Chapter 145: Arrival at the Emperor's Tomb—The Aura of the Mountain and Sea Bloodline! [Please Subscribe!]

Although Yishen had abandoned his vehicle, he mostly traveled in straight lines, so his rate of advance remained quite brisk.

After stopping and going for over two hours, he arrived in the vicinity of the so-called "Emperor's Tomb" around dusk.

The nearest safe zone to the Emperor's Tomb was the Suizhou Safe Zone. This safe zone was not particularly large, barely functioning as a regional transportation hub.

There were a total of four dimensional gates in the surrounding area. According to intelligence reports, they were the Level 1-20 Water Tower, the Level 20-40 Orchard, the Level 40-60 Stone Forest, and the Level 30-70 Greater Rift: Primeval Wilderness.

The Emperor's Tomb was located approximately twelve kilometers northeast of the Suizhou Safe Zone, right near the "Water Tower" secret realm. Discovered about a month ago, the realm had spawned numerous monsters above level 40 in its surroundings, causing significant disruption to novice explorers in the area.

The full name of the "Water Tower" secret realm was the "Tower of Dark Waters." Peculiar tower-like structures would appear within the realm. While the monsters were not high in level, their immense variety classified it as a newcomer-tier secret realm.

However, following the emergence of the Emperor's Tomb, spatial fluctuations seemed to ripple through the vicinity. Special monsters had spilled out from the Water Tower, reaching levels upwards of forty. While this made little difference to Yishen, it had already resulted in at least a hundred casualties among the novices.

"Is this the Emperor's Tomb?"

As Yishen approached the Water Tower secret realm, he found the entire perimeter heavily cordoned off.

Reinforcements had already arrived from the Hanzhong Safe Zone, along with others from the Zhengyang Safe Zone further to the north. Aside from Yishen himself, it appeared that yet another inspector from the General Coordination Bureau had arrived.

Little Ge had originally intended to accompany Yishen, but he had arrived a step ahead of her.

Upon arrival, after observing the surrounding environment, Yishen could not help furrowing his brows.

The manner in which this Emperor's Tomb had appeared seemed utterly bizarre.

It looked as though it had plummeted from the heavens, crashing horizontally into the earth—half of it rested upon the plains, while the other half was embedded underground.

The entire Emperor's Tomb was enveloped in a peculiar reddish radiance, beyond which the explorers had established their defensive lines.

Upon drawing closer, Yishen essentially confirmed that the energy perceived by his Shanhai Bloodline originated precisely from this unusual secret realm.

"Hello, I am Shen Shimao. You must be the Black Mage, right?"

Not long after Yishen approached, an explorer stationed along the perimeter defense line noticed him and walked over.

This person was dressed in specialized tactical gear, complete with various accessories and a quiver of arrows. Yishen glanced up and gave a slight nod.

Yishen had heard the name Shen Shimao before—he was the resident inspector of the General Coordination Bureau stationed here. He looked to be around the same age as Zhanyu, whereas most other inspectors Yishen knew were considerably older.

"Yes, that's me." Even though he did not know why the other party had come out to greet him, Shen Shimao belonged to the General Coordination Bureau, so Yishen offered a polite, smiling greeting.

"I've heard a great deal about you. I just learned that you single-handedly eliminated the Xuan-gui. These exotic beasts have been causing quite a stir lately, and many of my friends have been assigned missions to deal with them." Shen Shimao seemed eager to curry favor with Yishen, speaking in a slightly halting manner.

Yishen merely smiled, finding the man rather more easygoing than he had initially imagined.

Yet, from Shen Shimao's perspective, Yishen was sparing with his words, consistently cloaked in his signature black mage's cloak and mask, truly projecting the aura of a mysterious, high-ranking master mage.

"I've been stationed here at the Emperor's Tomb for over three days now. Current observations indicate a certain degree of energy leakage, though anyone approaching us will also suffer some adverse effects. We estimate the energy leakage will cease by this weekend, at which point the realm's internal energy will peak, and the secret realm is expected to officially open."

The personnel from the General Coordination Bureau were primarily deployed early on to compile statistics and conduct investigations. The Emperor's Tomb held the highest priority rating among all of Yishen's current missions, and it was anticipated that explorers from various other factions would arrive in succession. During his brief scan earlier, Yishen had already spotted the emblems of several major guilds; some had previously appeared in the Jingmen Safe Zone, and given Suizhou's close proximity, a few factions from Hanzhong must have sent representatives as well.

Shen Shimao briefed Yishen on the data he had gathered over the past few days. His class was a Ranger adept with crossbows, and his observations were notably meticulous.

He even guided Yishen to map out several energy leakage hotspots. Yishen could acutely feel that the Bloodline and Shanhai auras in these specific zones were far more concentrated than anywhere else.

"I'm going down to take a look," Yishen said.

"Alright," Shen Shimao nodded, offering a word of caution as he accompanied Yishen forward. "Do be careful, though. These anomalies are corrosive and tend to affect one's mental state. If you feel any discomfort, retreat immediately."

The two soon approached a breach—the intersection zone between the underground and surface portions of the Emperor's Tomb. There was a sizable fracture here, where the surrounding reddish hue was noticeably denser than in other areas, and several strange monsters wandered about nearby.

According to Shen Shimao, these creatures had actually migrated from elsewhere, only to have their minds devoured and become lost right here, which was the primary reason for his warning.

Stopping just past a warning cordon, Shen Shimao went no further. Having ventured inside once before, he harbored a strong aversion to the interior, and once again reminded Yishen to exercise caution.

Upon drawing near, however, Yishen felt no sense of repulsion whatsoever. He could even perceive these red auras actively parting and recoiling the moment they drew close to him, carrying an unmistakable undertone of reverence!

"Is it because of my Shanhai Bloodline? Or the Heart of the Magic God?" The leaked auras likely possessed a tier lower than that of the Shanhai Bloodline; furthermore, the closer he got, the more Yishen sensed the existence of a terrifying power lurking deep within the Emperor's Tomb.

Yishen sensed a subordinate sort of affinity emanating from the crimson mist. After a brief moment of reflection, he began to guide and absorb it using his mental focus.

The very next moment, a peculiar energy vortex spontaneously formed in the surroundings. Wisps of red aura converged toward Yishen and were silently drawn into his body.

[System Notification: You have absorbed a branch aura of the Shanhai Bloodline. Your Shanhai Bloodline has been enhanced.]

This prompt appeared on Yishen's system interface, giving him food for thought. As expected, the Emperor's Tomb was intimately connected to those Shanhai exotic beasts. Moreover, fueled by his Heart of the Magic God's ravenous hunger for energy, the crimson auras entering his system were instantly broken down, leaving behind zero negative side effects.

Yishen continued deeper, rapidly reaching the fractured opening.

Standing far in the distance, Shen Shimao stared in a daze. He himself had barely been able to endure reaching even a third of the distance Yishen had just effortlessly crossed. Explorers from other major guilds had also attempted to enter, yet none had managed to make it even halfway to the breach before being forced to retreat under overwhelming pressure.

And yet right now, although he knew the Black Mage was exceptionally powerful, walking in so casually as if taking a stroll in his own backyard was a completely different league compared to everyone else!