Clang!
The golden coffin trembled once more, then fell still again. Ye Qiu didn’t notice.
The little white fox, however, seemed to sense something. It turned its head toward the coffin, eyes filled with doubt.
“Are you all right?” Ye Qiu asked with concern.
“I’m fine. I won’t die that easily,” the little fox answered stubbornly, though its voice was faint and weak.
Ye Qiu took five leaves from the Golden Sacred Tree out of his cosmos pouch and handed them over. “Eat these.”
The little fox’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ye Changsheng, I really didn’t expect you to be carrying this many treasures.”
“Do you want them or not?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Yes!” The little fox swallowed the leaves in one gulp. Its spirit quickly recovered, and it licked its lips. “Ye Changsheng, I’m still not fully restored. Give me a few more.”
It had lost two drops of essence blood—two lives. Ye Qiu would have loved to give it more, but he had already stripped almost every leaf from the Golden Sacred Tree. Even he himself was reluctant to eat them.
“There are no more,” Ye Qiu said.
“You’re lying.” The little fox refused to let it go, pawing at his arm and acting cute. “I want more, I want more…”
“There really aren’t any.”
“You definitely have some. Give them to me!”
Smack!
Ye Qiu slapped its rear hard. The little fox shivered all over and cried out, “Ohhh… that felt amazing!”
Its voice was extremely seductive.
Ye Qiu was horrified to discover that the sound actually stirred something inside him…
Ye Qiu, Ye Qiu, you absolute beast!
At that moment—
Dark clouds suddenly gathered, and a howling wind swept through. Everyone felt an inexplicable palpitation, as though something terrifying was about to happen.
Buzz!
The Xuanyuan Sword hidden in Ye Qiu’s left eye trembled slightly, issuing a warning.
Danger!
Roar!
The fire lion beneath Hu Zi suddenly threw its head back and roared at the sky.
Long-Browed Zhenren’s black tortoise and Yun Xi’s unicorn also let out uneasy cries.
All three divine beasts grew restless.
The little white fox sensed the danger too and shouted anxiously, “Ye Changsheng, this place is dangerous! Run! And take that golden coffin with you if you can!”
Ye Qiu turned and dashed toward the broken cliff, but he had only taken two steps when something changed again.
Clang!
The golden coffin vibrated, then shot into the sky.
“What the—?”
Ye Qiu’s face was full of shock.
He had tried countless methods earlier and failed to make it budge even an inch. During his entire fight with Wu Hua, it had lain quietly beside the cliff. Why was it suddenly moving now?
Boom!
Abruptly, the coffin burst with divine light, releasing a terrifying pressure, as though a god were awakening.
In an instant, everyone’s hearts pounded. Their souls felt as if they might scatter.
“Master, run!” Hu Zi shouted.
Under normal circumstances, Ye Qiu would have fled long ago. But this coffin represented a supreme opportunity—he couldn’t bear to abandon it.
After all, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox had sacrificed a drop of essence blood just to bring it out.
“Little fox, should we… just leave the coffin?” Ye Qiu asked.
“No way!” the little fox snapped. “I lost a drop of essence blood to get it out here. How can we abandon it?”
“Ye Changsheng, don’t be afraid.”
“Its pressure is strong, but as long as you don’t give up, you will definitely obtain it.”
Boom!
The coffin trembled again, its pressure growing even more terrifying. Like a towering tsunami, it shattered the void, creating massive black holes that seemed ready to devour heaven and earth.
The little fox’s fur stood on end. It cried, “Ye Changsheng, run!”
Ye Qiu laughed bitterly. “Didn’t you just tell me not to be afraid? And now you’re the one panicking?”
“Stop talking and run, or it’ll be too late…” Before it could finish, the coffin moved again, slowly descending from the sky.
This is bad.
“Run!” Ye Qiu roared, warning the others while shooting away himself.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Everyone fled at top speed.
Ye Qiu reached a thousand metres away, then glanced back. The coffin was about to touch the ground when, without warning, it changed direction and streaked toward him like lightning.
“It’s coming after us!” the little fox shrieked.
Ye Qiu didn’t hesitate. He turned and fled again, but the coffin followed relentlessly.
“What the hell?”
Ye Qiu frowned.
Hu Zi shouted, “Master, let’s split up!”
“Good idea,” Ye Qiu replied. “I’ll take Xi’er. Hu Zi, protect the old man and the others.”
“Yes, sir!” Hu Zi led Long-Browed Zhenren, Mo Tianji, Lin Da Niao, and the Azure Cloud disciples south.
Ye Qiu grabbed Yun Xi’s hand and headed north.
After a while, the terrifying pressure suddenly vanished.
Yun Xi looked back, her beautiful face paling. “Changsheng, it’s right behind us!”
Ye Qiu turned too. The coffin was less than two hundred metres away. It had withdrawn its pressure but was still charging straight at them.
“It really is after me…”
Realisation struck. Ye Qiu made a snap decision.
“Xi’er, we split up too.” He pushed Yun Xi away and veered off in another direction.
Sure enough, the coffin instantly changed course and pursued him alone.
The little fox also noticed. “Ye Changsheng, what immoral thing did you do? Why is that coffin only chasing you?”
“How should I know?” Ye Qiu was getting angry.
It might be a supreme opportunity, but if he couldn’t control it, it could kill him.
“Ye Changsheng, be honest. Have you ruined countless girls and never taken responsibility? Are you a complete heartless scoundrel?”
“Nonsense! I’m sincere with every single one of my confidantes… Bah, why am I even explaining this to you? Shut up, I’m trying to escape!”
Ye Qiu immediately used One Step A Hundred Li, vanishing and reappearing a hundred li away.
He looked back—no sign of the coffin.
“Phew…” Ye Qiu let out a relieved breath. “Finally shook it off.”
“Ye Changsheng, look up,” the little fox said.
Ye Qiu’s head snapped upward. The golden coffin hovered silently in the sky less than fifty metres above him.
Damn it!
Ye Qiu’s face turned green.
And right at that moment, the coffin came crashing straight down.
