Chapter 2: The Heaven Burial Coffin

Driven by a burning thirst for vengeance, Lu Jin focused his mind. In an instant, the ancient, bronze-colored Heaven Burial Coffin manifested before him.

Though his understanding of the artifact was limited, his bloodline bond made the basic functions easy to command. A moment later, he vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was standing within a vast space filled with shimmering, profound light.

At the edge of his vision, a massive sarcophagus floated in the void. It radiated an ancient, heavy aura; a dark, suffocating pressure that was almost impossible to describe.

Upon the sarcophagus, two golden characters danced like frantic dragons:

Heaven Burial!

“So this is the Heaven Burial Coffin… one of the Nine Absolutes?”

Lu Jin suppressed his shock and tried to probe further. However, his current strength was too pathetic. The thread of spiritual Qi he sent out vanished instantly, failing to create even a single ripple.

He sighed in frustration. Then, he recalled the words of Empress Qinglian:

“Offer it items containing spiritual energy.”

“Fine. Let’s see what you do with Spirit Stones!”

With a flick of his wrist, he exited the space. He gently rubbed his spatial ring, and a single Spirit Stone flew out, sinking into the Heaven Burial Coffin.

Buzz!

The small bronze coffin flashed with profound light. A surge of pure spiritual power flooded his body, instantly becoming a source of raw energy!

“Wait… this is the coffin’s feedback?”

Lu Jin was startled. He clearly felt his cultivation level nudge upward the moment that energy entered him. Though the increase was minuscule, the sensation of becoming stronger was undeniable.

“This isn’t just raw Qi. This is refined Power! Its essence that can be directly added to the physical body and utilised!”

“It seems the coffin can refine Spirit Stones into the most fundamental source of energy for cultivation.”

Standard pills and stones required a cultivator to spend hours refining and absorbing them. But the power processed by the Heaven Burial Coffin merged with his body instantly, becoming part of his origin strength.

This would put his cultivation speed leagues ahead of any ordinary cultivator.

“In that case…”

Lu Jin looked at his spatial ring. Inside lay the entire fortune left by his Shizun. It was a lifetime of savings.

As one of the nine peak masters of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, his Shizun had been a formidable figure. He had once single-handedly wiped out every evil cultivator within a thousand miles. His combat power ranked in the top three of the entire sect.

The wealth of such a master was substantial. Lu Jin did a quick count: two thousand Spirit Stones, a pile of cultivation manuals, weapons, and various spiritual materials.

Lu Jin made his decision. A hundred Spirit Stones flew from the ring.

The Heaven Burial Coffin erupted in a white light, enveloping the stones. Within breaths, they were swallowed whole.

Buzz!

A massive wave of refined power surged from the coffin, drilling into his body and flooding his limbs.

Lu Jin’s eyes snapped open. A needle-like pain pierced his skull.

It hurts!

The power was pure, but it was tearing at his flesh. A single stone caused no discomfort, but a hundred stones increased the pressure a hundredfold. If his body was to hold this power, it had to evolve.

Lu Jin sat cross-legged, circulating his technique. The pain eventually subsided.

“If I want to wear the crown, I must bear its weight.”

“The Heaven Burial Coffin is god-like. My physical body must keep up.”

“To be the best, one must endure the worst. Compared to regaining my strength, what is this bit of pain?”

“Again!”

Buzz!

This time, three hundred Spirit Stones flew out! This was equivalent to the entire yearly allowance of an Inner Court disciple. By his estimate, after absorbing these, he should be able to break into the Spirit Pearl realm.

Boom!

The light exploded. The buzzing was incessant.

Refined power poured out of the coffin and crashed into his body like a meteorite hitting a lake. Compared to before, this was a thundering river. His bones clicked and popped. Agony rolled through him. His entire body felt like it was being forged in a furnace. His skin turned a deep, bulging red; his hair stood on end, as if it might burst through his pores!

Pain!

Before, it was an ache. Now, it was true agony.

Lu Jin gritted his teeth and formed hand seals, frantically running his highest-grade body-tempering technique: the Vajra Forging Scripture. It was a high-grade Profound rank manual. Inner Court disciples usually had to make massive contributions just to earn the right to look at it.

Buzz!

But as he ran the technique, a strange white light suddenly emerged from the Heaven Burial Coffin. Under its glow, the Vajra Forging Scripture ground to a halt as if the coffin were rejecting it. Then, a massive flood of information rushed into his mind.

“Is this a technique from the coffin? Does it… Look down on my Vajra Scripture?”

“Great Derivation Dragon Transformation Art? I wonder what grade this is…”

Lu Jin was shocked. He hadn’t expected the coffin to provide techniques as well. He immediately began to study it.

The manual was etched into his brain. It had five stages: Initial, Intermediate, Advanced, Minor Success, and Great Success. At the Great Success stage, the body could transform into a Divine Dragon, soaring through the heavens and diving into the seas!

“This is infinitely stronger than the Vajra Scripture!”

Lu Jin abandoned his old manual without hesitation and began to practice the Great Derivation Dragon Transformation Art. He started from the very basics.

The spiritual power in his body roared like a floodgate being opened. Lu Jin couldn’t contain his excitement.

“As expected of the coffin’s gift! The Vajra Scripture was garbage! And this is just the beginning!”

The massive spiritual power was guided and harnessed. While tempering his flesh, it was completely absorbed. His aura began to climb.

But the pain returned, sharper than ever. Lu Jin gritted his teeth, feeling his body being reshaped. It felt like being reborn in purgatory, a butterfly breaking from its cocoon.

After a long time, the three hundred Spirit Stones were exhausted. The pain vanished, but Lu Jin’s expression changed.

“I didn’t break through? Is it because of the Devouring Dantian?”

The Spirit Pearl realm required condensing spiritual Qi into pearls within the Dantian. One pearl for each level. Once nine pearls were formed, they would merge into one to strike at the Jindan realm.

Lu Jin was stunned that several hundred stones hadn’t produced a single pearl. Usually, it only took him fifty.

“If it’s not enough, I’ll just add more!”

He was eager but steady. A strong body required a process. He pulled out another five hundred stones.

As he delved deeper into the technique, his physical endurance improved. He was certain that with five hundred more stones, he would reach the Spirit Pearl realm.

Agony rolled. His aura ebbed and flowed like a tide.

Boom!

Suddenly, black clouds gathered over Luxian Peak. The wind began to howl. A thunderclap tore through the sky, rumbling downward.

At first, everyone thought it was just a regular storm. But the lightning coiled around the mountaintop, refusing to dissipate. This caught the attention of many.

Inside the Ten Thousand Swords Sect:

“Something’s wrong! That’s not normal lightning. That’s a Tribulation!”

“Why is it over Luxian Peak? Isn’t that mountain abandoned?”

“Luxian Peak is right next to the Saintess Peak. Word has it that the Saintess is in seclusion to reach the second grade of the Jindan realm. It must be her!”

“If the Saintess really reaches second-grade Jindan, she’ll be qualified to join the Blood Moon Holy Land! She’ll soar to the heavens!”

“Brother Yang Dianfeng is already a core disciple under Elder Chi Yu in the Blood Moon Holy Land. Everyone knows he and the Saintess are in love. With that connection, her entry is guaranteed!”

“Spread the word! Our Saintess, Liu Ruyan, is about to enter the second-grade Jindan realm! Such a genius will make other sects tremble with envy!”

While the disciples gossiped, the sect elders were also shocked. Liu Ruyan had only reached the Jindan realm three months ago. To advance again so soon was peerless talent.

However, something unexpected was happening.

At the summit of Saintess Peak, a woman sitting on a cultivation array suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Her eyes were wide with shock.

“I… I failed!”

“But I clearly drew down the Tribulation!”

This was the Saintess, Liu Ruyan. She looked up at the sky in disbelief. The thunder was roaring, and bolts of lightning were snaking through the clouds, but they were all striking toward Luxian Peak!

“That Tribulation… Is it not mine? Is someone else breaking through?”

“Luxian Peak has been abandoned for years. No one can be there. And… why does that lightning look so different from a Jindan Tribulation?”

Liu Ruyan was stunned. Then, the hoarse voice of an old woman echoed from her spatial ring, sounding surprised.

“It’s a Spirit Pearl Tribulation!”

Liu Ruyan frowned. “Master Fox? You mean the Spirit Pearl realm… can trigger a Tribulation?”

“Correct! Cultivation is an act of defying the heavens. There are some geniuses so brilliant that their talent triggers a backlash from the Heavenly Dao. Even at the Spirit Pearl realm, they draw down lightning!”

Liu Ruyan was shocked. She hadn’t realised there was such a genius in her own sect.

Suddenly, the old woman’s voice became excited. “Disciple, move! This Spirit Pearl Tribulation is much smaller than a Jindan one. Your current strength isn’t enough to draw down your own Jindan lightning yet. If you can use this Spirit Pearl Tribulation to temper your body early, you will merge perfectly with that Supreme Bone! Then, reaching the second grade of Jindan will be as easy as breathing!”

“Master, you mean… I should steal the Tribulation?”

“Exactly! You practice the Great Plundering Immortal Art I gave you. You must plunder all resources for yourself! To waste such an opportunity would be a sin against heaven!”

Liu Ruyan’s eyes turned red with greed.

“Fine!”

Buzz!

She drew three hundred Spirit Stones from her ring and threw them into her refining furnace.

“Lightning, come to me!”

Boom!

As the energy flooded her, her aura erupted. The power of a first-grade Jindan burst forth. Her spiritual Qi formed a pillar of white light that shot into the sky, attempting to hijack the lightning!

Meanwhile, inside his coffin, Lu Jin was ecstatic.

“Haha! After devouring so many stones, I finally condensed the first Spirit Pearl!”

He looked within. Deep inside his Endless Devouring Dantian, a single Spirit Pearl floated like a speck of dust, radiating pure power.

“The Great Derivation Dragon Transformation Art is incredible!”

“But… did this technique cause the lightning? Shouldn’t a Tribulation only happen at the Jindan realm?”

Lu Jin was baffled. While he was condensing the pearl, lightning had been striking his coffin relentlessly. He felt like the wood was about to catch fire!

But thanks to the new technique, he had endured the lightning’s power. At its peak, the Great Derivation Dragon Transformation Art could heal the body at a visible speed. Even wounds from the world’s most violent lightning were nothing to it.

With the coffin and this technique, his path was unstoppable.

“A Tribulation? If you’re going to come, then come harder!”

Buzz!

He made his move. Two thousand Spirit Stones poured into the Heaven Burial Coffin!

“One pearl is nowhere near my limit! Let’s keep going!”

Lu Jin’s eyes burned with a mad intensity.

The moment those two thousand stones were swallowed, the lightning clouds above the peak doubled in size!

At that exact moment, the pillar of light sent by Liu Ruyan managed to snag a cluster of lightning!

Boom!

The lightning descended with the weight of the heavens. Liu Ruyan, who had been full of confidence, was suddenly paralysed with terror.

“Master! Why did the lightning suddenly get so much stronger?!”

In that split second, the old woman’s voice turned frantic.

“USE THE SUPREME BONE! NOW!!!”