Chapter 287: Underground
Chapter 287: Underground
Step, step, step.
Amidst the ruins, Chen Mu walked through, and wherever he went, the corpses of the Necropolis Sect's necromancers and disciples were shattered, with occasional bits of scattered items falling out. However, these were mostly low-quality materials used for refining Malevolent Corpses, and Chen Mu had no interest in picking them up.
As he passed by the corpse of a Necropolis Sect Guardian, a black bottle fell out after his Primordial Essence True Force shattered the body. Chen Mu reached out and used an invisible Qi force to grab it.
He opened the lid, and a dense surge of Yin energy flowed out from the bottle.
"Earth Slaughter Essence." Chen Mu recognized the contents with a glance and closed the lid again.
This was not a heavenly spirit object but something refined from the earth's veins. Its uses were not limited to necromancy; it could also be used for refining Spirit Armaments and tempering them.
It was considered a relatively 'hard currency' item, easily tradable in the black market outside the Seven Mysteries Sect. This bottle required a lot of energy to refine and was worth about half a portion of a Nourishing Spirit Object.
Without delving deep into the base's storage, Chen Mu had already found valuable items on the corpses. His mood improved, as he still needed Nourishing Spirit Objects, which were hard to come by. The Seven Mysteries Sect's reserves were limited, and he had already exchanged all he could. This trip to Ice State was an opportunity to trade with the Ice Absolute Palace.
Usually, trading with the Ice Absolute Palace was less profitable than with the Seven Mysteries Sect. Although the Ice Absolute Palace did some trading, they asked for higher prices for spirit objects. But with the current unrest in Ice State, the Ice Absolute Palace was forced to cooperate with the Seven Mysteries Sect. Despite unknown terms, they temporarily shared resources.
"Senior Brother Chen," Shen Lin called out as she returned from pursuing and killing some Necropolis Sect disciples. As a former outstanding Inner Sect disciple, now in the Organ Realms, she could easily defeat Malevolent Corpses and had the upper hand against Dark Corpses. With the Necropolis Sect in disarray, she had chased down some weaker ones.
Chen Mu turned to Shen Lin and smiled, "Well done, Junior Sister Shen."
Shen Lin beamed with pride, "It's all thanks to Senior Brother Chen. If you hadn't arrived in time, I wouldn't have dared to pursue them this far."
She paused, "A few disciples escaped from my side."
"No problem," Chen Mu assured her. "They're insignificant and won't cause much trouble. We'll slowly hunt them down later. Besides, even if they escaped, the necromancers are destroyed, their secret refining ground is lost, and they've lost their ability to cause trouble."
"Yes," Shen Lin nodded obediently, then helped Chen Mu clean up the corpses.
Soon, Meng Danyun returned, her gaze fixed on the Necropolis Sect base. After carefully inspecting the periphery, she said, "The Necropolis Sect must have been here for at least twenty years to accumulate such dense Earth Slaughter Corpse Yin energy. But they just destroyed the underground array, and now the entire area is covered in Corpse Yin. It's not safe to go down there."
The Necropolis Sect used Earth Slaughter Corpse Yin to refine corpses, and their true base was not in the valley but underground.
Chen Mu's fierce attack had overwhelmed the Guardians, who, unable to resist, destroyed the Earth Slaughter Array, releasing the Corpse Yin. Although Chen Mu eliminated many, the uncontrolled Corpse Yin merged with the Earth Slaughter energy, creating a several-mile radius of dense Yin energy.
Martial practitioners below the Organ Realms need not enter underground, as prolonged exposure to this environment could harm their bodies. Even Shen Lin, in the Organ Realms, was unaffected at the periphery.
"No problem, let's clean our way down," Chen Mu said, looking underground with a calm expression.
Even the Corpse Yin, manipulated by the Necropolis Sect Guardian, didn't faze him. Dispersing and merging with the earth's veins was nothing. Despite the collapse below, his perception remained unaffected, and he proceeded to investigate.
With Shen Lin and Meng Danyun clearing the debris, Chen Mu ignored the ordinary corpses, focusing on the Guardians and Clerks he had slain. He found more materials for refining Corpse Yin, each with value but not as versatile as Earth Slaughter Essence, limiting their worth.
After quickly clearing the Guardians and Clerks' corpses, Chen Mu headed into the Necropolis Sect base, not bothering to find the underground entrance. He walked forward, and the solid, snow-covered ground seemed to create a downward path, allowing him to descend.
Chen Mu's figure vanished underground, leaving no trace of his entry, only the snow-covered ground, as if his descent were an illusion, not a physical body.
The scene before Shen Lin left her in awe, and she even hurried to the spot where Chen Mu had descended underground, taking a few steps but finding no hidden passage or trapdoor. The ground beneath her feet remained solid.
Meng Dan Yun, however, discerned something profound.
"Chen Shidi has cultivated the Heaven-Earth Concept to such a degree, no wonder Si Tu Shu considers him a formidable opponent."
She, too, approached the place where Chen Mu had descended, carefully examining the surroundings. For a moment, she was amazed by what she saw. Although she was familiar with the Heaven-Earth Eight Phases and its myriad applications, the depth of Chen Mu's understanding and application of the concept far surpassed her own.
Despite her comprehension of the Xun Wind and Kan Water concepts, and her earlier entry into the Six Viscera Realm, which she had devoted more energy to cultivating, the gap between her and Chen Mu showed no signs of narrowing; instead, it seemed to be widening.
It was known that Chen Mu cultivated the complete Heaven-Earth Concept, and every step he took was exponentially more challenging than her Feng Shui.
With Chen Mu's terrifying comprehension, it might not take a decade or two for him to grasp the Heaven-Earth Realm. When that time came, he would undoubtedly top the Gale Wind Rankings and, even without reaching the Grandmaster Realm, could rival Feng Hongsheng and Shi Zhenyong.
...
Underground, Chen Mu's body was enveloped in eight-colored radiance, the Heaven-Earth Eight Phases swirling around him. This caused the soil and rock beneath his feet to seem like a mirage, unable to impede his progress.
He continued downward for over ten zhang before finally entering a cavern.
The cavern was filled with signs of collapse, and gray mist wove through the air, thick with the aura of malevolent corpses. As soon as Chen Mu stepped in, it was as if he had sensed living beings, and they swarmed towards him.
In the 1619th chapter, there is not a single mistake!
Chen Mu's expression remained unchanged. He casually waved his hand, and the Heaven-Earth force weaved and intertwined, flashing through the air. The surging malevolent corpse energy hissed and dissolved in pieces.
Unconcerned, Chen Mu walked forward a few steps. After passing through a collapsed ruin, he saw a figure in a black cloak from the Heavenly Corpse Sect lying on the ground ahead, surrounded by gray malevolent corpse energy. Only a black skeleton remained, the flesh and blood dissolved by the malevolent corpse energy. It seemed that this disciple had not managed to escape from underground when the Heavenly Corpse Sect Guardian collapsed the Earthly Yin Array.
Although the Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivates corpses and harnesses malevolent energy, they are still mortal beings. Ordinary disciples exposed to high concentrations of malevolent energy would also be eroded by it, unless they reached the fifth realm of Corpse Law, equivalent to the fifth realm of Tempering the Body, where they would possess some rudimentary control over malevolent energy.
After all, only malevolent corpses can initially refine malevolent energy, and only dark corpses can truly control it with ease.
Chen Mu paused briefly before the skeleton, glanced at it, and then continued forward, crossing several more collapsed areas before reaching a cavern where the malevolent energy was even denser. The ground had become swamp-like, eroding everything, and within the swamp were some half-formed refined corpses with golden and silver hues.
"The Heavenly Corpse Sect's corpse refinement method, while disregarding moral principles, is not inherently wrong. However, constant exposure to malevolent energy can influence one's mind and erode secular beliefs."
Chen Mu shook his head.
Just as soldiers at the Da Xuan Border Gate fight against demons, if they choose to become refined corpses after death and continue defending the border, they are still following the righteous path. However, prolonged exposure to malevolent energy, like the Demon Body cultivation of the Celestial Demon Sect, can gradually erode one's sense of humanity, which explains why neither sect has produced truly exceptional individuals.
Even the rumored ninth-rank Celestial Demon and the highest-ranking Heavenly Corpse, almost comparable to Blood Replacement Realm existences, are described in historical records as the weakest within the Blood Replacement Realm.
Crossing the ruins and moving forward.
This time, after passing through another collapsed area, Chen Mu faced a golden corpse that rushed towards him, its fist carrying a fierce gust of wind.
Chen Mu's expression remained unchanged. Ever since his first encounter with a refined corpse in Yu County, he had been able to slay golden corpses. Now, such a Mystic Golden body was like an ant to him, and with a casual palm strike, the golden corpse was crushed into meat paste under the force of the Heaven-Earth power he manipulated.
At the same time.
Not far away, a Heavenly Corpse Sect disciple in a black cloak watched Chen Mu with a look of shock.
He had been trapped in the chaos and couldn't escape. The collapsed base had blocked his underground escape route, and he had managed to survive the malevolent energy by finding a spot with slightly lower concentration. However, with his strength, he couldn't escape, as going up or digging down was impossible. His last hope was to hide and wait for an opportunity to dig his way out, though he knew this was nearly impossible.
"You... You..."
Seeing Chen Mu effortlessly crush the golden corpse with a wave of his hand, the disciple, despite never having met Chen Mu before, understood that he was no match for him, especially since Chen Mu moved through the malevolent energy-filled underground as if it were solid ground.
Chen Mu turned his gaze towards the disciple and wasn't surprised to find a living person underground. Calmly, he said, "Where is the Heavenly Corpse Sect's treasury? Show me the way, and I'll spare your life."
This chapter is a bit shorter due to the noise of firecrackers disrupting my focus.
(End of Chapter)
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