I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

Chapter 98: The Bottomless Hole Under the Yellow River

As the saying goes, people die for wealth, and birds die for food.

Ordinary men, when faced with treasures, simply don't think so much; even if they know there's danger, they'll still cling to a sliver of hope.

When a laborer saw the crystal coffin in the Yellow River, knowing it must contain priceless burial goods, he didn't hesitate and rushed straight down.

Didn't he know about the Yellow River's abnormal flooding?

Didn't he know about the danger?

Of course, he knew!

But now, with tens of thousands of laborers present, he feared that someone else would snatch the treasure first.

With one person taking the lead, the rest couldn't sit still either, and they all rushed towards the crystal coffin.

Zhang Chen stood on the riverbank, his eyes looking at the still-unsoaked riverbed silt, a hint of caution in his eyes, because he knew that he was fishing for the crystal coffin, and the crystal coffin was also fishing for him.

Zhang Chen's only trump card was the True Dragon Fate hidden under his Light of Righteous God; even if the other party was a Ninth-Order Yang God realm existence, it would be difficult to detect the trace of the True Dragon Fate.

Of course, the most crucial thing was that the True Dragon Fate itself possessed the characteristic of concealment.

"You say, why didn't that crystal coffin disappear with the Yellow River water? Losing the support of the water flow, the opponent's strength is less than 10%, isn't he afraid of capsizing?" Zhang Chen asked.

Fox Immortal Nannan glanced at Zhang Chen: "Isn't it all because of you? The other party is also getting anxious now. Once the Jiao Transforming into Dragon pattern starts, it can never be stopped.

Now the other party has gone all in, either attracting the True Dragon Fate out to succeed in Jiao Transforming into Dragon, or waiting until the water energy gathers to a certain extent, exceeding his burden, causing Jiao Transforming into Dragon to fail and crush him."

Fox Immortal Nannan's voice was filled with schadenfreude: "Moreover, the other party also knows that they must act quickly, otherwise, if the imperial court is alarmed, no one will get any benefit.

He's challenging you; if you win, you can replace him in Jiao Transforming into Dragon.

And if he wins, he'll devour the fate on you and succeed in Jiao Transforming into Dragon!"

Fox Immortal Nannan turned to look at Zhang Chen: "So, what will you choose?"

"That's a Ninth-Order Yang God existence; wouldn't I be seeking death if I went up there?" Zhang Chen said unhappily: "Even if I use all my skills, I'm definitely not his opponent."

"Don't you have that soul-hooking skill?" The fox spirit looked at Zhang Chen: "I think your soul-hooking skill is just right to restrain him."

"My soul-hooking skill requires me to see the target's main body with my own eyes, and then mark the target's main body," Zhang Chen said, looking at the crystal coffin: "So, I need to open the crystal coffin now."

Then Zhang Chen shifted his gaze and focused on the fox spirit.

"Why are you looking at me? You wouldn't expect me to open the coffin lid, would you?

Alas, my body is slender, how can my delicate fingers move that crystal coffin?

That lid weighs at least a thousand pounds; you wouldn't be so inhuman as to exploit me, would you?" The fox spirit began to play the victim.

Ever since she learned that Zhang Chen was going to slay the dragon, her attitude towards Zhang Chen had completely reversed, becoming unprecedentedly good.

Zhang Chen smiled upon hearing this.

Seeing the fox spirit's exaggerated performance, knowing that she was unwilling to lift the coffin lid, he didn't force her, because he knew that someone would always find a way to open the coffin lid.

Just then, the group of villagers had already surrounded the crystal coffin, their hands stroking the crystal coffin, their eyes filled with fanaticism.

"This is a crystal coffin; this thing is priceless; even one hundred thousand taels of silver can't buy it.

The person buried inside must be a great figure, and the burial goods are unimaginable.

We've made a fortune this time!" A laborer stroked the crystal coffin, recognizing its origin.

Zhang Chen also followed and walked down at this time.

Now that the True Dragon Fate was hidden, it was impossible for the other party to know that the True Dragon Fate was on him.

He was now mixing in with the crowd, secretly checking out the enemy's situation.

Zhang Chen looked at the crystal coffin from afar, only to see that the crystal was not transparent, seeming to be covered with a layer of cotton wool.

He could only vaguely see a figure lying quietly in the coffin from the outside.

As for the figure's appearance, he couldn't see it at all, only a rough shape.

It was only when he got closer that he discovered that there were no carvings or decorations on the crystal coffin.

The entire crystal coffin was five meters long and two meters wide, looking several times larger than an ordinary cargo box.

"Sure enough, the crystal coffin in front of me is the source of the dragon energy.

The dragon energy in the sky is shooting out from the crystal coffin in front of me," Zhang Chen's eyes flashed with a golden light as he raised his head to look at the dragon energy hanging high in the sky, its tail end connected to the crystal coffin.

"How much is such a large crystal worth?

Not to mention the burial goods inside the crystal coffin, even if a corner of this crystal coffin could be knocked off and sold, it would definitely fetch a good price," a villager stuck to the crystal coffin, his voice filled with fanaticism.

"Pa ~"

Just then, a whip sounded, and a violent voice came from afar:

"All of you, get out of the way!

All of you, go back to work!"

Five hundred yamen runners, holding iron rulers, rushed over from afar like wolves and tigers, rudely pushing the villagers away.

The leading general, wearing iron armor, waved his whip to clear the way, whipping the laborers who blocked the way, while shouting and scolding, constantly rebuking the laborers:

"This is a rare treasure; how can you lowly commoners covet it?

Get out of my way now!"

Faced with the general's reprimand, with the treasure in front of them, a group of laborers were unwilling to endure any longer.

A strong man argued, stubbornly:

"This coffin was discovered by all of us together and should belong to all of us.

It should be divided equally among us.

Why should you monopolize it?

Everyone, is that right!"

"Yes!

This coffin was washed out by the Yellow River water and was discovered by us together.

Even if you are from the imperial court, you can't swallow this treasure alone!"

"That's right, why should you swallow it alone?

Haven't you heard of 'finders keepers'?"

"Beat the dog official to death!

Let's divide the crystal coffin equally, even if we wander the world, it'll be worth it!"

"Buried in a crystal coffin, there must be earth-shattering treasures inside.

We must not let this dog official swallow it alone!"

… …

At this time, tens of thousands of laborers gathered in one place, everyone talking at once, relying on their large numbers and strength, not afraid of being punished by the officials.

Moreover, everyone was just a laborer serving their duty, not a criminal, so they weren't so lacking in confidence when facing the officials.

At this time, tens of thousands of laborers shouted, the sound waves resounding through the Yellow River bed.

Accompanied by shouts and pushes, tens of thousands of people actually surrounded the officials like a tide.

Then, the laborers, like a tide, began to push and shove, pushing you and me, approaching the officials.

The leading general was so frightened by this scene that he broke out in a cold sweat.

It must be known that the beginning of a riot is pushing and shoving.

If he couldn't control the situation after the pushing and shoving started, he was afraid that the formation of the officials would be broken up, and then they would start fighting.

"Everyone stop! How dare you assault officials appointed by the imperial court? This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations! Calm down, everyone. Don't misunderstand my meaning. What I mean is, there are so few treasures in this crystal coffin. How can we tens of thousands of people divide them? Even a thousand people wouldn't be enough!" The general quickly changed his tune, shouting at the top of his lungs.

These words did cause the agitated emotions of the laborers, whose blood was rushing to their heads, to slowly calm down. Now that they had regained their senses, they all looked at each other.

Indeed, how many burial goods could there be in this crystal coffin? A thousand pieces at most, right? But there are tens of thousands of people here. How are we going to divide them?

Following the words of the leading general, the laborers, who had been as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, all calmed down. They looked at me, I looked at you, their eyes revealing a trace of confusion.

Everyone was originally just a group of laborers. Where would they have any opinions of their own? Now, hearing what the official said, they were all at a loss, standing there with blank faces.

"Then what do you say we should do?" Someone in the crowd shouted.

"How about we open the crystal coffin first and see how many treasures are inside? Then we can convert them into silver and distribute them. That way, each of us can get something. What do you all think?" Seeing that the situation was under control, the general couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth into a subtle arc, and asked the crowd, his voice full of sincerity.

"What the official says makes sense. The number of treasures in this crystal coffin is limited. We can open the coffin first and then convert them into money and distribute it to everyone here."

"The official is right!"

"I agree with the official's words."

… …

A group of commoners chattered, all agreeing.

Standing in the crowd, Zhang Chen looked at the laborers, who lacked organization and discipline and were like headless flies, and couldn't help but shake his head: "They're hard to make something of!"

"Fellow villagers, the Yellow River is now constantly flooding. We can't stay on the riverbed. Let's prepare ropes first and drag this crystal coffin ashore so we can be safe. After we drag the crystal coffin ashore, we'll discuss how to open the crystal coffin and then check and count the treasures inside, how about that?" The general shouted to the surrounding commoners.

Hearing this, the commoners naturally had no objections. So, some people found seven or eight thick ropes, and everyone shouted and wrapped the ropes around the crystal coffin. Then, hundreds of strong villagers worked together, trying to drag the crystal coffin. But who knew that as everyone exerted their strength, the crystal coffin shook, and then they saw that the silt in the underground river actually began to spew out water rapidly again.

The Yellow River is rising again!

Seeing that the Yellow River was actually rising again, everyone naturally did not dare to delay and all screamed and ran towards the shore.

Zhang Chen mixed in with the crowd and said to the fox spirit beside him: "What do you think?"

"This crystal coffin wants to lure you out on the riverbed and never thought of being pulled ashore. This Yellow River water vein belongs to the other party's domain of transforming into a dragon. The other party will never leave the Yellow River to come ashore. Haven't you heard an old saying? What is it called? 'A dragon swimming in shallow water is harassed by shrimp.' Once it reaches the shore, even if the other party is a dragon, I'm afraid it won't be able to gain any advantage," said the fox spirit.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen raised his eyebrows, agreeing with the other party's words. At this time, everyone stood on the shore, their spirits unsettled, looking at the raging Yellow River water, their faces full of surprise and uncertainty.

After the Yellow River water receded, everyone ran down to pull the rope again. But who knew that as soon as everyone pulled the rope, the Yellow River riverbed actually began to flood with Yellow River water again.

After repeating this five or six times, everyone suddenly noticed something was wrong.

"This crystal coffin is a bit evil. Every time we pull the coffin, the Yellow River will flood. This coffin is really evil!" Someone muttered.

For ordinary people, they have never heard of mysterious things, and they have no concept of mystery in their minds at all.

It's like an ordinary person who can't imagine how extravagant those rich people are. You may not even have heard of it.

But even if everyone had not heard of mysterious information, they realized that something was wrong at this time. But the crystal coffin is priceless, not to mention the burial goods inside? If they could dig out the burial goods inside, they would definitely be able to live a life of luxury for the rest of their lives.

The leading general rolled his eyes: "Extend the ropes for me, and bring all the horses here. We'll pull from the shore. I don't believe that the Yellow River water can flood the shore."

As a place of corvée labor, how could there be a shortage of worn-out horses, donkey carts, and oxen?

As the tide receded, a group of laborers began to extend the ropes, extending the ropes to the shore, and then hitched up the donkeys and horses, continuing the ropes.

There were probably hundreds of donkeys, a hundred horses, and dozens of oxen at the corvée labor camp here. Under the command of the general, everyone began to work in an orderly manner.

Although the scene was a bit chaotic, it was not disorganized.

"What do you think?" Zhang Chen asked, hiding in the crowd.

"That's a ninth-order existence. What are you thinking?" The fox spirit said unhappily: "In terms of strength alone, the combined strength of everyone is definitely greater than the dragon species in the crystal coffin. The other party definitely cannot resist the power of these mules and horses, but reaching this level is not so easy to deal with."

As the fox spirit's words fell, the sound of a gong attracted Zhang Chen's attention. With a command, countless carts and horses exerted their strength together, and the shouts and the sound of whips waving kept ringing on the shore.

As the mules and horses exerted their strength, the ropes were stretched straight, and the crystal coffin was actually pulled at this time.

"Crack ~"

This time, there was no Yellow River water appearing. Instead, the Yellow River riverbed collapsed, and the crystal coffin fell directly, getting stuck in the pit, unable to move forward or backward.

Everyone has experience pulling things. As long as an item is stuck at a corner, even ten or a hundred times the strength will not be able to pull it.

And this is the case at this time. The crystal coffin fell into the big pit, stuck in the big pit, and no matter how hard the mules and horses worked together, they could not pull the crystal coffin even a bit.

"Snap ~"

At this moment, a rope snapped directly because it was too hard.

"Do not continue to pull hard, lest all the ropes break. Go and see what's going on with the crystal coffin!" The general quickly ordered.

A yamen runner ran to the center of the Yellow River. When he came to the crystal coffin and looked at the crystal coffin hanging in the air, he quickly shouted: "Sir, it's not good! Come and see, there is a bottomless pit here! The coffin is stuck on the edge of the pit. No wonder we can't pull it."

A bottomless pit?

Hearing this news, everyone on the shore was shocked and ran over.