359: The puppet's replacement wants to capture a living person?

"Are these... Dolls?" Yang Mi's beautiful eyes widened.

"That's right. These Dolls were crafted according to human proportions. Each one required at least several hundred pounds of stone to build!"

Lin Yu's gaze was sharp as he scanned the Dolls. "These things are used to create Puppets. But why are the Dolls so well-preserved and even moving?"

"I've got it!" Ye Bai suddenly let out a low cry.

Meng Ziyi looked at him in confusion. "What do you know?"

Ye Bai pointed ahead. "Let's go over first. I'll explain when we reach the end."

They continued to advance forward.

After passing several houses, Ye Bai finally reached the end.

The end of this Tomb was a wide square, surrounded on all sides by dense houses.

In the center of the square stood a very tall Altar.

"A sacrifice?"

Ye Bai frowned.

He always felt that the atmosphere here was very oppressive, with an inexplicable sense of eerie dread.

"Big Brother Ye, do you think this is a burial site?" Yang Mi whispered.

"I don't know." Ye Bai shook his head. He wasn't sure if this was a burial site either.

He carefully examined the Sacrificial Altar, feeling that it was very familiar.

"Eh?" Ye Bai was surprised to find that this Sacrificial Altar was exactly the same as the Mountain-Suppressing Formation of Longhu Mountain!

"Could it be that this place is a Feng Shui Formation?"

He became more and more certain of the guess in his heart.

The location of this Altar was exactly in the center of Longhu Mountain's Mountain-Suppressing Formation; the two complemented each other, vaguely forming a Feng Shui Formation.

"If it's a Feng Shui Formation, then we've hit the jackpot!"

Meng Ziyi said with great excitement, her eyes shining.

Ye Bai also smiled. This time, their luck was indeed terrifyingly good.

"Then let's hurry up and study it!" Lin Yu suggested.

"Alright, let's find the mechanism entrance first!" Yang Mi agreed.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Let's deal with these Puppets first!" Ye Bai stopped the two women. After observing for a long time, he discovered that one specific Doll was the control center for all these Dolls.

He took a Talismanic Incantation from his robe and recited a mantra. One by one, the pieces of talisman paper ignited, emitting a faint green light as they drifted toward the Doll.

Although the Doll had gained intelligence, it was ultimately formed from gathered resentment and could not withstand this scorching radiance.

The Doll was instantly swallowed by the intense fire, dissipating into wisps of green smoke in the air.

Ye Bai nodded in satisfaction. "It seems to be effective."

"Let's go."

The group delved deeper along the Passage.

Suddenly!

Creak—

A heavy sound echoed in their ears.

A Stone Door appeared ahead. The Stone Door opened, revealing a pitch-black and gloomy tunnel.

Yang Mi's expression changed slightly. "This Passage looks a bit strange. We need to be careful."

She had originally thought this Passage was set up for humans, but looking at the situation, it didn't seem right.

"What's there to be afraid of? Just follow Big Brother Ye." Meng Ziyi wasn't worried at all.

The corners of Ye Bai's mouth curled up slightly as he stepped forward.

After passing through the Stone Door, the area ahead suddenly opened up. It was actually another Tomb Chamber!

However, the layout of this Tomb Chamber was clearly very different from the previous one.

"The Tomb Owner here should be someone at the level of a Prince or a general."

Ye Bai observed the various items placed in the Tomb and deduced, "The items in the Tomb are all extremely precious and rare, things that even an emperor might not necessarily possess."

"Big Brother Ye, do you mean these are all the Tomb Owner's Funerary Objects?" Meng Ziyi asked in surprise.

Ye Bai nodded.

Hearing this, Meng Ziyi and Yang Mi immediately showed expressions of excitement and wild joy, wishing they could rush over and haul away everything in the Tomb.

Ye Bai, however, reached out to stop them. "Don't touch anything recklessly!"

He stared at the stone coffin and said thoughtfully, "This outer coffin is unusual. We must be careful."

"Mm." Yang Mi nodded. "Big Brother Ye is right. We'll follow your arrangements for everything."

The look she gave Ye Bai was full of admiration.

Ye Bai smiled and said, "Wait a moment."

Then, he quickly set up some simple defensive Formations around the Tomb. After confirming there were no oversights, he led the three women toward the stone coffin.

The stone coffin lay there quietly. Its body was mottled and weathered, with many profound and complex patterns engraved on its surface.

Ye Bai scrutinized the stone coffin, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "So that's how it is!"

Meng Ziyi leaned over. "What's wrong?"

Ye Bai pointed at the Coffin Lid. "See that? There's a painting on the Coffin Lid."

Meng Ziyi stared at the Coffin Lid and indeed saw a pattern on it.

It was a massive Astral Compass, with constellations rotating and the sun and moon alternating.

"What is that?"

"That's no ordinary Star Map. This Astral Compass contains power that astronomers dream of."

Ye Bai murmured, "It's called the Astral Compass. It can manipulate the trajectories of the stars."

"The power of the Astral Compass is very strong. It can communicate with the starry sky above the Nine Heavens and use the power of the stars to guide the way. Its power is quite astonishing."

"Ah?" Meng Ziyi said in shock. "Does the world really have a place above the Nine Heavens?"

"Of course. Legend has it that there really is a star in outer space."

"Wow! There really are stars!" Meng Ziyi seemed to see them already, her eyes flashing with longing.

"Then wouldn't we be able to fly into the sky to pluck the stars and the moon?" Yang Mi also couldn't help but marvel.

They had only heard of soaring into the clouds; they had never witnessed the starry sky in person.

Ye Bai rubbed his nose and coughed lightly. "That won't be necessary. The power of the Astral Compass isn't infinite. Using it once requires sacrificing a year of one's lifespan."

"So, don't waste your lifespan for the sake of merit, or you will suffer a backlash."

They chatted animatedly, but Meng Ziyi's gaze fell upon the stone coffin.

She looked it over curiously and asked, "Big Brother Ye, could there be a Treasure Trove inside?"

"Probably," Ye Bai said after a moment's thought.

He had once heard the Old Ancestor say that Tombs often contain many treasures of great value.

"Then let's open it quickly!" Meng Ziyi was eager to try and couldn't wait to open the stone coffin.

Ye Bai didn't move. Instead, he crouched down and tapped the shell of the stone coffin with his fingernail.

Bang!

The stone coffin jolted violently several times. The Coffin Lid shook as if something were about to crawl out from inside.

Meng Ziyi immediately let out a cry of alarm and hid behind Ye Bai.

Yang Mi, on the other hand, alertly drew her blade.

Ye Bai patted Meng Ziyi's shoulder, signaling her to stay calm.

Then, he narrowed his eyes. His pupils shimmered with gold, and a sharp glint sliced through the Void Realm.

He saw a mass of gray haze flowing inside the stone coffin.

The shape of this haze was very similar to a human head, and there was a blood-red luster flickering within it, looking extremely eerie.

"Ye... Big Brother Ye... what is that?"

"I don't know. Perhaps it's a Resentful Soul left behind by the Tomb Owner after death," Ye Bai guessed.