...

Rage surged from his heart, fire ignited by injustice!

“You killed Uncle Shui, killed my second brother—I won’t let you off!!”

At a glance, it looked like a dead-end situation.

There was only one exit.

Anyone else could’ve just waited until he finished grabbing the goods and blocked him right there.

But Di She remembered what Uncle Shui had said earlier.

Once the coffin was opened, it would release spiritual energy. When that happened, the landscape might shift—maybe, just maybe, there’d be a sliver of hope in a hopeless situation.

That’s why he dared to act so arrogantly.

Lu Ding shook his head. “No, I killed your grandfather too.”

That one line sent Di She into complete madness.

“You deserve to die!! I swear I’ll kill you—I’ll definitely kill you!!”

As he roared—

Wutian and Yan Feifan arrived.

Their gazes mirrored Lu Ding’s: first landing on Di She, then shifting to the golden coffin.

They paid no mind to his yelling.

Wutian looked serious as he pointed at the golden coffin. “Right there. Something’s inside. Very dangerous!”

As he spoke, he glanced at Lu Ding’s expression.

Seeing no reaction.

He asked instinctively, “You already know?”

“Read about it in ancient books,” Lu Ding replied casually.

Copper-horned golden coffin. Ink Line.

No need to even think.

Whatever’s inside this thing—at minimum, it’s a zombie.

And not an ordinary one, either.

A regular zombie doesn’t deserve this level of treatment.

Wutian started doubting whether he was a real Buddhist disciple.

Even when it came to the highest-tier physical bodies, he couldn’t compare to Lu Ding.

Now when it came to knowledge and reading—he still couldn’t compare to Lu Ding.

Buddhism was supposed to subdue demons, save people, and bring peace to all beings.

But now, faced with a mysterious phenomenon—he couldn’t recognize a single thing.

How embarrassing!!!

“Brother Lu, you can’t kill him?”

Lu Ding raised his hand and fired off a move from the Way of the Jinche to show Yan Feifan.

Same result—it was swallowed up by the mercury waves.

“Looks like combat’s not allowed here.”

Seeing Lu Ding launching attacks again—

Di She hurriedly formed a seal, channeled his spiritual energy, and pointed at the lake. A character for “Soldier” surfaced.

He stepped onto it.

The character lifted him, allowing him to glide across the mercury lake, bringing him closer to the coffin.

Di She turned to glance back. If looks could kill—

Lu Ding would’ve been torn to pieces.

Feeling that gaze,

Lu Ding formed a seal.

Di She’s expression instantly changed!

He saw the hand seal Lu Ding used—exactly the same as the one he’d just cast.

And it wasn’t just the movement.

Lu Ding pointed to the lake—

Spiritual energy surged from his fingertip. Characters appeared on the mercury’s surface.

Di She stared in shock!!

How—how could this be!?

Impossible!!!

How could he learn it in one glance!?

Hand seals and energy flow weren’t even the same thing. How the h*ll did he grasp the deeper mystery?

While he was stuck in confusion—

Lu Ding tilted his head. “Thanks, by the way.”

Di She clenched his teeth so hard they might shatter. He was furious. Absolutely shameless!

He stole someone else’s move and even had the audacity to thank them?!

Disgusting!!

“It’s just one technique. Even if you—”

Right as he was about to say more, Di She swallowed the words. He wanted to say: it’s just one technique, even if you learned it, so what? Can you break the True Word Formation here?

But a second later—

He realized.

Wouldn’t that be handing the enemy a clue?

But Lu Ding had already caught the hesitation in his expression.

When in doubt, just give it a go.

The mercury lake could block spells—

But could it block sound?

[Call of the Fallen Name] activated silently.

Lu Ding shouted, “Di She!!”

As the name echoed—

Wutian followed up with the Lion’s Roar: “Speak, now!!”

Lu Ding turned to look, surprised.

This thick-browed monk sure knew how to read a situation.

[Call of the Fallen Name] and [Lion’s Roar] echoed throughout the tomb chamber.

Di She was hit immediately.

[Call of the Fallen Name] dazed him for an instant.

[Lion’s Roar], infused with Buddhist sound, shook his spirit.

Di She lost control of his mind for a moment.

And the words spilled out—

“It’s just one technique. Even if you learned it, so what? Can you break the True Word Formation here?”

The second those words left his mouth—

Di She snapped back to his senses. “Despicable!!!!”

That insult was directed at Lu Ding—and at Wutian too.

“I never offended you, you bald b*stard! Why are you helping him?!”

Hearing his indignant outburst—

Wutian and Lu Ding looked at each other.

“Hahahahahahaha...” x2

They both saw the follow-up coming.

We didn’t know before—but you sure seem to.

Di She couldn’t take it anymore.

Youngsters sure have a temper.

“You mock me now, but I’ll make you pay for this one day!”

[Call of the Fallen Name] and [Lion’s Roar] launched again while he was at his weakest.

Lu Ding shouted again: “Di She!!”

Wutian chimed in immediately: “Reveal the True Word Formation now!!”

If one move works—use it again.

In the end, Di She still lacked real-world experience.

He got caught again.

Mind went blank.

And he blurted out: “Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe......”

Then he stopped.

After the first time, he’d at least started forming some mental resistance. This time he wasn’t totally clueless.

But that much was enough!

The legendary Taoist Nine-Word Mantra.

Others might not know it.

But Lu Ding? He could recite it backward in his sleep.

Di She came back to his senses and instantly formed a seal to block his hearing.

He didn’t say another word!

He was terrified!

His hands worked nonstop, casting spells, and stepped onto the “Dou” character.

In his mind—

So what if they got four words?

There are nine in total!

You can only watch while I retrieve the treasure from the coffin.

He couldn’t hear anything, but he could still see.

Out of reflex, he glanced back—

And saw Lu Ding and Wutian both laughing.

Di She was grinding his teeth so hard he could taste blood!

“Laugh all you want. Let’s see if you’re still laughing in a minute.”

He kept forming seals.

On the shore—

Lu Ding wiped the satisfied grin from his face.

He formed a seal, and the “Lin” character appeared beneath him.

Then came Bing, Dou, Zhe.

Di She had been keeping an eye on them the whole time.

Now that he saw the three of them already stepping on the fourth character—

He sneered. “What? Not gonna keep going?”

Wutian raised his hand in a Buddhist gesture. “Amitabha. Benefactor Lu, please wait. Let this humble monk observe the mysteries of this place and unravel the True Word Formation.”

Spiritual energy surged.

Lu Ding stepped forward, carving out the “Jie” character beneath him. “No need. I’ve got this thing memorized better than my home address.”

Wutian: .......

Di She watched and just couldn’t understand.

“How the hell do you know the other words!?”

Lu Ding glanced sideways at him. “Learned it from your Shiniang. Problem?”

Even though he couldn’t hear, Di She still read his lips.

No time to be angry.

Panic filled his heart.

He frantically carved more of the Nine-Word Mantra beneath his feet.

The further he went, the harder it became.

Di She started slowing down.

By the time he carved the “Lie” character—

Lu Ding had already caught up to him.

Only two words left now.

Was it “Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian” (arrayed before)…

Or “Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing” (march forward)?

It shouldn’t have been a hard choice.

But with Lu Ding and the others involved—

Hesitation crept into his heart.

And before he knew it, he looked their way—