Chapter 1393: Female Corpse Lian Hongchen

The pale hand gripped his wrist tightly, as flesh and blood seemed to sink in, the spot turning black; corpse qi and death qi continuously eroded Chen Chuyang's body, trying to turn him completely into a part of the corpse qi.

The sudden movement almost startled Chen Chuyang, but he had been prepared, knowing the woman was still alive; otherwise he would have been terrified to death. He lowered his head, met the corpse woman's gaze, and in that stare saw the coldness and ruthlessness in her eyes.

There was also hidden resentment—one could say Chen Chuyang awakened her, nearly ruining all her schemes, so she naturally gave him no friendly expression. Chen Chuyang chuckled, "Indeed, you are still alive, not dead."

"You, however, have not awakened, merely observing the outside. If no one opened the coffin, precisely, if no one erased that final spark of life, you could not wake up."

"That spark of life is invisible to others, even to those who refined you into a zombie; they probably don't know you're still alive. Yet I saw it at a glance, and almost erased that last spark, causing your plan to fail completely."

"Your patience is remarkable, it impresses me; I thought you wouldn't awaken."

Each sentence made the corpse woman's eyes in the coffin flicker; clearly, she had been seen. Chen Chuyang had waited a long, long time for this moment. The corpse woman's gaze was cold, as if it would pierce her body and soul.

The corpse woman said nothing, yet said everything.

Chen Chuyang continued, "You must be aiming for Advancement to become Corpse King, completing your transformation. Yet you didn't expect to meet someone who doesn't play by the rules, who wants to directly refine all of you—not by imprinting a soul in your sea of consciousness to control your body."

"You didn't expect anyone to go this far with a zombie. Woman, tell me your background."

He lowered his head, sneered; the corpse qi and death qi, which he pretended not to see, continued to erode his body, but he absorbed them, turning them into part of his mixed primordial true qi, with no effect at all.

The corpse woman sensed this; her pupils loosened, the cold in her eyes faded, replaced by anger.

"Hmph."

The corpse woman let out a cold snort, saying, "Don't overstep. My corpse qi and death qi are not something you can endure. I admit, your cultivated technique is indeed strange; it can devour my corpse qi and transform it into your own true qi. In countless years, you are the first to achieve this."

"My corpse qi cannot be compared to the waste of others, yet you remain unmoved."

She knew Chen Chuyang was not acting; he truly was not afraid of her corpse qi.

At present, her most useful tool is this corpse qi, but now it has lost its effect.

Chen Chuyang smiled and nodded, "Your corpse qi is indeed unique; compared to the Ghost King's corpse qi, it is more terrifying and harder to absorb. Yet this does not trouble me, nor can it harm me."

"All energy, as long as I can devour it, becomes my true qi, becoming part of my strength."

The corpse woman fell silent, having received the answer she sought.

The woman's pupils quivered again as she looked around: an unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar Formation, and the ambient celestial qi in the air, mixed with an uncomfortable scent. Boundless life force spread, opposite to the corpse qi and death qi on her, counterbalancing each other.

"What place is this?"

"Who are you?"

"Why are you refining me?"

The unfamiliar place is neither Cangzhou nor Lingzhou, nor any location of Tianwai.

It is a strange place, one she has never visited before.

The Heavenly Dao aura spreading in the sky is also very strange; she can feel the Protector of heaven and earth, and also sense the weakness of the Heavenly Dao here.

And the person before her, appearing human yet merged with heaven and earth, as if he were the master of this realm.

The unfathomable strength, the mysterious methods that can devour corpse qi and use it as a means to cultivate celestial qi, all of this left her astonished.

Strange person, strange place, and strange methods.

The corpse woman was very curious; finally her gaze fell on Chen Chuyang, staring continuously, yet she discerned no clue.

"Me? Just a nameless foot soldier." Chen Chuyang pointed at himself and gave a faint smile.

He pointed at the corpse woman and asked, "Before you ask me, introduce yourself, tell me your purpose. Don't try to lie to me; you know it's all futile. Your life and death are in the palm of my hand."

"If I wanted to kill you, a slight move would erase your life force, and you would naturally die, becoming a complete zombie; then you would be my puppet."

"I like honest people, and it's best not to test my patience."

He is not a member of the Corpse Refining Sect; he values her greatly.

She is just a corpse woman; if destroyed, she's destroyed.

Chen Chuyang's curiosity lies in her methods, her technique, and why she does this.

Seeing this for the first time, he naturally needed to ask for clarification.

After a long silence, the corpse woman finally spoke slowly, "My name is Lian Hongchen, a corpse of the Corpse Refining Sect. As you see, my whole body is corpse qi; I was refined using the Sect's methods, and they intend to forge me into a zombie to ascend to the legendary Corpse King."

"The Corpse King of the Corpse Refining Sect is a very special being, rare and unattainable. If I can become Corpse King, it will open a brand‑new chapter for the Corpse Refining Sect."

"And I am willing to do so, surviving between zombie and human, becoming a special existence—neither zombie nor human."

Lian Hongchen spoke slowly, recounting her background; how much is true or false remains unknown.

She is one of the Corpse Refining Sect's disciples; by chance she obtained a technique, then turned herself into a corpse, allowing others to refine her, supplying countless flesh and yin qi for her growth.

And she, naturally, had to display some special circumstances to give those people hope.

Specifically, she said little, behaving as if she were a normal person.

Or rather, very strange—willingly, not dead, becoming a corpse.

"My plan is flawless; no one can detect it. At least so far, the Elders of the Corpse Refining Sect have not discovered it, and I have completely cut off everything, making myself a true zombie."

"Those people employed many methods to refine me to this point; of course, I also have my share of credit in this."