Setting Sail

Lu Chen, Ye Fan, and the others used the ancient artifacts in their hands to keep slaughtering Divine Crocodiles, supplying energy to the altar.

But the pressure on them soon grew heavier and heavier. The little Divine Crocodiles charging at them increased from dozens to hundreds, then thousands, until they swarmed in from every direction, too many to kill.

Those who had timidly retreated were no longer safe, either. The ancient artifacts they shared spontaneously released barriers of light to protect them, but the impact of hundreds upon thousands of Divine Crocodiles drove them steadily backward. Some had already been knocked to the ground and were rolling helplessly.

"Aah..."

Screams rang out. In their panic, two people failed to hold tightly to their ancient artifacts and let them slip from their hands. Dozens of Divine Crocodiles pierced their bodies, turning them into food for these little demons. Blood and brain matter gushed out, staining the five-colored jade stones red.

"Everyone, hold on to your ancient artifacts! Don't let go, even if you die!" Zhou Yi shouted a warning as he swung his bronze bell.

Seeing people die under the little Divine Crocodiles' assault even while holding artifacts from the Great Thunderclap Temple made the others even more terrified. They completely lost their composure. Before long, several more people lost their grip on their ancient artifacts and had their bodies pierced by Divine Crocodiles, leaving their bones forever buried on Mars.

Buzzz...

The sky rippled. The Five-Colored Altar had absorbed enough crocodile blood and divine energy, and the taiji Eight Trigrams Diagram finally solidified. The Starry Sky Ancient Road was about to open once more.

Boom!

A thunderous crash came from the direction of the Great Thunderclap Temple. A savage, domineering aura surged toward them, its crushing pressure making the hearts of Lu Chen, Ye Fan, and the others briefly stop beating. Their faces turned pale, and their souls trembled.

A pair of blood-red eyes rose in the darkness, drawing closer from afar. Each was as large as a millstone, hinting at the enormous size of their owner's body. This was the Primordial Demon Saint whom Tathagata had suppressed beneath the Great Thunderclap Temple—the Crocodile Ancestor.

Baleful energy surged through the heavens, sweeping across the sky. The sandstorm on Mars ceased at his appearance, leaving only his towering ferocity hanging overhead. His two millstone-sized blood-red eyes fixed on the Five-Colored Altar.

The sky had already been dim, but now black clouds churned, blotting out all starlight and shrouding the heavens. Lu Chen and the others could not make out his true form.

Although the Crocodile Ancestor remained high in the sky, his invisible, peerless pressure still made everyone collapse to the ground. Even holding ancient artifacts left behind by the Buddha Tathagata, they could not resist that pressure penetrating deep into their souls.

So this is the Demon Saint Tathagata personally suppressed? It's like ants facing a mighty dragon—we're not even on the same plane of existence. Lu Chen's heart trembled as he faced one of this world's terrifying beings for the first time.

Roaaar...

The Crocodile Ancestor let out a roar like muffled thunder. It was as though a vast thunderbolt had exploded beside everyone's ears. Blood seeped from many people's ears and noses-a horrifying sight.

This was merely a casual sound from the Crocodile Ancestor. He paid no attention whatsoever to Lu Chen, Ye Fan, and the others, for to him, the whole group was nothing but ants.

Rustle, rustle...

On the reddish-brown earth, tens of thousands-or perhaps hundreds of thousands-of little Divine Crocodiles appeared. A dense black mass, they swiftly pierced the hazy barrier of light and charged onto the Five-Colored Altar.

Clearly, this was the Crocodile Ancestor's command. The Demon Saint suppressed by Tathagata harbored misgivings about the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin and wanted his descendants to slowly probe it.

"Let's retreat into the bronze coffin. All we can do now is leave our fate to heaven!" Lu Chen forced himself to rally and stand, wiped the blood from his ears and nose, and carefully backed toward the ancient coffin.

"Right. Maybe retreating into the Bronze Ancient Coffin is our only chance of survival." Supporting Pang Bo, Ye Fan also headed toward the coffin.

Many of the others had already fallen into despair and could no longer think clearly. Hearing this, they scrambled toward the coffin as well.

Fortunately, the little Divine Crocodiles had stopped attacking by then. Otherwise, many more people would have left their bones here.

After Lu Chen, Ye Fan, and the rest retreated into the Bronze Ancient Coffin, the densely packed little Divine Crocodiles slowly surrounded the center of the altar, obeying the Crocodile Ancestor's will as they probed the dragon-drawn coffin.

Suddenly, the nine dragon corpses on the Five-Colored Altar gave an almost imperceptible shudder. An indescribable aura spread outward, as though the might of true dragons had erupted. Countless little Divine Crocodiles were terrified, and within a few breaths, all of them withdrew beyond the altar's bounds.

Whoosh!

The Crocodile Ancestor in the sky had clearly sensed something. Two beams of blood-red light, each a hundred zhang long, shot from his eyes and stretched beneath the taiji Eight Trigrams Diagram.

Then he transformed into a middle-aged man one or two meters tall and descended onto the altar. He slowly approached the Bronze Ancient Coffin, intending to investigate it himself.

His action seemed to provoke the Buddhist artifacts in Lu Chen's and the others' hands. All of them broke free of their wielders' control, spontaneously radiating dazzling divine light as they pressed down on him together.

"Hmph!"

With a contemptuous snort, the Crocodile Ancestor shattered five Buddhist artifacts, including the bronze bell and incense burner, with a flick of his finger. Clearly, he held the artifacts Tathagata had left behind in no regard.

Whoosh!

The shattered Buddhist artifacts erupted with divine radiance soaring ten thousand zhang high. The taiji Eight Trigrams Diagram in the sky absorbed it, gaining the mysterious energy it needed.

The eight runes in the Eight Trigrams Diagram began rearranging themselves. A few breaths later, the yin and yang fish swam, and the dividing line between them split open, revealing an enormous black hole. A Starry Sky Gate opened, leading into the depths of the universe.

Clang!

The enormous coffin gave a soft chime. The approaching Crocodile Ancestor faltered and stopped, staring at the Bronze Ancient Coffin in bewilderment and uncertainty.

At the same time, the Ancient Bronze Lamp, the Great Thunderclap Temple Plaque, the Purple-Gold Alms Bowl, and several other intact Buddhist artifacts emitted terrifying Buddhist light unlike anything they had released before.

Seeing this, the Crocodile Ancestor did not confront the intact Buddhist treasures head-on. He temporarily withdrew into the distance.

After this strike, the ancient artifacts seemed to have exhausted the last of their innate divine energy. All of them fell to the ground, their luster dimmed.

It looks like nothing unexpected happened during this ordeal on Mars. The danger is finally over. Secretly relieved, Lu Chen quickly picked up his Vajra Pestle.

Seeing this, the others quickly retrieved their own ancient artifacts as well.

Rumble...

The Bronze Giant Coffin shook, and its lid slowly closed. The nine dragon corpses rose into the air and flew toward the Starry Sky Gate in the Firmament, pulling Lu Chen and the others along as they set sail once more.

At this sight, the Crocodile Ancestor's expression shifted uncertainly. At last, he extended a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky and sun, reaching for the departing Bronze Giant Coffin in an attempt to stop this cosmic train.

Buzzz!

The ancient coffin emitted a metallic vibration. The nine black dragon tails lashed out together, sending the Crocodile Ancestor flying to the far reaches of the sky. Now somewhat frightened, the great demon stared at the slowly rising Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin. He made no further move, merely watching as it disappeared into the Starry Sky Gate.

With a clang, the coffin lid closed completely. Lu Chen, Ye Fan, and the others were plunged into darkness inside the coffin. They could no longer see anything outside and could only feel the bronze coffin moving.

Someone sobbed softly in the dark, enormous coffin. Clearly, witnessing their classmates' bloody deaths had pushed many of them beyond what they could bear.

Lu Chen turned on his phone's light, surveyed the inside of the coffin, then sat down beside Ye Fan and Pang Bo.

He remained vigilant, because he knew that the Crocodile Ancestor's divine will had infested one of the girls. Little Divine Crocodiles and the deity remnant of a Great Accomplishment Sacred Body had also slipped into the coffin.

Fortunately, he had the Vajra Pestle. This damaged Buddhist treasure should still have a little divine energy left, enough to ward off the little Divine Crocodiles.

As for the evil ghost formed from the deity remnant, Tathagata had already stripped away nine layers of its cultivation, torn out its foundation in the Dao, and suppressed it beneath the Great Thunderclap Temple for more than two thousand years. Freshly freed, it was as weak as a little ghost and would fear the Sacred Body's supreme yang blood energy. As long as he stayed beside Ye Fan, that evil ghost presumably would not dare approach.

After some time, the crying and conversation stopped, and the dark ancient coffin finally fell completely silent. Exhausted in both body and mind, the group slowly drifted off to sleep.

Of course, not everyone could sleep in such surroundings. Lu Chen, for one, could not fall asleep and rest; his mind remained occupied with his own concerns.

Transmigration! Something so incredible actually happened! Lu Chen sighed inwardly in the darkness. Since I'm here, I might as well make my peace with it!

Thankfully, back home in another time and space, he still had a younger brother and sister. His parents would not be left with no one to rely on when they grew old.

Fate was fickle. So often, mortals had no room to choose!

Who knew what waves a visitor from another time and space would stir up in the Shrouding the Heavens World!