339: It was premeditated; who did it?

Ye Bai walked up and knocked on the coffin, only to find that its interior was extremely fragile. It shattered with a slight touch, revealing the scene inside.

"I see. These coffins weren't made of ordinary wood; they were all crafted from jade!" Ye Bai realized suddenly.

No wonder they still looked lifelike after ten thousand years.

Ye Bai walked up and took out everything stored inside the coffins. There were seventeen coffins in total, and he roughly estimated there were about five or six hundred jade items. Among them were some jade artifacts, but most were made of stone.

"Wow, Ye Bai, we're rich!" Meng Ziyi's excited voice rang out.

Ye Bai rummaged through the items in the boxes and said, "Pick whatever you like. Once we leave this place, I'll give them to you."

"Really? That's great!" Yang Mi was overjoyed.

"Don't forget about me," Meng Ziyi muttered.

"Alright."

Ye Bai casually picked out some jade pieces and handed them to Yang Mi.

He walked to another coffin, observed it carefully, and then said to Yang Mi, "Try prying this coffin open. Maybe you can pull something out of it."

"This... how can I do that?"

A look of fear flashed across Yang Mi's face. "I'm scared..."

"Trust me," Ye Bai encouraged, patting her on the shoulder.

Yang Mi bit her lip, crouched down, and moved the coffin lid. As soon as she touched the coffin, she felt a sudden, intense chill. She screamed in fright and let go in a panic.

Bang!

The coffin lid hit the ground with a loud crash, and the entire underground palace seemed to vibrate.

"What happened?" Ye Bai's heart skipped a beat when he heard Yang Mi's scream, and he rushed over.

"Ah..." Yang Mi clutched her head in terror.

Ye Bai stepped closer to look. He saw a bloody mess; the jade inside the coffin had shattered into dross, while Yang Mi crouched on the ground clutching her head, wailing in pain.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Ye Bai asked.

Yang Mi shook her head, but dense beads of sweat broke out on her forehead.

"Take a rest first," Ye Bai sighed. "I'll help you bandage your wound."

Yang Mi sat trembling to the side. Watching Ye Bai skillfully wrap the bandage for her, her heart calmed down significantly.

After finishing the bandage, Yang Mi looked up at Ye Bai, her eyes as gentle as water. She said softly, "Ye Bai, thank you."

Ye Bai said indifferently, "You're welcome."

"Mhm, same here," Yang Mi said with a sweet smile.

Ye Bai tidied her hair for her, turned around, and continued searching the remaining coffins.

The area of this Ancient Tomb wasn't large, but because there were so many coffins, he needed to check them one by one.

"Eh?" Suddenly, Ye Bai discovered a stone coffin sitting at the very end of the cluster of coffins.

"What is this?" He walked up and found the lid of the stone coffin was open. The coffin was empty, but a faint spiritual energy lingered within.

Without thinking, he flipped the coffin over.

Suddenly, a dazzling silver light caught his eye.

Ye Bai reached out to grab it, but his hand caught nothing.

He quickly searched the surroundings for a while and finally found another similar silver medallion.

He grabbed the silver medallion excitedly and examined it closely.

The medallion was made of pure gold, its surface shimmering with a cold silver light. A character was engraved on the front. There were three characters on each side, which together read 'Nine'.

What does this mean?

Could it be related to the word 'Heaven'?

Ye Bai combined the nine medallions again and found they could actually form a complete pattern: a blooming lotus. It was a very eerie image; Ye Bai couldn't recognize what the object in the picture was at all.

Ye Bai pondered for a moment, then forcefully threw the medallion onto the coffin.

Rumble—

The stone coffin exploded instantly, turning into a cloud of powder that drifted down.

Ye Bai's heart raced. He hadn't expected to accidentally cause the stone coffin to burst.

He quickly exited the cave.

He stood in the center of the Stone Chamber, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper, his heart thumping.

"Ye Bai, what's wrong?" Yang Mi asked, unable to help herself when she saw his solemn expression.

Ye Bai didn't answer. Instead, he went straight to the cave entrance, pushed open the Stone Door, and walked out.

The space outside was relatively wide, about the size of a football field. On the wall to the left of the entrance, there was an archway.

Ye Bai walked through the archway and then ran along the Passage until he reached an open area.

This place was similar to the outside, also with rows of coffins standing upright, but the coffins here were clearly newer by more than one generation.

Ye Bai observed the surroundings carefully and found that these coffins had all been tampered with.

The lids of these coffins were specially made, about 0.5 centimeters thick. Even a bullet might not necessarily pierce through them.

"Who are these people? Why did they build coffins in this shape?" Ye Bai muttered to himself.

Suddenly, he noticed that on the bottom of these coffins, exquisite and complex patterns were carved, looking like some kind of runes.

"This should be the tomb owner's Mausoleum," Ye Bai whispered.

"So what do we do now?" Yang Mi asked worriedly.

"Since we're in, we're obviously going to look for treasure," Ye Bai chuckled, grabbing Yang Mi's wrist and running toward a Passage.

The lamps in the Passage had gone out, with only a faint beam of light coming from ahead.

Yang Mi followed behind Ye Bai with trepidation, not daring to fall behind by even a step. She knew there were dangers everywhere here; if she didn't stick close to Ye Bai, she could encounter danger at any moment.

Ye Bai led Yang Mi by the hand to the Stone Chamber at the end.

He walked inside and found the furnishings were very simple: just a stone bed, a table, and a few prayer mats.

An oil lamp sat on the table, its flame so weak it was almost extinguished.

"Ye Bai, what's going on?" Yang Mi looked around the room in confusion.

Ye Bai didn't reply. He walked to the table, felt the table legs and chair armrests, and after confirming they were intact, he suddenly punched the corner of the table.

Thump—

Wood chips flew, and the table corner dented, revealing a hole.

Ye Bai walked over, flipped the table, and revealed a pitch-black Passage underneath.

He stepped into it without hesitation, with Yang Mi following closely behind.

"Be careful!" she shouted.

"Mhm."

The Passage was cold and damp, with oil lamps hanging on the walls on both sides, illuminating the entire path.

As they walked, the space ahead suddenly opened up. Ye Bai found a large hall, about five or six hundred square meters. All four walls were cast from bronze and painted with strange patterns. In the center of the hall was a sculpture—a Buddha sitting cross-legged with a compassionate expression.

"Is this... a Buddha statue from the Tang or Song dynasties?" Ye Bai stared at the Buddha statue with burning eyes.

Behind the Buddha statue, a Pagoda stood against the wall, looking very ancient.

Ye Bai walked quickly to the pagoda, pressed his hand against the door, closed his eyes to feel it, and a smile curled on his lips.

It really is a Magical Artifact.