Chapter 433: Capturing Corpses
Chapter 433: Capturing Corpses
In the darkness, a pitch-black coffin was slowly opened.
One by one, the corpses within crawled out.
Their eyes were hollow and empty, their skin decayed and putrid. Numerous in number, a few dozen of them stood eerily on the mine mountain.
Refining corpses!
Mo Hua's eyes turned cold as he looked at Zhang Quan and asked coldly, "Have you fallen into the path of demons?"
Corpse refinement was truly a demonic art, intolerable in the cultivation world and contrary to the Dao Laws.
Cultivators who practiced necromancy would be hunted down by the Dao Court.
Even the sects or clans that dabbled in such arts would face annihilation by the Dao Court.
Mo Hua suspected that most of these walking corpses were once mine cultivators.
They had lived miserable lives, and even in death, their bodies were refined into zombies to be used for evil deeds.
In Mo Hua's heart, Zhang Quan's offenses piled up.
Once this matter was over, he would find a way to make Zhang Quan pay dearly.
Zhang Quan let out a cold laugh, "So what if I have? I'm alone, and if I can attain immortality, what's wrong with walking the path of demons?"
Mo Hua scoffed, "You've already fallen into the demonic path, and yet you still dare to dream of attaining the Dao. What a spring and autumn pipe dream."
"What would a brat like you understand?" Zhang Quan retorted.
"You, a little brat, are lecturing me? You, who's been running around like a scared mouse?" Mo Hua countered.
Zhang Quan felt a mouthful of blood rising in his throat, but he forcefully swallowed it back down.
Enraged, he said, "Fine, you're sharp-tongued, and I can't win against you in an argument. But soon, I'll slaughter you, tear your mouth apart, and feed you to these walking corpses. Let's see how tough you'll remain then."
Mo Hua hummed in response, "Forget it. You're about to become a corpse yourself, and you still can't catch me. What makes you think these stupid walking corpses will fare any better?"
After saying this, Mo Hua quietly asked Bai Zixi, "Senior Sister, what are walking corpses?"
Bai Zixi replied, "They are low-level zombies."
"Oh, oh," Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, his heart settling. Then, he lifted his head, his expression turning aloof as he said, "They are merely low-level zombies. With your Foundation Establishment cultivation, if this is all you can do, you might as well crawl back into your mother's womb and drink amniotic fluid. Don't come out and embarrass yourself..."
Mo Hua continued to berate Zhang Quan loudly.
Coming from a lineage of demon hunters and having Elder Yu as his master, Mo Hua had learned all sorts of colorful insults. Even if he couldn't come up with his own, he could always fall back on the ones taught by Elder Yu.
However, with his senior martial brothers and sisters present, he refrained from using the more vulgar insults out of concern for his image. So, he opted for somewhat "friendly" words to test the waters with Zhang Quan.
But Zhang Quan was growing impatient.
Usually, he wouldn't bother with the insults of a brat, no matter how harsh they were.
Because he could easily end their lives with a flick of his hand.
However, Mo Hua was different.
No matter how much Mo Hua insulted him, he could only endure it, unable to do anything about it.
Moreover, all his schemes had been thwarted, and indeed, all he had left were these walking corpses.
Zhang Quan glared at Mo Hua, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
If looks could kill, Mo Hua would have died ten times over.
But Mo Hua remained unfazed, his hands casually tucked into his sleeves as he said to Zhang Quan, "What are you staring at with those beady eyes? Do you think I'll be scared just because you're giving me the evil eye?"
Zhang Quan's anger caused his scalp to go numb.
His right hand trembled as he shook the blood rope and the strange bronze bell, shouting hoarsely, "I'll kill you!"
Under the influence of the bell's ring, the dozens of walking corpses bared their fangs and extended their fingers like sharp claws. They seemed frenzied as they breathed heavily and lunged at Mo Hua and the others.
Bai Zixi gracefully extended her hand, and several sword lights flew out, severing the legs of a few walking corpses.
However, even more corpses continued to charge forward.
Despite having their legs cut off, the crippled corpses crawled relentlessly toward Mo Hua.
Mo Hua joined his fingers together and summoned fireballs with his fire manipulation technique.
One after another, the fireballs flew out, turning the arms of several corpses into charcoal before they disintegrated into ashes.
But as long as the limbs remained, the corpses kept struggling forward, driven by their insatiable hunger for flesh and their programming to kill.
Mo Hua frowned.
These first-grade walking corpses only possessed the strength of the Qi Refining stage, which was not a significant threat. However, their numbers were vast, and they were fearless and relentless—because they were already dead.
As long as their limbs were intact, they would continue to crave flesh and obey orders to kill.
This was turning out to be quite troublesome.
Soon, the zombies were almost upon Mo Hua.
Zhang Quan's eyes gleamed with excitement.
He wanted to witness the scene of the walking corpses tearing Mo Hua apart and devouring him.
But Mo Hua calmly took a few steps back, easily dodging the zombies' sharp claws. He then retreated, leaving several zombies reaching out to bite and gnash at the air where he had just been.
More zombies appeared behind Mo Hua, but he swiftly evaded them as well, always a hair's breadth from their snapping jaws.
Zhang Quan's eyebrows knitted together.
This brat was skilled in movement techniques as well...
He's damn hard to kill!
Zhang Quan's lips curled into a sinister smile as he said, "Good, keep running. Let's see how long you can rely on your movement skills."
The spiritual energy of the Qi Refining stage would eventually be exhausted, and all it would take was a single mistake or for his energy to run out for him to become a meal for these zombies.
Zhang Quan's smile was cruel and cold, but suddenly, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of golden light.
Startled, he hurriedly shook the bronze bell.
Several walking corpses blocked his path, only to be pierced by Bai Zisheng's spear.
Zhang Quan quickly retreated, and Bai Zisheng sent several zombies flying with a single thrust of his spear. With a large stride, he thrust his spear out again.
Zhang Quan had no choice but to retreat once more, summoning more zombies to block the spear.
Some even stood before Mo Hua, motionless.
Unmoving, Mo Hua curiously examined the corpses in front of him.
He wanted to understand how these corpses were being controlled.
Cornered, Zhang Quan mobilized his spiritual energy, performing the Earth Escape technique to flee to an old shed on the mine mountain.
The shed was empty.
Zhang Quan stomped his foot, causing the mountain rocks to tremble and dust to rise.
Then, an iron coffin appeared before him.
Sensing something amiss, Mo Hua called out, "Senior Brother!"
Without waiting for Mo Hua's reminder, Bai Zisheng channeled his spiritual power, thrusting his spear towards Zhang Quan.
Just then, the iron coffin lid flew open, and a stiff hand shot out, grabbing the tip of Bai Zisheng's spear.
Bai Zisheng's eyebrows furrowed, and his spiritual power surged, causing the golden light to intensify and constrict around the hand.
The iron-blue palm cracked under the pressure of the golden spiritual energy, and its grip loosened.
Bai Zisheng's spear pulled free.
After freeing his spear, Bai Zisheng didn't attack again. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, focusing on the iron coffin.
A moment later, a zombie crawled out of the coffin.
This zombie was different from the others.
Its skin wasn't decayed but had a dark bluish-green hue, appearing as hard as iron.
Its fangs were longer, its fingers sharper, and its aura was more formidable.
Mo Hua quickly asked in a low voice, "Little Senior Sister, what is this?"
When in doubt, ask.
And it's not embarrassing to ask his little senior sister.
Mo Hua's knowledge of cultivation mainly focused on array formations, and his understanding of other aspects was far inferior to Bai Zixi's.
He even knew less than Bai Zisheng.
Bai Zixi replied, "It's an Iron Corpse, one level higher than the walking corpses."
Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, then raised his head and scoffed at Zhang Quan, "It's just an Iron Corpse. If that's all you can do, why don't you bring out a Copper or Gold Corpse?"
After speaking, Mo Hua suddenly remembered something and quietly asked Bai Zixi, "Little Senior Sister, are there Copper and Gold Corpses...?"
Copper and Gold Corpses were terms he had just made up.
He didn't know if they existed.
Mo Hua was afraid that his lack of knowledge would be exposed, causing Zhang Quan to look down on him.
Bai Zixi nodded, "Yes."
Mo Hua breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Quan's heart trembled.
This little brat knew so much; he must have come from a powerful family or sect.
From his tone, it seemed like Copper and Gold Corpses were commonplace?
To create this Iron Corpse, which could rival a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Zhang Quan had already expended a great deal of effort.
Thus far, everyone who had seen this Iron Corpse had been terrified.
Not many cultivators had encountered it and lived to tell the tale.
Yet, Zhang Quan never expected that this brat not only wasn't afraid but also looked down on him.
Zhang Quan was stunned.
On the other hand, Bai Zisheng, excited by the prospect of a new prey, was already locked in combat with the Iron Corpse.
As this Iron Corpse wasn't fully refined yet, it could only be considered a semi-formed Iron Corpse.
Its strength was slightly inferior to a typical early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, but its skin and flesh were as hard as iron, making it slightly stronger than an average Foundation Establishment cultivator in actual combat.
At the very least, it was stronger than Zhang Quan, who wasn't using pills to boost his strength.
Bai Zisheng was slightly at a disadvantage, but he fought with increasing courage and fervor.
Previously, with Xue'er following him and strictly forbidding him from fighting, Bai Zisheng could only suppress his abilities. Now, after several battles during his journey, his techniques had become more polished, and he had gained more experience in combat.
However, as the fight dragged on, Bai Zisheng gradually felt strained.
Not only was the Iron Corpse a formidable opponent, but the other walking corpses also relentlessly pounced on him.
Even when pierced by his spear or having their limbs severed, these walking corpses continued their assault, clinging to Bai Zisheng.
Bai Zisheng couldn't help but grumble, "So annoying!"
Just then, as he dodged an attack from the Iron Corpse, his spear pierced the chest of another walking corpse. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Mo Hua, there are array patterns on the corpses!"
Mo Hua paused, then formed a seal with his hand, performing the Water Prison technique to immobilize one of the walking corpses.
Bai Zixi swept her sword energy, shredding the clothes on the corpse's chest.
The walking corpse's chest was decayed with death spots, but there were no signs of array patterns.
Mo Hua said, "Senior Sister, peel off its skin!"
Bai Zixi nodded, and with a quick slash of her sword, she tore away the corpse's skin, revealing the underlying dead flesh.
Under the flesh, there were faint blood patterns, and the aura of an array formation fluctuated.
Mo Hua was taken aback, then his expression turned to shock, followed by delight, and his eyes shone as he said to Bai Zisheng, "Senior Brother, help me capture that zombie!!"
The blood-colored array pattern on the zombie turned out to be an Ultimate Array!
Moreover, it was an Ultimate Array of at least eleven patterns or more!
Capture the zombie?
Zhang Quan was stunned for a moment, then his face paled as he realized something.
This brat was an array master?!
He had figured it out?!
(End of Chapter)
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