It was similar to the Nine Heavens Deity Coffin, where the deities exiled into the universe had been placed. It was something all powerful beings avoided at all costs.
But the foolish Crocodile Ancestor seemed unaware of this taboo.
Sure enough, the moment Crocodile Ancestor grabbed the Bronze Giant Coffin with his hand wreathed in Demonic Aura, disaster struck him.
His Saint dharma body shattered instantly, and Saint Blood flowed from his palm like a stream before falling onto the Five-Colored Altar. It did not display any of the wonders one would expect from Saint Blood. It merely bloomed with streaks of crimson radiance before dimming, as if the boundless divine power contained within it had been completely devoured by the Five-Colored Altar in an instant.
Crocodile Ancestor seemed to have lost his mind and failed to notice what had happened.
Instead, he began to sneer. No one knew whom he was challenging, but he soon appeared at the edge of the Bronze Giant Coffin.
Then, a scene that left Li Zhi dumbfounded unfolded.
The Buddhist Magic Artifacts in Ye Fan and the others' hands seemed to revive on their own. They instantly gathered a supreme divine power and blasted Crocodile Ancestor away.
How could these damaged weapons possibly accomplish something like that?
Someone had definitely intervened from the shadows.
Li Zhi immediately thought of the Quasi-Emperors who lived in seclusion on Earth. He did not know whether Shakyamuni or Laozi had acted from afar.
To those high-level Quasi-Emperors, the short distance between Earth and Mars was no different from something happening right before their eyes.
When the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport descended on Earth, Li Zhi believed they would have noticed it if they had been on Earth.
They simply knew that the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport carried tremendous karmic implications, so they had not interfered.
Besides, they might even have sensed Ruthless Great Emperor's aura from the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport.
Just as Li Zhi became lost in thought,
the Bronze Lamp, Great Thunderclap Temple Plaque, Alms Bowl, Vajra Scepter, Wood Fish Drum, and all the other Buddhist Magic Artifacts in Ye Fan and the others' hands burst into dazzling radiance. They all shot into the sky on their own, gathering a supreme divine power that descended upon Crocodile Ancestor.
Crocodile Ancestor seemed to sense something. He let out an extremely sinister laugh, then slightly trembled as he released a towering Demonic Flame.
Boom!
The enormous collision shook the entire space until it trembled.
Some of the lower-quality Buddhist Magic Artifacts shattered instantly, releasing boundless divine power that was absorbed by the Five-Colored Altar below.
Crocodile Ancestor still wanted to stop the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport from setting off, but a Dragon Tail Sweep sent him flying.
During this, another speechless scene appeared before Li Zhi.
Ye Fan and the others actually ran out of the Bronze Giant Coffin and picked up the dim Buddhist Magic Artifacts.
Ye Fan even took off his shirt and gathered a bundle of Little Crocodile corpses. Was he not afraid that some of those Little Crocodiles were still alive and would give them a nasty surprise?
After they returned to the Ancient Coffin, Crocodile Ancestor, who had been sent flying by the Dragon Tail Sweep, charged in after them and reached for the Small Coffin inside.
Seeing this, Li Zhi was utterly speechless.
No wonder Crocodile Ancestor would become roasted meat in the future.
With such poor judgment, he still wanted to reach a higher level? He could keep dreaming.
Sure enough, Crocodile Ancestor's demonic power seemed to have awakened the divine power Ruthless Great Emperor had left inside the coffin. The Ancient Ancestors, the Deities, and the Primordial Ferocious Beasts depicted on the rust-covered coffin walls all began radiating hazy light.
A grand Sacrificial Sound suddenly rang out.
Crocodile Ancestor finally came to his senses. A trace of fear appeared in his eyes, and he fled at once.
Even in the void, the sounds of his footsteps—"thud, thud, thud"—remained behind.
Then, with a tremendous clang, the Bronze Giant Coffin closed.
The nine enormous dragon corpses pulled the Bronze Giant Coffin slowly into the air. The Saint seal Crocodile Ancestor had placed on the Starry Sky Gate was instantly broken through like paper, and the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport rushed into the Starry Sky Gate and vanished.
Seeing the Bronze Coffin close, Li Zhi finally let out a long breath.
That dim-witted Crocodile Ancestor had ultimately regained his senses at the final moment.
Otherwise, if they failed to seize the coffin and Crocodile Ancestor flew into a rage out of humiliation, who knew how many times they would have been killed?
If someone had not secretly protected them, the aura released by Crocodile Ancestor alone would have crushed them to death.
Wanting to fight Crocodile Ancestor with those Magic Artifacts was nothing but a pipe dream.
Did they really think a Saint was made of paper?
Fortunately, they had survived the most dangerous stage of the journey without any real danger.
Perhaps it was truly the fearless ignorance of those who knew nothing. Ye Fan and his classmates did not find anything unbelievable about what had happened.
But Li Zhi, who understood Crocodile Ancestor's strength, was suffering inwardly.
As the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport set off once more, silence fell inside the coffin again.
No one knew how much time had passed before the exhausted people finally recovered some of their spirits.
Some began crying quietly, some trembled where they sat, and others sighed to themselves.
Of course, there were certainly people secretly wondering what benefits they could obtain from the arrival of mythology.
Another five or six hours passed, and they seemed to have all slept for a while.
Finally, someone spoke again. "What kind of place will we reach?"
"Will we reach the Abode of the Gods?"
The sights they had witnessed earlier had brought them an unparalleled shock and impact.
The atmosphere inside the coffin soon became relaxed and lively. Some people had even begun fantasizing about the wonderful future in which they would become gods and ancestors.
Soon, they discovered that another dead person had appeared beside them.
The deceased was the male student who had tried to ambush Ye Fan on the altar.
Ye Fan naturally became the object of everyone's suspicion.
Liu Yunzhi went so far as to accuse Ye Fan of being the murderer.
Ye Fan was unable to defend himself and found himself in the awkward position of having to prove his innocence. He could only seek his classmates' trust first.
Another test of human nature had appeared.
In the end, Ye Fan won the support of Pang Bo, Liu Yiyi, Zhang Ziling, and three other classmates.
"Crack, crack." Just as the two sides were on the verge of open conflict, the sound of someone eating fruit suddenly came from across the room.
"There's a ghost!" a female student suddenly shouted.
"Who's there? Come out!" Liu Yunzhi roared at once.
"Please, carry on. Don't mind me. I won't disturb you." Li Zhi spoke in the tone of an onlooker enjoying the spectacle.
"Crack, crack." In that atmosphere, however, the sound of him munching on an apple was genuinely asking for a beating.
"Brother Li, you're all right?" Ye Fan seemed to have just remembered Li Zhi.
The battle earlier had been so intense that he had not seen Li Zhi anywhere. He had assumed that Crocodile Ancestor had killed him.
As Li Zhi munched on fruit, he emerged from the darkness and came to their side. "I have to admire your luck. You actually dared to fight a Great Yao in the Ancient Saint Realm, yet only this many people died in the end. The strength of your fortune is truly rare in this world."
"What do you mean? We were all risking our lives just now, while you're standing here making sarcastic remarks." Zhou Yi said.
"Don't think so highly of yourselves. I warned you that hiding would keep you alive, but you refused to listen. Now several more people have died for nothing. You have no one else to blame." Li Zhi spoke indifferently.
If they had hidden inside the Bronze Giant Coffin earlier, perhaps those people would not have had to die.
Of course, that was merely Li Zhi's wishful thinking. They had no idea what the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport represented, so naturally they would not have considered hiding inside the coffin safe.
Seeing them fall silent, Li Zhi pointed at the murdered student and said, "If you don't hurry and kill the Little Crocodile inside his body, I estimate that more people will die next."
Ye Fan immediately acted and found the Little Crocodile inside the man's body.
In the end, Pang Bo smashed the Little Crocodile into a paste with the Great Thunderclap Temple Plaque.
Of course, that was what Ye Fan and the others saw.
What Li Zhi saw was different. The man had indeed died after his throat was crushed.
The Little Crocodile had entered his body afterward.
Moreover, although the Little Crocodile could move, Li Zhi was not certain whether it was alive or dead.
In Li Zhi's view, Ye Fan was still to blame.
There had originally been no Little Crocodiles in the coffin. Who knew what had possessed him to bring back a large bundle of their corpses from outside?
Had he intended to eat them as provisions?
Was he not afraid that some of those corpses contained Little Crocodiles that were merely pretending to be dead?
All Li Zhi could say was that Ye Fan was incredibly bold.
After the "Ye Fan murder case" had been perfectly resolved, the atmosphere grew somewhat oppressive again.
Ye Fan was faintly disappointed in his classmates.
He brought Pang Bo, Liu Yiyi, Zhang Ziling, and the other three people who had trusted him over to the place where Li Zhi had been staying.
When they saw the pile of fruit in the corner, they all revealed astonished expressions.
Ye Fan asked, "Brother Li, where did you get all this fruit?"
Li Zhi replied, "I picked it on Mount Tai. I originally planned to bring it back for your sister-in-law, Ji Zu, and Xian'er to eat. I never expected to encounter the great opportunity of the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport, so I suppose they simply weren't fated to enjoy it."
Before you continue