Chapter 505: Opening the First Evil Tomb

“The First Evil Tomb is opening!” a cultivator shivered and exclaimed upon seeing Li Qiye walk towards its giant stele. They snapped out of their daze and immediately notified their sect elders.

Everyone knew that the key to the First Evil Tomb was in Li Qiye’s hands. Now that he was heading for the giant stele, many cultivators grew excited. This meant he was finally going to open it.

“Quick, pack up the camp! Get ready to enter the First Evil Tomb!” For a moment, all hell broke loose. The vast landscape outside the tomb suddenly burst into a flurry of activity, like a pot of boiling water. A million troops were in an uproar.

In an instant, countless Great Teaching Territories packed up and left, hurrying to follow behind Li Qiye and the Qianli River sect toward the giant stele of the First Evil Tomb.

The scene was nothing short of spectacular. A sea of people trailed behind Li Qiye’s group, like colossal waves rolling in their wake.

“It’s finally opening! The First Evil Tomb… how many generations does one have to wait for it to open once?” Many cultivators couldn’t help but get excited. Some even cracked their knuckles, itching for a good fight.

At this moment, even the Great Teaching Territories like the Ten Thousand Bones Throne and the Ten Thousand Ancient Country all followed suit. Everyone who had come here was after the First Evil Tomb. Now that Li Qiye was about to open it, no one would miss this once-in-a-myriad-years opportunity.

“Amitabha—” A Buddhist chant rang out as Monk Dazhi popped up from behind, quickening his pace to catch up with Li Qiye. He grinned and said, “Mr. Li, no, Brother Li, you’re about to open the First Evil Tomb. Got any good stuff for me? Heh, how about sending a great Creation my way?”

“Good stuff?” Before Li Qiye could speak, Lan Yunzhu, who was beside him, was already glaring fiercely at Monk Dazhi. “Jian Xuan, I heard you were playing god in our village, spreading heresy, and mooching off people! You have the audacity to swindle the Qianli River sect, and you still expect a warm welcome from us?”

“No, no, no, Blue Fairy, you’ve misunderstood, completely misunderstood.” Monk Dazhi jumped in fright. He quickly waved his hands and said, “Blue Fairy, this humble monk is one who slays demons and vanquishes evil. My heart is filled with compassion; I would never take a single cent from devout believers. I entered this world for Cultivation with a compassionate heart, to save all living beings and bring relief to the world…”

“Does saving all living beings include being a wine-and-meat monk?” Lan Yunzhu stared at him. “Don’t tell me you weren’t mooching off my family, with big bowls of wine and meat!”

“Well…” Monk Dazhi gave a dry laugh, then hurriedly said, “Amitabha. Blue Fairy, as the saying goes, ‘Man is iron, food is steel.’ Even a High Monk gets hungry while slaying demons and vanquishing evil, don’t you think? Heh, heh, besides, this poor monk didn’t eat much. If you’re talking about big bowls of wine and meat, Blue Fairy, you’ve got the wrong person. That was definitely not me, that was Brother Li. Heh, when Li Qiye was a guest at your home, he received the best hospitality. Your parents treated him to fine wine and good food. As for the reason… well, Blue Fairy, you understand.”

At this point, the monk gave a very sleazy smile and winked suggestively at Li Qiye and Lan Yunzhu.

In response to Monk Dazhi’s slander, Li Qiye gave him a lazy glance and said, “Fake monk, don’t stir up trouble. Be careful, or I’ll tell your fiancée your whereabouts. Let’s see where you run then.”

With everyone watching, Monk Dazhi couldn’t very well admit he was afraid of his wife. He couldn’t help but puff out his chest, slap it, and say, “Brother Li, you’re underestimating me. Since when have I ever been afraid of a woman?”

“Since when did you become so courageous?” Just then, a woman in red suddenly appeared from behind and spoke coldly.

Wasn’t this Monk Dazhi’s senior sister? His fiancée!

The moment he saw the woman in red, Jian Xuan’s expression changed, and he turned to flee. But Li Qiye suddenly made a move. Caught off guard, Monk Dazhi was instantly sealed by Li Qiye.

“Hey, hey, hey, brother! What are you… what are you doing?” Monk Dazhi yelped in fright. He couldn’t escape even if he wanted to. Sealed by Li Qiye, he couldn’t move a muscle.

“Nothing much. Running from your wedding every day isn’t a solution. Just face it.” Li Qiye smiled and tossed him to the woman in red.

“Brother Li, you can’t do this to me! We’re brothers! Who sells out their own brother…” Monk Dazhi howled from behind, but Li Qiye paid him no mind, leading his group over several mountains in the blink of an eye.

Finally, hearing Monk Dazhi’s indignant howls fading in the distance, Lan Yunzhu couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile. “That guy deserves it. He refused to be the proper heir of Mingdu Marsh and insisted on running away to be a monk. Now that he’s been caught, he’s in for it.”

Monk Dazhi was truly one of a kind. Mingdu Marsh was an Emperor Immortal Gate. Becoming the Sect Leader of such a Daoist Inheritance was a dream for countless people.

Unfortunately, this guy didn’t care one bit. He had secretly fled from Mingdu Marsh, sending its Elders into a state of utter chaos.

The giant stele of the First Evil Tomb stood amidst the mountains. It rose before a massive mountain range, a colossal monument piercing the clouds, guarding the range behind it like a gateway.

Beyond this massive mountain range was a vast, boundless expanse. No one knew what lay within—perhaps a tomb, perhaps something else entirely.

To enter the First Evil Tomb, one had to open the giant stone stele. The only thing that could open it was the key unearthed from Fengdu City.

Moreover, once the First Evil Tomb closed, no one could keep the key. It would simply disappear. Not even a Heaven-Defying, invincible Immortal Emperor could hold onto it.

To open the First Evil Tomb in the future, one would have to find the key within Fengdu City all over again.

The giant stele of the First Evil Tomb stood like a colossal peak atop the mountains, guarding the range behind it. Anyone who stood before this monument could feel a majestic, supreme aura, as if an unparalleled existence from time immemorial was buried here. In truth, no one knew if the First Evil Tomb truly held such a being.

The giant stele was blank, with no inscriptions. It looked as if it were carved from a single boulder, but upon closer inspection, it didn’t seem chiseled at all. It was as if the stele was a monolith, a masterpiece of nature.

When Li Qiye stood before the giant stone stele, the sea of people behind him came to a halt. Everyone held their breath, watching him, waiting for him to open the First Evil Tomb.

At this moment, no one dared to try and snatch the key from Li Qiye. The Elders of Qianli River were all present. To make a move now would be to make an enemy of the Qianli River sect. Not to mention Great Teaching Territories, even an Emperor Immortal Gate would be unwilling to go to war with Qianli River. Besides, since everyone would be able to enter anyway, why risk a bloody, life-or-death battle and completely fall out with Qianli River over a single key?

As everyone held their breath, Li Qiye took out the key to the First Evil Tomb. It was less of a key and more of a scroll, an imperial edict.

When Li Qiye unfurled the scroll with both hands, the entire thing lit up. Dao Patterns emerged, and the pulsing light rippled like the surface of a lake. In the blink of an eye, the shimmering radiance enveloped the entire giant stele.

Seeing the light envelop the giant stele, the breathless crowd grew not only excited but also tense. The First Evil Tomb had not been opened for a very long time. To witness its opening and have the chance to enter was a great fortune in their lifetime for any one of them.

CLANG—CLANG—CLANG— At this moment, from the scroll in Li Qiye’s hands, large, bucket-sized characters suddenly branded themselves onto the giant stele one by one. As each character was seared onto the stone, it sounded as if it were being branded onto Divine Gold, a crisp and powerful sound.

The characters branded on the stele were incomparably ancient. They resembled tree branches, or perhaps tadpoles. Even the ancient, sealed figures from the Ten Thousand Bones Throne would not recognize this script. It was so ancient that its origins were untraceable; even those who had lived for eons would not know what it was.

After the stone stele was covered in these ancient characters, the entire monument lit up. Then, with a series of RUMBLES, the giant stele actually began to sink slowly into the ground.

Watching the giant stele sink into the ground, countless people grew tense. Everyone stared fixedly at the scene before them, unwilling to miss a single detail.

GRIND—GRIND—GRIND— After the giant stele had sunk into the earth, the massive mountain range blocking the way began to slowly part. Eventually, a huge pass appeared in the mountain range that sundered the sky and earth. This pass was like the gaping, bloody maw of a Primordial Ancient Beast, seemingly ready to devour anyone who entered at any moment.

“It’s open—” Seeing the mountain range part to reveal a huge pass, someone screamed excitedly.

“Let’s go.” Li Qiye’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the giant pass. He spoke to Lan Yunzhu and the others, then led them charging into the opening.

“Let’s go too—” All the cultivators behind them grew excited. In an instant, the crowd surged forward like a colossal wave, all of them squeezing toward the pass ahead.

The scene became incredibly chaotic. Countless cultivators desperately squeezed into the pass, none of them willing to be a step behind. Everyone was afraid of missing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, afraid of missing the legendary great Creation.

But as everyone rushed into the pass, they came to an abrupt halt. Before them was a cliff’s edge. Looking out, they saw a vast, boundless expanse, as if there was no end in sight.

And below their feet was a bottomless, Endless Void. It felt as if a single step would send them plummeting into the deepest abyss.

Everyone stood at the edge of the cliff, staring at the boundless void before them. This was not the First Evil Tomb anyone had imagined.

Many had assumed the First Evil Tomb would be, well, a tomb. They thought that after entering, they might find a massive stone cavern, or perhaps a great tomb-city built underground.