"Open the coffin? Whose coffin?" Xuan Ji was startled, "Is there someone in this coffin? Who is it?"

Sheng Lingyuan suddenly raised his head, his eyes were even redder. Xuan Ji followed his gaze, but didn't see anyone. He first heard the sound of water, then got a shock as the goat-bearded man beside the coffin was gone!

It turned out that while one of them was stuck in the coffin and couldn't climb up, and the other was panicking, who knew if the goat-bearded man was awake or was pretending to faint, he took the opportunity to jump into the pool and swam away in one direction. Xuan Ji followed the sound of water and saw that there was a hole that could accommodate one person on the stone mountain wall. When the water level was high, it was covered by water, but now it was exposed.

The goat-bearded man must have known early on that there was an exit, and his dog-digging posture was quite standard. It seemed that he had been here before!

Sheng Lingyuan's hand, which couldn't even fasten his clothes, suddenly grabbed the air. The blue veins on the back of his hand jumped, and the goat-bearded man in the water was sucked out directly. Flying out of the water surface, his head facing the ground, he was about to fall to the stone platform beside the bronze coffin.

"Ahh!" Xuan Ji opened his wings and glided over. In an instant, he shifted and grabbed the goat-bearded man's ankle before his head was smashed into a watermelon. "My big senior! This is a mortal person, not a lead ball. Who do you think is as hard-headed as you... Hey!"

Xuan Ji felt a violent force suddenly "suck" the goat-bearded man in his hand away. The goat-bearded man's feet were in his hands, and his upper body was slanted and sucked into the coffin. A white and blue hand stretched out from the coffin and firmly grabbed his throat.

Sheng Lingyuan completely ignored Xuan Ji's existence. His voice was hoarse and harsh, like blood-stained iron plates rubbing against each other. 

He asked word by word: "Who. Opened. The. Coffin?"

The goat-bearded man struggled, his face flushed and blackened, and his neck made a dangerous sound. Xuan Ji suspected that the devil was about to twist his head off with his bare hands, so he hurriedly rushed forward and grabbed Sheng Lingyuan's wrist: "Let go, you are going to strangle him!"

However, when he touched Sheng Lingyuan's hand, Xuan Ji was shocked again. This hand... was different from how he was at the Chiyuan Hospital. It was actually warm, with a pulse, and seemed to have low-grade fever, it was a bit hot!

He couldn't help but step back in shock. At this moment, a sharp mobile phone ringtone sounded, echoing like thunder in the cave. Sheng Lingyuan was probably exhausted and was pressed by Xuan Ji on his pulse. His hand finally loosened and he fell softly into the coffin. Xuan Ji grabbed the goat-bearded man and fumbled for his mobile phone in a hurry.

His mobile phone had no signal since he entered this blasted place, otherwise it would have been ringing like crazy thanks to Luo Cuicui and the rest. It was quiet for most of the day, who knew why the call could get through, and he actually had two bars of signal.

The incoming call was displayed as Xiao Zheng–

Xiao Zheng was at the conference table of the Penglai Conference, almost being choked to death by Luo Cuicui’s report.

Xuan Ji sometimes liked to do things his way, Xiao Zheng has known him for a while and knew his style. As the former commander of the special forces, Xiao Zheng never doubted the strength of this "temporary worker". Who knew that this guy who had been tasked to "wipe their butt" would drop the ball at this time.

There were dozens of accusing mouths around him, making it as noisy as a wet market. On the phone, Luo Cuicui sniffed relentlessly.

Old Lady Yu obviously felt something was up and her eyes flashed: "What's wrong, Little Xiao, is there something urgent going on in the bureau?"

Luo Cuicui sobbed over the phone: "Director Xuan has gone in. What do the rest of us do? You have to call support for us! The local branch office has been isolated, but what about the local boss in Dongchuan? No matter what, you have to hurry up and find someone to save us!"

The local boss of Dongchuan was Master Yue De. This poisonous old guy from the Qing Dynasty dressed himself up like an unearthed zombie, separated by half a conference table, and watched them being ridiculed with a smirk. 

Xiao Zheng couldn't take it anymore and stood up, facing everyone's meaningful gazes, he stormed into the restroom. Once inside, he quickly took out four soundproof and leak-proof talismans from his wallet and stuck them on the four walls. He first pacified Luo Cuicui, the panicking waste from the Aftermath Department, then contacted the special forces for nearby reinforcements, and ordered them thrice to "send the elite".

After a long conversation, Xiao Zheng was exhausted and felt a great pressure. In order to relieve his anxiety, he unconsciously dialed Xuan Ji's phone. To his surprise, it connected on the eighth or ninth tone.

Both the caller and the receiver were shocked. As soon as the call was connected, they almost said the same thing at the same time.

Xuan Ji: "What's the situation?"

Xiao Zheng: "What's going on?"

"I'm asking you what's going on!" Xiao Zheng stood up from the toilet with a "tss" and his voice was suppressed in his throat, shooting out like a gun. "Do you want to make me anger me to death or boil me alive? What the hell are you doing? Where did you go off to die? Where are you now?"

"Don't mention it, it's hard to explain... Well, I may be in a grave now." Xuan Ji lowered his head and looked at the shocking stone platform under the bronze coffin and Sheng Lingyuan. He saw the person lying in the coffin, breathing faintly, with wet hair and withered vines entwined, like a ghost who had just taken over the body and had not yet had time to get used to it.

Xuan Ji was dazzled by the ghost, and he was out of sorts for a moment, and accidentally said nonsense to his superior: "This grave is a bit special, there is a coffin in it..."

How obvious is it, if you don't put a coffin in the grave, do you want to put in a steamer? Xiao Zheng was already angry, and when he heard this nonsense, he was immediately furious: "Then you just lie down in it, don't come out again!"

"No, listen to me, the situation is a bit complicated," Xiao Zheng’s screaming finally woke Xuan Ji up. He forcibly tore his eyes away from Sheng Lingyuan, "There was an army of Mirror Flower Water Moon Butterflies in this grave, and they just chased me for a long distance... I'm fine now, I don't know if there is any pest control device near the coffin, anyway, the butterflies dare not come here – this bronze coffin is placed on a stone altar, surrounded by many spells that I can't understand. But in any case these spells are around the coffin... As you know, it's either to call a soul or bind a corpse, and definitely to lay the soul to rest. This coffin has been opened recently, and it is now empty. The spells around it have been written with paint by someone, and the original spells have been destroyed by the sacrificial text. The suspect for this tomb robbery may be in my hands now, just wait for a bit."

Xuan Ji held the phone and cautiously walked between the heavenly demon and the goat-bearded man, using himself to separate them. He faced Sheng Lingyuan, ensuring that he could react first if the demon made a move, then selected the hands-free call option and stepped on the goat-bearded man’s important bits: "See see if you dare pretend to faint again!"

The goat-bearded man was halfway through fainting and jerked back awake. Facing Xuan Ji's tall bird-like figure, he was so scared that he shouted out loud.

"What are you crying for, does my grandpa look like a corpse with a green face and fangs?" Xuan Ji said unpleasantly, "You unlucky guys even dare to dig graves, even digging into a mass grave of ten thousand people, I really admire you."

The goat-bearded man’s voice was trembling like a wave: "I, I, I, I didn't do this kind of digging grave evil, it was, it was, it was Old Lang, it was Old Lang who forced me to do it with them..."

Xuan Ji: "Who is Old Lang?"

"Old Lang is, is, is Ji, Ji Qingchen! Old Lang's real name is Ji Qingchen!" The goat-bearded man twisted his buttocks on the ground, trying to get rid of Xuan Ji's foot, "It's all him! I don't know anything! Ah! Great Immortal, spare me, Great Immortal..."

The goat-bearded man was in the middle of speaking, who knew what he say, his voice suddenly broke. He rubbed his buttocks on the ground, desperately shrinking back. Xuan Ji glanced at Sheng Lingyuan in the coffin and saw him sitting up with cold eyes, glaring at the goat-bearded man with a laser-sharp gaze.

Xiao Zheng heard the desperate scream and asked Xuan Ji in confusion, "What did you do? If you want to beat him up you should do it later, clarify the situation first."

"It's not me, it's..." Xuan Ji hesitated. For a moment, a strong resistance surged up in his heart, blocking his throat and preventing him from revealing the existence of Sheng Lingyuan.

Xuan Ji lightly bit his tongue and thought to himself: It must be the demon’s spiritual attack.

The demon's spiritual attack was pervasive, and if he was not careful, he would be influenced by him. Compared to him, Bi Chunsheng's language ability was completely at a kindergarten level. No wonder the demon was said to eat people's souls.

Xuan Ji quickly converged his thoughts and concentrated his attention to block Sheng Lingyuan's gaze, and asked the goat-bearded man, "What did you and Ji Qingchen come here for last time?"

"Looking... looking for a small black can..."

Xiao Zheng heard it through the phone and immediately asked, "What is a 'small black can'?"

Perhaps because of the heavenly demon’s intimidating stare, even if Xuan Ji was blocking in the middle, the goat-bearded man was still extremely scared. When he saw Sheng Lingyuan's long hair draped on the bronze coffin, he was so scared that he peed his pants. Incoherent, he answered whatever they asked.

"The... the small black can is their treasure, and it's all 'good things' dug out from the ground... They said one can is a 'curse' and one can is a 'curse breaker'. First, they give the victim a curse, and then they pat the curse breaker on the person's forehead, that person will d-definitely get better! Then you can get as much money as you want. Old Lang s-s-said…t-this way we can get rich fast, I tried to persuade him saying it was too evil, but he refused to listen…"

Although he said it incoherently, Xiao Zheng and Xuan Ji both understood – it was similar to what Luo Cuicui guessed on the plane. Ji Qingchen had a prop that could make people have symptoms similar to "being cursed", and there was a corresponding "cure" to cure it.

They gave the victims the curse themselves and then cured them, deceiving the victims.

Xuan Ji: "What is this thing - the so-called 'small black can'? Does Ji Qingchen use it alone?"

"It was bought from the black market before, and they all use it... Masters, masters all use it! Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many customers... Even the real masters, the masters of Yue De, their disciples also use it!"

Even with the soundproofing talisman, Xiao Zheng lowered his voice: "Who did you say? Say it again!"

The goat-bearded man was so scared that he was almost mad. He shook his teeth and vented something, screaming hoarsely: "The disciples of Master Yue De do this kind of thing, I know! Master Yue De has eight hundred disciples, and whoever has what achievements every year must be reported to the master. If you can't report it, the master will say that you are not diligent in your practice and will be expelled!"

Xuan Ji was so pained that he said, "What? They are doing this business, and they can't even escape the 'KPI'?

Xiao Zheng: "Shut up!"

The goat-bearded man trembled violently.

Xiao Zheng slowed down his speech and said almost word by word, "So, what you mean is, because the local weather is good, all kinds of monsters are safe, and the disciples of Master Yue De can't complete the master's 'slaying monsters and demons targets' every year, so they 'create' some monsters to make peace?"

No wonder the old zombie was desperately jumping up and down. He must have known that Ji Qingchen was related to his disciples and grandchildren, and he wanted to use the bureau to cover up the situation!

At this time, Sheng Lingyuan in the coffin laughed coldly.

Xiao Zheng thought it was Xuan Ji, and said, "What are you laughing at? Don't be so dark and mysterious next to you. I'll settle accounts with you later!"

Xuan Ji: "... "

What a big pot.

"Old Lang... Old Lang was delirious before and who knew where he got the connection. He got a small black can and said it was blood money... He made the money, and I... I just helped him with a few small things and got some pocket money... Really! It has nothing to do with me!"

"Stop talking," Xuan Ji gave him a kick, "What's the matter with this tomb robbery?"

The goat-beaded man's eyes were shifty. His vitality was like a cockroach. He had just been so scared that his three souls and seven spirits were scattered, and in a moment he seemed to have adapted a little and started to prepare to make up nonsense. He was also a talent.

At this time, Sheng Lingyuan took a deep breath, propped up the bronze coffin and stepped out.

As soon as the goat-beaded man looked up at him, he was almost immediately overwhelmed by a huge fear. He wanted to kneel down at the feet of Xuan Ji: "I said! I...I...I will explain! Don't come over!"

"The curse in the small black can he got at first was used up, he tasted the sweetness of using it and wanted to find someone to make more. Later, he found a way, it seemed to be...the disciple of the Master Yue De. Old Lang invited them to eat for tens of thousands of dollars, begging here and there, the more he couldn’t get it, the more anxious he got. Later, there was a little girl who slept with him, she said that the old man got drunk and said that their 'things' were dug from the ground and now they were gone, even within the sect they were fighting very fiercely over them...Old Lang was confused, and he asked her to trace where it was dug... "

The goat-beaded man said a long string of words like a string, it was hard for Xuan Ji to understand it: "So you guys were bolder than you should have been, ran to the address she gave to dig the tomb, and wanted to dig out the 'small black can', and finally dug out a mass grave of ten thousand people?"

Goat-beaded man: "We...we...we don't know..."

Xiao Zheng: "What mass grave of ten thousand people?"

"I'll explain it to you later," Xuan Ji squatted down and grabbed the goat-beaded man's collar. "Who painted these pigments on the ground?"

The goat-beaded man's face was distorted in the faint light of the mobile phone screen: "It was also Old Lang...I don't know where he got it from...He said this was an amulet, in case there was something underground, be prepared...We hired a group of 'earth masters', and...and tomb thieves, with the map stolen by that woman, we dug all the way...all the way to here, and saw this... "

He raised his hand tremblingly and pointed to the bronze coffin.

Sheng Lingyuan was probably cold, his hands were blue and his fingers lightly swept across the patterns on the bronze coffin. He was in a trance, his expression was cold and empty, and Xuan Ji didn't know what he was thinking.

"The group of tomb robbers, when they saw the coffin, it was like they took drugs and went crazy. An old man told them not to move things here, because he looked at this place and felt that the feng shui was not right. He said that it must not be a good death to be buried in such a place, and these people must be unable to reincarnate forever...The old man also said that the coffin was surrounded by water on four sides, and the curse on the stone platform was fierce. Although he didn't know what it meant, it seemed to be suppressing evil spirits...But they didn't listen, someone said that the bronze coffin looked like an old object from the Nine Provinces War period. Thousands of years have passed, the crust has moved several times, the feng shui has changed, and the coffin is so well preserved, there must be a treasure inside... "

A group of people argued chaotically, and the greediest and most shameless ones finally won.

Xuan Ji: "So you opened the coffin?"

"No no no! Not 'we', it's them! They! I told them not to open it!" The goat-beaded man denied, "Old Lang said to draw the 'amulet' first, to be at ease. Several of them drew that...that thing on the stone platform, and then they burned incense and bowed to the coffin... "

Xuan Ji was speechless: "You are still quite ceremonial, what, civilized tomb digging?"

The goat-beaded man raised his head, and the light of the mobile phone was reflected in his eyes, dimly, like a ghost fire: "When they opened the coffin, only I and the old grave robber didn't dare to go over. The group of people opened the lid together, and a strange floral scent rushed out of the coffin. I saw...saw a...person's corpse inside... "

Xuan Ji asked, "You don’t say?"

Could such a big coffin possibly contain something other than a person?

"A...person..." the goat-bearded man swallowed hard, his voice hoarse. "Not bones! Not a dried corpse! Intact from head to toe, like he was asleep...arms and brows pierced into the coffin with long nails..."

Xuan Ji heard a "click", Sheng Lingyuan stood up from the coffin expressionlessly, pushing the bronze coffin in.

"The grave robbers immediately knelt down...but it was like they were bewitched, calling out 'treasure', all swarming around it. Even the nails on the corpse were plucked off...because they were fighting over the loot, one of them suddenly drew a knife and stabbed his comrade to death on the spot...blood filled the coffin...but...but I clearly saw that there was nothing in the coffin besides the corpse!"

A condensed water droplet rolled down the cold mountain walls and fell into the pool with a "plop", the thin ripples rolling outwards. Xuan Ji felt a chill on his bare back.

"I was scared out of my wits. But those grave robbers had red eyes, like they had a deep grudge against each other. Something was wrong with that idiot Old Lang, he didn't go up to grab the treasure or run, he just stood there dumbly, almost getting split in two by the red-eyed grave robbers. I grabbed him and ran with the old grave robber...we almost didn't make it out! Because the water in the pool suddenly rose up and almost flooded the hole we dug when we came in. Me, Old Lang...and that grave robber, we rolled and crawled out together. The old grave robber didn't even ask for his remaining payment and ran away."

"I thought it was a nightmare, but after...after a few days, Old Lang came looking for me. He said that when the grave robbers were fighting, he secretly took a small jade box from the corpse's chest. On it was carved a butterfly, the jade...the jade was almost transparent, inside were a few sesame-sized black seeds, just like the 'curse' in the small black jar...but there was no curse..."

At once, Xuan Ji realized that the black seeds the goat-bearded man spoke of were likely mutated butterfly eggs: "Have you used it? How many?"

"J-just one," the goat-bearded man said sadly, his face tearful. "But it was different...the 'curse' those people ate before, Old Lang could control them. We could predict people’s futures without a doubt and everyone trusted it. But this time, we couldn't control it at all...Old Lang said it was bad, that he had eaten the wrong thing, and that something had happened, so he didn't dare show his face and said he was going to hide elsewhere. He didn't say where, he and I couldn't act together or else if someone saw, we would be exposed. Who knew..."

Who knows, Ji Qingchen inexplicably died a tragic death in the Chiyuan Grand Canyon.

But why did Ji Qingchen go to the Chiyuan Grand Canyon?

Was this predestined or a coincidence? He was the last sacrifice in the Yin Sacrifice ritual, and there was a Mirror Flower Water Moon Butterfly on his body. Where and when did he contract the butterfly?

When the grave robbers were fighting in front of the coffin, they must have been under some kind of mental attack and had an illusion. But why was Ji Qingchen immune? Was he born with a special talent, or was he already controlled by the butterfly then?

The Yin Sacrifice in the Chiyuan Grand Canyon almost overturned the entire Bureau. The sacrificial text and the bloody characters on the mysterious witches’ grave seemed to be just the tip of a huge conspiracy.

"I didn't dare show my face, so I asked someone to look for the so-called 'closed-door disciple' of Master Yue De. But he couldn't be found, he was gone as though he’d evaporated into thin air. I...I had no choice, the money was spent and I saw your message on the internet. I thought it was one of the fattened sheep Old Lang had cheated before but didn't have time to collect money from..."

Xuan Ji was amused by him: "So you're here to inherit the legacy?"

Wait!

He suddenly realized something was wrong. From what the goat-bearded man said, something happened here with a few grave robbers fighting around a corpse. What happened to the ancient corpse? The blood? The grave robbers?

The goat-bearded man cried dramatically, tears streaming down his face. "I didn't mean to, I just wanted to see what was going on and if I could help someone out... Even if it wasn't useful, it was the thought that counted, right? Of course, if I could get a bit of travel expenses out of it... Who knew that when your colleague opened the car door, I would smell that... That smell..."

Xuan Ji immediately asked, "What smell?"

"Flowers... Rotten flowers, sweet and smelly... I can never forget the smell when they opened the coffin... " Hu said, his voice suddenly stopping. He nervously twitched his nose, his pupils widening in fear, and his whole body trembling. Xuan Ji subconsciously followed him and sniffed the air. The pool was damp and poorly ventilated, and had a rotten smell. He took a deep breath and smelled the smell of flowers mixed in with the rotten smell.

Hu muttered softly, "This is it... This is it..."

As if in response, bubbles suddenly began to form in the pool.

Someone laughed, in a clear voice like an immature teenager, echoing in the eerie cave. Then, he said something in what was probably the witches’ language, and Xuan Ji only understood one word. It was said in an unstandardized tone in the witch language -

He said, "Lingyuan."

Xuan Ji's phone signal was interrupted again, and Sheng Lingyuan's already pale face was almost evaporated.

The teenager's voice hummed a familiar tune. Before Xuan Ji could make out the tune, the goat-bearded man screamed and jumped more than three feet, almost crashing into Xuan Ji - only to see the bodies bubbling underwater crawling up!

Immediately, there was a loud noise, the sound of hurried footsteps, the sound of people talking loudly... Coming from the cave where Xuan Ji came from.

It seemed that a large group of people were coming this way.

But that road... Outside that road, weren't there only forty thousand bones?

Xuan Ji kicked one of the bubbling corpses back into the water, grabbed the goat-bearded man in his arms, and turned to Sheng Lingyuan: "Hey, can you walk?"

Sheng Lingyuan looked at him blankly, seemingly dazed, and Xuan Ji cursed. He rushed forward and dragged the demon away.

"Do I have nothing better to do, what am I taking care of him for?" he thought absurdly, his grip on Sheng Lingyuan's wrist not loosening, flying towards the half-exposed cave. Just as he landed at the entrance and retracted his wings, he had not yet had time to stand firm, and a certain kind of inexplicable crisis surged up. Almost at the same time, Xuan Ji's hand got heavier, and the goat-bearded man fell without a sound.

A thin line shot from between the goat-bearded man’s eyes, piercing through the back of his head, and Xuan Ji's hand was stained with brain matter and blood. The murderous "thin line" then wrapped around Xuan Ji's arm, but it burned when it touched him.

The eerie singing in the grave was interrupted by the exclamation, and at the same time, a long shadow appeared in the cave. The voice said in a tone that Xuan Ji could barely understand: "Demon!"

Sheng Lingyuan finally reacted. He slowly pushed Xuan Ji away. The cave was too low for him to stand up straight. He had to lower his head slightly.

Holding the stone wall, he stood unsteadily and whispered a name: "Aluojin."

At this time, Xuan Ji reacted to the song he had heard before - it was the tune of a nursery rhyme. He had heard it in Sheng Lingyuan's memory, accompanied by a picture of a pear tree. He didn't know why he could remember a few words.