Free Web NovelChapter 139: Chapter 139: Elixir of Life
The treasure hunters who witnessed this scene all felt numbness throughout their bodies.
"Boss, should we save him?"
Treasure Hunter Number Four suddenly felt a bit remorseful and looked to the boss as he asked.
"With your womanly compassion, how can you ever accomplish great things? Do you want to go in there and test the poison with your own body?"
The treasure hunter boss spoke without a trace of sympathy.
At that moment, Wang Hao vigorously shook his body, and most of the centipedes were flung off.
Wang Hao was not afraid of these centipedes, nor was he afraid of being poisoned to death by them, but being bitten by so many at the same time still hurt.
So Wang Hao simply grabbed a centipede and lashed it hard toward the swarm, causing the centipedes to scurry away from him.
"Dammit, that hurts like hell."
After driving off the centipedes, Wang Hao cleaned the bloodstains on his hands, cursing incessantly.
The few treasure hunters were dumbfounded, not believing he hadn’t died from so many bites.
"Boss, could it be that the centipedes here really aren’t poisonous?"
Treasure Hunter Number Four asked in disbelief.
"If they’re not poisonous, then that would be too easy for the kid. Let’s hurry in and take a look."
Treasure Hunter Number Three, looking somewhat anxious, was ready to rush inside.
"Come back here!"
The boss stopped everyone in their tracks. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
"Wait, normal centipedes are poisonous, not to mention those that have lived in a tomb for years. Maybe the poison is slow-acting. Let’s wait and see. If he’s really unaffected, then we’ll go in."
The younger treasure hunters behind him nodded repeatedly, yet they were curious about the inside of the tomb.
They all stretched their necks trying to see what was inside.
However, they did not see Wang Hao again.
The palace inside was very large and spacious, with only some stone steps around. The steps were piled with stoneware and bronze ware, but not much of it.
Wang Hao couldn’t help but wonder at the sight. For a tomb of such magnitude, there couldn’t just be these few items.
The ancients would have used the best items for a burial. Considering that all he saw were stone implements, could this be a tomb from the Stone Age?
Wang Hao dared not continue the thought and decided to keep moving forward. After a while, he reached the very center of the palace.
Wang Hao found that the palace interior was indeed another world, even larger than the outside, and it was square.
At the center of the palace, there was a raised platform with two square stone blocks on top, about four meters tall.
Wang Hao climbed up and gave them a knock, feeling that they were hollow inside.
Wang Hao thought back to the conversation he had with Gao Shenglin outside about multiple coffins.
"Looks like, these stone blocks probably contain a second layer of coffin!"
The closer to the coffin, the more precious the items should be.
But now the problem arose again – Wang Hao only had a flashlight, without any tools, unable to open the stone blocks.
So Wang Hao thought of the five treasure hunters outside. They should still have explosives, which could be used to blow open these stone blocks.
Thus, Wang Hao returned to the corner of the palace that had been blasted open.
The treasure hunters outside were anxiously discussing whether they should go in and look for Wang Hao.
"Boss, do you think he’s still alive?"
Treasure Hunter Number Five asked anxiously.
The boss checked the time; it had been over half an hour since he went in. If those centipedes were truly venomous, then Wang Hao was probably dead inside by now.
As Wang Hao still hadn’t come out, the boss felt a bit despondent and was getting ready to have everyone leave and prepare some medicine to ward off centipedes before seeking another opportunity to enter.
"Hey, do you guys still have some explosives in your bags? There’s another coffin inside that I can’t open."
Just as the boss was about to pack up and leave, Wang Hao suddenly popped out.
"You’re not dead?"
The treasure hunters were both shocked and overjoyed to see Wang Hao and quickly gathered around him.
"Aren’t I fine? Why should I be dead?"
Wang Hao pretended not to know and said,
"Come quickly with me, there’s another intact coffin inside. Let’s blast it open and see what treasures are inside."
A few Treasure Hunters heard this and were happily carrying things as they walked toward the gap.
However, as they passed by the centipedes, they hesitated once again when they saw each centipede staring fiercely at them, seemingly full of malice.
It seemed they still didn’t quite believe that the centipedes inside were non-venomous.
"Kid, are you really okay?"
The leader still didn’t quite believe it.
"Nope! If you don’t believe it, watch!"
Having said that, Wang Hao spun around in front of them with his hands outstretched, even hopping a couple of times, to show the Treasure Hunters that he was completely unharmed.
Only after seeing Wang Hao’s reaction did the leader of the Treasure Hunters feel reassured and continued walking forward with the others.
As they approached the centipedes, the creatures, as if sensing a threat, immediately pounced and bit them.
The Treasure Hunters quickly drew their knives and fought fiercely, but there were too many centipedes, and some they couldn’t cut down in time bit into their flesh.
These five people thought that, since there was no poison, it was just a matter of bleeding a bit; since Wang Hao was fine, they definitely wouldn’t have any problems either.
Before long, they arrived at the center of the palace.
No sooner had they stopped than the leader of the Treasure Hunters saw Wang Hao with a wicked smile on his face.
"What are you laughing at?"
Something felt off to the leader of the Treasure Hunters all of a sudden, and he prepared to pull out a gun to kill Wang Hao.
But just as he was about to disengage the safety on the gun, the leader of the Treasure Hunters suddenly felt his hands and feet go weak and he collapsed uncontrollably onto the ground.
Right after that, the other Treasure Hunters also fell to the ground, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.
The leader hastily took out a small pill from his pocket and swallowed it, with the others following suit.
After taking the pill, the leader said to the other Treasure Hunters,
"Everyone stay still, or the poison will circulate faster with the flow of blood. Once the poison spreads throughout the body, not even gods could save you."
Then, they all glared fiercely at Wang Hao.
"You son of a bitch, didn’t you say it was fine?"
The leader of the Treasure Hunters asked through gritted teeth.
"Haha, you fell for it!"
Wang Hao sneered, then took their tools and handguns from them.
"I only said I was fine, I never said the centipedes were non-venomous."
The Treasure Hunters, shrewd all their lives, never expected to be outwitted by Wang Hao on that day.
All they could do was watch helplessly as Wang Hao took the tools and handguns from their hands.
"I wonder which venerable person has been wronged here. It’s a waste to bury these treasures in the ground; better to take them out and benefit humanity. This can be considered your contribution to future generations, right?"
Having no ties with the tomb’s owner but being genuinely curious about what was inside, Wang Hao found an excuse to open it.
After muttering to himself for a while, Wang Hao found a drill and a hammer in the backpacks of the Treasure Hunters.
They were well-prepared. With these two tools to try and open it, there was no need for explosives.
Wang Hao first used the drill to bore holes around the edge of the stone until it pierced through.
After drilling about fifteen or sixteen holes and the drill battery was dead, Wang Hao used the hammer to strike hard and soon broke a big hole open.
Wang Hao didn’t expect it would be so easy to break it open.
As the heavy coffin was smashed open, a beam of bright light shone out.
Wang Hao found it strange; how could there be light in a place where sunlight hadn’t shone for years?
So he continued to hammer through the opening for a dozen more hits until he had made a hole large enough for a person to pass through and then he stopped.
Wang Hao, holding a flashlight, went in to take a look and saw a stone platform at the front of the coffin with a black wooden box on it, the source of the bright light shining from within the box.
Out of curiosity, Wang Hao went in for a closer look. Inside the box was a small pill; he took it out and smelled it, finding no medicinal scent, only a mysterious, clear fragrance.
"Could this be the legendary elixir of immortality?"
