Chapter 436: Necromancy
Chapter 436: Necromancy
Stirling couldn't help but laugh at Stirling's words, "And who taught you that?"
"Elder Yu!"
"Elder Yu from the Monster Hunt in Tongxian City?"
"Mhm," Ink nodded.
Stirling sighed, agreeing, "Elder Yu is right about that. You should listen to him more often and less to your Uncle Zhang."
Ink nodded on the surface, but inwardly, he scoffed,
"That's because you haven't heard Elder Yu's scolding; otherwise, you wouldn't be saying this..."
Stirling hadn't interacted much with Elder Yu and didn't know what kind of elder he was. She probably thought he was the type of elder who was revered for his virtue and spoke with "kindness and amiability."
Ink shook his head inwardly and continued, "Let's just burn the zombie. Zhang Quan has committed countless atrocities, and there are bound to be other clues. We'll find them."
"But it's not all bad," Ink said, changing the subject. "At least now we know that the Chief has his own agenda. We can be more cautious next time."
"Mhm."
Stirling nodded, feeling a little better. She had been busy all day yesterday and was quite exhausted. After only an hour of rest, she let her guard down, and the Chief had secretly tampered with the evidence, rendering all her efforts fruitless.
Stirling felt agitated, blaming herself and feeling guilty towards Ink. But she was surprised to find that Ink didn't seem to mind and was even comforting her.
What a good kid...
Stirling said solemnly, "This time, I failed in my duty. Consider it a debt I owe you. If there's anything you need help with in the future, just say the word."
Ink smiled brightly and replied, "Deal!"
After Stirling left, Baizi Sheng and Baizi Xi poked their heads out. They had been eavesdropping the whole time.
Baizi Sheng asked, "We kept a few zombies. Should we tell Sister Stirling?"
"Not yet," Ink replied.
"Why not? Isn't she on our side?" Baizi Sheng asked, confused.
Ink explained, considering Stirling's well-being, "It's enough to have Sister Stirling help with the aftermath. After all, she's only at the Qi Refining stage, and Zhang Quan is at the Foundation Establishment stage and a Corpse Cultivator. If they were to face each other directly, it would be very dangerous for Sister Stirling."
Baizi Sheng thought about it and nodded, "That makes sense."
Baizi Xi also nodded in agreement.
However, none of them realized that they themselves were still only at the Qi Refining stage...
For the time being, the matter with the zombies came to a close.
With the destruction of the evidence, the Dao Court lost all leads and could not pursue the investigation any further.
It seemed like a big deal, but on the surface, it was once again brushed aside.
But no one knew that Ink had secretly hidden a few zombies, and no one knew what Ink intended to do with them...
In a small room.
Ink sat before two coffins, inside which were the zombies he had stolen.
The room was surrounded by intricate arrays drawn by Ink.
There were soundproofing arrays, sealing arrays, earth-stabilizing arrays, earth fire arrays, earthen prison arrays, and wood-binding arrays...
Baizi Sheng looked around and couldn't help but ask, "Are there too many arrays?"
Ink's face was serious as he quoted, "Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit. When doing something, one must be thorough and leave no room for error..."
Baizi Sheng glanced at the arrays surrounding them and was left speechless.
This was a bit too "thorough"...
It looked like a spider's lair...
Ink now possessed twelve spirit sense threads, and his array-drawing skills far surpassed the first-rate level.
These first-rate arrays were like child's play to him; he layered them on top of each other effortlessly, as if they were worthless.
Baizi Sheng felt that Ink was simply itching to draw arrays and wanted to play with them.
Ink still seemed unsatisfied and inspected the arrays once more. He noticed some blank spaces and quickly filled them in with more arrays, covering every inch of the room.
Now it looked more to his liking...
Ink nodded in satisfaction and proceeded to "examine the corpses."
Baizi Sheng opened the coffins, revealing the zombies lying stiffly inside, motionless.
Ink didn't know much about zombies, so he asked Baizi Xi, "Little Master Sister, don't these zombies move?"
Baizi Xi explained, "There are many types of zombies. Some are naturally formed, while others are created through necromancy..."
"The accumulation of resentment, the convergence of yin energy, and the permeation of filthy energy over a long period can lead to natural zombification."
"Naturally formed zombies are ferocious and crave flesh and blood. They will continuously kill and eat people and even other living creatures."
"Zombies created through necromancy are generally weaker and require a cultivator to control them using a demonic artifact. If left uncontrolled, they mostly remain dormant in their coffins, nurturing their corpse energy, exhibiting only some instinctual movements..."
"But if a necromantically created zombie loses control, it becomes no different from a naturally formed one, drawn to blood and flesh, killing and eating people..."
"Oh, I see," Ink nodded repeatedly, then pointed to the coffins and asked,
"So these ones haven't lost control, right?"
"They have," Baizi Xi replied.
Ink was startled, "They've lost control?"
Baizi Xi nodded, "Yes, but these low-level zombies are too weak, and their corpse energy is exhausted. Even if they've lost control, they can't move unless..."
"Unless they're fed blood?" Ink asked.
"Mhm, anything with vital energy will do."
"And after they're fed?"
Baizi Xi's eyes flickered, "They'll come back to life and continuously seek flesh and blood to feed on..."
Ink frowned, "They're still very dangerous..."
Then he thought of something and asked weakly, "What if, what if someone was bitten by a zombie? Would they turn into a zombie too?"
Baizi Xi replied, "Zombies carry a form of poison known as 'corpse poison'."
Ink frowned. "'Corpse poison'?"
Baizi Xi held up her tiny index finger and explained, "This poison is essentially 'corpse energy,' similar to spiritual energy but inherently sinister and abnormal."
She continued, her eyes fixed on Ink, "This type of corpse energy forms the poison, tainting the blood and energy of ordinary cultivators, causing them to undergo a zombie transformation."
"If the poison is weak or scarce, the transformation will only be minor."
"However, if the poison is too strong or infiltrates the heart meridian, the cultivator will turn into a zombie."
She immediately cautioned Ink, "You must be careful not to get bitten by a zombie. Your body is weak, and your energy is feeble. If infected by the poison, your injuries will be more severe."
"Mhm." Ink nodded repeatedly.
Then, he pondered to himself, thinking of a way to restrain the zombies and prevent himself from getting bitten, so he wouldn't be caught off guard in a dangerous situation.
But that could wait.
"Then how are zombies created?" Ink asked after a moment's thought.
"It requires blood food, impure substances, some sinister herbs, and a coffin for refining the corpse, also known as a coffin for nurturing the corpse."
"As for the specific process of refining, I haven't done it myself, so I don't know." Baizi Xi's voice rang clear.
Usually, disciples from prestigious families are not allowed to come in contact with knowledge of the sinister or demonic paths to prevent them from developing sinister thoughts and corrupting their nature.
It is only when they grow older and are about to venture out for travel or further studies that their elders will impart this knowledge, warning them about the sinister and demonic methods so they can be vigilant and avoid falling prey to demonic schemes, thus meeting a tragic end.
The Bai family probably wouldn't teach this knowledge either.
Baizi Xi's extensive knowledge was likely due to her excellent grades, diligent cultivation, and broad learning in the path of cultivation.
Ink looked at Baizi Xi as if she were an elegant and exquisite "Cultivation Encyclopedia," and couldn't help but admire, "Little Senior Sister, you know so much!"
Baizi Xi maintained her nonchalant demeanor, but her sparkling eyes betrayed a hint of subtle pride.
Baizi Sheng pouted, "Flatterer."
"Do you know about it?"
"I... I don't know..." Baizi Sheng stammered.
Baizi Xi's talent was exceptional, her memory was excellent, her cultivation was diligent, and her knowledge was vast.
When it came to cultivation knowledge, he had to admit that he couldn't compare to her.
Ink patted Baizi Sheng's shoulder and nodded in agreement, "It's admirable to know one's limitations..."
It took Baizi Sheng half a day to realize what Ink meant, and he couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Ink's hair again.
Now that he understood the principle of refining corpses, Ink began to study the array.
First was the coffin.
This type of coffin was called the Refining Corpse Coffin or the Nurturing Corpse Coffin.
It served multiple purposes: refining, hiding, and nurturing the corpse, and it was considered a sinister spiritual artifact.
Each zombie had its own coffin.
The quality of the coffin varied depending on the level of the zombie.
Zombies were categorized into Walking Corpses, Iron Corpses, Copper Corpses, and Golden Corpses, and their corresponding coffins were made of wood, iron, copper, and gold, respectively.
The quality of the coffin matched the rank of the zombie.
Ink scoffed inwardly.
In life, people were divided into different social classes, and even in death, as corpses, their coffins had to be differentiated by rank—gold, silver, copper, or iron.
Such attention to detail, even in death.
Zhang Quan owned a coffin shop.
These coffins were likely refined by him.
However, the arrays on the coffins were definitely not drawn by him.
Zhang Quan was not an array master and lacked the capability to do so.
Ink studied the arrays on the coffins and furrowed his brow.
The arrays were not absolute arrays but rather ordinary sinister earth-based arrays.
The core of the array was an earth-based array, albeit in a sinister form. The ink was made from human blood mixed with bone powder and some unknown foul substances.
The array medium was bone fragments embedded in the coffin.
The array eye was a putrid heart, seemingly refined or pickled, with a mixture of blood energy, impure energy, and spiritual energy, providing the power for the corpse-refining array to function.
This array appeared bloody and terrifying, but its underlying principles were rather crude.
Ink didn't think much of it.
What truly caught Ink's attention was the array on the zombies' heart meridian.
If his guess was correct, this array was a genuine absolute array.
Ink called out, "Little Senior Brother."
Baizi Sheng nodded and then, with a frown, endured the nausea as he took out a dagger and carefully peeled away the skin on the Walking Corpse's chest, revealing the array fused with its flesh and blood.
Ink observed and made notes on a piece of paper while simultaneously releasing his spiritual sense to derive and simulate the array patterns.
This process was slow and prone to errors.
If a mistake was made, they would have to start over.
Ink spent an entire day studying several corpses, comparing them, and finally attempting to reconstruct a complete array.
Ink's expression turned solemn as he looked at the array on the paper.
This array indeed incorporated twelve array patterns.
It was a genuine top-grade twelve-pattern absolute array! However, he hesitated to learn it because this twelve-pattern absolute array was likely a sinister array used by the demonic path for refining corpses...
He couldn't possibly learn it for the purpose of refining corpses...
(End of Chapter)
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