The cave entrance was shrouded in multiple layers of restrictions, accessible only to the Master in normal times.
Inside the Hidden Abyss Cave, the immortal aura was so dense it nearly liquefied, and the walls were embedded with countless luminous pearls, illuminating the space as bright as day.
The Master of Tianyuan Pavilion waved his hand to dispel the restrictions at the entrance, carefully placing the two coffins on the jade platform in the centre of the cave.
The runes on the coffins’ surfaces flickered under the pearl light, exuding an eerie chill, as if pulsing faintly with life.
“Treasures of the ancient ruins…”
The Master of Tianyuan Pavilion rubbed his hands, his eyes glinting with greed, “That boy Chen Ping, clueless, traded such priceless treasures for his life, utterly foolish!”
He had heard that ancient ruins often contained heaven-defying divine artefacts or immortal elixirs buried with the dead. These two eerie coffins must be suppressing astonishing treasures.
Taking a deep breath, he channelled his lifelong cultivation, pressing both palms onto the lid of one coffin, etched with intricate phoenix patterns.
“Open for me!”
His aura surged into the coffin like a tide, and the runes suddenly erupted in blinding red light. The lid let out a creaking groan, slowly sliding to one side.
A nauseatingly thick stench of blood instantly filled the air, mingled with an aura of decay and malice, causing the Master to instinctively step back.
Suppressing his discomfort, he peered inside. The coffin held not gold or jewels, but a female corpse clad in tattered phoenix robes!
The corpse’s face was greenish-black, her tangled hair writhed like snakes, and her sharp, black nails gleamed. Though dead for untold ages, her eyes remained wide open, filled with venom and unwillingness.
Even stranger, her body hadn’t fully decayed; something seemed to writhe beneath her skin, with wisps of black mist seeping from her pores.
“This… a blood corpse?”
The Master of Tianyuan Pavilion’s face changed drastically. Blood corpses were ancient evil entities, feeding on vital blood, their lingering resentment after death capable of controlling the minds of the living.
He was about to retreat and seal the coffin when the corpse’s tightly shut lips suddenly parted, revealing ghastly white fangs. A visible cloud of blood-red mist burst from her mouth, rushing straight at the Master’s face!
“Danger!”
The Master’s pupils contracted as he hastily summoned a black iron shield. Yet, the blood-red mist, as if alive, pierced through the shield, instantly burrowing into his brow.
A bone-chilling consciousness slammed into his mind, as if countless resentful souls were shrieking. His vision darkened, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Almost simultaneously, the other coffin, etched with dragon patterns, let out a deafening “bang,” its lid flying off on its own.
A male corpse in tattered dragon robes appeared! His face was ferocious, covered in blood-red corpse veins, and a bowl-sized hole in his chest revealed a heart still beating, shrouded in black mist!
He snapped his eyes open, revealing blood-red voids without pupils. A silent roar manifested as a sonic wave, making the entire Hidden Abyss Cave hum.
The male corpse extended a withered palm, grasping at the air. The spiritual energy within the Master’s body surged out uncontrollably, pouring into the two coffins.
The blood-red mist from the female corpse’s mouth continued to flood into the Master’s brow, while the male corpse’s black heart frantically devoured his life force.
“Argh…”
The Master let out a pained roar, clearly feeling his consciousness being eroded, a violent will belonging to the blood corpses taking over.
His body began to undergo eerie changes: half his face turned greenish-black, covered in corpse veins, his nails lengthening and sharpening;
The other half flushed with an unnatural rosy hue, his skin becoming as delicate as a woman’s.
His voice, too, became ambiguous, shifting between a deep male growl and a shrill female screech.
“Hahaha… we have finally… seen the light of day again…”
A half-male, half-female voice emerged from the Master’s mouth, laced with the madness of surviving a calamity.
