Chapter 111: Coffins Around the Altar

What rune died?

Lin Yifan snapped back to attention, lowered his head to look at the black jade fragment in his hand, and his expression instantly froze.

But soon, he felt a string of text appear before him.

【Forbidden Curse: Flooding the Heavens】 (Damaged)

【Although this forbidden curse rune has been damaged, the obsidian carrying the rune still retains part of the image before the forbidden curse was activated. Would you like to view the image? Learn the secrets of the past?】

So the real clue is here!

Lin Yifan played with the black jade fragment in his hand, explained to Ruan Qingtan and Hong Shaoqiang the existence of the forbidden curse, and just now said:

This jade talisman carrying the forbidden curse rune is now completely damaged, but it retains an image; after we view the image, we should be able to find the key to clearing the instance.

After saying that, he didn't wait for the stunned Hong Shaoqiang and Ruan Qingtan to accept the sudden worldview collapse, and directly activated the image.

Instantly, the black jade fragment that could only sink in the water slowly floated up.

The side with the rune, like a recording device, projected a scene toward the distance.

The image had no sound; only the picture could be seen.

It was a strange valley, with two small hills on either side, each topped with a round stone that seemed ready to roll off the cliff at any moment.

But strangely, those two round stones remained upright, even growing trees on top.

And in the valley, wherever there was an altar, this black jade fragment was placed on the altar.

Before the altar, a young man in a black robe, his skin pale blue like those of the foreign corpses, waved a staff tipped with a black crystal, murmuring an incantation.

From the curve of his lips, he was clearly chanting the incantation to activate 【Forbidden Curse: Flooding the Heavens】.

"Is this the one who activated the forbidden curse?" Ruan Qingtan said, looking puzzled at the image.

"Strange, I see that the one who activated the forbidden curse and those corpses turned into resentful spirits are of the same race; why would he cast the forbidden curse to destroy his own people's homeland, causing so many of his kin to die?"

Lin Yifan also couldn't understand, but when he saw the surroundings of the altar, his face changed dramatically, and he asked in disbelief:

"Quickly look around the altar—are those coffins?"

As soon as he said that, Ruan Qingtan and Hong Shaoqiang also looked toward the surroundings of the altar.

They then discovered that around the altar lay a large pile of rectangular boxes, whose special material almost matched that of the treasure chests they had obtained after pacifying the resentful spirits.

They were just much larger in size; in length and width, they were hardly different from coffins.

The only difference was that these boxes were carved with exquisite runes, and combined with their pale blue color, they looked nothing like gloomy coffins.

But if you look closely, aren't they just coffins?

"Exactly, they're all coffins!" Hong Shaoqiang nodded heavily, his expression grave, saying:

"Although these coffins differ in material and color, making them look somewhat unlike typical coffins, I have seen coffins before, and they are exactly like this."

"But why are there so many coffins here?" Ruan Qingtan frowned, utterly perplexed, asking:

But Lin Yifan then noticed that the number of coffins was exactly 300, matching the number of resentful spirits precisely.

If one were to call it a coincidence, Lin Yifan might have believed it elsewhere, but under these circumstances he can't bring himself to believe it at all.

What he finds even more puzzling is why this foreign tribe would activate the forbidden curse and destroy the entire town.

What grudge or resentment could this be?

Moreover, if they truly had a deep, bloody grudge, why would they prepare so many coffins?

Could it be just to collect the bodies of the townspeople after activating the forbidden curse?

Lin Yifan was utterly baffled, but at that moment the forbidden curse in the image finally activated!

The black jade fragment placed on the altar floated up on its own, drifting into midair without wind.

The golden runes engraved on the black jade fragment swiftly traced out a massive octagonal rune.

After the rune rose into the sky, thunder and lightning flashed immediately, the ground roared with violent wind, a torrential downpour poured down, quickly forming a flood that inundated the valley.

But when the fierce wind blew, many of the lids on the coffins were blown off.

Only then did Lin Yifan and his two companions realize the coffins were not empty; each contained a corpse.

Moreover, each corpse was neatly dressed, clearly having been carefully prepared.

"Quickly look at these corpses' faces—don't they look familiar?" Ruan Qingtan exclaimed in shock as she gazed at the bodies.

Lin Yifan stared intently and involuntarily sucked in a breath of cold air:

"They are those resentful spirits! These corpses are the true forms of those resentful spirits!"

"That means it wasn't the one who cast the forbidden curse who killed the townspeople; these residents were already dead before the curse was cast." Ruan Qingtan picked up the thread, her mind racing, began to speculate:

"The one who cast the forbidden curse and the townspeople are of the same race; perhaps his purpose in casting the curse was not to harm people, but to bury himself and his kin underwater."

But what could that purpose be? Perhaps just to avoid being disturbed?

Lin Yifan had the same thought, but at that moment he suddenly noticed there was still something else on the altar.

It was a box, on which the earlier black jade fragment had been placed.

Lin Yifan also noticed that whenever the builders saw this box, their faces were filled with regret and anguish.

So the key might lie on this box.

Find the box, and perhaps we can find a way to leave the instance.

Lin Yifan turned his head to look around, carefully observed a full circle, and suddenly discovered a small hill standing on the seabed to the northwest.

On its summit sat a round stone, though at this time the stone was overgrown with aquatic weeds and algae.

They swayed with the water waves, to the extent that Lin Yifan didn't immediately realize it was a solitary stone.

He had always thought the mountain peak lay beneath the weeds and algae, never imagining they were not connected.

Of course, even if he had noticed it earlier, he wouldn't have thought much of it; before seeing this footage, everything was unknown.

But now it appears that this is the location of the altar.

Find the altar, find the box on it, and all the mysteries will be solved.