The further they went, the narrower the path became. Starting out at three hundred meters in diameter, it was roughly forty meters at the end and solidly blocked off by the head of an undead hag that filled the tunnel from bottom to brim. Hundreds of smaller undead hags then filed out of nowhere to block the way behind them, sealing them into the watery tunnel.

Qing Han paled and touched his chest reflexively. With all the treasures he possessed, he shouldn’t be afraid of these monsters. However, having been chased down by those things back in the burial mound under Myriad Formation Summit had traumatized him too much.

Even Lu Yun’s hackles raised at the sight of the undead hags. Starlight radiated from his friend as he channeled the power of starstones, but Lu Yun stopped him from casting out the energy.

“Protect the Deaf Prince,” Lu Yun said quietly. “Don’t let the apple of the East Sea’s eye get hurt.”

Qing Han paused and nodded without thinking.

“The last time I faced undead hags, I hadn’t even reached core realm, but this time, I’m the top cultivator of the world of immortals, first of the youth sovereigns!” His very being exuded confidence.

The giant undead hag blocking their way was no match for the one Ruyi had turned into; she had rivaled a golden immortal. This particular one was somewhere between empyrean immortal and august immortal. When it came to august immortals… Lu Yun had lost count of the number he’d killed.

Swoosh!

Sword energy burst from Lu Yun’s hand, dousing the area in hazy violet.

“Wait!” screamed the little fox. “There’s a restriction in the water, which will be triggered by any significant energy clashes!”

Restriction, not formation!

Lu Yun could see through formations and barriers, but not restrictions, which were a kind of immortal art. He stilled and broke into a cold sweat, which was quickly swept away by the seawater.

The little fox hadn’t noticed the restriction either, at least not until Lu Yun had lit up the place with his sword and afforded her a better look. Triggering the restriction would kill everyone, including Lu Yun.

“Restriction… and undead hags! I know who’s come before us.” Lu Yun tightened his hand around Violetgrave and slowly reeled in his sword energy.

“Waugh waugh wauuuuugh!” the undead hags shrieked piercingly and rushed toward them in a tide of unearthly, ghostly beings.

“Get away from this prince, you disgusting abominations!” growled the Deaf Prince and sprang into action with a flare of dark cyan radiance. The water around them formed powerful currents and knocked back the onslaught of undead hags

However, these creatures were resilient and almost impossible to kill. His xiangliu talent allowed him to drive the monsters away, but not kill them. He was just a transformed spirit cultivator and hadn’t yet awakened his bloodline fully, while the undead hags could rival true immortals.

“Hang on, that didn’t trigger the restriction!” Lu Yun’s lit up.

“Water!” Qing Han said without missing a beat. “Use water techniques or combat arts to avoid setting off the restriction!”

“Right!” Lu Yun roared.

Water reared around him and formed a giant vortex that took control of all the currents in the area. His talent in water manipulation was formidable once awakened, and... he’d overlooked this ability until now. Not to mention he had a dragon, water god, and water qilin as envoys!

He quickly brought all of the seawater in the tunnel under his command. The enormous vortex rotated faster and faster, until it sucked in all of the hundreds of undead hags.

Even the giant undead hag blocking their way was affected. It clung to the walls of the tunnel to resist the vortex’s suction, but proved too weak in the end. Eventually, the undead hag was sucked in with a scream as well.

……

In the eerie, empty main hall.

Jiangchen Wushang stopped in his tracks and looked back in the direction of the tomb entrance.

“What’s wrong?” Jin Heyi cocked his head at him.

“I’ve lost contact with the water ghosts under my control. Someone’s here, and they haven’t triggered the restriction.” Jiangchen Wushang’s expression darkened.

“It must be someone from the water clan. The restriction was integrated into the water, so only their combat arts can bypass it.” Jin Heyi nodded. “Let them come. Your Great Formation of Corpse Refinement lays at the entrance of the tomb. Even golden immortals will be refined into zombies when they encounter it.”

Jiangchen Wushang nodded. “Senior brother Jin, are you sure this is the tomb of the ancient poison doctor—”

“Quiet!” Jin Heyi frowned. “Don’t invoke the name of the tomb owner in an ancient tomb!”

Jiangchen Wushang trembled.

……

Cerulean glyphs gathered in Lu Yun’s hands, forming a fist-sized water orb that trapped the giant undead hag and hundreds of smaller ones within it. This was a water qilin’s natural skill, allowing him to leverage the power of the sea to create a seal. Anything whose cultivation was below his could be captured.

Lu Yun may only be a refined spirit cultivator, but the undead hags possessed only the brute strength of immortals and no corresponding cultivation. Thus, they were easily captured once one of their greatest advantages was nullified.

“Such terrifying water manipulation!” The Deaf Prince briskly shook his head. “Am I the xiangliu, or is it Lu Yun instead?”

He could only keep the undead hags at bay, and might even be eaten if he wasn’t careful enough. Lu Yun, on the other hand, had easily sealed away all of the monsters with a powerful water technique.

“Watch out,” Lu Yun cautioned gravely. “There’s a Great Formation of Corpse Refinement ahead of us! The Corpse Refiners and some others have entered the tomb.”

The awful formation would refine whoever wandered into it; even immortals would be transmuted to zombies. It was beyond despicable for the Corpse Refiners to place the formation at the entrance of the tomb.

With the coiled mountains of the tomb broken, the tomb would gradually emerge and attract increasing numbers of immortals. So anyone who came through the entrance would be refined into zombies and become fodder for the Corpse Refiners.

Lu Yun could tell that this particular formation was of a high level and could refine even golden immortals. He had seen two such instances before—the first by Jiangchen Wushang to trap the Deaf Prince, and the second by Jin Heyi to rescue the Jiangchen scion.

Lu Yun knew the formation very well by now.

“A golden immortal-grade formation? I’ll break it!” Lu Yun approached the formation and called back over his shoulder, “Stay put and don’t come any closer!”

He threw the orb with the sealed undead hags into the formation.