Chapter Seven: Someone in the Coffin

The dwarf led the way ahead, with Chu Tiange following closely behind.

The further they advanced, the more eerie and dark the surroundings became. Occasionally, the sound of bones snapping and the shrill squeaks of rats being slaughtered echoed through the air. In a corner by a stall, Chu Tiange saw a black cat gnawing the skull of a mouse, its mouth stained with blood. When it looked up, its green eyes glowed like ghostly flames, and meeting its gaze gave him an inexplicable sense of unease.

The dwarf halted before a modest dwelling and pushed open the courtyard gate. It was an ordinary house, the yard cluttered with sundry objects. A thick rope hung from the wall, its end tied to an iron hook that skewered slabs of crimson-cured meat.

The dwarf approached the house and ushered Chu Tiange inside. As the door shut behind them, a sudden cold wind arose, rattling the doors and windows.

At that moment, an aged, hoarse voice called out, “Tiange, you’ve come? Come in, sit down, have some tea to warm yourself.”

An old woman with silver hair, her back hunched with age, stood by the door. Her face was gentle and kind, a smile always playing at her lips.

A faint, eerie giggle echoed through the room.

As the wind abated, a blurry human face appeared on the windowpane. Though its features were indistinct, one could vaguely make out the innocence of a child.

These uncanny sights did not draw Chu Tiange’s attention; his gaze remained fixed on something behind the old woman. There stood a red coffin, covered with talismans. The coffin had already begun to rot, exuding a pungent, acrid stench.

Chu Tiange’s eyes swept across the coffin several times, and a faint smile tugged at his lips. He taunted, “Who would have thought that the illustrious Saintess of the Watermoon Sect would humble herself to hide in a coffin?”

A cold laugh came from within the coffin.

“Did Master Xiao reveal my identity to you?” A woman’s voice drifted out, soft yet chilling, as if forged from ten thousand years of ice.

Chu Tiange could only sigh with emotion. He had never expected to encounter here a kindred spirit who once fought at his side.

Lu Shiqi of the Watermoon Sect—the foremost prodigy of the Azure Mystic Continent!

In his past life, when the Azure Mystic Continent faced annihilation, the world’s greatest warriors fought desperately for the sake of all living beings. Yet, it was like mantises trying to halt a chariot; one by one they fell, until only a handful remained to hold the line. Among those last few were Chu Tiange and Lu Shiqi.

They fought with blood and fury, expending all their strength to protect the last pure land behind them. In the end, however, they could not withstand the cataclysm that shattered their world.

That peerless woman in white, with a single sword, faced the monstrous horde alone, buying time for tens of thousands to escape. Pointing to her heart, she told Chu Tiange that the human heart was not so easily broken. She never feared dying in battle; she had long awaited the moment of her own destruction. Her only wish was to see once more the sea of moonlit blossoms before the gates of the Watermoon Sect.

That was their final farewell. The stunning woman bloomed like a firework in the tide of horrors.

When Chu Tiange himself neared death, he looked back at his homeland—only to see darkness and desolation, with no familiar scene in sight, nor any trace of the blossom sea Lu Shiqi had spoken of. Only decay remained.

The last thing he saw in this world was the gravestones of his fallen comrades, standing defiantly against the void. But in the end, darkness devoured everything and buried all life on the Azure Mystic Continent.

Suddenly, Chu Tiange laughed, and after a long while, his thoughts gradually returned.

He was still here. She was still here. The Azure Mystic Continent—all its living beings—were still here!

Everything could still be reversed! The human heart would always be resolute; scalding blood could always be turned to strength!

So, even if the world is destroyed or heaven and earth overturned, what is there to fear?

“You’re quite a strange fellow. I know you—favored consort of the new prodigy, Zhao Yiren. Who would have thought the Celestial Gate would send you here? By rights, you’re supposed to be a coward, the sort who clings to life and fears death. Why would you agree to come here?”

The voice from the coffin spoke again, laced with both surprise and intense curiosity.

For a cultivator at the Mortal Bone stage, coming here was a death sentence—there was no chance of survival. Even though Lu Shiqi was hidden here, she had no certainty of saving him at the critical moment.

After all, her task was precisely to use a Mortal Bone cultivator to lure out that monstrous being and strike while it was off guard. And the only time it would be unguarded was while feeding.

Yet Chu Tiange exhibited no trace of fear; she could hear the joy in his laughter.

“It’s a long story. In short, I leapt into the fire pit.” Chu Tiange shook his head, stepped past the old woman, and sat down atop the coffin, tapping the lid. “Master Xiao really is a scoundrel, tricking me by claiming there was only a single Bloodfiend here.”

A short silence came from within the coffin, then, “Well then, you’d best be prepared to die,” the voice replied.

Chu Tiange shook his head. “Even if the master hadn’t tricked me, as long as I knew you were here, I would have come. The outside world may be crawling with traps, but you alone could never resolve what’s happening here in time.”

“You’re quite glib. We’ve never met in person, yet you dare claim you knew I was here and would risk your life to come? On what basis do you assume I couldn’t solve the problem? I am a Nascent Soul cultivator, after all.”

The voice in the coffin spoke again.

“A month ago, Azure Mystic City was struck by a massive ghost tide, and it’s suspected a Ghost King appeared. Now you’re here, so that confirms it—there really is a Ghost King this time.”

Chu Tiange paused, then continued, “Yes, you’re at the Nascent Soul stage, but this is a Ghostfiend—a Ghost King! Even with your extraordinary talent, even if you leap a whole cultivation level, how long can you truly endure?”

The coffin was silent for a moment, then a soft, teasing laugh sounded. “And you think, with the addition of a Mortal Bone-stage good-for-nothing like yourself, you can handle this Ghost King? Your sole purpose here is to be bait—nothing more.”

Chu Tiange smiled, glancing at the dwarf and old woman. “Another person, another idea. Hiding your aura in the red coffin is one method. As for me, I have my own way.”

“How entertaining,” the woman in the coffin laughed.

A creaking noise issued from inside, as if boards were being scraped together. Then, two flawless hands lifted the coffin lid, and a jade pendant was tossed out.

Chu Tiange caught the jade. He lowered his eyes and saw that it was crystal clear, lustrous as mutton-fat, intricately carved, with two characters engraved at its center: Supreme Purity.

Brilliant light shimmered on the pendant, and pure innate energy flowed gently from within.

The coffin lid closed once more.

“I don’t like smooth-talking men, but out of basic decency, I’ll give you this jade pendant. Keep it on you—I’ll be able to sense if you’re in danger, and, more importantly, it can shield you from a Ghostfiend’s strike.”