Chapter 503

Mo Hua hid to one side, controlling Elder Song as he fought the new zombie elder.

Elder Song should have been stronger, but under Mo Hua's control via the Lingshu Array, he was powerless to resist, able to summon only seven or eight tenths of his true strength, so after dozens of rounds, he gradually fell into disadvantage.

If one isn't enough, then use two.

Mo Hua disregarded honor and took control of Zhang Quan as well, launching a pincer attack.

With this, the new zombie elder was left reeling from both sides.

Mo Hua observed its techniques.

The Zhang family's zombie elders all shared the same methods: only spirit-narrative corpse transformation and close-quarters combat.

If they couldn't win, they'd transform their spirit into a corpse, their bodies swelling, skin like bronze, bones like iron, faces green, fangs bared.

At such times, their speed increased, their strength grew greater, and their fangs became far sharper.

But it was meaningless.

Mo Hua found it novel the first time he saw it, but after watching too much, it grew tedious.

Aside from Elder Song, who knew how to shrink skin and bones to escape, all other zombies were much the same.

He didn't know whether they were ignorant and unlearned, or whether their Laozu Sect hoarded secrets and refused to teach them other methods.

This zombie elder had no new techniques either.

Mo Hua was disappointed.

Time was limited; he wouldn't drag it out. He unleashed full control over Zhang Quan and Elder Song, surrounding the zombie elder and driving him back step by step.

The zombie elder flew into a rage, giving his all—but still couldn't win;

Even after corpse transformation, he still couldn't win;

Worse still, his wounds deepened gradually; if this continued, death was certain.

The zombie elder's gaze darkened for a flash; he swallowed a mouthful of blood, his aura surged, punched Zhang Quan back, then struck Elder Song away, attempting to break free.

But Mo Hua wouldn't let him escape.

Mo Hua flicked a finger lightly; the water prison solidified instantly.

The zombie elder, just about to flee, was instantly bound in place by spiritual energy shackles.

The zombie elder was stunned.

Mo Hua slowly revealed himself from the corner.

Though young, his spirit-narrative gaze was dense and profound, utterly unfathomable.

The zombie elder widened his eyes in terror and cried:

"Who are you?"

Mo Hua had no patience for such ordinary elders; he fired a Fireball Technique directly.

A fireball shot forth, slamming into its face.

The zombie elder collapsed on the spot.

Mo Hua still wasn't satisfied; he fired several more fireballs—Boom—Boom—reducing it to scattered spirit and form, barely alive on the ground, utterly immobilized.

Zhang Quan and Elder Song watched, their eyelids twitching.

Before they could pity each other, an even more horrifying scene unfolded.

In front of Zhang Quan and the other, Mo Hua began activating the Lingshu Array.

He stilled his mind, pointed his finger at the zombie elder's heart meridian, whose consciousness was on the verge of collapse and unable to move.

Using the heart meridian as the array's core, pale blue array patterns bloomed like luminous orchids on the zombie elder's chest, then spread outward, rooting into his body as soil, growing layer upon layer until perfectly fused…

This Iron Corpse realm elder was thus, alive, transformed into a puppet.

Zhang Quan and Elder Song stared in terror.

What kind of array is this?

Could this brat have controlled spirit-narrative bodies using this very array?

Had this same array been implanted in them too?

What exactly is this array?

The array is supremely refined, its technique bordering on Dao, and Dao bordering on the uncanny.

It was utterly absurd—they couldn't comprehend it at all.

Zhang Quan suddenly froze.

This array resembled the corpse-controlling array that Lu Chengyun treasured so dearly…

Only it was less sinister, more complex, more mysterious, and far more profound.

But Lu Chengyun hadn't said this array was extremely difficult? That its threshold was high? That its principles were intricate?

Zhang Quan still remembered Lu Chengyun's words:

"... Without decades of solitary, painstaking study, without understanding dark arrays, without fusing dark thoughts into one's consciousness, without using bone as brush and blood as ink, without using corpses as medium—how could he possibly learn it?"

Then when had this brat learned it?

Zhang Quan wanted to ask, but he couldn't open his mouth.

He was already a puppet, controlled by another, powerless to resist…

After completing the Lingshu Array on the zombie elder, Mo Hua incinerated the two dead zombie disciples into blue smoke and fed it to him, restoring some of his strength.

Moments later, the zombie elder's ethereal form stabilized, and he slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were blank with confusion.

What remained in his memory was Mo Hua's ruthless fireball technique.

Soon he realized his body was no longer under his control.

He was controlled by Mo Hua, standing beside Zhang Quan and Elder Song, his mouth also stitched shut by spiritual threads, unable to speak—only able to exchange a brief glance with Elder Song.

The emotion in that glance was extremely complex.

He finally understood the elder Song's predicament.

Their fate was no longer in their own hands.

But in the hands of that little cultivator beside them—who looked adorable, yet was terrifying…

Mo Hua held three iron corpses and continued to wait patiently.

He remembered Elder Song saying that the Zhang family's zombie ancestor relied on the bloodline's spiritual resonance for worship and would never personally consume them to replenish energy.

Although Mo Hua did not know exactly how this worship functioned, logically, the Zhang ancestor should not enter his own mind sea.

Unless he captured every single Zhang elder…

Not long after, two more Zhang family iron corpse elders entered Mo Hua's mind sea.

Mo Hua used the same method.

This time it was three against two—a chaotic battle.

When they had exhausted their techniques and fought until they were nearly spent, Mo Hua emerged, combining Fireball Technique, Water Prison Technique, and Earth Fire Array, swiftly eliminating both elders.

Then he repeated the same tactic.

He set up the Ling Shu Array to control the Zhang elders.

Thus, the Zhang family lost two more elders, while Mo Hua gained two more iron corpses.

Mo Hua was like a fisherman.

Catching them one by one.

Each time he caught one, another fish entered his basket, and one fewer remained in the river.

The iron corpse elders in the Zhang ancestral portrait were all Mo Hua's fish…

…

While Mo Hua was "fishing," dark currents stirred within Nanyue City.

Various Daoist factions converged in the city.

Many unfamiliar faces appeared on the streets.

Ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators knew nothing, still toiling daily for their livelihood, exhausting themselves for a single Spirit Stone.

Those within the scheme looked solemn.

The storm is coming, the wind fills the tower.

But they only sensed the wind; they did not know what kind of storm was coming.

The Sister Situ family.

In a modest, elegant, yet secretive hall.

Forces from all sides gathered.

Dao Bing commanders assigned by the Dao Ting;

Foundation Establishment elders from nearby Daoist factions under Dao Ting orders;

Families and sects linked to Tian Shu Pavilion, who had come investigating Mr. Zhuang—among them were a withered old man, a white-robed boy, and a middle-aged cultivator.

…

These family factions had arrived secretly; the Dao Bing were stationed outside the city in an abandoned mine, all to avoid detection by the Lu family.

They also bypassed the Nanyue City Dao Ting Si.

The Gu Diansi present were all from nearby Xiancheng or directly appointed by the Dao Ting.

The only person from Nanyue City Dao Ting Si was Sister Situ Fang.

She participated in this meeting only because she was a Sister Situ family disciple and knew many secrets.

The leader of this gathering was a Dao Bing commander named Yang, at the mid-Foundation Establishment realm, with a stern, upright face, serious eyes, and a calm bearing.

Commander Yang spoke bluntly:

"I am Yang Jishan, holding the rank of Second-Class Dao Bing Commander."

"By order of the Dao Ting, this operation aims to suppress the Corpse Mine, apprehend Lu Chengyun, seal the Corpse King, and burn the horde of corpses—without triggering a Corpse Tide, without causing a Corpse Disaster, and without allowing the people of Nanyue City to suffer."

Commander Yang's gaze was stern as he surveyed the room and spoke gravely:

"Within Nanyue City, the Lu family is powerful; within the Corpse Mine, the zombies are numerous."

"Therefore, we must act with caution, or disaster will surely follow!"

"I ask all of you to follow orders—if any mistake occurs and disaster strikes, the Dao Ting will hold us all accountable."

After speaking, seeing no dissent, Yang nodded and continued:

"For this operation, we divide into two forces:"

"One force will suppress the Lu family;"

"Block off the Lu family estate, capture all Lu Foundation Establishment cultivators, bind their cultivation with Second-Class Spirit Binding Chains; detain ordinary Qi Condensation disciples, and punish them all after the Corpse Mine matter is settled."

"Do not kill the innocent."

"But if any Lu family member resists, kill them on the spot!"

"The other force will gather the cultivators and rendezvous with the Dao Bing outside the city to launch a surprise attack on the Corpse Mine."

"March in secrecy, strive for a swift victory—to suppress the Corpse Mine, apprehend Lu Chengyun, and extinguish the Corpse Threat before it ignites…"

"Next, the specific tactical arrangements…"

Something delayed me; the update is late. Sorry.

One more chapter, but it will be slightly later.

(End of Chapter)