Imhotep’s Resurrection

Holding the Book of the Dead in hand, Yinsen continued following behind Evelyn. The woman acted as if she had returned to her home turf, chattering nonstop. The sight of a mural would suddenly draw a cry of amazement from her, and she practically wanted to press herself against it while explaining the stories depicted on it to everyone.

Since Yinsen had already told them Imhotep’s story, no one was surprised when Evelyn described a High Priest who had killed the Pharaoh and used forbidden magic, only to be punished for it. It seemed the Ancient Egyptians who built this pyramid had used this method to warn anyone who came here not to disturb the evil spirit imprisoned within. Doing so would likely bring unimaginable disaster upon them.

Evelyn turned to Yinsen, seemingly asking, Are we still going on? To the original Evelyn, such a warning might have seemed like a superstitious scare tactic meant to frighten tomb robbers, but now it appeared to be a well-intentioned reminder.

"Ignore it."

Yinsen had long since mocked these Ancient Egyptians in his heart. A punishment like Scarab Devourment would create an immensely powerful evil Undead Creature, one that, once revived, possessed the power to destroy all of Egypt.

Yinsen did not know how strong Imhotep had been while alive, but after his resurrection, he was indeed terrifyingly powerful. He could raise massive sandstorms, command rivers to form towering waves, summon swarms of locusts that blotted out the sky, call forth nearly immortal Guardian Warriors, and even make Rain of Fire crash into cities like meteors.

Spreading plagues had practically become an instinctive ability for him. Lesser tricks like turning himself into sand and controlling tornadoes could be used at will.

At the same time, the resurrected Imhotep existed somewhere between life and death. Ordinary methods could not harm him at all; only the incantations in the Book of Amun-Ra could defeat him.

So why had they used this method to create such a terrifying enemy? Had the Ancient Egyptians found life too dull and wanted a little excitement?

He could not understand the Ancient Egyptians’ way of thinking. Now that he had finally obtained the Book of Amun-Ra, both the means to resurrect Imhotep and the means to restrain him were in his hands. All that remained was to find Imhotep’s sarcophagus and revive this Ancient Egyptian High Priest.

"Are we really going to revive that priest?"

"Before that, we need to study these two books."

Yinsen still maintained that habit: he would make complete preparations before confronting an enemy. Though there was a chance he could communicate with Imhotep, perhaps even make a deal with him, it was also possible that Imhotep had been High Priest for so long that he would disdain communicating with "inferiors" like Yinsen’s group. Or perhaps the years of suppression had filled him with resentment to the point of explosion, leaving him determined to destroy Egypt to vent his rage.

Since that possibility existed, Yinsen had to prepare for it first.

He did not touch the Book of the Dead right away. Instead, with Evelyn’s help, he first learned the incantations recorded in the Book of Amun-Ra.

Simply put, the incantations in the Book of Amun-Ra were all designed to counter every Undead Creature summoned by the Book of the Dead, including anyone resurrected through the Book of the Dead’s incantations, as well as Undead Creatures summoned from it, including those immortal guardians.

Other than that, the book recorded few other Ancient Egyptian spells. The Book of Amun-Ra seemed to exist solely to suppress the Book of the Dead.

More importantly, the book did not record any specific cultivation methods for its spells. The method of use was very simple: hold the book and recite the corresponding incantation.

It could be said that these divine spells required no understanding from the user whatsoever. One only had to mechanically invoke them. Their effects depended entirely on their preset power and had nothing to do with the user.

"Completely useless!"

Yinsen shook his head helplessly. This thing was of no use to him. Its only value was that it would give him an advantage against Imhotep—Imhotep, resurrected through the Book of the Dead, would be severely restrained by this book.

Not only would Imhotep himself be restrained, but every spell he used would be countered by this book as well. Yinsen could find incantations in the Book of Amun-Ra to break every one of Imhotep’s spells. With this book in hand, Yinsen was naturally invincible against Imhotep.

Yinsen spent some time memorizing all the incantations in the Book of Amun-Ra with Evelyn’s help. His powerful memory ensured that he could commit the book’s contents to memory in a short time. This way, he would not need to search for the right incantation; as long as he held the opened Book of Amun-Ra, he could cast spells that countered Imhotep at the fastest speed.

Only then did Yinsen open the Book of the Dead. He repeatedly reminded Evelyn not to read anything aloud.

"Then how am I supposed to explain it?"

"First, tell me the general meanings of these incantations. Once I understand what they do, we can discuss the rest."

Evelyn had no objection. Much of her enthusiasm for finding Hamunaptra had been because of these two books. They were not what she had originally expected, though; they turned out to be pure spellbooks. Still, being able to read their contents made her very happy.

Evelyn was so engrossed that she nearly read an incantation aloud. Fortunately, Yinsen had been on guard. The moment she softly uttered two syllables, he reached out and covered her mouth.

"Does the Book of the Dead tempt people’s minds too?"

After carefully analyzing and examining it for a long time, he ultimately determined that Evelyn simply had not been able to restrain herself. Yinsen was speechless. After that, he had to listen to Evelyn’s explanations while also guarding against her blurting out an incantation.

Fortunately, though the book looked thick, it did not actually contain many pages. By the time Yinsen had figured out the functions of the Book of the Dead’s incantations, night had only just fallen.

"This is the perfect time to do something not entirely aboveboard."

The Ancient Egyptians had used mirrors and light refraction to ensure that the inside of the pyramid was as bright during the day as the outside world.

At night, moonlight could also be used to provide some illumination to most areas without torches, keeping them from falling into complete darkness.

The room containing Imhotep’s sarcophagus, however, had no light to speak of. Yinsen’s group had no choice but to light countless torches to ensure sufficient illumination, while also testing the air quality in the area.

"Above us?"

"Probably."

Evelyn had once again found the location. Based on her expertise and careful observation, she judged that something should be above this Stone Chamber, though she could not be certain whether it was truly Imhotep’s sarcophagus.

Yinsen only knew the general situation from his memories and had no idea of the exact location, so he could only follow Evelyn’s instructions and try.

He had considered using high-tech methods or spells to search, but divine power saturated every corner of the pyramid, severely interfering with spells and Mental Power searches. As for technology… before Imhotep was revived, he was merely an ordinary mummy. He had no energy fluctuations or biological signs. How could they find him?

At that moment, Yinsen was especially glad he had brought Evelyn. It allowed his plan to proceed smoothly. Without wasting almost any time, they obtained the two books, understood the functions of their incantations, and… found Imhotep’s sarcophagus.

"What now?"

"Now, watch me work."

Yinsen had everyone retreat. No one could guarantee that Imhotep would not attack as soon as he was revived, and Yinsen felt responsible for protecting everyone’s safety.

Reviving Imhotep had been his decision. These people had come to help him; they had no need to do this themselves. For them, allowing Imhotep to remain asleep forever would have been the correct choice.

Taking a deep breath, Yinsen used the special key in his hand to open the sarcophagus. He then pushed its heavy lid aside, and a remarkably "fresh" mummy appeared before him.

Evelyn could not restrain herself again and stepped forward to inspect the mummy. She was curious about this legendary High Priest, while also amazed that the mummy was so fresh.

O’Connell, meanwhile, noticed countless scratch marks on the inside of the sarcophagus lid. After a brief examination, he understood that they were marks Imhotep had clawed into it with his own hands before death, and that he had left behind a sentence there.

Evelyn wanted to move closer again, but this time O’Connell caught Yinsen’s look and obediently dragged Evelyn back some distance. He noticed that Logan and Ada had, intentionally or otherwise, positioned themselves in front of the two of them. O’Connell was displeased by this and deliberately took half a step forward, only for Logan to push him back.

Once he saw that everyone had kept a sufficient distance, Yinsen opened the Book of the Dead. He no longer needed to search through the incantations. Having learned the pronunciations of Ancient Egyptian and memorized the book’s incantations and their effects, he only needed to keep the book open to ensure the spell could be cast.

Mysterious writing became tongue-twisting sounds, carrying strange fluctuations. As Yinsen recited the incantation, the Book of the Dead in his hand released an eerie gust of cold wind. Everyone felt as if they had been brushed by a chill breeze, and then the gust drifted over Imhotep’s corpse, circling above it before finally erupting.

Almost at the instant that energy burst forth, Yinsen sensed a powerful fluctuation erupting from the previously unremarkable mummy. He knew Imhotep had been revived. Though he still looked like a mummy, he had gained the ability to move among the living. At this moment, he existed between life and death, leaning more toward an Undead Creature.

Once the subsequent ritual was completed, Imhotep would truly be resurrected, and flaws such as his fear of cats would disappear completely.

However, Yinsen did not intend to help him complete the subsequent ritual immediately, unless they could reach an agreement.

Watching the mummy slowly rise, Yinsen closed the Book of the Dead and opened the Book of Amun-Ra instead. Taking a stance before Imhotep, he said, "Imhotep, I’m here to negotiate."