C3 Mysterious Blood Coffin

Laojiu changed direction swiftly, but the surface of the water shifted even more rapidly!

He had barely moved ten meters when the blood-red water began to surge from all sides, as if the bottom of Blood Lake had suddenly opened a channel to the ocean itself!

At this point, Laojiu had no time for curses. A quick glance around revealed at least seven large fish converging on him, all seemingly intent on making him their target.

He couldn't fathom why these dim-witted, bulky creatures had set their sights on him – he doubted he'd even qualify as an appetizer if one of the big fish were to gulp him down.

"I'm diving!"

With Dahei surfacing, Laojiu made the snap decision to plunge into the depths! Given the poor visibility in Blood Lake, even if Dahei dove after him, finding Laojiu would be a challenge.

Pleased with his plan, Laojiu dove swiftly, forgetting that fish in water often rely on sensing changes in the current to track their prey, not sight.

Within five seconds of his descent, at least three large fish had submerged and were hot on his trail. The remaining black fish stayed put, possibly lying in wait to ambush any Fierce Creature that might come to drink at the shore.

Laojiu swam with haste, acutely aware of the lethal intent looming behind him.

Escape, escape with all your might!

The peril he now faced was far more intense than any threat Yuh Hualong had ever posed. Had he known, he would never have entered the water!

But life offers no antidote for regret; one must face the consequences of their own errors.

Although Laojiu was adept at sensing danger, he lacked the ability to perceive the subtle shifts in the water's flow. With the murky waters of Blood Lake obscuring his view, he had no clue which direction he was heading – he simply swam away from wherever he sensed less danger.

After more than half an hour, Laojiu had no idea how far he had traveled. He hadn't even realized that, like a fish, he had been submerged the entire time, inadvertently performing a feat nothing short of miraculous.

The feeling of danger still lingered behind Laojiu, but it seemed to have diminished somewhat. He wasn't sure if it was because he had put some distance between himself and his pursuers, or if there were fewer of them now.

Rising to the surface with a powerful kick, Laojiu scanned his surroundings. The shore had become a distant line, and the once green mountains now appeared a slate gray in the distance.

The environment was completely foreign to him, leaving Laojiu disoriented and struggling to discern the cardinal directions.

"Damn it, anywhere is better than staying in this lake. The water is far too dangerous. I need to get to dry land, and fast."

After two minutes of careful observation, Laojiu set his sights on the highest peak and prepared to swim toward it.

Known as Nine-eye Mountain, this peak was the tallest in several hundred kilometers, situated over a hundred kilometers from the small city where Laojiu resided.

It was a true wilderness, untouched and densely forested.

Laojiu had once ventured to Nine-eye Mountain during a bout of madness, accompanying a group of hikers. The experience had been harrowing, nearly losing their way back, which left a lasting impression on him.

Reaching Nine-eye Mountain would give him a sense of direction and the ability to find his way home.

Laojiu was optimistic, but the Fierce Creature, Dahei, seemed to have entered a relay race with him. Just as some had ceased their pursuit, new threats emerged. In one perilous moment, Laojiu narrowly avoided swimming straight into the gaping mouth of a stationary Dahei!

His acute sense of danger kicked in, and though he managed to escape, his thigh bore two deep gashes from the creature's razor-sharp teeth.

Thankfully, the waters of Blood Lake were already thick with the scent of blood, so his injuries didn't draw undue attention from the lake's predators. Otherwise, in his weakened state, an onslaught from a school of black fish could have easily spelled his doom.

Laojiu's resilience was remarkable, a benefit of once consuming a peculiar black insect. After evading several rounds of predators, the wounds on his leg had ceased bleeding.

Nine-eye Mountain in the distance grew increasingly distinct. The big fish in these parts were becoming rarer, yet their size was on the rise!

The largest among them, Laojiu, was visible from a great distance, with at least twenty to thirty meters of its body breaking the water's surface!

This behemoth had an exceptional sense of the water's flow. Laojiu, who had hoped to sneak by unnoticed, was detected when he came within about five hundred meters of it.

Consequently, Laojiu had to veer off course, looping around in a wide arc.

"Whoa! Why has the blood in the water thickened? It feels like my swimming has slowed down considerably."

The transformation of the lake puzzled Laojiu. This area was very safe. The big fish had ceased their pursuit at the periphery and ignored Laojiu completely.

Yet, Laojiu sensed no danger; instead, it was as though a voice was beckoning to him. The voice was indistinct, seemingly present and absent at the same time, akin to the whispers of the subconscious.

"It's coming from underwater!"

After a moment's hesitation, Laojiu made an accurate determination.

Driven by curiosity, Laojiu decided to dive down to investigate the source of this mysterious summons.

The water in this part of the lake was incredibly deep, easily surpassing a hundred meters!

The deeper he went, the thicker the blood became, resembling real blood.

Upon reaching the lakebed, Laojiu still hadn't found anything of note. Eventually, he discovered a fissure over ten meters wide from which the blood appeared to be emanating.

More than fifty meters into the fissure, he entered a world bathed in deep red. Oddly, this area was brighter than the lakebed, as if a luminous lantern lay hidden beneath the crevice.

Guided by the light, Laojiu navigated the lengthy, narrow fissure and at last came upon a place of interest.

There stood a stone chamber with a twenty-foot radius!

More accurately, it was a burial chamber.

The lower half of the chamber was submerged, while the upper half remained eerily dry, a truly wondrous sight! The pressure of the hundred-meter-deep lake seemed incapable of displacing the air in this half-submerged tomb, leaving Laojiu feeling no difficulty in breathing; the air was surprisingly fresh.

Six luminescent pearls were embedded in the ceiling of the tomb chamber, casting a soft glow that clearly illuminated the interior.

The walls of the tomb were stark in their simplicity, devoid of any carvings or inscriptions, just smooth, flat bluestone that appeared to have been meticulously polished.

At the center of the tomb, a large coffin hovered ominously. The source of the blood was a seam at the bottom of the coffin!

Bizarre! Utterly bizarre!

Laojiu couldn't determine the age of the coffin, but he was aware that Blood Lake was formerly known as Green Sand Lake. Historical records indicated that the lake was over two thousand years old, exceptionally wide, and its waters had never run dry.

Who could afford to be interred so deep beneath a lake? The amount of manpower and resources required for such an endeavor was beyond the reach of an ordinary person.

Yet, by the burial customs of the ancient Eastern Kingdom, someone with the means to construct a tomb here would have been immensely powerful. Why then would they settle for a mere twenty-foot stone chamber? Such a modest space was hardly befitting of their stature; a vast burial complex would have been more appropriate.

And those six pearls adorning the ceiling? They seemed to be treasures of immeasurable value. It was incongruous that someone capable of possessing such riches would choose such a humble final resting place.

Who was the occupant of the coffin?

The most pressing question, however, was the origin of the blood seeping from the coffin!

Could the individual have died recently?

Yet Blood Lake had been in existence for over a year. Laojiu surmised that it must have been the result of a catastrophic event! The fissure at the lake's bottom led directly to the tomb, a connection that was both apparent and easily inferred.

The coffin inside the chamber was sizable, at least three meters in length and one meter in width. Assuming the outer layer wasn't a sarcophagus, the stature of the individual within must have been considerable.

But even so, how large could a body be? It was implausible that it could fill the lake with blood, even if the corpse was completely drained!

Furthermore, it was likely that they were dealing with a mummy centuries old!

Even if the body hadn't decayed into ashes, it was likely that only bones remained. And in the best-case scenario, if it had become a mummified corpse, how could there possibly be blood flowing?

Laojiu was bewildered!

The tomb contained too many inexplicable phenomena. Could it be that after a world-ending catastrophe, the bones in the coffin underwent some sort of mutation?

Moreover, the voice that had been summoning him in his mind had intensified significantly upon entering this chamber. Laojiu could feel it distinctly.

Was it possible that the individual in the coffin wasn't dead? Or had they somehow returned to life after a millennium?

Laojiu felt overwhelmed, his mind struggling to comprehend it all. The only way to find answers was to open the coffin!

Having endured many hardships, Laojiu was no stranger to corpses and felt no fear of them. This coffin, in particular, didn't evoke any sense of danger, so he saw no reason to be apprehensive about opening it.

The seal of the coffin was straightforward. With Laojiu's strength, opening it was a breeze.

Upon lifting the lid, Laojiu was taken aback!

Indeed, it was a coffin, not a sarcophagus. Inside lay a skeletal figure over two meters tall, its flesh long since decayed, leaving nothing but bone.

The skeleton was immaculate, almost perfect in its cleanliness.

Each bone resembled milky white jade, exuding a sacred aura even as if submerged in water. The only discordant note was the sternum, neatly cleaved as if by a supreme blade, leaving a smooth cut.

Blood was seeping from this fracture, as if from an inexhaustible sea of blood.

"Kid, why are you just standing there? If you don't act soon, I'll truly be at my end!" an aged voice with an odd accent suddenly echoed in Laojiu's mind, yet he understood it perfectly.

"Who are you? Are you the owner of this body?"

Laojiu jumped, his eyes wide as he stared at the skeleton, half-expecting it to rise and end him.

"Nonsense! Who else would it be but me? Take the second joint of my left thumb; my Primordial Spirit resides within it. Boy, follow my instructions, and you'll reap benefits beyond your wildest dreams!" The voice rang out once more.

"What's in it for me? You're not planning on using your Primordial Spirit for Possession, are you?"

Laojiu remained still, but as an avid reader of novels in the past, he took the concepts seriously, even if the authors were making it all up. The idea of a Primordial Spirit wasn't hard to grasp; it was akin to what one might call a soul. And Possession? That was a trope as old as time.

"Nonsense! Do you really think your pathetic body is fit for my Possession? You would need to have achieved the Body of Mortal Exuviating to meet my standards. Sadly, I've missed the prime opportunity for Possession. Now, with only a sliver of my Primordial Spirit remaining, it's much harder to attempt it again."

Relieved that the old man had no intention of Possessing him, Laojiu let out a sigh of relief. Despite the old man's haughty attitude and apparent disregard for him, Laojiu begged to differ. He believed he was the best, brimming with explosive energy!

If only he didn't have those unsightly scales...

As for the old man's mention of Mortal Exuviating, Laojiu didn't have a clue and simply brushed it off.

"Make it snappy! Can't you save me some effort? In the old days, I wouldn't have wasted a second glance on a dimwit like you."

The voice prodded once more.

"So, I just need to pick up the finger bone?"

After much hesitation, Laojiu finally picked up the bone, which felt as significant as the fabled Buddhist relics.

"Nourish it with your blood, once a day. After seven days, you can integrate it into your body."

"Are you a vampire or something? And once it's in, where does it go? It's not going to cause any trouble, is it?"

Laojiu was reluctant to follow the old man's instructions and had a slew of questions.

"I don't have time for this! You're squandering a treasure that others can only dream of. Just drop your blood on it already. Once I regain my strength, I'll explain everything to you in detail."