Chapter 821 — Strange Tales Aboard the Ship

Outside the black coffin, everyone waited a while, but the two red points of light within the coffin remained utterly still.

In the distance, the others who had boarded the ghost ship with them were also watching closely, awaiting the results of Zulong Wang and his companions' exploration. The ghost ship's fearsome reputation preceded it, so they were quite content to let others brave the dangers while they reaped the rewards. The silence all around was somewhat oppressive.

Zulong Wang threw a glance at one of the demigods. Understanding, the demigod marshaled his magic power, first casting layer upon layer of defensive divine abilities to shield his body, transforming into tortoise shields one after another, with mystic turtle patterns emerging on his arms. Only then did he steel himself and step forward, cautiously reaching his hand into the black coffin to feel around. The coffin was enormous; his hand was still far from the red lantern glow in the darkness. Gradually, the demigod walked into the black coffin and vanished from sight.

All went quiet within. After a moment, the demigod's voice came from inside the coffin: "It really is a lantern!"

Everyone outside breathed a sigh of relief, and Zulong Wang relaxed somewhat as well. The demigod stepped out of the coffin and said with a laugh, "What's glowing red inside this coffin really is a lantern—two paper lanterns. I only found one, so I brought it out. There's nothing dangerous in there... Why are you all looking at me like that?"

The demigod, carrying a lantern, looked around in astonishment. He saw the crowd looking at him as though they had seen a ghost, quietly backing away. Zulong Wang also took a step back, tightening his grip on the dragon-head scepter in his hand. Even he had never witnessed such an eerie sight, and he could not help but feel somewhat alarmed.

In the distance, Luo Wushuang and the others were also silent. The Lingxiu Army disciples looked on in alarm at the scene unfolding here.

"Sword God, what's going on?" Huanlong Jun's voice trembled as he hid behind Lizheng. Lizheng and Shang Cang were old rivals; Huanlong Jun had more than once narrowly escaped death at Lizheng's hands—there was enmity between them—yet what Huanlong Jun admired most was still Lizheng. Thus, faced with such an eerie scene, he could not help but draw close to Lizheng. As for Shen Mu, his lord, Huanlong Jun instinctively disliked the lad.

Shen Mu frowned, his gaze falling on the demigod who had emerged from the black coffin. This demigod held a paper lantern in his hand; the light from within the black coffin earlier had been the red glow of the paper lantern—it was merely the darkness that made one involuntarily associate it with two crimson eyeballs. The paper lantern was most peculiar. When the wind blew, it spun round and round. On the lantern was a face, eyes wide open, smiling as it looked around.

Yet this was not what had frightened everyone. What truly frightened them was the demigod himself—atop this demigod's neck sat another paper lantern. And his head had vanished without a trace! His face appeared on this paper lantern, complete with nose and eyes, and was speaking: "What's wrong with you all? Why are you looking at me like that?"

His face appeared on the lantern's surface, while the light from within shone outward, as though someone had torn off his facial skin and pasted it onto the lantern. The light flickered faintly, and his face too wavered between light and shadow.

Zulong Wang abruptly raised the dragon-head scepter and made a feinting point. The lantern on the demigod's neck suddenly went dark!

Clatter. The lantern fell and dropped to the ground. And the demigod's neck was utterly empty. Divine blood suddenly gushed forth; his body swayed and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"You will all die..."

The lantern he had been carrying also fell to the ground, rolling twice. The face on the lantern wore a sinister smile: "Hee hee, you will all die here, and then gain eternal life, forever joined to this ship..."

Zulong Wang raised his foot and stamped on the lantern, extinguishing its candle flame. His face grim, he said, "Playing tricks and conjuring ghosts! I am a great god of the Lingxiao realm—to play such tricks before me is truly to court death!"

He let out a roar and drove the dragon-head scepter heavily into the black coffin ahead. The tall black coffin instantly shattered into pieces, its boards bursting apart with sharp cracks and falling to the ground with heavy thuds. His battle prowess was terrifying—even the black coffin, sealed by the Four Emperors, could not withstand a single blow from him.

As the dust settled, the coffin boards lying on the ground let out one mournful howl after another, and bright red blood gushed from the coffin wood. Startled, everyone hurriedly leaped into the air, not daring to touch the ground. They saw that the coffin wood was flowing with bright red blood, and on the inner walls of the coffin were living people embedded one by one, as though they had grown together with the coffin. Some showed their faces, like reliefs; some showed half a chest; and many, many arms grew out from the coffin wood. These hands grasped about, trying to seize something, and some faces were contorted, struggling to breathe.

Countless mournful voices cried out: "Save me—"

Zulong Wang was at a loss.

Suddenly a face cried out: "Zulong Wang, it's me! It's me! I am Youfang Shen—you sent me to investigate this ghost ship, and I've been trapped here. Please, Dragon King, save me!"

Startled, Zulong Wang hurriedly looked at the man. The demigod was fused with the coffin wood, grown into it—one of the many demigods he had sent to investigate the ghost ship! He had already sent five or six batches of powerful demigods to explore this ship, among them beings of the Yaochi and Zhanshentai realms. Yet once they entered the ship, they vanished like a clay ox into the sea, leaving no news! Unexpectedly, one of them had appeared in the black coffin—and had grown together with it!

Suddenly another voice cried out: "I am Pan Qiong, General of the Western Falls Sect of the Heavenly Court—hurry, save me!"

"I am Qing'an, disciple of the Eastern Emperor. I have been trapped here for countless tens of thousands of years. If you can rescue me, the Eastern Emperor will surely reward you richly!"

"I am Chixiao, Crown Prince of the Bright Emperor! Who will save me? The Bright Emperor will reward you handsomely!"

...

Voices of all kinds cried out. The people who had come aboard the ship were at a loss. They saw the faces on the coffin wood grow shriveled; soon the voices grew fainter and fainter, until at last the blood ran dry and they became dried corpses one by one, dying with their eyes wide open. More and more blood flowed, gradually submerging the other seals on the deck.

Shen Mu said in a low voice: "Lizheng, look!"

Lizheng narrowed his eyes and said softly: "The seals on the deck are devouring this blood. We can't stay on the deck long—let's leave it as quickly as possible!"

The ghost ship's deck was covered with circular seals. The blood plasma was devoured by the patterns of those seals, and one by one the seals bloomed with a faint green light. The runes composing the seals gradually dimmed. The runes rotated, and below the deck black coffins began to grow forth one after another.

Shen Mu and the others, having noticed early, were the first to charge toward the ghost ship's buildings. The others also caught on and rushed there themselves. Behind them, huge black coffins grew from the deck, more and more of them, like a forest of coffins. From behind came a series of thuds—the sound of coffin lids hitting the ground.