
"Those who can enter this tomb are all second-rate or above, and they are chosen personally by the heads of each family."
"This Shen Ziyang, he seems to be your personal disciple, Sect Leader Hao, isn't he?"
"If Elder Yin hadn't intervened just now, most of those present would have been killed by your disciple... Sect Leader Hao, you need to give everyone a reasonable explanation."
Sect Leader Hao's face was even paler at this moment. He looked at his three remaining disciples, his mind racing, but he didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Then he heard Li Miao's voice from behind him.
"Perhaps it's not a matter of the Qingcheng Sect; someone might have harmed this Qingcheng disciple."
Lao Qifeng suddenly turned his head to look at Li Miao.
Li Miao was now squatting beside the headless body, his fingers curled into a claw, and with a ripping sound, he tore open the clothing on the body's back.
He saw that on the body's shoulder, a sword wound was revealed, slowly oozing blood.
Li Miao joined his palms like a knife and suddenly plunged them into the body's chest. After fumbling for a moment, he pulled out a struggling, hissing insect.
Li Miao casually crushed the insect, threw it to the ground, and turned to look at everyone.
"Someone secretly wounded this disciple and put a Witchcraft worm into his body."
"With the Witchcraft worm inside him, he stepped onto the platform in a dazed state."