After hearing Li Yanchu’s words, the old ape actually stopped moving. Amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd, it paused for a moment, as if thinking something over. Then, to everyone’s surprise, it turned around and walked away. Even a seasoned monk of deep cultivation like Master Shenshan couldn’t help but be moved. How unexpected! This demon ape... is way too reasonable. Had they known it would listen to reason , what was the point of all that fighting earlier? The expressions of Master Yuanyi, Granny Chang, Old Ghost Wu, Master Kongming, and Daoist Master Moping all had a conflicted look as they looked at Li Yanchu. Is this how the younger generation handles things now? The demon ape that they had all joined forces to take down and still couldn’t defeat was actually persuaded to leave... with a single sentence!? Seeing this, Li Yanchu himself quietly let out a breath of relief. When the ape had lost the Demonslayer Pestle, it had gone berserk and even spoken human words. At the time, he thought he and this ape had become irreconcilable enemies. Who would’ve thought that the ape didn’t hold a grudge at all! He just gave the pestle back and all was forgiven. If they’d kept fighting, and the ape had entered another berserk state, there would’ve been casualties for sure, even among these first-rate demon slayers. Not just the experts who had fought the ape, even the wounded cultivators from earlier finally relaxed. This ape was just too eerie to handle. Just then, the old ape turned and headed toward the giant bronze coffin atop the platform. But after only a few steps, it stopped again and turned around before walking straight up to Li Yanchu. Seeing this, Li Yanchu’s eyes narrowed, and he tightened his grip on the hilt of his saber. It was only now that he noticed that the ape’s pupils were faintly tinged with gold. The ape then walked right up to Li Yanchu and bared his fangs in a grin. “Clever.” With that, the old ape leapt high into the air, bounding toward the direction of the tomb gate. With just a few powerful strides, it vanished beyond the bronze tomb entrance. At this moment, Li Yanchu and all the demon slayers in the tomb were flabbergasted. They’d known this old ape could speak human language. However, everyone was left utterly dumbfounded when the fully cultivated demon ape smiled at the young Daoist and said, “Clever.” Li Yanchu’s mouth twitched slightly. Just now... Did I just get complimented... by a demon ape? Just then, the tomb fell into utter silence. Only the sound of everyone’s breathing could be heard, and dead silence filled the tomb. At this time, Master Shenshan’s expression finally broke into a faint smile. “Amitabha... well said.” Though he didn’t say much more, Li Yanchu could somehow feel the weight in his gaze, as if he’d spoken volumes without uttering another word. Everyone took a brief moment to rest, and no one rushed to step onto the path to the heavens that led up to the bronze coffin. Truth be told, the dangers inside this tomb had already far exceeded expectations. After all, a single demon ape had undergone a power surge and injured nearly everyone. Even with several first-rate masters attacking together, they still couldn’t take it down. No one knew what other tricks the tomb’s owner might have in store. But if the evil corpse they had come to exorcize was anywhere near as strong as that powered-up ape, then this battle was far from over. After all, those already injured were in no condition to take on the evil corpse. Realizing this, everyone’s expressions grew a bit more grim. At the same time, their gazes toward the bronze coffin atop the high platform grew more complicated. The more perilous this tomb turned out to be, the more sophisticated the traps and defenses, the more it proved just how incredible the tomb owner had been in life. In a place ... If one could obtain even a single relic left behind by the tomb owner, be it the legendary talismanic armor, a long-lost cultivation method of the ancient Qi Cultivators, or even some other treasure from the Great Xia era, it would be an extraordinary opportunity. Where there was danger, there was fortune. No one spoke, and each person was lost in their own thoughts. After all, this expedition into the tomb had drawn people from many different sects and factions. Even the Buddhist temples and monasteries sent three sects. Although all three were Buddhist, they came from different lineages and interpreted the sutras in varying ways, not to mention the jianghu eccentrics invited to exorcize demons. The group moved again and headed up toward the raised platform. This time, there was no demon ape using illusions to hide among them. No further accidents occurred either, and they made it up without incident. Only once they drew closer did they truly feel the weight of the ages pressing down from the bronze coffin. Yan Chixiao, tall and burly, had already recovered from most of his wounds. Without hesitation, he leapt atop the coffin. One had to admit that this man, who was built like an iron tower, was bold to the core. Intrigued, Li Yanchu glanced at him. This was the same big guy who pushed open the tomb gate earlier. Just as Yan Chixiao landed atop the bronze coffin, he let out a soft grunt of surprise. “Huh? There’s another of those Great Xia Qi Cultivator cultivation diagrams on the lid of this bronze coffin too.” Including the two murals they’d seen earlier, this was already the third one. Yan Chixiao didn’t act rashly. Instead, he calmly jumped back down and turned to the pale-faced Wang Yunting before he said, “You’d better do it. I don’t know how to handle this kind of thing.” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel-fire.net Hearing his words, Wang Yunting was momentarily stunned. Even this thick-browed, honest-looking brute was learning to be cautious now. As a professional Mojin Xiaowei, Wang Yunting examined the structure of the bronze coffin carefully and said, “Just push it open. There’s no hidden mechanism.” In response, Yan Chixiao gave a small nod. Then he stepped forward, placed both hands firmly on the coffin lid and gave it a hard shove. With a low, heavy sound, the bronze coffin lid slowly began to move. A coffin of this size, especially in solid bronze, would naturally be extremely heavy. But for someone like Yan Chixiao, that wasn’t an issue. His main concern was that something might leap out from inside, and he’d end up unleashing another disaster. As the lid was fully pushed aside, a pale, slender hand suddenly reached out from within. Immediately, Yan Chixiao froze. What the hell!? Again!? He instantly recoiled. He still remembered the demon ghost behind the bronze tomb gate, which had nearly dragged him in. Yan Chixiao scrambled back several steps, nearly stumbling to the ground. Yet, the hand hadn’t even exerted any force. At that moment, a sharp-featured young man, with sword-like brows and starry eyes[1], suddenly flipped out from the bronze coffin. He wore a robe unlike any traditional attire of the Kingdom of Qian, yet it radiated unmistakable nobility. There was a white jade belt at his waist, and his bearing was elegant and unrestrained as he exuded charisma with every breath. “Why are you all so slow? Took you half a day just to get up here.” The young man’s voice was casual, even lazy. Everyone looked at one another in stunned silence. It wasn’t just his offhand words that shocked them, but also the clothing he wore. Could this person really be the Southern Guardian Marquis, from the Great Xia Dynasty? Had he been lying in wait within the bronze coffin all this time? Yan Chixiao narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, “Who are you?” The aristocratic young man frowned slightly, and a trace of displeasure flickered across his features. “Are you talking to me?” In the blink of an eye, he vanished from where he stood. The next instant, he was right in front of Yan Chixiao. Seeing this, Yan Chixiao’s tiger-like eyes widened in alarm, and he instinctively slashed forward with his ghost-head saber! Utterly dumbfounded, Yan Chixiao stared in disbelief. The young man’s arm had pierced clean through Yan Chixiao’s chest, entering from the front and exiting from the back. In his hand, he held a large, still-beating heart, which was dripping with blood. Though it had been wrenched from Yan Chixiao’s body, it continued to pulse strongly. Everyone was horrified at this sight. 1. “剑眉星目” (jiàn méi xīng mù) is a Chinese idiom that describes a person with a striking and heroic appearance. It literally translates to "sword-eyebrows and star-eyes." I’ve decided on a literal translation instead of a localized one to retain the Chinese essence of the novel. ☜