......

Lu Ding had a solution.

Who told him he had so many spells at his disposal.

Sigh... For any problem, he could find a corresponding spell.

He just needed to confirm one condition.

While Zhan Tingzhou waited with a puzzled look for him to continue, Lu Ding asked him: "You're a 'local' so you know more about this - is that Crystal Coffin powerful?"

Zhan Tingzhou's face stiffened.

Even if I'm a local, I wouldn't know that much...

The Crystal Coffin isn't my neighbor or something.

He had a feeling Lu Ding's words carried hidden meanings, as if he was playing along with his earlier statement to tease him.

But since they'd already reached this point, it would be inappropriate not to continue.

Zhan Tingzhou could only pretend to be relaxed as he said: "Well... it should be quite powerful, after all, even the Earth Dragon Immortal at late Fourth Restriction stage couldn't do anything to it."

"But judging from the information here, it might have been injured in that battle with the Earth Dragon Immortal, and it's only been four years - it probably hasn't recovered that quickly..."

Lu Ding understood.

The Crystal Coffin was powerful, but there were limits to its power. It could rescue Chen Yan because escaping and saving people were its specialties.

With this information in mind.

Lu Ding immediately felt relieved.

As long as it wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, then it was manageable.

When the time came, the powerful capture mechanism of [Black Prison of Death's Body] would imprison the person, the coffin, and even the Earth Dragon Immortal all together.

Run?

I'll let you try to run!

[Black Prison of Death's Body] was a life-or-death situation - if the enemy didn't die, the door wouldn't open. Wasn't this just a clash of mechanisms? He had never been afraid of anyone!

Fighting behind closed doors.

Occupying the home field advantage, he would smash them all to pieces!!

Although the mechanism of [Black Prison of Death's Body] was powerful, without Zhan Tingzhou's intelligence, Lu Ding really wouldn't dare to imprison them recklessly.

It would be laughable if he couldn't defeat them when the time came.

But now with Zhan Tingzhou's intelligence.

Not being able to defeat them?

That possibility didn't exist.

He had plenty of trump cards and methods at his disposal.

Lu Ding stood up: "Then we don't need to worry about the Crystal Coffin, nor do we need to worry about whether Wuwang will provide support or not. I'll have my own methods when the time comes."

Such a confident posture and words.

Left Zhan Tingzhou utterly bewildered.

Wait... what methods do you have? Tell me about them.

We're teammates!!

We're friends!!!

How can you keep things from me!!

I told you everything, how come you're not telling me anything?

That's not how you should treat people.

He wanted to speak but hesitated, wanting to ask but feeling it wasn't appropriate to ask.

Even Hou Dehai with his Fifth Restriction cultivation from his previous life couldn't stop the Crystal Coffin, so what exactly was Lu Ding planning to do?

And there was also Wuwang's ancient teleportation array.

That thing was even more ridiculously overpowered - they could attack when they wanted and escape when they wanted.

Zhan Tingzhou was burning with curiosity, feeling like a cat was scratching at his heart. Lu Ding had completely hooked his interest.

"So... what should we do next?"

Lu Ding arranged the plan: "Xinghe, you go and record the Reshaper. We'll set out together later."

This thing was too valuable, and Lu Ding didn't trust anyone else with it.

If it got broken, they couldn't afford to replace it.

It was a genuine treasure approved through official channels.

So it was better for Fu Xinghe to handle it personally.

He stood up straight: "Understood."

Lu Ding continued: "As for you, come with me to find the Earth Dragon Immortal. The problem is I don't know where it is..."

Zhan Tingzhou: .........

He stood up: "Ahem, well... I'm a local, so I might know a bit more. I heard from the older generation that when the Earth Dragon Immortal escaped back then, it ran toward its old lair in Iron Stone Cave. Of course, I'm not certain about this."

Lu Ding glanced at him and immediately followed up: "This Earth Dragon Immortal really knows how to run, and it's quite bold too, actually daring to run back to Iron Stone Cave."

The local 749 Bureau weren't fools - they had searched in the direction of Iron Stone Cave too.

But they hadn't found anything.

However, Lu Ding believed that since Zhan Tingzhou said this, he would definitely be able to find it.

Zhan Tingzhou agreed: "Exactly, as you know, the older generation - when people get old, they'll say anything. But we don't have any other leads right now."

"It doesn't hurt to try, right? What if it's hiding right under our noses?"

Lu Ding smiled: "Makes sense."

He proactively changed the subject, offering an out: "When I get old, I'll talk nonsense too."

Hearing this.

The mouth beneath Zhan Tingzhou's mask twisted even more severely.

The two stood facing each other, and sudden laughter arose.

White Ridge 749 gradually grew restless.

......

The scene shifted.

New City, White Ridge, Xiankong Town. A massive stone archway bore the words "Welcome to Xiankong Town."

Lu Ding sat in the car.

Looking out the window at an environment even worse than he had imagined.

In a world with supernatural powers, there was actually a place that could let the environment deteriorate to this extent.

They weren't even pretending to care.

If only Linshan Mining had put in the slightest effort, dispatched some Qi Refiners and spent a pittance to do some basic environmental management, it wouldn't have gotten this bad.

"It really proves that saying true - the richer they are, the stingier they become..."

Originally, Lu Ding had wanted to fly here to save trouble.

But considering that flying with others would be too conspicuous, and the materials Fu Xinghe had prepared mentioned that Xiankong Town's environment was poor.

Lu Ding decided to just come by car.

This way he could also inspect the detailed situation in Xiankong Town along the way.

But as it turned out, the further they went toward Xiankong Town, the worse the environment became.

The rivers were foul, the land was ruined.

The trees were dead, the grass was withered, the wind blowing toward them carried sand and dust, and any large vehicles on the road with Linshan Mining logos inevitably had their accelerators floored, completely disregarding anyone else's safety.

This kind of corporation - Lu Ding was absolutely determined not to let them continue operating.

An eyesore!

Zhan Tingzhou, sitting in the back seat with him, had been worrying about finding a conversation topic as the atmosphere felt somewhat dead.

Sensing that Lu Ding's mood wasn't quite right, he spoke up: "This Linshan Mining really is despicable."

"But they're too deeply involved in Xiankong Town - their influence extends into many industries here. Making major moves against them might affect the local situation."

"It's not easy to handle, can only reform them gradually."

In his previous life, this was exactly how Linshan Mining had been reformed - 749 Bureau used its authority to pressure them: Reform or else!!

If you don't reform, we'll arrest you bastards!!

Although this was already quite domineering, it still wasn't enough.

Hearing this analysis, Lu Ding slowly turned his head.

Zhan Tingzhou understood Xiankong Town, but he didn't understand Lu Ding.

"Reform?"

"Give me a break."

Lu Ding shook his head: "No matter how you package a rotten orange, it's still a rotten orange. Even if you put labels over the rotten parts, its essence remains that of a rotten orange."

"Reforming is too troublesome. Linshan Mining grew powerful in Xiankong Town, ate their fill and drank their fill, then went and smashed the pots and pans."

"People like this don't deserve a second chance."

Zhan Tingzhou's heart tightened: "So??????"

Lu Ding leaned back: "So it's better to endure short-term pain than long-term suffering. After we deal with the Rat Demon situation, we'll arrest who needs arresting, execute who needs executing, and release the resources they've monopolized for others to use."

"But wouldn't that cause chaos..."

"Chaos? Better to have one month of major chaos than ten years of minor chaos. It's better for the oppressed common people struggling to survive to suffer than for the powerful families colluding with Linshan Mining to suffer."