Chapter 2845: Black Coffin

A wormhole stretched across a location many hundreds of millions of miles away from the Myriad Manifestations Sea. Lu Ye suddenly emerged from it. As he looked up, a magnificent spectacle came into view in the distance.

At first glance, the spectacle resembled an enormous coffin, giving off an extremely ominous feeling. Even from a distance, the intensely dense death energy was clearly discernible. Legend had it that this was the origin of the Corpse Race, but rumors were just rumors, and their veracity was impossible to ascertain.

The main reason Lu Ye specifically came here was for a supreme treasure hidden within this place.

Supreme treasures in the starry sky were few. Currently, apart from the Reincarnation Tree, Star Constellation Palace, Qiankun Cauldron, Asura Field, Fangcun Mountain, Three Treasures Coin, and the Tianxuan Sword (which Yun Shiwang took out of the starry sky years ago), there were scarcely two remaining.

The Star Constellation Palace concerned the survival of the Myriad Manifestations Sea and could not be easily moved. The Asura Field was controlled by the Celestial Asura clan. Fangcun Mountain sealed the Abyss Gate in the Puling Galaxy, which Yun Shiwang had opened. The Three Treasures Coin had been devoured and merged by Hua Ci's Pixiu. As for the Tianxuan Sword, it had been shattered by Ba Qiu during the Snowfield War.

Among these known supreme treasures, the only one Lu Ye could make use of was the Qiankun Cauldron. He had originally planned to use the power of the Talent Tree to devour and refine the Qiankun Cauldron, but he ended up using it as a bargaining chip in a transaction with Ni Chilian. Exchanging a supreme treasure for the peace of the five great Abyss Gates in the starry sky was ultimately worthwhile. With Yuan Xi's connection, Ni Chilian could hardly be considered an outsider.

Without the Qiankun Cauldron, Lu Ye would have to look elsewhere if he wanted to obtain another supreme treasure in the starry sky. The Creation Vine, which once bore treasure gourds, appeared and disappeared unpredictably; even Tree Elder did not know its whereabouts. Moreover, the Creation Vine clearly possessed extremely high sentience, which did not quite suit Lu Ye's refinement needs. Therefore, after consulting Tree Elder, he specifically came to this place.

Hidden here was a supreme treasure named the Black Coffin. Its power was unknown; even Tree Elder did not know much about it, only that it was here. In fact, the very existence of the spectacle before them was due to the Black Coffin. Its relationship with this spectacle was like that between the Star Constellation Palace and the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

The dense death energy permeated the starry sky. Centered around the spectacle, a radius of tens of millions of miles was devoid of life. When Lu Ye appeared from the wormhole, he immediately felt the dense death energy eroding his being. He was secretly astonished, realizing that this place was absolutely a forbidden area for cultivators of the starry sky. Most cultivators, whose cultivation generally did not exceed the Sun-Illuminated Realm, had no ability to approach this spectacle. This made him look forward to the power of that supreme treasure. This was merely the power of an ownerless treasure autonomously spreading; if someone were to wield it, it would undoubtedly be many times stronger.

He flashed forward, swift as lightning. The further he advanced, the more severe the erosion from the death energy became. In such an environment, a Sun-Illuminated Realm cultivator probably couldn't last even three breaths before their vitality would be completely depleted. By the time Lu Ye rushed into the spectacle, the erosive power was even difficult for a Dao-Entrant to bear.

Without stopping, Lu Ye rushed directly into the very center of the spectacle and immediately saw the black coffin standing there. A dense aura of supreme treasure emanated from it, carrying with it visible death energy. Lu Ye was secretly alarmed. At this distance, even an ordinary Harmonization Realm cultivator would struggle to last long. However, with the Talent Tree within him and its invisible roots permeating his body, such erosive power naturally couldn't affect him in the slightest. The only price he had to pay was some Dao power.

The Black Coffin was not large, only about a foot long and entirely black. If not for seeing it with his own eyes, it would be hard to imagine such a small object could have created such an enormous starry sky spectacle. But this was the miraculous nature of supreme treasures.

Lu Ye's arrival did not provoke any reaction from the Black Coffin. He immediately understood that this supreme treasure before him must be without sentience; otherwise, it should have reacted in some way. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and reached for the Black Coffin.

However, as he did so, a sudden change occurred. The motionless Black Coffin suddenly opened, and a streak of black light surged out from within. Like a shadow, it swept past Lu Ye's body. By the time this black light returned into the coffin, Lu Ye had vanished from his spot. The open coffin closed once more, and silence enveloped the surroundings, as if nothing had happened.

In the darkness, Lu Ye felt himself lying in a cramped, confined space. He could see nothing, and even his divine sense was restricted to his immediate vicinity. He frowned slightly. Had he... been taken into the Black Coffin? This supreme treasure... had already gained sentience? He had thought it was inanimate and hadn't been very cautious, but he had been ambushed.

But that was fine. If an ordinary Harmonization Realm cultivator were in such a situation, they would likely be in great peril, but he was not flustered. His purpose in coming here was to devour and refine the Black Coffin; being inside or outside the coffin made no difference.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly felt a soft, boneless small hand climb onto his chest. The hand was icy cold, like a piece of millennia-old ice. Lu Ye was slightly startled. There was actually someone inside this coffin? Who could this be? Only then did he vaguely perceive that there was indeed someone lying beside him. Even in the darkness, he could feel the other person lying on their side, gazing at him, while the icy cold small hand slowly explored his body. Such a horrifying scene caused Lu Ye to break out in goosebumps.

When he tried to raise his hand to seize the small hand, he found an invisible restraining force applied to him, leaving him unable to move. Seeing that the small hand was about to touch an inappropriate place, Lu Ye frantically channeled his Dao power, instantly breaking the restraining force. Accompanied by a strange cry, the sealed Black Coffin opened, and Lu Ye flashed out from within. Although the supreme treasure's power was strong, it was ultimately limited if no one wielded it. This was also why he wasn't flustered after being drawn in, although the recent encounter was somewhat unsettling.

The moment he exited the coffin, Lu Ye vaguely saw a fleeting, blurry figure inside the Black Coffin. Immediately after, the Black Coffin resealed and transformed into a streak of black light, intending to flee the area.

"Still trying to run!" Lu Ye reached out and grabbed forward. Under spatial distortion, by the time he withdrew his hand, the Black Coffin had been captured.

The Black Coffin vibrated violently, and crimson blood continuously flowed out from within, making Lu Ye's hand sticky. Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly. As his divine sense surged, the crimson blood instantly vanished, and at the same time, the stickiness on his hand disappeared without a trace. Looking closely again, there was no blood at all; what he had just seen was clearly an illusion.

Black energy surged forth, enveloping Lu Ye completely. Within the black energy, death intent was dense, ferociously eroding his vitality. Lu Ye was furious. Without hesitation, he activated the power of the Talent Tree. Its invisible roots spread out and pierced into the Black Coffin in his hand.

He had originally hesitated somewhat, wondering if it would be a pity to simply devour and refine this supreme treasure, as it had gained sentience. After all, it was a supreme treasure of this starry sky; if Tree Elder could communicate with it properly, it might still be used for the benefit of this starry sky. But the other party had ambushed him first and was now being so ignorant, so Lu Ye couldn't be bothered to communicate with it anymore.

Since its last transformation, the Talent Tree had been undergoing increasingly significant changes. Especially as the number of supreme treasures it devoured increased, the efficiency and speed of its devouring seemed to be gradually increasing. Devouring supreme treasures seemed to make the Talent Tree's power increasingly stronger. Lu Ye had discovered this during his last time in the Source Realm, when he devoured and refined that supreme treasure.

Slowly, a slight bulge appeared on the Talent Tree's canopy, which was the mysterious essence gathered from the Black Coffin. Although it hadn't yet flowered or borne fruit, a brief inspection allowed Lu Ye to vaguely perceive the Black Coffin's power characteristics. This supreme treasure had an extremely strong sealing effect; it could forcibly seal enemies into the Black Coffin using its power. Besides that, it seemed to have other effects as well. However, because it hadn't flowered or borne fruit, Lu Ye couldn't perceive them too clearly.

It had to be said that the Black Coffin's power was somewhat practical, but it wasn't suitable for Lu Ye's current situation. One of the Abyss Gates in this starry sky connected to the domain of Senluo City. His future enemies would be a top ten Harmonization Realm city, so sooner or later, he would have to battle formidable cultivators like Zong Shenliang. Although he wasn't too afraid with his current strength, Zong Shenliang had numerous powerful subordinates, and his individual strength would ultimately be somewhat outnumbered. The Black Coffin's power would probably not be useful against Zong Shenliang.

Therefore, after preserving the Black Coffin's essence on the Talent Tree, he immediately transferred the essence he would subsequently devour to the Firmament Mirror fruit. The Firmament Mirror possessed the power of refraction, and it had proven remarkably effective during his battle with Xuan Wuzong. In the potentially impending great battle, enhancing the power of this supreme treasure would certainly be the right move. Lu Ye's purpose in coming here was precisely for this. As for the Black Coffin, he could wait until he encountered and devoured another supreme treasure of little use, and then it wouldn't be too late to manifest it again.

As time passed, the Black Coffin's vibrations gradually subsided, and the death energy emanating from within was no longer as dense as before. This was undoubtedly due to the diminishing essence within the supreme treasure.

A wisp of black energy suddenly floated out from the Black Coffin and transformed into a figure before Lu Ye. It appeared somewhat blurry but was clearly the body of a woman. Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, remembering his previous encounter inside the Black Coffin. It now seemed there was no one inside the Black Coffin; it was merely the manifestation of the Black Coffin's sentience. Just like now, after sensing something was amiss, the Black Coffin's sentience revealed itself again, but it viciously lunged at Lu Ye, seemingly trying to stop him.

Lu Ye remained completely unmoved, only slightly activating his Dao power to protect himself, letting the blurry figure do as it pleased. A moment later, seemingly realizing that doing this was useless, the figure suddenly plunged back into the Black Coffin and vanished. The figure never reappeared until the Black Coffin in Lu Ye's hand turned to dust.

Thus, it seemed the Black Coffin had indeed gained sentience, but its sentience was not high. Therefore, it had no intention of communicating with Lu Ye from beginning to end; it was merely acting on its own instincts.