The black coffin was etched with peculiar patterns, and a faint, ethereal green glow seemed to flow across it, as if it were a living entity.
Qin Feng felt a sense of familiarity towards this coffin – it was the Spirit Sealing Coffin of the Coffin Tomb Family!
The scoundrel Mu Baiqian had always been seen wandering around with such a coffin on his back.
But upon closer inspection, this coffin was somewhat different from Mu Baiqian’s – the size was clearly larger, and it exuded a vibrant life force!
Contradictory to its nature as a coffin, it was emanating life rather than death!
As the black coffin bounced along, the figure carrying it came into view.
Clad in a black cloak, the old man’s weathered face was exposed without a hat.
To Qin Feng and the others, the old man seemed less human and more like a ghost wearing a human facade.
His sunken cheeks, his skin covered with dark spots, and his eyes, sunk deep into their sockets, emitted a faint green glow.
“Who is this person?” Qin Feng wondered with uncertainty.Although the old man was dressed in the attire of the Coffin Tomb Family, his ghastly appearance still put the group on their guard.
Until a familiar figure appeared beside the old man.
“Senior brother?” Qin Feng exclaimed in surprise.
It was the unkempt and disheveled Shen Li, Qin Feng’s Senior Brother.
“It’s been a while, junior brother,” Shen Li greeted with a nod.
At the same time, the old coffin-bearer, seemingly unconcerned with the group’s gaze, slowly made his way to the grave.
One third of soil covering the grave had been scraped away, and the undead were still struggling in it.
“Dust to dust, earth to earth,” the raspy voice sounded like a dilapidated bellows.
Could this old man have also emerged from the grave just now? Qin Feng wondered.
But remarkably, the undead, who had been desperately trying to crawl out of the soil, fell silent after hearing those words, their bodies decaying and merging back into the earth.
“Thank you,” a gentle whisper reached their ears.
Gong Cang’s eyes widened, as he seemed to see the figure of his departed friend waving farewell to him while holding a wine jar.
The old coffin-bearer exhaled lightly, and a sudden gust of wind swirled, covering the grave with soil once more.
“What is the meaning of this?” Gong Cang asked curiously.
The old man did not look at Gong Cang, but looked at Qin Feng and said hoarsely: “Since we are traveling together, let’s talk about this later.”
It was hard to comprehend how this seemingly frail old man could carry such a massive coffin and keep up with the fast horses.
Qin Feng rubbed his eyes repeatedly to confirm that this surreal scene was not a dream.
Though the old man walked at a leisurely pace, he seemed to cover ten paces with each step.
Qin Feng felt this technique resembled the Immortal Technique “Seeing Flowers in the Mist” of the Literature Saint of Dao Lineage, but he was certain that was not the case.
This was because the old man had no spiritual energy circulating around him at all – he was just strolling around at a leisurely pace!
“Senior brother, who exactly is this old gentleman?” Qin Feng asked.
Sitting behind them, Shen Li replied, “You should be familiar with the Coffin Tomb Family. This old man is the founder of the Coffin Tomb Family – Mu Heng.”
The others turned their heads in surprise upon hearing this – this old man was the founder of the Coffin Tomb Family!
Qin Feng also widened his eyes. The Coffin Tomb Family had traditionally been tasked with containing the divine powers of high-Calamity Cycle Demons and Ghosts after their deaths, preventing them from harming the mortal realm.
Extrapolating from this, when the Netherworld was invaded and the laws of Heaven and Earth ceased to exist, the Coffin Tomb Family would probably still exist
This would mean that this old man had lived for thousands of years, even before the founding of the Great Qian Empire!
‘This old man must be several thousand years old, no wonder he looks like he’s crawled out of a coffin,’ Qin Feng thought to himself.
He wondered whether the Heavenly Tower National Teacher and Divine Guardian presiding over the Imperial City could outlive this old man, or if they were contemporaries.
Activating his Dual Pupil Ability, Qin Feng took a quick look at the old man, and his titanium eyes remained unharmed.
Having reached the Third Realm, he was now able to observe transcendent realm bodies, although he could not stare at them for too long lest his spirit and soul weaken.
What he saw perplexed him – there was no strong spiritual energy, and he could not discern the old man’s organs, bones or flesh, only a pervasive aura of death!
“Is this old man really alive? He looks more like the coffin behind him than a living being,” Qin Feng was greatly astonished.
Sensing something, Mu Heng turned his head, and the eerie green flames in his pupils flickered.
Had he been caught sneaking a peek?
Qin Feng cautiously asked, “Master Mu, you still haven’t explained the reason behind the resurrection of those corpses.”
“It does seem similar to the undead we encountered in Shuliang City,” Cang Feilan commented.
Gong Cang shook his head, “I initially suspected it was the undead, but when we buried the corpses earlier, the situation did not match the records of corpse disasters.”
As a Divine General, Gong Cang’s knowledge of the details regarding the corpse disaster, while not comprehensive, was still quite extensive.
Mu Heng’s harsh voice cut in, “The balance of life and death in this realm has been disturbed. The ebb and flow of life and death energies has caused the souls of the dead of the Netherworld to return to their bodies. What was once dead has become neither fully alive nor dead.”
His words stunned the group.
Qin Feng had thought the anomalies were related to the arrival of the Ghost Buddha in the Western Domain, but it seemed that was not the case.
Gong Cang pondered, “Commander Fu’s report mentioned strange occurrences in the Western Domain, where the bodies of demons and ghosts could be revived if not burned to ashes. Could this be the reason?”
“The physical body is the vessel for the soul. With the Netherworld’s laws disrupted, the souls have nowhere to go, so they must return to their physical forms. This is why we are seeing such phenomena – the Netherworld has undergone some transformation,” Mu Heng explained calmly.
Qin Feng furrowed his brow and asked curiously, “I don’t quite understand. After the laws of the Netherworld were shattered centuries ago, the souls of the deceased could no longer enter the Netherworld. Why did we not see this resurrection phenomenon back then? Now that the Netherworld’s soul summoning power has been restored, why has this strange change occurred?”
Mu Heng pondered for a moment before speaking again, “In the primordial chaos, Yin and Yang gave birth to the primordial qi that nourished all things. The world was then divided into three realms: the Immortal Realm of limitless power, the mortal human realm, and the Netherworld of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.”
“The Immortal Realm possesses supreme might. Those in the human realm who ascend and transcend can open the gates to become immortal.”
“The Netherworld governs the cycle of reincarnation. All souls without physical form are drawn into the Yellow Springs to be reborn.”
Qin Feng carefully considered the implications – one realm presided over ascension to immortality, while the other governed the cycle of death and reincarnation.
The old master then continued his explanation, and Qin Feng began to understand the true reason behind this phenomenon.
Currently, the laws of the Netherworld were in disarray. The souls of the deceased could enter the Netherworld, but could not cross the Gate of Hell to be ushered into the Yellow Springs. This caused the abandoned physical bodies to remain un-decayed.
With the return of the souls, the dead were reborn in a different way, upsetting the balance of life and death in the mortal realm, leading to a vicious cycle.
It would have been better if the souls had not been able to enter the Netherworld at all – according to the Old Master, the souls would have gradually scattered throughout the heavens and earth, maintaining the balance of life and death.
But the anomaly in the laws of the Netherworld had led to the current situation.
The group wore serious expressions. Suddenly, Qin Feng seemed to realize something and said in horror, “Does this mean that this is happening throughout the entire realm?”
The others also snapped to attention and turned to Mu Heng, waiting for his response.
The old master nodded slightly, “This situation has only just begun. The closer we get to the Netherworld Rift, the more instances of the dead rising will occur.”
“And as the balance of life and death continues to be upset, the rift between the mortal and Netherworld realms will gradually widen. When that happens…”
The old man left the rest unsaid, but everyone could foresee the severity of the problem.
In the mountains outside of Jinyang City in the Southern Domain, row upon row of graves could be seen.
A man stood in front of a freshly dug grave, pouring wine and burning incense, his eyes were red from crying. “It’s better this way, better that you’re gone, so you don’t have to suffer in this world anymore. At least you left with nothing holding you back.”
After speaking to the grave for a long time, the man stood up and poured the remaining wine over the grave.
“Do not worry, brother. I know the one you cared about most in life was Xiao Cui. If I make it back alive, I’ll take good care of her for you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a crack suddenly appeared on the gravestone, running from bottom to top.
The man’s eyes widened in horror as a pale, bloodied hand emerged from the freshly turned earth, waving frantically.
“Brother, don’t come for me! I won’t go to Xiao Cui, okay?”
In addition to his panic, a rustling sound could be heard all around him.
The man looked in the direction of the sound and immediately trembled, his pants becoming damp.
The long-dead bodies were crawling out of their graves!
It was not only this man who was mourning for the dead, but others who witnessed this sight also cried out in horror.
At that moment, a whistling sound came from the sky.
A spear made of clouds shot down with tremendous force and split into two, then four spears in the air.
Each spear unerringly impaled the restless tombs, reducing the undead bodies to dust.
Spear Immortal Sima Kong descended gracefully, surveying the area with a grave expression. “Just as I suspected.”
This was not an isolated incident!
Throughout the four realms of the Great Qian, incidents of the resurrection of the dead were occurring.
While people often idly wished for the return of their deceased loved ones, when it actually happened, how many could remain calm?
For them, it was not a joyful event, but a terrifying one.
By the Nine Bend River in the Imperial City, an old man with white hair and a black beard suddenly furrowed his brow.
The river water rippled, and the land of the Demon Slaying Department began to tremble.
In the tower, Deng Mo, who was still cultivating with the Nether Crystal given by Qin Feng, sensed the disturbance and looked down, muttering, “The Ninefold Prison?
The imprisoned Heavenly Tower National Teacher’s Avatar looked up with a sigh, then turned his attention back to the chessboard in front of him and made another move.
In the bottommost layer of the Ninefold Prison, in the endless darkness, a pair of eyes flickered open and then slowly closed.
Divine Guardian looked at the cracked skin on the back of his hand, then shook it slightly, and the flesh was whole again.
At the top of the Heavenly Tower in the Grand Literature Academy, the unsightly Xu Leyuan with a small moustache said reverently, “Teacher, I have found the item.”
“Good,” the National Teacher of the Heavenly Tower replied indifferently.
Upon hearing Mu Heng’s words, the faces of everyone present darkened.
If what the old master said was true, then these undead monstrosities would roam the world, turning the mortal realm into a living hell.
“Is there really no way to prevent this?” Gong Cang asked solemnly.
They all stopped and turned to face the old man, waiting for his answer.
“The balance of life and death has been disturbed. To reverse it, you have to change the source.”
Qin Feng furrowed his brow. The source must be the Netherworld, but he could hardly imagine who would have the power to restore the laws of an entire realm to their original state. Not even the Heavenly Tower National Teacher and Divine Guardian might be able to do that.
‘No, that assumption is wrong, because the Teacher and Divine Guardian cannot even leave the vicinity of the Imperial City, let alone travel to the Netherworld.’
Gong Cang sighed, understanding the immense difficulty.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. There’s no need to rush. Besides, we have an even bigger crisis to solve right now.”
The ghostly flames in Mu Heng’s eyes flickered, and everyone understood that he was referring to the Ghost Buddha in the Western Extreme.
“This transcendent being that exists beyond life and death must be the culprit behind the disruption of the laws in the Immortal Realm and the Netherworld. Perhaps a solution to restore the balance of life and death can be found by dealing with it.”
“But the old master knows that such a monstrous being possesses immortal divine powers. Dealing with it will not be an easy task,” Qin Feng expressed his concern.
At this moment, Shen Li spoke up, “I have been instructed by the Teacher to bring the old master for this very purpose.”
Qin Feng paused before suddenly realizing, “This was the Teacher’s contingency plan?”
But could the old master of the Coffin Tomb Family really have a way to overcome the creature’s bizarre powers?
On the other side, a streak of light like a comet was speeding from east to west.
Inside the ray of light, Sun Qi was being held in the palm of Heaven Killing Asura, his face distorted by the howling wind.
“According to the Teacher’s prediction, there is still time to spare. There is no need to rush,” Sun Qi’s words came out in broken fragments.
Heaven Killing Asura let out a sinister laugh, “A being who can disrupt the laws of the Immortal Realm and the Netherworld must be of formidable power. How can I pass up the opportunity to engage it in battle?”
Worthy of being the king of the fighting clan, he was running at full speed to rush to fight. Sun Qi reminded, “But don’t forget our mission. We came here to uncover the truth about the Western Extreme and prevent the Abyss from further devouring this realm.”
Upon hearing this, Heaven Killing Asura’s brow furrowed.
At that moment, a clear voice rang out from the crook of his other arm, “Are you sure that Qin Feng is in the Western Realm?”
The speaker was none other than Pabluo, who had followed them. As the daughter of Heaven Killing Asura and the next generation king of the Asura Clan, she naturally could not stay in the clan forever, but wanted to come out to experience and refine herself!
However, her true purpose was to seize the opportunity to take her future husband, Qin Feng, and then give birth to the mightiest offspring.
“Of course it’s true. How dare I deceive the Young King,” Sun Qi replied immediately.
“Good, then this time I will avenge my previous defeat and defeat him,” Pabluo said as she felt her father’s gaze upon her.
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