"What, you disagree?"
Ying Chen narrowed his eyes and looked at the corpse of Zhang Daoling in the coffin, asking.
Instantly, the corpse of Zhang Daoling trembled again, but this time the tremor was more like fear and dread.
Seeing this, the three old men, Dong, couldn't help but exchange glances.
Then, in unison, they asked a question: "Could it be... he's still alive?"
Ying Chen sneered, "He's not alive, nor is he dead. It's just a state of deep sleep close to death."
"This is what I just called the death of chaos."
"If the future world doesn't undergo some massive change, he might remain in a deep sleep indefinitely, almost like death. At most, he can be called a living dead."
Upon hearing Ying Chen's words, the three old men, Dong, were somewhat relieved.
If a person could truly live for over eighteen hundred years without dying, it would be truly "old but not dead, hence a demon."
It was a pity that the three did not know Ying Chen's true age, otherwise they would have immediately looked at Ying Chen with the eyes of an "old demon."
And then...
They would have been dealt with by Ying Chen.
"Since that's the case, how should this corpse be handled? A living dead person is still a 'living' being. We can't treat it as a dead person, go through preservation, and then put it on display, can we?"
Old Man Dong asked at this point.
He had indeed hoped to display Zhang Daoling's corpse, as it was a major discovery, even more significant than Western mummies.
However... now that he learned Zhang Daoling was actually a living dead person, with a chance of revival in the future, albeit very slim.
He felt uneasy.
This was no different from murder in essence.
"Perhaps, we could rebury it elsewhere?" Professor Li suggested at this time.
Whether this suggestion was truly agreed upon by Ying Chen or not, was uncertain.
Regardless, Ying Chen said with an inscrutable smile, "Good idea. Then strip off the feather robe from his body, and leave this coffin behind. Just bury the corpse in the earth."
"In any case, we've done our utmost, and haven't mistreated him."
Hum hum!
As soon as Ying Chen finished speaking, the corpse of Zhang Daoling began to tremble violently again.
A moment later, a golden paper slipped out from within Zhang Daoling's feather robe, appearing before Ying Chen and the others.
Seeing this golden paper, the three old men, Dong, their eyes lit up instantly.
Paper that had survived for a thousand years without decaying!
If they took it back for research, it might lead to another major discovery.
However, before the three could reach for it, Ying Chen quickly snatched it.
"Golden Seal Dharma Paper?" The moment Ying Chen's fingertips touched the paper, he already knew its texture.
It was a kind of dharma paper made from special materials.
It was generally used to write extremely important and powerful talismans, as ordinary talisman paper could not withstand too much talismanic power.
Golden Seal Dharma Paper was different; its core raw material was the belly skin of a white rhinoceros.
Every full moon, white rhinoceroses would sit cross-legged like humans, meditating towards the moon.
Absorbing the "Imperial Flowing Nectar" that dripped from the moon.
When the white rhinoceros sat, its belly was fully exposed to the moonlight and soaked by the Imperial Flowing Nectar. This made the belly skin extremely fine and tough in texture.
Let alone ordinary blades and fire, even powerful magical techniques could hardly damage it.
Therefore, after hunting white rhinoceroses, people would peel off their belly skins, and then combine them with other materials and craftsmanship to finally create Golden Seal Dharma Paper.
Even Ying Chen had used this kind of dharma paper only a few times.
Firstly, because Ying Chen's cultivation level was high enough, he didn't need the help of dharma paper talismans;
Secondly, Golden Seal Dharma Paper was truly precious, and even with Ying Chen's former status, he could not waste it casually.
He didn't expect that Zhang Daoling's coffin would contain one.
And it seemed not to be used for writing any powerful talismans, but for something else.
Ying Chen brought the Golden Seal Dharma Paper closer to his eyes.
Indeed, it was not a talisman.
But lines of text.
Ying Chen scanned it briefly. After reading it, he immediately laughed.
"I knew it would be like this."
The three old men, Dong, were completely bewildered.
They didn't understand what Ying Chen was talking about, and this feeling of being kept in the dark was unbearable for them.
So, the three emboldened themselves and approached Ying Chen, looking at the text on the Golden Seal Dharma Paper without permission.
Ying Chen didn't stop them when he saw this, but let them read.
"Holy crap, so it turns out Zhang Daoling had already foreseen this scene today!"
"As expected of the Patriarch of Daoism, Zhang Daoling! His ability to divine the heavenly secrets is unparalleled. He actually left a fallback for himself in advance!"
"So, the one who wanted to kill us just now wasn't Zhang Daoling himself, but a remnant evil thought he left behind when he cut his three corpses."
The three old men, Dong, suddenly realized, and said in disbelief.
It turned out that the Golden Seal Dharma Paper contained Zhang Daoling's dying testament.
Zhang Daoling, through a chance divination, had foreseen a change in the heavenly secrets in the future. At the same time, he also calculated that he might not be able to protect himself during this change, and would need the help of a noble person.
As for who that person was, he could not deduce it no matter how hard he tried.
It seemed that the person was shrouded in a thick fog, and no matter how hard he tried to clear it, he could not see the person's appearance.
So, he had to give up and leave this letter instead.
In his letter, he stated that he had left behind a remnant evil thought as a guardian spirit for his tomb. If the noble person arrived in the future, they would surely be able to defeat the evil thought and open the coffin.
Conversely, if it were a petty thief or someone of that sort, they would only become a sacrificial offering for the evil thought.
And the Ten Thousand Corpse Golden Elixir was his gift to the noble person.
He only hoped that when the noble person opened the coffin and saw this letter, they would show leniency and spare him a line of life.
When the great change of heaven and earth arrived in the future, he would end his slumber, reawaken, and would surely repay the noble person.
At the same time, he could form an alliance with the noble person, to seize the initiative in the future changes.
"I suppose the noble person Zhang Daoling mentioned is Mr. Ying, right?" The three old men, Dong, looked at Ying Chen.
Ying Chen, with a hint of playfulness on his face.
After glancing at the three, he asked them, "Do you really think all this was Zhang Daoling's foresight?"
"Ah?" The three were stunned by Ying Chen's question.
"You're all history experts. Don't you even understand the simplest tactic of playing both sides and hedging your bets?"
With Ying Chen's reminder, the three old men, Dong, suddenly woke up.
So, Zhang Daoling was playing a common historical game of family factionalism!
Why have many great families in history managed to remain prosperous for centuries?
Was it truly because the family managed its affairs well?
Not at all.
It was merely their skill in choosing sides!
For example, when a family faced a struggle for the throne, others would put all their eggs in one basket. But this family would not; they would put their eggs in multiple baskets.
As long as a prince had a chance to ascend the throne, they would send a descendant of their family to support him.
This way, no matter which prince ascended the throne, the family would be guaranteed to remain prosperous.
At most, a few descendants who chose the wrong side would be lost!
Zhang Daoling had also made two preparations.
The first preparation was the so-called remnant evil thought. If the evil thought could kill anyone who entered the tomb, then the second preparation would be unnecessary.
If the evil thought couldn't do it, then upon opening the coffin, he would use the text on the Golden Seal Dharma Paper to deceive them into sparing him.
He believed that anyone who saw this letter would be instinctively shocked by Zhang Daoling's foresight and would no longer have any intentions regarding Zhang Daoling's coffin.
However, Zhang Daoling met Ying Chen.
Someone more cunning than Zhang Daoling, who had lived longer than Zhang Daoling, and had more experience than Zhang Daoling.
Zhang Daoling's machinations were destined to fail.