Volume 4: Super-Tier Awakening & The Ancient Capital Calamity
Chapter 368
Discovery of the Ancient Crystal Coffin
The nine-tiered white jade sealing platform emitted pure, primordial spiritual energy that drifted like wisps of delicate mist through the air, casting a fish-scale sheen of shimmering light across the surrounding ancient obsidian flagstones. The atmosphere within the grand hall was so profoundly silent that one could distinctly hear the heavy thud of their own heartbeat, accompanied by the cautious, bated breath of every member in the squad.
Lin Feng stepped onto the seventh stone riser, his piercing gaze locked intently upon the central expanse of the platform. Suspended there miraculously without any visible anchor was a flawless, thousand-year crystal coffin. The subtle yet profound brilliance radiating from the translucent crystal gave onlookers a strange illusion, as though this sarcophagus did not exist in the present, but rather drifted endlessly through the beginningless and endless flow of cosmic time.
Gazing through the mirror-clear crystal, the sight that met their eyes struck every member of the squad dumb, shocking them so deeply into stillness that they forgot how to move.
Inside that crystal coffin rested a majestic figure. The entity was clad in a pitch-black imperial robe embroidered with nine-clawed golden dragons of awe-inspiring majesty. The golden thread looked as though it had been spun from the vital essence of some mythical beast, retaining its regal golden sheen through millennia of passage, radiating a terrifying pressure that made anyone gazing from afar feel a crushing weight on their chest and a violent turbulence in their soul.
The Ancient Emperor’s features were chiseled and stern, as if sculpted from the finest granite. His hair and beard were jet-black, without a single strand of silver or dryness. His skin possessed the warm, radiant flush of fine-grained jade, completely devoid of any withered, decomposing, or rotting signs typical of a corpse buried deep in the earth for endless eons. Instead, he resembled a mighty deity merely plunged into a profound slumber amidst a desolate heaven and earth, waiting for a thunderous roar to awaken and startle the mortal realm.
The Ancient Emperor’s hands rested neatly across his chest, his long, slender fingers clearly articulated, exuding an unshakeable solemnity. Clasped firmly between those hands was an ancient sword sheathed in jet-black gold. Even looking through the barrier of crystal, Lin Feng could perceive a boundless, razor-sharp killing intent radiating from the hilt—that very legendary divine blade that had once cleaved the heads of ancient demon gods, a blood-soaked harbinger of slaughter carrying resentment and majesty that shook the three realms.
Surrounding the transparent crystal coffin, a circular protective barrier of golden runes continually shifted, tracing mystical archaic symbols that swam like primordial magma. This barrier was extraordinarily solid, completely isolating the coffin from the outside world, warding off all mortal dust, the erosion of time, and any divine sense attempting to profane the slumber of the ancient supreme sovereign.
Xie Zhaoyuan stood beside Lin Feng, eyes wide with shock, his hands instinctively gripping the hilt of the saber at his waist. Swallowing hard, his throat producing a dry, raspy sound, he spoke in a trembling voice imbued with utter awe:
“A-A thousand years have passed, epochs have shifted and the world transformed, yet his physical body remains uncorrupted... Even the vital essence within seems to still circulate faintly! What... what realm is this? Could this be the legendary immortal divine power of ancient gods and demons?”
Not a soul answered Xie Zhaoyuan, for everyone at that moment was struck dumb by a bizarre phenomenon unfolding right before their eyes.
Lin Feng uttered no word, his footsteps unconsciously slowing as he drew closer to the white jade platform. The very instant he closed in on the crystal coffin, the Primordial Dragon Pendant hanging at his chest violently vibrated. The ancient jade, usually as tranquil as a tranquil autumn lake, suddenly blazed with a brilliant, blood-red luminescence, shuddering frantically and thumping with iron-clad rhythm.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The vibration frequency of the Primordial Dragon Pendant synchronized with eerie perfection to the dormant heartbeat of the majestic figure inside the crystal coffin. With every single thud, the surrounding space trembled, rippling outward with invisible waves of energy that surged through the grand hall, causing the true essence in Lin Feng’s dantian to boil like roaring billows and plunging waterfalls.
“Respiration... is he still breathing through the resonance of the Dragon Pendant?” Lin Feng inwardly shuddered. The Divine Dragon bloodline within his body suddenly surged with scalding heat, resembling an errant prodigal child who, after a thousand years of wandering, suddenly heard the call of his ancestors from the depths of his lineage.
That sensation felt simultaneously familiar, majestic, and heavy with an oppressive force that caused the true essence in Lin Feng’s meridians to reverse course, nearly forcing a mouthful of fresh blood up his throat. Yet, he clenched his teeth, driving his cultivation technique to suppress the violent turbulence of his vital energy, his unblinking eyes fixed unwaveringly on the face of the Ancient Emperor.
Suddenly, amid the suffocating stillness of the grand hall, a sound rang out.
Clap... Clap... Clap...
It was the sound of slow, languid clapping that echoed clearly through every nook and cranny of the vast hall, carrying a derisive, bone-chillingly cold resonance.
That applause did not come from any member of Lin Feng’s squad. It traveled from the deepest, darkest shadow behind the imposing obsidian throne at the very back of the hall—a blind spot where their vision had until now been obscured by the brilliant halo of the white jade platform.
“Who?!” Xie Zhaoyuan shrieked in terror, his body reacting with lightning speed as he whirled around, drawing his saber to slash directly toward the source of the sound, the razor-cold blade-light tearing through the thin mist.
Lin Feng pulled back his focus, his gaze flashing with razor-sharp killing intent akin to drawn blades, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword as he took a half-step back to shield his comrades, shouting coldly:
“Show yourself! Enough playing hide-and-seek!”
From the gloomy shadows behind the throne, a figure slowly stepped out. He was draped in a deep-purple brocade robe embroidered with a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, holding an ancient beast-bone folding fan in his hand, the corners of his lips curved upward in a wicked, disdainful smirk. His face was ghastly pale without a trace of blood, and his narrow, slanted eyes flashed with the eerie, ghostly blue fire of a nocturnal marsh.
None other than the Grand Elder of the Black Vatican—the very man who had stalked and hidden in the shadows throughout their entire journey to break the ruins’ seal!
“Magnificent! Truly a heartwarming and touching sight!” The Grand Elder of the Black Vatican burst into laughter, his voice reverberating against the surrounding stone walls to produce grating echoes, carrying profound inner force that made the listeners’ eardrums ring with aching pain.
He halted about ten paces away from the sealing platform, his turbid, greedy eyes glued to the crystal coffin holding the incorruptible flesh of the Ancient Emperor. Within those eyes, he made no effort to conceal a crazed, ravenous hunger, resembling a starved beast catching sight of a succulent morsel of meat.
“The Grand Elder of the Black Vatican?! You... how did you get in here? Weren’t the gates to the stone chamber sealed by an ancient grand array?” Xie Zhaoyuan widened his eyes, his expression turning deathly pale as a chilling draft crept up his spine. They had endured countless dangers, paid with blood and sweat, and nearly perished under the puppet skeleton soldiers on the lower levels, yet the enemy had arrived at this final destination just as casually as if it were his own backyard!
The Grand Elder lightly fanned the bone fan in his hand, a mocking smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as he replied indifferently:
“An ancient seal? Hmph, that tattered array has endured millennia of erosion, and its energy ran dry long ago. Did you fools really think you were the only clever ones capable of finding a shortcut through the nine-tiered flame mountains? Stupid! If not for you using your blood and true essence to breach this final layer of barriers, wanting to step in here so effortlessly would have cost this seat no small amount of effort.”
At those words, Lin Feng’s expression darkened into an abyss. So from beginning to end, they had merely been pawns carefully calculated by this man, used to clear the path and dismantle the most dangerous restrictive layers of the Ancient Emperor’s ruins. Surging anger boiled within Lin Feng’s chest, but outwardly he grew even calmer—a terrifying stillness right before a raging tempest.
“So you intended to use us as stepping stones. But did you ever consider whether you have enough life left to enjoy this treasure?” Lin Feng spoke coldly, his voice devoid of warmth, laden with materialized killing intent.
The Grand Elder threw his head back and laughed heartily, his eyes brimming with supreme arrogance:
“Lin Feng, oh Lin Feng, you truly are a once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the younger generation. No matter what major faction you hail from, you deserve to be called a heaven-chosen talent. What a pity... today, this place shall become your burial ground! The Ancient Emperor’s physical body, that divine sword, and the Primordial Dragon Pendant on your chest... all of it shall belong to this seat! Once I refine this indestructible flesh, won’t the realm of Gods and Demons be within my grasp?”
As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand suddenly shot upward into the air, executing a bizarre hand seal.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
All around the grand hall, the four stone walls abruptly cracked and shattered apart. Dozens of shadowy figures darted out from the dark corners, tightly sealing off the sole exit of Lin Feng’s squad. They were all black-robed experts of the Black Vatican possessing gloomy auras, holding razor-sharp blood blades that exuded a sickening, pungent stench of gore.
The atmosphere in the hall instantly plunged into extreme deadlock. The pressure from dozens of Black Vatican powerhouses combined with the terrifying coercion emanating from the Ancient Emperor’s crystal coffin weighed heavily upon the shoulders of every squad member.
Xie Zhaoyuan gripped his saber hilt tighter, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he gritted his teeth and whispered to Lin Feng:
“Brother Lin, with them prepared like this, looks like this is truly a battle to the death! What do we do?”
Lin Feng drew a deep breath, his hand relaxing slightly on the sword hilt before tightening again. The Primordial Dragon Pendant on his chest continued to throb heavily, funneling scalding thermal currents into his mind. Raising his head, his eyes as sharp as willow-leaf knives, he stared straight at the Grand Elder, the corners of his mouth curving into a chilling, murderous smirk:
“Want to take my belongings? You’ll have to see if your dog’s life is hard enough to hold onto them first!”
With that, a dazzling golden brilliance erupted from Lin Feng’s body, transforming into a towering dragon phantom that roared, shaking the entire grand hall as it charged head-on to meet the mortal encirclement!
The Grand Elder sneered, flicking his sleeve as he shouted:
“Kill them all, leave none alive! Use their blood to sacrifice and inaugurate my rebirth!”
A desperate battle-to-the-death erupted right before the threshold of the Ancient Emperor’s crystal coffin. Blade light and sword shadows flashed brilliantly, and fresh blood began to stain the ancient white jade flagstones, while deep inside the crystal coffin, the space between the Ancient Emperor’s brows abruptly twitched, and an unseen ancient radiance flashed across the depths of his eyes!