Chapter 494: Chaos
Chapter 496: Chaos
Inside the altar, a terrifying stench of corpses filled the air.
The former patriarch of the Lu family had now been refined into a “Corpse King.”
Its sclera was pitch black, and its pupils tinged with a hint of blood-red. Within the red, a faint dark-gold shimmer glimmered, making it look completely different from ordinary zombies.
The corpse aura around the Corpse King was thick, almost solid, like gray-black blood coiling around its body.
Suddenly, its body swelled. The originally withered corpse hardened, blood strands coagulated, and it gradually became hulking, over nine feet tall.
Evil power surged through the Corpse King. Its aura was cold and terrifying, exuding brutality beneath its calmness, and a majesty that instilled fear.
Zhang Quan’s eyes shone with obsession as he murmured:
“Good! Excellent!”
“Truly worthy of being a Corpse King!”
“Commanding thousands of zombies, this corpse aura, this majesty, is indeed extraordinary!”
“I, Zhang Quan, have lived up to the expectations of our ancestors, have not wasted the bloodline of the Zhang family, and have finally refined the ultimate Corpse King, the pinnacle of the Zhang family’s Corpse Dao!”
Zhang Quan knelt with a thud and kowtowed several times toward an empty space.
“Ancestors above, your disciple Zhang Quan has brought glory to the family!”
After rising, Zhang Quan took a deep breath, then retrieved the pitch-black corpse-control bell—neither stone nor wood, neither copper nor iron—and shook it to command the Corpse King.
As the bell rang, the Corpse King’s gaze shifted, as if it had truly “come to life.”
At the same time, the iron coffins of the Ten-Thousand Corpses Formation stirred.
The lids were lifted, and iron-blue hands reached out from the coffins. Iron corpses, under the Corpse King’s command, crawled out and kowtowed to the Corpse King, and then to Zhang Quan.
Zhang Quan was overjoyed!
He could feel that by commanding the Corpse King, he could control over twenty iron corpses at once!
Over twenty iron corpses!
This meant more than twenty Foundation Establishment-level fighters under his command.
And this was only the beginning—more would come in the future!
By using iron corpses to swarm and kill Foundation Establishment cultivators, then refining their corpses into iron corpses, and using those iron corpses to kill more Foundation Establishment cultivators…
Thus, in a cycle, his forces of iron corpses would grow ever larger.
Without a Corpse King, he could control only one or two iron corpses at a time.
With the Corpse King, even hundreds could be controlled simultaneously.
He would then have an army of “Corpse Soldiers” under his command, comparable to second-grade Dao Soldiers!
In a second-grade prefecture, this army could sweep everything in its path, invincible!
Zhang Quan’s heart leapt with ecstasy.
But while he was lost in fantasy, he didn’t notice that one iron corpse behind him moved its stiff eyes slightly, its gaze tinged green, and slowly turned to look at him.
The iron corpse opened its mouth, revealing iron-blue fangs.
Silently, it crept up behind Zhang Quan, opening its blood-red maw, fangs sharp and foul, poisoned with dark-green corpse toxin, and lunged for Zhang Quan’s neck!
A cold wind swept through—the danger had arrived!
Zhang Quan shivered violently as he felt a chilling aura behind him, as if something stood there, its stench spraying onto the back of his neck, making his hair stand on end.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an ugly iron-blue corpse face, with a pair of venomous fangs!
Zhang Quan was terrified and quickly sidestepped.
But it was too fast; though he avoided the vital strike, the iron corpse’s fangs still raked his right shoulder, tearing his clothes and drawing blood.
The icy, strange corpse toxin seeped through the wound into his blood, spreading throughout his body.
Zhang Quan felt a non-human, bloodthirsty consciousness gradually occupying his mind.
Corpse toxin!
He trembled in fear, quickly stepping back several paces and taking a pill to temporarily suppress the toxin.
With the poison suppressed, Zhang Quan exhaled slightly and glared at the iron corpse.
This iron corpse had tried to kill him?!
Surprisingly, it only bit once and then stopped, freezing in place.
Zhang Quan frowned. “What’s going on?”
He cautiously approached and observed.
Aside from the fangs now coated in his blood, there was nothing unusual about the iron corpse.
He tried to command it.
The iron corpse obeyed completely, with no sign of losing control.
Zhang Quan frowned deeply.
Just as he was puzzled, another iron corpse suddenly moved, eyes shifting, pupils changing, baring its fangs, and lunged at him.
This time Zhang Quan was prepared, rolling backward to barely evade.
But again, the corpse only attacked once before stopping, its eyes gray and lifeless.
Zhang Quan’s mind raced.
“How can this be?”
Intermittent loss of control?
Was the Corpse King improperly refined, or was his corpse control flawed?
Were there just too many iron corpses to control at once, causing them to rebel?
His doubts barely formed when more iron corpses suddenly leapt from behind him.
This time, it was two, attacking once and stopping, then gradually three…
Zhang Quan struggled to defend himself, his body accumulating more bite marks…
Yet he was utterly confused, not understanding what was happening.
Hidden in the shadows, Lu Chengyun controlled the iron corpses with a sinister smile.
Mo Hua, watching everything, cursed Zhang Quan silently:
“Lu Chengyun is playing you, you fool. How can your head be so thick that you can’t figure out such a simple thing?”
As Zhang Quan was battered and bloodied by Lu Chengyun’s manipulation, he finally realized.
Someone was controlling these iron corpses!
The iron corpses were under the Corpse King’s command.
And who in this corpse mine could control the Corpse King?
Zhang Quan gritted his teeth, shouting: “Lu Chengyun!”
“You bastard…”
“Stop hiding and show yourself!”
At this, Lu Chengyun slowly emerged from behind the altar.
Zhang Quan froze, then sneered in recognition:
“So it’s you!”
Lu Chengyun spoke gently: “Brother Zhang, I treated you sincerely, yet you tried to steal my Corpse King and ruin my plans?”
Zhang Quan frowned suspiciously:
“When did you find out?”
Lu Chengyun only smiled and said lightly:
“At this point, does it even matter?”
Zhang Quan twitched at the corner of his eye.
Indeed, now that their intentions were exposed, it was a life-or-death matter—knowing the timing no longer mattered.
Zhang Quan sneered:
“When did this Corpse King become yours? It was refined using my Zhang family’s bronze coffin and corpse-refining method—it belongs to my Zhang family!”
Lu Chengyun shook his head:
“Brother Zhang, you’re mistaken. This Corpse King is using the corpse of my Lu family patriarch.”
Zhang Quan scoffed:
“What Lu family? You’re just a son-in-law, climbing up by marrying a woman, sucking up to power. What does the Lu family have to do with you?”
His words seemed to hit a sore spot.
Lu Chengyun’s eyelids twitched, his smile more sinister. After a pause, he sighed:
“Brother Zhang, I knew you had a divided heart…”
“I told you before, everyone has two hearts; I do not blame you.”
“But you absolutely should not have touched this Corpse King.”
“This Corpse King is beyond your capability!”
Zhang Quan, furious, laughed bitterly:
“Capability? You, a petty, scheming, greedy man who bribes for spirit stones, what capability do you have?”
Lu Chengyun’s face twisted as he drew a thin sword, the blade flashing toward Zhang Quan’s face.
Zhang Quan spat, swallowed a Corpse Blood Pill, and instantly his body became iron-blue, eyes red, and he clashed with Lu Chengyun.
Sword light and corpse aura erupted everywhere.
Nearby coffins shattered into fragments from the sword energy and fist wind.
Mo Hua glanced at a small zombie coffin he controlled in the distance—it was safe from the battle, and he relaxed, watching the chaos unfold.
These two had long-standing grudges. Both restrained themselves previously, but now old enmity erupted, leaving no mercy.
However, Zhang Quan, fueled by pills, was clearly no match for Lu Chengyun. Coupled with prior attacks from controlled iron corpses, he barely managed to hold on.
After a while, Zhang Quan landed a punch to push Lu Chengyun back, intending to command the Corpse King to kill him.
The Corpse King’s pupils contracted, the blood-red deepened.
At the same time, Lu Chengyun moved his Divine-Sense, using the Spiritual Pivot Evil Formation to control the Corpse King.
Both attempted control simultaneously.
The Corpse King’s pupils flickered, blood-red shifting, murderous intent waxing and waning. Soon, it became like wood or stone, silent and immobile.
Mo Hua’s mind stirred.
It seemed that when two conflicting controls meet and are evenly matched, the Corpse King does not side with either.
Seeing they couldn’t control the Corpse King, Zhang Quan and Lu Chengyun turned to using it to control the iron corpses.
Zhang Quan shook his bell, Lu Chengyun manipulated his formation.
After a struggle, each managed to control a portion of the iron corpses.
Zhang Quan controlled eleven, while Lu Chengyun, slightly stronger, controlled thirteen.
They clashed again.
The iron corpses began to fight, and the battlefield descended into chaos.
Mo Hua climbed higher on the altar to avoid danger.
From this vantage, he could clearly see the situation: Zhang Quan, weaker and controlling fewer iron corpses, was at a disadvantage.
After fierce fighting, Lu Chengyun’s clothes were slightly torn, but he remained calm and composed.
Zhang Quan was battered, covered in wounds, gasping for breath.
Mo Hua shook his head. At this rate, Zhang Quan would be finished.
If Zhang Quan fell, Lu Chengyun would dominate, making it difficult for Mo Hua to act unnoticed.
Better to help Zhang Quan?
Mo Hua’s eyes brightened with an idea.
Quietly, he manipulated a little behind the scenes…
Also testing whether the Spiritual Pivot Formation he had drawn would work.
He sat cross-legged, holding his breath, focusing and sensing silently.
Unnoticed by anyone amid the chaos, another hidden Divine-Sense subtly linked to the formation on the Corpse King’s chest, controlling the Corpse King, and through it, a portion of the iron corpses…
Author Notes:
Extra chapter done just before midnight~
Also for the League Leader~
Thanks to the League Leader!
Apologies for the long wait due to slow writing.