Forbidden Ground, Stone Coffin

Boom...

The moment the fire stick touched the oil, it ignited, and a thin line of flame raced forward along the oil grooves on the cave walls. At intervals, oil lamps on the stone walls flickered to life, and in just a few moments, the entire cave was fully illuminated.

Shen Zhou studied the oil grooves and lamps on the walls, unable to help but remark, "This is quite cleverly designed. It saves the trouble of lighting each lamp one by one."

Old Man Ji, however, was unimpressed by this. He put away the fire stick, glanced at the seemingly endless cave, and said in a low voice, "This cave is probably quite deep. Who knows if there are traps or mechanisms? Be careful when we go in."

The two then walked deeper into the cave.

After about five or six minutes, they finally reached the end of the stone tunnel.

The end opened into a stone chamber. Stepping inside, they saw it was enormous in space.

As they entered, the first thing to catch their eyes was a massive stone pillar.

The pillar stood seven or eight meters tall, so thick that three people joining hands could barely encircle it. Its surface was densely carved with countless characters—intricate, disordered, and overlapping one another in a chaotic jumble that made it impossible to decipher at a glance.

Looking around, the chamber held crystal coffins spaced at intervals, each placed inside a stone niche. There were at least seventy or eighty of them, and every single coffin exuded a faint trace of energy.

This energy felt exactly like the spiritual energy Shen Zhou had sensed when he first entered the secret realm, only far denser than what was outside.

The moment they saw the room full of coffins, Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji felt a chill shoot from their heels straight to the crown of their heads, making their scalps crawl.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they'd stumbled into a graveyard.

It took Shen Zhou a long time to calm down. Grinding his molars in confusion, he said, "What's going on here? Why is there a bunch of coffins? Could it be that this so-called Forbidden Ground isn't a treasure vault, but the Fire Spring Sect's burial ground?"

Old Man Ji, with his broader experience, examined the coffins carefully and replied, "Not necessarily. These aren't ordinary coffins. They're made entirely from Spirit Stone—Soul-Sealing Coffins. If a corpse were placed inside, it could remain preserved for a thousand years. So calling these coffins treasures wouldn't be wrong."

Shen Zhou was stunned. "So the coffins really are treasures?"

Just as the two were about to approach one of the coffins for a closer look, the moment they stepped within a certain distance of the stone pillar, it suddenly flared to life.

Immediately afterward, faint, nearly invisible lines lit up across the chamber floor. These lines crisscrossed and interwove, dense and intricate, even spreading up the surrounding walls.

By the time Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji sensed something was wrong, the lines had already woven themselves into a massive net, covering the entire chamber.

"Not good—there's a formation in here! Fall back!"

Old Man Ji's face went pale with alarm, but by the time they tried to retreat, it was already too late.

With a low hum, the entire chamber trembled. Then, a terrifying pressure descended from nowhere, like a mountain crashing down, slamming Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji flat to the ground.

Shen Zhou couldn't dodge in time either, but he managed to react at the last moment. The power of his Entry erupted, and a surging wave of primal force exploded from within his body, clashing against the mysterious pressure in the air.

Old Man Ji wasn't so lucky. Under that overwhelming force, he was struck as if by a heavy blow, slammed face-first into the ground like a giant frog, blood spraying from his mouth.

He struggled to muster his inner strength, trying to crawl up, but after several attempts, he couldn't manage it.

The terrifying pressure in the chamber continued unabated, even growing stronger.

In the end, Old Man Ji couldn't even struggle anymore. He couldn't speak, and his face was pressed so hard against the ground that it was nearly deformed.

In that moment, Old Man Ji sensed the breath of death.

"Rise!"

At that moment, Shen Zhou's power finally erupted fully.

Beneath the crushing pressure, the power of his Entry surged to a new height in an instant. Gripping the Taixuan Sword, Shen Zhou braced himself as if bearing a mountain on his back, slowly straightening his spine, then standing upright again.

The force in the chamber sensed his resistance, as if controlled by someone, and suddenly intensified once more.

Old Man Ji spat out another mouthful of blood. The ground beneath him was compressed into a depression, and his bones felt like they were about to crack from the pressure.

If he hadn't already reached a high level of body refinement, anyone else under this terrifying force would have been crushed into paste in an instant.

As for Shen Zhou, his body was forced downward sharply, but then the power of his Entry surged again, this time radiating a different kind of force field and might from his body.

In that moment, he felt as if he could control the very world around him. The pressure pressing on him had no effect at all, and he even mistakenly thought the suppressing force had vanished.

But when he turned his head, he saw Old Man Ji still pinned down, in dire straits.

Shen Zhou seemed to understand something in an instant. Without a moment's hesitation, he raised the Taixuan Sword and slashed at the stone pillar ahead.

The sword light was like a flowing ribbon.

The stone pillar shattered with a crack, and the terrifying pressure in the cave vanished without a trace. If not for Old Man Ji still coughing up blood, one might have thought everything just now was an illusion.

Shen Zhou sheathed his sword and immediately looked at Old Man Ji, concerned. "Old man, you alright?"

"Cough... I'm fine... won't die..."

Old Man Ji coughed up two more mouthfuls of blood. The pressure had injured him badly, but now that the clotted blood was out, he felt somewhat better. Still, recalling what had just happened, he couldn't help but shudder. "As expected of an ancient sect from a thousand years ago. Just a formation, and even after a millennium, it still possesses such terrifying power. If not for you and the Taixuan Sword, I'd have lost my life just now."

Old Man Ji's words carried a mix of awe and longing for the power of ancient cultivators from a thousand years past.

This was just the power of a single formation. If a truly powerful ancient cultivator from a millennium ago had unleashed their full strength, what kind of scene and might would that have been?

Shen Zhou, recalling the intensity of that moment, also found it quite thrilling. But now, he was even more curious about his own state just then.

He looked down at his hand. In that instant, the eruption of his Entry seemed to have broken through some limit, reaching a new realm.

At that moment, he had felt as if he could do anything.

"Was it my imagination, or did the Entry really push my power to a new level, causing some special change?"

Shen Zhou stared at his hand, feeling a deep sense of regret.

After the formation was destroyed, the power of the Entry had receded, leaving him unable to recapture that feeling he'd had moments ago.

Just as Old Man Ji was about to sit cross-legged to first regulate his injuries, and Shen Zhou planned to examine the text on the stone pillars to see if they were formation patterns, a voice suddenly echoed through the quiet cavern.

"Has the great calamity already passed?"

The voice carried a trace of weariness, a hint of depth, and more than a little of the confusion of one just waking from a long slumber.

The sound abruptly rang out in the stone chamber. Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji froze for a moment, then every hair on their bodies stood on end.

The thought of a corpse rising from the dead hammered relentlessly at their minds.

In an instant, the atmosphere within the cavern seemed to turn ominous.

With the previous lesson fresh in mind, Old Man Ji feared another sudden attack. He immediately activated the Golden Body Art, his entire body quickly encased in a layer of golden 'armor.' Only after his defenses were secure did he narrow his eyes and sweep his gaze around, barking in a low voice, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Shen Zhou also tightened his grip on the Taixuan Sword, on full alert, as if ready to strike at any moment.

The voice fell silent for a beat, then slowly spoke again. This time, it carried an undeniable authority: "Who are you two, and why have you trespassed into the Forbidden Ground of my Fire Spring Sect? What year is it now?"

Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji's hearts jolted.

This time, they were certain—the voice seemed to come from one of the coffins. But the speaker had used some secret technique, making it impossible for them to pinpoint which coffin it originated from.

Still, since the person was inside a coffin, was he a corpse that had risen, or had he never died at all?

And... he was from the Fire Spring Sect. Did the Fire Spring Sect still have survivors?

A string of questions flashed through their minds in an instant.

Shen Zhou and Old Man Ji exchanged a silent glance, each seeing disbelief and shock in the other's eyes.

Then, Shen Zhou brandished his sword, intending to split open all the coffins. Whether man or ghost, he wanted to see the face of his opponent first.

He hated this feeling of not being able to see his enemy.

Fortunately, Old Man Ji was sharp. Catching Shen Zhou's intent, he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly stopped him, signaling for him not to act rashly.

Whether the other party was a 'risen corpse' or had lived until now, one thing was certain: if he was a figure from a thousand years ago, his strength was absolutely terrifying.

If Shen Zhou angered him, Old Man Ji didn't think the two of them would stand a chance.

Mainly, he didn't know how powerful Shen Zhou could become if he unleashed his full strength. He was just being cautious, seeing no need to take unnecessary risks.

After stopping Shen Zhou, Old Man Ji finally replied, "Senior, we stumbled into your sect's Forbidden Ground by accident. Please forgive our offense. We'll withdraw now."

Old Man Ji shot Shen Zhou a look, signaling for them to exit the stone chamber.

But the voice rang out again, this time accompanied by a terrifying pressure: "Did I say you could leave?"

That familiar feeling returned.

Though not as intense as before, it was still unbearable.

With a thud, Old Man Ji's knees slammed into the ground, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.

Old Man Ji was numb.

The blood he'd coughed up today alone would probably take half a Two-Headed Lion to replenish.

And Shen Zhou, already simmering with resentment, could no longer hold back.

He swung the Taixuan Sword in his hand, slashing through the air at the nearest coffin, and roared, "The hell are you pretending for? Come out and fight me one-on-one!"