Chapter 488: Coffin Nail

Chapter 490: Coffin Nail

“Coffin nail…”

Mo Hua ran to the bronze coffin, recalling the spot Zhang Quan had measured. Sure enough, at the edge of the coffin lid, he found a small recess.

The recess was sealed.

The bronze coffin could only be opened by embedding a bronze coffin nail into it.

Inside the recess was a formation, but because it was concealed, the formation was hidden—so Mo Hua hadn’t noticed it at first.

How to open it?

Ordinary coffin nails were used to seal coffins.

But this bronze coffin went the opposite way—it used the coffin nail to open the coffin.

This coffin nail was the key.

Lu Chengyun should have one.

And Zhang Quan seemed to have one too.

Mo Hua frowned.

Lu Chengyun was suspicious; for something as important as the corpse king’s coffin, he wouldn’t leave two keys.

The one in Zhang Quan’s possession must have been kept secretly.

Mo Hua studied the bronze coffin again.

It was simple and ancient in design, the copper green with rust, looking very old. It was probably used for refining ancient corpses. If he guessed correctly, it had been passed down from Zhang Quan’s ancestors.

Zhang Quan had let Lu Chengyun use the bronze coffin while secretly keeping a backup key—the bronze nail.

Clearly, both had their own schemes, watching each other.

The coffin nail was the key to the bronze coffin…

The question now was, how could he get the coffin nail?

Mo Hua frowned, deep in thought.

He definitely couldn’t get Lu Chengyun’s.

Zhang Quan’s key was possible, but risky…

Zhang Quan hated him to the bone. After the incident in the Corpse Clan, where the corpse-controlling bell and Zhang’s ancestral diagram were stolen, he would surely carry important items on him to avoid being caught again.

Mo Hua sighed.

Stealth had its drawbacks.

When no one was on guard, everything went smoothly.

Once someone was wary, every step became restricted.

Mo Hua couldn’t think of a good plan for now, so he could only return and mull it over.

But there really wasn’t any way.

Neither Lu Chengyun nor Zhang Quan had given him an opening.

With nothing progressing, Mo Hua felt a bit stuck and thought: maybe he should go back and plan carefully?

After thinking it over, he went to find Lu Chengyun and said:

“Master Lu, I’ve completed the array core of the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation. I’ve been in this mine for a while now, it’s stuffy and boring… could I return for a bit?”

As expected, Lu Chengyun didn’t agree, just smiling gently:

“Little Master, be patient. The array core is built, but the formation isn’t activated yet. There may be mistakes; please stay a little longer.”

“But… I’m worried about Little Senior Brother and Little Senior Sister,” Mo Hua hesitated.

Lu Chengyun smiled:

“Another half month, and once the formation is running, I’ll send you back.”

“All right, just don’t go back on your word…”

Mo Hua said helplessly.

Lu Chengyun nodded, “I promise.”

Mo Hua left, feeling somewhat gloomy.

Watching Mo Hua’s retreating back, Lu Chengyun finally relaxed.

Truly a child…

Childish at heart, unable to endure loneliness, still a bit playful.

Every joy or anger showed clearly.

You could tell at a glance whether he was happy or not.

“Young, untested, lacking depth…”

“Probably won’t achieve greatness…”

Lu Chengyun shook his head.

In this cultivation world, talent alone doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing. Small cleverness doesn’t ensure safety.

One must endure hardship to be refined.

One must stumble to truly grow.

But if this stumble happens under his hands, they’d never have the chance to grow…

A faint, dark smile appeared at Lu Chengyun’s lips.

From then on, he was more lenient with Mo Hua, even indulgent.

No matter what Mo Hua did, he wouldn’t get angry.

He rarely even watched Mo Hua with Divine Sense.

Mo Hua felt a twinge of unease.

This indulgence felt like indulgence toward a dead man.

Like a condemned prisoner’s “last meal,” far richer than usual.

Lu Chengyun had murderous intent, treating him as dead, so whatever he did didn’t matter.

Mo Hua shook his head, muttering to himself:

“Lu Chengyun seems magnanimous, yet his heart is so narrow.”

“A thirteen-year-old, gifted in formations, harmless little cultivator—he could bear to harm him…”

“Or am I simply too talented, and he’s jealous?”

“Indeed, talent invites envy…”

Mo Hua sighed, feeling a little proud as well.

Since Lu Chengyun wouldn’t let him leave, Mo Hua had no choice but to stay and focus on the bronze coffin.

“If I can’t leave, I’ll just lift your coffin!”

He thought viciously.

For the next few days, Mo Hua stayed at the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Altar every night, secretly watching Lu Chengyun and Zhang Quan.

As if by agreement, they came on alternate days.

Lu Chengyun opened coffins, drawing the Spiritual-Pivot Evil Formation.

Zhang Quan opened coffins, smeared blood, and shook his bell to control the corpses.

Each had their own method to control the corpse king.

Mo Hua was curious—once refined, whose commands would the corpse king obey?

Meanwhile, Mo Hua focused mainly on the bronze coffin nail.

He carefully noted its size, length, material, and the formation engraved on it.

Whenever Zhang Quan opened a coffin, exposing the formation, Mo Hua began calculations—first, deducing the formation sealing the bronze coffin.

Second, deciphering the formation engraved on the coffin nail.

After days of observation and calculations, he finally figured it out—but was greatly disappointed.

He had expected a high-level formation inside such a tightly sealed bronze coffin.

But it was just a simple two-layer, first-grade seven-pattern bronze lock formation.

Mo Hua realized he had overlooked one point.

This bronze coffin was passed down from the Zhang family.

The Zhangs had a corpse-cultivation tradition, but no formation expertise.

In other words, the whole family were “formation blind.”

What high-level formation could their ancestors have left inside?

He had overestimated them…

Mo Hua shook his head, greatly disappointed in the Zhangs.

Knowing both the sealing formation and the unlocking mechanism on the coffin nail made things much simpler.

Mo Hua thought:

“If I can’t steal the key, I’ll just make one myself.”

After all, the core was the formation—understanding it would naturally solve everything.

He just wasn’t sure if the material of the coffin nail mattered—did it also have to be bronze?

If so, he didn’t have a suitable medium for now.

He decided to try other materials first.

Strictly speaking, a coffin nail was an evil artifact.

Mo Hua didn’t understand artifact forging, let alone evil artifact forging. Making one himself was impossible.

He could only “borrow” one.

Among the many coffins in the stone hall, he could pick one and borrow a coffin nail—it shouldn’t be a problem.

But “borrowing” had rules.

He couldn’t borrow one from an iron coffin.

Iron coffins sealed iron corpses, which were rare. Taking one’s nail could be noticed, and might even trigger a corpse transformation.

So he would borrow from a normal coffin.

Among the countless coffins in the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation, Mo Hua chose an old wooden one.

Seven nails were fixed to the lid.

Inside lay a roaming corpse.

Mo Hua first used a formation to drain its evil energy, disperse its corpse qi, and drew a wooden-prison formation to temporarily seal it, preventing it from going out of control.

Then he pulled a nail.

The nails on ordinary coffins were iron, tightly fixed to the lid.

Mo Hua picked one, similar in size, and tried to pull it by hand—but it wouldn’t budge.

He remembered he was a spirit cultivator, not a body cultivator; his strength was weak.

Helpless, he called the little zombie.

The little zombie pushed the coffin lid aside, hopped over, and effortlessly pulled the iron nail down as Mo Hua willed.

Mo Hua nodded, dipped a fine brush in ink, and drew the unlocking bronze-lock formation on the nail.

Then he embedded the coffin nail into the hidden recess of the bronze coffin.

The lid shifted slightly but didn’t open.

Mo Hua observed.

The iron nail differed slightly in size, not fully seated, a bit exposed. It seemed usable, but because the formation didn’t align perfectly, the coffin couldn’t open.

He pulled out the nail, erased the formation, adjusted it slightly, and drew it again.

This time it worked.

The bronze coffin creaked softly, as if internal locks had released. Some mechanism had triggered, and the formation under the lid aligned and unlocked.

Mo Hua pushed the lid—it was still heavy, so he called the little zombie to help again.

The little zombie hopped over and lifted the lid.

Beneath was the bronze inner coffin.

It was exactly what Mo Hua had seen when spying on Lu Chengyun drawing the Spiritual-Pivot Evil Formation.

The difference was the formation inside: blood-red and deeper in pattern.

Mo Hua carefully examined the bronze inner coffin.

He analyzed each formation, combined it with his previous knowledge of corpse refinement, and gained a rough understanding.

The method to refine the “Corpse King” was indeed special.

The heartline and corpse were separate.

Inside the bronze coffin was the Lu family ancestor’s heart.

On the altar, covered with yellow cloth, lay the corpse with the heart removed.

The two used different techniques.

One for refining, one for ritual.

Ritual required an altar.

Refinement required a coffin, human blood, and a formation.

Once “ritual” and “refinement” were complete, the corpse king was truly formed.

What Lu Chengyun did was draw the Spiritual-Pivot Evil Formation on the corpse’s heartline.

He repeatedly deepened the formation.

Embedding it deeply onto the ancestor’s heartline.

Completely controlling the ancestor.

Mo Hua stroked his chin, pondering:

“If Lu Chengyun can draw it, doesn’t that mean I can too?”

“But if I draw it, Lu Chengyun will notice…”

“Then cover it with my own formation?”

“Draw the same pattern as Lu Chengyun, but he used human blood and evil energy, I’ll use ink and spiritual energy.”

“Then overlay the formation, rewriting his pattern…”

The pattern would remain the same, but its aura would change.

From evil energy to spiritual energy. Weak, but careful Lu Chengyun might notice…

Mo Hua frowned.

If Lu Chengyun found someone tampering with the bronze coffin, it would be bad…

Suddenly he froze.

He intended to tamper with the coffin.

And Zhang Quan had already tampered with it.

He had strong Divine Sense, was skilled in concealment, knew the Spiritual-Pivot Formation, and had a little zombie to open the door. Lu Chengyun knew nothing of this.

Even if suspicious, Lu Chengyun would suspect Zhang Quan first.

After thinking for a moment, Mo Hua had an idea:

First, overlay his formation and observe Lu Chengyun’s reaction.

If suspicious, stop.

If not, continue…

And also add a control on the corpse king himself!

Lu Chengyun’s Spiritual-Pivot Evil Formation, Mo Hua’s Spiritual-Pivot Absolute Formation, and Zhang Quan’s corpse-controlling ancient bell.

Three people controlling the corpse.

Even if ultimate control didn’t fall to him, it wouldn’t go fully to Lu Chengyun either.

As long as Lu Chengyun couldn’t fully manipulate the corpse king and all iron corpses, the corpse-cultivation strength would be severely reduced.

Mo Hua’s eyes brightened. He began to draw, secretly overlaying Lu Chengyun’s formation…