Pockmarked face still turned a deaf ear, his bloodshot eyes fixed intently on the mechanism compass atop the coffin lid as he issued another command and kept trying.
They failed three more times in succession, and everyone's patience had been drained to the limit.
Until the next attempt.
Click!
This time, the sound of the mechanism turning was unusually heavy, yet carried an unprecedented smoothness.
"It worked!"
A look of wild delight spread across Pockmarked face's sweat- and pock-covered face.
"Quick! Open it!"
Everyone's spirits rose as well. They swarmed forward, gripped the edges of the coffin lid together, gathered all their strength, and lifted upward.
Bang! The coffin lid was flung open and slid aside.
However...
Once the coffin lid opened, the joy on everyone's faces froze.
Before their eyes was yet another inner coffin lid, almost identical to the outer one.
They still had to continue unlocking it.
"Damn that Feng Qu Xian! That old Demon Lord is playing us for fools, isn't he?"
The bearded man's explosive temper finally snapped, and he burst into furious curses.
"Let's go! We'll help Brother Duan outside first, then come back and slowly wear down this lousy coffin!"
At his words, everyone straightened up and turned to charge toward the passage.
Pockmarked face was the last to move. His face was filled with unwillingness and frustration. Although they had avoided ending up with an empty coffin, this result did not seem much better.
He rose dejectedly, preparing to deal with the enemies outside alongside the others.
But just as he was halfway through straightening from his bent position,
a hand pressed down on his shoulder.
At the same time, a low voice came from behind him:
"Don't panic. Try again."
Pockmarked face's entire body stiffened.
Who? When did he get behind me?
I didn't sense him at all?
"Er Gou!"
Xu Miao was the first to notice something wrong and whipped her head around.
A burly figure had somehow appeared behind Pockmarked face.
He stood there as though he had always belonged there, blending seamlessly into the shadows of the tomb chamber.
Xu Miao found him somewhat familiar. In the blink of an eye, a memory flashed through her mind.
It was the man outside Hunxi Valley that day!
The others noticed him as well and saw the big man standing behind Pockmarked face. Their hearts jolted.
When had this man entered?
Not one person present had sensed his approach?
Was he human or a ghost?
Just as everyone was caught between suspicion and uncertainty, Chen Duan turned around and calmly swept his gaze over them. His voice was not loud:
"Continue. I'm only taking the item, not your lives."
His words were plain, yet carried an invisible might and pressure.
At that moment, the bearded man in the group let out a furious shout and, plucking up his courage, sprang violently into the air.
"Playing tricks and pretending to be a ghost!"
He leaped through the air and threw a punch.
The punch was extremely fast and carried tremendous weight and force. It was clearly at the upper level of the Fourth Level!
When his fist was still less than an inch from Chen Duan's face, it seemed to slam into a wall.
A layer of pale-red energy appeared from thin air and enveloped his fist, preventing it from advancing even a fraction.
Like a mud ox plunging into the sea, all its force was dissolved.
"Hm?"
The bearded man's eyes bulged wide, his pupils contracting sharply.
No good—Protective True Qi. He's at the Fifth Level!
He had no time to change his move or retreat before a large hand shot out at a speed beyond his comprehension and seized his face.
His entire body was gripped by the head and slammed into the ground.
A thunderous crash rang out as shattered stones flew.
A crater was smashed into the ground!
Chen Duan then hauled the blood-covered, unconscious bearded man out of the pit. He had already restrained most of his strength just now; otherwise, that blow would have been enough to shatter the man's skull.
Casually tossing the bearded man aside, Chen Duan turned back again, his tone unchanged:
"Continue."
A short while later.
Inside the main tomb chamber, aside from the bearded man lying unconscious, Xu Miao, Pockmarked face, and the other four were nervously surrounding the Stone Coffin and unlocking it.
Their expressions were tense and fearful, sweat pouring down their bodies. Faced with overwhelming strength, they did not dare to resist or disobey in the slightest.
Chen Duan, meanwhile, leaned against the doorway of the tomb chamber, his lips moving faintly as though he were speaking in a low voice to some unseen thing.
This eerie scene made Xu Miao and the others feel even more terrified.
After waiting a long while, they still failed to unlock the Stone Coffin.
Chen Duan seemed to grow somewhat impatient, his brows drawing together slightly.
"You made the lock yourself, yet you can't even remember how to undo it?"
"Hmph! That's because you struck too hard back then, leaving many of the details blurred in my memory!"
"Tsk... Too slow. We should just use our fists. It'll save time and effort."
"No! Absolutely not!" Feng Qu Xian hurriedly stopped him.
"Opening it by force could damage the treasures inside!"
Chen Duan was somewhat speechless. Fortunately, there was still someone among this group who knew what he was doing. Otherwise, he might really have tried carrying the entire Stone Coffin out and dealing with it slowly afterward.
Just then,
a burst of hurried footsteps came from the passage nearby.
"Madam, are you still not done? There's no time—we have to retreat first!"
Duan Chonghe, drenched in blood, rushed into the main tomb chamber in a panic.
The moment he crossed the doorway, he caught sight of a man from the corner of his eye.
Xu Miao reacted the fastest and immediately cried out a warning:
"Husband, be careful! He's a Five Refinement Master here to seize the Inherited Treasure!"
"Hm?"
Duan Chonghe had only just reacted
when a fist slammed toward his chest.
Fast! Far too fast!
Duan Chonghe only had time to raise a breath of true qi to protect his heart meridian.
His feet left the ground, and he flew backward, embedding himself in the wall of the tomb chamber.
"Husband!" Xu Miao let out a cry of anguish, but one glance from Chen Duan swept over her, and she instantly wilted.
The trace of hope that had just risen in the hearts of the others when their leader arrived also shattered, sinking straight to the bottom of a valley.
Duan Chonghe was a genuine Five Refinement Grandmaster, yet he had actually... actually been taken down with a single punch?
They were not at the Fifth Level and could not truly experience the terror of that punch. They only knew that it had been incredibly fierce.
But Duan Chonghe, embedded in the wall, had deeply experienced the weight behind that punch.
He had also caught sight of Chen Duan just now, and his heart was undoubtedly filled with shock.
Was he the man who had asked about the Kong Family's whereabouts that day?
How could his strength be this formidable?
Was he a helper invited by the Kong Family?
No, that doesn't seem right! If they had such powerful reinforcements, why would those remnants of the Previous Dynasty have needed to fight me for so long?
Duan Chonghe's mind was a chaotic mess, but he wisely did not immediately struggle free.
If he hits me again, I'm afraid I'll really die here.
The Kong Family Members are behind them anyway. I'll observe the situation first.
He simply reined in his aura, remained wedged in the wall pretending to be dead, and watched for developments.
Before long, another wave of dense footsteps approached.
"Thieves, how dare you covet my ancestor's Inherited Treasure? Put down the opportunity!"
Kong Mingcheng and the others charged into the main tomb chamber, murderous intent surging from them.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Miao and the other four "locksmiths" paid it no attention and continued working with their heads lowered.
"I told you to stop! Didn't you hear me?" Kong Mingcheng shouted sharply when he saw them ignoring him.
Xu Miao and the other three turned a deaf ear. Instead, their hands moved even faster, seeking only to finish as soon as possible.
"Quiet."
A calm voice rang out and entered everyone's ears.
Kong Mingcheng's heart jolted. Only then did he realize that another person was standing in the shadows nearby.
At first glance, he could tell that Chen Duan was extraordinary.
The pale-red true qi around the other man's body was completely undisguised.
Another Five Refinement Master?
Kong Mingcheng became intensely vigilant and was just about to speak when the voice of his third brother, Kong Tianpeng, came from behind him.
"That voice? Senior Chen?"
Before you continue