Chapter 14: Dark Willows and Bright Flowers

Anchoring Year 13 saw the emergence of ancient texts such as the *Shangshu*, *Shijing*, and *Liji*, increasing scholars' longing for that lost period of history.

In Anchoring Year 15, the Emperor fell gravely ill. Desiring to find an immortal elixir to prolong his life, he dispatched over a hundred thousand troops to excavate ancient tombs in search of any trace of such elixirs. Although many court officials murmured their disapproval, no large-scale petitions were submitted in opposition.

Unfortunately, elixirs were hard to find. Even after excavating hundreds of ancient tombs, no trace of them was found. By the end of the year, the Emperor died with regret. Before his death, he abdicated in favor of the Prince of Langya.

From this point, Li Fan once again secretly controlled the realm. Under Li Fan's influence, the trend of exploring ancient sites and searching for tombs grew stronger throughout the land.

In Anchoring Year 17, a mountain hunter discovered an ancient tomb, earning the Grand Tutor's favor and receiving a noble title. After this, people across the land became even more zealous and frantic about tomb exploration. Even in the most remote mountains and forests, groups of explorers could be seen.

Time flowed on, bringing the timeline to Anchoring Year 23. Li Fan stood in the Grand Tutor's mansion, examining the accumulated clues from years of both official and private archaeological explorations.

Before this, the world's historical records only spanned three thousand years, comprising twenty-three dynasties. As ancient tombs were excavated one after another, the previously lost history was gradually pieced together. Before these twenty-three dynasties, there were sixteen more, dating back approximately six to seven thousand years. The earliest dynasty that could be traced was named Qi.

"Six to seven thousand years ago, that roughly aligns with the Great Migration Era," Li Fan thought to himself.

Immediately, he ordered his subordinates to focus on excavating ancient tombs from the Qi dynasty. Furthermore, he offered a reward to the entire realm: anyone who could find a Qi dynasty tomb would be granted a noble title. As soon as the news spread, people everywhere hastened to share it. Countless young people embarked on the path of ancient exploration in groups. No matter how deeply buried history was, it could not withstand such fervent excavation and search efforts from everyone across the land.

In Anchoring Year 25, the tomb of Yin Xing, the first emperor of the Qi dynasty, was finally discovered. Upon hearing the news, Li Fan personally led his confidants to the site and sealed off the area.

Over the past decade or so, the Great Xuan Dynasty's tomb excavation technology had developed rapidly, and they had devised a highly effective plan for opening tombs. Even though the tomb of this world's first emperor was massive and contained countless mechanisms, thanks to the efforts of the tomb exploration team, a passage to the main burial chamber was excavated in just over a month.

After all obstacles were cleared, Li Fan, surrounded by his retinue, entered the ancient tomb. The main tomb passage stretched for hundreds of meters, its walls on both sides adorned with lifelike murals. Despite thousands of years, they remained clearly visible. Li Fan slowly walked, examining the murals along the way.

The murals were divided into several main sections. The first section depicted the protagonist, Yin Xing, the first emperor of the Qi dynasty, seated atop a mountain peak. Above the ethereal white clouds, several immortal figures could be seen, seemingly speaking to him.

The second section showed the arrival of darkness symbolizing disaster. Red, representing blood, spilled across the land. Under Yin Xing's leadership, the survivors boarded large ship-like vessels, flying across a vast sea of clouds, and after encountering countless dangers, arrived at a boundless plain. From then on, people settled and made their homes there.

The third section depicted Yin Xing, with the support of the people, declaring himself emperor and establishing the Qi dynasty. The fourth section detailed various events that occurred during Yin Xing's reign.

After viewing the murals, Li Fan arrived at the main burial chamber. The chamber was forty to fifty meters high and several thousand meters long and wide. The ceiling seemed to mimic a celestial arrangement, embedded with thousands of luminous pearls. Inside the tomb, the layout resembled a mountain gate, with numerous mountain peaks standing tall, submerged in a sea of clouds. It was unclear how this sea of clouds was generated; it remained fixed within the chamber, not drifting, and had not dissipated over thousands of years. Invisible paths connected the various mountain peaks. As they walked, everyone marveled and praised its wonder.

"Indeed, this is the work of immortals," Li Fan mused inwardly.

At the highest peak, there was a simple thatched hut, its surrounding fertile fields now overgrown. Only upon closer inspection did they realize the thatch of the hut was woven from countless fine golden threads. Clearly, this hut was Yin Xing's coffin. At Li Fan's signal, the others first opened the hut's door.

To everyone's surprise, there was no trace of Yin Xing's remains inside. Only a wooden memorial tablet stood quietly within. On the tablet, several large golden characters were inscribed: "Tomb of Yin Xing, Outer Disciple of the Taiyan Sect." Besides this, there was nothing else.

"It seems this person, although he joined a sect called Taiyan, remained merely an outer disciple and never truly embarked on the path of immortals. Ultimately, he was banished here by the immortal cultivators," Li Fan thought. "Even before his death, he still longed for his sect, identifying himself as an outer disciple of the Taiyan Sect rather than as an emperor. However, according to Kou Hong's previous statement, all sects in the world should have perished during the great calamity before the Great Migration Era. It now appears there's more to this than meets the eye."

Li Fan pondered continuously. "Yin Xing must have been entrusted by the Taiyan Sect's immortal cultivators to manage the Great Migration in this realm. I wonder if we can find the flying vessel used for that migration this time."

With no success in the main burial chamber, Li Fan ordered the exploration team to excavate the surrounding area, hoping to find clues in the ancillary tombs. A few days later, bad news arrived, filling Li Fan with immense anger and helplessness. It turned out that the exploration team had found a record mentioning a "flying vessel" in the inventory of grave goods from an ancillary burial chamber nearby. Unfortunately, this tomb had been plundered long ago. And judging by the signs of damage, the theft had occurred over a thousand years ago.

"It's like this again, and again!" Li Fan exclaimed. "Each time I see hope, it turns out to be nothing but a mirage, unattainable!" Li Fan, uncharacteristically, flew into a rage, smashing several items around him. Those around him fell silent, trembling.

After a long while, Li Fan finally calmed his tumultuous emotions. He still ordered the exploration team to continue excavating ancient tombs everywhere, searching for any possible traces of the immortal vessel, but he himself returned to Xuanjing City, seemingly having lost all hope in this particular endeavor.

Another ten years passed, bringing the timeline to Anchoring Year 35, when things suddenly took a turn. On this day, Li Fan received an urgent report.

"A tomb of an immortal has been discovered?" Li Fan was somewhat startled, then overjoyed, and inquired in detail. It turned out that over the years, although Li Fan had grown somewhat dispirited, the public's enthusiasm for ancient exploration had not waned in the slightest. Countless ancient tombs had been excavated across the Great Xuan lands. As the larger tombs were largely exhausted, people began to turn their attention to smaller tombs that had previously been ignored.

A few days prior, a group of young people, while excavating an inconspicuous burial site, were suddenly injured by an unknown force, resulting in heavy casualties. The survivors immediately reported the incident to the authorities. It was important to note that in decades of tomb exploration in Great Xuan, casualties, if any, were almost always due to traps. To encounter such strange circumstances before even opening a tomb was unprecedented.

The exploration team dared not slacken and dispatched people to investigate overnight. Although many highly experienced veterans and fully armed soldiers joined forces, they could not budge the small tomb in the slightest. The team was both alarmed and delighted, and promptly reported the matter to Li Fan.

Li Fan arrived upon hearing the news. After deploying the "Immortal-Mortal Miasma," he finally destroyed the unknown force surrounding the tomb. Upon entering the tomb, among the various grave goods, a small wooden boat was conspicuously present.