Necropolis Immortal

aths and combat arts.
And yet, the holy lord hadn’t seen anything about tomb raiding in the Dao Academy.

“Tomb raiding isn’t a great dao at all.
It’s just a combination of all the great daos in the world, the three religions and nine schools of thought, and endless knowledge with experience.

“When it comes to how feng shui of the tombs affects formations, you can learn that through formation dao.

“Restraining immortal ghosts and zombies are found in talisman dao.

“Treasures to destroy ghosts and zombies can be refined through equipment dao.

“Curing corpse poison and avoiding the qi of malice lies in pills through pill dao.

“Seeking the dragon, discerning location, and determining the life point of a tomb are located in formula dao.

“As for the ‘Secret Archives of the Tomb Raiders’ that I compiled, it’s on the library shelves of the Dao Academy.
Anyone who makes it through the outer academy examinations can peruse it at their leisure. 

“To be honest, the content inside is profound and hard to grasp—not even the four supplemental sovereigns might be able to understand it.
If I put it in the outer academy for everyone in the world to see, they’ll lap up the information without comprehending it and have it all backfire on them.

“If someone takes what they’ve read and ventures into an ancient tomb to regurgitate theories they’ve acquired through rote memorization… well, they’ll die a nasty death.

“Not only that, but if one lacks the fundamental knowledge of the outer academy and tries to understand the craftsmanship behind lord-grade fortress ships, the refinement method of crystal cannons, the formations that counter the weapons, or dao-grade formations of heaven and earth… again, it’s just impossible, even if I teach them personally.

“It’s all about foundations! Everything in the outer academy is just the basics, including even the six supplemental paths, various combat arts and cultivation methods.
I’m giving them sixty years so they lay down the proper groundwork and consolidate it.
When they reach the level of being able to learn more sophisticated concepts, the inner academy will naturally open to them.

“On the other hand, if they fail to learn even the basics after sixty years, it’d just be a waste of time for them if they continued studying at the Dao Academy.”

Understanding struck Ashu and he heaved a sigh of relief at the same time.
Bafflement that’d weighed over him had just been flawlessly explained away.

“How does a young twenty-something like you know so much? Sometimes, my dear, I think you’re the old monster who’s lived through several eras,” chuckled the holy lord.

“I’d love to take you to my homeland if there’s ever a chance.
It’s… much more complicated than compared to the world of immortals.
…we’re here!” Lu Yun suddenly stopped in front of a vast marsh.

The Heaven Locus Marsh.

Heaven Locus Land was named after this area of boundless marsh that seemed to stretch on forever.
It was a big forbidden area in the Primordial Era, and legend had it that the Xuan Yuan Tomb was located inside its swampy depths.

The Earth Alter lay interred inside this tomb.
If the spleen did exist, it would very likely be on top of that altar.

“Halt! Who goes there and how dare you trespass in the Heaven Locus Marsh!” By the banks of the marsh, a troop of heavenly soldiers suddenly descended from the skies and surrounded the trio.
They were extremely powerful monster spirits and all peerless immortals!

In the days of yesteryear, to be a golden immortal ranked one amongst the upper echelon of the world.
As nobles, they would never be ordinary soldiers.
But since the restoration of the void realm, immortals who hadn’t experienced it underwent a dramatic decline in fortunes.
Once honored with the title of immortal king, peerless immortals were now part of the rank and file.

Although the formation of heaven and earth was in circulation and there were many formation masters who could engrave it, not every immortal was blessed with obtaining one.
It’d only been two years since the appearance of this creation.
Therefore, all of the formerly lofty golden, arcane, and peerless immortals were just foot soldiers now.

The troop was three hundred strong and exhibited a tremendous burst of power when they assembled in formation.
In fact, they showed signs of becoming one with the Heaven Locus Marsh.

“The Heaven Locus Marsh is off limits in the Heaven Locus Land.
Any who wish to enter must obtain the approval of the celestial emperor and show his personally signed order.” Their leader was a peerless immortal at the peak of his realm.
He could’ve vied with the former Beigong Yu of the Northern Palace, Scaled-Dragon King, and Zou Longxiu.

Sadly, he came from humble origins and didn’t have a strong patron.
No one had etched a formation of heaven and earth for him, so he had to settle for being a squad leader of this small troop.

“I see, then the three of us shall request an audience from the celestial emperor and request approval.” Instead of erupting in fury at the disrespect, Lu Yun raised his hands in a cupped fist salute instead.

The peerless immortal blinked, then hastily returned the courtesy.
“It’s not the Heaven Locus Land being difficult and forbidding immortals from entering, it’s that the marsh is really too dangerous.
Ordinary immortals march only to their death when they enter, and they turn into zombies when they die.
When they spawn, they plague the Heaven Locus Land instead.

“Too many have died in the marsh over the years.
If this continues, we’ll be conquered by all of the zombies in the bog one day.”

1.
Xuan Yuan is also known as the Yellow Emperor and is a deity in Chinese religion.
He is one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes among the mytho-historical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.