Two updates today
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In the endless snow-capped mountains, Yang Kai and Wu Jie were running for their lives, Xueli shadowing them from behind, the gap between them shrinking by the second.
Wu Jie was drenched in cold sweat. Though Xueli's aura was still distant, it slithered toward him like a venomous serpent, filling him with dread.
Suddenly, Yang Kai stopped in his tracks. He released his divine sense, probed the surroundings for a moment, then turned his gaze toward a particular direction with a look of joy: "Here!"
Even as the words left his mouth, his figure flickered, and he was already a hundred zhang away.
Wu Jie didn't dare hesitate and followed right on his heels.
A short while later, Yang Kai dug out an entrance that was so well hidden it had been almost completely buried under snow. A grin spread across his face as he ducked inside without hesitation.
Seeing how familiar Yang Kai seemed with this place, Wu Jie couldn't help but look thoughtful, though he didn't ask any questions and hurried into the cave after him.
Inside the cave, the cold was bone-piercing. The yin chill was so intense it felt like it could freeze a person's very soul. The moment Wu Jie stepped inside, he had to circulate his energy to shield himself from the freezing air pressing in from all sides.
He glanced around as he followed Yang Kai deeper in.
After what felt like an eternity, Yang Kai finally stopped and stared fixedly at what lay ahead.
Following his gaze, Wu Jie's eyes went wide in an instant. He stumbled backward several steps and cried out in shock: "The Coffin Bearer?"
At the far end of the cave, where the tunnel came to its deepest point, there sat a figure covered in festering sores, his entire body seemingly decayed beyond recognition, leaning motionless against the cave wall.
Wu Jie had never seen the Coffin Bearer before, yet he recognized the figure immediately.
Because slung across that figure's back was a blood-red coffin. The sight was nothing short of macabre.
What struck Wu Jie as strange, however, was that the Coffin Bearer appeared to be frozen in place, encased in a thick shell of ice. Dense death energy circulated within his body, devoid of any trace of life.
"Zhang Ao and Manager Cao must be looking for him, huh." Yang Kai chuckled softly.
"So it's true… judging by the way you're acting, you really do have some connection to the Coffin Bearer." Wu Jie's expression shifted. A vague sense washed over him that he was about to witness a secret that had baffled and haunted the world for countless years, and a thrill of excitement stirred deep within him.
"Yeah, we're connected." Yang Kai admitted without the slightest bit of evasion. He paid Wu Jie no further mind, instead crouching down and whispering near the Coffin Bearer's ear: "Senior… Senior!"
The Coffin Bearer showed no reaction.
Wu Jie couldn't help but frown. He watched in silence. Though he could sense that the Coffin Bearer was indeed, as legend had it, already long dead, the fact that Yang Kai kept calling out to him meant he clearly had a plan.
After calling out repeatedly for a long time, the Coffin Bearer finally gave an unusual response.
The death energy enveloping his body grew noticeably more active, and the ice encasing him began to crack and splinter, as though something was trying to burst free from within.
Wu Jie narrowed his eyes, his attention locked onto the scene without blinking.
Crack… crack…
The ice fractured into a dense web of fissures, and the oppressive death energy grew even more concentrated.
With a sharp snap, the ice shell exploded into fine powder. And the Coffin Bearer—who should have been dead for untold years—slowly opened his eyes.
Wu Jie recoiled in alarm, stumbling back several steps.
Because in that moment, when the Coffin Bearer opened his eyes, a wave of aura far more powerful than anything Wu Jie could muster suddenly surged forth.
Entry into Saint Realm, Second Level!
Which meant the Coffin Bearer had been a Second Level Saint Realm powerhouse.
—or at least, he had been while he was alive.
His eyes were dim and lifeless, like a dead man's, sending chills down the spine.
"Senior, I need to go inside!" Yang Kai stared intently at the Coffin Bier, unsure whether the man could even understand him, but at this point he had no choice but to throw everything he had into the gamble.
Fortunately, the Coffin Bearer seemed to have understood. His dim, lifeless eyes flickered with a brief moment of clarity, conveying unmistakable emotions of joy and anticipation. The next instant, his massive, mountain-like frame rose to its feet.
Thick death energy and the stench of decay radiated off him, carrying potent toxins that quickly turned the crystalline ice cave into a foul, murky mess.
Even Wu Jie, formidable as he was, felt a wave of dizziness wash over him and hastily held his breath.
A flash of crimson light suddenly bloomed from the blood coffin on the Coffin Bearer's back. The tightly sealed lid slowly split open, revealing a narrow gap.
Yang Kai grinned: "Thank you, Senior."
Without another word, he grabbed the wary, defensive Wu Jie by the arm and plunged into the crimson coffin.
At that very moment, Xueli—who was hurtling toward them at full speed—suddenly lit up, her beautiful eyes widening as she exclaimed: "Demonic qi? The Great Demon God's aura?"
Her speed surged even higher, her eagerness to reach the source of that exhilarating aura almost palpable.