# Chapter 1035: Royal Clan Tomb Forest
The Royal Clan Tomb Forest was located in the western outskirts of Saint Ming City, a vast stretch of mountain ridges that, when viewed from afar, appeared pitch black and shrouded in a gloomy, yin energy.
Above the tomb forest, layers of dark clouds completely obscured the stars and celestial bodies.
Before the Holy Bright Central Empire fell, the Royal Clan Tomb Forest had always been a forbidden zone, heavily guarded, and no cultivator could even think of approaching it.
Eight hundred years had passed. Outside the tomb forest, everything was covered in snow and fallen leaves, with weeds growing wildly, giving a sense of decay and desolation.
In truth, the Royal Clan Tomb Forest was not merely a forbidden zone; it was itself a deadly killing ground.
The ancestors of the Zhang Clan of the royal family had employed methods on the level of a Great Emperor, setting up more than one imperial-level formation within the tomb forest to protect the mausoleums of successive emperors.
When Saint Ming City was conquered, saint realm beings had attempted to break into the Royal Clan Tomb Forest to steal the treasures within the tombs.
However, without exception, none who entered ever walked out alive.
As the crown prince of the Holy Bright Central Empire, Zhang Ruochen naturally knew the method to enter the Royal Clan Tomb Forest. By following certain special routes, one could avoid the attacks of the formations.
"You must follow closely behind me. Don't make any mistakes, or else it will cause big trouble," Zhang Ruochen warned.
Stepping into the mountain ridges of the Royal Clan Tomb Forest, the air became even more bitterly cold. In some areas, ghost fires flew up from the ground, taking the forms of skeletons, dragons and snakes, soldiers and generals.
"That's not ordinary ghost fire. It's flame condensed by an imperial-level formation. Even if a saint realm being touches just a little bit, they'll immediately burn to ashes."
Hearing this, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit's four legs trembled, its legs feeling weak. Frightened, it became extremely obedient, not daring to take a single wrong step.
The Royal Clan Tomb Forest occupied a vast area, stretching as far as the eye could see. Zhang Ruochen and the others walked for dozens of li, yet they had only covered a small corner.
The surrounding mountain ridges, ravines, and forests were all silent, forming a stark contrast to the bustling scene of Saint Ming City.
Suddenly, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit let out a strange cry, startling everyone into immediately stopping.
"What's wrong?"
The sacred qi within Zhang Ruochen's body surged rapidly as he formed palm seals with both hands, assuming a defensive posture.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit pointed not far away and said, "There are footprints on the ground."
Qing Mo let out a breath. She had also been very tense just now, thinking they had encountered some kind of danger.
"Guoguo, they're just a few footprints. Don't make a big fuss. You almost scared me to death."
Qing Mo stuck out her tongue and pinched the Devouring Elephant Rabbit's ear hard, nearly lifting it off the ground.
But Zhang Ruochen did not relax his vigilance. He walked over to the footprints and examined them closely.
The surrounding area was full of trees with dense foliage, so the footprints had not been covered by snow.
"The footprints are still fresh. Someone must have been here within the last two days. Who could it be? How did they manage to enter the Royal Clan Tomb Forest?"
The footprints varied in size and depth, clearly not from the same person, so it couldn't be Kong Lanyou.
"Everyone be careful. It seems some other people have broken into the Royal Clan Tomb Forest," Zhang Ruochen said with a serious expression.
He knew that the Royal Clan Tomb Forest was absolutely a deadly killing ground. Anyone who could evade an imperial-level formation and break in here was certainly no ordinary person.
The group continued forward.
Before long, they discovered bloodstains on the ground. A battle had taken place here not long ago.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit sniffed the air vigorously, then rushed to an open area, pushed aside the thick snow, and dug up a large pile of dirt.
Beneath the dirt, they uncovered six corpses.
All six corpses had been burned pitch black by fire, turning into charred remains, like six human-shaped pieces of charcoal.
Zhang Ruochen walked over to one of the corpses and used the Abyssal Ancient Sword to scrape away the outer layer of charred flesh, revealing the bones inside.
The bones had a metallic luster, were extremely hard, and still emitted strands of pure sacred qi. This showed that when they were alive, they must have possessed considerable cultivation.
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen made a new discovery.
On the bones of the corpses, there were some strange patterns that emitted a faint golden light.
Huang Yanchen said, "Those are corpse patterns. Only cultivators from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and the Death Zen Sect know how to inscribe them. By carving corpse patterns into the bones, skin, and meridians of a corpse, one can refine powerful battle corpses."
Zhang Ruochen's expression darkened. He scraped away the charred flesh from the other five corpses and also found corpse patterns on their bones.
"They should be battle corpses refined by the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan."
Zhang Ruochen had once seen the Death Zen Sect's "Death Zen Buddhist Dharma," which recorded corpse patterns with a Buddhist charm, completely different from the patterns on these six charred corpses.
The Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan had a profound foundation, mastering many ancient secret arts. They could enter various dangerous ruins and steal the remains of ancestors from major aristocratic families.
Only by using more powerful corpses could they refine more formidable battle corpses.
The Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan had not only plundered the tombs of Great Saints; it was said that during their most prosperous period, they had even broken into the mausoleum of an ancient god and taken half a divine corpse.
"The Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan broke into the Royal Clan Tomb Forest. Could they be trying to steal the bodies of the successive Bright Emperors of the Holy Bright Central Empire?"
Aside from imperial corpses, there was nothing else worth the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan taking such a great risk to break into the Royal Clan Tomb Forest.
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists tightly, flames of anger surging in his eyes.
The spirits of his ancestors should not be disturbed. The bodies of his ancestors should not become someone else's battle puppets.
The actions of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan were even more detestable than those of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor.
Huang Yanchen said, "The six battle corpses on the ground were probably refined from the remains of saint realm beings, but they were destroyed by some kind of flame. This shows that there should be an extremely powerful tomb guardian in the Royal Clan Tomb Forest."
"Tomb guardian?"
The first person Zhang Ruochen thought of was Kong Lanyou.
Of course, it might not be Kong Lanyou either.
Given Kong Lanyou's cultivation, if she had truly struck, those six battle corpses would have turned to ashes. How could they have been preserved so intact?
Moreover, there was no trace of Kong Lanyou's aura on the six battle corpses.
Zhang Ruochen had the Devouring Elephant Rabbit and the Demon Ape rebury the six charred corpses, then said, "We only found six destroyed battle corpses, but no cultivators from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan. Where did they go?"
"Maybe... maybe they've already escaped from the Royal Clan Tomb Forest," Qing Mo said cautiously.
"If that's really the case, then all the better," Zhang Ruochen said.
Zhang Ruochen had already silently noted this debt against the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan. How dare they covet the remains of the Zhang Clan's ancestors? No matter what, they would have to pay a price.
Continuing forward, the group's view finally opened up a bit.
Among the lofty mountains and ridges, they saw massive stone tablets standing tall, along with densely packed tombs.
Some of those tombs were even taller than mountains, exuding a formidable aura. The yin energy released from the tombs condensed into clouds, forming purple, silver, and golden lights.
Zhang Ruochen crossed a green stone bridge and walked toward a relatively small tomb.
Even though it was relatively small, it was still dozens of zhang high, built from piled-up boulders.
In front of the tomb stood an ancient stone tablet, a full hundred zhang tall. Standing beneath it, Zhang Ruochen was no bigger than a speck of dust.
On the back of the stone tablet was engraved a tomb inscription.
On the front of the stone tablet, there were only two vigorous and powerful characters — "Empress Tomb."
There was no specific name.
In front of the tablet was an open plaza. The ground had no fallen leaves, and the falling snow had not completely covered the bluestone, clearly showing that someone had just swept it.
"Mother, your son is unfilial. It has been eight hundred years since I last came to see you."
Zhang Ruochen knelt on the ground and bowed to the tomb.
Huang Yanchen walked to Zhang Ruochen's right side and also knelt down, bowing together with him.
Behind them, Qing Mo, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit, and the Demon Ape also had solemn expressions as they knelt, facing the direction of the tomb.
Not far away, at the edge of the plaza, beneath a parasol tree two zhang in diameter, a stunning woman with white hair walked out from a tree hollow.
It was Kong Lanyou.
Kong Lanyou's gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen, who was kneeling in the center of the plaza. Her beautiful, moving eyes held an extremely complex emotion as crystal-clear tears flowed down.
Even though she had long received the letter Zhang Ruochen had sent, knowing he was still alive, she still wavered between hope and fear, terrified that the letter might be a forgery.
So Kong Lanyou had been waiting in front of her aunt's tomb, never leaving for even half a step.
Only by seeing Zhang Ruochen enter the Royal Clan Tomb Forest with her own eyes and kneel before her aunt's tomb could she be certain that he was her cousin, that he was still alive.
Zhang Ruochen finished paying his respects to his mother, then stood up again. He looked toward the edge of the plaza, his gaze landing on Kong Lanyou.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit's eyes widened. First, it trembled all over in fear, then it forced itself to stay calm and said, "Someone has broken into the Royal Clan Tomb Forest! Master Chen, you guys retreat first. Let me go and deal with her."
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit didn't dare to face Kong Lanyou alone, so it dragged the Demon Ape along.
Standing opposite Kong Lanyou, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit clenched its paws into fists, exuding a demonic aura, and coldly shouted, "Are you human or ghost?"
Kong Lanyou said nothing. Her sorrowful, beautiful eyes gazed at Zhang Ruochen as he walked steadily toward her, tears falling like a curtain of pearls.
"Just because you don't speak, do you think I can't do anything to you? You're forcing me to make a move!"
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit didn't dare to attack personally, so it pushed the Demon Ape forward, letting it test Kong Lanyou's cultivation.
The Demon Ape let out a loud roar, charged forward, and extended a massive hand to slap down at Kong Lanyou's head.
"Boom."
The Demon Ape, like a giant rubber ball, slammed into an invisible wall and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the plaza with a loud thud.
But Kong Lanyou remained standing in the same spot.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit sucked in a breath of cold air, its teeth chattering. It realized that the opponent was a formidable figure and immediately began backing away.
"Master Chen, she's an expert. What do we do?" The Devouring Elephant Rabbit was ready to flee for its life.
Zhang Ruochen ignored it and walked straight toward Kong Lanyou. The distance between them grew closer and closer — ten steps, nine steps, eight steps...
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit was terrified and shouted, "Master Chen... be careful! She really is an expert... don't underestimate her..."