C151 The Giant Coffin Without a Lid

The countless inscriptions etched into the bronze monument seemed to come to life, detaching themselves and sinking away from the structure. The massive bronze monument beneath Yu Yuan's feet appeared as if invisible divine hands had smoothed away its carved grooves. Yu Yuan was unaware that these billions of inscriptions were the key to the monument's power.

The little world within the monument had been shaped by these inscriptions, which served as both the arcane circle and the reinforcement for the structure, originally intended to suppress the Sky Fiend, Indigo Wraith. The Indigo Wraith had devoted millions of years to branding his thoughts onto the inscriptions. Yet, he could only manipulate a quarter of them.

Hantian, having entered the forbidden area, employed his celestial techniques and numerous intricate Spirit Magic to permeate his thoughts into the remaining unclaimed inscriptions, gaining control over another quarter. Both Indigo Wraith and Hantian, two of the most formidable alien souls in the forbidden area, had exerted great effort to claim more inscriptions. Despite their endeavors, they each secured only a quarter.

The remaining half of the inscriptions, at the moment the bronze monument struck the earth, causing it to fissure, began to sink autonomously from the monument's edges. Standing atop the monument, Yu Yuan sensed the world's dramatic transformation and listened intently, almost hearing Hantian and Indigo Wraith's desperate calls from the monument.

As the earth cracked open, the monument continued its descent. The White Walker's ghastly pale form drifted downward like a tuft of cotton. "That vile remnant of the Boulderdawn Sect has become the most fearsome demon in the forbidden area," Yu Yuan remarked coldly, eyeing the White Walker. "Knowing he lies beneath this land, why did you hand me the Soul Splitting Staff? And after its fall, like a mountain's weight, it caused the monument to uncontrollably plummet. What's going on?"

Yu Yuan knew the White Walker had a hidden agenda. Yet, he couldn't fathom why the White Walker, recognizing the Soul Splitting Staff, would want him to call forth the Yin-Yang Acolytes for a merger with the staff. Sensing trouble, he cast aside the staff, unwittingly triggering a cascade of cataclysmic events.

The White Walker remained silent in the face of questioning.

His gaze was fixed on the depths below, where the bronze monument continued to sink into the earth.

At that moment, Yu Yuan noticed a large bulge forming on the monument beneath his feet, as if something within was desperately trying to break free.

The presence of the Stormcrowned Emperor was within.

"Stormcrowned Emperor!" Yu Yuan exclaimed in surprise.

Almost simultaneously, another massive bulge appeared nearby.

The terrifying Soul Power fluctuations of the Sky Fiend Indigo Wraith vibrated within this new protrusion.

Both Hantian and Indigo Wraith seemed to sense impending doom, frantically attempting to escape the confines of the little world within the monument.

It was as though the little world was on the verge of collapse, or perhaps it had become a prison, compelling them to evacuate quickly or face dire consequences.

Upon closer inspection, the two bulges were found to be composed of numerous inscriptions.

These inscriptions piled up like grains of sand, encapsulating Hantian and Indigo Wraith.

Yet, as time ticked away, the inscriptions began to drift towards the edges of the monument and then descended into the depths of the earth.

It appeared that the inscriptions permeated by Hantian and Indigo Wraith would soon slip from their grasp.

Yu Yuan was struck by a sudden realization.

Once all the inscriptions were out of control and vanished from the bronze monument, Hantian and Indigo Wraith, the formidable soul spirits of the forbidden area, would completely lose their hold over it.

Their soul spirits, too, might be eternally imprisoned within the monument's interior.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

The bronze monument continued its descent, crushing the fragmented earth beneath it.

"Boom!"

At last, the monument came to a halt.

The White Walker, a Terra Fiend, was petrified above the monument. With a look of shock and resignation, he stared at something below, murmuring bitterly, "I hope it has not yet awakened."

Yu Yuan, standing at the monument's center, was unable to see the scene below.

Without a moment's hesitation, he left Lin Zhuyun behind, disregarding the immovable Soul Splitting Staff, and swiftly made his way to the edge of the monument.

Standing at the edge of the bronze monument, Yu Yuan peered cautiously downward. A single glance sent a jolt through him. Deep beneath the earth lay a massive bronze coffin, its depths unknown!

The coffin was without a lid. From his vantage point, Yu Yuan could see inside, where it seemed to teem with countless alien souls and evil spirits, a veritable destination for lost souls. Just one look made him feel as if his own three souls of heaven, earth, and man were on the verge of escaping his body to join the eerie congregation within.

The coffin was enormous and crafted from bronze. Its surface was etched with dense inscriptions identical to those on the bronze monument. Near the Soulforge Pool's depths, such a gargantuan bronze coffin seemed capable of engulfing the souls of all beings, a revelation that profoundly shook Yu Yuan.

"Crack!" The sound snapped him back to reality. He noticed inscriptions from the bronze monument beneath his feet soaring towards the bronze coffin. As they melded with it, they appeared to integrate seamlessly, becoming part of the coffin's structure, as if the inscriptions and the coffin were one entity.

This realization struck Yu Yuan, and his face paled with the implication. The bronze coffin lacked a lid, and the monument at his feet... Could it be?

He turned sharply to White Walker. "Is this so-called bronze monument actually the lid of that coffin below?" he demanded.

White Walker's eyes were indifferent as he gave a slight nod. "You've finally seen the truth," he confirmed.

Yu Yuan was filled with an indescribable discomfort. It seemed neither Hantian, the Terra Fiend, nor White Walker had been forthcoming with him. They had all referred to the coffin lid as the bronze monument, going along with his assumption.

Hantian, White Walker, and the Indigo Wraith were all aware that the bronze monument was, in fact, the lid of the bronze coffin, and that the two were inherently connected. Yet, no one had warned him, no one had mentioned the colossal coffin buried deep in the earth near the Soulforge Pool.

The bronze monument, once part of the coffin, had likely reestablished its connection the moment it touched the ground, causing it to shatter the earth as it plummeted and settled directly above the coffin.

"Lord White Walker, what should we do now?" Yu Yuan asked, his breaths deep and measured as he struggled to maintain his composure and rein in his anger. "Given the circumstances, with all that should not have happened already transpired, I wish for the forbidden area to be restored. Whether you manage to free yourself or not is of no consequence to me."

"I can only hope that the entity within the bronze coffin, whose true face is obscured by numerous alien souls and evil spirits, will not emerge."

The bronze coffin undoubtedly contains the arch-sinner of Boulderdawn, whom the White Walker refers to as the most fearsome demon of the forbidden area.

This entity, hidden behind a multitude of alien souls and evil spirits, has for some reason not yet revealed itself.

Before even being born into the world, the bronze monument's inscriptions had willingly seeped into the coffin.

The Stormcrowned Emperor and the Sky Fiend Indigo Wraith failed in their attempt to seize control of the monument and assimilate it, only to find themselves ensnared within it.

They sought escape, yet found none.

The White Walker and Terra Fiend, riddled with terror and unease, were hesitating over something.

What path should they take?

With a whoosh, the Terra Fiend and White Walker soared past the bronze monument, hovering ten meters above the colossal coffin, and prostrated themselves in the void.

A pale, ghostly light shot out from atop Zhao Jian's head.

This spectral light was clearly the true form of the White Walker's soul – slender and delicate, devoid of any sinister aura, and instead exuding an ethereal and elegant beauty.

"A woman," Yu Yuan thought to himself.

Then he watched as the White Walker's soul knelt before the bronze coffin in a gesture of devout worship.

"White Walker humbly greets the great one's emergence!"

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