“Of course it's true, there's a certain probability that it can actually summon back a lost soul.”
“However, this Soul-Summoning Lamp has been tainted by the aura of a Mingqi, turning it into one itself. It's quite valuable and can be recycled.”
“But, the system suggests that the host collect seven Soul-Summoning Lamps, and after fusing them, they'll be incredibly useful.”
The system explained while also giving Chen Fan a suggestion.
“Fused… Mingqi…”
Chen Fan muttered, clearly having found another valuable treasure.
Since the system said it would be incredibly useful, then fusing the Soul-Summoning Lamps would likely result in an extraordinary treasure.
“Without any surprises, the remaining six lamps should be buried under this dirt.”
Chen Fan thought to himself.
“It seems the trash here is from a tomb. Did an ancient tomb collapse and pour its contents here?”
“Don’t let the Soul-Summoning Lamps get broken.”
Praying silently in his heart, Chen Fan continued digging. Fearing he might shatter the lamps, he chose to dig with both hands.
“There’s nothing evil down there, right…?”
Chen Fan felt somewhat uneasy, a faint chill running down his spine.
He wasn’t afraid of the Immortal Corpse, nor of the piles of corpses from battlefield trash.
However, this was an ancient tomb, one with Soul-Summoning Lamps placed within. The system even said these lamps had been tainted by the aura of a Mingqi.
Since they were tainted, did this ancient tomb contain something evil?
Unconsciously, Chen Fan's palm touched another hard object, icy cold, with the same material as the first Soul-Summoning Lamp.
Carefully taking it out, he saw that it was indeed a Soul-Summoning Lamp, identical to the first one.
“It seems it’s also tainted by the aura of a Mingqi…”
After carefully sensing it, Chen Fan discovered its aura was exactly the same.
This meant all the Soul-Summoning Lamps were tainted by the aura of a Mingqi, turning them into Mingqi themselves.
After wiping it clean, Chen Fan discovered that this Soul-Summoning Lamp still had some lamp oil remaining, with its wick being about half-consumed.
“In other words, these Soul-Summoning Lamps were extinguished before the oil ran out?”
“Did they really summon a soul?”
“But, according to the system, a single lamp can burn for a thousand years, yet there's not much lamp oil left here.”
“Did it take hundreds of years to summon that soul?”
“Hundreds of years, that soul must have been reincarnated countless times, and its physical body would have long since decayed…”
Chen Fan frowned slightly, feeling that something wasn’t right.
He placed the Soul-Summoning Lamp into his storage ring and continued digging.
“Creak…”
Suddenly, Chen Fan's fingernails scraped against something, making a grating sound.
Following the sound, he saw a large chunk of greenish metal…
“Could it be a coffin, a bronze coffin?”
Chen Fan was slightly surprised. He then stood up and moved a few steps away.
His gaze stayed fixed on the coffin.
If anything unusual happened, he would immediately leave through the mark.
Digging this tomb felt strange to Chen Fan.
Mainly because those Soul-Summoning Lamps were too eerie.
“System, is this bronze coffin valuable?”
Chen Fan asked the system.
It would be best to ask the system to judge whether this bronze coffin was unusual.
“Ordinary ancient bronze coffin, eroded by the aura of a Mingqi for many years, has some value.”
The system replied.
“The bronze coffin is eroded too?”
“That means there's a Mingwu inside, right?”
“The bronze coffin and the Soul-Summoning Lamps were eroded by the aura of a Mingqi. Does that mean the Mingwu is inside the coffin?”
“Could it be that a zombie is lying inside this coffin?”
Chen Fan guessed.
“Yes!”
“There is indeed a zombie lying inside the bronze coffin.”
The system gave Chen Fan a clear answer.
“Whew…”
Hearing that it was a zombie, Chen Fan felt relieved.
After all, no matter how strong a zombie was, it was something visible.
As long as it broke out of the coffin, Chen Fan would have enough time to leave.
What he feared was something ominous, something ghostly that acted silently and invisibly.
“System, can you recycle the zombie?”
Chen Fan asked, a bit eager.
“The value of a zombie is higher than that of an ancient corpse.”
“Definitely recyclable.”
“However, the system only recycles things that belong to the host.”
“Therefore, the host must first kill or subdue the zombie before the system can recycle it.”
The system explained.
Chen Fan wasn’t surprised at all. If there weren’t such a limitation, wouldn’t he be able to simply point at someone or something on the street and have the system recycle it?
“Subdue…”
“I’ll leave it alone for now.”
“What if I can’t defeat it and have to flee in a panic? I won’t be able to collect the remaining five Soul-Summoning Lamps then.”
“Maybe there are other treasures here too.”
Looking at the coffin, which remained completely still, Chen Fan shook his head.
So, he chose to continue digging from another direction, focusing his attention. As soon as the coffin showed any sign of movement, he would be on his guard.
If the zombie was too strong, he would leave immediately.
“Looking for treasure, picking up trash, it feels like a tomb-robbing adventure…”
Chen Fan sighed. To quickly collect the remaining five Soul-Summoning Lamps, he picked up the iron rake he had discarded and dug faster.
This time, he wasn’t as cautious.
If he really damaged them, he could just repair them using points.
If he missed the chance, he wouldn't be able to fuse them.