Chapter 25: Divine Sound Like a Bell

Chapter 25: Divine Sound Resounds Like a Bell

"What?!"

Everyone was startled. They believed Ye Fan wasn't speaking without reason and must have discovered something. Even Li Changqing and the female classmate beside Liu Yunzhi, who had been specifically targeting Ye Fan, changed their expressions and nervously looked around.

Ye Fan had observed everyone's reactions throughout, remaining calm like still water. He now understood who was sincere and who was deceitful. Only then did he begin to clear his name, directly pointing out a crucial suspicious detail.

"You can feel his throat yourself. His Adam's apple is crushed. No human, no matter how strong, could do that."

Someone knelt down and, upon touching the body, confirmed Ye Fan's words. More people stepped back, a chill running through them as they faced the mysterious corpse. If it wasn't a human killer, then what was it? Everyone felt a shiver down their spines.

"Ye Fan, do you know what that thing is? Will it... come for us too?" someone asked, trembling.

The purplish-red bruises on the corpse's neck looked exactly like finger marks left by a malevolent ghost. Thinking of this, many people's gaze involuntarily turned towards the coffin within a coffin.

"We haven't escaped the divine crocodiles..."

When they heard Ye Fan say this, everyone was horrified, gripping the divine relics in their hands tightly and nervously scanning their surroundings.

A female classmate, her voice tearful, asked, "Did the Ancestor Crocodile, suppressed beneath the Great Thunderclap Temple, follow us in?"

That was a peerless great demon, personally suppressed by the Buddha. Though they had only glimpsed its might for a moment, it was enough to be unforgettable for a lifetime. Its terrifying power, capable of shaking the heavens, was unparalleled.

"Impossible, it didn't follow us in, it's not it!" Li Changqing's face was ashen. He no longer held a divine relic, and nervously clung to Liu Yunzhi's side, gripping the Vajra Pestle tightly.

"I didn't say the Ancestor Crocodile followed us in. What I meant was, small crocodiles have infiltrated the giant bronze coffin." As he spoke, he squatted down and shone the faint light of his phone on the dead man's face. "His expression is filled with terror, his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace. It's exactly the same as the expressions of the other thirteen classmates who died and left us."

"In the miscellaneous notes section of that ancient book, I read about the divine crocodiles. Besides describing their form, it also mentioned: 'Divine crocodiles devour humans, soul and spirit, causing hearts to fear and souls to scatter.'" Though the ancient lamp in Ye Fan's hand was extinguished, he still held it tightly, as if guarding against something. He continued, "This is no coincidence. This manner of death is the same as that of the previous thirteen classmates, and identical to what's described in the ancient book: souls scattered in fear. There must be divine crocodiles causing trouble."

Ye Fan, unfazed by the corpse, pried open its mouth. Indeed, he found a bloodied hole inside, extending straight up to the skull. Everyone immediately felt a chill run through them. That tiny bloodied hole was identical to the wounds on the other deceased classmates.

Only fearsome creatures like the divine crocodiles could easily pierce the human body, and naturally, crushing an Adam's apple from the inside would be no problem for them.

Divine crocodiles had actually entered the giant bronze coffin. How many were there? Could the divine relics still withstand them after losing their divine radiance? This left everyone feeling uneasy.

"So, the divine crocodile is still inside him?"

"Hard to say." Ye Fan shook his head.

"It's still inside him, something's moving in his chest!" Zhang Ziling suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the corpse's chest.

Pfft!

A spray of blood erupted, and a familiar, grotesque creature revealed its slender head from the corpse's chest. It was a ten-centimeter-long divine crocodile. It shot up as a dark streak, heading straight for Ye Fan's forehead.

Bang!

Ye Fan reacted quickly, blocking with the copper lamp. Several faint sparks shot out, and the divine crocodile shrieked miserably, struck by a spark, almost pierced through, and was sent flying.

Clang!

Pang Bo also acted swiftly, swinging the Great Thunderclap Temple bronze plaque and slamming it hard onto the ground. Wisps of divine light shot out, and with the plaque, he smashed the divine crocodile into a bloody pulp.

"Liu Yunzhi, what do you have to say for yourself now?" Pang Bo, holding the bronze plaque, questioned Liu Yunzhi.

"I was too impulsive, but who could have expected a divine crocodile to enter the bronze coffin?" Liu Yunzhi said nothing more, nor did he apologize. Things had escalated to near-hostility, making a humble stance unnecessary.

Slap!

At that moment, Pang Bo suddenly struck out, delivering a hard, resounding slap across Liu Yunzhi's face.

During this, the Vajra Pestle and the Great Thunderclap Temple bronze plaque simultaneously emitted faint glows. They collided, enveloping both of them. However, none of this prevented the slap. Liu Yunzhi's face was firmly smacked, and blood immediately trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"My apologies, I too was a bit impulsive," Pang Bo taunted Liu Yunzhi.

"You..."

Everyone quickly intervened to prevent a conflict between them. Liu Yunzhi's face was exceedingly grim, and holding the Vajra Pestle, he was about to charge forward, but recalling the faint divine radiance that had flowed from the bronze plaque just now, he ultimately restrained himself.

Shhh.

Ye Fan suddenly made a silencing gesture, then gazed towards the coffin within a coffin in the center, as if listening to something. After a moment, Ye Fan asked everyone, "Did you hear anything?"

Everyone was surprised because they hadn't heard anything. Ye Fan showed a puzzled expression, and finally, he slowly walked towards the four-meter-long small bronze coffin.

At this moment, the bodhi seed in his embrace suddenly grew warm, making his chest feel comfortably warm. It was then that he heard an even clearer sound.

He involuntarily reached out to touch the coffin within a coffin. It was covered in verdigris and rust, adorned with carvings of ancient people and deities, exuding an antique and weathered aura.

At this moment, he felt as if the bodhi seed in his embrace had forcibly opened a door for him, allowing him to hear a very special sound.

At first, the sound was very faint, but then it grew increasingly grand. The bodhi seed in Ye Fan's embrace also grew hotter and hotter.

The Bodhi Tree, also known as the Tree of Wisdom, Tree of Enlightenment, or Tree of Thought, is legendary as the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Ye Fan's bodhi seed had a naturally formed Buddha image, created entirely by natural patterns, clearly making it extraordinary.

The sound emanating from this ancient and mysterious bronze coffin grew increasingly grand. It was like the heavenly melody of the Great Dao, or like profound and wondrous truth.

"The Way of Heaven: to take from what has more and give to what has less..."

The mysterious heavenly melody of the Great Dao began with a famous line from a Daoist classic. However, what followed was an ancient, profound scripture, utterly unheard of and difficult to comprehend.

The vast and profound sound seemed to pierce through time and space from ancient primeval times. Finally, it resonated like a great bell in Ye Fan's ears, entering his heart.