"What a pity, I thought a coffin would appear, but it turns out to be just an ancient jar!"

Su Ran was slightly disappointed, but he also felt quite content. The appearance of this jar made his long dive worthwhile, everything he endured from the water pressure seemed justified.

"I want to see what kind of treasure this really is!"

Looking at the jar beneath his feet, which resembled a piece of fine craftsmanship, Su Ran could hardly wait to dig it up!

"Not right."

Just as Su Ran was about to start digging, he remembered the most crucial factor. If he dug it out now and it triggered a chain reaction, causing him to miss other treasures, how regrettable would that be!

"Forget it, I might as well finish searching the bottom of the pool before deciding..."

Su Ran silently noted the coordinates of the location and swam towards other areas. To him, such a unique terrain must conceal greater treasures, surely not just highlighted by this tiny jar!

However.

After making a large circle around the bottom of the pool, until his arms were sore, Su Ran failed to find any treasures, which left him supremely disappointed.

Could it be...

That his guess was wrong?

The system set up this special terrain just to fool players?

"Tch, a waste of my emotions and time!"

Su Ran realized that continuing to search blindly would only waste valuable time. Without any more hope, he quickly went to where the jar was sealed and without another word, took out a novice hoe and began digging.

"Clang!"

With one swing of the hoe, the ice layer did not even show a mark, and Su Ran was sent flying back. Fortunately, the water cushioned the impact, so he was not seriously harmed.

"Damn, how can this be so tricky?"

Su Ran looked at the ice below in astonishment. The hardness of the ice far exceeded his expectations. Even a level eight mining spell could not affect it, which was simply inconceivable! Then, a glint of excitement flashed in Su Ran’s eyes. The harder it was to obtain the jar, the more important it must be!

Maybe... it was an extremely superior item!

Boosted by this thought, Su Ran felt a rush of excitement. Since he could not dig here, he would have to figure out a workaround!

"Clang, clang!"

And indeed, Su Ran’s strategy was very effective. In no time, a large hole had been made in the thick layer of ice. However, as Su Ran dug deeper, a problematic situation arose.

No matter which direction Su Ran dug, he could not get close to the jar. It was only at the end of his digging that he realized the antiquated jar was encased within a rectangular sealed space, completely surrounded by hard ice shells, no wonder he couldn’t dig through!

Wait a minute.

A sealed space?

Holy crap, isn’t that just an Ice Crystal Coffin?!

As expected, Su Ran’s guess was correct. This place was indeed an ancient underground tomb, and the Ice Crystal Coffin reinforced Su Ran’s initial speculation.

But then.

New questions arose.

Why was there no corpse in the coffin, but a jar instead?

Could it be...

This was just a jar for holding ashes? But then, what was its connection to this harsh environment?

Su Ran felt his thought process was barely adequate, but this only reinforced his determination to open the coffin—he wanted to see exactly what was inside this jar!

"Open the coffin and check the goods!"

Stabilizing his nerves, Su Ran did not hesitate to pry open the Ice Crystal Coffin.

"Geez, this thing is really tight!"

Su Ran was surprised to find that the lid seemed to have grown onto the coffin; even when he exerted all his strength, the lid didn’t budge an inch, which caused him to deflate in exhaustion.

"No good, let’s change the scene and try again!"

In his view, the inability to open the coffin had a lot to do with the water pressure in the pond. If that was the case, he might as well shift the battleground!

Used to using his hips for leverage, Su Ran managed to gracefully tuck the coffin into his inventory, easily carrying it out of the pond.

"If it still won’t open, then I’m really out of options."

Su Ran looked at Xue Wuqing not far away, admiring her in his heart, impressed that she had held on for so long without perishing. Her perseverance and determination were beyond what he could match.

Putting himself in her shoes, if it were him sealed in there, the loneliness alone would have driven him to death, let alone persisting for such a long time!

As long as Xue Wuqing could continue to hold on, Su Ran had one more sliver of hope to save her. The assumption was that the jar would work—if so, it would be perfect.

"Damn it, I refuse to believe in this curse! If it’s a coffin, then it’s meant to be opened!"

Su Ran took out the peculiar coffin, gently placed it on the ground, rested his hands on the edge of the coffin, and pushed forcefully. A cracking sound was heard as the lid started to move slightly.

"Haha, I knew it, the system wouldn’t be so treacherous. If we can’t even open a coffin, how are players supposed to play?"

Su Ran’s eyes filled with glee, and with all his might, he began lifting the lid bit by bit.

"Ancient jar, come out!"

With a loud shout, Su Ran’s strength surged, and he flung the lid off, revealing the ancient jar before him.

But then.

A shocking scene unfolded.

The moment the ancient jar was exposed to the air, the entire space boiled like hot water, churning rapidly. A massive suction force erupted from the mouth of the jar, pulling all the icy air into it, even the water from the pool couldn’t escape, turning into a giant wave rushing into the jar.

"Holy crap, what a spectacle!" freeweɓnøvel.com

Su Ran hadn’t even dreamed that the jar could be so domineering. In no time, the water level in the pond had gone down by nearly one-tenth, the jar proving more efficient than any pump!

Alarming!

Seeing this, Su Ran instinctively stepped back a few steps, afraid of being sucked into the jar—that would be terrible. But before he could stop, somebody tapped him on the shoulder.

"Who?!"

Startled by the sudden touch, Su Ran jumped up like a cat with its back arched, and, turning around, he saw Xue Wuqing standing pertly behind him, a look of surprise on her face.

"Damn it, Wu Qing, don’t you know scaring people can literally scare them to death?!"

Su Ran’s pale skeletal face gradually returned to its normal bone color, and he asked, puzzled, "When did you wake up? Has being ice-sealed for so long affected your attributes?"

"It seems I’ve benefited from this jar—my body’s ice crystals were drawn out, and naturally, I regained my ability to move. Lucky for me that I have an ice constitution, so I didn’t suffer much damage. However, it did deplete half of my health. Overturning Water, you just got tapped on the shoulder, look at your exaggerated reaction—what a scaredy-cat!"

Xue Wuqing flexed her wrist, looking at Su Ran with a complaint, "But on another note, your shoulder is really solid, it even hurt my hand..."

Sweat.

Dude, I’m all bones—I’d be shocked if it didn’t hurt...