"Don't let the corpse escape Coffin Mountain, release the living one quickly!" Old Man Sun cried out in alarm. In that instant, I saw the veins bulging and blood vessels throbbing on Old Man Sun's face in the candlelight, yet his complexion was utterly bloodless—lacking only the moldy hairs that sprout on a true zombie, it was undeniably the ghastly visage of a walking dead.

But it was exactly as it had been in the Earth Immortal villagers' homes: in the blink of an eye, the thick miasma of corpse energy that had appeared on Shunye's face suddenly vanished, and his ashen pallor returned.

I saw the tomb chamber pierced by a sudden, chilling wind, the candlelight flickering uncertainly like ghostly fire. Every sign predicted that something supernatural or a full-blown corporeal transformation was imminent within the golden sarcophagus. I had no time to focus on Old Man Sun; I gripped my entrenching tool, wrenching hard at the lid, while telling Fatty to hurry and douse the contents with lamp oil to incinerate the body, burning Feng Shigu's remains quickly while the situation was still manageable.

The stench of decay hit my nostrils. I figured a highly decomposed corpse wouldn't possess an inner elixir, making opening the coffin to see the body pointless. I strained with all my might to wedge the Vajra Umbrella into a gap on the lid and urged Fatty to start the fire.

Fatty remained remarkably composed in the face of danger. He immediately pulled out the flat, rectangular tin of lamp oil, intending to squeeze the fuel into the sarcophagus. Because the sealed tin was flat and had a narrow spout that required pressure to release the fuel, the process seemed agonizingly slow in his haste.

Fatty grew anxious, wishing he could just dump the entire can inside. Instead, in his rush, his movements became too wide, and the tin slipped from his grasp, sliding directly through the gap in the lid and tumbling into the golden coffin.

Old Man Sun and I yelled in unison, "Bad!" This fuel was our last resort, our trump card. Losing it inside the coffin was unthinkable. I immediately tried to insert my handle-equipped hand into the gap to fish it out, but the opening forced by the entrenching tool was too narrow; my arm wouldn't fit past the edge.

At that moment, Old Man Sun pulled me back from the sarcophagus. The three of us retreated a few steps until our backs hit the tomb wall. Silence descended upon the golden coffin. Aside from our heavy gasps, the only sound in the chamber was the perpetual, uncertain swaying of the faint, greenish candlelight.

I didn't know why Old Man Sun had pulled me away from the coffin. Just as I was about to ask, a metallic grinding and shuddering resonated from deep underground, making our hands and feet tingle. Old Man Sun stared fixedly at the golden coffin and said, "There's no need to open it now. Look, the vital energy is showing through the walls made of Lingxing stone—the Corpse Immortal is about to emerge."

The Earth Immortal Feng Shigu, in the Records of Observing Mountains and Excavating Treasures, had clearly stated that the moment the Blood Dance entered the earth, the myriad immortals would ascend from their mountains. The life energy of Coffin Mountain’s Pangu vein had vanished for a thousand years. The Grand Master of Mountain Observation built the Earth Immortal Village's Yin and Yang dwellings, and upon his death, he was buried in the tomb with the Corpse Immortal. He had calculated that when the earth energy of Coffin Mountain recovered, he himself would transform into a true immortal and burst forth from the ancient tomb with tens of thousands of disciples.

The so-called Blood Dance referred to the Nine-Death Startling Armor lurking around Coffin Mountain—a plant mutated from copper corrosion, whose copper shells and thorns emitted an incredibly heavy scent of blood, completely isolating the Earth Immortal Village's ancient tomb from the outside world. Now, the Startling Armor had lost control, pressing tightly against the coffin underground, threatening to crush the entire Pangu vein at any moment. Traces of bloody energy had already seeped into the Earth Immortal Canopy of the Lingxing Hall, causing the candles lit in the chamber to burn with that ghostly light.

But if Feng Shigu was such a reclusive genius, thoroughly versed in the arts of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, why did he firmly believe while alive that the moment the Nine-Death Startling Armor entered the mountain, the countless corpses in the tomb would surely emerge? Did the man never consider that if the Startling Armor moved, the entire Coffin Mountain would shatter into dust? How could the nest survive if the eggs were broken? Once the coffin was compromised, the ancient tomb and its corpses inside would also be destroyed. Moreover, with the Pangu vein buried deep underground beneath thousands of feet of mountain, how could there possibly be talk of immortals ascending?

If the multitude of corpses in the Earth Immortal Village could truly escape the depths and flee the mountain, then there must truly be gods in this world—a notion I absolutely refused to accept. Seeing Old Man Sun utterly dispirited, his earlier vigor for opening the coffin and destroying the corpse gone, I felt a surge of anger. I challenged him, "The matters of the Earth Immortal Village had nothing to do with us initially. Old Man Sun, how is it that after drawing us into this mess, you are the first one to throw in the towel?"

Fatty chimed in, "Once you see a coffin, there's no reason not to open it and grab a fortune. If Old Man Sun doesn't want to proceed, we won't stop you. Just don't get in our way. It's not too late to break ranks now."

Only Shirley Yang, guarding the crack in the wall, seemed to understand Old Man Sun's apprehension. She told me, "Old Hu, Professor Sun isn't the type to hesitate out of cowardice. He's probably worried that all of Feng Shigu's calculations are true."

Old Man Sun slowly nodded, then confessed dejectedly to the group, "My Feng family has produced a disgrace. Generations have sacrificed their fortunes and lives just to eradicate the scourge that is the Earth Immortal Feng Shigu. But since we entered the top of the coffin, I increasingly feel that every move we make has been anticipated by Feng Shigu. The blood energy of the Startling Armor has already seeped into the chamber; Feng Shigu in that golden sarcophagus must have become a true immortal by now. Whatever we do is too late."

Ah Mei was clearly frightened by Old Man Sun's words and felt a growing dread. She whispered to me, "Senior Brother, my godfather said that Corpse Immortals truly exist in the deep wilderness. As soon as one comes out, the local populace will all perish."

I scoffed, "I refuse to believe it. Nothing is predetermined. How can a zombie that died and decayed possibly achieve immortality? What era is this, still dreaming of achieving ascension and refining elixirs? Even if this primitive superstition held any truth in the past, it's absolutely impossible now, because the wheels of history cannot be turned backward. Anyone who attempts to reverse course will surely be crushed by the great wheel of history."

Fatty slapped his backside and declared, "If the Corpse Immortal can truly climb out of that coffin, then Fatty here might be willing to share Uncle Sam's immortal, great maxim with him—ignorance is the mother of superstition."

I marveled at how much Wang Pangzi’s level had improved; his scope of reference now extended beyond the Three Essentials and Marxist writings. Who knew where he’d picked up this snippet, misremembering Balzac as Uncle Sam in the process, but he’d let it slip out.

Seeing the Blood Dance intensifying in the tomb, I ignored asking Fatty about his recent scholarly improvement. To open the coffin, destroy the corpse, and escape Coffin Mountain, we had to act now. All hesitation had to be discarded. As the saying goes, one punch to break through prevents a hundred punches from following. We had to get serious at this critical juncture. I called everyone forward, urging them to act—we had to lift the lid and retrieve the spilled oil can to burn the body.

The group gathered before the coffin and strained together to pry the casket, which resembled a golden shrine, outwards. This time, we used every ounce of strength we possessed. With a loud crack, the lid split down the middle. Simultaneously, a flash of green light crossed my vision, and a body sat up inside the sarcophagus. This corpse was tall; if it stood, it would tower over Fatty by two heads. It was completely encased in a dragon-patterned jade shroud—what is commonly known as a gold-stitched jade suit—a suit of jade armor sealing its entire body. The structure of the golden jade wrapping was exquisitely intricate, with small jade plates connecting the finger joints, allowing for free articulation.

It seemed that during burial, the jade-armored ancient corpse had been grasping the lid with its arms inside the coffin. When the lid was pried open, the body, unrotten yet stiff, was pulled up, rising from the golden sarcophagus.

We crowded around the coffin, our tactical spotlights converging on the jade-clad corpse. As the beams wavered, we saw the body was riddled with arrows—all fired by the repeating crossbow during the opening attempt. Blood seeped from the arrow wounds in its limbs, and where arrows struck the head, jade pieces had shattered, revealing gold beneath—as if a solid gold skull had been embedded in the corpse’s cavity.

Everyone froze: "The one in the coffin isn't the Earth Immortal Feng Shigu, but the headless, evil Great Priest, the one described as the Black Pig that Dug the River—King Wuyang? Legend says King Wuyang turned into a Corpse Immortal after death, and Feng Shigu had already dismembered him in the Illustration of Meeting Immortals in Coffin Mountain. Why is he in the Earth Immortal's tomb?"

I noticed that the ancient corpse of King Wuyang, covered head-to-toe in jade armor, was exuding a thick, foul corpse energy through the seams. The ancient corpse's fingernails were long and curved, protruding through the gaps in the jade gauntlets—a sign of reanimation, as if it were still alive. I quickly asked Old Man Sun, "Is this Feng Shigu or King Wuyang?"

Old Man Sun was stunned speechless. With a sidelong glance at the candle in the southeast corner of the tomb, I saw its ghostly green light had grown dim and weak, threatening to extinguish at any moment. Knowing the ancient corpse of King Wuyang was far from ordinary and might suddenly lash out, I shouted to Ah Mei, "Quick, throw the rope and lasso the body!"

Hearing the call, Ah Mei swiftly released the Immortal Binding Rope. Several loops of rope descended like a vast net, instantly ensnaring King Wuyang. A sharp pull on the line coiled the ancient corpse into a tight bundle, like a zongzi.

Fatty and I rushed to help. The three of us yanked the rope, dragging the impossibly heavy corpse from the sarcophagus onto the tomb floor. With the dragging and bumping, a layer of black mist escaped from the seams of the jade armor. The exposed gold on the jade helmet, catching the flickering light, appeared as if it possessed piercing eyes—a truly terrifying sight.

I knew that controlling a tiger once released was harder than capturing it. There could be no hesitation or softness now. I signaled to Shirley Yang; she understood immediately without words. Beside us, Old Man Sun was painstakingly striking a match and successfully lit the wick.

The flames roared up with a whoosh, immediately engulfing the jade-armored King Wuyang. The compressed lamp oil provided considerable force, and the fire wouldn't die down quickly. Finally, a weight lifted from my chest. No matter if it was a walking corpse or a zombie, fire would consume it, turning it to ash. I looked back at the golden coffin. Inside, besides some scattered jade fragments and crossbow bolts, there was nothing else; below that was the tomb bed. The Earth Immortal's chamber was limited in size; Feng Shigu couldn't be buried elsewhere. But why had his corpse turned into King Wuyang? The matter was truly baffling. There was no second body in the Lingxing Hall's Earth Immortal chamber, leaving only one possibility: this corpse with the golden head was the Earth Immortal Feng Shigu.

I desperately hoped everything inside the Earth Immortal Canopy would conclude quickly. I surmised Feng Shigu had tried to emulate King Wuyang's method of achieving immortal ascension, only to turn himself into this abomination. His arrogant ambition to refine himself into a Corpse Immortal in life was about to be reduced to ash by the raging flames; the fellow would only achieve "eternal life in fire."

Forced back by the inferno, everyone retreated to a corner of the chamber. Fatty was still preoccupied with retrieving that pure gold skull once the flames died down. That thing would be easier to move than the golden coffin. We had gone through too much trouble to get into this mountain to leave without a real artifact as a "souvenir."

But I had no interest in the burial objects within the Earth Immortal Canopy. Seeing the fire fully engulfing the body, I began contemplating how to escape Coffin Mountain. The chances of breaking free from the combined siege of the Nine-Death Startling Armor and the Coffin Worms were slim, but not zero. I told Old Man Sun and the others, "The Earth Immortal will soon turn to ash. Shouldn't we start planning an exit from this place?"

Old Man Sun seemed unable to believe that Feng Shigu's remains could be destroyed so easily. Was it over just like that? I retorted that it was fortunate I reacted quickly; if a full transformation had occurred, the binding lines might not have held it. Our fire, though not as intense as a crematorium furnace, was like a small napalm bomb. The Earth Immortal Feng Shigu was just a stiffened, decayed corpse, not a diamond-boned Vajra Arhat. Burning him would likely leave nothing but bone dregs.

The tremors from underground intensified with each passing moment, like a death knell urging everyone to leave quickly. Shirley Yang advised, "We shouldn't linger in a place of disaster. Before the Startling Armor destroys the entire Coffin Mountain, we should hurry and leave this ghost domain of the Lingxing Hall."

I agreed and turned to Fatty, whose eyes were glazed over: "Can you be useful for once? If the green hills remain, there's no shortage of firewood. Stop obsessing over that lump of gold and clear out with me..."

Before I finished speaking, Old Man Sun suddenly slapped my shoulder: "Look quickly at the candle in the chamber!"

Hearing this, everyone turned their gaze to the southeast corner of the tomb. The candle flame had abruptly gone out; only a wisp of residual green smoke rose into the air before fading ethereally away. Ancient lore used the Eight Gates to denote directions; the southeast represented the direction of impending crisis. The extinguishing of the life lamp signaled that the true, catastrophic disaster was right before our eyes.

A chill ran through me, but I tried to comfort myself: the candle must have gone out because of the dense corpse energy combined with the rising flames, which naturally reduced the oxygen content. I could barely breathe myself now, so the candle going out wasn't a big deal.

But when disaster strikes, self-deception is futile. Looking at the fire's source, it seemed the flames had caused the corpse's charred tendons and bones to contract. The body burning fiercely suddenly sat up, yet the raging fire appeared to do it no harm. Only the gold threads connecting the jade armor began to melt from the heat, causing the layers of jade armor to peel away. As the corpse’s head and jade casing separated and scattered, a hideous golden skull emerged in the firelight.