Many cultivators fled for their lives, not a few nearly frightened out of their wits. These two worms truly lived up to the name “demon-slayer” — probably not far off from pure-blood ancestor worms. They possessed a saint’s Dao cultivation, while their physical bodies were even more formidable, absolutely capable of slaying saints, unmatched by anyone!

“Run quickly!” Everyone fled without looking back, rushing toward the small world of the thirty-second hall, preparing to leave this place entirely, unwilling to venture deeper.

At this point, even heirloom sacred weapons felt inadequate. Anyone entering might be completely wiped out — only bringing out an Emperor-weapon could preserve one’s life, and only a few divine dynasties and sacred grounds possessed those.

However, while everyone was fleeing outward, some people went the opposite direction, rushing straight toward the small world of the thirty-fourth hall, vanishing into the stone gate in the blink of an eye.

People’s thoughts differ, minds are never uniform — no matter the circumstances, there will always be madmen, fearless of death.

In the blink of an eye, the small world of the thirty-third hall grew quiet — everyone had fled. Even someone as powerful as the half-saint Qi Luo was running for his life, not putting on airs of composure.

“I say, assassin chief, with your fearless assassination spirit, now would be the time to snatch that world-defying stone box from the fire.” The big black dog goaded him.

Everyone had seen it — that piece of immortal material on the altar, the Immortal Tears Green Gold. Who knew what even more world-defying thing might be in that stone box, since two saint-level worms were guarding it.

Qi Luo said nothing, simply sat down on the black dog, big as a bull, and stopped running — treating it as his mount, nearly sitting it to the ground.

“Woof, you old geezer!” The Black Emperor barked.

Qi Luo didn’t want to be pestered by this black dog who could carve Grand Emperor-level killing formations either, understandably so, and leapt forward off its back.

“Tomb robber, don’t you have some special skills? Why don’t you give it a try too.” The big black dog wouldn’t give up, sidling up close to Duan De.

Duan De’s heart stirred, and he actually considered stopping, deep in thought.

“Fatty, don’t tell me you’re actually tempted. That thing devours even one’s soul — the moment you’re caught, it’s total annihilation of body and soul.” The old blind man warned.

“I think that stone box really does look like a small coffin. Although it’s only about a palm’s length, its style closely resembles the legendary Divine Spirit Ancient Coffin.” Duan De muttered to himself.

“Is there such a thing as a palm-sized deity?” The Monkey sneered — he had lived since the primordial era, and knew far more about legends of deities than the others.

“Though it’s too small, that style is exactly right. I’m quite knowledgeable about ancient coffins.” Duan De pondered deeply.

“Get moving quickly!” Qi Luo kicked him right in the backside — now was no time to be distracted, since danger to their lives could arise at any moment, and even he couldn’t handle it.

“Wait, those two dragons — or rather, worms — are dead, not living creatures!” Dongfang Ye suddenly spoke up. Having lived in deep mountains and vast marshes for years, he was most sensitive to the auras of various wild primordial beasts.

Everyone froze for a moment — the two demon-slaying worms hadn’t chased after them, which indeed didn’t fit common sense. Beings more formidable than primordial wild beasts, once provoked, would destroy heaven and earth.

Initially, four half-saint-level worms had revived and charged out, leading everyone to assume by default that those two dragon-like demon-slaying worms were also alive.

At this point, they had already fled out of the thirty-third heaven, the stone gate not yet fully closed. Looking back inside, they didn’t see the two saint-level worms emerge.

“Going back like this is very risky. If it’s alive, certain death.” Qi Luo said.

“I’ll go back — I need to figure out a way to reach the depths of the ancestral temple anyway.” Ye Fan said.

“I’m confident those two worms really show no life-force fluctuations.” Dongfang Ye said with certainty.

“The wild man’s intuition is usually accurate — he’s dealt with primordial wild beasts for years, unlikely to be wrong. There’s no time now, in case others figure it out too.” Duan De said.

“How about this — not everyone should go back, just in case.” Ye Fan said.

In the end, he and Qi Luo brought the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Jar with them, preparing to go back in. Meanwhile, Ji Ziyue insisted on not leaving, no matter what, wanting to stay by Ye Fan’s side. The others waited outside.

The stone gate hadn’t closed. After the three of them — Ye Fan, Qi Luo, and Ji Ziyue — went in, they began imitating various miserable screams, sounding utterly tragic, carrying through into the small world of the thirty-second hall.

Those fleeing outside, hearing the tragic sounds carrying through the stone gate, were startled out of their wits, fleeing even faster, terrified out of their minds. They knew deeply — even ancient saints who had come would have to succumb; as long as those two demon-slaying worms were alive, they were absolutely unbeatable!

Ye Fan, Qi Luo, and Ji Ziyue jointly sacrificed the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Jar, letting it hover above their heads, black light cascading down, protecting them tightly.

They returned once more to the altar. Although the stone had already been split open, the blood in those grooves was still flowing, forming an ancient and eerie pattern, falling into the altar’s interior.

The meter-tall stone palace was near-perfect, worthy of being called uncannily exquisite craftsmanship — if magnified a thousandfold, it would absolutely be a towering, magnificent heavenly palace.

The two demon-slaying worms lay coiled, their whole bodies glowing, majestic as true dragons, their bodies vigorous and powerful, commanding awe.

“Truly dead!” Qi Luo said.

Ye Fan observed carefully, then let out a long breath. The divine source sealing them had two holes — no telling from what era — they must have come out before, but had later crawled back in, though the seal had ultimately been broken.

Qi Luo pried open the divine source block, pulling the two demon-slaying worms out. Dead yet undecayed, though their vital essence had mostly dissipated, they still carried wisps of saintly pressure.

Had the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Jar not been present, the moment the two worms left the source block, ordinary people would have had no way to approach — this was the power of these true-dragon-like demon worms.

“This is truly a good thing. When ancient saints usually sit in transformation, they return to the Dao, melting themselves into heaven and earth — few preserve their physical remains.”

Qi Luo’s single eye radiated brilliant divine light — this was a rare divine material, usable as an avatar body. These two worms’ corpses were even more formidable than an ancient saint’s physical remains — for an old assassin, it was like being fitted with a pair of divine wings.

“This really does look like a small coffin.” Ji Ziyue said in wonder, picking up the stone box in her hand.

The three of them observed carefully once more, and were all startled — the blood flowing down those grooves would fall into the stone palace, then trickle along an interior channel, ultimately converging on this small stone coffin.

This was truly bizarre — was it meant to be doused in fresh blood? What purpose could this possibly serve? It left them utterly puzzled.

“In years past, someone doused it with blood. Moreover, at the very least, it was a saint’s blood!” Ji Ziyue said, gently rubbing the stone box with her slender hand. Indeed there were bloodstains on it, and even after more than two hundred thousand years, though the vital essence had long dissipated, it was still crimson red, dried on the surface, yet not vanished.

Both Ye Fan and Qi Luo felt their scalps go numb — what exactly was this thing, that it required dousing with a saint’s blood. And then they immediately understood — that destroyed altar, with those blood grooves, had great significance — this was no ordinary living sacrifice at all!

“The blood flowing in the grooves was a saint’s blood……” Even Qi Luo shivered with a chill.

Could it really be as Duan De had said, that this was a divine spirit ancient coffin, containing something world-defying inside? Looking at the ancient carvings and style on the stone box, they all felt a sense of the passage of vast ages.

“Let’s leave this place first, find somewhere uninhabited to open it.” Ji Ziyue said.

They transformed into three beams of light and left this place, quickly reuniting with the Monkey and the others, then vanishing into the rainy night, disappearing into some corner.

The small world of the thirty-second hall was dim, the ground dry and hard, tree shadows swaying, streaks of black mist lingering — this was an incomparably dangerous world, with Heavenly Generals roaming about, all having severed the Dao, silent and imperceptible, their strength incomparably formidable. No telling how many had died breaking through this level.

Just as Ye Fan and the others had hidden themselves well, many people came rushing back, the sacred grounds having gone and returned, actually bringing reinforcements with them, Emperor-weapon pressure overflowing.

“Fellow Daoists, the situation has changed! The various sects have consulted with each other outside and come to rescue everyone!”

Someone shouted this news within the small world, informing people that the forces entering from each sect were no longer limited to two or three per group.

“This clearly means a full-scale offensive, mobilizing Emperor-weapons?” The Monkey was astonished and uncertain.

“Boom!”

Not long after, a wisp of Emperor might rose up, passing through that stone gate, transmitted over from the small world of the thirty-third hall. Ye Fan and the others saw a sword like an ancestor dragon suspended in the air, carrying an aura of suppressing all heavens and worlds, as if it could shatter past, present, and future.

The Grand Emperor Sword!

This was the Great Xia Divine Dynasty’s Grand Emperor Sword. A group of people came forward, pushing over the blood sacrifice altar, checking inside and out, finding nothing, all exchanging blank looks.

“The ancestral temple’s danger exceeds all imagination. All Four Divine Dynasties and the Yao Guang Sacred Ground are deeply worried, consulting with the various sects again — this time they’re playing for real.”

“The last few levels will likely be even more dangerous — without an Emperor-weapon, it’ll probably be impossible to move forward.”

People knew the critical moment had arrived — with the various sects now willing to expend their deepest resources, who knew what might appear in the last few levels of the ancestral temple — the situation was likely to change dramatically.

Duan De fiddled with the stone box, turning it over and over, an odd expression crossing his face, then his expression grew grave.

The moment Ye Fan returned, he’d handed this stone box to the “professional,” who was now examining it nearby. Calling it a coffin, yet it had no lid, forged as a single whole, as if solid, as though carved out by someone.

“This is really……a seamless divine spirit coffin!” Duan De’s expression grew solemn to the extreme. Having robbed graves his whole life, this was the first time he’d seen a coffin like this from legend, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

According to what he said, this coffin was frighteningly ancient, most likely something from before the primordial era, with ancient carvings on it resembling flowers, birds, fish, and insects, impossible to fully comprehend.

The Monkey shook his head in objection — during the primordial era, there were almost no coffins; none of the various clans buried their dead in coffins, so this shouldn’t be from that period.

“When it comes to the ancient clans, I don’t know as much as you do, but when it comes to coffins, I’m far more knowledgeable than you. I know every coffin there’s ever been since ancient times — one whiff and I know what’s going on.” Duan De said proudly.

He claimed that even in the primordial era, coffins weren’t absolutely never used — only those nearly at the level of deities would have coffins, and such people would occasionally bestow coffins upon their fallen subordinates as a reward.

Coffins seemed to hold special significance for those near godhood.

“I bet that your old man Dou Zhan Sheng Huang’s own coffin, when he was finally buried, was something extraordinary — probably even more magnificent than the Undying Heavenly Emperor’s Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree coffin.” Duan De said. His words left everyone speechless, even the Monkey unable to find a reason to beat him up.

“Have any of you ever seen a deity this small? Not even as long as my palm.” Pang Bo sneered.

“That’s true too. How could a deity possibly use such a small coffin. But… why would two saint-level worms guard it? Could there be some object comparable to a deity inside?” Duan De muttered to himself, then stroked those patterns, shocked beyond measure. He noticed some clues, and said: “This truly is a divine spirit ancient coffin, and moreover one of great origin — it should be buried above the Nine Heavens!”

Everyone could no longer stay calm. They finally agreed they should open it right now and take a look — if there really was a problem, they’d throw it straight over toward where the Grand Emperor Sword was.