Chapter 49: Myriad Coffins Array Part 1

Wang Ya knew something was terribly wrong the moment she heard “Myriad Coffins Array.” Although she didn’t understand arrays well, she knew some of the vicious formations common in yin-evil places, and the Myriad Coffins Array was one of the few she recognized. The Myriad Coffins Array came in many varieties, but coffins were always the most prominent feature. Wherever a Myriad Coffins Array existed, it was a place of utmost peril. Her grandma had warned her: “The Myriad Coffins Array is a formation of great misfortune—flee at the sight of it!” But now, they had no other path to retreat. The mausoleum had collapsed, the waterway leading who-knew-where teemed with Giant Crocodiles, leaving only this Myriad Coffins Array blocking their way.

Wang Ya thought of the mausoleum she had seen earlier, then looked at the formation laid out before her and its mere one or two hundred meters from the mausoleum. Clearly, this Myriad Coffins Array was a protective pit built on the must-pass road to the main tomb. To leave this place, they had to break through the Myriad Coffins Array.

With no way back, Wang Ya abandoned any thoughts of retreat. After all, there was only one path forward—live or die!

Wang Ya wiped the stains from the corner of her mouth and walked over to Zhang Qingshui and Old Tang, who were staring at the Myriad Coffins Array in distress.

Zhang Qingshui asked Wang Ya if she had a way.

Wang Ya said, “The Myriad Coffins Array comes in many types. I don’t know which one this is, so for now, we can only play it by ear.” She gazed into the darkness ahead, unconsciously untying the Ghost Collecting Bell from her wrist and holding it in her hand, ready to strike at any moment. She stared intently into the darkness without turning her head and asked, “Dad, did you go into the Myriad Coffins Array earlier and move a coffin?”

Wang Cheng’an replied, “Yeah! There was a ghost in the coffin. I grabbed its head and threw it off the cliff. Then I heard noises from a lot of coffins, so… I was just a tiny bit scared, only a tiny bit, so I picked up its coffin and ran!”

Wang Ya’s eyes widened in shock upon hearing this. She glared fiercely at Wang Cheng’an, her face turning pale with anger! She took a deep breath and exclaimed, “That’s why I felt something was off!”

Old Tang glanced at Wang Ya, then shot a look at Zhang Qingshui: it was obvious that Wang Ya knew something.

Huang Qi, Zhang Qingshui, and Old Tang all looked grim. Wang Cheng’an’s words had made it clear: there were ghosts in this Myriad Coffins Array, and he had disturbed them by moving a coffin! That meant ghosts could come at them any moment. With so many coffins arrayed before them, who knew how many ferocious ghosts and monsters lurked?

Wang Ya peeled off the bandage on her finger and bit into the unhealed wound again. She drew a Conceal Qi Talisman on herself with her blood, then one on Wang Cheng’an. She thought for a moment—Huang Qi and Zhang Qingshui would likely lead the way later, and she couldn’t just leave them here to die—so she quickly drew one on each of their faces as well as Old Tang’s. Drawing five Conceal Qi Talismans in one go exhausted even Wang Ya, whose youthful vitality was abundant; sweat beaded on her forehead.

Huang Qi whispered, “There really are ghosts!” Her face grew even paler.

Sounds of all sorts emanated from the Myriad Coffins Array: nails scratching coffin boards, coffin lids crashing to the ground.

The noises from the unseen darkness were even more terrifying.

Old Tang said, “Let’s charge before they surround us!”

Wang Ya said gravely, “The Conceal Qi Blood Talisman lasts three quarters of an hour. We must break out of the Myriad Coffins Array before it wears off. We can’t charge blindly—getting trapped inside would be trouble. Zhang Qingshui, I’ll recite the incantation to you. You and Huang Qi lead the way with my dad. Old Tang, we’ll clear the path ahead.”

Old Tang asked in surprise, “Incantation? What incantation?”

Wang Ya said, “The Feng Family’s Array Breaking Incantation. It works against the Myriad Coffins Array. I only know the incantation, not the calculations, so I can’t figure out the formation’s layout.”

Zhang Qingshui nodded. “Tell me!”

Huang Qi suddenly shouted, “Ghost!”

The paper person standing beside Old Tang turned into a streak of white light and intercepted a pitch-black figure two meters ahead in mid-air. Then came a “clang”—something broke in two and smashed onto a coffin lid ahead with two “thuds.” Splashing water accompanied a thick stench of rotting corpses. The thing that landed on the coffin lid wasn’t dead; it pounced toward the four of them at astonishing speed.

Wang Ya saw at a glance that it was a Corpse Ghost severed at the waist. The Corpse Ghost supported itself with its hands and charged at Huang Qi like a sprinting chicken, swift as lightning. Wang Ya was about to hurl the Ghost Collecting Bell when Old Tang gripped his Tang Dao, stepped forward, and slashed down with full force. The oncoming ghostly thing was instantly cleaved in two and fell to the ground.

The Tang Dao sliced diagonally from its neck, splitting it into two pieces: one with the head attached to the right shoulder. The head wasn’t dead; upon landing, the right arm reached straight for Huang Qi’s foot, its mouth full of fangs gaping wide with a “chitter-chitter” roar as if to bite.

Wang Ya felt disgusted. She unleashed the Ghost Collecting Bell, pinning it to the ghost’s head, activated the incantation, and directly refined its soul on the spot!