32: Chapter 32 The magnificent golden gate, the entrance to the great tomb?

"Swish!!!" The moment the Bagua mirror fell off, the entire bronze coffin shook violently, stirring up the riverbed silt and clouding the water in that area.

Finally, with a "bang," the bronze coffin seemed to be blasted open by force, and the lid was instantly sent flying.

Immediately after, a tall figure clad in battle armor slowly stood up from within the bronze coffin.

Looking closer, its skin was grayish-white and withered.

The hair bun on its head had come undone, and the dry, gray hair hung down, making it look like a mad demon.

In its hand, it tightly gripped a seven-foot-long spear, standing atop the coffin like a demon god descending upon the world.

Immediately, the tall figure slammed the spear in its hand into the ground and leaped up.

It then landed on the riverbed and slowly walked toward the Sea Eye in the distance.

Each step was incredibly steady; it walked as if it were on land, completely unaffected by buoyancy or any undercurrents.

A moment later, the tall figure had arrived before the Sea Eye.

It opened its eyes, which were nothing but cloudy, white orbs, and peered intently into the Sea Eye.

Following that, it took a step forward.

The tall figure then stepped into the Sea Eye.

...

On the stone steps, the Archaeological Team had been climbing this long staircase for a full ten minutes or more.

Everyone was panting with exhaustion, their legs trembling uncontrollably.

Professor Yang was already spent and, supported by two bodyguards, was moving slowly up the stairs.

One member of the Archaeological Team looked at the staircase, which still seemed to have no end in sight, and couldn't help but say in disappointment, "Where does this staircase actually lead? When will it ever end!"

As the member spoke, he gasped heavily, wishing he had more lungs.

The other experts were no better off; besides their own frantic "thump-thump-thump" heartbeats, all that could be heard were rapid and heavy sounds of panting.

Although Professor Yang was advanced in age, he still persisted in encouraging everyone, "Hold on a little longer! Persistence is victory! Come on, comrades!"

The other members, seeing Professor Yang's face already deathly pale, immediately felt ashamed.

Professor Yang was nearing sixty, his hair completely gray, yet he was still persisting.

What reason did they have to speak of giving up?

For a moment, although the members were silent, they all gritted their teeth and climbed the stairs with effort.

...

The Archaeological Team climbed the stairs for a few more minutes.

Suddenly, the voice of one Archaeological Team member rang out, "That is..."

The member's eyes widened suddenly, and a trace of joy appeared.

The other members also looked up into the distance, and their eyes lit up instantly.

After climbing for over a quarter of an hour, they had finally reached the end of this long, winding staircase!

It was as if people in the darkness had finally seen a ray of light tearing through the gloom, which couldn't help but fill their hearts with wild joy.

A surge of strength suddenly flooded through all the members' limbs.

Everyone frantically scrambled toward the end of the staircase!

Professor Yang, however, had his gaze fixed on the end of the staircase, upon that magnificent, gilded gate.

It was like the entrance to a nobleman's estate, sitting there alone at the end of the stairs.

There was even a plaque hanging above the gate.

However, Professor Yang could not clearly see the characters on the plaque.

But Professor Yang knew that this must be the entrance to the Great Tomb!

Immediately, Professor Yang let go of the bodyguards supporting him, and with a burst of energy from who knows where, he climbed quickly up the stairs.

He wanted to reach the stone platform rapidly to examine this magnificent gate.

The two bodyguards behind him hurriedly followed, carefully protecting Professor Yang.

Command Headquarters.

Seminar Hall.

Many experts, upon seeing the end of the staircase, couldn't help but cheer with joy.

After more than a quarter of an hour of climbing, everyone's hearts had been tightly suspended, following the Archaeological Team's movements.

Only at this very moment did the heavy stone hanging in everyone's hearts finally land.

For a moment, everyone couldn't help but heave a long sigh of relief.

And the Seminar Hall instantly became lively.

"It's finally almost at the end! It wasn't easy!"

"It scared me to death! But fortunately, nothing happened! That's what matters most!"

"We've reached this point, there shouldn't be any traps left, right?"

"In a few minutes, Professor Yang and the others will be able to ascend the high platform; that must be the true entrance to the Great Tomb!"

All the experts were discussing excitedly.

Even Professor Zhou, who had been sitting to the side, saw his stern and tense face relax.

But no one noticed that Ye Xiao, beside the conference table, had his expression change ever so slightly.

On the stairs, the Archaeological Team climbed slowly but orderly toward the high platform at the end of the staircase.

In their minds, they subconsciously assumed that since they had climbed to this height, it was unlikely that any traps remained.

After all, they had been climbing for over a quarter of an hour without any traps or dangers appearing.

Now, with only a few minutes of travel left, everyone's hearts finally relaxed slightly, and their vigilance dropped significantly.

Professor Yang had the same thought, so he did not stop their actions.

Although his face was somewhat pale, he climbed upward, unable to hide his joy.

Suddenly, the young team member at the very front stepped onto a stair, but it felt as if he had stepped on a loose stone, and his right foot sank suddenly.

His body swayed violently, and he fell onto the stone steps.

For a split second, the young member's mind went slightly blank.

But as he realized what happened, his pupils suddenly dilated, and his complexion changed drastically.

"A trap! A trap! I stepped on a trap!" the young member shouted in horror, terrified beyond belief.

The others, hearing this terrified cry, immediately stopped in their tracks.

They all looked toward the direction of the young member.

Before anyone could react, a series of "rumbling" sounds rang out.

Immediately after, as if an earthquake had occurred, the entire staircase began to shake violently.

Everyone's bodies swayed violently with the trembling stairs, and all of them hurriedly lay down on the stone steps to prevent losing their footing.

Suddenly, a shriek filled with misery, fear, and helplessness snapped everyone to attention.

They saw that on the stairs, an Archaeological Team member had lost his footing due to the sudden shaking of the stone platform and had fallen off.

The desperate sound was like a signal from the King of Hell summoning a life, echoing for a long time in the hollow abyss.

A thick sense of fear appeared on everyone's faces!