Chapter 222: Ziwei Jade Seal

In the instant the Ghost Yuan Infant pushed open Yuanping Wang’s coffin, a torrent of ferocious energy erupted from within.

One of the Ghost Yuan Infants, due to its position, was directly struck by the ferocious energy.

Its body was instantly corroded into nothing.

Although Ghost Yuan Infants are ghostly beings, they are not of this world, and thus have no compatibility with ferocious energy.

It died on the spot, a withered hand clinging to the edge of the opening.

【Side Quest: Kill Yuanping Corpse King within 1 hour】

【Trial Difficulty: A-rank (Hero）】

【Trial Reward: Paradise Points ×10000, Attribute Points +4】

【Trial Failure: Paradise Points -20000, Random Attribute -1】

Simultaneously, Chu Danqing’s side quest activated.

This meant the coffin of Yuanping Wang contained burial artifacts of Fine quality or higher; as long as Chu Danqing killed Yuanping Wang, he would obtain the quest item.

It sounded strange—after all, undertaking an A-rank side quest to complete a C-rank trial task was illogical.

Then Chu Danqing saw the entire coffin lid flipped over.

A dried corpse clad in a python robe rose up, grabbed one of the Ghost Yuan Infants, and shoved it into its mouth to chew.

Dark black light flared from its cloudy eye sockets.

“You… rogues,” the Yuanping Corpse King spoke, his voice slow, as if unaccustomed to his postmortem body.

Before he finished speaking, Guo Ming, Yue Lan’s Martial Shadow, and Da Bao launched their attacks in sequence.

First, a flying sword; then fists and claws.

The Yuanping Corpse King could not block the flying sword’s assault—it pierced through its skull.

It could not block Yue Lan’s punch either; the blow struck its abdomen, bending its entire body into a bow.

But Da Bao, due to lower attributes and skill levels, was blocked.

He blocked only one claw—the other claw plunged without hesitation straight into the Yuanping Corpse King’s eye, and when pulled back, tore out the eyeball whole.

The advantage was ours, yet Chu Danqing’s expression was grim.

This Yuanping Corpse King possessed self-awareness—this was simply unbelievable.

He had assumed it would be merely a mindless corpse monster.

A being with intelligence and one without are entirely different creatures.

Moreover, he was pondering another matter: if this Yuanping Corpse King had intelligence, did the emperors and generals buried deeper within Cangmang Guling also possess it?

If so, why did they remain lying in their coffins instead of emerging?

From the Yuanping Corpse King’s behavior, it was clear his intelligence retained his pre-death logic.

During the battle, one Ghost Yuan Infant slipped into the coffin, seized an artifact shaped like a seal, and dashed out.

“Damn you!” The Yuanping Corpse King realized its most precious item had been stolen and immediately flew into a rage, rushing to retrieve it.

But the outcome was poor: first, it took a punch to the gut from Yue Lan, then its palm was sliced off by Guo Ming’s sword, and finally, Da Bao stabbed its lower back three times with his claws.

Had Chu Danqing not worried for his own safety and held back the Ghost Yuan Mother and Huangtian’s Child, the Yuanping Corpse King would have been crushed even worse.

At this rate, it could hold out no more than three minutes before dying again completely.

Chu Danqing no longer paid attention to it—he reached out and took the seal the Ghost Yuan Infant had stolen.

【Quest Completed: You have obtained: Return Eligibility, Paradise Points ×2000, Attribute Points +2】

Upon taking the seal, the trial quest was officially completed, and the linked quest for Tianfu awakening was also completed.

And the second phase of the Tianfu awakening quest activated immediately.

【Linked Quest Phase 2: Kill Three Worms to Obtain the Swallowed Imperial Purple Qi】

【Trial Difficulty: S-rank (Nightmare）】

【Trial Reward: Unlock next phase of linked quest】

【Trial Failure: This Tianfu awakening quest terminates】

Chu Danqing looked at the quest—what the hell were these “Three Worms”?

His gaze then fell upon the Ziwei Jade Seal.

【Ziwei Jade Seal】

【Type: Quest Item】

【Quality: Excellent ~ ???】

【Effect 1: Tianfu Awakening Material】

(Note: If the Tianfu quest fails, this item will transform into an Excellent-grade equipment)

That meant this was originally equipment, but because Chu Danqing triggered the Tianfu quest, its type on the interface was displayed as a quest item.

Chu Danqing stared at the question mark after the quality—clearly, the Ziwei Jade Seal’s quality had fluctuated due to prolonged exposure to yin energy within the tomb.

As for its upper limit, he did not know—his authority level was insufficient.

But he knew that if it truly transformed into an Excellent-grade equipment, that would be the greatest loss.

“Rogues,” the Yuanping Corpse King roared as he saw the jade seal in Chu Danqing’s hand: “First you steal my Imperial Purple Qi, then seize my Ziwei Seal.”

“I swear enmity with you till death!”

Chu Danqing ignored the Yuanping Corpse King’s roar.

Not because of anything else—because as it shouted, its head had already flown into the air, and it was screaming mid-flight.

The reason it flew was simple: Guo Ming had decapitated it with the Su Nü Sword.

A-rank difficulty? Chu Danqing wasn’t truly worried—he was more concerned about the upcoming Tianfu awakening quest.

“Don’t move yet—I need the Imperial Purple Qi,” Chu Danqing said quickly.

Guo Ming’s Su Nü Sword tip touched the Yuanping Corpse King’s forehead, then retracted instantly.

Da Bao reached out, seized the head, and dragged it before Chu Danqing.

“Tell me—where is the Imperial Purple Qi?” Chu Danqing asked.

From the quest, he knew the Imperial Purple Qi had been swallowed by the Three Worms, and the range should be within Yuanping Wang’s tomb.

But the problem was, Yuanping Wang’s tomb ended here—there were other chambers nearby, but they contained only burial goods.

Gold, silver, jewels, fine wine, delicacies, luxurious garments—nothing resembling the Three Worms.

Moreover, the Yuanping Corpse King said “you stole my Imperial Purple Qi,” meaning it knew its whereabouts.

The Yuanping Corpse King remained silent, opened its mouth, and spat a stream of corpse gas at Chu Danqing.

But as the gas left its mouth, a flash of golden light erupted, instantly scattering the gas.

Huangtian’s Child stepped forward, reached out, and seized the head.

A crushing aura exploded, pinning the Yuanping King’s head in place.

“Huh…huh…” The Yuanping Corpse King’s head gasped, yet refused to answer Chu Danqing’s question, instead cursing: “Rebellious… rogues.”

Chu Danqing narrowed his eyes—this attitude made it clear no answer would be forthcoming.

As for further questioning? He had no interest left.

Recalling Guo Ming’s earlier remark about the abnormal yin energy flow, he suspected it was connected.

Perhaps Yuanping Corpse King’s deposition had also been tied to this.

But what the truth was—he had no desire to investigate further.

Huangtian’s Child sensed Chu Danqing’s thoughts, tossed the head upward, and Guo Ming’s flying sword reduced it to dust.

【Quest Completed: You have obtained: Paradise Points ×10000, Attribute Points +4】

With the man dead, the quest naturally concluded.

Yet still no treasure chest—apparently, due to the hidden quest, rewards were being accumulated.

This was good news for Chu Danqing—he might eventually accumulate a shimmering Excellent treasure chest.

With the threat gone, Chu Danqing finally approached the coffin to inspect it.

The coffin contained many items, but the only one useful to Chu Danqing was the Ziwei Jade Seal—the rest were worthless to him.

On the other side, Guo Ming began searching for traces around the coffin.

Chu Danqing also walked around, then asked: “Any clues?”

“Yes,” Guo Ming replied without hesitation, pointing at the coffin: “I suspect there’s another tomb beneath this.”

“When Yuanping Corpse King was alive, it served as the array’s core, so we couldn’t see it.”

“But now it’s clear—this entire chamber resembles a funnel; all yin energy and death energy flows downward through the funnel’s opening beneath this coffin.”

“Perhaps Yuanping Corpse King’s burial here, and the entire tomb’s fengshui design, were not of its own will.”

“Even the Ziwei Jade Seal and Imperial Purple Qi—items clearly tied to imperial authority—were placed here.”

“Combined with its status as a deposed emperor, it may have been sacrificed to prolong the dynasty’s fate or to ensure favorable weather,” Guo Ming speculated.

“So we need to flip over Yuanping Wang’s coffin, right?” Chu Danqing quickly understood Guo Ming’s meaning.

“Correct,” Guo Ming replied, then kicked the coffin with his foot.

The kick sent the heavy coffin sliding out of place.

Beneath the coffin, a bottomless black hole was exposed—a nauseating stench surged upward instantly.

Previously, the coffin had been perfectly sealed into place, and the special fengshui layout had concealed this entrance while drawing all yin energy into it.

“Tomb within a tomb,” Chu Danqing murmured.

Then, a rustling sound emerged from the hole—clearly, countless insects were moving.

The next instant, a dense swarm of centipedes surged forth from the hole.

The centipede’s body was as thick as an adult’s arm, and each segment bore fleshy wings inconsistent with arthropod anatomy.

As it crawled out, it immediately flapped its fleshy wings and took flight, aiming straight for Chu Danqing.

Guo Ming had anticipated this—he turned his swordlight into a net, engulfing every fleshy-winged centipede, then pulled them back with a sharp tug.

At the same time, the swordnet covered the entrance, and every fleshy-winged centipede attempting to emerge was instantly shredded by the swordlight net.

“There are insects—this is good news indeed.” Chu Danqing feared having no leads at all.

“But there are too many. We need a way to deal with them, or we won’t be able to go down.” Guo Ming glanced at the swordnet—it had already begun to dim after so short a time.

This meant an endless stream of insects was striking the net, draining the swordlight.

And these insects were merely disposable foot soldiers, not their target.

(End of Chapter)