Chapter 434: The Corpse Array
Chapter 434: The Corpse Array
How is this possible?
Zhang Quan's pupils constricted, his gaze fixed on the young boy before him.
There was no way this brat could also be an array master. The Earth Fire Array that had been used to blow up the mine, trapping him, and the Earth-based array that had countered his escape technique—could they have also been this boy's doing?
Zhang Quan turned his attention back to Mo Hua, studying him.
Mo Hua's eyes were clear and deep, bright yet enigmatic.
Initially, Zhang Quan had found his gaze sinister and hateful.
But now, he realized that it was a sign of a cunning mind and powerful spiritual sense.
Zhang Quan thought of someone.
When that person started scheming, he also had a similar look in his eyes.
And he, too, was an array master.
Indeed, this boy's gaze resembled that of an array master.
A chill ran down Zhang Quan's spine.
Things were taking a turn for the worse...
If this brat was an array master, he might have seen through the arrays on these corpses.
The question now was, how much had he figured out? Did he know what kind of array this was?
A cold light shone in Zhang Quan's eyes.
The best solution at this point was to silence them forever.
Dead men tell no tales, and whatever they knew would be buried with them, never to see the light of day.
But Zhang Quan knew that, in the current situation, he couldn't kill them.
The white-robed youth had profound cultivation and exceptional combat prowess, which Zhang Quan couldn't match.
As for the pretty girl, her dangerous and destructive Daoist arts were not something he dared to provoke.
Among the three, this boy before him seemed to be the weakest in terms of strength.
However, he was exceptionally cunning, full of malicious tricks, and his underhanded and slippery methods made him a formidable opponent.
Moreover, Zhang Quan remembered that this boy could conceal himself.
Whether through magic or spiritual artifacts, his concealment techniques were superb, even evading Zhang Quan's foundation-stage spiritual sense.
With that in mind, Zhang Quan knew he couldn't get his hands on him.
This realization infuriated Zhang Quan, and he felt ashamed and angry.
Here he was, a foundation-stage cultivator, repeatedly humiliated by this boy, and yet he couldn't do anything about it. It was infuriating!
He couldn't kill any of these three.
Since he couldn't silence them, he would have to "destroy the corpses and eliminate all traces."
He couldn't leave any traces of the arrays behind!
Zhang Quan made up his mind, his expression grave.
On the other side, Bai Zisheng had started helping Mo Hua capture the zombies.
He dodged the Iron Zombie and focused his attacks on the regular walking corpses, disabling their limbs with the fluctuations of his spiritual power and the flick of his spear.
In just a moment, he had immobilized four or five of them.
Mo Hua also joined in, using his Water Prison Technique to immobilize the walking corpses, after which Bai Zixi would use his sword to sever their limbs.
The three of them worked swiftly and accurately, and in no time, they had subdued quite a few zombies.
Zhang Quan's eyes narrowed.
He couldn't wait any longer!
With a cold glint in his eyes, he shook the blood-stained Strange Patterned Bronze Bell in his hand.
The bell tolled, summoning the zombies, and an eerie wind blew.
The battle situation changed abruptly.
The walking corpses, their faces contorted with rage, turned on Mo Hua and the others. They began to attack each other, gnawing at each other's heart pulses, trying to destroy the arrays near their heart pulses.
Even the Iron Zombie joined in, hunting down the lower-level walking corpses. With a punch and a claw, it would rip open their chests, leaving a dark, blood-oozing hole.
The zombies were destroying themselves, erasing all traces of the arrays.
Bai Zisheng glared at Zhang Quan, anger flashing in his eyes. "You coward! Are you backing out now?"
Zhang Quan let out a cold laugh, ignoring him and continuing to ring the bell.
Mo Hua stared intently at the bell, examining it closely. Suddenly, he pointed and shouted, "There's an array in the bell too, Senior Brother! Take his bell!"
Zhang Quan jumped in surprise.
Bai Zisheng's eyes lit up, and he ignored the walking corpses, flashing towards Zhang Quan to stab at the bell in his hand with his spear.
Zhang Quan quickly retreated, dodging Bai Zisheng's spear, and then immediately put away the bell, cursing inwardly.
This brat's eyes were too sharp!
Damn it! If this continued, he'd probably have his secrets laid bare!
He couldn't afford to stall any longer.
Zhang Quan dared not take out the bell again and instead hid it in his sleeve, secretly shaking it to activate the self-destruct array on the zombies and control the Iron Zombie to protect himself as he fled.
Bai Zisheng wanted to stop him, but the Iron Zombie stood in his way, and he couldn't keep up.
The scene descended into chaos, and Zhang Quan finally managed to escape.
Before leaving, Zhang Quan turned to look at Mo Hua, his eyes cold and malicious as he remembered all the grievances he had suffered at the boy's hands.
"Little brat, I'll remember you!" he hissed. "One day, I will kill you, turn you into a zombie, and keep you by my side. You will serve me tea and water, be my cow and horse, and be my slave for life!"
With that, he turned and ran, not giving Mo Hua a chance to retort.
He was afraid that Mo Hua would hurl more insults at him, and he knew he couldn't take it.
When it came to infuriating people, he admitted that he couldn't beat this brat.
Mo Hua stuck out his tongue, muttering, "Running away after cursing, what a coward."
He had prepared more insults, but Zhang Quan ran too fast, and he didn't get the chance to say them.
Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed and figured he'd have to wait for the next opportunity.
With Zhang Quan's escape, the battle came to an end.
The mine was left in ruins after the fierce battle.
Rocks were shattered, and the mine shafts were destroyed.
Walking corpse remains were scattered everywhere, and some walking corpses, their heart pulses torn out, twitched uncontrollably on the ground.
The Iron Zombie had been taken away by Zhang Quan, and most of the remaining walking corpses had destroyed each other, leaving only a few with intact chests.
The Iron Zombie was hidden within an iron coffin, while the other walking corpses were mostly concealed in wooden coffins.
After an intense battle, Bai Zisheng also felt exhausted. He paused to catch his breath and restore his spiritual energy before asking, "Should we pursue him further?"
Mo Hua pondered for a moment and shook his head, "Let's hold off for now. We'll let out more line to hook a bigger fish."
Bai Zisheng was taken aback, "Is there an even bigger fish than Zhang Quan?"
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded. He pointed to the coffins and walking corpses on the mountain, "These are too few."
Bai Zisheng's mouth dropped open in surprise, "How can you say they are few?"
There were dozens of fierce and fearless walking corpses here, and together with the Iron Zombie, they would likely overwhelm any ordinary Qi Refining cultivator in the early stages of their cultivation.
Although Bai Zisheng had profound cultivation, he was starting to feel tired from the prolonged battle, and his spiritual energy was significantly depleted.
If there were more walking corpses, he would have no choice but to flee.
Otherwise, he would eventually be worn down and defeated.
Mo Hua frowned, "Zhang Quan has been hiring assassins to kill for decades. In all that time, who knows how many Mining Cultivators have been slain, their bodies bought by him..."
"He must be using these corpses for refining zombies," Bai Zisheng added.
"With so many corpses, it's unlikely that he's only refined this handful of zombies," Mo Hua mused.
"Elder Yu once taught me the principle of a cornered rabbit bolting for its burrow," Bai Zisheng recalled.
"Since Zhang Quan is engaging in such forbidden demonic practices, he must have multiple escape routes planned," Mo Hua agreed.
"So, I suspect he has other hiding places with many more coffins, each containing countless zombies..." Bai Zisheng's eyes widened in alarm.
"That Zhang Quan truly deserves to die!" Bai Zisheng exclaimed angrily.
Mo Hua nodded in agreement.
Then, he added, "Actually, there's another issue."
"The arrays?" Bai Zisheng inquired.
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded. "Zhang Quan clearly doesn't know arrays, but the bell he uses to control the zombies, the refined zombies themselves, and even these coffins all have arrays on them..."
"That means someone is creating arrays for him!" Bai Zisheng realized.
"This person must have a high attainment in arrays, and they might have even comprehended an ultimate array..." Mo Hua speculated.
"This ultimate array might not be a conventional one but a deviant array among deviant arrays..." Mo Hua's expression turned solemn.
"An ultimate array..." Bai Zisheng's heart skipped a beat as he, too, grew solemn. He glanced at the fallen zombies and asked, "Are the arrays on these walking corpses ultimate arrays?"
Mo Hua propped his chin with his hand, deep in thought.
"Possibly..."
"Possibly?"
"Yes." Mo Hua nodded as he studied the zombies on the ground. "It's hard to say for sure right now. I need to study them further..."
...
In a desolate forest on the other side of the mine.
The ground heaved, and rocks tumbled as Zhang Quan emerged, panting heavily. He finally felt a sense of relief.
He had never imagined that he, in his lifetime, would be chased like a fugitive by three young cultivators.
The surroundings were barren, devoid of other cultivators or demonic beasts.
Zhang Quan paused to catch his breath, and a flicker of confusion crossed his mind.
How was I found? I had already discarded that needle...
Zhang Quan released his spiritual sense, scanning his surroundings. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he grabbed at his disheveled hair. After a moment, he plucked out a fine needle that had been hidden within.
There's another one?
Zhang Quan inhaled sharply, a chill running down his spine.
He immediately twisted the needle and discarded it, then used Earth Evasion to escape to a small stream in another mountain forest. He stationed the Iron Zombie there to guard him, finally feeling more at ease.
After changing his clothes, washing off the bloodstains, and bandaging his wounds, Zhang Quan inspected himself with his spiritual sense and found no other suspicious items. Only then did he truly relax.
Zhang Quan couldn't help but feel impressed.
Those brats are so young, yet their schemes are so deep and their methods so covert. It's impossible to guard against them.
Zhang Quan's head throbbed with a nagging pain.
Then, he remembered something else, and a new wave of worry washed over him.
Although he had destroyed most of the arrays by smashing the copper bells, a few of the walking corpses remained.
And those remaining corpses meant that traces of the arrays were left behind.
Zhang Quan furrowed his brow, recalling the person's instructions: "This array must not be discovered by anyone. If it is, either kill them to silence them or destroy the corpses to eliminate all traces!"
When that person had given those instructions, their usually calm demeanor had turned gravely serious.
Zhang Quan pondered for a moment, then chuckled softly.
He was probably overthinking things.
"A few zombies and some incomplete arrays... they probably won't be able to figure anything out," he reassured himself.
Arrays were already difficult to learn.
And the arrays used for refining zombies were even more profound, abstruse, and unconventional.
Even among array masters, very few could comprehend them.
As for that young brat who was still at the Qi Refining stage, it would be a miracle if he could understand them.
Zhang Quan scoffed derisively, unconcerned.
Suddenly, a mountain breeze blew, rippling the stream, and the sunlight reflecting off the water shimmered.
In that moment, Mo Hua's clear and profound gaze flashed through Zhang Quan's mind.
Zhang Quan's heart skipped a beat, and he furrowed his brow, muttering, "He probably... can't understand it..."
(End of Chapter)
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