Nine Venoms Sect Founder

Chapter 156: Purgatory Coffins

The System's seventh doors often filled Harun with grief. On the one hand, each brought remarkable utility. On the other hand, they didn't seem to fit the title of Supreme Founder. As one that prioritized fun over achievement, Harun would never be against a System that handled all the heavy lifting for him, enabling him to reach all the goals with minimal effort. But then again, with such a System, what use would the host have? Landing in the red-carpeted halls of his unreliable System, Harun appeared right before a maroon door which gleamed to greet him. Pushing it open, he walked in. 

Harun used to think that the scene behind each door followed an ordered pattern. The first was an industrious cultivator's dream. The second could drive an artisan to instant ecstasy. The third literally fulfilled fantasies and therefore the fourthwell the fourth should have been fantastic in some way. Perhaps a tower of ancient spiritual pets or awe-inspiring treasures awaiting the lucky master: the lucky Harun. But as Harun didn't have half the luck of Mehran, Jiyan or the three lucky stars heading the Birusk clan, no such place awaited him. Instead, dark-red smoke clouds buffeted his facewelcoming him in a land of fire and brimstone somewhat similar to Jiyan's Averse Land. Not jumping to conclusions, Harun covered his face and stepped in, crossing the smoke clouding his vision to approach the center of that scorching place. 

Volcanic eruptions burst from the ground, with streams of magma shooting toward the obscure sky. Believing that the System at last chose to eliminate him, Harun spun 180. But before he left the chamber, the System's voice rang from all sides. "Oh don't be a pussy. Check the bloody items at the top of the magma columns," the System snapped, drawing Harun's attention to the clouded, coffin-shaped structures standing on top of said columns. "Warm, soft and comfortable, with just the right level of moisturewho wouldn't want to be a pussy," Harun quipped, and soared into the sky, rushing toward the first structure. Chained amber coffins floated on top of each magma columns. Dozens of morbid devices Harun could feel nothing from. But as the System provided him with those items, he didn't doubt that they hid some exceptional use. 

A wooden tablet covered each coffin, with cryptic words written in a language few in the Heavenly Dream Land could read. "I will now explain the game to you. Each of these coffins hides a peerless relic of the past. Lost artifacts, forbidden arts, pills, or ancient immortals. The immortals only represent 10% of the total count, but, without exception, the tools in the other coffins once belonged to them. 

They were sealed by the Ancestral One for various crimes they committed against him before or after his apotheosis. Those felons have been suffering the worst torments since the beginning of mankind, and most have gone insane already. They can become your Dao Protectors on the road to the summit, cementing your position as a mighty sect master," the System started, and for the first time since he started unlocking the doors, Harun went mad with glee. This was it, the supreme-tier help he'd be waiting for, the tool to exceed all Scourge Problems and defeat the Holy Lands at a record pace. But as poor Harun's expectations skyrocketed, the System doused his hopes with cold water. 

"However, there are several issues. First, to unlock the coffins you have to solve the riddle on the sealing tablet. You only get three chances, after which that coffin will never open. Second, just like some of your Obsidian Soul Stones, the artifacts, pills and what not all have sentience and can refuse to fall in your hands. Needless to say, the same thing goes for those ancient immortals. You will have to subdue or convince your target to work with you. And sometimes, this will require obtaining a certain item from another coffin." The System's tutorial ended, and Harun's eyes widened in confusion.

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"Let me get this straight. It is possible that I unlock a coffin, but because I already failed to get another one, I will never enjoy my due benefits?" Harun probed.

"Correct, and I must warn you that some of those immortals simultaneously exist at several places. Meaning that while they suffer in your coffins, another version is bleeding in the Myriad Devil Palace or any other prison the Ancestral One saw fit to build for them. This may have future Karmic consequences, and you probably want to stay clear from them," the System added. 

At first, Harun was speechless. Of all the cons the System put him through, this was arguably the worst. It was is if it waved top delicacies at his nose, then told to gnaw rocks for a 10% chance to taste the fragrant meal. "Oh and, last but not the least. Regardless of success or failure, you can only unlock three coffins max. Afterward, you need to bring in more people. So Harun gets three shots, Jiyan gets three shots, Mehran, Mukri, Gulseni and so on all get three shots. Of course, you can't help them solve the riddle either sochoose carefully."

If before, Harun felt dazed, his indignation was now off the charts. But quickly, the plaguebringer realized that he'd placed his hopes in the wrong device. The System would never just solve any problem for him. And if he didn't make prudent plans, it might even make things worse. 

"Business as usual, aye? Fine, let's see what those humPurgatory Coffins have to offer." Harun declared and studied the first tablet's words: "The empty child." Instantly, Harun squinted his eyes. With only three chances per coffins, and three coffins to go for, he had to pick his targets with extreme care.

If those riddles didn't provide any context to work with, how could he find a reasonable answer to such vague and cryptic words? An emotionless being? Someone who lost all he cared for and never matured from the tragedy? No. The "the" represented uniqueness and pointed to a precise existence. Not willing to take this shot, Harun ignored this coffin and rushed to the next one. 

For the next 30 minutes, he went through six coffinsappraising them all with a vigilant look. As he reached the seventh, Harun realized that he could always find a reason to not make an attempt. Should things carry on this way, he'd go through the whole set without a reasonable option. Therefore, setting his apprehension aside, he decided to try his luck. The seventh coffin's words greeted him: "The first Sun." 

Arching his eyebrows, Harun tilted his head to the left. The sun could represent many things: life, influence, enlightenment, strength, masculinity and so on. But in many ancient cultures, some traits stood out: the monarch or the supreme god. Closing his eyes, Harun weighed his options, and decided to go with those last two.

"The first king?" He said, but triggered no reaction from the tablet.

"Wrong," the system replied.

"The first god?" He made a second try, but again the System denied him. Folding his arms below his chest, Harun pursed his lips. Why did the "Sun" start with a capital letter? Who wrote these annoying riddles? The System's creator? The Devil? And if so, what would that omniverse-ruling man whose ego likely transcended all lifeforms' see asthe Sun? Himself? 

With a shrug, Harun made one last attempt:

"The first omniarch."

Three seconds of stifling silence followed. But as Harun wondered if he got it all wrong, the tablet turned into a bright-red flame, and the System's answer echoed.

"Correct."