85: Blood Coffin Ritual

Shen Xiaochuan stood before the Main Hall.

As his hand touched the bloodstains on the door, a sticky sensation spread across his palm.

The bloodstains suddenly vanished, as if they had never existed.

His heart tightened; his intuition told him that danger must be lurking behind the door.

He turned back and whispered the order: "Prepare to breach."

White Snow Princess immediately took a few steps back, drew her bowstring, and aimed the arrow tip precisely above the door gap.

Zhang Heng took three yellow talismans from his bosom and quickly stuck them onto his arms and the back of his neck.

Chen Zhanbei stabbed his twin blades into the ground, caught his breath, looked up at Shen Xiaochuan, and gave a slight nod.

Huang Lu leaned against the wall, her face pale, yet she still gripped the Formation Plate tightly.

She whispered an incantation; Nico's shadow flashed behind her and then dissipated into the air as specks of faint light.

Shen Xiaochuan stepped forward and used the demon-breaking blade to test the door gap.

In an instant, dark red patterns emerged on the door, pulsing slightly like blood vessels.

He understood immediately—this was a barrier sustained by fresh blood.

"This door is supported by blood," he said in a low voice.

"As long as the blood flow continues, forcing it open will only trigger a backlash."

He sneered: "Since the blood won't stop, then just open it for me!"

Before his voice had even faded, he abruptly retreated half a step and kicked the door hinge hard.

With a crisp "crack," the iron bolt snapped.

He immediately swung his blade down, and the heavy door collapsed inward with a boom.

The hall was pitch black, with only a single point of red light flickering in the center.

At the far end of the Main Hall, a high platform made of piled-up beast skeletons stood prominently, with a blood-red coffin resting atop it.

The surface of the coffin was covered in grooves like a dried-up riverbed, and black liquid flowed along the pipes on the wall into the base of the coffin, slowly seeping into those patterns.

Shen Xiaochuan stepped inside, his soles making a dull echo against the ground.

He could clearly feel a slight tremor beneath his feet, as if something was pulsating deep underground.

He stopped at the edge of the altar.

These bones did not belong to humans; they were of various shapes, some with horns, some covered in scales—all remains of strange beasts.

They were inserted into the stone platform one by one, circling in layers, with different runic imprints carved into each circle.

The outermost circle was wind, the next was thunder, and further in were fire and earth.

The middle circle was empty, while the innermost circle was inscribed with blood-colored text.

He did not recognize these characters, yet they felt familiar.

He reached out and lightly touched the nearest bone spur.

It felt cold and greasy, as if coated with a layer of grease.

Just then, a low cough came from the corner.

Shen Xiaochuan turned instantly, the demon-breaking blade held horizontally before him.

The others also immediately went on guard, White Snow Princess's arrow aimed at the source of the sound.

A young boy crawled out from the shadows.

His clothes were ragged, his face was scarred, and his right hand was wrapped in dirty cloth.

He knelt on the ground, holding his hands high above his head.

"Don't kill me!"

"I'm not a demon!"

"I am a human!"

Shen Xiaochuan stared at him for five seconds, then opened the Faith Mall interface and activated the scanning function.

【Target: Jack (Human)

Soul purity: 87%

Participated in killing: No

Sacrificed living beings: No】

After confirming the information, he relaxed his guard slightly.

"Who are you?"

"Why are you here?"

The boy looked up, his eyes full of tears.

"My name is Jack... This is the ritual site I set up."

"I am saving my sister."

"Your sister?"

"Her name is Vera... Seven days ago, to protect the village, she was killed by demons."

The boy's voice trembled.

"I found an ancient method that can resurrect the dead by resonating beast corpses with Bloodline."

"But I only used dead beasts; I have never harmed anyone!"

Shen Xiaochuan narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

"Are you talking about an ancient ritual?"

"How do I start it?"

"You need to gather the power of five elements and inject it into the blood pool."

The boy pointed to a depression below the altar.

"I have already gathered the four elements of wind, thunder, fire, and earth; I am only missing the power of life."

"I originally planned to sacrifice a golden eagle tonight, but you came..."

"If it is interrupted now, all the energy will collapse, and my sister will completely dissipate."

Shen Xiaochuan was silent for a moment, then looked back at White Snow Princess.

She shook her head slightly, saying nothing.

Zhang Heng clutched the talisman in his hand, his expression complex.

Chen Zhanbei gripped his sword hilt tightly, his gaze locked on the blood coffin.

A System prompt suddenly popped up:

【Triggered B-rank quest: Blood Coffin Ritual】

A. Destroy the blood coffin, clear the pollution, and gain rewards, but it may trigger an explosion;

B. Seize the treasure, with a chance to obtain rare resources, but failure results in a curse;

C. Control the ritual, success means occupying the stronghold, but the risk is extremely high;

D. Assist the resurrection, provide offerings to accelerate the process; if the resurrected is innocent, the pollution can be resolved.

Shen Xiaochuan scanned the options.

Option A was too dangerous, fearing it might hurt his teammates; Option B went against his conscience; Option C involved rune control, which was not his specialty, and acting rashly would certainly lead to death.

He chose D.

After confirmation, a System prompt appeared: 【Please select sacrifice items to replenish life energy】

He opened his storage space and quickly searched through it.

Inside were the golden eagle carcass he had just killed, and the remains of a giant python.

Both were high-quality strange beasts with abundant blood energy.

He first threw the golden eagle into the blood pool.

With a "splash," the pool water began to bubble, its color gradually turning pale gold.

Immediately after, he threw in the giant python carcass.

Boom!

The entire altar shook violently.

The runes lit up one by one, spreading from the outer circle inward—the four rays of light—wind, thunder, fire, and earth—shot into the sky and converged and underwent Fusion above the blood coffin.

The innermost circle of blood-colored text also began to glow, deepening in color until it finally turned purple-red.

The blood coffin began to shake.

The coffin lid cracked open, red light shone through, and a heatwave rushed toward them.

Shen Xiaochuan took half a step back but stood firm, not retreating.

"Breathing..." Huang Lu suddenly whispered.

"I hear breathing coming from inside."

Everyone held their breath.

It was true—extremely faint, yet real.

It sounded like a person who had just woken up, breathing slowly and rhythmically.

One breath, then another.

The grooves on the surface of the blood coffin stopped injecting black liquid and instead began to recover it.

The red substance flowed along the patterns toward the center, eventually all surging toward a single point in the center of the coffin lid.

A rune mark appeared there, beginning to rotate, faster and faster.

Jack suddenly burst into tears, crawled to the bottom of the altar, hugged a bone pillar, and screamed: "Vera! Is that you? Can you hear me?"

No one responded.

But the coffin lid lifted another half-inch.

A warm breeze quietly blew into the Main Hall.

The black mist that had originally permeated the area was dispersed, and some of it even began to evaporate.

Nico's phantom appeared again, drawing an arc in the air, pointing to the top of the altar.

"The purification has begun," Huang Lu said softly.

"The black mist is receding."

Shen Xiaochuan stared intently at the gap.

He knew the ritual was not yet complete, and the resurrection was still in progress.

Interrupting it now was the worst thing to do.

Zhang Heng widened his eyes: "Amazing!"

Chen Zhanbei gripped his sword: "This formation is by no means simple!"

He pressed one hand on the demon-breaking blade, ready to strike at any moment, his gaze locked on the coffin.

The breathing inside became clearer, as if someone was struggling to break free from deep sleep.

The coffin lid was pushed up a little more, and the red light surged violently.

A stream of heat erupted, hitting the ceiling and leaving charred marks.

Jack was still calling his sister's name, his voice already hoarse.

Zhang Heng took half a step forward, clutching a yellow talisman in his hand.

Chen Zhanbei drew his sword.

White Snow Princess switched to an explosive arrow, the tip aimed directly above the blood coffin.

Shen Xiaochuan slowly raised one hand.

"Wait."

His eyes were fixed on that crack.

A finger poked out first—pale, thin, with the fingertip slightly curved.

That hand pressed against the inside of the coffin lid, pushing upward with force.

A heavy grinding sound rang out.

The coffin lid was pushed open by one-third.

An eye opened...