Chapter 495: Refined

There was no time to waste; everyone immediately sent word to report the matter of the Dao Nai.

A single stone stirred a thousand waves: not only were some families and sects shocked, but even the Dao Court was shaken.

Inside the Tian Shu Pavilion.

The Pavilion Elder gazed at the Celestial Phenomenon Device, calculated within his heart, then slowly nodded and said:

"It is the omen of a Dao Nai…"

He withdrew a jade slip, inscribed several seals, then instructed a disciple:

"Deliver it to the Dao Soldier Bureau."

The disciple respectfully accepted it, sealed it in a locked casket, dared not delay, and immediately transmitted it to the Dao Soldier Bureau.

The Dao Soldier Bureau convened an emergency meeting, then issued a mobilization order:

From Lizhou's Xiao Huang Prefecture border, and the nearby Heishan Prefecture, Lishan Prefecture, Da Huang Prefecture, and the barbarian frontier, withdraw ten Foundation Establishment commanders and two thousand first-class Dao soldiers; march day and night to Nan Yue City in Xiao Huang Prefecture to suppress the Corpse Mine and quell the Corpse Plague—any who obstruct shall be killed on sight!

The Central Dao Court also issued a decree:

Within five hundred li of Xiao Huang Prefecture, all Daoist factions officially ranked and sanctioned by the Dao Court must dispatch at least one Foundation Establishment cultivator to Nan Yue City to assist in battle, cleanse the Corpse Mine, and exterminate the Corpse King.

Rewards will be granted according to merit upon success.

Any who defy this order shall have their family or sect demoted one rank, and shall lose eligibility for promotion for a hundred years…

As soon as the order was issued, all factions stirred in turmoil, and cultivators rushed about in panic.

The storm's momentum converged upon Nan Yue City…

On the upper floor of the Tian Shu Pavilion.

The Pavilion Elder stood alone, his gaze deep, gazing upward at the sky; after a long while, he murmured softly:

"The Guǐ Dào Ren…"

In his eyes lay a trace of surprise.

"To have nurtured a Dao Nai… within a century… another great demon…"

"But… is a Dao Nai so easily nurtured?"

"Is it the Guǐ Dào Ren's problem… or has the Dao itself… become flawed?"

The Pavilion Elder fell silent, gazing at the sky.

Above, wind and clouds churned; beneath the clear blue sky and blazing sun, no mystery could be discerned, not a single omen visible.

The Pavilion Elder's brow tightened further.

…

Outside, the situation was changing rapidly, and factions stirred with hidden currents.

Inside the Corpse Mine, all remained unchanged.

Every night, Zhang Quan still rang his bell to refine corpses, Lu Chengyun still painted arrays, and Mo Hua likewise, replicated Lu Chengyun's array.

Within the bronze coffin, corpse qi grew denser, its majesty heavier.

Yet within it, the three layers of control gradually deepened…

Until three days later, the Corpse King would be fully refined.

Inside the Ten Thousand Corpses Altar, Zhang Quan could no longer contain his triumph, and burst into wild laughter:

"Soon, the Corpse King will awaken, under my control! Across Xiao Huang Prefecture, corpses will litter the land, making it truly the Xiao Huang 'Corpse' Prefecture—and I, Zhang Quan, shall become the Corpse Dao Ancestor of this prefecture!"

"Lu brother, Lu Chengyun!"

"I will show you who truly has short-sighted vision!"

After laughing, Zhang Quan departed.

After Zhang Quan left, Lu Chengyun appeared.

He calmly reinforced the Ling Shu Evil Array, then gazed at the place Zhang Quan had left, and sneered:

"Playing tricks under my nose? You seek death!"

After sneering, Lu Chengyun also left.

Finally, Mo Hua emerged, his big eyes blinking.

He opened the coffin with practiced ease, painted the array, and used the true Ling Shu Array to suppress Lu Chengyun's evil array, strengthening his own control over the Corpse King.

After finishing, Mo Hua's small face broke into a mischievous grin, and he giggled:

"Let's see whose command this big zongzi obeys!"

Mo Hua meticulously completed the array, carefully sealed the coffin, and slipped quietly out of the Ten Thousand Corpses Altar.

After leaving the altar, Mo Hua thought for a moment, then used the little tiger to deliver a note to Little Master and Little Mistress.

The note read:

"Three days from now, July 15th, the Corpse King will be refined, the Ten Thousand Corpses Array will open."

Mo Hua slipped the note onto the little tiger.

The little tiger, upon receiving the order, "huff-huffed" its way upward.

Yet inside, Mo Hua felt some worry.

The Corpse Mine held so many zombies—he did not know how many forces Little Master, Little Mistress, and Sister Situ had mobilized.

If their forces were insufficient, trouble would follow.

If they could not restrain Lu Chengyun, subdue the zombies, or suppress the Corpse Mine, and if it erupted, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Yet after pondering left and right, Mo Hua felt their forces could never be enough.

Their current strength was no match for Lu Chengyun.

He could not think of where else to summon cultivators…

"Forget it… never mind…"

Mo Hua sighed inwardly.

He had done everything he could.

The rest was beyond the power of a mere Qi Gathering cultivator like him.

All he could do was do his part and leave the rest to fate.

Right now, the most important thing was to find a way to escape.

Mo Hua had already planned it long ago:

"As soon as someone breaks into the corpse mine and fighting breaks out, once chaos erupts, I'll slip away!"

At that moment, with a major enemy at hand, Lu Chengyun would have no time to care about him.

With his body hidden, he could dismantle Lu Chengyun's array and escape smoothly.

As for the Contemplation Map…

He'd see if there was any chance; if not, he'd let it go.

The Contemplation Map was indeed a valuable thing, and he had always been thinking of the Laozu in the map, Zhang Quan.

But his life came first—he couldn't risk anything further just for one Contemplation Map.

In this mine shaft, there were so many zombies; within the Ten Thousand Corpses Array, dozens of Iron Corpses lurked; Zhang Quan watched him with hostile eyes, and Lu Chengyun harbored ill intent toward him too…

Under such grave danger, it was better to play it safe.

Mo Hua nodded.

After escaping, he'd think of a longer-term plan…

He'd slip out first, then find someone to help him; once he had a powerful backer, he'd sneak back and secretly control the Corpse King, seeing if he could take advantage of the chaos to "sneak attack" Lu Chengyun.

He thought it over again, found no flaws, and finally relaxed.

But Mo Hua hadn't expected that things would still go awry.

And this twist came without warning…

The next day, he still hid behind the altar.

Zhang Quan was still ringing the bell to control the corpses.

But after ringing the bell, Zhang Quan spat out a large mouthful of blood; his originally pale face turned instantly deathly white, yet he still laughed loudly, muttering:

"It's done! It's done!"

Mo Hua didn't understand.

"What's done? Why is Zhang Quan so ecstatic?"

Then Zhang Quan walked straight to the altar and suddenly tore off the yellow cloth!

Mo Hua was startled; he stared closely and saw that beneath the yellow cloth was indeed a corpse.

The corpse had a grotesque appearance, a cruel expression, resembling the faces in the murals.

It was indeed the Lu family Laozu, "Lu the Skin-Flayer."

Its eyes bulged out, streaked with blood, hideous to behold; its chest had been ripped open, revealing no heart meridians.

Mo Hua's heart tightened.

His earlier guess had been correct.

They were indeed refining the Lu family Laozu into a Corpse King!

The bronze coffin refined the heart meridians; the golden altar sacrificed the corpse body.

Zhang Quan bowed his hands and said:

"Senior Lu, Lu Chengyun deceived you, harmed you, forced zombies to mine, made you the overseer of this toilsome labor."

"This is an insult to you!"

"But I— I will make you the commander of ten thousand corpses, the Corpse King of this small wasteland realm, so that all cultivators in this realm tremble at your name, and your glory shines for a hundred years!"

…

Zhang Quan spoke with ambitious fervor.

But Mo Hua frowned. "What's going on?"

Wasn't it said the Corpse King would be completed in three days?

What did Zhang Quan mean now?

Opening the coffin early?

Mo Hua stole another glance at Lu Chengyun, hidden behind the altar, and saw that his expression was also excited—but not surprised.

It seemed he knew today was the day the Corpse King would be completed.

Mo Hua was dumbfounded.

So only he didn't know?

July 15, the Corpse King's coffin opens.

This had been the unified story Zhang Quan and Lu Chengyun gave before.

Their secret plotting had all followed this line.

Mo Hua had overheard it too, and believed it.

But he hadn't realized Zhang Quan had lied to Lu Chengyun—and Lu Chengyun knew it all along, choosing not to expose it. So the only one deceived was Mo Hua, the eavesdropper.

Mo Hua felt speechless, yet resigned:

What could he do? He was an outsider to corpse refinement; outsiders are easily fooled by insiders.

Meanwhile, Zhang Quan had already opened the coffin and unsealed the bronze sarcophagus, solemnly lifting out a dark, greenish, vein-twisted heart, densely covered in array patterns, and reverently placing it into the chest cavity of the Lu family Laozu's corpse, whose heart meridians had been torn out.

The grim heart meridian quivered strangely.

A dull thud sounded.

Then blood threads coagulated, like needles and thread, weaving themselves and tightly suturing the corpse.

The heartbeat grew louder.

Though the sound was not particularly loud, it made Mo Hua feel as if he were suffocating.

Mo Hua quickly covered his ears.

But the sound seemed to resonate within his heart, bearing a terrifying majesty that could make the dead submit.

At the same time, Zhang Quan bowed his head and knelt, murmuring a spell.

It was a Corpse Dao incantation.

Dull and sinister, it did not sound human.

Mo Hua could not understand it at all, but the incantation entering his ears made his chest constrict and his stomach churn.

Mo Hua struggled to hold on, not knowing how long it lasted, until the chanting and the heartbeat vanished simultaneously, leaving the altar in utter silence.

Zhang Quan suddenly became frenzied.

And the Lu family's Ancestor upon the altar suddenly opened his eyes!

Lu Chengyun, hidden in the shadows, gave a cold smile, his eyes glinting with frost.

It's the last day of the month; to keep my word, I'm adding an extra chapter today~

But it'll be a bit late.

I've been writing slowly lately—really sorry.

(End of Chapter)