Chapter 496: Chaos
Chapter 496: Chaos
(This chapter is dedicated to the overlord, a passing traveler, with an extra chapter as a token of appreciation)
Within the altar, a terrifying aura of death permeated the air.
The former ancestor of the Lu family had now been transformed into a "King of the Undead."
Its eyes were pitch-black, with a hint of crimson in its pupils, and within that crimson, a faint hint of dark gold, making it distinct from other zombies.
The King of the Undead exuded an intense and nearly tangible aura of death, as if enveloped in ashen-black blood.
Its body suddenly swelled, the once desiccated corpse now filling out, blood congealing, and its stature becoming imposing, towering at over nine feet tall.
The King of the Undead was a seething mass of dark power, its aura cold and terrifying, with a hint of ruthless brutality beneath its indifferent demeanor, and an air of fearful authority.
Zhang Quan's eyes gleamed with fanaticism as he murmured:
"Excellent! Excellent!"
"Truly worthy of being the King of the Undead!"
"Worthy of being the ruler over countless zombies, this aura of death, this majestic presence, is indeed extraordinary!"
"I, Zhang Quan, have not disappointed the expectations of my ancestors, nor have I shamed the bloodline of the Zhang family. Finally, I have successfully refined the pinnacle of the Zhang family's undead path, the King of the Undead!"
Zhang Quan fell to his knees with a thud and bowed several times toward the empty space beside him.
"Ancestors, look upon me! Your descendant Zhang Quan has brought glory to our ancestors!"
After bowing, Zhang Quan stood up, took a deep breath, and then took out the pitch-black bell that was neither stone nor wood, nor copper nor iron. He rang the bell to control the King of the Undead.
As the bell tolled, the King of the Undead's eyes shifted, as if it had come to "life."
At the same time, the iron coffins in the Myriad Undead Array began to stir.
The coffin lids were lifted, and iron-green hands reached out from within. One after another, the iron corpses, obeying the King of the Undead's command, crawled out of their coffins, bowed to the King of the Undead, and then bowed to Zhang Quan.
Zhang Quan was overjoyed!
He could sense that through commanding the King of the Undead, he could simultaneously control these two dozen iron corpses!
Two dozen iron corpses meant two dozen Foundation Establishment-level combatants under his command.
And this was just the beginning; there would be more to come in the future!
By controlling the iron corpses to swarm and besiege Foundation Establishment cultivators, and then refining their corpses into new iron corpses, he could continue this cycle endlessly, amassing an ever-growing army of iron corpses.
Without the King of the Undead, he could control at most one or two iron corpses.
But with the King of the Undead, even a hundred iron corpses could be controlled simultaneously.
With this, he now possessed a force entirely under his command—a force comparable to second-grade Daoist soldiers—an army of "undead soldiers" from the demonic path! In the second-grade state realm, this army of undead soldiers could sweep through everything and be invincible!
For a moment, Zhang Quan was ecstatic.
However, as Zhang Quan indulged in his fantasy, he was completely oblivious to the fact that one of the iron corpses behind him had turned its stiff gaze upon him, its eyes glinting with a subtle hint of green. Slowly, it turned its head to look at him.
This iron corpse opened its mouth, revealing iron-green fangs.
It moved silently behind Zhang Quan, its mouth gaping wide, its fangs sharp and putrid, coated with a sinister green undead poison. It lunged at Zhang Quan's neck, biting down viciously!
A chilling breeze blew, bringing with it imminent danger!
Zhang Quan's heart jolted, and he felt a chill on his back, as if something stood behind him. The foul stench of its breath on his nape made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of an ugly, iron-green undead face and a pair of venomous fangs!
Zhang Quan's face paled in shock, and he quickly sidestepped.
But it was too late; although he managed to avoid a vital spot, the iron corpse's fangs still left two bloody gashes on his right shoulder, and his clothes were torn, soaked with blood.
The cold and peculiar undead poison seeped through the wounds and spread throughout his body along with his bloodstream.
Zhang Quan felt a non-human, bloodthirsty consciousness gradually invading his own.
Undead poison!
Zhang Quan's heart pounded with fear, and he quickly backed away several feet, taking out a bottle of pills and consuming one to temporarily suppress the poison in his body.
With the poison suppressed, Zhang Quan breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes turned cold as he glared at the iron corpse.
This iron corpse had tried to kill him?!
However, what surprised him was that this iron corpse had only bitten him once and then stopped, remaining motionless.
Zhang Quan frowned, "What's going on?"
He approached cautiously, his expression guarded.
Aside from the traces of his blood on its fangs, the iron corpse showed no other abnormalities.
Zhang Quan tried to control it.
The iron corpse moved forward and backward according to his commands, showing no signs of losing control.
Zhang Quan's brow furrowed in confusion.
Just as he was perplexed, without any warning, another iron corpse's eyes shifted, its pupils changing slightly as it bared its fangs and lunged at Zhang Quan.
This time, Zhang Quan was somewhat prepared and quickly rolled to the side to dodge the attack.
Like the previous iron corpse, this one also stopped after a single attack, its pupils turning ashen-white, inert.
Zhang Quan's face remained grim as his thoughts raced.
"What's happening?"
Intermittent loss of control?
Is it because the King of the Undead hasn't been properly refined, or is there an issue with my control over the undead? Is it because there are too many iron corpses that I can't control them all at once, leading to this undead rebellion?
Zhang Quan was filled with doubt and uncertainty.
Before he could think any further, another iron corpse suddenly surged forward, lunging at him from behind.
This time, it was not just one but two iron corpses, each attacking once before stopping. And soon after, the number of iron corpses launching sneak attacks gradually increased to three...
Zhang Quan was hard-pressed to defend against the onslaught, and the bite marks on his body were multiplying...
Yet, he still had no clue what was happening.
Hidden in the shadows, Lu Chengyun, who was controlling the iron corpses, smiled cruelly.
And Mo Hua, who had witnessed everything, cursed Zhang Quan for being an idiot in her heart.
The iron corpses were under the command of the King of the Undead.
But who in this Corpse Mine could control the King of the Undead?
Zhang Quan grit his teeth and shouted, "Lu Chengyun!"
"You mother..."
"Show yourself, you coward!"
At this point, Lu Chengyun no longer bothered to hide and slowly stepped out from behind the altar.
Zhang Quan was taken aback but quickly spat, "So it was you!"
Lu Chengyun's tone remained gentle as he said, "Brother Zhang, I treated you sincerely, yet you hid things from me. You wanted to steal my King of the Undead and ruin my grand plan?"
A confused frown crossed Zhang Quan's face as he asked, "When did you find out?"
Lu Chengyun smiled but didn't answer. Instead, he said, "At this point, what does it matter? We've reached the point of no return."
Zhang Quan's jaw clenched.
Indeed, the truth was out, and their faces were already torn. It was a matter of life and death, and knowing these things made no difference.
Zhang Quan coldly smiled, "Since when was this King of the Undead yours? It was refined using my Zhang family's bronze coffin and our secret zombie-refining technique. It rightfully belongs to my family!"
Lu Chengyun shook his head. "Brother Zhang, you are mistaken. This King of the Undead was refined using the corpse of my Lu family's ancestor."
Zhang Quan scoffed, "What do you mean 'your Lu family'? You're nothing but a son-in-law, riding on the coattails of your wife's family. You have no real connection to the Lu family."
These words seemed to strike a nerve with Lu Chengyun.
His eyelid twitched, and his smile turned even more sinister. After a moment of silence, he sighed, "Brother Zhang, I knew you had ulterior motives... I told you everyone has ulterior motives, and I don't blame you."
"But you shouldn't have laid your hands on this King of the Undead."
"This King of the Undead is beyond your capacity to control."
Zhang Quan, in a fit of rage, laughed, "And you think you're worthy? You, a greedy and deceitful man, with your despicable ways, always seeking personal gain. You accept spirit stones and bribes, and what capacity do you have?"
Lu Chengyun's face twisted in anger, and he drew a thin sword, the blade flashing as he lunged at Zhang Quan.
Zhang Quan cursed and swallowed a Corpse Blood Pill, his body undergoing a rapid transformation. His skin turned a dark blue, and his eyes reddened as he engaged Lu Chengyun in close combat.
Sword light and zombie energy filled the air, and the surrounding coffins were reduced to dust by the sword energy and fist winds.
Mo Hua looked towards the distance and saw that the small zombie she controlled was far away and wouldn't be affected by the battle. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued to watch the show.
These two men had long-held grudges but had kept them hidden until now. With their mutual hatred exposed, neither held back.
However, Zhang Quan, having taken the pill, was clearly no match for Lu Chengyun. Coupled with the previous sneak attacks by the iron corpses controlled by Lu Chengyun, Zhang Quan was already injured and could only barely hold on.
After a while, Zhang Quan landed a punch that forced Lu Chengyun back, and he seized the opportunity to try and control the King of the Undead to kill Lu Chengyun.
The King of the Undead responded to his command, its pupils contracting slightly and its blood-red eyes deepening in color.
At the same time, Lu Chengyun also willed it with his divine sense, using the Spirit Pivot Evil Formation to control the King of the Undead.
Both men tried to control it simultaneously.
The King of the Undead's pupils flickered between brightness and darkness, its blood-red eyes shifting in intensity, and its murderous intent wavering. After a while, it became as still as stone, silent and unmoving.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to her.
It seemed that when both parties' control conflicted and neither could overpower the other, the King of the Undead would remain neutral.
Unable to control the King of the Undead, Lu Chengyun and Zhang Quan began to use it to control the iron corpses instead.
Zhang Quan rang his bell, and Lu Chengyun manipulated the formation.
After a stalemate, each managed to control a portion of the iron corpses.
Zhang Quan controlled eleven, while Lu Chengyun, being slightly stronger, controlled thirteen.
The battle between Zhang Quan and Lu Chengyun resumed, and their respective iron corpses also began to clash, adding to the chaos.
Mo Hua climbed higher on the altar to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
From her new vantage point, she could see that the situation was becoming clearer.
Zhang Quan was inherently weaker than Lu Chengyun, and with two fewer iron corpses under his command, he was at a further disadvantage.
After a fierce battle, Lu Chengyun's clothes were torn in places, but his expression remained calm, and his breath was steady.
On the other hand, Zhang Quan was in a miserable state, covered in wounds and panting heavily.
Mo Hua shook her head. If things continued like this, Zhang Quan would be finished.
Once Zhang Quan was defeated, Lu Chengyun would dominate, and it would be difficult for her to take advantage of the situation.
Perhaps she should help Zhang Quan?
Mo Hua blinked, a thought forming in her mind.
She could secretly intervene and tip the scales...
It would also be a good opportunity to test if the Spirit Pivot Formation she had drawn was effective.
Mo Hua's eyes lit up, and she crossed her legs, calming her breath and quietly sensing the surroundings.
Thus, in the midst of Zhang Quan and Lu Chengyun's chaotic battle, neither of them noticed that another subtle divine sense had silently communicated with the formation on the King of the Undead's chest, stealthily taking control of it and, through it, a portion of the iron corpses...
(End of Chapter)
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