Chapter 470: The Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation
Chapter 471: The Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation
Mo Hua walked into the mural, into the mouths of the zombies, and into the secret passage.
The passage was narrow and dark, but not long.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, after passing through the passage, Mo Hua suddenly found himself in a wide-open space.
Before his eyes stood a massive altar.
The altar’s setup was exquisitely crafted, dazzling with gold and jade.
The sandalwood was precious, the candle holders jade, the candles gilded, and a massive incense burner carved with beast patterns emitted curling smoke.
On the altar were five-colored spiritual flowers, offerings for pigs, sheep, and spirit beasts.
In front of the altar hung golden banners and lanterns adorned with dragon patterns.
At the center of the altar sat a sculpture.
It was covered with yellow cloth, concealing its appearance.
Yet the material was either gold or jade.
The entire altar was both grand and luxurious.
Mo Hua clicked his tongue in astonishment, thinking silently:
“How many spirit stones must this have cost…”
His gaze fell downward, frowning, and he was even more shocked.
Beneath the altar lay a massive bronze coffin.
The coffin was covered in greenish copper patina, worn by untold years, exuding an ancient, decayed aura.
Around the huge bronze coffin were dozens of iron coffins.
The iron coffins held iron corpses, dark bluish in color, slightly smaller than the bronze coffin.
Beyond the iron coffins stretched countless black wooden coffins.
There were thousands upon thousands of them; for a moment, Mo Hua couldn’t even count how many.
Blood-colored formation runes connected the wooden coffins.
First, the wooden coffins were categorized and linked to the iron coffins; then, through the iron coffins, they were connected by the blood-colored runes to the central, massive bronze coffin.
On the ground among the coffins were also drawn sinister formation patterns.
All these evil formations were interconnected.
They were both grotesque and grand.
Mo Hua’s heart trembled.
This was… a great formation of the evil path?
Suppressing his shock, he calmed his mind, using Divine Sense to calculate the formation cores and the number of formations, and then he exhaled slightly.
It wasn’t a true great formation…
Although it looked terrifying, the number of formations, the structure of the cores, and the scale did not qualify it as a great formation.
At most, it could only be considered a “quasi-great formation.”
Essentially, it was still a composite formation—less powerful than a true great formation, but far stronger than ordinary composite formations.
This was also the strongest composite formation Mo Hua had ever seen.
And it was an evil-path composite formation.
Seeing Mo Hua’s astonished expression, Lu Chengyun was quite pleased, smiling faintly:
“Little Master, what do you think?”
Mo Hua, already plotting, pretended not to notice, his expression shifting before finally looking incredulous:
“Head of the Lu family, you’re actually constructing a great formation!”
Lu Chengyun replied modestly:
“It’s not a great formation yet, just a somewhat larger composite formation.”
Yet a trace of pride flashed in his eyes, clearly proud of the formation he had laid out.
Mo Hua again feigned ignorance, shocked:
“A formation of this scale, and it still isn’t considered a great formation…”
Lu Chengyun smiled and asked:
“Little Master, never seen a great formation before?”
Mo Hua blinked.
He thought, I certainly can’t tell him I’ve not only seen one but constructed a first-rank, eleven-pattern Five Elements Demon-Slaying Formation, and even used it to kill a great demon…
He doubted Lu Chengyun would believe it anyway.
So he shook his head sincerely, speaking with awe:
“No, I’ve only heard my master mention it. A true great formation requires a formation master with extremely strong Divine Sense, broad mastery of formations, and profound skill, capable of coordinating the construction—it’s a person of legendary renown.”
Mo Hua shamelessly complimented himself.
Lu Chengyun nodded appreciatively: “Indeed.”
Becoming a chief formation master and constructing a great formation was the lifelong pursuit of any formation master.
Lu Chengyun was no exception.
But for now, he lacked the ability to construct a true great formation. This composite formation was already his limit.
Even so, he was far ahead of other formation masters.
With this formation operational, the Lu family could dominate this minor荒州界, both in personal influence and formation expertise.
Given time, he would inevitably construct a true great formation.
Ambition blazed in Lu Chengyun’s eyes.
The thirteen-year-old Mo Hua, who had already constructed a great formation, stood silently by, watching him.
When Lu Chengyun regained his composure, Mo Hua quietly asked:
“Head of the Lu family, what exactly is… this formation?”
Lu Chengyun’s gaze tightened slightly, and he slowly said:
“This formation is called… the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation.”
“The Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation…”
Mo Hua was slightly shocked inside.
“Ten-thousand corpses…”
Something was off…
This wasn’t the name of a single formation, nor even a composite formation.
A mere composite formation wouldn’t be named “Ten-Thousand Corpses.”
Mo Hua looked at the countless coffins below and the dense, sinister formations, his eyes flickering.
This Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation must be a great formation!
It should be called the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Great Formation!
The current composite formation was derived from the original great formation, scaled down.
Lu Chengyun lacked the ability to construct a true great formation, and the Lu family couldn’t empty their resources to build one.
So he constructed this composite formation, scaled down from the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Great Formation.
But where did Lu Chengyun get the formation diagrams?
Great formation secrets were top secret.
Mo Hua’s own Five Elements Demon-Slaying Formation diagrams had come from his master.
Who gave Lu Chengyun the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Great Formation?
Moreover, this was an evil-path great formation. Only a prominent demonic sect or a powerful demonic cultivator would have such a transmission…
Mo Hua’s heart cooled slightly, his gaze icy.
“Head of the Lu family, where exactly did this formation come from?” Mo Hua asked softly.
Lu Chengyun hesitated, then smiled:
“I… am not at liberty to say.”
Mo Hua politely smiled apologetically:
“Forgive me, Head of the family, I shouldn’t have asked.”
Curious, he added:
“Head of the family, why did you call me here? I don’t know how to construct composite formations, let alone this evil-path composite formation.”
Lu Chengyun smiled calmly:
“Little Master, rest assured, I won’t put you in a difficult position.”
“Please, follow me…”
He then walked straight ahead.
Mo Hua followed, walking past the dense coffins and the layered blood-red evil formations, until they reached the bronze coffin.
Near the bronze coffin, some areas were blank, without formation patterns drawn.
Lu Chengyun said:
“I didn’t call you here to draw the evil formation, but to have you construct the formation core of this composite formation.”
Mo Hua said:
“The formation core of an evil formation… isn’t that still an evil formation?”
Lu Chengyun shook his head:
“No, it will be constructed using righteous methods to gather spiritual energy, not the evil-path techniques.”
Mo Hua was puzzled.
“You said it’s an evil formation, so why are the key points being done righteously?”
Seeing Mo Hua’s confusion, Lu Chengyun sighed:
“The formation cores of evil-path composite formations are too murderous; even the Lu family can’t bear it…”
Mo Hua cursed him silently, but outwardly complimented him earnestly:
“Head of the Lu family, your mercy truly knows no bounds…”
Mo Hua lied with wide eyes and a serious face.
Lu Chengyun paused, unsure if Mo Hua was praising or mocking him…
Of course, he didn’t care.
“But…” Mo Hua hesitated, “I don’t have the formation diagram.”
Lu Chengyun handed him the diagram.
Glancing at it, Mo Hua immediately got a rough idea.
The diagram was incomplete, only showing the relevant parts of the formation core.
It could be used to construct the formation core system, but couldn’t reveal the full flow of spiritual energy.
Mo Hua studied the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation diagram again and gradually understood.
Evil-path great formations require vast amounts of blood and evil energy to power the formation.
This composite formation, derived from the great formation, needed less, but still an enormous amount.
According to the diagram, constructing the formation core of the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Great Formation required a composite formation of the Blood-Refining and Blood-Spirit formations.
First, people would be killed, their blood refined, and spiritual energy extracted.
Then, the Blood-Spirit Formation would fuse their blood and energy into evil power to drive the formation.
This required killing countless cultivators.
Mo Hua recalled what his senior sister had said:
Some demonic great formations even slaughter an entire city’s cultivators, refining their blood and spirit to power the formation.
The Ten-Thousand-Corpse composite formation didn’t need so many kills at once.
But over time, as long as the formation operated, it would continuously require sacrifices to extract energy to sustain it.
Nanyue City didn’t have that many cultivators to supply.
Moreover, the Lu family wouldn’t dare do that.
If they did, killing so many people, even a fool would notice something was wrong.
The Dao Court would never tolerate it.
Unless the entire Lu family truly wanted to rebel against the Dao Court, falling fully into the demonic path… only then could they dare.
But such acts were too vile.
If the Dao Court discovered it, the entire clan would be annihilated.
Mo Hua doubted Lu Chengyun had the courage for that.
Even if he did, not everyone in the Lu family would risk their lives.
Clearly, it was an evil formation, but its core could not use evil energy.
Then it had to use spiritual energy.
Mo Hua guessed Lu Chengyun intended to use a spiritual-gathering core, refining spiritual energy from spirit stones.
Once the energy flowed, he could then corrupt it with the evil formation’s energy to generate evil power, driving the composite formation.
“My master was right, righteous formations are fundamental; evil formations are merely shortcuts,” Mo Hua thought.
Yet Lu Chengyun’s understanding of formations was profound.
He had conceived a method combining righteous and evil techniques.
Mo Hua hesitated, then politely declined:
“Head of the Lu family, I’m not very familiar with composite formations; I may not be able to construct it…”
Lu Chengyun said:
“You can do it.”
Mo Hua asked in doubt:
“How do you know?”
“I heard it from Elder Su.”
“Elder Su?” Mo Hua frowned, “Does this involve him?”
Lu Chengyun shook his head:
“No, it doesn’t.”
He looked at Mo Hua and said appreciatively:
“When I casually spoke with Elder Su, he mentioned your insights on constructing formation cores were truly exceptional; I was amazed!”
“Such understanding, relating to advanced composite formations and even the core structure of great formations, is impossible without deep formation training and guidance from a master.”
“So I thought of asking you to construct the formation core for this Ten-Thousand-Corpse composite formation.”
Mo Hua understood.
It had been Elder Su who had inadvertently revealed this.
When he taught Su, he had instructed him not to tell outsiders.
Perhaps Su didn’t consider Lu Chengyun an outsider…
Or perhaps he wanted to show off Mo Hua’s skill in front of Lu Chengyun, to boost his face, but backfired.
Elder Su probably didn’t expect Lu Chengyun to be unscrupulous.
Mo Hua sighed slightly.
These insights about formation cores came from constructing his Five Elements Demon-Slaying Formation.
Applying them to a composite formation was more than enough.
Lu Chengyun’s intentions were normal; he overestimated Mo Hua’s skill.
Yet even this “overestimation” was still an underestimate.
Mo Hua hesitated again:
“I’m just theorizing; I may not really be able to construct it…”
Lu Chengyun appeared generous:
“No matter, Little Master, just try. Formation work always involves trial and error. I trust your intelligence will not disappoint me…”
The implication: if you fail, there will be consequences…
Mo Hua understood Lu Chengyun’s intentions, sighed, and reluctantly said:
“Alright, I’ll try.”