Chapter 2379: Chapter 2282: Principle

Director He didn’t mention it, Huo Sining hadn’t noticed it yet. When she heard Director He, she instinctively looked up at the ceiling.

At a glance, she was stunned.

The walls and ceiling of this outer chamber were filled with exquisite carvings. These reliefs looked as finely crafted as the red-crowned crane standing in the center. The key point was, just as Director He said, these reliefs seemed to be interconnected.

The first picture depicted the sun, moon, stars, seasons, wind, rain, stars, and the ocean.

The second picture was a map, but looked entirely different from today’s Four Oceans, Seven Continents, with nine continents surrounded by a constellation of islands. Each of the four corners was occupied by Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Xuanwu, and Vermilion Bird.

The third picture showed what seemed like a chieftain and a group of people kneeling in worship before an immortal-like figure; behind that person was a magnificent Divine Palace.

The fourth picture displayed seven people each holding a pearl, gathering towards the center, seemingly conducting some strange ritual.

These pictures seemed unrelated, but oddly enough, they were all carved on the stone walls and ceiling in the same cloud pattern relief style, clearly showing that they were intentionally created by the tomb owner.

If Huo Sining were told these pictures were unrelated, she would never believe it.

For some reason, as she stared at the pictures for just a moment, she felt an inexplicable familiarity, but couldn’t pinpoint why they felt familiar.

She wanted to secretly take out her phone and photograph the reliefs for later study, but at this moment, an exclamation suddenly came from over there:

"Prof... Professor, that... over there... the lamp... it’s lit!"

Speaking was a female worker from the archaeological team that had followed them. She looked extremely frightened, pointing with a pale face at a corner where there was an inconspicuous small oil lamp.

The lamp should have been left in this outer chamber, but everyone was focused on the reliefs above, ignoring such an insignificant object in the corner.

The female team member accidentally glanced over and saw the lamp somehow mysteriously lit, startling her into a scream.

Upon hearing the female team member’s shout, those slightly timid archaeological team members tensed up, all at once thinking about the popular tomb-robbing novel circulating online recently, "Ghost Blows Out the Light."

Could it be that a ghost was still wandering inside this ancient tomb and lit the oil lamp to warn them to leave?

Although these archaeological members had received formal education, they still harbored a sense of awe towards ghosts. Now, seeing an oil lamp suddenly turn on was eerie, and everyone felt a chill, staring intently at the lamp, afraid to speak.

The outer chamber was empty, seemingly with a cold wind blowing, chilling the back of their necks. The timid ones started trembling, always feeling as if something was watching them, causing goosebumps to rise.

"Teacher... what’s going on?"

Huo Sining wasn’t afraid of ghosts, since she had died and returned to life, but she was also perplexed by the strange situation in front of her, softly questioning Zhou Shitao.

Zhou Shitao shook his head, but since he’d seen many scenes and opened countless ancient tombs, he was a bit braver, unable to resist stepping forward towards the oil lamp.

"What’s there to be afraid of? With so many people here, can we really be scared by a ghost?"

Seeing this, Huo Sining hurriedly stopped Zhou Shitao: "Teacher, let me take a look."

Zhou Shitao paused, bewildered: "You’re not afraid?"

Huo Sining was embarrassed to say that she was a wandering soul before rebirth. Besides, humans fear unknown things, but the experiences she encountered after rebirth were far more bizarre and real than any ghostly tale.

Her gaze swept over the faces of those behind her, noticing even the Oil Rat’s face had paled. Other archaeological members were all clenching their fists in anxiety.

In the vast outer chamber, everyone seemed frozen, as if a ghost was lurking around the oil lamp, ready to strike them all. Several female team members were breathing heavily, on the verge of tears.

Huo Sining couldn’t help but chuckle, saying to Zhou Shitao: "What is there to be afraid of? I’ve never seen an evil ghost, only timid and sensual ghosts. Fear of such things only arises from a guilty conscience."

With that, Huo Sining walked directly towards the oil lamp.

As soon as she approached, after a few glances, Huo Sining realized the truth, couldn’t help but turn her head, smiling towards Zhou Shitao and the others behind her:

"This is just a trick, once you come over, you’ll understand!"

Zhou Shitao smiled as if he had already guessed something, speaking before he approached:

"Is there some mechanism linked to that oil lamp, causing it to self-ignite under certain conditions?"

Huo Sining was amazed: "How did you know?"

Zhou Shitao laughed: "I haven’t seen it, but I know. Indeed, over two thousand years ago, there were such things as Changming Lamps in tombs. They aren’t truly everlasting; they ignite under certain conditions."

Huo Sining nodded with a smile: "Yes, you’re right. There is a yellow solid beneath the oil lamp, likely sodium peroxide. This substance reacts with carbon dioxide to produce oxygen, and the wick is infused with white phosphorus, which self-ignites at certain temperatures."

"With so many people entering the tomb, the carbon dioxide exhaled causes the temperature in the space to increase, leading sodium peroxide to react and generate oxygen, aiding in the ignition of white phosphorus. Thus, the lamp suddenly lit up."

Zhou Shitao laughed: "Exactly, that’s the principle of the Changming Lamp. There’s no perpetual motion machine in the world, nor an eternally burning oil lamp. The so-called ever-burning oil lamp simply relies on chemical reactions under specific conditions."

Upon hearing Zhou Shitao’s explanation, everyone stopped fearing the sudden ignition of the lamp. They all showed an expression of realization, and the previously tense atmosphere immediately became much more relaxed.

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