Chapter 499

As Mo Hua had expected, Zhang Quan was utterly no match for Lu Chengyun.

Lu Chengyun's swordplay featured profound sword qi and flawless techniques.

Zhang Quan stuck to his old routine—relying on his corpse transformation to engage Lu Chengyun in direct, blunt combat—only to be pierced through like a honeycomb by sword qi, drenched in blood, and collapsing to the ground.

This strategic poverty and tactical simplicity left Mo Hua in awe.

Mo Hua had assumed Zhang Quan dared to clash head-on with Lu Chengyun because he still had some hidden trump card—yet he discovered Zhang Quan was merely fueled by rage and a fearless disregard for death.

And now he truly was going to die…

Mo Hua watched and shook his head.

If he were truly Zhang Quan's Laozu, he'd be so furious he'd burst right out of his coffin.

He had secretly controlled the iron corpses to aid Zhang Quan so much—and yet Zhang Quan still proved utterly worthless!

With Zhang Quan dead, he could no longer use him as a pawn to trap and kill Lu Chengyun…

Mo Hua felt a touch of helplessness.

Inside the altar, Zhang Quan lay on the brink of death.

His face was pale as ash, blood at the corner of his mouth; sensing his imminent end, he did not beg Lu Chengyun for mercy, but mustered his last strength to gasp out:

"I… my… map?"

Lu Chengyun raised an eyebrow. "You mean your Ancestral Master's Map?"

Zhang Quan coughed up a mouthful of blood, weakly murmuring:

"Yes…"

Lu Chengyun shook his head. "It's mine now."

Zhang Quan's face twisted with fury; he coughed more blood, then spoke slowly:

"Fine… I admit defeat. But, Brother Lu, for all the years I've done so much for you, let me see… just once more… my Zhang family's Liezulie Sect…"

Lu Chengyun's gaze sharpened slightly, his expression unreadable as he asked calmly:

"And what good would that do?"

Zhang Quan's face contorted in agony, his voice hoarse:

"I, Zhang Quan, am unfilial—I've let the Zhang bloodline end, severed the Zhang family's corpse Dao. I must kneel before my Liezulie Sect… and beg their forgiveness!"

Lu Chengyun showed a flicker of emotion, then nodded. "Fine."

He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a scroll.

The scroll was rolled tight, its paper ancient, faintly stained with ash and footprints—where Mo Hua had stepped on it…

Undeniably, it was the Zhang family's Ancestral Master's Map.

Zhang Quan's eyes flared with excitement.

Lu Chengyun slowly unrolled the map.

Zhang Quan's gaze locked onto the map in Lu Chengyun's hands.

As Lu Chengyun unrolled it halfway, his eyes grew cold; catching Zhang Quan off guard, he struck instantly—a single thrust pierced Zhang Quan's chest, killing him outright.

Zhang Quan glanced at the sword in his chest, then looked up at Lu Chengyun, his face filled with disbelief; he gritted his teeth and hissed:

"Lu, you dog… you…"

Before he could finish, Zhang Quan expired, slumping lifelessly to the ground.

Even as he fell, Zhang Quan's eyes remained wide open, fixed on Lu Chengyun.

Lu Chengyun stared at the dead Zhang Quan, expression calm; after a moment, confirming his death, he spoke gently:

"Brother Zhang, forgive me. I feared you still had some trick up your sleeve—out of caution, I had to let you die first…"

"Don't worry about the Zhang family."

"I will properly venerate this Ancestral Master's Map."

"When I take an adopted son, I'll make him take the surname 'Zhang'—to carry on your Zhang family's lineage."

"Your Zhang family's corpse Dao will flourish under my hand…"

…

After speaking, Lu Chengyun wiped Zhang Quan's blood from his blade using Zhang Quan's corpse, then sheathed his sword and stepped before the altar.

Before the altar stood the Corpse King, nine feet tall, radiating solemn authority like a deep abyss.

Lu Chengyun stirred his spiritual sense—he felt the Corpse King was now fully under his control, and the two dozen iron corpses nearby were all subject to his command.

His heart could no longer remain still; he could no longer contain himself and burst into wild laughter:

"From this day forward, this Corpse King, ruler of all corpses, obeys only me!"

"All cultivators in Nan Yue City—from birth to death—will mine for my Lu family!"

"Nan Yue City itself will be under my dominion!"

"The heavens of this small wasteland realm must change!"

Lu Chengyun laughed—then suddenly fell silent. He thought of Mo Hua.

Now that Zhang Quan was dead, Mo Hua was the only one left who knew of the Ten Thousand Corpses Altar.

Mo Hua had constructed the altar's core, and had seen the array inscribed on the bronze coffin.

Of all those in the corpse mine, the one who knew the most secrets of the array—besides him—was Mo Hua…

Lu Chengyun's gaze flickered uncertainly; he released his spiritual sense, his expression shifting slightly:

"Where has that little Mr. gone?"

Mo Hua startled, immediately holding his breath and suppressing his aura.

Lu Chengyun's spiritual sense swept through the corpse mine, then suddenly realized something—he turned to scan the altar again. Long moments passed, yet he found nothing…

He frowned, puzzled:

"Where did you go?"

At this moment, Mo Hua, who had been hiding behind Lu Chengyun and secretly watching him all night, didn't even dare to breathe.

Lu Chengyun thought for a long time, found no leads, and grew somewhat irritated. He once again used his divine sense to carefully scan the altar from top to bottom.

But the altar was too large, and he had just gone through a fierce battle, so before long his divine sense began to flag.

Lu Chengyun stopped searching.

If he kept searching and his divine sense ran dry, he wouldn't be able to control the Corpse King, and if the Corpse King lost control, it would be dangerous…

Lu Chengyun put away the visualization diagram, ordered the Corpse King back into the bronze coffin, then commanded the iron corpse back into the iron coffin, after which he dragged Zhang Quan's corpse and tossed it into an empty coffin nearby.

Although Zhang Quan was dead, his corpse could still be refined into a corpse to serve him.

Lu Chengyun's gaze turned slightly cold. Then he glanced around, no one could tell what he was thinking, brushed off his sleeves, and left the altar.

Mo Hua quietly let out a breath of relief.

He waited until Lu Chengyun had walked far away and showed no sign of returning.

Only then did Mo Hua sneak away from the altar, quietly return to his room, and burrow into the blankets to pretend to sleep.

If Lu Chengyun came to check the room, he'd say he'd been in his room the whole time, hadn't gone out, and pretend he didn't know anything.

Lu Chengyun knew he could use Concealment.

Seeing through Concealment required divine sense.

And Lu Chengyun had just fought a grueling battle with Zhang Quan, his divine sense greatly depleted—he'd most likely assume it was his own divine sense running dry that had kept him from noticing…

Mo Hua thought it over, then suddenly shook his head.

No good.

Though this excuse might work, there was still a considerable risk.

Besides, things were different now…

Now that Lu Chengyun had killed Zhang Quan, with no Zhang Quan left as a shield, Lu Chengyun's attention would fall on him.

Mo Hua's mind raced.

He had to run!

Running head-on was impossible—the natural giant stone served as a door, and there were two second-grade iron corpses guarding it.

Those two iron corpses were under control, and he was physically weak, so he didn't dare get close to alter the sequence array patterns on their spirit pivot arrays.

Waiting for the cultivators outside to attack the corpse mine and slipping away in the chaos probably wouldn't be in time either.

The Corpse King had been refined early, Lu Chengyun had made his move early, and the crisis had come early—there was simply no time to wait.

Then he could only blow it up!

"How to blow it up?"

Mo Hua deliberated.

He couldn't use the Reverse Spirit Array—even though array collapse was extremely powerful, it was too unusual, would easily expose his trump card, and would also make Lu Chengyun keep him in mind.

A ground fire array re-array should be enough.

He'd lay down the ground fire re-array at the small hole the little tiger had dug. The stone wall there was thin, so it should blow part of the corpse mine in, and he could take the chance to escape…

Once his plan was set, Mo Hua decided to try it, but before he could start drawing the array, he suddenly froze.

His divine sense detected Lu Chengyun coming over.

Mo Hua hurriedly climbed back onto the bed, covered himself with the blanket, and pretended to sleep.

A moment later, footsteps sounded outside the stone chamber.

The sound was very faint, but it couldn't escape Mo Hua.

Lu Chengyun paced outside the room, walking back and forth a few times, seeming to hesitate over something, before finally speaking in a gentle voice:

"Young Mr. …"

Mo Hua ignored him.

Lu Chengyun called out gently a few more times, like a refined and courteous old friend.

Mo Hua sensed his divine thought was somewhat sinister, as if he was scheming something, but there was no direct killing intent. His thoughts stirred, and he got out of bed to open the door.

Before opening the door, Mo Hua tousled his own hair, then went to open the door with a sleepy face. Seeing Lu Chengyun, he even put on a look of surprise and said:

"Patriarch Lu, why have you come?"

After saying that, Mo Hua even rubbed his eyes, looking all dazed, pretending he couldn't wake up.

Lu Chengyun was slightly startled and asked:

"Young Mr., you've been in your room this whole time?"

Mo Hua asked in confusion, "In the dead of night, if I'm not in my room, where else could I be?"

Then he added, a little displeased, muttering softly: "There's nothing fun to do here anyway…"

Lu Chengyun hesitated.

For a moment, he couldn't tell whether Mo Hua was putting on an act for him.

At such a young age, could he really have such deep cunning, and such innocent, flawless acting skills?

Lu Chengyun frowned and fell silent.

Mo Hua probed again:

"Patriarch, it's so late—what business do you have with me?"

Lu Chengyun came back to his senses and suddenly smiled:

"Lu has come this time to find Young Mr. because I wish to fulfill my promise."

"Promise?"

Lu Chengyun nodded. "Didn't I tell you before? As long as Young Mr. helps me construct the array eye, I'll teach you… that array…"

Mo Hua's sleepiness vanished, his eyes gleaming.

"Really?"

Lu Chengyun smiled. "I am the head of my clan—I would never break my word."

Never break my word…

The image of Lu Chengyun promising Zhang Quan he would show him the Ancestral Master's painting, then killing him when the painting wouldn't open, flashed through Su Zimo's mind.

Mo Hua muttered inwardly: I believe your nonsense!

But outwardly, he feigned ignorance. "Can I learn it now?"

Lu Chengyun shook his head. "Some preparation is still needed."

Mo Hua frowned. "Preparation?"

Lu Chengyun sighed. "This array… is extremely difficult. I spent decades studying it before achieving even minor mastery."

"And the hardest part of this array lies in the spiritual sense."

"The threshold for spiritual sense is too high…"

"You, Young Master, have exceptional talent, but you're still young. With your current spiritual sense, you likely cannot learn it yet. Before studying this array, you must find a way to strengthen your spiritual sense."

Mo Hua froze, then exclaimed in feigned shock: "Strengthen spiritual sense? Could it be…"

"Exactly!" Lu Chengyun nodded. "Young Master, your vision is extraordinary—you must know… the Contemplation Painting!"

Mo Hua drew in a sharp breath, incredulous:

"You actually have a Contemplation Painting?!"

Lu Chengyun nodded, his gaze profound.

"This Contemplation Painting… you've seen it before."

"I've seen it?" Mo Hua looked puzzled.

Lu Chengyun said: "It's Zhang Quan's Ancestral Master's painting!"

Mo Hua opened his mouth wide, putting on an expression of astonishment.

Though his expression was exaggerated, Lu Chengyun was busy luring Mo Hua into the trap, so he didn't suspect a thing.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then blinked.

"But when I looked at that painting, I didn't feel any strengthening of my spiritual sense…"

Lu Chengyun gave a mysterious smile. "That's because your method was wrong."

"There's another way?"

Lu Chengyun nodded gently.

"Young Master, come with me…"

Mo Hua looked bewildered but obediently followed Lu Chengyun.

Lu Chengyun brought Mo Hua to a secret chamber, where stood an altar.

This altar was simpler in arrangement.

On it were three dishes.

One held a hand bone, one a foot bone, and the center one held a skull.

Candles burned upon the altar.

The candles were white, their flames a sickly green, wax dripping like tears, pooling at the base.

Besides these, there were strange, misshapen objects, and a white coffin.

These arrangements looked eerily familiar to Mo Hua—almost identical to the altar in Corpse Village, where Zhang Quan offered human spiritual sense as sacrifice to the Ancestral Master's painting.

Mo Hua put on a look of fear and asked:

"Master, what is this…?"

"It's an altar," Lu Chengyun said.

Seeing Mo Hua's unease, he smiled faintly.

"This Ancestral Master's painting is special. It requires incense and sacrifice to open the heavenly eye, to see its true form and comprehend its Dao principles, thereby strengthening spiritual sense."

Lu Chengyun pointed to the white coffin beside him.

"I've lit the incense. I've placed the offering…"

"Now I will place the Contemplation Painting."

"Before that, Young Master, you need only lie inside that coffin, free of attachments, undaunted by life or death, and you will contemplate its true essence and strengthen your spiritual sense…"

Lu Chengyun's voice was gentle, his face bearing a faint smile, but his eyes reflected the sickly green candlelight.

Mo Hua was frightened. "R-Really?"

Lu Chengyun's voice grew low. "Of course it's true…"

"But…" Mo Hua glanced at the coffin.

The coffin's shape matched the one in Corpse Village, but it was more refined, smaller.

As if made specifically for him…

Mo Hua whispered timidly: "I… I don't want to get in."

Lu Chengyun's expression darkened instantly, his face twisting into a snarl.

"Get in!"

Mo Hua jumped.

Lu Chengyun's smile turned sinister. "Young Master, don't waste my kindness!"

Mo Hua furrowed his brow, hesitated long, then slowly lay down in the small coffin under Lu Chengyun's cold gaze.

Lu Chengyun sneered, pulled out coffin nails, sealed the coffin shut, then solemnly retrieved Zhang Quan's Ancestral Master's painting and reverently placed it upon the altar.

Incense smoke curled upward, candlelight flickering.

Lu Chengyun performed a bow, muttering an incantation:

"Today I open the chart, burning incense in reverent offering…"

"…With white bone I shall enshrine my forebear master; with human consciousness I shall make a feast."

"Patriarch Zhang above, this junior Lu Chengyun pays his respects!"

Mo Hua lay inside the coffin, and the moment he heard this, he immediately let out a pained cry.

He remembered—when Zhang Quan used a human sacrifice for the chart, the sounds inside the coffin had been exactly like this.

Of course one also had to scratch at the coffin with one's fingernails, producing a heart-wrenching, utterly agonized, desperately struggling sound of despair and torment.

But Mo Hua was afraid of pain…

His little hands probably couldn't make much of a racket either.

Mo Hua thought it over, then released the little tiger, letting the little tiger scratch the coffin lid in his place.

The little tiger's claws went patter-patter, and sure enough the coffin lid let out a piercing "squeak-squawk."

Mo Hua cooperatively cried out:

"It hurts so bad!"

"Ah!"

"So painful! Let me out!"

……

Lu Chengyun was unmoved.

After crying out for a while, inside the coffin the sounds gradually faded, then vanished altogether.

Lu Chengyun stood for a long moment, then sighed and said regretfully:

"What fine talent, truly a pity. The cultivation world is treacherous—even a heaven-gifted prodigy cannot escape an early death…"

Lu Chengyun shook his head and left the altar.

Mo Hua, meanwhile, lay quietly in the little coffin. Seeing Lu Chengyun gone, he patted his little chest and let out a small breath of relief.

Then he thought of the Zhang family Patriarch Chart currently enshrined on the altar, and couldn't help licking his lips as he muttered:

"Is he feeding me to the chart, or feeding the chart to me?"

Oh, one more thing—Happy National Day, everyone~

This chapter is over four thousand characters, so I finished a bit late again~

(End of chapter)