Chapter 162: Murals

The two of them calmed the turbulence in their hearts before beginning to ponder their next direction. It was obvious that this was the entrance to the underground palace of the tomb, and the intricate system of shafts and tunnels within clearly indicated that this well was not meant for holding water. How, then, could one successfully navigate such a complex place?

As Fang Nian pondered this, the vague sense of attraction within his body suddenly reappeared. It was precisely by following this feeling just moments ago that Fang Nian had found Zhang Liao here.

Suddenly, Fang Nian's heart skipped a beat. He closed his eyes, and a flash of brilliance instantly crossed them.

"I can actually see the path forward? Or should I call this perception?"

Recalling the sequence of events, Fang Nian understood in an instant. Previously, he had acquired a sixth sense—magnetic perception. This meant he could use his sixth sense to sense the surrounding magnetic field.

If what Fang Nian had just felt was the magnetic field within this tomb, it was highly likely pointing toward the direction of the underground palace.

Having confirmed his intuition, Fang Nian fabricated a plausible excuse and had the recovered Zhang Liao bring the others down as well. Then, the group followed Fang Nian and began advancing along the well shaft.

One had to admit that the design of this shaft system was truly extraordinary. Making a rough estimate, Fang Nian figured that including all the various routes at the crossroads, there were over a hundred paths. In a place like this, let alone ordinary people, even geniuses with off-the-charts intelligence might not necessarily walk out alive. Without a map, venturing into such a place was truly a journey of no return, making it impossible to find a way out once inside.

Fortunately, however, Fang Nian could sense the fluctuations of the magnetic field; otherwise, they would not have dared to venture deep into it blindly.

To say nothing of that monster, even this maze-like shaft system alone could have trapped them to death.

After walking through the shaft for about half an hour, a wall finally appeared before Fang Nian. Unlike the outer walls, this wall was actually constructed by mixing tamarix wood with mud—the exact same materials used in the Great Wall.

The group suddenly grew excited. Such a structure further validated their earlier speculation that this place had indeed been crafted by artisans of the Qin Dynasty.

However, a problem suddenly presented itself. Zhou Cang stared at the rock-solid wall and asked Fang Nian, who was beside him.

"Old Fang, are you certain that behind this wall lies the tomb we are looking for?"

Fang Nian nodded, touched the material of the wall, and searched it once more with his sixth sense.

"That's right. The tomb is directly behind this."

Hearing this, Zhou Cang wasted no time. He squeezed forward from the back, planted his feet in a horse stance, and slammed directly into the wall.

Fang Nian smiled helplessly. There was no doubt how sturdy a wall made of tamarisk wood mixed with mud would be. Although Zhou Cang possessed supernatural strength, facing something like this—

Before Fang Nian's thought could even finish, under Zhou Cang's another fierce impact, a crack suddenly split down the middle of the wall.

Then, the cracks began to spread like a spider's web, slowly widening before culminating in a loud crash. In an instant, the wall turned into a pile of powder as a cloud of dust billowed and instantly filled the air.

Fang Nian stared at the scene before him, his mind filled with countless question marks.

Is this guy a monster? He hadn't noticed him having such terrifying strength before. Even Fang Nian, with his currently enhanced physique, probably wouldn't be able to match this kind of raw power.

When the thick dust finally settled, everyone saw an open space. Fang Nian swept his torch around and discovered that it wasn't very large, visually estimating it to be only around a dozen square meters. It was square in shape, and unlike the natural caves outside, everything here bore the traces of human construction.

Directly opposite the stairway was a stone door, right in the center of which was a large hole deliberately forced open by someone—large enough for an adult to crawl through.

Jia Xu also spotted the man-made hole, his gaze narrowing slightly as he said in a low voice.

"It seems these fellows did indeed enter a step ahead of us."

Chen Dan did not look particularly surprised; he focused his gaze and said.

"That is just as well. It saves us the trouble of figuring out how to open the door. After all, with the equipment we have, making a hole this big probably wouldn't be easy."

Hearing Chen Dan's words, a flash of suspicion crossed Fang Nian's eyes.

Indeed, by Fang Nian's visual estimate, the stone door was made of a type of white granite with extremely high density.

Its composition consisted mainly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase, occasionally containing a small amount of mica and no other dark minerals. The $SiO_2$ content reached around 75%, featuring a granitic structure with a massive formation—one of the variations of the granite family.

The door was nearly two feet thick. With the tools they had on hand, breaking through such a stone door would probably take two or three days.

Thinking of this, Fang Nian smiled faintly.

"Judging by the situation at the scene, they likely broke their way out from the inside rather than breaking in from here. Therefore, they must have entered from another route, arrived here, found nothing of value, and then turned back."

Jia Xu saw this as well and nodded.

"Very well. Since someone has left a path open for us, we shall gladly accept the favor. If we run into them later, we can properly thank them."

With that, Jia Xu prepared to step into the hole.

Just at that moment, however, Zhou Cang let out a loud shout.

"Brother Fang, Mr. Jia Xu, come quick! There are some murals here."

Hearing Zhou Cang's words, Jia Xu and Fang Nian halted their steps, turned around, and walked back.

"Murals?"

Fang Nian was somewhat surprised. He had glanced at the left and right walls when he first came in; although he hadn't inspected them closely, he wouldn't have missed something as eye-catching as murals.

Besides, whenever murals were mentioned, Fang Nian felt a strong sense of interest. Murals could be considered ancient notebooks, as many ancients generally used this method to record their lives.

Murals, art upon walls, are paintings created directly onto wall surfaces. As an auxiliary part of architecture, their decorative and beautifying functions make them an important aspect of environmental art.

Murals are one of the earliest forms of painting in human history. As early as the Han Dynasty, there were records of paintings on walls, mostly found within grottoes, tombs, temples, or monasteries.

Today, combining modern craftsmanship and cultural ambiance, wall painting has developed in an increasingly diverse and personalized direction, finding wider application in interior decoration.

Of course, decorating a dwelling for the dead could also be considered a form of decoration.

And that was why numerous murals frequently appeared inside tombs, a common phenomenon in the sepulchers of ancient nobility.