The earth began to shake. Buildings buried outside the barrier broke through the soil, churning the seawater and turning the area into a turbid mess.
"Something is about to emerge!"
Feng Ke also felt something stirring beneath the ground. Her expression changed drastically, and a look of horror flashed in her eyes.
The pressure surging from underground made it almost impossible for Feng Ke to breathe.
It was too powerful!
Du Yumeng's face also turned somewhat pale. She, too, felt immense pressure from all around, a boundless fear welling up within her.
Only Ye Ling stood calmly on the altar, watching the ground ahead crack open. His eyes were deep, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.
The sacrifice ritual was now complete. The Feng Ke puppet Ye Ling had created had perfectly deceived the entity underground, awakening it.
The entire Lost City seemed to come back to life. The demonic beings within the city all prostrated themselves towards the altar. The giants also had their eyes light up with red, looking towards the cracking earth before the altar, as if welcoming their king's return!
Rumble!
A massive fissure opened in the earth, and a bronze coffin flew out from underground.
Extremely thick chains were bound around the bronze coffin, sealing it tightly, as if someone had sealed the entity within, unwilling to let it out.
Seeing the bronze coffin appear, Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. He murmured to himself, "The powerful life form I sensed from underground just now must be the one in the coffin, right?"
Ye Ling attempted to cover the bronze coffin with his divine soul. He discovered that the coffin had been reinforced with a special divine metal that could absorb his soul power. Although he could sense someone inside, he couldn't use his divine soul to ascertain who was contained within.
Curious, Ye Ling was about to sever the chains and open the bronze coffin when he saw a colossal surge of energy rise from the altar and pour forcefully into the coffin!
*Crack!*
Under the impact of the massive energy, all the chains binding the bronze coffin snapped, and the lid slid open.
A withered hand emerged from the bronze coffin.
"It's... it's alive!"
Du Yumeng watched in shock as a withered hand extended from the floating bronze coffin. She instinctively retreated, her mind reeling from the impact!
The corpse in the coffin had come back to life...
This was a sight she would never forget in her lifetime!
"My chest... it hurts so much..."
Upon seeing the withered hand, Feng Ke suddenly felt a pang of unease. Then, her heart began to swell, as if it were about to explode!
Seeing Feng Ke's sudden discomfort, Ye Ling shifted his attention from the bronze coffin. He instantly appeared before Feng Ke and grasped her hand.
Spiritual energy surged into Feng Ke's body. Ye Ling found that all of Feng Ke's blood was being drawn towards her heart by some power, causing her heart to swell immensely!
If this continued, Feng Ke's heart would likely burst from the influx of her own blood!
"Is the Tongtian Hunyuan Pearl about to re-form?"
Ye Ling saw a tiny white pearl condensing in Feng Ke's heart. He immediately used his spiritual energy to envelop Feng Ke's heart, alleviating her discomfort while compressing her heart back.
However, Ye Ling did not stop the blood from flowing back, allowing the Tongtian Hunyuan Pearl to condense within Feng Ke's body.
Taking this opportunity to let the Tongtian Hunyuan Pearl leave Feng Ke's body was also beneficial for her.
After all, Feng Ke's cultivation was not strong, and being constantly entangled by the Tongtian clan's ancestral treasure would only bring her misfortune.
After alleviating Feng Ke's pain and stabilizing her condition, Ye Ling turned his attention back to the bronze coffin.
At this moment, a gaunt, white-haired man had sat up from the bronze coffin. He stared intently at Feng Ke, an incredibly eerie sight.
His eyes were hollow, and there was not a trace of fat on his body. He looked like a skeleton covered in skin, with his upper body covered in gruesome scars. On his back, four withered arms hung like wings, giving him a terrifying appearance.
Du Yumeng was terrified by the white-haired man who had sat up from the bronze coffin, her face turning deathly pale. She involuntarily hid behind Ye Ling.
"Master Ye, what... what is that?" Du Yumeng stammered, unable to speak smoothly as she looked at the white-haired man who had risen from the coffin.
She felt her mind had been contaminated.
Ye Ling replied, "He's likely the patriarch of the Tongtian clan? I'm not entirely sure. He's neither human nor ghost, but his strength is quite good."
Currently, the white-haired man had just awakened. His body and his muddled consciousness were not yet at their peak.
Even so, this white-haired man possessed the strength of a ninth-grade Crimson Dust Immortal.
This was in his weakened state. If he were to recover his full strength, he would likely rank among the top even in the Immortal Realm.
Ye Ling continued, "Legend has it that the Tongtian clan patriarch led their giants to slaughter gods and buddhas, sweeping across the primordial wilderness. This fellow lying in the coffin is worthy of the Tongtian patriarch's strength."
"Given the age of this bronze coffin, it must have been buried underground for at least a million years."
"This white-haired man was confined in the bronze coffin and unable to cultivate. After a million years of natural decay, to still possess such strength today, he must have possessed formidable power in the past. Even if he wasn't the patriarch, he was definitely a high-ranking member of the Tongtian clan."
Ye Ling, observing the white-haired man sitting in the coffin, still appearing somewhat dazed, explained to Du Yumeng and Feng Ke, giving a very high evaluation of the man's strength.
This white-haired man who had come back to life from the bronze coffin was the most powerful individual Ye Ling had encountered since returning to Earth.
Such strength would be considered first-rate even in the Eastern Profound Continent.
Encountering such a person on Earth made Ye Ling quite pleased.
Soon, the white-haired man sitting in the coffin regained his senses and murmured, "Finally, I see the light of day again..."
The next moment, his gaze swept across Ye Ling and Feng Ke, finally settling on Feng Ke. He said, "The Tongtian Hunyuan Pearl is within you."
"Return it to me."
With that, the white-haired man grabbed at the void, and the Tongtian Hunyuan Pearl flew out from Feng Ke's chest, landing in the white-haired man's hand.
With the Tongtian Hunyuan Pearl separated from her body, Feng Ke's condition quickly returned to normal, and she finally relaxed.
Seeing this, Ye Ling withdrew his spiritual energy from Feng Ke's body and observed the white-haired man and the Tongtian Hunyuan Pearl in his hand with great interest.
He was now certain that this white-haired man was the patriarch of the Tongtian clan, Tian Yuan!
Tian Yuan noticed Ye Ling's gaze and shifted his attention from the Tongtian Hunyuan Pearl to Ye Ling, frowning. "Did you awaken me?"
Ye Ling replied, "Something like that."
Seeing Ye Ling's casual attitude, Tian Yuan's frown deepened. He felt something was amiss.
Logically, only the most loyal servant of the Tongtian clan would awaken him, but he saw no trace of reverence in Ye Ling's eyes.
With growing suspicion, Tian Yuan's gaze gradually turned icy. He said coldly to Ye Ling, "Since I have returned, why do you not kneel?"
Hearing the white-haired man's words, Ye Ling burst into laughter, looking at Tian Yuan with a mocking expression. "You slept for so long, did your brain get damaged?"