"At that time, no one really understood what the stone jar and the bronze mirror were used for, and they couldn't even understand this strange combination, so in order to solve the mystery, they began to investigate the inside of the stone jar.

The stone jar was high, and there were stepping stone steps next to it, which must have been built to make it easier for people to take the contents of the stone jar. So what's in the stone jar?

This time, Lao Li personally went into battle and took a flashlight and went up the stepping stone steps.

The stone jar was big and deep, and it was black and rumbling inside. The flashlight swept over an area of the inner wall first, and he found that there was a layer of unevenly distributed things on it, black, yellow, black and yellow, and suddenly there was a waxy texture. At the time, no one knew what it was, but it was only after the accident that the police tested the substance. ”

"It's corpse oil."

"Shhh...... You're so good that you even know this kind of thing? The police told me that it was the fat that had been precipitated after the human body had been steamed. ”

"Well, you go on."

Lao Li didn't care what that layer was, of course he didn't think it was corpse oil at all, he hit the flashlight to the bottom of the stone tank, and this photo was stunned.

The others saw Lao Li taking pictures for a long time, so they asked him what he found, he didn't say anything, and then raised his flashlight to shine inside, and then came down.

He said to everyone, "At the bottom of the stone jar, there are human bones." ”

"Smack~" tape finished playing again.

Qin Ding frowned, feeling a little panicked, and he couldn't help but look at the water tank in the corner of the room.

He thought to himself, this place is really weird, it is scary to have to get a water tank made of stone and put it in the house, and catch up with the tape and this kind of thing.

He steadied himself, then switched to a second tape and began to play side A.

"That's it."

"In fact, in archaeological work, skeletons are the most common, and there is nothing to be afraid of at all, but if it is associated with this stone jar, it is extremely scary to think about it.

There are human bones in the stone jar, and there are traces of fire underneath, so the purpose is clear at a glance. This is used to cook people. This large piece of thirty-six has been boiled by people.

Lao Li told me on the phone that at that moment, he imagined a terrible picture, in the dark underground where the sun and moon have not been seen for many years, someone once used these utensils to cook people, maybe they still boiled living people.

If his imagination is true, then this time it has escalated to another level, that is, what is this place used for, why would the people who built and arranged it do such a cruel thing?

Dr. Qin and Professor Zhang were also shocked when they came over to learn the news, and Professor Zhang put forward her opinion.

She said that some ancient books have mentioned that there is a place in the mountains where yin and yang gather is very suitable for alchemy, and some people choose to choose here, and judging from the inscriptions, this place is built for alchemy.

And the thirty-six stone jars, still placed in a certain array, with a bronze mirror pressed on the top, and a fire burning at the bottom, she thinks, this is a mysterious ancient method, but there is a sense of crooked and evil ways.

She also believes that it takes a certain amount of financial resources and manpower to arrange so many stone jars and bronze mirrors, not to mention that it involves alchemy and immortality, which may be related to a certain emperor.

Others agreed with Professor Zhang. Because the people in power in ancient times were obsessed with immortality, it was commonplace to find alchemists to seek immortality.

Later, one of the interns on the team expressed his opinion.

He said that this kind of place was chosen in the mountains, and the scale was so large, that boiling people in stone jars might be a kind of sacrifice.

The bronze 甽 (yan) once unearthed in the archaeological world is boiled human heads, and this practice is called the 胹 (er) sacrifice, although it is not known whether it is for people to eat or for the gods. Maybe this place is a sacrificial ground, and it is impossible to say that the elixir is refined through sacrificing to the gods.

Belch...... These, how to put it, are some of their conjectures and speculations at the time, and if they want to be convincing, they need to find more evidence to corroborate.

In order not to affect the progress, Lao Li asked Wang Guixing to take four interns and three technicians to stay here in the stone jar to clean up and excavate, and let them pick out the bones in the stone jar and prepare to bring them back to the institute for inspection and research.

After settling down, Lao Li and Dr. Qin taught them to go to the stone platform behind the stone jar array, trying to find some clues from there.

Lao Li's group had just arrived near Shitai, and the people who were exploring the terrain came back and said that they had made some new discoveries.

Those people said that in this area of Stone Jar Formation, the color of the rocks and sand on the ground seems to be a little abnormal, and the contrast with the color of the ground outside the area is darker, and if you look closely, it is a little dark red.

Except for the area where the stone jar is placed, the outside of the area is a normal color. It was strange from this point, but they couldn't tell for a moment whether the color difference was natural or artificial.

When they checked the ground situation, they found that on the ground on the side of the stone jar array, there were many small white marble stone piles half-buried.

Because of their age, the color of these stone piles is almost the same as the color of the ground, so whether from a distance or a close distance, if you don't look closely, you can't see these things on both sides.

The small stone piles are arranged in an orderly manner, and the distance between them is so close that they are almost connected in a line, extending to the stone platform at the back. ”

"Director Wu, did anyone touch this kind of small stone stake at that time?"

"I definitely didn't touch it before, because those people who explored the terrain knew the rules, and every time they made a new discovery, they needed to report it before they would let someone survey it.

In addition, when reporting this discovery, everyone was near the stone platform, and their attention was all on the stone platform, and they planned to study the stone piles on both sides after the exploration, so they didn't know if they touched it afterwards, because something happened. ”

"Well, you go ahead."

Lao Li and the others began to survey the stone platform behind the stone jar array.

When they came to the stone platform, they realized that this stone platform was very peculiar, not granite or anything like that.

The stone platform is irregular in shape and close to a cuboid. It is 6 meters long, 3 meters wide and 3.5 meters high.

Its surface color bronze is also shining with metallic luster, like a large copper block of ghostly workmanship.

If it weren't for the dark lines and some uneven stone ribs and ravines all over the body, I really think this is a metal object.

Everyone was amazed by this stone platform, and they couldn't tell what kind of stone it was, but they felt that it must be artificially carved.

But Guo Yu, a geological expert, knew what it was, and he said that it was a natural bronze stone.

Guo Yu gave you a simple science popularization, it turns out that this kind of stone is produced in the area of the Sanchai River in Puding County, Anshun, Guizhou, which is the famous Yelang Ancient Kingdom, and its stone skin resembles bronze, so it is also called Yelang Bronze Stone.

This stone is rare, as the conditions for its formation are very harsh and complex.

This kind of stone was deposited by iron carbonate and other minerals at the bottom of bays and relatively closed lakes between 540 million and 240 million years ago, forming iron white cloud nodules, and then deposited nodules and fissiles between 240 million and 150 million years ago, and then after hundreds of millions of years, siliceous crystals filled the cracks to form white textures, and finally formed an iron oxide shell due to geothermal deterioration of its surface.

As you can see, this kind of stone takes hundreds of millions of years, so it is very rare on the earth and has great scientific value.

But the question arises, such a large volume of bronze, even in ancient times, the degree of preciousness can be imagined.

But it is too unusual for such a precious thing to be transported to that place as a stone platform.

Either the man was rich or supported by the emperor, or there is a possibility that the stone itself came from there.

Guo Yu could not tell whether this stone platform was produced in that darkness, because the bronze stone is a rootless stone.

Do you know what rootless stone is? ”

"I know that rootless stone can also be called independent stone, that is, there is no sandstone conjoined to rely on, and it becomes a stone alone.

As the old saying goes, 'A stone without a root, but a mountain without a root.'" It is said that this stone has many spiritual qualities, and it has appeared in many mythological stories. For example, the stone used in Nuwa to mend the sky is a rootless stone, and in the four famous books, Sun Wukong and Jia Baoyu are also born of this rootless stubborn stone, as well as Shiji Niangniang in "Fengshen List".

Director Wu, is it the stubborn stone in the inscription engraved on the stone tablet, referring to this stone platform? ”

"Uh...... I guess not. Although this stone platform is rare and unique, it is indeed used as a stone platform, and a large bronze artifact is placed on it. ”

"I see, you mean, if it is the stubborn stone it refers to, it should be the dominant position, not the subordinate position."

"Yes, yes, that's what it means.

Guo Yu can't judge whether this stone platform is naturally formed there for the time being, because on the one hand, it is necessary to determine the soil composition, and on the other hand, after going out, it is necessary to investigate the geological environment and whether this kind of stone is abundant in the surrounding area, so we can make accurate inferences, so we did not dwell too much on this issue.

Then they carefully observed the stone platform, and found that the surface of the bronze platform was flat and carved with some patterned characters, which were similar to the lines on the outer wall of the stone jar.

From this point of view, Dr. Qin is more certain that this is not a decoration, but a kind of writing.

Dr. Qin was very excited because he had never seen this kind of writing, which meant that it was a new discovery in the paleographic world.

In addition to everyone's amazement, Lao Li and the others decided to go to the stone platform to check.

This bronze stone platform is not high, and it is not easy to go to it, but fortunately, the stone steps have been repaired on its side, so Lao Li and they walked to the stone platform without much effort.

When they went up, the first thing they saw was the bronze artifact, which was 150 centimeters long. Because there is an underground river not far behind the stone platform, it is full of moisture, so this bronze artifact is mottled with a thick rust skin.

Then they found that in front of the bronze, that is, half an arm's length away, stood a stand of strange shape, also made of bronze. There was nothing else on it but these two bronzes.

They first inspected the larger bronze artifact, and then Professor Zhang put forward a point of view, she believes that since this place is used for alchemy, regardless of the method process, the utensils used for alchemy should be complete.

I don't know what the stone jar has to do with alchemy, but the Dantai Dan furnace and Dan utensils used for alchemy should be there.

And there are bronze artifacts on the stone platform, so this stone platform may be the building platform of Taoist alchemy, and the bronze artifact is the Dan vessel of Cheng Dan. ”

"Smack~" The tape came to an end very suddenly.

The martial director didn't say much, but the old man spoke slowly and slowly.

Qin Ding was anxious in his heart, Director Wu Wu always mentioned the "accident" in his mouth, what was going on?

He flipped to the B side and pressed play again.

"Rustle~"

Because everyone didn't have a deep understanding of Taoism, they all had reservations after listening to Professor Zhang's words at that time.

However, a few people think that if the bronze is a Dan tool, it should also look like an alchemy furnace, but this shape is not a Dan furnace in the traditional sense.

Its appearance is somewhat peculiar, and if you have to compare it with an unearthed artifact, it looks very much like a bronze unearthed in 1975 in Dongjia Village, Qishan, Shaanxi Province, but this bronze is much larger.

In ancient times, this kind of utensil was used to hold or scoop water, that is, a long water scoop with a flowing water mouth, and the shape of this bronze artifact is basically like this.

Not only is it oval-shaped, it also has a lid on it, and the mouth is not completely covered, as if it has an open mouth, the only difference is at the tail end and the bottom.

There is no 鋬 (pàn), that is, a handle, at the end of the end, of course, this volume is certainly not used to scoop water, and it is normal to have no handle. It also has no four legs, a flat bottom, and is in direct contact with the stone platform, so it can only be said that this thing looks a little like a bronze one. ”