Green stood motionless before the stone coffin, his azure right palm hovering over it, a painted-skin scroll in his other hand. He seemed frozen in place.
Yihuan, the True Spirit Wizard, stood at Green's side. The old witch glanced sideways and exchanged looks with Little Eight. Once the two understood each other, Little Eight tested the waters. "Caw caw, open it, open it. The Patriarch Talisman marked on this painted skin is obviously the tribulation-transforming object of whatever's inside, and you are the tribulation set by the Heavenly Dao. If we follow Heaven's will, how carefree we'll be!"
Green naturally saw through such an obvious attempt at provocation.
Green emerged from his meditation. His Three-Colored Light Eyes stared ahead as he said in a low voice, "So you know what this Patriarch Talisman is?"
Yihuan, the True Spirit Wizard, shook her head. Amid Green's utter astonishment, she explained, "I have never heard of a Patriarch Talisman, but I have heard of the patriarchs of the Immortal Domain. One could put it this way: so-called patriarchs are a mysterious power created by great immortal sects, using their supreme foundations and vast spans of time, worshipping through the incense offerings of humanity and shaping them upon the founding sect masters. They are also the final reserve of conventional means for great immortal sects. According to certain jade slips, after summoning a patriarch to descend and bestow aid, those most supreme Immortal Venerables gain unfathomable and terrifying power. This is also why the greatest Immortal Domain sects are able to maintain their delicate balance."
Green revealed a look of surprise upon hearing this explanation.
"Wizards who fear not Heaven and revere not Earth, who might as well disdain the mysteries of truth, yet worship their ancestors and develop supreme immortal arts from it—rather