391: A pet in a stone coffin—that's some seriously twisted thinking.

Watching Pangzi's impatient retreating back, Ye Bai's brow furrowed slightly as he barked in a low voice, "Don't move yet!"

There seemed to be a hidden door behind those nine coffin outer-casings; he raised an eyebrow and squeezed inside sideways.

Pangzi followed closely behind, stepping through the hidden door.

Yang Mi, meanwhile, cautiously tugged at the corner of Ye Bai's clothes, following him step by step.

As soon as they entered the hidden door, a stench of rot and staleness hit them, mixed with wisps of chill that made their spines tingle.

Inside the hidden door was a long, narrow Passage, where eerie green phosphorus fires flickered on the walls like ghost eyes, lighting up and fading away.

The stone slabs beneath their feet were damp, making a sticky sound with every step.

Holding a flashlight, Pangzi muttered while scouting the way, "This ghostly place is so gloomy; who knows what kind of treasures are hidden here."

The flashlight beam swept across the walls, faintly illuminating some ancient murals, though they were mottled and hard to discern due to the erosion of time.

Ye Bai's gaze was sharp as he scanned the surroundings, suddenly raising his hand to signal a stop.

"Shh, there's movement."

Everyone instantly held their breath and focused their minds.

In the silence, a faint rustling sound came from deep within the Passage.

The sound was like someone whispering softly, or like some crawling thing rubbing against the stone walls.

Yang Mi nervously gripped Ye Bai's arm, her voice trembling, "It's not going to be another Corpse, is it?"

Ye Bai didn't respond; he pulled a luoyang shovel from his backpack and moved forward with light steps.

Pangzi also gripped the entrenching shovel in his hand, staring around alertly.

The sound grew closer and closer, and just as everyone's nerves were strained to the limit, an oversized rat 'whooshed' past their feet and ducked into a hole in the corner.

Pangzi let out a long sigh of relief and cursed, "Scared the hell out of me, so it was just this thing."

Ye Bai, however, looked solemn: "Something's wrong. Ordinary rats wouldn't be so bold in this Ancient Tomb full of mechanisms; I'm afraid it was driven here by something."

As he spoke, he crouched down to carefully examine the hole the rat had ducked into.

The bricks around the hole showed signs of recent loosening, as if they had been frequently rubbed against.

The group continued forward, the Passage gradually widening until a magnificent Tomb Chamber appeared at the end, its dome high above, inlaid with gems like bright pearls.

It looked resplendent and radiant.

The surrounding jewelry and precious light reflected off a massive stone coffin in the center of the Tomb Chamber.

The coffin was covered in eerie runes, and atop the lid lay a stone carving that looked half-beast and half-something else, baring its teeth as if guarding whatever was inside.

Pangzi's eyes lit up, and he was about to rush forward.

Ye Bai grabbed him: "Don't move recklessly; there is bound to be danger around this stone coffin."

Yang Mi stood to the side, holding her phone for the livestream, as bullet comments scrolled frantically across the screen.

"Holy crap! This is too luxurious!"

"This clearly isn't ordinary!"

"Family, we are currently in the core Tomb Chamber of the mysterious Ancient Tomb. The stone coffin before us is strange. Mr. Ye is investigating the situation; everyone guess what's actually inside!"

Yang Mi explained softly, her voice carrying a hint of irrepressible excitement and tension.

Ye Bai paced around the stone coffin; he crouched to touch the floor slabs and stared intently at the runes on the coffin body.

He said in a heavy voice, "This is a Soul-Sealing Coffin. I'm afraid the thing inside has very deep resentment. Once opened, the consequences will be unpredictable."

Pangzi scratched his head: "But we came all this way just to find treasure; it'd be such a waste to just leave."

Ye Bai sneered: "You're dreaming. The energy of the thing in this coffin is powerful; once it breaks out, do you think you'll still have a life to live?"

Hearing this, everyone shivered.

"Then what do we do?" Pangzi asked.

"Since such a sophisticated and complex Soul-Sealing Formation was set up here, there must be a way to counter it."

Ye Bai turned to look at everyone and said, "I need some special materials. In a moment, you'll be responsible for carrying them. Remember, you must maintain a sufficient distance; whatever you do, do not touch the stone coffin."

Pangzi hurriedly nodded and agreed with a fawning manner, while Yang Mi took photos with her phone camera.

The group began to assign tasks according to the plan.

Soon, they delivered the items Ye Bai needed to the designated locations, and Ye Bai began to work on breaking the Soul-Sealing Formation.

Yang Mi was standing in front of a Stone Stele admiring the murals when she suddenly heard Pangzi say, "Oh, look at this Stone Stele; it seems like it might be quite valuable."

Yang Mi looked over and found three ancient patterns carved on the Stone Stele.

She took a photo with her phone and sent it to Ye Bai, asking, "What do you think of these three patterns?"

Ye Bai scrutinized them, then marveled with endless praise.

"This is not simple at all; it's actually one of the earliest landmark buildings of the Dragon-Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion—the Qingyun Pavilion!"

Hearing this, Yang Mi was even more surprised: "An early landmark building of the Dragon-Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion?"

"Indeed!" Ye Bai said with emotion. "The Qingyun Pavilion was a legendary existence in ancient times. According to the 'Tao Te Ching', the Qingyun Pavilion was the residence of Li Er, the founder of the Celestial Master Mansion. Thus, it was called the 'Emperor's Pavilion,' a place where emperors, concubines, and noble families of various dynasties worshipped their ancestors, and it was also where the imperial tombs were located. Unfortunately, the Qingyun Pavilion was destroyed in the fires of war twenty years ago, and no one dares to mention it."

After a pause, he continued, "Although the Qingyun Pavilion is a historical issue, it isn't damaged itself. On the contrary, an Eight Trigrams Sealing Array is set outside the Qingyun Pavilion to block evil spirits from invading. And the Soul-Sealing Coffin happens to fall under the category of evil spirits, so it's naturally suppressed by the sealing array and cannot escape."

Pangzi realized: "So that's what this Soul-Sealing Formation is all about."

Yang Mi also showed an expression of realization.

Even Pangzi understood the subtlety of this formation; there was no reason for a top student like her not to understand.

She put away her phone and asked, "How do we break this Soul-Sealing Formation?"

Ye Bai thought for a moment: "First, we must find the node of the formation; that is the root of the array."

"Next, we need a Magical Artifact that can counter the power of the Soul-Sealing Formation, or simply a medium for the seal."

"The final step is needing some... forbidden incantations from the Qimen Dunjia arts."

Pangzi looked bewildered: "Why do I feel like you're talking nonsense?"

Ye Bai glanced at him sideways and snorted, "What do you think?"

Pangzi rubbed his nose and stopped talking.

Ye Bai indeed knew a lot! But no matter how powerful he was, he definitely didn't have the ability to get these things.

Pangzi thought to himself.

Ye Bai glanced at him and said, "Wait a bit, we'll break the formation together."

Pangzi nodded: "Alright."

Ye Bai raised his eyes to scan the surroundings, his gaze falling on the stone coffin placed in the middle of the Tomb Chamber.

Lying there was the primary Corpse of the Ancient Tomb—the female infant in the stone coffin.

Her hands were bound by chains, firmly nailed to the inside of the stone coffin.

Ye Bai reached out, cautiously probing into the stone coffin, attempting to push aside the iron chains wrapped around it.

"Crack."

The stone coffin suddenly vibrated; Ye Bai was horrified and hurriedly pulled back his hand.

From inside the stone coffin, a gloomy and terrifying baleful aura surged toward them.

Ye Bai narrowed his eyes, calmly staring at the female infant bound by iron chains.

Those blood-red pupils were staring deathly at him, filled with intense hatred, tyranny, and hostility, as if she couldn't wait to tear him apart, drink all his blood, and eat all his brains.