The Primordial Law Chapter 13 : Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Red-Clothed Immortal Maiden

With the ghostly clouds parted, the tomb forest, though still draped in wisps of mist, was no longer shrouded as before. Visibility widened, giving the sensation of walking through a chaotic graveyard.

The grave mounds, seven or eight ters tall, were scattered unevenly.

Ancient, heavy stone tombstones towered over as I passed beneath.

So had ghost flags, others prayer banners, rustling eerily in the wind.

Who was buried here?

Why on a ship?

Were they being taken ho, or was this a unique burial ritual?

How did they die? Who built these graves and tombstones? Where did the builders go?

The bronze ship brimd with mystery, hinting at an ancient, epic tale—crafted by unknown hands, once glorious, silent on Earth for millennia.

Was it now returning to its origin?

Or continuing an ancient journey?

Driven by curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, I searched the tomb forest for half an hour until I heard wind chis.

“Ding ding!”

Bone chis hung on a three-ter-tall bluestone tombstone, their sound clear and lodious.

Said to be bone, they glead like jade, etched with unreadable mystic symbols.

The string threading the chis was woven silver, unspoiled by millennia.

On the bluestone was a painting, its colors unfaded, vivid, and lifelike.

In it, vibrant clouds frad a celestial maiden, breathtakingly beautiful.

She stood as if atop clouds, gazing down at the mortal world, her red dress vibrant, her hair adorned with ornate pins, her eyes so vivid I felt she could step from the stone.

“Could a peerless immortal maiden be buried in this grave?”

My gaze returned to the bone chis, tempted to pluck them for study.

They must be imperishable too, right?

“Splash!”

I leaped, legs surging with power.

Suddenly, the scorching airflow in my right foot’s sole erupted, making my body feel light, soaring upward. I landed atop the three-ter tombstone.

Swaying to steady myself.

I looked down from the height of a single story, disbelief washing over .

After achieving my extraordinary feat, could I now scale walls and leap rooftops?

The sensation was exhilarating, enough to thrill anyone.

Calming myself, I reached for the chis. But as my hand touched the bone pieces, dizziness hit, and a vision of a stunning red-clothed immortal maiden appeared.

Her graceful, enchanting figure layered over itself, pressing toward .

“Thud!”

I fell from the tombstone, head spinning as if I’d ridden hours on a bumpy mountain road.

“This thing’s definitely eerie—can’t touch it!”

If it were easy to take, the chis would’ve been snatched by other team mbers long ago.

But my curiosity and desire to explore were strong, so I’d risked it.

Using the Jade Void Breathing Technique, I channeled the scorching airflow from my right foot along the silver veins to my head. Monts later, the dizziness faded, and I recovered.

I bowed respectfully to the tombstone’s painting: “Junior ant no offense—please, senior, don’t take it to heart… I need to retrieve the Tao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish and Yellow Dragon Sword, so I may offend again. As a heavenly immortal, you wouldn’t hold a grudge against a mortal, right?”

After three careful bows, I climbed the massive grave mound behind the tombstone.

“Senior Brother wouldn’t bury them too deep… Found it!”

Searching inch by inch in the gray-white grave soil, I found a tal lump at the mound’s top. Brushing away the dirt, it was indeed the Tao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish.

One green fish eye, one red, both soybean-sized.

It looked like an ordinary ancient ornant, no special aura.

“This red eye must be the Buddha’s relic they all want. In its microscopic form, is it really a planet?”

How to activate it?

Before I could put the Tai Chi Fish back around my neck, the tombstone’s chis rang loudly. A chilling sense of danger hit, prickling my skin, as if a blade were at my back.

Trouble…

“Swish swish!”

Too late to escape.

Black hair sprouted from the grave soil, wrapping my legs.

“Is this a corpse rising? I already paid my respects… Is this senior really that petty?”

The black hair grew fast, coiling from my legs to my waist, then to my arms and head.

I channeled the scorching airflow from my right foot through the thirteen silver veins, unleashing my full strength to struggle.

I lasted one breath.

With a thud, the hair pulled down, sinking into the grave’s base.

I’m done!

What was happening?

Cai Yutong and her team dug graves for planting without facing such calamity. I just ca to reclaim my belongings—why did I provoke such a terrifying entity?

Was I really so unlucky to et a petty ghost?

…

“Brother ng, Old Liu and the others worked themselves to the bone fixing the generator these seven days. You’ve got to tell Captain Gao to give them a couple of good als—today’s worth celebrating, right?”

Chen Hong followed Zhao ng, advocating for the engineering team.

“Of course, they get top credit.”

Zhao ng stepped into the freezer cabin, his face changing instantly.

Old Liu and several engineering team mbers lay unconscious on the floor, with only Xie Jin standing, hands behind his back.

The cabin was ssy, dimly lit, but Xie Jin’s cold, smirking eyes were clear.

“Bang!”

A burly security team mber, 1.8 ters tall, ambushed from the door’s left, swinging a steel pipe at the fra. If Zhao ng’s reaction had been a split second slower, his skull would’ve been crushed.

“Ambush—get out!”

Zhao ng warned Chen Hong, retreating from the cabin, raising his rifle to counter.

Another security mber leaped from behind, locking Zhao ng’s torso and arms, growling as he tried to slam him into the wall.

Zhao ng, trained in martial arts since childhood and a seasoned soldier, reacted swiftly.

Before being slamd, he kicked the wall first, leveraging the force to send both himself and the attacker crashing to the ground.

Breaking free, Zhao ng flipped, landing a hamr-like fist.

“Thud!”

The punch struck the attacker’s face, blood streaming from his mouth as he passed out.

The steel pipe wielder charged, swinging again.

Zhao ng, unable to grab his rifle, rolled forward, kicking the man’s groin. Amid screams, the pipe clanged to the floor, the attacker collapsing, trembling.

Zhao ng grabbed the pipe, elbowing the man’s temple, knocking him out.

In monts, he dispatched two ambushers.

Before he could fully stand, a third attacker rushed from the shadows, hitting his back with a stun gun.

“Zzt zzt!”

Zhao ng trembled, muscles numb, barely able to move.

From the front, Xie Jin charged, leaping with a flying knee aid at Zhao ng’s chest.

A hit would shatter ribs and heart.

In this life-or-death mont, Zhao ng broke free from the stun gun, rolling aside. Despite his body’s weakness, survival instinct drove him to bite his tongue, rallying his spirit to hurl the pipe.

“Thud!” The pipe hit the third attacker’s hand, dislodging the stun gun.

Zhao ng grabbed the rifle, chambering a round, aiming at Xie Jin, who had just landed, his face cold, eyes blazing with killing intent.

“Bang!”

“Crack…”

From the shadows behind, Chen Hong, wielding a rebar wrapped in black cloth, smashed it with full force onto Zhao ng’s right shoulder.

Bone snapped.

Zhao ng’s towering, iron-like fra couldn’t withstand it. He roared in pain, collapsing, the rifle clattering to the ground.

Struggling not to fall, he turned slowly, lips trembling, staring at Chen Hong in disbelief.

No one knew Zhao ng’s strength better than Chen Hong, so his strike was rciless.

It had to be fast and ruthless.

Chen Hong’s face lost all trace of his sunny smile, now only cold and stern. He swung the rebar again, shattering Zhao ng’s knees.

“Thud!”

Knees exploded, legs folding backward.

Unable to stand, Zhao ng nearly fainted from pain. Chen Hong tossed the rebar, picked up the rifle, checked its bullets, and finally relaxed.

Looking at Zhao ng’s pale face and angry, confused, unwilling eyes, Chen Hong snapped, “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t bla !”

“Didn’t I suggest you lead our brothers to take out Gao Xin and beco captain of the research vessel, even the bronze ship? Then everyone would obey us—whatever we say, they do. Tell them to kneel, they wouldn’t dare stand.”

“Those useless old, weak, and sick should’ve been killed to save food.”

“With control of supplies and distribution, we could do anything, survive to the end. But…”

“You’re too rigid! No ambition or ruthlessness, still bound by old rules. If you won’t act, I will—I don’t want to die.”

Xie Jin, wary of the rifle in Chen Hong’s hands, smiled, “Well done. With Zhao ng down, no one else matters. Give the gun, and I’ll tell my cousin you get top credit.”

“This gun stays with for now.”

Chen Hong wasn’t foolish enough to hand it over, keeping an eye on Xie Jin while stripping Zhao ng’s coat.

Beneath was a purple leather armor, a blood-red handprint with strange scriptures at its center, like a mysterious organization’s emblem.

Touching the armor felt cold.

“This must be corpse armor from the skeletons, imperishable. No wonder he broke free from the stun gun.”

Chen Hong, delighted, removed the armor from Zhao ng and donned it.

The armor seed to resize, fitting Chen Hong perfectly despite his slighter build.

Xie Jin, unable to deal with Chen Hong now, suppressed his anger, saying warmly, “Search him quick—does he have the Buddha’s relic?”

Chen Hong searched, disappointed: “It’s probably still with his junior brother.”

Zhao ng, resigned, flared with rage at this, roaring, “Chen Hong, if you harm my junior brother, I’ll make you die without a corpse!”

Chen Hong looked at him pityingly: “If you could stand, I’d believe you. Brother ng, you taught to be bold and fight, not to rage impotently. How’d you forget?”

Xie Jin stepped over, grinding his foot on Zhao ng’s chest, sneering, “So worked up—ans the relic’s with him, right?”

Zhao ng, with unknown strength, tried to rise with his uninjured hand.

But how could he match Xie Jin?

Chen Hong said, “Why bother with a broken man? We haven’t secured control—don’t waste ti.”

Xie Jin, staring at Chen Hong walking out with the rifle, crouched and searched Zhao ng again.

Nothing.

“Tie them all up and take them to the deck. By the way, have you seen Cai Yutong?” Xie Jin’s ambitions weren’t as grand as Xie Tianshu’s. To him, winning Cai Yutong was worth more than the relic.

A security mber said, “She’s probably at the planting area with the grad students. She didn’t eat the drugged breakfast.”