Blake looked on as John was engulfed by the corpse worms, and terror began to well up in his heart. No wonder the compass issued a warning...
There were actually this many corpse worms hidden in the burial items?
Blake felt his heart skip a beat.
Although he wouldn't die since he had the system's blessing, he knew instinctively that if he had been bitten by these corpse worms, his life... He would definitely have been left half-dead!
...
At this moment, John, who was still holding onto the funerary objects, roared with laughter.
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha! These treasures are mine! No one can take them away from me! No one!"
He held the worm-infested valuables adoringly in his arms, his eyes filled with excitement and thrill.
Thick black lines startle crawling up his face, as his pupils grew wider and wider. As Blake looked deep into John's eyes, he could no longer see even a single trace of human consciousness left.
This guy was blinded by greed, and the ghostly qi had taken the opportunity to control his mind; it seemed that there was no way of bringing John out of his trance...
Blake's heart faltered.
This ghostly qi was far stronger than he had expected!
He had to find a way to control it as soon as possible, before it was his turn next.
The compass flickered back to its original position as he looked in the direction of the needle.
With his Yin-Yang Eye fully opened, the entire view of the tomb was slowly magnified with him at the center.
In the pitch-black tomb, a solemn coffin appeared in his Yin-Yang Eye's line of sight, and Blake discovered a mass of dense ghostly Qi spiraling within the coffin.
The ghostly qi gathering there was even more powerful and refined.
This was the direction the compass was pointing at.
The thousand-year-old corpse... was dwelling inside the coffin?
Blake's mind raced.
He thought of the system's words, "The only way to solve the problem is to strike its core."
The way to suppress the ghostly qi was inside the coffin!
Blake understood.
He neglected John Jones, who was still possessed, and slowly approached the coffin.
The coffin was made of high-quality wood, and had splendid carvings engraved onto its body. It had been here for god knows how many years, but it still looked good as new.
Blake approached and touched it slowly as he felt a chill run down his spine.
The compass did not send a warning.
'The coffin... It's not opening up!'
Blake exclaimed in his heart as he carefully inspected the sealed area of the coffin.
These tomb robbers from hundreds of years ago hadn't actually managed to open the coffin?
Blake was puzzled, and questions started forming in his head.
'The owner of the tomb...
'The identity of the tomb robbers...
'Why was this huge tomb filled with such heavy ghostly qi?
'The production of ghostly Qi was usually leveled with the resentment of the owner of the tomb.
'The heavier the resentment, the heavier the ghostly qi.
'What had the owner of the tomb experienced before he passed on?
'Why was there such a heavy resentment lingering around?'
Blake guessed in his heart.
He reached into the backpack given to him by the system, and he fished out a weapon. It was a dark and bright tinged dagger.
The Obsidian Carving Knife!
The weapon that had been recorded in the Spiritual Treasure Mirror Book, which could break the ghost enchantment and break all the seals.
Blake clutched the dagger tightly with his right hand and gently scratched the seal on the coffin.
...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blake could hear something rolling down into the tomb. Pricking up his ears vigilantly, he looked in the direction of the sound.
He saw five or six men in camouflage clothing sliding down from the top of the entrance and landing heavily on the stone flooring of the tomb.
They were members of the exploration team!
'How did they get in here?'
Blake narrowed his eyes.
According to his memory, the members of the expedition team had retreated out of the area of the tomb ahead of time.
'How did they fall into the tomb?
'Did they also jump in voluntarily?
'No... they didn't.
'They didn't know that there was such a big tomb here, nor did they know that there was a way to restrain the ghostly qi under the tomb.
'Therefore, they would not have risked their lives so pointlessly.
'In this case, there's only one possibility; they've most likely entangled themselves into some sort of trouble up there and slipped down into the tomb.'
These thoughts ran through Blake's mind as the members of the expedition team picked themselves off the ground, shouting and cursing.
"Hey, you're breaking my legs. Get lost! What the hell is this place?"
"Hiss... It's so cold! What kind of place is this? Why does it feel like a walk-in refrigerator?"
"It's so dark. Who brought their flashlights? Quickly, turn it on!"
...
Everyone was cussing, and soon after, a torchlight lit up.
Using the torchlight, everyone finally managed to evaluate their surroundings clearly.
It was cold, dark, and damp...
White bones were discarded everywhere, and there was a faint sour tinge in the air.
"F*ck! This is... a tomb! What an enormous tomb! How can there be such a thing in this place?"
A member of the expedition team could not help but blurt out.
Soon, the others could not help but whisper to each other as they looked around the tomb in surprise.
Not long after, they noticed John Jones lying on the side of the tomb!
"Look! It's Captain John! Why is he smiling foolishly on the ground alone?"
"Where's Blake? I clearly saw him jump in!"
"Don't worry about it. Let's go and take a look at Captain John first!"
"Captain John seems to have found some treasure! He's clinging onto it tightly... Could these have been buried in this tomb?"
"Emm... It's very possible! This tomb is so magnificent. The owner must have been someone distinguished!"
"Let's go have a look!"
The few of them spoke as they tiptoed carefully towards John Jones.
As they slowly inched their way through, their gaze also fell upon the remains of the tomb robbers that were sprawled along the tomb chamber. They also analyzed the iron pots and thermos flasks held in the arms of the corpses.
Obviously, these didn't grab their attention for long.
They continued to walk along the direction of John Jones.
As for Blake, he was hiding behind the coffin, so they did not notice him at all.
"..."
Panic rose when they reached John.
"Captain John, how are you? Are you okay?"
"Captain? Captain! Are you still awake?"
Everyone bent over and reached out to shake John Jones.
However, John did not seem to notice them at all. His eyes were dull as he locked the valuables firmly in his embrace and smiled foolishly, clearly deluded.
"Oh no, the captain has been possessed!"
One of the expedition team members frowned and murmured in horror.
"This place might really be like what Blake said. There's too much ghostly qi surrounding here.
"The captain's inhaled too much and gone delirious.
"Everyone, stay back. Don't go near Captain John."
One of the expedition team members warned his companions vigilantly.
After all, if John was corrupted, they might be in danger if they came in contact with each other again.
However, as he spoke, the other members looked at the funerary objects in John's arms...
Jade ornaments, round balls made of gold, silver, and jewelry.
Feasting their eyes on these rare and precious treasures, the eyes of the expedition team members lit up with greed!
"So Captain John was right. There are really treasures in this place! We're going to be rich! Hahaha!"
"Good stuff! These are all good stuff! Any one of these can be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars! We've made a fortune this time! Hahaha!"
In the tomb, a few members of the expedition team laughed excitedly. Then, as each of them laid their hands on the valuables John was holding on to, their hands would brush past his body. As for the member of the expedition team who had been warning them earlier, he was completely forgotten.
"Let go! These are all mine! None of you can touch them! Let go!"
John, who was lying on the ground, screamed like a madman when he felt the hands trying to take away his beloved treasures.