149. Sanxingdui Hanging Coffins (First Update, Subscription Requested)

As its poisonous mist was depleted, the creature's body shuddered, and Chen Fengyun siphoned away another portion of its energy. Stricken with terror and rage, the creature whipped its head around to unleash another torrent of toxic vapor, only for it to be swallowed whole by the divine dragon summoned by Ma Dangdang.

Working in seamless coordination, Chen Fengyun and Ma Dangdang reduced Medusa to its weakest state in about an hour's time. Its remaining energy was less than a tenth of what it had been, and it could no longer produce any poisonous fog.

"Tell me, where do you come from? Who imprisoned you here, and for what reason?" Chen Fengyun asked, stopping short of completely draining Medusa of its energy.

"I hail from the Demon Grand World," Medusa replied, knowing its end was near and dropping all pretense of concealment. It shared its origins and misfortunes with them. "I accidentally stumbled upon a cross-realm teleportation array back then and crossed over, only to be hunted down by a pack of vampires. Later, I ran into vicious werewolves. When I finally fled to this region, I realized it was the territory of human cultivators. After hiding for a long time, I was eventually captured by a supreme master among the human cultivators. For reasons unknown, he didn't kill me; instead, he imprisoned me here, muttering something about the advent of the Age of Dharma Ending."

Realizing it was facing execution, Medusa held nothing back. In the end, Chen Fengyun chose not to execute the creature himself, summoning his Earth Dragon instead to consume it, hoping it might aid the Earth Dragon in undergoing another evolution.

Following Medusa's demise, the toxic mist shrouding the Valley of Death lost its source and began to dissipate gradually. Chen Fengyun and Ma Dangdang then departed, retracing their steps back to the Ancient City of Phoenix to rejoin their companions.

This excursion into the Valley of Death had netted Chen Fengyun 113 attribute points. Combined with his previous balance, he now possessed 127 attribute points—a wealth beyond anything he had ever experienced before.

Additionally, upon inventorying the items found within the captured storage bracelets, he discovered several cultivation technique jade slips, dozens of pristine spirit stones, over twenty medicinal pills, and more than ten magical treasures.

Initially, he offered to share a portion of these supplies with Ma Dangdang, but she only accepted a cultivation manual compatible with her own path, declining everything else. Nevertheless, Chen Fengyun promised that once he learned to refine pills himself, he would supply her with some of his own creations.

As for the pills inside the storage bracelets, Chen Fengyun converted all of them into attribute points, gaining an additional 42 points. The remaining magical treasures and spirit stones were temporarily stored away for future use.

With 169 attribute points now at his disposal, Chen Fengyun pondered for a moment before allocating 80 points to elevate his cultivation realm to the late stage of the Yellow Tier. He then invested another 60 points to raise his proficiency in array formations, artifact crafting, alchemy, and meridian arts all to the early stage of the Yellow Tier.

Finally, consuming some refining materials and spending 20 attribute points, he upgraded his Spirit-Gathering Array Flag to the early stage of the Yellow Tier. This enhancement allowed the banner to gather ambient spiritual energy far more efficiently, greatly benefiting his cultivation requirements.

By the time the two rejoined the rest of the group in the Ancient City of Phoenix, the date had reached October 4th. Having been separated from the others for three days and three nights, Chen Fengyun was subjected to teasing glances and covert smirks from Zeng Yiyue, while Geng Chunming and the others silently gave him thumbs-up gestures.

Chen Fengyun offered no elaborate explanations. Even Ma Dangdang played along, acting entirely obedient to his every word in front of the others, as if the past three days and three nights had genuinely been spent on a private excursion to cultivate their romance.

"We've practically explored every corner around the Ancient City of Phoenix, and we still have a few days of holiday left. How about we change scenery?" Qian Qingping suggested.

"Here is an idea: let's slowly make our way back to the capital city, sightseeing along the journey. That way, we'll arrive right around the 7th," Zeng Yiyue proposed. Xu Dalin immediately voiced his agreement, and Chen Fengyun dared not raise any objections.

Consequently, the group of eight retraced their route in reverse, boarding short-distance buses and stopping to sightsee wherever picturesque landscapes caught their eye before resuming their trek toward the capital.

True to their plan, they played and traveled until noon on October 7th before finally arriving back in Beijing. Exhausted to the bone, the members of the group scattered immediately, yearning for nothing more than a sound sleep. Chen Fengyun and Ma Dangdang parted ways with an agreement to meet at university the next day, each heading back to their respective homes.

University life was rich and colorful, filled with diverse extracurricular activities and clubs. As long as one possessed the energy and capability, navigating the campus environment could be effortless and immensely rewarding.

However, Chen Fengyun's ambitions did not lie in vying for academic honors or elite status; he had entered university merely to experience secular life, fulfill his parents' aspirations, and round out his personal journey.

Therefore, although he had joined two student clubs, his level of engagement was minimal, rendering him an entirely dispensable figure within them. He remained unbothered by this, continuing to flow through his university life at a steady, methodical pace.

Before long, November arrived, presenting the archaeology freshmen of Beijing University with an opportunity for an off-site field study. They were scheduled to spend three days investigating the Sanxingdui Ruins in Guanghan.

Situated on the southern bank of the Yazi River in the northwest of Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, the Sanxingdui Ancient Ruins spanned an area of twelve square kilometers and dated back five to three thousand years. It stood as the largest, longest-lasting, and culturally richest ancient city, state, and Shu civilization site ever discovered in the southwestern region.

The site still boasted the best-preserved eastern, western, and southern city walls, alongside the inner city wall of Yuewan. Hailed as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, the Sanxingdui Ruins demonstrated that the Yangtze River basin was just as much a cradle of Chinese civilization as the Yellow River basin, earning it the title of the "Source of Yangtze Civilization."

The cultural relics excavated from the site constituted a priceless human heritage, representing some of the most historically, scientifically, culturally, and artistically valuable, as well as visually stunning, artifact collections in China.

Among these ancient Shu treasures were a 2.62-meter-tall bronze standing figure, a 1.38-meter-wide bronze mask, and a towering 3.95-meter bronze divine tree, all of which stood as peerless masterpieces of the world.

Furthermore, gold artifacts epitomized by a golden scepter, and jade and stone artifacts represented by inscribed ritual blades, largely belonged to unprecedented and ultra-rare treasures.

On November 15, 2018, over a hundred and fifty freshmen from the archaeology department of Beijing University, led by several faculty supervisors, arrived at the Sanxingdui Ruins Museum.

Approaching the site with a sense of pilgrimage akin to any ordinary student, Chen Fengyun understood that the excavation of the Sanxingdui Ruins pushed the documented history of Chinese civilization back nearly five thousand years.

Although Chen Fengyun was a native of Rongcheng, he had never visited Sanxingdui prior to this trip. Consequently, he was filled with fascination for the heavily mythologized ruins, while secretly anticipating whether the artifacts within Sanxingdui might truly hold connections to extraterrestrial civilizations or ancient cultivators.

Among all the mysteries of the Sanxingdui Ruins, none rivaled the suspended coffin. Deep within an underground chamber at the site hovered a massive bronze sarcophagus suspended more than three meters in midair, devoid of any visible physical supports underneath, and emitting no detectable energy fluctuations recognizable by modern science.

This underground palace was not open to the general public, yet special access had been granted to the archaeology freshmen of Beijing University. According to the accompanying instructors, while this location served as the cradle for archaeologists and had yet to yield certain explanations, thousands of researchers still ventured inside each year to conduct their studies.