Chapter 138: The Fork in the Road

"Xiao Jiu, can you teleport us directly outside the Three-Nine Formation?" Liang Yan asked, looking at the spirit vessel on his shoulder.

The small white jade bottle rolled its eyes, as if saying, "Do you even need to ask?"

Then, it leaped into the air, and a pure white brilliance scattered from the mouth of the bottle, enveloping both Liang Yan and Zhao Xunzhen, before vanishing in an instant.

Following a dizzying spin, Liang Yan's feet touched the ground once again.

He looked at the solid earth before him and breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Ever since he had been swallowed into the palm of the Core Formation realm big-eared monk, he had been exploring and navigating through a boundless, ethereal space of darkness.

The feeling of having his feet firmly planted on solid ground once again was truly long-awaited. Although they were still inside a subterranean secret passage, it was far more reassuring than the environment they had previously been in.

However, a moment later, Liang Yan could no longer feel happy.

He pointed a finger at a few beams of white light not far away and said angrily:

"Xiao Jiu, I told you to bring me and Zhao Xunzhen out, not to bring them along as well!"

The white light in the distance dissipated to reveal several figures, who turned out to be none other than Ji Lai, Meng Qi, and Li Huayang.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu shrank its eyes slightly, acting like a child who had done something wrong, and darted straight into the collar of Liang Yan's robe. Only its two blinking eyes peeked out, seemingly saying:

"You didn't make it clear!"

Seeing it behave this way, Liang Yan could only rub his temples helplessly.

At this moment, a man's voice suddenly came from across the way:

"Brother Liang! You're not dead yet!"

Liang Yan's face darkened as he turned to look, and the speaker was indeed Ji Lai!

Ji Lai chuckled and said, "They say that those who survive a great disaster are bound to be blessed with good fortune! It seems Brother Liang's romantic fortune is quite deep!"

"Shut your dog mouth!"

Before Liang Yan could speak, Zhao Xunzhen had already shouted angrily.

"Oh my, sister-in-law is not to be trifled with! Ji has spoken out of turn! Ji has spoken out of turn! If we were outside, I would certainly punish myself with three cups of wine!" Ji Lai wore a grinning expression; although he was apologizing, he was actually teasing the two of them.

"Alright, Brother Ji, stop chewing the fat." Liang Yan frowned slightly and said with a helpless sigh.

Next, he turned his attention to Meng Qi, the only Foundation Establishment cultivator present, and said:

"This junior, Liang Yan, pays respects to Senior Meng."

"Oh? How did you know I am Meng Qi?" Meng Qi stared at Liang Yan with wide eyes, a hint of interest showing on her face.

After all, the one who had previously gone by the name "Meng Qi" was actually her puppet.

"My cultivation technique is somewhat special and allows me to perceive the spiritual power of others," Liang Yan answered cautiously.

"So that's how it is. It seems you knew all along that I am the true self!"

"Not quite! This junior only noticed a few clues back in the golden palace, when several sect masters made their moves against the four statues."

Seeing his cautious demeanor, Meng Qi giggled again and said:

"You don't need to be so restrained, little fellow. My lineage has ties with Ji Lai's master's sect. Since you are his friend, I naturally won't use my seniority to bully you or treat a junior harshly."

Hearing this, Liang Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief, while secretly growing even more curious about Ji Lai.

At this moment, Ji Lai smiled and said, "Alright, since we are all here to hunt for treasures and have now made it through countless dangers, I reckon the inheritance ground of the tomb master is just ahead. Whatever we have to say, let's wait until we get there!"

Naturally, the others had no objections to this and immediately decided to set off together, following the underground secret passage deeper into the earth.

This passage was entirely ordinary, devoid of any further mechanisms or traps. After walking for about half the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

It was a magnificent subterranean hall.

The hall was dozens of zhang square, with a gigantic statue of an old man right in the center.

The old man had an archaic and eccentric appearance, a tall and thin stature, a sheathed long sword hanging at his waist, and a jade compass cupped in his hands. At that moment, his piercing gaze was fixed on the path the group had taken.

Perched upon his shoulder was a small black imp, which looked cunning and slick, its two eyes extraordinarily lively. Even though Liang Yan knew it was merely a statue, he had the illusion that it was a living creature.

Underneath the old man's feet stepped a giant flying bird. However, this bird had sharp, distinct angles, making it look less like a true celestial bird and more like an automaton beast.

"This statue of the old man in the middle seems somewhat familiar?"

Ji Lai turned his head and asked tentatively.

Meng Qi also furrowed her brow slightly at this point, clearly agreeing with Ji Lai's words, yet unable to remember where she had seen him for a moment.

"Isn't this the person from the portrait we saw when we first entered the tomb?" Liang Yan suddenly spoke up. "It's just that back then, we couldn't see his appearance at all. Only upon reaching this place has he revealed his true form to us."

"It really is him!" Ji Lai looked closely again, immediately nodding in agreement.

"It seems this is the master of this tomb. Yet I am poorly informed and actually do not recognize this person's name," Meng Qi chimed in.

"Ahem, who cares who the tomb master is!" At this moment, Li Huayang, who had been following silently on the side, suddenly said, "We came here to hunt for treasures, not to pay respects to the deceased."

He then wore a fawning expression as he said to Meng Qi:

"The four fork roads ahead presumably correspond to the four inheritances of the tomb master here. Senior has profound cultivation and rightfully should choose first!"

Reminded by him, the others looked toward the back of the statue.

Sure enough, a few dozen zhang away, the path split into four separate forks.

Above each of these four fork roads, a line of small characters was inscribed: "Heavenly Artisan Path," "Divine Mechanism Path," "Evil Ghost Path," and "Sword Trial Path."

"Heh heh, you little fellow really know how to talk."

Meng Qi appeared no older than a twelve-year-old girl, yet she directly called Li Huayang, an elderly man in his twilight years, a "little fellow." Such a scene would be shocking in the mortal world, but in the realm of cultivation, it was the most common thing in the world.

Li Huayang wore a fawning smile and said, "Senior has extraordinary divine abilities, and the inheritance here should naturally be inherited by Senior. However, since the tomb master divided the inheritance into four parts, clearly one person cannot possess them all. We can only ask Senior to choose first, and then the rest of us can choose accordingly."

"Heh heh! Then this concubine won't be polite!"

Meng Qi giggled and suddenly patted the storage pouch at her waist. A yellow metallic sphere flew out from it, twisting and deforming in mid-air while making clicking sounds.

When the sphere landed on the ground, it actually transformed into a plump ostrich. Meng Qi tapped her toes and leaped onto the bird's back.

The ostrich let out a cry toward the sky, then exerted force with its two legs, turning into a stream of yellow smoke that charged straight into the "Heavenly Artisan Path."

The group turned to look and saw that after Meng Qi entered, a layer of blue light screen lit up at the entrance of the Heavenly Artisan Path, sealing the others out.

Clearly, each inheritance path could only be entered by one person.