Chapter 650: The Dead

So far, there is no longer any doubt.

This treasure hunt was a trap!

A massive trap!

But getting out isn't hard—just break the formation.

And a sixth-rank formation isn't impossible to break; it just takes a little time.

The key is, no external interference must occur while everyone breaks the formation.

So naturally, the coffin entered everyone's field of vision.

First, who knows if there's anything—or anyone—watching us inside?

Second, what if the Nine Heaven Mystic Fire is bound inside the coffin?

"We all tried just now—no one could open this coffin!" Zhou Qingmei stared at the coffin. "So… even if there's treasure inside, it has nothing to do with us!"

"Not necessarily!" Beichen shook his head. "We couldn't open it, but that doesn't mean combined strength can't!"

"Alright, let's all push together and try…"

Before his words had even finished, Hao Cang was already standing in midair.

His entire body turned golden, then he pointed a finger straight at the massive coffin.

Boom…

A golden finger, a hundred zhang tall, condensed in midair and stabbed toward the coffin.

Technique: Silent Death Huangquan Finger.

This was a Heaven-grade technique!

Immense power and Dao law slammed into the coffin; within a violent energy storm, the giant coffin shook violently.

It looked ready to collapse.

"Open…"

At that moment, He Pingsheng also drew his black Tianque Divine Spear and launched a strike.

Just as He Pingsheng's overwhelming force was about to shatter the coffin, the woman in red, Zhou Qingmei, suddenly spun around and blocked his attack path.

She thrust her jade palms forward, catching He Pingsheng's divine spear strike with bare hands.

Boom…

An even greater surge of energy erupted across the thousand-zhang space, rippling outward as waves of force.

He Pingsheng was blasted backward, slamming hard into the formation's energy barrier, then rebounded and crashed to the ground.

Hao Cang wasn't spared—he too landed heavily.

"Puh… puh…" Hao Cang even spat out several mouthfuls of blood.

When He Pingsheng looked up again, Zhou Qingmei, clad in red, sat calmly atop the coffin, its surface engraved with red patterns and coated in black lacquer.

Huh…

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, then his eyes narrowed: This Zhou Qingmei was this strong?

That single strike was even stronger than the Ice Yi Immortal he'd fought before.

That meant this woman was a Void Refinement cultivator?

Hao Cang also sensed something wrong. He moved instantly, placing himself between He Pingsheng and Zhou Qingmei to prevent her from killing He Pingsheng.

"Zhou Qingmei, what are you playing at?"

Beside them, Beichen's voice trembled with fear; he stepped back, his whole body shaking.

Longyue Immortal also began retreating!

"Hehehe…" The woman in crimson robes, seated atop the coffin, suddenly burst into laughter, her body trembling with mirth. "What am I playing at?"

"Can't you all see?"

"I… tricked you!"

"The other three tokens? I scattered them myself!"

"Hehehe… Too bad that old fool Gusong kept refusing to come. Otherwise, you'd all have been my blood meal long ago…"

As she spoke, Zhou Qingmei inhaled sharply. Along both sides of her mouth, her pale skin split open, revealing a mouth several times larger than a normal human's, lined with sharp teeth.

Waves of yin energy radiated from her body.

"You're not human?" Longyue narrowed her eyes, retreating as she spoke.

Zhou Qingmei smiled. The split at her mouth sealed shut, restoring her beautiful appearance. "I'm human… I'm a pure-blooded human!"

"Little Longyue, how can you say I'm not human?"

"Zhou Qingmei, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"Why did you deceive us?" Beichen stared at Zhou Qingmei.

Zhou Qingmei kept her radiant smile. "Of course—to eat you. Otherwise, why would I go through all this trouble?"

"Don't resist. Don't even think of resisting!"

"If you obey, you'll die peacefully."

"If not, you'll die in excruciating pain!"

"Before me, you're not even as worthy as ants!"

As she spoke, Zhou Qingmei turned her head and gave He Pingsheng a long, deep look. "Except you… you're barely a slightly bigger ant before me."

At that moment, He Pingsheng shifted his magic power internally, and a faint golden glow flickered in his eyes—the Tianmu Kan Yu Zhenjie technique revealed itself.

Unfortunately, He Pingsheng could not see through this woman's cultivation base.

"Stop staring!" Zhou Qingmei said coldly. "I'll tell you anyway—I'm Void Refinement, ninth layer."

Sssss…

He Pingsheng sucked in a sharp breath: Void Refinement? And ninth layer?

A level of cultivation that inspired utter despair!

Even if he faced a Void Refinement first layer alone, he doubted he could defeat her—if she was even slightly cautious.

Of course!

Ice Yi was an exception.

She was simply overconfident.

As for why He Pingsheng hadn't sensed her true level before, that was perfectly normal.

After all, her cultivation was far beyond his.

The higher one ascends, the greater the gap between each layer. If she wished to conceal her true level, there was no way a mere Soul Transformation seventh layer like him could detect it.

"Senior Sister Zhou, we've done nothing to offend you. Why are you doing this? There must be a reason." Longyue glared at Zhou Qingmei, unwilling to accept it.

Zhou Qingmei smiled. "You want a reason?"

"Of course there is!"

"I'm not afraid you'll try tricks—I'll tell you a story for free. Consider it a farewell gift before you die."

"Do you know what this is?" The woman in red extended her snow-white palm and gently patted the glossy black coffin beneath her.

Before anyone could answer, she spoke to herself: "You probably won't believe it."

"This coffin… is mine."

Zhou Qingmei's small hand tapped lightly on the black-and-red coffin lid.

A series of crisp echoes reverberated through the vast underground space.

Zhou Qingmei spoke casually, but to everyone's ears, the words sent chills down their spines, raising goosebumps layer upon layer.

So… this was a corpse?

A corpse cultivator?

A yin ghost?

These were the only terms He Pingsheng could think of.

"When I was a girl, I had a childhood friend—exceptionally gifted, immensely fortunate, and strikingly handsome."

"We cultivated together, traveled the world together!"

"When I reached Nascent Soul, he abandoned me—for advancement, to become another's slave—he killed me himself!"

"Luckily, my father was the Sect Master of a major sect. After I died, he found a perfect fengshui burial site and interred me here."

"You see it now—this very place."