Chapter 266: Drawing the Corpse Out of the Cave

With the Yin Soldier Technique, I suddenly became nervous.

As expected, what was bound to come has come!

Since they can raise corpse demons in this auspicious valley, how could they not control them?

It was hard to raise this corpse demon, and even if I had to risk my life, I must protect it.

Moreover, they not only want to keep the corpse demon, but also take away the 81 hopping vampires trapped in the mine tunnels beneath the Nine Heavens Lock Soul Formation.

I immediately bent forward, staring intently at the direction of the grave pit.

As soon as the corpse demon moves, I will immediately descend into the pit with a lantern.

Just then, a hand suddenly pressed onto my shoulder.

I instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

In this heavy rain with thunder and lightning, someone approached me nearby, yet I didn't notice at all.

No way, even if I didn't notice, wouldn't Hui Moqiong's subordinates deployed around have noticed?

I turned around and saw the old lady leaning on a dragon-headed cane.

It turned out to be one of our own.

The old lady shook her head at me and whispered, 'Don't move, wait a bit longer.'

I lowered myself further, leaned toward the old lady, and asked softly, 'Who is controlling the corpse demon? Do you know?'

"It should be a lama from Zàng Qū." The old lady said, "Many years ago I once heard that in Zàng Qū there was a high-ranking lama who wandered the world, passed through Chang City, practiced in the deep mountains for a while before leaving. I didn't think much of it then, but later when I tried to investigate, that great lama had already left Chang City, leaving no trace."

"Wandering the world?"

This is the second time I've heard this term.

The first time was after I returned from Lofty Mountain, when Liu Junyan told me.

Master Kongji said he would later face a calamity, must return to the Great Dharma King Temple, and as a Chan Master wander the world to resolve this calamity.

This journey... will take at least ten years...

So when I heard the old lady mention 'wandering the world' again, I instinctively asked, 'Aren't those who wander the world enlightened monks who teach scriptures to temples and monks along the way? What's the situation with this wandering great lama?'

The old lady replied, "What you described is one kind; another more common situation is that a high-ranking monk residing in the imperial court steps into the secular world to endure the calamity of all beings."

While keeping an eye on the grave pit, I asked, 'The calamity of all beings? What does it include?'

"The calamity of all beings encompasses everything; any kind is possible." The old lady explained, "The flashy world dazzles the eyes; some so-called high monks raised in temples since childhood are pure as paper, free of distracting thoughts, yet extremely susceptible to secular distractions, breaking their cultivation and turning to the evil path—this corpse‑controlling one is clearly such a case."

Hearing the old lady's words, my mind buzzed, and many thoughts flashed through instantly.

I should be the least worried that Liu Junyan would lose himself while wandering the world.

Not just ten years—I would believe him even if it were a hundred or a thousand years.

But I naturally thought of another matter… the Copper Coin Person.

The Copper Coin Person's situation seems very similar to the second case the old lady described.

He came from Lofty Mountain, traveling onward, and I don't know how many places he stayed.

But in the end, he met his demise in Wufu Town.

They called him an evil monk…

Just then, a low roar came from underground, accompanied by the croaking of toads, as if a hellish demon had awakened, and the whole ground trembled slightly with the roar.

At the same time, the sound of copper bells suddenly grew louder, and the dark mist in the mountains almost spread to the grave pit here.

Next, with a bang, a coffin lid flew up together with soil in the rain curtain, and the golden light of the Golden Scale suddenly appeared.

In that golden light, a corpse clad in armor and covered head to toe in white hair stood up stiffly.

The golden light emanated from its shoulders, and there, perched upon it, was the Three‑Eyed Golden Toad.

The eye on the forehead of the Three‑Eyed Golden Toad is the Golden Scale.

Until this moment, everyone remained still, not moving.

Liu Junyan, who had been fighting on the mountain peak earlier, didn't know where he had hidden himself.

Hui Moqiong's people also did not come out to stop it.

It felt as if no one had intruded into this mountain tonight.

The corpse demon stood in the grave pit for a while.

When the Three‑Eyed Golden Toad perched on its shoulder suddenly croaked twice, the corpse demon leapt up and jumped high out of the grave pit.

His jumping power was astonishing; with a single leap he rose, his armor clanking, and the weapons at his waist turned out to be a pair… Golden Halberds?

I wiped rain from my face and looked again; if I wasn't mistaken, they were indeed a pair of Golden Halberds.

Golden Halberds are whip‑type weapons about four feet long, without blades but with four ridges; they are said to be especially heavy, capable of smashing a person through armor.

Such weapons were popular during the Tang and Song dynasties.

And judging from the armor on this corpse demon, it is even closer to the early Tang period.

After the corpse demon jumped up, it did not act immediately but stood at the edge of the grave pit, craning its neck and continually howling.

The ground beneath it trembled with its howling.

It was summoning the 81 corpses beneath the Nine Heavens Lock Soul Formation.

Just then, Liu Junyan suddenly burst out of the darkness and charged straight at the corpse demon.

The corpse demon didn't move, but the Three‑Eyed Golden Toad on its shoulder suddenly turned, let out a 'gua', and shot a small golden sword from its mouth straight at Liu Junyan.

Liu Junyan instantly shot out a Golden Copper Coin.

The Golden Copper Coin and the golden sword clashed in mid‑air; with a ding, they both shattered into pieces.

I was greatly shocked; the power of the hidden weapon fired by the Three‑Eyed Golden Toad is actually this great!

But I still dared not move.

I know Liu Junyan didn't use his full strength; he intended to lure the corpse demon away, not fight it to the death right beside the grave pit.

On the other side, Hui Moqiong finally appeared.

Together with him, they headed toward the direction from which the bronze bell sound in the mountains came to flank past, and there was also Hui Yumo's team.

The siblings cooperated for the first time, one east, one west, working in perfect sync.

When the bronze bell sound and the chanting voice suddenly became chaotic, the corpse phantom seemed to lose its direction.

Liu Junyan launched successive moves, relentlessly provoking.

At first it was only the three-eyed golden toad striking back; the corpse phantom, under the control of the bronze bell sound and the incantation, remained as stable as Mount Tai.

When the corpse-controlling side fell into chaos, Liu Junyan suddenly pinched a seal and chanted, directly summoning the Golden Scale back to its place.

The three-eyed golden toad actually raised its two claws, pressed them together to hold the Golden Scale, and croaked continuously.

Liu Junyan seized the moment, pinched another thunder seal, pointed his sword at the corpse phantom; the next instant, a bolt of lightning struck squarely on the corpse phantom.

The corpse phantom finally flew into a rage, drawing two golden halberds and chasing after Liu Junyan.

Liu Junyan's goal achieved, he led the corpse phantom running eastward.

This was the plan decided long ago; to the east we had prepared a formation array in advance.

These zombies are easy to handle at low level—just set them on fire and they burn away.

But for a high-level existence like the corpse phantom, ordinary fire cannot burn it, and besides we are in a downpour; we can only first use the formation array to trap it.

As soon as Liu Junyan succeeded, the gray-haired old lady leaned on her cane and sprang up neatly, also following after.

What I didn't expect was that, at the same time, another group also followed behind.

The leader of that group I know—it turned out to be Fang Chuan Zong…