14: Chapter 14 Seven Star Coffin Formation, Top-Tier Anti-Theft?

"Cao Hua, are you alright?" Captain Song Lei asked, looking at Cao Hua, who was lying on the ground, gasping for air.

Cao Hua waved his hand weakly. After a moment, he managed to climb up from the ground and cupped his hands toward Su Chen.

"Su Chen... no, Brother Chen, I'm truly convinced this time."

"If you hadn't used that Corpse Language thing to save me, I would have already gone to report to the King of Hell by now."

"Thank you! My life is yours from now on. If you need anything, just say the word, and I will do my utmost, even if it means facing destruction!"

His gangland-style way of speaking made the others burst into laughter. Su Chen, however, waved his hand.

"That won't be necessary. I only ask that you don't be so impulsive in the future; it's best if there isn't a second time for a situation like this."

Cao Hua's old face turned red upon hearing this.

"Yes, I was indeed impulsive again this time. I've learned my lesson, it won't happen again."

Personality is something innate and hard to change overnight. But this time, Cao Hua had truly and deeply learned his lesson.

If he hadn't jumped into the bronze tripod and taken the item inside, he wouldn't have angered the Blood Corpse in the coffin, and that dangerous incident just now wouldn't have occurred.

Such a profound lesson was enough to keep him well-behaved for a while. After resting for a moment, they continued on their way, though their moods had become a bit heavier.

That recent experience served as a reminder that this Ancient Tomb was extremely dangerous. With the path ahead uncertain, no one knew how far they would be able to go. They could only take it one step at a time and do their best.

...

A few minutes later, they arrived in front of a massive stone gate. Intricate patterns were carved onto the stone gate, and on both sides, there were two strangely shaped stone statues.

"This must be the main burial chamber, right?" Tang Xiao said.

Wang Yi nodded. "Judging by the layout, it should be."

As he spoke, he took a deep breath. "That was just an auxiliary chamber, and the corpse inside was already so ferocious. Who knows what awaits us in this main burial chamber? Everyone, be prepared."

"Forget it, let soldiers come and block, let water come and earth cover; what must be faced will eventually be faced!"

"So don't overthink it, just charge forward!"

Captain Song Lei said this as he reached out to push the stone gate, but... it didn't budge. He rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

"How... does one open this stone gate? Experts?" The experts he referred to were naturally Su Chen, Wang Yi, and Ye Xing.

Everyone has their own area of expertise. As the captain, he wasn't someone with top-tier ability in a single field, but rather someone whose skills were balanced across the board, especially in coordination and command.

Su Chen stood in the back with his arms crossed. He already had an idea of the mechanism to open the tomb gate. However, he wasn't in a rush to act, wanting to leave the opportunity to others.

After all, this was a team effort, and there was no need for him to intervene in simple matters. He should at least give his teammates a chance to show what they could do.

"Let me try!" Ye Xing stepped forward, eager to give it a go. Since entering the Ancient Tomb, he hadn't had a chance to show his skills. Now, he had finally waited for his moment.

He leaned close to the tomb gate to observe it, finally fixing his gaze on the stone statues on either side. After a bit more fumbling, he confidently pressed down on the two eyeballs of the stone statues with his fingers.

With a "click," the eyeballs rotated a few times. His breathing almost stopped from the tension as he waited quietly for the stone gate to open. However, there was no movement...

Ye Xing's face turned pale, thinking, 'Did I mess up?' That shouldn't be right; according to his observation and deduction, the mechanism to open the door should be on the eyeballs of the stone statues.

These few seconds of waiting felt as long as a century to Ye Xing. Just as he was about to apologize, the heavy stone gate finally moved.

Accompanied by a creaking sound, the stone gate slowly moved to the sides. The burial chamber behind it opened its doors to Su Chen and the others. Everyone then walked inside.

The light from their flashlights dispelled the darkness, illuminating the entire space. But when they saw the layout of the burial chamber clearly, they were all dumbfounded.

"Wh-what is this situation? Why are there so many coffins!" Cao Hua exclaimed.

"One, two, three... seven! There are seven coffins in total!" Tang Xiao counted.

"Everyone, what kind of burial regulation is this? Is there any significance to it?" Captain Song Lei asked.

Ye Xing shook his head, his face full of confusion.

"I don't know. In all the ancient burial systems we've mastered, I've never heard of a burial chamber containing so many coffins! This is too abnormal."

Wang Yi also shook his head blankly. "The number seven has great significance in metaphysics, and I just took a look; these seven coffins look random at first glance, but they are actually arranged according to the Big Dipper."

"It's like... a formation." As he spoke, he turned to look at Su Chen. "Su Chen, what do you think?"

A formation! Su Chen had also felt that these seven coffins were suspicious. A clue seemed to be looming in his mind, but he hadn't been able to grasp it. But after hearing Wang Yi's words, that clue suddenly became clear.

He blurted out, "Seven-Star Suspicious Coffin Array!"

"What?" The others said almost in unison, all looking at him with curiosity. Su Chen took a deep breath and explained.

"The Seven-Star Suspicious Coffin Array is a type of coffin formation invented by grave robbers."

"Because they had robbed so many tombs, they knew that ordinary traps were useless against grave robbers."

"So, to prevent their own tombs from being robbed, they invented this suspicious coffin array!"

"Seven coffins, one true and six false, and the false ones are rigged with deadly traps or poison gas."

"Once a grave robber opens a false coffin, they are instantly killed by the trap, thereby achieving the purpose of protecting the tomb."

After hearing Su Chen's explanation, the others suddenly realized. Ye Xing couldn't help but exclaim.

"No wonder. I was saying we had never heard of this Seven-Star Suspicious Coffin Array; it turns out it was invented by grave robbers, which is equivalent to a folk technique."

"It probably hasn't circulated among the public, except for a small circle of grave robbers, so we have no official records of it."

Wang Yi chuckled at this moment and said, "Indeed, when it comes to anti-theft, it really takes those who know how to steal to do it. This method sounds quite foolproof."

"Does that mean there's no way to deal with this Seven-Star Suspicious Coffin Array?"

Su Chen shook his head. "This method was indeed effective at first. After some grave robbers fell for it, the legend of the Seven-Star Suspicious Coffin Array struck fear into the hearts of tomb raiders."

"Whenever they entered an Ancient Tomb and saw this formation, they would turn around and leave immediately."

"However, nothing is absolute..."