Chapter 104: The Mystery of the Grave

  Seeing Yao Xinyan bow to himself, Ning Yuan finally felt at ease in his heart, knowing that this third senior brother of his had formally acknowledged him as the new leader. The previous spar might not have been as simple as Yao Xinyan had said, but rather a test to see if he was worthy of succeeding the Nine Profound Sect. Otherwise, even with Qingping Daoist's will, Yao Xinyan would probably still be unconvinced.

  "Third Brother, please get up quickly, no need for excessive courtesy." With a sigh of emotion, Ning Yuan simultaneously rushed forward, supporting Yao Xinyuan with both hands and helping him up. He smiled and said: "Now that the Southeast Treasure Appraisal Conference is about to begin, Third Brother has returned, and Second Brother and I are overjoyed."

  "Ah!"

  Yao Xinyuan sighed and said bitterly, "In those years, I left the Central Plains for various reasons, and when my master passed away, I wasn't by his side. It's really a shame to my master's teachings."

  "Third Master, you don't have to worry too much either. You and Eldest Master both had your own unavoidable difficulties. Master understands and often blames himself..." He Zhengyun consoled from the side, but only halfway through his words did he suddenly realize that Ning Yuan was by their side, hastily stopping the topic, some things still couldn't be let Ning Yuan know for now.

  "Hehe." Yao Xinyan suppressed the bitterness in her heart and smiled: "Let Second Brother see the joke, but I don't know how Eldest Brother is doing now, whether he's still alive?"

  "Master brother has always been lucky and should still be in the world of the living, we brothers will have a day to reunite." He Zhengxun said calmly.

  While speaking, He Zhengxun himself was not very confident. Tang Zongqiang was older than Yao Xinyan by more than a decade, and if he were still alive, he would be nearly ninety years old, so it's hard to guarantee that nothing unexpected would happen.

  "Ah, Master has his own destiny. " Yao Xinyan nodded and put away the depression on her face, patted Ning Yuan's shoulder with a smile: "Let's not talk about this, now that the Ninth Sect has a young master in charge, it will definitely shine brightly in the future, which is a good thing, if Master knew, he would be very happy too."

  "Three Shifu is overpraising." Ning Yuan smiled humbly and curiously asked, "By the way, Three Shifu, how did you meet Second Shifu and come to Tong Garden?"

  "Haha, after I came back, I originally wanted to go straight to Liao Hai, but unexpectedly encountered this group of grave robbers on the way, so I followed them secretly and arrived at Shangjiang City. Today, I coincidentally met Second Brother, who was originally following me to see this tomb chamber. Unexpectedly, he ran into Little Brother, that's when I made my move."

  "So it seems, it looks like Third Master is aware of the inside story of this gang?" Ning Yuan asked.

  "I've got some information, but it's not entirely clear." Yao Xinyan said: "This group of tomb raiders is not to be underestimated. They belong to a large-scale tomb raiding gang and have connections with many overseas business families. They have very strong channels and can directly smuggle the stolen goods out of the country. This time, there are twenty people who came to Shangjiang City, among whom several are notorious mercenaries, skilled in combat and marksmanship. At the same time, there are also a few masters of secret techniques."

  He Zhengxun chimed in at the same time, "If it weren't for Third Master's intervention, the one who confronted that policewoman might not have been a mercenary, but a master of secret arts."

  After hearing He Zhengxun say this, Ningyuan also felt a lingering fear. If it was really a master of the secret method who had taken action against Chen Yuxin, then Chen Yuxin might have been in real danger. A master of the secret method taking action would be someone you couldn't defend against.

  It turned out that Yao Xinyan had inadvertently helped Chen Yuxin, and although Ning Yuan was not good at representing Chen Yuxin's gratitude, he also felt grateful. He tentatively asked Yao Xinyan: "Has Third Master fought with the opponent before?"

  "Hmm, we've exchanged blows once before, but didn't meet in person. The other side had three masters of secret techniques, two were internalized spiritual awareness, one was spiritual awareness manifestation, and the three also knew a set of combined strike formations. We just had a simple exchange, it's considered evenly matched."

  Ning Yuan was even more shocked to hear Yao Xinyan say this, and he didn't expect that this small tomb raiding team actually had a master who could transform into a spirit body. Moreover, the three of them working together were evenly matched with Yao Xinyan.

  Just now, Ningyuan also had a simple exchange with Yao Xinyan, so he naturally knew how formidable Yao Xinyan was. Although it was just a spiritual manifestation, she possessed many mysterious and arcane techniques, and that jade plate wasn't a simple magical artifact either. It could basically be compared to the Qianyun ruler in Fang Dong's hand. The fact that the opponent could fight against Yao Xinyan without falling behind was truly not to be underestimated.

  While inwardly astonished, Ning Yuan asked: "Third Brother, do you know the background of these three people? The location of a Xuanmen cultivator's tomb is a great taboo; if it becomes known to others, it will attract the attack of many people."

  "Judging from the cultivation method, it should be the Jiuxing Gate." Yao Xinyan said.

  "Gate of Nine Stars?"

  Ning Yuan and He Zhengxun were both shocked at the same time, revealing a hint of astonishment, and asked in unison: "Is it really the Jiuxing Gate?"

  These nine-star gates do not belong to the Liqi school or the Xingshi school. In terms of inheritance, they are even earlier than the Xingshi school and the Liqi school, and are a mysterious school before the Jin Dynasty.

  Jiuxingpai claims to inherit the legacy of Zhang Liang, also known as Zhang Zifang, a strategist of the Eastern Han dynasty. The ancestral master of the sect is also Zhang Liang, who was a meritorious general and strategist of the Eastern Han dynasty, said to have obtained a copy of the mysterious book "Jin Zu Yu Han".

  This nine-star sect is skilled in astrology and divination, deducing the secrets of heaven. The secret methods of cultivation are also based on exploring the mysteries of the stars. Many in the sect practice the Nine-Star Array Method, making it a powerful and mysterious school.

  However, this Jiuxing Sect is neither good nor evil and doesn't think much of the Liqi Sect and Xingshi Sect. They do things based on their own preferences and have even clashed with the Jiuxuan Gate multiple times, refusing to accept its supervisory responsibilities.

  These are nothing, during the Republic of China period, these nine-star factions and shape-method factions also relied on Japan, and were enemies with many domestic Xuanmen sects and Jianghu gangs. After that, they were jointly expelled from the country by many gang factions, and have been active in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas ever since.

  Unlike the He Xin school, the Jiu Xing school was also severely impacted at that time, but the gatekeeper and several elders managed to escape with their lives. The transmission of skills has been largely uninterrupted, and it is said that in recent years, they have developed rapidly and their influence should not be underestimated. However, who would have thought that now they are re-entering the country once again?

  "Not bad, it's the Jiuxing Gate." Yao Xinyan nodded and said: "This Jiuxing Gate now has branches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and various places in the United States, with a huge force. In recent years, they have been cooperating with some foreign smuggling gangs to sell domestic cultural relics and antiques. This time, they came to Shangjiang City because they set their sights on a tomb in Shangjiang City."

  "Is this really Tongyuan's tomb?" Ningyuan asked.

  "Not bad." Yao Xinyan nodded and said, "You guys don't look at the surface of this tomb, it's actually quite extraordinary. Inside, there are several good things buried with it, otherwise, it wouldn't be valued by the Jiuxingmen."

  "Oh!"

  Ningyuan and He Zhengxun both showed a curious expression, waiting for Yao Xinyan to tell them in detail. They really couldn't see what was special about this tomb.

  "Haha, this tomb is actually the grave of Yu Qian of the Ming Dynasty." said Yao Xinyan.

  "Yu Qian!" Ningyuan was shocked and exclaimed: "The Yu Qian of the Tumu Crisis in the Ming Dynasty?"

  "Not bad." Yao Xinyan nodded and said: "It was indeed Yu Qian, who because of the Tumu Crisis, supported the Ming Dynasty's Zhu Di, and after the restoration of the Yingzong Emperor, naturally had a grudge against him. Moreover, he was framed by others and put to death by the Yingzong Emperor. It was precisely because at that time the Yingzong Emperor was in power that no one dared to give Yu Qian a grand burial, so only people from his hometown and some of his friends and disciples secretly built this tomb for him here. Because they were afraid of being discovered, they didn't even set up a stele, and named it 'Tongyuan'. Later, many local gentry were buried around here, and that's how it became like this."

  As Yao Xinyan revealed these secrets, Ning Yuan and He Zhengxun were both shocked. They had not expected that this was actually the tomb of Yu Qian, a famous minister of the Ming Dynasty, known for his integrity and dignity. Ning Yuan had always been fond of Yu Qian's "Stone Ashes".

  But the history books don't seem to record it that way, Ningyuan was slightly stunned, but also reacted, sometimes the records in the history books are not necessarily true, if this tomb can be clicked by Jiuxingmen, then it is very likely to be Yu Qian's tomb.

  Yu Qian may have been a clean official, but before his death, he had collected several precious items from past dynasties. After his death, these items were buried with him by his friends and disciples. Some of these treasures are worth tens of thousands of gold coins and are truly national treasures, which is why the Nine Star Gate people came.

  "Since it's just a simple tomb, with the Nine Star Gate's abilities, they should have opened it long ago. Why are they still entangled in Shangjiang City?" Ning Yuan asked.

  "Heh heh, although it's a simple tomb, the people who participated in its construction back then also included some top-notch masters of the Ming dynasty's Xuanmen sect. Otherwise, those precious items wouldn't have been buried with such peace of mind. The Jiuxing Gate hasn't opened the main chamber yet, and this time they've caused such a big commotion, so they should temporarily hide for a while." Yao Xinyan explained.

  "I see." Ning Yuan nodded, not only was his head big, but this time's matter had the participation of the Jiuxing Gate, Chen Yuxin and a group of police estimated that they wouldn't be able to investigate too many clues. The main thing was that he and Chen Yuxin were now being watched by each other, and it could also be said that they had become enemies with the Jiuxing Gate.

  Of course, even if it's not a grudge, the Jiuxingmen is trying to let the national treasure flow out, Ningyuan will not stand by and do nothing. This matter seems to need careful consideration and long-term planning.

  PS: The part about Yu Qian's tomb in this chapter is entirely fictional, so please don't take it seriously, book friends. Some of the treasures mentioned later are also mostly made up. I'll explain here and ask for votes at the end.