Super Combat Soldier

Chapter 377: Chapter 376 [Entering the Ancient Tomb Sect]

The entrance of the Ancient Tomb Sect was indeed hidden behind the large rock that Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng were leaning against, yet the boulder was incredibly hard. Even a punch with Ye Tianchen’s King-level Superpower Realm strength could not shatter it, suggesting that this was no ordinary rock. Ye Tianchen suspected that the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect had specifically moved it here from somewhere else, but what the rock was made of, he had no way of knowing.

At first, Ye Tianchen didn’t know what to do. Dongfang Meng was unconscious and couldn’t possibly be awakened at this moment. Waking her up now would be the same as sending her to her doom. It was up to Ye Tianchen alone to enter the Ancient Tomb Sect and find the sect’s highest Inner Strength Cultivation Skill, the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture.

It was only after hearing the sound of water from behind the large rock that Ye Tianchen used his Superpower Perception to sense bit by bit and discovered a stone stool beneath the rock, which acted as a mechanism. As long as the stool was pressed, the large rock would automatically move aside.

Boom!

The huge rock slowly moved aside, and Ye Tianchen prepared to carry Dongfang Meng on his back. Just as he took a step to the side, numerous beams of light shot from all directions, carrying a fierce killing intent and a sharp sound that tore through the air. Ye Tianchen frowned, summoned a longsword into his right hand, and slapped the ground with his left palm. His body spun forward, and the longsword in his right hand slashed with Sword Qi swirling around it.

Clang, clang, clang!

All the deadly assaults were blocked by Ye Tianchen’s right hand wielding the Taie Sword. Only after he had blocked all the killing intents did he realize that the sudden attacks had all been silver needles about ten centimeters in length, extremely hard and difficult to break. Because Ye Tianchen summoned the Taie Sword, the Power Sword was undoubtedly formidable. Now, as Ye Tianchen slowly integrated the Power Sword’s might, the Power of Might would manifest when he swung the sword, and ordinary objects would surely be unable to withstand it. He was thankful for summoning the Taie Sword; otherwise, had he met the assault with his fists, he might already be bleeding.

Ye Tianchen deflected all the silver needles, which landed in different places—some on the ground, some embedded in tree trunks, so thin that they were almost invisible without close inspection. It seemed that these were indeed the protective mechanisms of the Ancient Tomb Sect, set up to deal with anyone who dared to trespass.

It was common for many Sects to have protective mechanisms and Ancient Martial Formations. However, Ye Tianchen knew that nowadays, few Ancient Martial Sects used such devices, as the Sects were usually guarded at their gates by disciples. This served as a show of strength. The fact that the Ancient Tomb Sect still had mechanisms probably stemmed from their practice of recruiting few disciples from the start and restricting membership to only female disciples. The founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect did not intend to widely promote the sect but merely to maintain the lineage without seeking much interaction with the outside world, which is why these contraptions were set up.

”Now I’m really in for it. Anyway, I just need to help you find the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture. Anything beyond that is not my concern!” Ye Tianchen glanced at Dongfang Meng, feeling that he was really looking for trouble. But since he was already here, he couldn’t just walk away, especially as this was his first encounter with an Ancient Martial Sect, and he was curious to explore.

Carrying Dongfang Meng on his back, thankfully, Ye Tianchen had exceptional physical strength. Being a mighty practitioner close to breaking through to the Emperor-level Superpower Realm, even carrying a woman every day didn’t feel tiring. With the Taie Sword firmly grasped in his right hand, he walked towards the space created by the moving rock.

Upon seeing the boulder slide open, there was a stone door behind it that was formed by two halves joining together. Holding the Taie Sword in his right hand, Ye Tianchen slowly pressed his left hand against one half of the stone door, gradually exerting force to open it, while keeping the Taie Sword ready in case of any traps. The founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect, who managed to preserve the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture, a profound Inner Strength Heart Method rivaling the Yijin Jing for thousands of years, must have been incredibly powerful. Ye Tianchen was far from arrogant enough to underestimate her; on the contrary, he was taking this very seriously.

The two stone doors slowly moved apart, and as the moonlight cascaded down, Ye Tianchen glimpsed the scenery at the entrance of the Ancient Tomb Sect. Contrary to what one might expect, it was not coffins or a creepy atmosphere that greeted them, but rather a peaceful creek with small stones scattered about, creating an idyllic small bridge over running water. This was the impression that the entrance to the Ancient Tomb Sect left on Ye Tianchen—serene and soothing.

”Many people hear ’Ancient Tomb Sect’ and think of corpses and eerie things. It seems the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect knew how to enjoy life, having built such a beautiful place,” Ye Tianchen thought to himself as he carried Dongfang Meng and entered. The moment they stepped inside, the two stone doors at the entrance of the Ancient Tomb Sect closed automatically, and the large boulder outside also slowly moved to cover the stone doors.

Upon entering the Ancient Tomb Sect, Ye Tianchen discovered that it was not dark inside at all. On the contrary, it was very bright because there were many luminous pearls in the cave that were extremely beautiful. They were emitting light, illuminating the Ancient Tomb Sect as if it were daylight, which spared Ye Tianchen the need to concentrate superpower in his eyes.

Although the interior of the Ancient Tomb Sect was very beautiful and lacked any cold aura, Ye Tianchen still didn’t dare to be careless. After all, he was not familiar with the way into the inner parts of the Ancient Tomb Sect. His intrusion was blunt, and such an act could encounter many dangers. Now, carrying Dongfang Meng on his back, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

After crossing little bridges over flowing streams, Ye Tianchen entered a very vast area, which resembled a grassland. There was a path with flowers and plants on both sides, extremely beautiful, offering an enchanting feeling that made one want to lie down and fall into a deep sleep. At the end of this grassy path, Ye Tianchen saw something like a mountain gate, essentially a large stone frame resembling a door, with the three characters for ”Ancient Tomb Sect” inscribed on it.

Carrying Dongfang Meng on his back, Ye Tianchen walked to the entrance of the Ancient Tomb Sect. Here, at the entrance with three vigorous and forceful characters, Ye Tianchen could sense a faint sense of melancholy. He had heard from Zhang Yide the story of the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect, a remarkable woman who, wounded by love, chose seclusion and created the Ancient Tomb Sect. A woman capable of creating the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture must have been extraordinary.

There was nothing special about the entrance of the Ancient Tomb Sect; it was simply a gate, wide open without being shut. Presumably, they did not expect someone to find their way here, nor would it be easy to gain entry because the great rocks at the entrance were indestructible, making it nearly impossible to destroy them and extremely difficult to get inside.

Without further thought, Ye Tianchen, carrying Dongfang Meng, entered the Ancient Tomb Sect. After entering, he found that the interior was also filled with luminous pearls everywhere, treasures that in the ordinary world were priceless.

As Ye Tianchen expected, the interior of the Ancient Tomb Sect was filled with tomb chambers, constituting a large tomb within the mountain. Naturally, there were many coffins inside, but no corpses or skeletons remained within them—those had long been cleared out by the people of the Ancient Tomb Sect. Compared to the stone chambers, there was indeed a very peculiar feeling. However, Ye Tianchen felt a bit of a headache; with so many chambers, which one contained the cultivation method for the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture? If he had to search each one, who knows how many years and months that would take.

At that thought, Ye Tianchen had no choice but to take out the sheepskin map that Zhang Yide had given him. This map did not record some things inside the secret chambers of the Ancient Tomb Sect but had some annotations. These were made by Zhang Yide after he had been rescued and lived in the Ancient Tomb Sect for a few months; he made these maps from memory after leaving. Zhang Yide told Ye Tianchen that these annotations represented the general layout of the Ancient Tomb Sect and also included some forbidden areas where general people were not allowed to enter, which even he had never visited.

Ye Tianchen thought that among those places marked as forbidden by Zhang Yide, there should be a secret chamber where the cultivation method for the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture was kept, something surely not allowed for the average person to see. What then could be inside the other secret chambers marked in red?

Counting them, there were a total of five red-marked secret chambers on the entire sheepskin map. Out of these five places, which chamber contained the cultivation method for the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture? And what might be in the other red-marked chambers? Could there be dangers lurking?

”It seems there’s no other way. I’ll have to search one chamber at a time,” Ye Tianchen sighed and said.

Putting Dongfang Meng back on his shoulders, Ye Tianchen pondered for a moment. At his current location, there were two red-marked secret chambers, one to the left and one to the right. The first thing Ye Tianchen thought of was to use Superpower Perception to detect anything inside the two red-marked chambers. However, when he extended his Superpower Perception, he found that he couldn’t see through either chamber as if some force was blocking it. It seemed that the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect had thought of everything very thoroughly, also having great knowledge of secret techniques, and thus had reinforced the chambers so that nobody could easily discover what lay within.

”I’ll have to check in person. No wonder Zhang Yide said it’s not easy to find the Cultivation Technique of the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture. It turns out to be here!” Ye Tianchen said helplessly.

The Ancient Tomb Sect was very large, with countless stone chambers inside. Perhaps the Cultivation Technique of the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture was within these five red-marked secret chambers, or perhaps it was not. If it was, one would only need to explore each of the five chambers. If not, then it would truly be a tragedy...(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation).