Xu Qingqing and the others continued walking deeper. Everywhere the flashlight shone was resplendent and magnificent. All the utensils used were inlaid with gold and silver, looking extremely luxurious.
Xu Qingqing couldn't help but exclaim, "No wonder those tomb - robbers led by Liu Shicheng were so determined to rob this tomb. If they could take all these things out, how much money could they make!"
Any single treasure here could be sold for a fortune.
Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai spent about half an hour wandering in this Taoist temple but still hadn't reached the end. Instead, Xu Qingqing's feet were hurting from exhaustion.
The two found a place to sit and rest. Lu Chuanbai gently massaged Xu Qingqing's feet while she used the flashlight to illuminate the ceiling of the Taoist temple. There were various Taoist stories painted on it.
Wang Lide asked Gu Yuan to go down the mountain to find the rescue team. He himself and Police Officer Xiao carefully searched the area where Xu Qingqing and the others had disappeared.
Guide Niu, based on his memory of pulling the mechanism, gradually found the spot where Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai had fallen. A large pit that could accommodate three people clearly appeared on the snow - covered ground.
"I've found it!" Guide Niu turned around and shouted to Wang Lide. Hearing his call, Wang Lide and the others quickly rushed over and saw the big hole on the ground.
"They must have fallen into this hole," Guide Niu said firmly, pointing to the bottom of the hole.
"Then let's go down quickly to find them!" Xiao was worried about Xu Qingqing's safety.
Xiao took out the climbing rope, tied one end around his waist and the other end tightly to a big tree.
Xiao held the rope tightly with both hands and stepped on the cave wall, slowly climbing down.
He didn't see Lu Chuanbai and Xu Qingqing, only Liu Shicheng who was unconscious on the ground.
Xiao scanned the area and found a secret passage in a shaded corner of the cave.
Standing at the entrance of the cave, Wang Lide tugged on the rope and shouted into the cave, "Are Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai inside?"
"I've found a secret passage here. They should have gone into it," Xiao said, using the flashlight to illuminate the passage and then untied the rope around his waist.
"I'll go into the secret passage to take a look."
Saying that, Xiao walked in bit by bit with the flashlight. No one knew how many years this secret passage had existed. The walls on both sides were covered with moss, emitting a strong musty smell.
When Xiao reached the fork in the road where Xu Qingqing and the others had made their choice, he chose to go east and saw an exit ahead.
Xiao quickly ran out. The space outside was even more vast than he had imagined. Xiao looked up and saw the most spectacular scene he had ever seen in his life.
The Taoist temple with red walls and black tiles, its beams and columns exquisitely carved, and the well - arranged floors were simply magnificent.
Xiao walked around the Taoist temple, sighing as he walked.
"How on earth did they hide such a large Taoist temple underground? Is there really such a thing as magic in this world?"
Xiao walked all the way to the main entrance of the Taoist temple. On the black plaque were three powerful characters that read "Yangtian Mansion".
Xiao walked in with the flashlight. He was startled when he saw the Taoist priests sitting in meditation with their backs to him. He quickly turned off the flashlight and kept chanting "Amitabha".
"Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva bless... No, that's wrong..."
Hearing his chant of "Amitabha" echoing in the hall, Xiao was so flustered that he wanted to slap himself.
This was a Taoist temple. How could he say "Amitabha"?
But he didn't know what to say in a Taoist temple.
Xiao nervously hung his head and waited for a long time, but didn't hear any movement.
Xiao opened his eyes slightly, carefully turned on the flashlight again and shone it on the Taoist priests. He found that they didn't move at all and didn't even have a breath.
They weren't alive...
Xiao didn't dare to stay any longer. Afraid of triggering some mechanism, he walked deeper inside while softly calling out Xu Qingqing's name.
"Xu Qingqing, are you there?"
Xu Qingqing, who was still sitting and resting, faintly heard a girl calling her name. Her heart skipped a beat. She stood up and listened attentively.
The voice sounded like Xiao's.
Xu Qingqing put on her shoes, stood up and asked, "Did you hear something?"
Lu Chuanbai nodded, helped Xu Qingqing tie her shoelaces, and pointed at the long corridor they had just walked through.
"The sound is coming from there."
"Then let's go find her quickly," Xu Qingqing said, pulling Lu Chuanbai and running in the direction of the sound.
Although the Taoist temple was very magnificent, it lacked the presence of people. It always felt a bit eerie.
Xu Qingqing and the others found Xiao. Xiao rushed up and hugged Xu Qingqing tightly. Patting his own chest, he sighed, "I was really startled when I passed by the main entrance just now. I thought they were living Taoist priests."
"Me too. But they've all passed away. Their bodies must have been preserved by some secret method."
After the initial fear dissipated, Xu Qingqing became interested in studying the well - preserved bodies of the Taoist priests whose skins hadn't rotted.
When Xu Qingqing and the others came out along the original path, they saw that Wang Lide had already led the rescue team down from the hole. They were all excited about these well - preserved Taoist priest corpses.
Most of the members of the rescue team were experienced archaeologists. They were highly experienced and well - informed. After retiring, they joined the rescue team because they couldn't bear the loneliness.
After seeing such a magnificent and well - preserved Taoist temple and the corpses, they were all extremely excited and couldn't wait to carry the things up for research.
"Teacher Wang," Xu Qingqing walked over and interrupted Wang Lide, who was arguing heatedly with an old man.
When Wang Lide saw that Xu Qingqing had come out on her own, he just remembered that his original purpose was to rescue Xu Qingqing and the others.
Wang Lide slapped his own head and apologized, "Look at my forgetfulness. I was supposed to come and find you, but as soon as I saw Yangtian Mansion, I forgot all about it."
"It's okay. I was also shocked when I first came in," Xu Qingqing said. This time, she looked at the corpses with awe and curiosity, trying to use the system to search for how they had been preserved.
The system recorded the search interface, and relevant information was quickly received.
After the Taoist priests of Yangtian Mansion hid the Taoist temple underground, they were determined to ascend to immortality together.
Before that, they had refined a kind of elixir. People who took this elixir would have their corpses preserved, and their bodies would take on a slightly bronze color.
This made these overly obsessive Taoist priests think that taking this elixir would allow them to become immortals.
So these Taoist priests didn't eat or drink for seven days. They only took the elixir and bathed and purified themselves every day, preparing for immortality.
After the seventh day, one by one, the Taoist priests' bodies seemed to be frozen. They couldn't move.
By the time the toxicity of the elixir completely took control of their brains, these people died.
After learning the truth about the deaths of these Taoist priests, Xu Qingqing felt sad and sighed. The flashlight passed over their bronze - colored skin. They really did look like they had the air of immortals.
Some things would lose their original meaning if one became overly obsessive.
Xu Qingqing would stay behind to participate in the subsequent protection work of the Taoist temple with the Special Cultural Relics Action Team.
However, Lu Chuanbai had a mountain of company affairs waiting for him to handle.
Xu Qingqing saw Lu Chuanbai off at the airport. Before parting, the two kissed for the last time.