Suddenly, more than a dozen black beasts appeared behind the female student. Each beast was only about ten centimeters long, roughly the thickness of a finger, covered entirely in black scales. They resembled crocodiles with fierce, terrifying faces, charging towards the group.
"Kill!"
The flash of the blade appeared again. A divine light surged within the戒刀 (jie dao — ritual knife), and in an instant, a golden blade struck out, precisely slashing the small divine crocodiles to ashes.
"Those without Buddha treasures, quickly get into the giant coffin! Those with Buddha treasures, move forward!" Seeing that everyone was momentarily stable, Jiang Xuan let out a sigh of relief and quickly organized the group.
At a time like this, everyone was in a state of panic, but as soon as someone took the lead with clear instructions—especially when that person was Jiang Xuan—everyone instinctively followed.
Those who had found Buddha treasures swiftly turned to form a protective wall, standing guard against the approaching divine crocodiles. Meanwhile, those without Buddha treasures seized the moment to rush towards the giant coffin, panic evident on their faces.
"The Buddha treasures can activate automatically. Just use your Buddha treasures to strike the beasts," Jiang Xuan said, exhaling deeply as a burst of flame shot out from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, scorching the small divine crocodile horde. In an instant, dozens of the creatures were burned to ash.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo quickly followed suit. Ye Fan raised a bowl that emitted golden beams of light, continuously killing the small divine crocodiles. Pang Bo's large plaque from the Great Thunder Sound Temple radiated a piercing light, vibrating with the temple's powerful chants. The copper plaque emitted a rumbling sound as the divine crocodiles were electrocuted and charred to a crisp.
The other students quickly understood and brandished their own magical treasures, unleashing divine light that dazzled like battle gods descending. Not a single divine crocodile managed to break through the line.
Jiang Xuan and the others continued their assault. The Buddha treasures still held immense power. A sweep of divine light turned a large group of small crocodiles into a mist of blood. Those holding Buddha treasures regained their composure and formed a strong defensive line, ensuring none of the students suffered injuries.
"Roar!"
Just as they continued to fend off the small divine crocodiles, a deafening roar echoed from the distant ancient temple, shaking the heavens. It was the sound of an ancient fierce beast breaking free from its seal.
With that massive roar, all other sounds ceased. Only the rolling, thunderous growl filled the air, chilling everyone to their core.
The Crocodile Ancestor was about to break free.
They had to speed up.
Jiang Xuan's left hand emitted divine light from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, charging into the small divine crocodiles, while his戒刀 (jie dao) struck out again and again. Whenever any student showed signs of fatigue, Jiang Xuan would immediately support them, ensuring the defense line held firm.
With Jiang Xuan's help, many students fought with ease—slaying beasts while casually chatting with those beside them.
"Truly, it's thanks to Jiang Xuan this time. Otherwise, many of us would have died."
"Yes, without him, we wouldn't even know how to use the Buddha treasures."
The number of small divine crocodiles rushing in grew, yet the defense line remained unbroken.
Bang!
A thunderous tremor shook the ground beneath their feet, as if the earth itself was about to shatter. From afar came an oppressive force that stretched from the heavens to the deepest abyss, reverberating across the world.
It felt as if the sky was collapsing and the earth sinking.
Two terrifying, lantern-like eyes pierced through the darkness, appearing atop the ruins of the ancient temple. Those dreadful eyes fixed on the crowd, hungry to devour.
The Great Thunder Sound Temple erupted like a volcano. Rocks flew through the air as massive boulders shattered and fell from above, crashing down like waves upon the shore.
The Crocodile Ancestor had broken free!
At this moment, everyone's expressions changed drastically.
The mere presence of its aura made it nearly impossible to breathe.
"Jiang Xuan, what do we do?" many students looked at him in desperation. Was this the end? They hadn't even started their new chapter of life before it was about to end here.
"Keep killing the small beasts! Hurry! We're about to break free!" Jiang Xuan shouted, his戒刀 (jie dao) swinging faster and faster, scattering blade light.
Without hesitation, everyone intensified their attack, wielding their Buddha treasures with all their might.
More and more divine crocodiles fell, and in the distance, the five-colored altar began to emit a faint glow.
Seeing this, everyone knew Jiang Xuan's words were no empty promise. They fought relentlessly to activate the altar before the great demon arrived.
Sensing the altar's imminent activation, the small divine crocodile horde charged with reckless abandon. More and more crocodiles were turned into blood and their essence absorbed by the altar. The faint glow became clearer, star light shimmering as the Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram spun, revealing the pathway to the starry sky.
Boom!
At that moment, the lantern-like eyes rose higher over the ancient temple ruins. The Crocodile Ancestor shattered the seal and stood towering over the ruins. Its massive, pitch-black hand darkened the sky, tearing open a thousand-meter void in an instant as it reached for the altar.
Everyone's minds froze.
It was a terrifying sight.
Yet the massive black hand was suddenly pushed aside by a mysterious force.
Above the altar, the Taiji diagram emitted dazzling symbols. Nine gigantic dragon corpses trembled, releasing an overwhelming aura that sent the divine crocodiles retreating like tides.
"Back to the bronze coffin!" Jiang Xuan shouted, retracting the Eight Trigrams Furnace into the treasure mirror and drawing his戒刀 (jie dao) with one hand.
Everyone knew this was their only chance. The starry sky portal had opened, and they quickly entered the giant bronze coffin.
The Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram spun slowly as the bronze coffin prepared to set sail.
In the darkness, the Crocodile Ancestor's blood-red eyes grew colder. Suddenly, two beams of light shot forth, crossing to seal the spinning Taiji diagram in the sky. The Crocodile Ancestor refused to give up, raising its boundless hand to grasp the bronze coffin again.
Clang!
Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats. This peerless demon's power was overwhelming, and only a Buddha could suppress it. If the bronze coffin failed to protect them, their journey would end prematurely.
The imagined clash of boundless forces never came. Instead, a brilliant blood-red light flowed from between the Crocodile Ancestor's fingers, absorbed by the altar — as if the giant coffin had somehow injured its hand.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, yet the bronze coffin remained motionless.
From afar came a cold, piercing sneer. The Crocodile Ancestor advanced slowly.
"What now? Why isn't the giant coffin activating?"
"How can we leave this place?"
"Look! The Buddha treasures in our hands—our divine radiance is rapidly fading!" a student exclaimed in alarm.
At that moment, the Buddha treasures in everyone's hands suddenly blazed with intense light. The divine radiance within surged forth like flowing streams, converging and streaming toward the altar. The Taiji diagram spun at lightning speed, radiating waves of black and white divine light.
Bang.
The bronze coffin's lid snapped shut, instantly vanishing into the starry path.
Relieved, the group exhaled deeply as the tension that had gripped them snapped. They breathed heavily, muscles relaxing.
Jiang Xuan also eased slightly. Concentrating his thoughts, he focused on the Eight Trigrams Furnace inside the primordial treasure mirror stored in his spiritual sea. The divine radiance still lingered—apparently, the coffin could not draw power through the treasure mirror.
When returning to the coffin, he had casually placed the Eight Trigrams Furnace into the treasure mirror—a chance move that turned out to be a blessing.
This time, many of the small divine crocodiles they had slain had their essence and spirit absorbed by the altar, providing enough energy to power the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin forward. This preserved the power of his Eight Trigrams Furnace. Had the Crocodile Ancestor's massive hand not intervened at the end, perhaps all the Buddha treasures could have retained their divine radiance.
He knew this Eight Trigrams Furnace would be his greatest reliance in the Beidou Star Domain for some time to come.
Thinking this, his mind gradually relaxed.
Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin—continuing forward.