Chapter 22: Copper Coffin Suppresses Demons

Chapter 22: The Bronze Coffin Suppresses the Demon

Everyone was utterly exhausted. Their souls had almost left their bodies just now. The roar of that supreme Crocodile Ancestor possessed incredible power, seemingly capable of seizing people's souls.

If the ancient bronze coffin hadn't emitted a strange metallic tremor, everyone present would likely have met an unpredictable fate.

A terrifying aura surged from afar, overwhelming everything like a raging tsunami. Though the great demon, freed from beneath the Great Thunderclap Temple, had stopped advancing, the oppressive aura it naturally exuded was still unbearable, making souls tremble.

Malignant energy surged, shaking the sky. The sandstorm instantly stilled because of it. Monstrous demonic energy permeated the area, and in the darkness, two lantern-like blood-red eyes stared fixedly at their location.

Its true form was indiscernible, hidden by rolling black clouds that obscured the stars and moon, blanketing the sky.

Although it hadn't approached them, the aura of such a peerless demon ancestor was still too much for ordinary mortals to bear. Many on the Five-Colored Altar almost collapsed to the ground, unable to resist even with divine artifacts in hand.

Was this the great demon personally suppressed by the Buddha? A being from myths and legends, yet it appeared truly and clearly in reality, not far away—it felt like a dream.

As modern city dwellers, none of them had ever witnessed such a terrifying scene. Everyone felt it was incredibly unreal; what they were seeing and hearing at that moment was truly shocking!

Now that the Crocodile Ancestor was free, countless ages had passed. Seas had become mulberry fields, the Heavenly Palace had collapsed, and the Great Thunderclap Temple lay in ruins. Things were no longer as they were, the gods were gone—who could suppress it now?

"Aooooh..."

Suddenly, the Crocodile Ancestor let out a muffled, thunderous roar, as if thousands of thunderclaps were resounding in their ears. Immediately, some people present collapsed to the ground. It wasn't a direct attack, merely the vibration of sound waves, yet even that was unbearable. Several people's ears and noses were bleeding.

A "rustling" sound echoed. Outside the Five-Colored Altar, countless divine crocodiles, a dense, dark mass, swarmed forward, quickly breaking through the light barrier and rushing onto the altar. The Crocodile Ancestor was commanding these smaller crocodiles; it seemed wary of the bronze coffin itself, sending its descendants to test it.

"Get up, quickly!"

Several classmates who had collapsed, bleeding from their ears and noses, were utterly exhausted and could barely move. They could barely hold onto the Buddhist artifacts in their hands, which showed how terrifying that roar had been.

Amidst everyone's shouts, a few finally managed to stand, but two were a step too late and were directly engulfed by the surging tide of divine crocodiles.

No miracle occurred. Two muffled groans were heard, divine artifacts slipped from hands, and in the blink of an eye, two vibrant lives vanished forever. Blood splattered, and the divine crocodiles vied to burrow into their torsos and heads. Red blood and white brain matter were horrifyingly stark.

The others had no time to rescue them; they were surrounded by thousands of divine crocodiles, and each person was fighting for their own survival.

By now, thirteen people had lost their lives, and the remaining seventeen were in grave danger. Life was impermanent; death was so sudden, it could descend at any moment.

Light shone as everyone swung the divine artifacts in their hands, fending off the cold-blooded killers around them, desperate to carve out a path to survival. Even the naturally timid female students had long forgotten to cry, now forced to fight for their lives.

But the most dangerous thing still happened: all who had wielded the Buddhist artifacts found themselves in peril, unable to move with enough agility, feeling restrained.

"Aooooh..."

In the distance, the Crocodile Ancestor roared. Seeing no unusual reaction from the bronze coffin, its power surged. It exhaled mist and slowly approached. Its blood-red eyes, the size of washbasins, glowed in the darkness like two crimson suns hanging in the sky.

As it drew closer, everyone found it hard to stand. That terrible aura was undoubtedly condensed from the slaughter of countless beings, making their souls and spirits tremble, threatening to burst from their bodies.

Though only ten meters away, its true form remained indistinct; only its two blood-red eyes were visible. Everyone was almost in despair.

"Whoosh whoosh..." Suddenly, a demonic wind raged between heaven and earth, like the wailing of ghosts and gods. It was many times more violent than the previous sandstorm, as if ten thousand thunderbolts were tearing the sky and earth apart.

From the surging black mist, a massive black hand reached down, grasping towards the Five-Colored Altar. It was identical in shape to a human hand, but immensely larger; just its fingers were seven or eight meters long. Darkly gleaming and sinister, it terrified many to their very core.

This was the peerless great demon personally suppressed by the Buddha!

Even after being suppressed for endless ages, its power was earth-shattering and unparalleled the moment it emerged.

And at this moment, the Taiji Bagua diagram in the sky finally fully formed. It had been completed by the divine power contained in the blood of the divine crocodiles. The eight trigram symbols simultaneously shone, emitting dazzling light, and the Starry Sky Gate reappeared.

"Boom!"

With a dull tremor, the Taiji Bagua diagram opened completely like a massive portal, revealing a mysterious and enormous passage. Its destination was unknown; it was pitch-black inside.

The reaching hand was pushed aside by a mysterious force. Simultaneously, the nine colossal dragon corpses, previously still, suddenly began to tremble.

Even as cold corpses, these dragons, once standing alongside gods, would not tolerate desecration. A powerful dragon aura emanated from them. All the divine crocodiles on the Five-Colored Altar trembled fearfully, prostrating themselves on the ground, then shaking uncontrollably, completely awe-struck. Finally, they retreated like a retreating tide.

The altar was left with crocodile corpses scattered everywhere, along with a few human bodies, instantly becoming quiet.

"Let's go, into the bronze coffin!" Ye Fan was the first to stand up, then helped Pang Bo to his feet.

It wasn't that they were weak, but that the supreme great demon was truly extraordinary. Its mere aura was lethal to ordinary people; its monstrous energy could easily shake mortals to death.

Everyone stood up, their bodies swaying. They were in agreement: they had to enter the giant bronze coffin. The Starry Sky Gate was open, but they likely couldn't traverse the ancient starry path with just their physical bodies. Entering the bronze coffin was a reluctant choice; the coffin was eerie and unsettling, but at this moment, they had no choice but to rely on it.

In the darkness, the Crocodile Ancestor's gaze grew even colder. Its enormous blood-red eyes hung like crimson suns. Suddenly, it shot out two dazzling beams of scarlet light, which intersected to seal the Taiji Bagua diagram in the sky.

Seeing this, everyone's faces turned pale!

This peerless great demon ultimately refused to give up, manifesting its profound demonic arts. It wanted to seal the ancient starry path and block their escape. At the same time, the massive black hand reached down again, easily breaking through the dim light barrier and grasping towards the altar.

Everyone was horrified, quickly retreating "thud, thud, thud" into the bronze coffin. The dark hand reached down, but its target wasn't them; it was actually the ancient bronze coffin itself!

"Clang!"

The black hand seized the giant bronze coffin, emitting a metallic "clang." Everyone's heart sank. This supreme Crocodile Ancestor possessed overwhelming power, difficult to suppress even for a Buddha. If the mysterious bronze coffin showed no unusual reaction now, they truly had no way out.

Just as everyone felt terrified, the Crocodile Ancestor's black hand quickly recoiled as if from a scorpion. Dazzling demonic blood flowed from its palm and fingers, like a small river cascading onto the altar, emitting streaks of crimson light. It seemed its palm and fingers had been injured by the bronze coffin.

But the ancient coffin remained motionless, lying quietly on the altar. A chillingly cold sneer came from nearby—the Crocodile Ancestor grinding its teeth, a sound that made one's scalp crawl.

"What do we do? The ancient starry path is sealed by this giant demon. How can we leave?" Many were terrified. They had seen hope for escape, only to have their path blocked, filling them with dread and anxiety.

"Energy... we need mysterious energy to open the ancient starry path now!"

"What's happening? The divine light from the divine artifacts in our hands is continuously draining away..." someone shrieked.

At this moment, whether it was Ye Fan's ancient bronze lamp, Pang Bo's Great Thunderclap Temple plaque, or Zhou Yi's alms bowls and other items, the divine radiance contained within them continuously flowed out, converging together.

Suddenly, a chilling laugh, like the cry of a night owl, echoed, and a figure nearly two meters tall abruptly appeared outside the giant bronze coffin. Everyone was startled; the divine radiance emanating from the various divine artifacts was surging precisely towards this figure.

Monstrous demonic energy soared from this figure, with black mist swirling around it, obscuring its appearance. But everyone could sense it was definitely the Crocodile Ancestor! It had actually materialized on the altar, intending to enter the giant bronze coffin. It ignored everyone, its two blood-red eyes staring directly at the coffin within the coffin!

This was a being who had fought the Buddha, stepping from myth into their presence. The scene was unforgettable, truly soul-stirring.

"Boom!"

Faced with the supreme Crocodile Ancestor's demonic energy, all the divine artifacts seemed to ignite, emitting brilliant, dazzling light that converged to envelop the Crocodile Ancestor.

Simultaneously, the ancient bronze lamp, the Great Thunderclap Temple plaque, the alms bowl, the vajra, the wooden fish drum, and all other Buddhist artifacts shone with immense brilliance, rising spontaneously into the sky and then pressing down towards the Crocodile Ancestor!

A chilling, sinister sneer echoed, penetrating to the bone. The supreme Crocodile Ancestor lightly shook its body, and instantly, dark light erupted, and demonic flames surged heavenward.

All the Buddhist artifacts were frozen in place before it. Then, several Buddhist items, such as the prayer mat and the discipline stick, began to crack. With a "poof," the prayer mat shattered first, followed by the discipline stick and others. In succession, four divine artifacts turned to dust.

The four Buddhist artifacts transformed into four dazzling beams of light, all dissipating over the Five-Colored Altar, providing powerful mysterious energy to the Starry Sky Gate.

All nine colossal dragon corpses trembled, then emitted rumbling sounds, slowly ascending into the sky!

The Crocodile Ancestor was startled. It dodged the ancient bronze lamp and other divine artifacts, then shot into the sky, its right hand rapidly expanding to cover heaven and earth, reaching towards the nine immense dragon corpses.

At this moment, the ancient bronze lamp, the Great Thunderclap Temple plaque, and others seemed to possess spirits. Each unleashed a supremely blazing divine light, blinding to the eyes, sweeping towards the Crocodile Ancestor.

In the sky, endless light flickered, incredibly brilliant and impossible to look at directly. No one could see clearly; the nine dragon corpses were temporarily halted by the Crocodile Ancestor.

"Clang," "Clang"...

Crisp sounds echoed from the altar. The Buddhist sarira prayer beads, the Great Thunderclap Temple plaque, the alms bowl, and all the others fell, dull and lifeless. Even the ancient bronze lamp went out.

"The nine dragon corpses are blocked! What do we do?" Everyone was anxious.

The giant bronze coffin did not ascend. The nine dragon corpses were halted in mid-air, unable to enter the Starry Sky Gate.

Everyone stepped out of the bronze coffin and quickly picked up the dimmed Buddhist artifacts. Pang Bo, even more efficiently, collected the water bottles from the corpses.

Ye Fan, meanwhile, took off his upper garment and gathered a large bundle of the crocodile corpses from the ground.

Just then, a violent tremor shook the sky. Everyone was greatly startled and rushed back into the bronze coffin.

The giant bronze coffin emitted a metallic tremor. The nine dragon corpses actually swung their massive tails, striking the Crocodile Ancestor's black hand with a loud thud, forcing it to retreat.

"Boom!"

A loud roar echoed in the sky as the nine colossal dragon corpses slowly ascended towards the Starry Sky Gate. With a "clank," the giant bronze coffin shook and flipped, making everyone inside feel dizzy and disoriented.

The Crocodile Ancestor's blood-red gaze was incredibly cold. Before the coffin lid fully closed, it attempted to rush inside, its target still the coffin within the coffin!

But just then, the ancient carvings of primordial humans and deities, as well as the bronze patterns of primeval ferocious birds and savage beasts on the rust-covered coffin walls, all began to glow with a hazy radiance, stopping the Crocodile Ancestor in its tracks. It seemed to suddenly recall something, and two chilling beams of blood-red light shot from its eyes as it rapidly retreated several steps "thud, thud, thud" through the air.

With a resounding "clank," the bronze coffin lid closed. The nine colossal dragon corpses, pulling the bronze coffin, slowly ascended into the sky, breaking through the Crocodile Ancestor's blood-red seal and disappearing into the Starry Sky Gate.