Chapter 4, Unexpected Encounter

"No response? Could it be asleep?" Li Yan waited for a while, and seeing that the figure remained motionless, he called out a few more times. However, the figure still did not respond, so Li Yan mustered his courage and walked towards the figure.

I thought it was a zombie, but it turned out to just be a slight movement. Even in death, it cannot find peace, truly scared me to death. Li Yan murmured a few words softly, then began to dig a hole beside the corpse, preparing to bury it.

Hehe, it really is a mechanism!" Li Yan chuckled lightly, then stood up and walked towards the stone door. As he stepped through the stone door, Li Yan's field of vision suddenly widened.

Ah, my head hurts! After a wave of dizziness, Li Yan came to his senses and found himself in a dimly lit place. He rubbed his aching head and, after glancing around at the pitch-black surroundings, he softly murmured to himself, "Where is this place?"

Hmm? Suddenly, Li Yan in the water frowned, feeling as if something was tugging at him from beneath the surface.

This place was shrouded in darkness, devoid of any light. After a considerable amount of time, Li Yan gradually adapted to the surrounding darkness and was able to discern the situation around him to a slight extent, and then he began to survey his surroundings.

"Why is there nothing at all?" After opening the scroll, Li Yan discovered that the painting was completely blank, with nothing on it, leaving him in a state of confusion.

Is there a door?" He reached out to touch the stone door, and Li Yan frowned slightly. He felt that this stone door should be very heavy, making it almost impossible to open by external force. At the very least, with his current strength, it was impossible to force it open.

"Hello, are you still alive?" Li Yan approached the figure from behind, patted him on the shoulder, and said without any courtesy.

Suddenly, a tremendous suction force erupted from beneath the water pool, instantly pulling Li Yan down, and then he briefly lost consciousness

Bang! Originally, Li Yan thought that this person was either meditating or asleep, and he was prepared to scare him a little. However, he did not expect that with this one clap, the figure would directly fall towards him, startling him and causing him to instinctively take a few steps back

Looking up at the night sky, Li Yan touched his forehead, still damp with sweat, and glanced at his clothes, already soaked with perspiration, as well as the swollen wounds on the backs of his hands. He couldn't help but chuckle softly, "There is no sun now, and these injuries won't heal today. It seems I won't be able to go home again tonight"

"Is it really a corpse?" After discovering that the figure was a corpse, for some reason, Li Yan felt a sense of relief in his heart. He then took the luminous pearl and turned to walk towards the corpse.

With a clang, after the figure fell, a fist-sized sphere rolled out from his body. As soon as this sphere emerged, it immediately emitted a faint white glow, which then grew brighter and brighter, ultimately surpassing the radiance of the moonstones in the stone chamber.

The further he walked, after about the time it takes to brew a small pot of tea, Li Yan found his way blocked by a stone door.

Why is there no movement again? After a while, Li Yan noticed that the corpse showed no signs of movement, so he mustered his courage and walked towards the corpse once more. Upon discovering that the corpse remained still, he let out a sigh of relief.

Whoosh! Li Yan originally intended to dig a hole on the spot to bury the corpse, but little did he know that as soon as he touched the body, this shriveled corpse suddenly sat up violently. Its two sunken eyes abruptly opened, and a dark red light shot out from them, instantly entering Li Yan's body. This scene unfolded so quickly, in the blink of an eye, that Li Yan himself did not realize that a strange light had entered his body; he was merely startled by the sudden movement of the corpse.

After a chaotic search, Li Yan found only a withered black plaque and an ancient scroll painting on this corpse. The withered black plaque resembled neither gold nor wood, yet it was extremely hard, adorned with some obscure and difficult-to-understand patterns. Li Yan examined it for a while, found it incomprehensible, and casually set it aside before unfolding the ancient scroll painting.

Is this the Night Pearl?" Li Yan looked at the round sphere on the ground, which emitted a soft glow like the moon, and his eyes suddenly brightened. The Night Pearl, this is indeed something of immense value, a single one could be exchanged for a considerable sum.

Bang, bang, bang ... ...

After Li Yan dug the pit, he prepared to bury the corpse. However, as soon as his hand touched the body, it suddenly disintegrated into a pile of dust, leaving only a magnificent black robe behind

Friend, no matter who you were before, now that you have died in this desolate place, it is likely that no one will know. However, it is fortunate that you encountered me; consider it your good luck. Shortly, I will help you erect a grave and bury you, but everything on your person will belong to me, as you cannot take it with you. " Li Yan squatted down and spoke a few words to the corpse before rummaging through its belongings.

At night, in the clearing of the forest, Li Yan continued to practice the punching techniques of the Seven Kill Fist. When his right hand grew tired, he would switch to his left hand, and when his left hand became fatigued, he would revert to his right hand. He practiced in this manner for an entire afternoon, yet he still could not produce the fist wind that Li Tianhong had mentioned.

Li Yan was unaware that the blood flowing from the back of his hand seemed to be pulled by something, rapidly flowing towards the bottom of the pool, where something was emitting a faint glow.

Since he began his cultivation, Li Yan often stays outside for two or three days at a time, so he is not worried about his uncle and aunt being concerned if he does not return for one or two nights. Moreover, there is plenty of food in the forest, so his family does not need to worry about him starving.

This appears to be a cave, albeit somewhat damp, with water covering the ground. Ahead lies a passageway. Li Yan walked along the passage, and with the faint visibility in his eyes, he discovered that the surroundings of this passage bore signs of being artificially excavated. The ground was also made into steps by human hands. Li Yan carefully descended these steps, and the faint echo of his footsteps reverberated within the cave, creating a sense of unease.

This is a very large stone chamber, and it is evident that it has been inhabited. The arrangement inside the cave appears somewhat simple and spacious. Embedded in the walls are numerous moonstones used for illumination, making the brightness of the entire stone chamber akin to that of daytime, clear and unmistakable

"Can't open it? Could there be a mechanism?" Li Yan walked over with a puzzled expression, then began to feel around the edges of the stone door with his hands. Indeed, after a short while, Li Yan discovered a protruding object in a crack of the stone. With a firm press of his hand, he pushed down on the protruding object, and suddenly, the stone door in front of him began to slowly rise.

He quickly took off his clothes and then jumped into the pond with a splash. As soon as he entered the water, a slight pain immediately arose from the wounds on the back of his hand, which were left from long hours of practicing the Seven Kills Fist. Soon, a drop of bright red blood oozed from the wound, merging into the pond.

However, this scroll should be a treasure. This person has been dead for such a long time that the body has turned into a mummy, yet in this dark and damp environment, the scroll has not decayed at all. This indicates that the paper used to create this scroll must be of extraordinary quality, so it should be kept! Although Li Yan was puzzled as to why there was a blank scroll on the corpse, he reasoned that it was indeed a treasure and decisively decided to keep it.

This friend... my name is Li Yan. I do not know how I ended up here, but I accidentally discovered your corpse. Now I am going to bury you, allowing you to rest in peace. As for these two items on you, consider them as my payment for burying you, so that we will owe each other nothing in the future. After placing the two items aside, Li Yan spoke to the corpse once more, and while speaking, he clumsily began to drag the body.

The pond water is very clear, illuminated by the moonlight, allowing one to see the fish swimming within it. At this time, the season has just entered autumn, and the water in the pond is somewhat chilly; however, this does not affect Li Yan in any way

Upon picking up the luminous pearl, Li Yan's gaze shifted to the figure before him. Being in a direct line of sight, he could clearly see the figure, and to his astonishment, he discovered that it was actually a corpse, one that had been dead for quite some time. The body had clearly lost all moisture, appearing completely shriveled, with nothing left but skin stretched over bones

Hello, may I ask what place this is?" When Li Yan arrived within a distance of one zhang from that person, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and then called out softly to the figure sitting there.

"Um, is anyone here?" Suddenly, when Li Yan's gaze shifted to a corner of the stone chamber, he noticed a figure sitting motionless there, with its back turned towards him. Although he could not see clearly, upon seeing that person, Li Yan's heart tightened sharply, and he then approached quietly.

I remember that not far to the east, there seems to be a pond. Let's go there to wash ourselves clean and catch a few fish to roast and eat. " After saying this, Li Yan got up and ran eastward, passing through a small grove of trees, and soon arrived beside a pond.