Chapter 111

The very last thing he wanted, was to be alone while traveling due to how weak he was compared to all of the other experts who were present and had the same ideas. Even if he had to make several powerful enemies, it would still end up better compared to being entirely alone. What Tyler told him was a fact, that his uncle would not make it a priority to protect him from danger if Tyler also needed protection.

"It seems like more and more groups are beginning to appear. We should finalize any preparations we might still have to make for this trip. Unlike a Mysterious Passageway, an Ancestor's Tomb is more about finding the test you must take through the small world. This is different because we may be able to escape the Ancestor's Tomb if needed without passing or failing any of the tests. It is actually better for us as a group that we are doing with what we are about to deal with." Tyler's uncle told the two experts.

As he had said these things, Timothy looked over and noticed that instead of the only four hundred or so experts, there was now closer to roughly seven hundred, while a handful of more groups were seen coming over from a short distance away. This did not surprise him, because even if one were to only obtain a single item or treasure from within the world that the Ancestor's Tomb was in, the trip would have been worth the trouble of waiting, even if it took many hours or several days before it opened up.

"You mentioned a thing called a Mysterious Passageway? Can you explain what that is a little more since I have not heard of such a place before?" Timothy asked Tyler's uncle who now seemed to be prepared to enter a life or death battle at any moment now. Originally when the two arrived, they were able to sense those who were friendly and hostile towards them, but now with a flood of experts arriving, there was no telling how high the danger level of Tyler had become.

"A Mysterious Passageway is an area that us experts if we have the minimal requirement of cultivation stage can enter if located. Mysterious Passageways are similar to an Ancestor's Tomb, except once you enter, you are unable to force your way back out to the world. Still, you are able to compete usually through two or three different tests in order to receive an inheritance of sorts. We are not just talking about a powerful technique either, it would be equivalent to receiving the immortal's complete wealth, comprehension towards immortality, and whatever else that may lie within."

"This is why many experts who choose to travel the world, try to bring at least six months worth of food and liquid with them. If one is unable to pass a test, they would remain in such areas until they were to pass away from old age, or might die during the test itself. You might think that it makes finding a Mysterious Passageway a potential curse, but for the one who would eventually pass, they would also be able to collect everything left by said experts who previously failed."

"You should at least know that food has its own lifespan before it rots away as well as other items such as elixirs. However, if the storage ring is at least grade two or higher, anything else within would normally keep itself from breaking apart like weapons and equipment including scrolls and other important items of said experts. This also is a way that each new expert who stumbles along a Mysterious Passageway, will at least have as much of a chance compared to those who may have been better off before them."

Hearing this explanation was enough for Timothy to have many questions which he would ask Master Sei after this journey comes to a close. He was not very worried about the dangers hidden within the Ancestor's Tomb or those who had hostility towards Tyler, because since he looked to be very weak, he might outright be ignored even in the most dire of situations. Most experts would not waste their time in killing someone much lower leveled then them because it would also hurt their own pride and reputation unless it was a particular situation like a war or eradicating an enemy completely.

The most dangerous enemies that he and his group would run into other than other human cultivators, were soul beasts. Soul beasts were created in order to guard the inner areas of an Ancestor's Tomb to protect the treasures which existed within. A soul beast would not go out of its way to kill anyone, unless they threatened to take any treasures which they were guarding. Therefore, as long as Tyler's uncle was able to destroy a soul beast by himself, there would be much better treasures to obtain which made Timothy excited.

If they were lucky, the group would be able to find a way to earn more than a single treasure, and if Timothy wanted to, he could simply clone the ones that would be his share of the pile. Plus, if he felt that after the exploration that Tyler and his uncle were worth keeping as allies, he could always give the cloned items to them which would mean a smaller profit, but still a profit nonetheless.

As several more hours had gone by, there were now a total of over nine hundred experts present and waiting for the Ancestor's Tomb to open. Not a single person had any idea when it would open, but not many were impatient enough to show it on their faces. Instead, many chose to spend their time waiting similar to Timothy had, by trying to join larger groups. With these tactics, the groups that had at least one Master stage cultivator, continued increasing its members accordingly.