Suppressing the odd feeling in his heart, Xu Qing rearranged the small grave in front of him, then released the burial team of papermen.
After completing all this, Xu Qing returned to the seemingly ordinary tomb and began to test the control distance of the papermen step by step.
Inside the tomb, Xu Qing held Hu Baosong's ancestral map in his hand, like a commander in a war tent maneuvering troops, remotely directing the papermen to carry the coffin deep into the Ancient Yin River Dao.
Occasionally, ghost soldiers patrolling the Ghost King Mausoleum would block the way, but the leading Straw Spirit did not force its way through, instead scattering paper treasures and yin wealth along the route as toll payment.
Ghost soldiers who understood the rules would naturally make way upon receiving benefits; should there be any greedy ghosts wanting to rob, the thirty-two Straw Spirits guarding the coffin were certainly not to be trifled with.
However, the burial team was still on the outskirts of the Ancient Yin River Dao; if they wished to go further, they could only take a detour.
The reconnaissance Paper Cranes explored the path ahead, while the papermen burial team hoisted white paper lanterns, inscribed with "Yin soldiers escorting, living beings retreat."
After traversing roughly two hundred miles, Xu Qing and the papermen's connection suddenly weakened.
Inside the tomb, Xu Qing looked at the tomb marker on the map that was already visible from afar and frowned slightly.
The Ancient Yin River Dao is like an invisible dry riverbed running through Dayong north to south, with the location of the Hu Yang tomb being relatively near the Jin Sect, yet it's still nearly five hundred miles away.
At present, the papermen burial team is still halfway away from reaching the Hu Yang tomb, meaning unless Xu Qing personally arrives at the papermen's current location, only then can he possibly control the papermen team to reach the Hu Yang tomb.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Qing again manipulated the palm-sized Paper Crane to scout around, ensuring no threats were ahead, then controlled the Paper Tiger to excavate a hidden underground lair nearby.
Once the resting point was arranged, Xu Qing exited the grave, mounted the Five-Colored Steed, and proceeded along the path cleared by the papermen, arriving shortly afterwards at the lair dug by the Paper Tiger.
Swallowing two Corpse Nourishing Pills to restore the Yin Qi Magical Power to its peak, Xu Qing once again controlled the burial team to delve deeper.
At a hundred miles distance from the Hu Yang tomb, Xu Qing suddenly heard the clamor of men and horses and before the papermen could retreat, he saw yellow sand swirling in the distance. As the dust settled, dozens of paper lanterns suddenly appeared along the dim Ancient Yin River Dao and rode toward the papermen team.
Hoofbeats rang out, weapons and armor clanged, as the paper lanterns approached, a sturdy general with a broad face and long beard came before Xu Qing.
The general scanned the area but his gaze didn't fall on the papermen, instead looked northward, shouting, "I am the Eight Flags commander, ordered to pursue the remnants of the Shadow Erosion King, who are you, hiding any rebels?"
Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then controlled the papermen to scatter paper money, which swirled like wind-stripped leaves, forming a line of characters.
"Borrowing the road for a funeral procession, no rebels encountered."
The leader, who called himself the Eight Flags commander, saw the characters without questioning their authenticity, directly reining in his horse, calling to the dozens of riders behind him, "The rebels are not here, let us search elsewhere, we must slaughter all the rebel soldiers!"
With these words, the yellow sand before them rose again, and within two breaths, the dust was blown eastward.
"These soldiers appeared without a trace, likely transformed from spirits and monsters."
Due to such a small interlude, Xu Qing became increasingly cautious on the journey that followed.
Fortunately, despite minor alarms and no real danger, about half an hour later, Xu Qing finally saw the so-called Hu Yang tomb.
Hu Yang tomb, rather than being a mausoleum, was more akin to the abandoned ruins similar to Qingqiu Cave Heaven.
Here lay only ruins and desolate graves, Xu Qing controlled the papermen to search for a while before discovering the entrance to the lair recorded by the Hu Yang clan.
According to Hu Baosong's teachings, Xu Qing controlled the papermen to maneuver along specific pathways, around the lair passages, gradually causing a thick gray fog to emerge, paper lanterns lifted by the papermen ignited with ghostly green fires, which once penetrating through the haze, unveiled the true tomb of the Hu Yang clan before Xu Qing's eyes.
The ancient tomb was heavy with dust, thought to have remained unvisited for countless years, Xu Qing wanted to control the palm-sized Paper Crane to fly in for exploration but found the Paper Crane had lost contact shortly after entering the tomb passage.
Helpless, Xu Qing could only dig a pit on the spot, burying Hu Baosong's coffin in the outer chamber of the tomb.
The fox returns to its burrow, and Hu Baosong's long-held wish was finally fulfilled.
Following the Hu Yang tomb's map instructions, Xu Qing controlled the papermen to twist and turn around, finding numerous murals depicting battles between the Hu Yang clan and the ox-headed, horse-faced ghost soldiers on the Ancient Yin River Dao.
Those murals are ancient, separated by at least several millennia.
After leaving the Hu Yang tomb, Xu Qing controlled the papermen to head north, but after traveling some fifty miles, he discovered a chaotic graveyard.
At the highest point of the graveyard, there stood a main grave, atop which was a simple stone tablet inscribed with "Eight Flags Commander Deng Shan's tomb."
"Deng Shan..."
Xu Qing noted down this name.
After crossing the chaotic graveyard and traveling about two hundred miles, as the papermen passed Xu Qing's lair, they took a detour of over ten miles to return directly to the Ghost King Mausoleum outskirts.
Having safely sent the papermen to the safe zone, Xu Qing finally exited the lair and remounted the Five-Colored Steed.
In the sand dunes, amidst boundless desolate grave soil, Xu Qing reined in his horse and looked back at the direction of Hu Yang tomb.
Though he was an immortal visitor to the human world, unable to summon back souls lost in premature demise.
Ultimately, those who could accompany him to the end were few.