Chapter 274: Nine Deaths to Survive, Ten Deaths Mean Certain Death

The first level of the Wangling, the entrance hall.
The corpses of ninjas and players lying scattered across the hall still hadn’t disappeared, but the bloodstains on the ground had dried, turning into an eerie dark black. After the members of the four major sects left, the many wounded from the Feihu Gate, Lingyin Society, and Beggar Sect took up positions in different corners. After using healing potions to treat their wounds, they focused on recuperating through internal energy, making the entire hall even more desolate and grim after the battle…
During this time, no one noticed that among the Feihu Gate members, one of their disciples disappeared for half a minute before reappearing quickly in his original spot.
“!”
Neither the members of the Beggar Sect nor the Lingyin Society realized it.
But the people from the Feihu Gate paled upon seeing their companion reappear.
Soon after, a snow-white homing pigeon soared into the air!
The sound of its flapping wings breaking the dull atmosphere in the hall made the leader of the Lingyin Society and a few members of the Beggar Sect look up and glance at the group from the Feihu Gate. The former glanced sadly at his own arm, his face filled with pain.
Losing an arm was considered a minor issue in the game. Fortunately, it was the left arm, so he still retained some combat strength. Moreover, his right arm was intact, stored in his Qiankun Bag. Once outside, he could find a medical clinic to reattach it and use expensive medicines to quickly return to peak condition. But until then, his combat strength would be greatly reduced, making it unlikely he could survive further in the Wangling!
The members of the four major sects had been deep inside the Wangling for some time without returning, so it seemed they could handle the situation. He too considered entering the Wangling again.
However…
To be honest, with his current strength and that of his remaining brothers, entering was still very dangerous. Like the Beggar Sect and Feihu Gate, after a long struggle, they hesitated whether to continue risking it or leave the Wangling immediately.
Now, awakened by the message sent by the Feihu Gate pigeon, he finally realized he had to make a decision. Staying here was just a waste of time—a sign of cowardice.
“Everyone!”
Raising his hands, the middle-aged man with the severed arm stood up from the ground. His pale face drew many curious and sympathetic looks.
“We’ve rested for so long; it’s time to set off. I wonder if the two of you have decided whether to go deeper or leave?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the leaders of the Beggar Sect and Feihu Gate stood up from their respective groups.
“Leave?”

Before the members of the Beggars’ Guild could speak, a burly man with a dark face from the Flying Tigers Gate camp stepped forward, offering a sarcastic smile filled with mockery: “Where to go?”
As he spoke, he laughed self-mockingly.
The leader of the Lingyin Sect looked puzzled.
“…Brother, what do you mean by that?”
“Let me tell you the truth. Just now, one of my brothers logged off once, and when he logged back in, he was still here—never left the royal tomb at all…”
He paused, scanning the crowd as their expressions grew increasingly alarmed. “Everyone, do you understand what this means?”
“What?!”
The leader of the Lingyin Sect was the first to show shock.
“In other words, unless we find a way to leave here properly, we might be trapped here forever… Of course! By tomorrow at this time, we might be transported out, but there’s another possibility too…”
The burly man from the Flying Tigers Gate had clearly thought long and hard. He glanced around the hall before uttering a possibility that sent chills through everyone’s hearts:
“It’s also possible that the mechanisms in the royal tomb are activated, killing us all and getting rid of us from the tomb!”
Boom!!
The hall instantly erupted in chaos.
“That’s impossible!”
A few people stood up immediately, refusing to believe it, and chose to log off right away.
But soon…
They reappeared right where they were.
The leader of the Lingyin Sect’s face turned even paler!
After blinking nervously, he tremulously took paper and pen, wrote a line on it, and sent it out.
Actually, their sect had warned them about this mission—there were numerous traps in the royal tomb, and they had to be extremely careful. Only after eliminating all the ninjas could they consider the mission complete.
Up to now…
Not a single trap in the royal tomb had appeared!
All there were were ninjas setting ambushes.
So, the burly man from the Flying Tigers Gate wasn’t entirely wrong. Perhaps the moment the traps were activated would be the moment of death for everyone in the tomb.
Still, the Lingyin Sect pinned their hopes on Master Zhou Yi, who was known in the martial world as almost omnipotent, hoping he could help solve this problem.
…
In a certain city…
A few members of the Lingyin Sect rushed to the streets, found Master Zhou Yi selling his services, and without hesitation, threw a bag of money on his stall.
“I have a question.”
“I can help with fortune-telling, predicting good fortune, finding people, or revealing secrets of the heavens. Go ahead.”
Master Zhou Yi smiled warmly as he grabbed the bag of money, looking kindly at the three people in front of him. “I have divine foresight. As long as it’s within the realm of the five elements, there’s no problem.”
“Oh? That’s perfect then.”

The members of the Lingyin Sect exchanged glances, and one of them said, “I wonder if the master knows anything about the royal tombs?”
“Royal tombs? There are many of those—three emperors and five kings, as well as various princes from different dynasties, all of whom had tombs built. Could you be more specific and tell me which one?”
Master Zhou Yi stroked his gray beard.
The man glanced warily around before whispering in his ear.
Master Zhou Yi’s expression changed abruptly as he stared in disbelief at the three men before him: “The royal tombs of the Great Yan Dynasty! You’ve actually found the tombs of the former Great Yan empire…”
On the street, countless people immediately turned to look.
Words like “empire” and “royal tombs” were so astonishing that many players around them began to speculate and gathered around.
“That old bastard!”
Although they knew Master Zhou Yi wasn’t one to keep secrets, the three members of the Lingyin Sect still felt frustrated as if they had been tricked. So they simply said, “That’s right, it’s the royal tombs of the Great Yan Dynasty. We want to know how to get out of there.”
“Well…”
Master Zhou Yi looked troubled.
The three members of the Lingyin Sect clearly understood and added another money bag.
“…”
Another one!
Master Zhou Yi smiled as he put the three money bags in his pocket. This gesture finally relieved the three members of the Lingyin Sect. To be honest, they had been worried that three money bags wouldn’t be enough.
Master Zhou Yi took out the tortoise shell for divination and some coins, shook them crisply, and then poured them onto the Bagua diagram…
Frowning, Master Zhou Yi slowly said under the curious gazes of many players, “There’s a sliver of hope among nine deaths—yes, the Life Gate opens once every twelve hours, and once it closes, there’s no turning back… In other words, you must find the exit within twelve hours; otherwise, the Life Gate will shut, and death will be certain.”
The members of the Lingyin Sect’s expressions changed drastically as they quickly sent messages by pigeon to inform the others about this result!
…
Crushing the piece of paper, the leader of the Lingyin Sect fell silent for a moment.
“Damn it!”
“To run into such a death-defying task!”
After getting the definite information, the people in the hall erupted in outrage:
“Damn!”
“Sitting here is just waiting to die—let’s storm inside!”
“Right!”
“The people from the four major sects are still in there; they surely know more than us!”
“Let’s go! Everyone, let’s go!”
Incited by some and with the tacit approval of a few leaders, many people stood up. The three major sects, in groups, surged into the passage…
Soon!
The hall of the royal tombs was left completely empty.