Chapter 1161 - 789: Seizing the Tree of Life Coffin

Within the Gong Family’s main camp

Zhang Chen was seen controlling the Blood God Child as he and the disciple returned and then relayed his speculations to Gong Hei. Under the subtle influence of Zhang Chen’s Blood God Child, Gong Hei felt an intuition after hearing his words that the big box must contain what he was looking for.

"Are the two of you certain?" Gong Hei’s face showed excitement as he asked after hearing their account.

"Whether it’s true or not, we’ll know once we act. With your skills, Old Ancestor, all you need to do is create a wind. If the wind cannot move the box, it must contain the legendary Tree of Life Coffin. It’s said that the Tree of Life Coffin is incredibly heavy and has the power to suppress Divine Techniques; your wind surely won’t be able to move the Tree of Life Coffin." The disciple from the Gong Family said:

"After all, it’s just a matter of making a move; it won’t cost much effort." Under the influence of the Blood God Child, Gong Hei felt a stirring in his heart, thinking that the strange big box should be his target.

"You arrange for people to quietly infiltrate it without alerting the others. When night falls, I’ll conjure a great wind. If it can move the box, you withdraw. If not, take advantage of the wind to seize it. I’ll provide cover in secret to prevent the local Divine Spirits from prying." Gong Hei quickly made a decision in his mind.

Now, Divine Spirits occupy all the lands under Heaven, and if they were to act on the Divine Land, they must first deal with the Divine Spirits present.

Upon hearing Gong Hei’s words, the disciples of the Gong Family began to move secretly.

Meanwhile, in Zhang Chen’s room, as the Gong Family began to act, a hint of joy appeared in Zhang Chen’s eyes: "It’s done!"

Then Zhang Chen was seen with a mysterious Qi Mechanism flowing around him. The Invisibility Rune was applied to his body, completely concealing his tracks from Marquis Wen’s domain, leaving no trace to avoid being tracked later.

As night fell, in the middle of the night, suddenly a fierce wind rose, with dark clouds swirling, shrouding the sky in darkness, obscuring the sun and moon.

The fierce wind made the window paper rattle noisily. Zhang Chen, who was meditating, was startled, quickly stood up, and used an Escape Technique to leave, vanishing into the gale.

Gong Hei whipped up a black wind, causing chaos, but the box didn’t budge. At this moment, a disciple of the Gong Family saw this, said nothing, and rushed out into the night.

The Gong Family disciples, mastering the power of wind, naturally could navigate the gale, and their methods were extraordinary. Even though Chen Ping had arranged Martial Artists with Qi Blood to guard the Tree of Life Coffin, the Gong Family experts swiftly killed them, taking advantage of the chaos to haul away the carriage carrying the Tree of Life Coffin.

"What a strange wind!"

In his tent, Chen Ping listened to the strong wind outside, with a look of surprise in his eyes, but he didn’t dwell on it much. Furthermore, the sound of flying sand and stones, along with the chaotic cries of refugees, had already drowned out all other noise in the gale.

"Instruct the brothers below to protect the family members, guard the tents and supplies, and strictly defend the camp without leaving." Chen Ping instructed the Escort Master beside him.

The Escort Master obeyed and left. Once the sandstorm subsided, someone came to report: "Chief Leader, there are some refugees reporting that someone took advantage of the sandstorm to kill and loot, with dozens of people dead, and the victims plead for your justice."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ping’s face turned somber: "These unruly refugees are daring indeed, riding along with our Dragon Tiger Escort Agency yet not abiding by our rules. This must not be allowed to continue!"

Hearing this, Chen Ping further asked: "Did our escort agency suffer any losses?"

The person replied: "We’re still alright; aside from a few tents being blown away by the initial unexpected wind, there were no other losses."

Chen Ping stood up and said: "Come with me to see the complainants."

An hour later, as Chen Ping looked at the familiar corpses, his body felt weak, and his boiling blood seemed frozen.

A bone-chilling cold surged from his heels, directly invading his mind, almost freezing his heart. After some time, he came out of his faint state and urgently ordered:

"Quickly check if the complainants left any property behind?"

With the Tree of Life Coffin lost, how could he explain it to the Grand Steward?

The Grand Steward would never spare him!

The Grand Steward definitely wouldn’t spare him!

Not only would he die, but everyone in the entire Dragon Tiger Escort Agency, all tens of thousands of people, young and old, would all die!

Cold sweat began to form on Chen Ping’s back, already soaking it within a few breaths.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chen, all along, had been watching coldly from the shadows, observing the development and dynamics of the situation. Seeing the Gong Family had succeeded, he finally took the opportunity to leave.

After a quarter of an hour, in a secluded mountain recess, Gong Hei stood inside a cave, looking at the big box in front of him, a hint of fervor in his eyes: "Whether the Tree of Life Coffin is inside will soon be known. If it is in there, we can extend our lives by hundreds of years!"

As for the court’s investigation?

If they were afraid of the court and held it in awe, they would not have made a move at this time.

Zhang Chen’s figure somehow appeared ten steps behind Gong Hei. Due to the existence of the Invisibility Rune and the Blood God Child’s secret influence, Gong Hei did not notice his presence.

"Inside that Tree of Life Coffin lies the Twelfth Tier Divine Artifact Judgment. I don’t know if opening the box will trigger an attack from the Judgment. I’ll first have Gong Hei open the coffin. If it’s safe, I’ll take the Tree of Life Coffin. If there’s danger, Gong Hei can take the fall for me!" Zhang Chen schemed internally.

Gong Hei walked forward with a fiery gaze, his eyes falling on the large box. He conjured a Wind Blade in his hand and the Wind Blade cut through the void and struck the coffin. Within a few breaths, the coffin was disassembled. Suddenly, a streak of lightning shot out from the box, piercing through Gong Hei’s body, nailing him to a nearby mountain.

In disbelief, Gong Hei glanced down at his chest, where a lightning-wrapped spear had pierced his heart. His eyes widened in shock: "How is this possible!"

He found it hard to believe, hard to believe that he died just like that.

He possessed the ability to transform his body into a gentle breeze, able to change forms at will. But who would have thought he’d die like this?

The power of the Twelfth Tier was too overwhelming, so overwhelming that he couldn’t even react.

Not far from Gong Hei, Zhang Chen’s expression changed dramatically because not only did Gong Hei die, but even the Blood God Child parasitizing his body was completely destroyed by the lightning.

One of his Blood God Children died!

Fortunately, as long as the Sea of Blood exists, Blood God Children can continually resurrect.

But after obliterating Gong Hei, the Divine Artifact Judgment silently fell to the ground, seemingly guarding the Tree of Life Coffin.

Zhang Chen scrutinized the Tree of Life Coffin and, after confirming it was indeed the Tree of Life Coffin, turned his gaze to the Divine Artifact Judgment, eyes blinking with greed.

This was a Twelfth Tier Mystery. If he could suppress and subdue it, it would certainly be a great help in the future.

"What happened!"

At this moment, Gong Family descendants guarding outside the valley sensed the commotion and rushed in from the outside. They saw the lightning shoot out from the Judgment, transforming into a thunderbolt that chased after the Gong Family descendants.

Wherever the thunderbolt passed, every Gong Family descendant was pierced through the heart and instantly killed.

"I knew it, how could Dugu Qiu hand over the entire Tree of Life Coffin to the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency without any precautions? So there was a contingency! Now that the Judgment is disturbed, Dugu Qiu in Kyoto must have sensed it. With his Yang God’s cultivation, he could arrive here in half a day. I must act quickly and seize the Tree of Life Coffin before Dugu Qiu arrives." Zhang Chen looked toward the Judgment Spear that was slaughtering all around. The flickering lightning would surely alert nearby Divine Spirits. Zhang Chen didn’t want to waste time tangling with the Judgment Spear and thus threw out numerous talismans. In the next moment, the Nine Bends Yellow River Array appeared, enveloping the Tree of Life Coffin and isolating the Judgment Spear outside, completely severing their Qi Mechanism.

With the Judgment Spear unable to sense the aura of the Tree of Life Coffin, it grew increasingly restless, starting to attack every living being nearby.

Zhang Chen took a step forward before the Tree of Life Coffin, smiling in satisfaction: "This item and I have fate."

The Tree of Life Coffin was incredibly heavy, such that even a Yang God cultivator could not carry it over mountains and seas, needing manpower for transport.

But Zhang Chen had a plan!

Not using Transportation Technique or space twisting, since these Divine Techniques could not move the Tree of Life Coffin, Zhang Chen thought of using his Ba Snake Space.

Ba Snake Space can devour mysteries above the Fruit Position realm. Although the Tree of Life Coffin has high quality, it is ultimately just a broken tree fragment, enough for Ba Snake Space to contain.

Zhang Chen opened his mouth towards the Tree of Life Coffin, and the Celestial Measuring Ruler in his hand flashed. After a twist, the Tree of Life Coffin shrunk down, entering Zhang Chen’s mouth and landing in Ba Snake Space.

Zhang Chen closed his mouth, put away the Celestial Measuring Ruler, and looked at the empty ground with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes: "You rodents, are you worthy of enjoying the Tree of Life?"

Then, he gathered up the Nine Bends Yellow River Array and performed the Escape Technique to depart.

The Sealing Rune suppressed all the Qi Mechanism around him, preventing any leakage, while the Invisibility Rune concealed his presence from outsiders.

One must admit that Zhang Chen’s combination of Divine Techniques was indeed exquisite, so much so that even a Twelfth Tier Mystery could not detect his whereabouts.

After escaping ten miles, Zhang Chen saw the Judgment Spear transform into a thunderbolt, continually slaughtering in the void, chasing down all approaching cultivators and Divine Spirits.

For a moment, cries of alarm erupted in Heaven and Earth, and everyone turned to watch.