Hearing Master Zheng's words, Luo Xiu found it amusing, yet he was also quite annoyed by his commanding tone. It was as if the item had been his to begin with.

Luo Xiu weighed the Eye of the Reaper in his hand, then tucked it into his pocket, seemingly flaunting it in front of Master Zheng.

"You want it, so I should just give it to you? What kind of logic is that?"

"Is there not enough oxygen in this tomb chamber? Did the lack of it cause your brain to malfunction?"

"You...!"

Master Zheng gritted his teeth, wishing he could tear Luo Xiu to pieces and snatch away the Eye of the Reaper. He had spent half his life researching the Land of Lawlessness and searching for the King of Law's Tomb, all for this one gemstone!

Now the gemstone was right before his eyes, yet not in his hands. It was an utterly helpless situation.

His tone softened slightly as he said, "Dr. Chen, this tomb holds inexhaustible treasures, and all I want is the gemstone in your hand. I don't want anything else."

"This gemstone is of no use to you; in fact, it's a dangerous object. But to me, it's my life!"

Luo Xiu shook his head gently. "You wanting this gemstone is your business. But the fact that it doesn't belong to you is another matter entirely."

"It's my property now, so why should I give it to you? Or do you have something better to offer in exchange?"

Hearing this, Master Zheng's gaze turned fierce. He glared at Luo Xiu, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"No matter what, you must give me that gemstone today!"

Luo Xiu looked at him with a scornful smirk and remarked, "Truly, when their own interests are at stake, anyone can become shameless and self-righteous."

Master Zheng whirled to face Xia Chan. "Miss Chu, as long as you help me snatch the gemstone from him, you can name your price!"

He then turned to Xu Wei. "Ratel, help me get the gemstone, and I'll quintuple your reward!"

Without a word, Xu Wei drew a revolver from his waistband.

However, to everyone's surprise, he pointed the barrel at Master Zheng's head instead of Luo Xiu's.

Master Zheng froze, looking at Xu Wei in disbelief.

"Ratel... what is the meaning of this?"

Xu Wei sneered, "Since you said there are endless treasures here, why would I care about the paltry sum you're offering?"

At this, Xia Chan also spoke up. "I'm sorry, Master Zheng, but I can't help you with this. You really can't give me what I want."

"The money you used to hire these mercenaries was my investment, so what could you possibly give me?"

Master Zheng grew anxious. "Miss Chu, didn't we agree that as long as I could find the King of Law's Tomb, you would..."

"I think you misunderstood."

Xia Chan cut him off, smiling faintly. "Excuse me, but did you find this King of Law's Tomb? And let's not even talk about the tomb; you didn't even find the entrance to the Land of Lawlessness, did you?"

"Master Zheng, to be honest, you're even more useless than I imagined. You're probably only good at armchair theorizing."

"You... you bunch of treacherous scum!"

Master Zheng cursed furiously, his fists clenched, but his heart was filled with helplessness. Xia Chan, his partner, had turned her back on him. The mercenaries he'd hired were no longer under his command. He was utterly alone.

Ignoring him, Xia Chan gave Luo Xiu a meaningful look and said with a faint smile, "Dr. Chen, rest assured, I have no interest in your gemstone. I'm here for something else."

"Therefore, our interests do not conflict."

With Dou Dou and Chi Sha, two Martial Way powerhouses, at Luo Xiu's side, Xia Chan didn't want a complete falling-out at this critical moment. For her, the Sea Oracle Map was the most important thing!

She was also beginning to realize that this "Dr. Chen Shuisheng" was no simple man. At first, she had assumed it would take a great deal of effort to locate the tomb, and that they would face numerous dangers and hardships to reach the main chamber after entering. She never expected that this "Chen Shuisheng" would act as if he were returning to his own home. He seemed intimately familiar with the place, not only finding the King of Law's Tomb with ease but also digging a thief's tunnel directly above the main chamber.

"Dr. Chen," Xia Chan proposed, "as long as you agree that we won't interfere with each other and will each take what we need, I'm willing to overlook the fact that you secretly controlled those Wandering Spirits to attack us, causing me to lose quite a few of my men."

Luo Xiu smiled. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Xia Chan watched him, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips. "I don't know what method you used to control those Wandering Spirits, but I'm certain you were behind it."

"You used them to attack us so you could take the opportunity to slip away from the main group. You wanted to enter the tomb alone."

As she spoke, Yang Zhilu's figure appeared behind Luo Xiu like a ghost. She raised her hand and lunged, aiming a finger strike at him.

"Be careful!"

Dou Dou shouted, shoving Luo Xiu aside. At the same time, her Big Black Umbrella flashed with electricity as she thrust its tip fiercely at Yang Zhilu's neck. Yang Zhilu didn't dare be careless and immediately dodged aside.

Following that, Dou Dou levitated off the ground, floating protectively in front of Luo Xiu. She stared at Yang Zhilu and said, puffing out her cheeks indignantly, "If you want to hurt Chen Shuisheng, Dou Dou will never allow it!"

Yang Zhilu stared back at Dou Dou, a faint and formless aura of Spiritual Power emanating from her body. She chuckled. "Deep Sea Stealthy Jiao Dragon, lightning roars through the vast sky... So this umbrella of yours is the Electric Jiao, ranked fifth among the Ten Famous Swords."

"Then you must be Tian Jiao of the Ageless Beauties."

Just then, Xia Chan called out urgently from the side, "Miss Yang, getting the item is what's important! Ignore them for now!"

Hearing this, Yang Zhilu snorted coldly. She stopped paying attention to Dou Dou and Luo Xiu, turning to rush toward the Black Jade Ancient Coffin. Earlier, after shaking off the dried corpses on their way to the King of Law's Tomb, Xia Chan had confirmed with Master Zheng that the Sea Oracle Map was inscribed on a Jade Disk.

And that Jade Disk was the very one resting inside the Black Jade Ancient Coffin, the one that had held the Eye of the Reaper!

"You wish! This belongs to Chen Shuisheng!" Dou Dou cried out. Her body was instantly enveloped in crackling electricity, and she transformed into a bolt of lightning, streaking after Yang Zhilu.

BOOM!

Almost simultaneously, a hulking, dark shadow dropped from the ceiling, landing with a thunderous crash between Yang Zhilu and Dou Dou.

This imposing figure was none other than the fat man who followed Xia Chan—Fei Xiao!

Fei Xiao's large, portly figure blocked Dou Dou's path like an unshakeable mountain. Her petite frame wasn't even as thick as one of his arms. The two of them presented a stark contrast.

"Get out of the way, you stinking fatso!"

Dou Dou lunged forward, stabbing at Fei Xiao with the Big Black Umbrella.

Unexpectedly, Fei Xiao didn't dodge or evade, simply allowing the attack to land on him. The umbrella, charged with the power of lightning, struck him squarely but failed to inflict even a scratch.

Seeing this, Dou Dou's eyes widened in shock.

"Could this be... the Heavenly Gang Armor of the Mysterious Sect? Impressive, Fatty!"

"I'll chop you to pieces, you little wench!" Fei Xiao bellowed, pulling a massive machete from behind his back and swinging it down viciously.

Dou Dou snorted. She took a quick step and raised her Big Black Umbrella, opening it wide. The canopy easily blocked Fei Xiao's powerful chop.

"My umbrella is incredibly durable too! Come on, fatso! Dou Dou's not afraid of you!"

With a flick of her wrist, Dou Dou detached the umbrella's canopy from its shaft. She held the canopy in her left hand and the shaft in her right, like a shield and a sword, and engaged Fei Xiao in a tense standoff.

Meanwhile, Yang Zhilu had already retrieved the Jade Disk from the Black Jade Ancient Coffin. Just as she was about to secure it, a flawless, jade-white hand quietly reached out from the side, firmly grabbing the other end of the disk.

Chi Sha looked at Yang Zhilu, her face devoid of expression. "Leave the Jade Disk, or leave your life."

A look of disdain crossed Yang Zhilu's face. She gripped the Jade Disk tightly and yanked, but found she couldn't pull it free.

"Sorry, I'm quite stingy. I don't like leaving things for others."

Chi Sha's gaze turned sharp. She suddenly exerted her strength, intending to wrench the Jade Disk away by force. But Yang Zhilu's grip was just as strong.

Under the immense pressure from both women, the fragile Jade Disk suddenly snapped in two with a CRACK.

Chi Sha hurriedly tossed her half of the disk to Luo Xiu. She then shot toward Yang Zhilu again, aiming to snatch the other half.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

At that moment, a hollow, deafening rumble echoed through the entire main chamber.

"Hahahaha..."

A maniacal laugh filled the air. Everyone whipped their heads toward the sound, only to see Master Zheng standing before a wall at the far end of the chamber. His hands, both covered in blood, were pressed flat against it.

At this moment, the carved patterns on the wall began to glow, as if Master Zheng had activated some kind of mechanism.

Following this, a thick black mist began to surge from thin air, pouring into the four humanoid statues surrounding the Black Jade Ancient Coffin. Moments later, the four statues abruptly erupted with a profound and powerful aura as they slowly opened their glowing eyes.

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