Chapter 91: (1): Goodbye Long Lie
Long Xuan stood there, lost in thought. There was actually a terrifying formation inside the tomb that amplified the power of sunlight thirtyfold during the day. This truly broadened his horizons. Sunlight is indeed a form of energy—could it be that the people of this world already knew how to harness solar power?
The fact that someone could incorporate solar energy into a formation was truly an ingenious idea. Who would have thought that someone had already beaten him to such a brilliant concept? He wondered if anyone would compete with him in combining formations with wind energy, gravitational potential energy, hydropower, geothermal energy, or even nuclear energy.
Just as Long Xuan was deep in thought, a large hand suddenly slapped heavily on his shoulder again.
Long Xuan was startled once more, his heart almost leaping out of his chest. This time, he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he was nearly scared out of his wits.
Soon, a large face leaned in from behind, glaring at him, "Finally found you, kid! Are you looking to die? How dare you take on such a dangerous task? Do you have a death wish?"
Long Xuan turned his head to look at the face—it was yet another familiar figure, his long-lost relative Long Lie, someone who shared the closest blood ties with him.
Long Xuan patted his startled heart repeatedly. My goodness, do people in this world all like to sneak up on others from behind? When he's in the ancient tomb, he better hope no one sneaks up on him from behind. Scaring people like this could really kill someone.
Long Xuan glared at Long Lie and said, "Because I want to contribute to the Clan. I want to sacrifice my life for the family, to shed blood and lay down my life for the family. Is that not allowed?"
Of course, all these words were just nonsense. Although they sounded grand and righteous, no one would probably believe them.
Long Lie looked at him deeply, sniffing wildly at his shoulder.Long Xuan knew exactly what he was sniffing for. He had learned his lesson before—no way would he let it happen a second time.
This time, he ensured that Long Lie wouldn't catch a whiff of alcohol on him.
The smell is hard to completely eliminate, and Long Xuan had no other option. Does he have to take ten baths every time he goes out? Even if he did, it still wouldn't be a foolproof solution.
So, he came up with a clumsy idea: to keep his spiritual armor on at all times when going out, trapping the scent inside.
Although having spiritual energy cover his entire body would increase consumption, he had the Ten Absolute Body Physique, and his spiritual energy was abundant. He had the capital to squander it freely.
Besides, keeping the spiritual armor on at all times not only prevents the scent from spreading but also effectively guards against other dangers.
There are many methods in this world that can kill without a trace. Even Long Xuan couldn't guarantee that he could see through all the world's insidious tricks.
Being cautious is never a bad thing for him.
After sniffing around Long Xuan for a long time without catching a scent of alcohol, Long Lie finally realized why.
Long Xuan, this kid, actually kept his spiritual armor on even in such a safe place as the family grounds. Long Lie was genuinely shocked—was his spiritual energy limitless, that he dared to waste it like this?
"Seriously, kid? As long as you bathe daily, very few people in this world could smell the alcohol on you."
"I can guarantee that I'm the only one in the entire clan with such a keen nose. You don't need to be so cautious. Even the old ancestor wouldn't catch a whiff of alcohol on you."
Long Lie leaned in close, whispering in Long Xuan's ear.
Of course, Long Xuan wasn't moved by his words. Even if he wasn't refining the wine Gu, he decided to maintain this habit—better safe than sorry.
"What are you doing here? With your level, you can't possibly be participating in this mission, right?"
Since he knew Long Lie was his uncle, Long Xuan spoke much more casually, addressing him as "you" instead of calling him an elder.
"I broke through the Spiritual Sea Stage a long time ago. I'm leading this mission, so of course, I'm here."
"Don't tell me, kid, you don't even know who the leader of this mission is?"
"You don't even know the situation, yet you dare to participate in this tomb-raiding mission? You sure have guts."
Long Lie's eyes widened. The fact that Long Xuan didn't even know who the mission leader was indicated how little information he had gathered. To dare blindly follow along with a tomb raid without understanding anything? That takes some serious nerve.
Long Lie couldn't help but show concern, doubting the safety of Long Xuan's trip.
He looked serious, gazing at Long Xuan intently, "There's not much time left, so I'll just give you two pieces of advice. First, make sure you get out before dawn on the second day. You only have half a day to loot treasures—don't ask why."
"Second, stay away from the geniuses of the major clans who are Gu Masters. Peak-grade Gu insects are extremely rare in proportion; the world of rogue cultivators might not even have one, and there are only a few rogue across the hundreds of Gu cultivator families in the Far West. But the top seven clans in the Far West have a lot of them."
"Among the geniuses from the major clans heading to the tomb this time, there's guaranteed to be someone carrying peak-grade Gu insects—this is 100% certain, and there might even be more than one."
"If you encounter a genius from a major clan who is a Gu Master, make sure you stay far away. Got it?"
"Forget it! You probably don't even know who the geniuses of the major clans are, what they look like, or who to avoid. You're doomed, kid!"
Long Lie couldn't help but slap his forehead, feeling like his nephew was beyond saving—he might as well start preparing his last will.
"Whatever. I'll just remind you of one thing: when you enter the tomb, stick close behind your senior sister. With her around, you should be perfectly safe."
In the end, Long Lie gave the same advice as Long Qilin, showing just how much both of them trusted Long Ziyan's personal combat abilities.
"Oh, and that wine you gave me last time—give me some more. Don't get me wrong! I don't want to drink it; that wine is best for refining Gu. Drinking it would be a waste."
"Just give me the spicy wine. I'm going to refine a wine Gu. I'll trade you some peak-grade spiritual insects for it."
Long Xuan stared at him in disbelief.
Didn't he say there wasn't much time left? If time was running out, why was he asking for wine?
Why did it feel like that was the real reason Long Lie came to find him, and everything before that was just a pretext?
However, Long Xuan was indeed interested in the peak-grade spiritual insects Long Lie mentioned, but this wasn't the right place for a transaction.
So, Long Xuan said, "Didn't you say there wasn't much time left? If there isn't much time, why are you still standing here?"
This time, it was Long Lie's turn to be taken aback.
"Alright! There really isn't much time left."
Long Lie glanced at the sky, his expression turning serious as he finally walked away toward the front of the field. As the leader of this mission, he didn't give any opening speech. Instead, he directly took out a dragon-headed dragon boat from his storage bag and placed it on the ground.
The dragon boat gradually expanded until it could accommodate a hundred people, then it stopped growing.
Long Lie waved his hand, shouting for everyone to board the ship, then he leaped onto the bow. Accompanying him were two enforcers at the Marrow Cleansing Stage, dressed in black robes embroidered with three-clawed divine dragons. These two seemed to be there to supervise the tomb raiders on the boat.
The rest of the group also eagerly climbed aboard, taking their seats with great excitement.
Boat-type spiritual artifacts are extremely rare, each worth a fortune, and very difficult to acquire.