This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

"Zhao Jie, Zhao Jie!" Seeing this eerie scene, those acquainted with the black-robed cultivator felt chills run down their spines and anxiously called out the name of the cultivator who had fallen into the mysterious iron coffin, but there was no response whatsoever.

A living person had just been swallowed by a coffin.

Li Venerable's eyes were shadowed, intently watching the mysterious iron coffin that had returned to its original state.

It wasn't that there were no changes, for right after Zhao Jie fell into the coffin, a small portion of the strange grey patterns on the surface of the coffin began to flicker with a blood-red sheen, as if they had come to life.

He seemed to think of something, but was not sure, and needed to verify it further.

So he pointed out another Underworld Cultivator—the cultivator in purple robes who was just calling Zhao Jie's name, "You, go and explore this coffin again!"

The cultivator in purple robes never expected disaster to strike from above, and said in fear, "Hall Master, I...."

"Hmm?" Li Venerable let out a cold hum, and his gaze swept across the cultivator in purple robes like a sharp blade.

Under the watchful and ferocious gaze of Li Venerable, the cultivator in purple robes turned ashen.

As Underworld Cultivators, they all had the Heart Demon Gu implanted into their divine souls, and Li Venerable held control over the mother Gu of the Heart Demon Gu. With the mother Gu, as long as they dared to act against Li Venerable, he could easily counter them using the restraining power of the mother Gu over their child Gu.

Thus, even now that Li Venerable had shattered his own Nascent Soul, dramatically reducing his cultivation, they simply could not resist him.

Coerced by Li Venerable, the cultivator in purple robes could only walk slowly into the ancient temple, his legs trembling as he approached the mysterious iron coffin.

...

Lu Qingshan and his three companions were hiding their presence in the distance, observing the scene.

Truth be told, their techniques to conceal their auras were not very sophisticated—indeed, they could be considered quite crude.

But because the attentions of the Underworld Cultivators were currently all focused on the coffin inside the ancient temple, so far, not a single one of them had discovered the arrival of Lu Qingshan and his party.

"There's something off about the state of these Underworld Cultivators!" Lu Qingshan squinted his eyes and whispered, "Their complexions and conditions are terribly poor."

After carefully observing, Dantai Qingrun nodded and said, "Indeed, that's the case."

Generally speaking, the use of a burst secret technique brings not only damage to one's cultivation foundation but also severe aftereffects.

After the enormous strength gained from the burst fades, a cultivator will fall into an extremely weakened state for a long period of time.

These Underworld Cultivators had previously used a burst Secret Technique to quickly break the restrictions around the Demon Spirit tomb, which was why they had all fallen into an extremely weakened state, their strength reduced to just a tenth or a twentieth of their peak.

"Seizing this opportunity, we might have the chance to completely eliminate these Underworld Cultivators," Lu Qingshan said casually with earth-shattering implications, as a surge of killing intent burst forth.

Within his pitch-black eyes, crimson glints flickered.

Normally, his desire to kill wasn't so intense.

"Lu Qingshan, the sound of a heartbeat and a calling is getting clearer," said the rat king from the West, who was standing on Lu Qingshan's shoulder, suddenly grabbing Lu Qingshan's hanging hair, with a tone of anxiousness.

"Is the sound coming from that mysterious iron coffin?" Lu Qingshan asked again.

The calling and heartbeat sounds that the rat king from the West mysteriously heard remained a puzzle, with no answer to it.

The rat king from the West nodded, then shook its small head vigorously and hastily explained, "The heartbeat indeed comes from that coffin, but that calling comes from there!"

The rat king from the West stretched out its small paw, pointing toward the Deep Pool that had naturally formed in the center of the square.

"Hmm?" Lu Qingshan narrowed his eyes and began to ponder in his mind.

...

On the other side, under Li Venerable's coercion, the cultivator in purple robes had already come alarmingly close to the mysterious iron coffin.

At this moment, the mysterious iron coffin did not emit any abnormal noises.

"Break open this coffin," Li Venerable's voice echoed like an owl hooting, sending shivers of icy coldness down the spine of the cultivator in purple.

Under Li Venerable's coercion, the cultivator in purple dared not delay.

A green wooden ruler appeared in his hand, his magic artifact.

Grasping the wooden ruler, it enveloped in a halo of green light, he swung it fiercely towards the coffin, attempting to shatter the outer shell of the coffin.

Clang!

A blood-red divine light burst forth from the surface of the coffin, instantly sending the green wooden ruler magic artifact flying from the cultivator in purple's hand.

Simultaneously, a foul, bloody stench wafted towards him, causing the cultivator in purple to momentarily become dazed.

At that moment, with a creak, the dark-iron coffin opened a fine crack like the giant maw of a ferocious beast, and the cultivator in purple, swaying uncontrollably, tumbled into the coffin.

The lid of the coffin slowly closed under the terrified gaze of the onlookers.

Everything once again became quiet, the only change being that the gray patterns on the surface of the dark-iron coffin lit up again over a large area.

About ten percent of the patterns were now flickering with light.

Li Venerable's expression grew even more fierce; he had confirmed his speculation.

He pointed with his finger and rapidly selected a dozen more Underworld Cultivators.

"All of you, enter the Ancient Temple and work together to lift the coffin lid!" Li Venerable's tone was chilling, revealing an air of indisputable finality.

The Underworld Cultivators whose names were called all wore expressions of despair, one of them shaking his head in denial, his voice trembling as he said, "Hall Master, this is sending us to our deaths..."

His feet were unconsciously stepping backward.

Li Venerable let out a sinister chuckle, his thoughts barely stirring before a black beam shot into the cultivator's forehead with such swiftness that he was unable to dodge or react.

The next moment, the cultivator clutched his head and let out a scream, collapsing to the ground and convulsing, emitting wails akin to a tormented spirit, "Ah... Ah... Hall Master, spare my life, please spare me... I was wrong, I was wrong!"

Li Venerable remained unmoved, instead watching coldly as he writhed on the ground like a despised insect.

Thirty breaths later, Li Venerable finally ceased torturing the Underworld Cultivator.

Following the shattering of his Nascent Soul, his cultivation was no longer sufficient to suppress all the cultivators present, but this was an opportunity to intimidate the Underworld Cultivators, ensuring they understood that as long as the Heart Demon Gu remained unresolved within them, they were forever under his control.

"This coffin may not necessarily lead to your deaths, but I can make you wish for death." Li Venerable scanned the crowd, his voice cold and detached.

For a moment, all the Underworld Cultivators fell deathly silent, no longer daring to say another word.

Better him than me, after all, it's not me who's being sent to die.

Most of the Underworld Cultivators thought this to themselves.

The Underworld Cultivator used to make an example of struggled to rise, his clothes already soaked with cold sweat, his face pale, weakly begging for mercy, "I was wrong."

Li Venerable showed no mercy, pointing at the coffin in the center of the Ancient Temple, his voice stern, "Hurry up!"

With the previous example before them, even though they knew it was a death sentence, the Underworld Cultivators now no longer dared to resist or argue and could only silently walk into the Ancient Temple, approaching the dark-iron coffin.

"Open the coffin lid!" Li Venerable commanded sharply.

The dozen Underworld Cultivators placed their hands on the coffin lid, exchanging a look before finally beginning to slowly push the lid.

Sss, sss, sss.

In the stillness of the surroundings, the sound of the coffin lid moving seemed extraordinarily jarring.