Chapter 14

In the thirteenth year of the Anchoring Era, ancient texts such as the *Book of Documents*, the *Book of Songs*, and the *Book of Rites* were unearthed, and scholars across the land became increasingly fascinated with the lost history.

In the fifteenth year of the Anchoring Era, the emperor fell gravely ill. Desiring to prolong his life with elixirs of immortality, he dispatched over a hundred thousand troops to excavate ancient tombs in search of these elixirs.

Although many court officials had reservations, there was no large-scale petition against the emperor's actions.

Unfortunately, the elixirs of immortality were hard to find. Despite the excavation of hundreds of ancient tombs, no trace of them was discovered.

At the end of the year, the emperor passed away with regret, passing the throne to the Prince of Langya.

From this point on, Li Fan finally regained control of the empire in secret.

Under Li Fan's influence, the trend of visiting ancient tombs and seeking historical artifacts grew even more popular.

In the seventeenth year of the Anchoring Era, a hunter in the mountains, having discovered an ancient tomb, won the favor of the Grand Tutor and was ennobled as a marquis. Thereafter, people across the land became even more enthusiastic and疯狂 about visiting ancient sites. No matter how remote the forests were, groups of visitors could be seen everywhere.

As time passed, it reached the twenty-third year of the Anchoring Era.

Li Fan stood in the Grand Tutor's residence, reviewing the clues gathered from official and civilian excavations over the years.

Before this, the world only had historical records spanning three thousand years, covering twenty-three dynasties.

However, with the excavation of numerous ancient tombs, the lost history gradually began to be pieced together.

Before these twenty-three dynasties, there were sixteen more, dating back to about six or seven thousand years ago.

The earliest dynasty that could be found was called Qi.

"Six or seven thousand years, that roughly aligns with the Great Migration Era," Li Fan thought to himself.

He then ordered his subordinates to focus on excavating the tombs of the Qi dynasty.

He also offered a reward to anyone who could find a tomb from the Qi dynasty, promising them a marquisate.

The news spread quickly, and people across the land shared the information.

Countless young people formed groups and set out on the path of visiting ancient sites.

No matter how sealed the history was, it could not withstand the enthusiastic excavation and search by the entire nation.

In the twenty-fifth year of the Anchoring Era, the tomb of Yi Xing, the first emperor of the Qi dynasty, was finally discovered.

Upon hearing the news, Li Fan led his trusted subordinates to the site and secured the area.

Over the years, the excavation techniques of the Great Xuan Dynasty had rapidly advanced, and a highly effective tomb-opening method had been developed.

Despite the grand scale of the tomb of the first emperor, which contained countless traps, the team of ancient site visitors managed to dig a passage to the main chamber in just over a month.

After all obstacles were cleared, Li Fan, surrounded by his subordinates, entered the interior of the tomb.

The main passage stretched for hundreds of meters, with both walls adorned with vivid murals. Despite the passage of thousands of years, they were still clearly visible.

Li Fan slowly walked along, examining the murals.

The murals were divided into several sections.

The first section depicted the protagonist, Yi Xing, the first emperor of the Qi dynasty, sitting atop a mountain peak. Above the misty clouds, several figures of immortals seemed to be speaking to him.

The second section represented the arrival of calamity, with the land covered in blood. Under Yi Xing's leadership, the survivors boarded large boat-like vehicles and flew over vast seas of clouds, encountering numerous dangers before finally reaching a vast plain where they settled.

The third section showed Yi Xing, with the support of the people, proclaiming himself emperor and establishing the Qi dynasty.

The fourth section depicted various trivial events during Yi Xing's reign.

...

After viewing the murals, Li Fan arrived at the main chamber.

The chamber was about forty to fifty meters high and several kilometers long and wide. The ceiling was designed to mimic the starry sky, embedded with thousands of night pearls.

Inside the chamber, the layout resembled a mountain gate, with numerous peaks rising from a sea of clouds.

This sea of clouds was mysteriously generated and remained fixed within the chamber, not drifting around. It had not dissipated over the thousands of years.

The peaks were connected by invisible paths, and everyone marveled at the sight, filled with admiration.

"Indeed, it is the work of immortals," Li Fan thought to himself.

At the highest peak was a simple thatched cottage, with the surrounding fields now abandoned.

Upon entering, they discovered that the thatch of the cottage was actually made of countless fine gold threads.

Clearly, this thatched cottage was Yi Xing's coffin.

At Li Fan's command, the group opened the door of the thatched cottage.

To everyone's surprise, there was no remains of Yi Xing inside.

Only a wooden tablet stood quietly, inscribed with golden characters: "Tomb of Yi Xing, Outer Disciple of the Taiyan Sect."

There was nothing else inside.

"It seems that although he joined the Taiyan Sect, he remained an outer disciple and never ascended to immortality. In the end, he was exiled to this place by the cultivators."

"He still remembered his sect until his death, always identifying himself as an outer disciple of the Taiyan Sect, rather than as an emperor."

"According to Kou Hong's previous account, all sects should have been destroyed in the great calamity before the Great Migration Era. Now it seems there must be more to the story."

Li Fan pondered deeply.

"Yi Xing must have been entrusted by the cultivators of the Taiyan Sect to oversee the Great Migration. I wonder if we can find the flying boats used for the migration."

Finding nothing in the main chamber, Li Fan ordered the team to excavate the surrounding area, hoping to find clues in the accompanying tombs.

A few days later, a bad piece of news arrived, filling Li Fan with anger and frustration.

It turned out that the team had found records of flying boats in the inventory of a nearby accompanying tomb. Unfortunately, this tomb had been looted long ago, likely a thousand years before.

"Again, again! Every time I see a glimmer of hope, it turns out to be nothing but a mirage!"

Li Fan, rarely losing his temper, smashed several items around him.

Those around him were silent, afraid to speak.

After a long while, Li Fan calmed down.

He still ordered the team to continue excavating ancient tombs in search of any traces of the flying boats, but he himself returned to Xuanjing, seemingly losing hope.

Ten years passed, and it was now the thirty-fifth year of the Anchoring Era. A turning point finally arrived.

One day, Li Fan received an urgent report.

"An immortal's tomb discovered?" Li Fan was taken aback, then overjoyed, and began to inquire in detail.

Over the years, although Li Fan had become somewhat disinterested, the public's enthusiasm for visiting ancient sites had not waned. Countless ancient tombs had been excavated across the Great Xuan land.

As the large tombs were nearly exhausted, people began to focus on the smaller, previously overlooked tombs.

A few days ago, a group of young people, while excavating an inconspicuous tomb, were suddenly injured by an unknown force, resulting in heavy casualties.

The survivors immediately reported the incident to the authorities.

In the decades of ancient site visits in the Great Xuan, while there had been casualties, they were mostly due to traps. This was the first time such a mysterious event had occurred before the tomb was even opened.

The team of ancient site visitors did not dare to be negligent and sent people to investigate immediately.

Despite the combined efforts of experienced veterans and fully armed soldiers, they could not breach the small tomb.

Everyone was both surprised and delighted and quickly reported the matter to Li Fan.

Upon hearing the news, Li Fan arrived at the site and, using the Immortal Mortal Fog, finally destroyed the unknown force surrounding the tomb.

Inside the tomb, among the various burial items, a small wooden boat was prominently displayed.