Chapter 37

When Amu returned to the small courtyard at the back of the mountain, Lishui had already been waiting there for a long time, looking quite anxious.

He had prepared all the tools needed for making a coffin according to Amu's requirements and what he thought was necessary. Together with the ancient cypress wood, they almost filled half the courtyard.

Looking at those tools, Amu couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

Chisels, chisels, planes, linesaws, handsaws, fish-head saws, hand drills, ink pots, wood files, square rulers, straight rulers, dividers, axes, and even carving knives for floral patterns, not to mention several buckets of paint of different colors, everything was there. As long as it was needed for making a coffin, Lishui had prepared it all.

If Lishui, being a disciple of a immortal family, hadn't been able to prepare these things effortlessly and move them all at once with a spatial bag, Amu would have almost suspected that Lishui had robbed a carpentry shop or a coffin shop and then transported everything up the mountain with a cart.

At the same time, seeing these things, Amu felt a moment of dizziness, as if he had returned to Liu Town, to the Wang family where the scent of wood permeated the air.

The familiar feelings and scents of over a decade were etched in Amu's memory.

In the scent of wood, Amu seemed to hear Wang Jue's dissatisfied scolding and Yu'er's cheerful laughter.

But this place was not the Wang family in Liu Town, but the Northern Cold Sect in the Northern Wasteland. Here, there was only Lishui, no Master, and no Yu'er.

Sighing slightly, Amu composed himself, nodded to indicate that everything was ready, and then told Lishui about Brother Tieyun's agreement for the two of them to go down the mountain.

Lishui was naturally overjoyed. After having a meal with Amu, he asked when they would start making the coffin.

Amu smiled and said, "Brother Lishui, although I have received secret teachings for making coffins, it's not something that can be done in a day. Today, we can only split the wood and then seal the spirit energy of the thousand-year-old cypress. We will truly start making the coffin three days from now."

Lishui didn't understand, but Amu smiled and started to split the ancient cypress wood by himself.

Amu had been making coffins for ten years, so he was very familiar with the process and did it effortlessly.

Before long, the thousand-year-old cypress was split into twelve pieces. Then, Amu used red paint to draw special runes on each of the twelve pieces of wood.

These runes had various shapes, strange and bizarre, and ordinary people couldn't tell what they were. They only felt that they were some strange and irregular patterns.

But Lishui, looking at these runes, couldn't help but frown and think. After a while, he said, "Amu, what are these runes you drew?"

Amu looked at the runes and sighed, "I don't know either. I just learned them from my Master when I was learning to make coffins. I got beaten a lot for being able to accurately draw these runes. My Master said these runes can seal the spirit energy of the wood, so that a good coffin can be made, and the body will not decay."

"Was your Master also a cultivator?" Lishui asked, puzzled. Amu had never mentioned anything about his life before coming to the mountain, so Lishui didn't know about Wang Jue, Yu'er, and others in Amu's family.

"Uh? No, just an ordinary person! A strange old man!" Thinking of his mysterious human Master, Amu couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"What? Brother Lishui, is there something wrong with these runes?" Seeing Lishui staring at the red runes on the wood, Amu couldn't help but ask.

Lishui shook his head, "There's nothing wrong, but I feel these runes are very similar to some of the seals mentioned in the legends of immortal sects, though they are different. I've only seen a few books that mention them, so I just asked!"

"Seals of immortal sects?" Amu's heart stirred. He knew that there was a type of cultivator who could draw seals, borrowing the power of heaven and earth to transform it into their own power, and even use it to achieve enlightenment. However, this technique was very complex and profound, and ordinary cultivators found it difficult to learn. In the Northern Cold Sect, there were only brief mentions in the scriptures, and no one had actually learned it.

And the talismans and other items used by novice disciples were either very low-level spirit talismans or gifts from their masters. Ordinary people couldn't draw powerful seals.

"Are these runes on the coffin really seals passed down by my Master?" Amu wondered.

"Amu, how many of these runes do you know?" Lishui asked.

"Nine hundred and ninety-nine in total!" Amu replied.

"So many!" Hearing this number, Lishui was also surprised, because according to his understanding, it was already quite good for ordinary cultivators to be able to draw two or three types of seals.

"Yes! These runes are hard to remember. It took me more than three years to memorize and learn them all!" Amu said.

Lishui looked at the runes again and then shook his head, "They shouldn't be seals. Generally, only those with the cultivation of the Spirit Realm can draw seals. Moreover, if these were really seals, they wouldn't be drawn so casually, and they would have already attracted spirit energy or a great force! I must have overthought it! Maybe it's just a secret technique passed down by your carpentry ancestors, and nine hundred and ninety-nine is indeed a lot!"

Lishui made a joke.

Amu also smiled, but his heart was pounding. Because Amu felt that anything was possible as long as it was related to his Master.

However, Amu didn't dwell on this issue. Since he had already memorized those runes, if they were really seals, they must be something his Master intentionally passed down to him. In the future, the truth would naturally be revealed, and they might even be some great technique or power.

A few days passed quickly, and on the sixth day, the coffin Amu made for Grandpa Liruo was completed.

This was a thousand-year-old cypress coffin painted black overall. As for why it was painted black, Amu explained that it was to suppress evil spirits, and the red runes were densely arranged inside the coffin.

In appearance, this coffin was no different from ordinary coffins, with a larger front end and a smaller back end, forming a trapezoidal shape. The two sides and the lid were slightly curved, making the entire coffin look like half a log.

On the front of the coffin, there was a carved glass stele hall, adorned with flying cranes, lush pines, and cypresses.

On the sides of the coffin, there were two black dragons riding clouds and mist, as well as carvings of ancient zithers, paintings, and plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo.

The entire coffin was dignified and grand, with clear layers, beautiful and orderly, and the lines were graceful and flowing.

Seeing this coffin, Lishui couldn't help but marvel at it and praised Amu's coffin-making skills.

Most importantly, although Lishui couldn't cultivate spirit roots, he could still feel the faint spirit energy emanating from the black-painted cypress coffin after being in the Northern Cold Sect for a long time. To be precise, this was not an ordinary coffin, but a magical artifact.

"Having this coffin is also a blessing for Grandpa Liruo!" Lishui sighed.

Amu smiled, neither confirming nor denying, and then said half-jokingly, "If I fail in cultivation one day, I'll go home and open a coffin shop!"

"That would be great! I'll work for you as a long-term laborer, hehe!" Lishui also laughed.

"You and I, brothers, will use the coffin to achieve enlightenment, hahaha!" Amu said.

Their laughter echoed in the small courtyard at the back of the mountain.

But no one could have imagined that this conversation would later become a prophecy.