Covering the sky

The spirit of everyone was exhausted, and just moments ago, their souls nearly left their bodies. The roar of the mighty Crocodile Ancestor carried an incomprehensible power, as if it could snatch away a person's soul.

If it hadn't been for the strange metallic tremor coming from the bronze ancient coffin, it's likely that everyone present would have faced certain death.

A terrible, brutal aura spread from the distance, sweeping over them like a tsunami. Though the great demon that had escaped from the underground Thunder Sound Temple no longer advanced and stood still, the naturally emitted aura was still unbearable. Souls trembled in fear.

The murderous energy surged and shook the sky. The sandstorm that had raged suddenly stopped, leaving only the overwhelming demonic energy. In the darkness, two lantern-like blood-red eyes were fixed on them, never blinking.

The demon's true form couldn't be seen, as black clouds churned, obscuring the stars and the moon, covering the sky.

Although it hadn't come any closer, the aura of the Crocodile Ancestor, a world-shaking demon, was far beyond what ordinary people could endure. Many on the Five-colored Altar almost collapsed to the ground. Even though they held divine relics, they couldn't resist this pressure.

Is this the great demon personally suppressed by the Buddha? It was supposed to be a myth, but now it had manifested before their very eyes—this was no dream.

As modern urbanites, they had never seen such a terrifying scene. Everything they were witnessing felt so unreal, a world-shattering sight that was too terrifying to comprehend.

The Crocodile Ancestor had broken free after countless years. The heavenly realm had collapsed, the Thunder Sound Temple had long been abandoned, and the gods were gone. Who could still suppress it?

"Roar!"

Suddenly, the Crocodile Ancestor let out a thunderous roar, akin to thousands of thunderclaps ringing in their ears. Some of the people in the group collapsed to the ground. It wasn't a direct attack, but merely the shockwave of sound, yet it was still unbearable. Several people began to bleed from their ears and noses.

The sound of rustling filled the air as countless divine crocodiles swarmed around the altar, swiftly breaking through the light barrier and charging at the Five-colored Altar. It seemed the Crocodile Ancestor was wary of the bronze coffin and had sent its descendants to test it.

"Get up, quickly!"

Several people who had collapsed, their ears and noses bleeding, struggled to stand. Their hands barely held onto their divine relics. The force of the earlier roar was terrifying beyond words.

With the call of their comrades, a few people managed to get up, but two others were too slow. The divine crocodiles, like a tidal wave, swarmed over them and engulfed them in an instant.

No miracle happened. The sounds of two painful grunts were followed by the sight of the crocodiles tearing the two apart, their divine relics falling to the ground. In the blink of an eye, both lives were extinguished. Blood splattered everywhere as the crocodiles fought over their bodies, tearing into them for their flesh and brains.

Others couldn't help—they were surrounded by countless divine crocodiles and could only focus on their own survival.

So far, thirteen people had lost their lives, and the remaining seventeen were hanging by a thread. Death had arrived suddenly, and it could strike at any moment.

Bright lights flashed, and everyone waved their divine relics, fighting to create a path to escape. Even the naturally weaker female students had stopped crying and were desperately trying to survive.

But the most dangerous event occurred. Anyone holding a divine relic found themselves trapped, unable to move freely.

"Roar!"

In the distance, the Crocodile Ancestor roared again, and seeing no reaction from the bronze coffin, it grew even more furious. Clouds of mist billowed from its mouth as it slowly advanced. Its blood-red eyes, as large as washbasins, glowed eerily in the darkness.

As it drew near, the pressure was unbearable. The air was thick with the stench of death, and everyone felt as if their souls were on the brink of being torn from their bodies.

The distance between them was only ten meters, but the demon's true form remained hidden in the black clouds. They could only see those two blood-red eyes, and despair quickly settled in.

"Wail…"

Suddenly, a howling demonic wind surged through the sky, far stronger than the previous sandstorm. It sounded like a chorus of spirits wailing, with thunder splitting the heavens.

From the swirling dark mist, a massive black hand reached down toward the Five-colored Altar. Its shape was almost human, but its fingers were enormous, nearly seven or eight meters long, dark and terrifying. Many of the onlookers were struck with mortal fear.

This was the legendary demon, the one the Buddha himself had suppressed!

Even after being imprisoned for endless years, it still possessed overwhelming power, causing a cataclysmic event the moment it was freed.

At this moment, the Taiji Bagua diagram in the sky finally fully formed. It was the diagram empowered by the blood of the divine crocodiles, and the eight trigrams illuminated with brilliant light. The Stargate reappeared.

"Boom!"

A deep, rumbling sound echoed as the Taiji Bagua diagram, like a portal, fully opened, revealing a mysterious and vast tunnel. No one knew where it led, only that it was a dark abyss.

The massive black hand was pushed aside by a mysterious force. At the same time, nine massive dragon corpses, which had been motionless until now, suddenly stirred.

Even though the dragons had long since become cold corpses, their power was not to be desecrated. A powerful dragon energy surged out from them. All the divine crocodiles on the Five-colored Altar trembled and collapsed to the ground, their bodies shaking as they retreated rapidly.

The altar was suddenly cleared of corpses—only crocodile remains and a few human bodies remained.

"Let's go, into the coffin!" Ye Fan was the first to stand up and helped Pang Bo to his feet.

It wasn't that they were weak, but the Crocodile Ancestor's power was too great. The aura alone was enough to kill ordinary people. The demonic energy was overwhelming and could easily crush their bodies.

Everyone struggled to their feet, and it was clear to all that the only option was to enter the bronze coffin. The Stargate was open, but they couldn't travel through the starry road with just their bodies. Entering the coffin was their only hope, although the coffin was strange and unsettling. But they had no other choice.

In the darkness, the Crocodile Ancestor's gaze grew colder. Its blood-red eyes, like two blood moons hanging in the sky, glowed as it suddenly shot out two beams of piercing red light, crossing the Stargate and sealing it.

Seeing this, everyone's faces changed in fear.

This legendary demon, determined not to give up, revealed its celestial demonic technique. It aimed to seal the Stargate and block their path. At the same time, the massive black hand reached down again, easily breaking through the fading light barrier and reaching for the altar.

Everyone was horrified. They scrambled into the bronze coffin, retreating rapidly. The massive black hand reached down, but its target wasn't them—it aimed for the bronze coffin itself.

"Clang!"

The black hand grabbed the bronze coffin with a resounding clang, and all the onlookers felt their hearts sink. The Crocodile Ancestor's power was immense, far beyond what anyone could oppose. If the coffin didn't react, they would have no hope.

At that moment, the black hand quickly retreated, and drops of glowing demonic blood flowed from its fingers, splashing onto the altar, radiating a blood-red light. It seemed the ancient coffin had wounded the hand.

Yet, the coffin remained unmoved, still quietly sitting on the altar. A cold, chilling laugh rang out from nearby—the Crocodile Ancestor was gnashing its teeth, its voice sending shivers down their spines.

"What should we do? The Stargate has been sealed by this enormous demon. How can we escape?" Many were already panicked, their hopes of escape dashed by the sealed path.

"We need… energy. We need the mysterious energy to open the Stargate!" someone cried out.

"What's going on? The divine light from our relics is constantly draining!" another person screamed.

At that moment, whether it was Ye Fan's bronze lamp, Pang Bo's Copper Plaque from Thunder Sound Temple, or the alms bowls held by Zhou Yi and others, all their divine relics began to lose their divine radiance, which gathered together in a mysterious flow.

Suddenly, a cold and eerie laugh echoed, and a figure, nearly two meters tall, appeared outside the bronze coffin. Everyone was stunned, as the divine energy flowing from their relics converged toward this figure.

This was none other than the Crocodile Ancestor itself, its demonic energy overwhelming. Surrounded by black mist, the figure's face was obscured, but the group could sense it was indeed the Crocodile Ancestor. It had manifested on the altar and was now trying to enter the coffin, disregarding everyone else. Its two blood-red eyes were fixed on the coffin within the altar.

This was a being who had once battled the Buddha, a figure walking out from the myth into the eyes of the present. The scene before them would be unforgettable.

"Boom!"

Faced with the demonic energy of the mighty Crocodile Ancestor, all the divine relics burst into brilliant light, converging to enclose the demon.

At the same time, the bronze lamp, the Copper Plaque