Inside the tomb,
The dimension sealed away for thousands years without seeing daylight stirred up thick dust as the group entered. Fortunately, everyone wore gas masks and protective gear, otherwise they would have started coughing uncontrollably immediately.
Under the detection lights, what came into view was a narrow path extending deep into the darkness, with both the floor and walls luxuriously paved with rammed earth bricks.
“So many rammed earth bricks… What an astonishingly massive project this must have been at the time! And which ruler’s tomb could this possibly be?”
Bai Lishen became somewhat entranced, murmuring to himself while gazing at the rammed earth walls that bore witness to the long river of time.
Qiu Yunzheng also couldn’t help but fall into fascination. Of course, Gu Hanfeng and the others nearby showed little interest in this, instead remaining vigilant as they observed their surroundings, prepared for any potential dangers.
After all, only the area illuminated by their detection lights was clearly visible – the distance remained dark and profound, impossible to discern with the naked eye. It was as if a giant beast waited in the darkness, its bloody maw wide open ready to devour them.
Soon both Bai Lishen and Yun Zheng withdrew their gazes, carefully following the soldiers as they advanced. For safety reasons, and because only Yun Zheng could see the map – which couldn’t be verbally described or written down –
Gu Hanfeng took Yun Zheng to walk at the front. His tall frame completely shielded Yun Zheng, with the two maintaining very close proximity so he could immediately protect her if danger arose.
Although Yun Zheng feared Gu Hanfeng, she fully acknowledged the reassuring sense of security he provided.
After walking for about ten minutes, the group reached a large gate. Beyond this gate lay the funerary pit shown on the map.
After the group entered the tomb, the System obtained a complete scan of the entire mausoleum – though only of the mechanisms, without images of the interior decorations or funerary objects.
Otherwise, the System wouldn’t have needed to bind with Yun Zheng and could have simply slipped in to scan by itself, which would have been faster and more convenient.
Interstellar space maintained extremely rigorous protection over each planet’s unique cultural heritage, material culture, and national secrets.
No individual or race could disregard interstellar regulations to excessively interfere with planetary development, so the System could only comply with interstellar rules.
It first had to bind with Yun Zheng, then with the help of this Earthling, record their exploration process and the cultural heritage they discovered.
Of course, this wasn’t without compensation – there needed to be corresponding equal exchange.
Following Yun Zheng’s instructions, Gu Hanfeng carefully rotated the mechanism. Sure enough, the gate sealed for thousands of years suddenly opened from the outside at that moment.
Naturally, after Gu Hanfeng activated the mechanism, everyone quickly retreated several meters – firstly because they feared the mechanism might pose dangers; secondly, because opening it would release large amounts of marsh gas and toxic fumes, gases characteristic of ancient tomb funerary pits.
Especially in such an enormous monarch’s mausoleum, where the funerary pit must contain numerous humans and animals.
As for why the System claimed this was actually the easiest place to enter – there was a reason. This tomb gate was the only one that could be opened from the outside.
The other burial chambers had all employed internal sealing stones and door-jamming mechanisms, locked securely from within.
To gain entry, one would either have to emulate tomb raiders by digging tunnels to breach a wall section, or directly use explosives.
However, neither method could avoid one critical issue: damaging the internal structural integrity, potentially triggering internal quicksand that could bury the entire chamber or activating some self-destruct mechanism, which would result in catastrophic losses.
Most importantly, such approaches weren’t necessarily safe—they might prove even more dangerous than the current situation and more likely to cause casualties.
According to the map Qiu Yunzheng had obtained, behind this rammed earth wall lay a narrow path leading directly to the sacrificial pit.
This was likely a passage used in ancient times to herd sacrificial victims or livestock into the pit before being sealed from the outside and concealed.
But such concealment was useless against the System’s advanced technology—a simple scan would reveal everything. Had it not been necessary to enter first before scanning, the System would have already provided Qiu Yunzheng with the complete internal layout.
After several soldiers used equipment Qiu Yunzheng didn’t recognize to extract most of the methane and toxic gases from the sacrificial pit,
Gu Hanfeng carefully led the team through the tomb entrance only after confirming no dangers existed in the surrounding area and near the doorway.
Beyond the tomb entrance lay a shocking and horrifically vast burial pit filled with densely packed skeletons, sealed away for thousands of years until now, when someone could finally witness the agony and suffering they endured in life.
For a moment, no one spoke or moved, all standing silently in the distance.
At that moment, they seemed to feel the pain and injustice emanating from these people thousands of years ago—as if only now, with the door opened, had they truly been released.
For some reason, never before had they felt so profoundly grateful to be living in modern times, in this era of equality.
“Sigh, no matter which tomb it is, no matter how many times I see it, I always find ancient sacrificial rituals somewhat cruel.”
Bai Lishen’s voice emerged through his gas mask, slightly distorted but still conveying his compassionate sentiment.
No one responded, nor did Bai Lishen expect anyone to—he was simply expressing his feelings. Having been in archaeology for decades, he always felt disturbed witnessing such scenes.
Looking across the basketball-court-sized sacrificial pit, the surface was covered with only a portion of human remains. Without considering how many more lay beneath, just this visible layer contained an estimated hundred-plus skeletons.
Most significantly, this was merely one of the sacrificial pits. Now that they’d entered, the System could scan more clearly, revealing three additional pits of similar scale behind this one.
Qiu Yunzheng shared this information, but everyone remained silent, their moods growing heavier.
The entire tomb complex was astonishingly vast, covering a staggering 25.6 square kilometers—this tremendous area nearly matched half the size of history’s largest imperial mausoleum, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang.
Consequently, there were four sacrificial pits: two for humans, one for horses, and one for exotic animals. The question remained: which historical emperor’s mausoleum could this be?
The few people present grew increasingly curious in their hearts. After all, this type of tomb was already remarkably luxurious and extravagant, and what’s more, it predated even Qin Shihuang’s era—a Spring and Autumn period imperial mausoleum.
Primarily because previously discovered tombs had been relatively small, this was the first time they had encountered one that, aside from the Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum, was the largest tomb they’d ever seen.
The four burial chambers of the sacrificial pit were all interconnected, with no doors concealing them. The group could simply walk carefully along the edge of the sacrificial pit.
The main concern was avoiding stepping on the skeletal remains inside the sacrificial pit. After thousands of years of erosion, these bones had become extremely fragile—the slightest pressure could cause them to crumble to dust, so everyone proceeded with utmost caution.
Fortunately, the peripheral areas of these remains were clear of human bones, consisting only of rammed earth forming the pit’s edge.
This also allowed them to witness the remarkably perfect craftsmanship from thousands of years ago, which remained exceptionally sturdy even to this day.