"Didn't I just tell you? They mean to freeze us to death!" As the last syllable left Clay Man Zhang, six deep-blue Ranyi fish suddenly burst from the water. Compared to before, the difference was striking: their bodies were larger, and their color had deepened.

Nán Pázi was quick-witted enough to squint and fire instantly. The bullet pierced one Ranyi fish, but it did nothing to slow its gliding speed.

Just a meter away from Nán Pázi, all six fish opened their mouths simultaneously. A wave of bone-chilling cold immediately permeated the entire hall.

"Fall back, further back! Watch your footing," Clay Man Zhang roared. "Freezing! They’re launching their full assault!"

Crack…

Before Nán Pázi could fire a second shot, he felt his left foot rapidly stiffen, impossible to pull free. By the time he registered what was happening, the nerves in his entire thigh were completely frozen. If one observed closely, a faint layer of ice crystals could be seen coating his trousers. The speed at which this ice ascended was phenomenal; in moments, it completely encased Nán Pázi. After a moment, devoid of life, he crashed to the floor, his limbs shattering along with the ice, ripped apart as if by five horses—a horrifying spectacle without even a trace of a bloodied incision.

"That... that is the Ranyi fish's true killing move!" Clay Man Zhang closed his eyes, still shaken by the horror.

"What do we do now!" Young Master Liu shouted loudly.

"Others, provide covering fire! Young Master, you and I are going to activate the talismans we set!" Clay Man Zhang commanded decisively.

"How long will it take?" Uncle Diao asked.

"Hold for twenty seconds!" With that, Clay Man Zhang executed a forward roll and began swimming away, with Young Master Liu right behind him.

"Brothers, cover them!" Uncle Diao nodded, raising his hand to fire a shot. The tomb robbers vehemently agreed, perhaps horrified by Nán Pázi’s demise. This time, they fired with unusual ferocity, bullets pouring down like a torrential storm. They finally shredded the six Ranyi fish into fragments. After all, despite being monstrous, these things were still flesh; they might withstand one or two shots, but how could they endure such a barrage?

However, more and more evolved Ranyi fish began to surge out of the water.

Gradually, Uncle Diao and the others could no longer hold them off. Uncle Diao gasped for breath. "Young Master, how are you doing! If you can’t finish soon, we’ll have to use explosives and perish with these bastards."

"Don't set the detonators! We're done, we're done!" Young Master Liu lay flat on the ground, letting out a long breath, his face covered in sweat beads. It seemed he hadn't been idle; he had clearly exerted considerable effort.

The ground was covered with chaotic, bizarre symbols and names, interwoven with the Taiji Bagua, all written in vivid crimson. The final talisman to activate the array had been written by Young Master Liu biting his finger; all the cinnabar powder had been used up.

"Activate the array!" Clay Man Zhang plunged the Yuyang Thorn into the ground. Instantly, the crisscrossing lines emitted a red glow, gradually beginning to move, circling the coffin. In a moment, at the center of each vortex, a pillar of fire soared toward the heavens, making the entire burial chamber intensely hot.

"Good heavens, truly a towering inferno," Clay Man Zhang murmured, astonished.

"Of course. Half a bag of cinnabar and half a tube of blood—if that still didn't work, I’d go bang my head against a wall," Young Master Liu retorted dismissively.

"What spell is this?" Clay Man Zhang asked. In the distance, countless Ranyi fish sprayed icy breath, but fire is the mortal enemy of water. Moreover, the entire exterior of the golden coffin was encased in the fire array, rapidly evaporating the moisture in the air, rendering the Ranyi fish's icy attack utterly useless.

"Self-created, no name," Young Master Liu smiled.

"Oh, remarkable."

"Heh, if you insist on a name, you could call it the 'Badass Grand Array'!"

"Ahem…" Clay Man Zhang coughed twice, finding this eccentric character somewhat speechless.

"Right, what's next?" Young Master Liu asked.

"Sit tight, wait for the fire to stop, and eat grilled fish."

"You can eat these things?" Young Master Liu wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Forget it, I have no interest in that."

Inside the fire array, few Ranyi fish remained. In truth, if they had stayed put beneath the water inside the inner coffin, others would have struggled to deal with them. But for some unknown reason, these Ranyi fish threw themselves into the flames like crazed warriors, rushing forward one after another in a surprisingly heroic manner. A stench of scorching filled the air.

The layer of frost clinging to the outside of the golden coffin completely melted, and pools of water and gore slowly seeped from beside Nán Pázi’s corpse.

After waiting a few more minutes, the power of the array finally reached its limit. The fire pillars extinguished one by one, and the symbols written on the ground vanished simultaneously.

"It's over!"

"Mmm, just one more inner array and we're done," Clay Man Zhang said, grinding a strange fish carcass under his heel.

"There's more?" Young Master Liu nearly shuddered himself into a faint.

"I only intend to take what I came for. I’ll handle the final barrier myself," Clay Man Zhang stated calmly. At the same time, he turned to look at the group of tomb robbers. "If I'm not mistaken, there’s a small underground palace beneath this inner coffin. The burial treasures down there should be quite rich. You won't have come all this way for nothing."