Chapter 496: Who Feeding Whom

Chapter 498: Who Feeding Whom

As expected by Mo Hua, Zhang Quan was completely no match for Lu Chengyun.

Lu Chengyun’s swordsmanship was profound, his sword energy dense, his moves flawless.

Zhang Quan still relied on the old tricks—using his own corpse-transformed body to engage Lu Chengyun head-on, only to be pierced through like a honeycomb by the sword energy, blood gushing, collapsing onto the ground.

This lack of strategy and simplicity in tactics left Mo Hua in awe.

He had thought that Zhang Quan daring to fight Lu Chengyun straight-on must mean he had some secret trump card—but it turned out he was relying solely on rage and a death-defying spirit.

And now he was really going to die…

Mo Hua shook his head.

If he were truly Zhang Quan’s ancestor, he would have been furious enough to flip the coffin lid.

He had controlled the iron corpses in secret to help Zhang Quan so much, yet Zhang Quan still proved utterly useless!

Without Zhang Quan as a pawn, there was no way to trap Lu Chengyun…

Mo Hua felt helpless.

At the altar, Zhang Quan was on the brink of death.

His face pale, blood at the corner of his mouth, perhaps knowing he was doomed, he did not beg Lu Chengyun but instead mustered what little strength he had to rasp out:

“I… my… chart?”

Lu Chengyun raised an eyebrow. “You mean… your ancestor chart?”

Zhang Quan coughed up a mouthful of blood, weakly saying:

“Yes…”

Lu Chengyun shook his head. “It’s mine now.”

Zhang Quan’s face darkened in anger. He coughed a few more times, then slowly said:

“Fine… I admit defeat, but… Brother Lu, in consideration of all the things I’ve done for you over the years, let me see… my Zhang family ancestors… one last time…”

Lu Chengyun’s eyes narrowed slightly, emotionless, and he asked coldly:

“And what would looking at it accomplish?”

Zhang Quan’s expression twisted into a feral snarl as he hissed:

“I, Zhang Quan, have been unfilial, leaving the Zhang bloodline without continuation, the corpse path broken! I must kowtow to… and atone to my ancestors!”

Lu Chengyun was slightly moved and nodded. “Fine.”

He took a scroll from his storage pouch.

The scroll was rolled up, the paper ancient, faint traces of dust and footprints visible—indeed, traces left by Mo Hua stepping on it…

It was undeniably the Zhang family’s ancestor chart.

Zhang Quan’s eyes filled with emotion.

Lu Chengyun slowly unrolled the scroll.

Zhang Quan stared intently at the chart in Lu Chengyun’s hands.

When Lu Chengyun had unrolled it halfway, his gaze turned cold. Seizing Zhang Quan’s inattentiveness, he suddenly struck—his sword pierced Zhang Quan’s chest, killing him instantly!

Zhang Quan looked at the sword in his chest, then at Lu Chengyun, disbelief contorting his face. Through gritted teeth, he spat:

“Lu dog thief… you—”

Before he could finish, Zhang Quan’s breath left him, and he slowly collapsed.

Even in death, Zhang Quan’s eyes remained fixed on Lu Chengyun.

Lu Chengyun met the dead Zhang Quan’s gaze, calm and detached. After confirming he was dead, he spoke softly:

“Brother Zhang, I’m sorry. I feared you had some hidden trick, so to be safe, I had to let you die first…”

“Don’t worry about the Zhang family.”

“This ancestor chart, I will honor and protect it.”

“In the future, I’ll take an adopted son, let him inherit the Zhang name, and carry on your family’s legacy.”

“The Zhang family’s corpse path will also flourish under my hand…”

…

After speaking, Lu Chengyun wiped Zhang Quan’s blood off his sword with the corpse, sheathed it, and walked to the altar.

Before the altar stood a nine-foot-tall, imposing Corpse King.

With a movement of his divine sense, Lu Chengyun could feel the Corpse King was fully under his control, as were the twenty-odd iron corpses surrounding it.

Lu Chengyun’s heart could no longer remain calm; he finally let out a triumphant laugh:

“From now on, this Corpse King commanding the undead answers only to me!”

“The cultivators of Nanyue City, from life to death, will dig mines for my Lu family!”

“The entire Nanyue City will be under my control!”

“And the heavens of this small Huangzhou Realm… will change!”

As he laughed, Lu Chengyun suddenly stopped, remembering Mo Hua.

Now that Zhang Quan was dead, the only other person aware of the Ten-Thousand Corpses Altar was Mo Hua.

Mo Hua had constructed the central array point of the Ten-Thousand Corpses Formation and had seen the formation on the bronze coffin.

In the corpse mine, the person who knew the most about the formation, aside from him, was Mo Hua…

Lu Chengyun’s eyes flickered; he extended his divine sense, his expression slightly shifting:

“Where is this young master?”

Startled, Mo Hua immediately held his breath and suppressed his aura.

Lu Chengyun scanned the corpse mine with his divine sense, then the altar, but after a long while found nothing…

Frowning, he muttered in puzzlement:

“Where did he go?”

Mo Hua, hiding behind Lu Chengyun, who had been watching him all night, didn’t dare breathe.

After a long while, Lu Chengyun had no clue, growing a bit irritable. He scanned the altar carefully again with his divine sense.

But the altar was large, and after the battle, his divine sense was taxed. He could not continue the search without risking exhaustion—losing control of the Corpse King would be disastrous…

So he stopped.

He stowed the visualization chart, commanded the Corpse King back into the bronze coffin, ordered the iron corpses back into their coffins, and then dragged Zhang Quan’s corpse into an empty coffin nearby.

Though dead, Zhang Quan’s body could still be used to refine corpses for his service.

Lu Chengyun’s eyes glinted coldly, he glanced around, seemed to be thinking, then swept his sleeves and left the altar.

Mo Hua exhaled slightly.

Only when Lu Chengyun had gone far, with no sign of returning, did Mo Hua quietly leave the altar and sneak back to his room, slipping under the covers to feign sleep.

If Lu Chengyun came to check on him, he would claim to have stayed in his room the whole time, pretending to know nothing.

Lu Chengyun knew of concealment techniques.

Detecting them required divine sense.

But having just fought Zhang Quan, Lu Chengyun’s divine sense was heavily drained. He would likely assume he had simply exhausted his sense, which is why he didn’t detect Mo Hua…

Mo Hua shook his head.

No.

That excuse might work, but it carried significant risk.

And things were different now…

With Zhang Quan dead, no shield left, Lu Chengyun’s attention would turn to him.

Mo Hua’s mind raced.

He had to escape!

Running head-on was impossible—the natural stone door blocked the way, guarded by two second-rank iron corpses.

Those iron corpses were controlled; weak as he was, he dared not attempt to alter the sequence on their spirit-pivot arrays.

By the time outside cultivators attacked the corpse mine and he tried to flee amidst the chaos, it would likely be too late.

The Corpse King was already refined, Lu Chengyun had acted preemptively—danger had arrived early. There was no time to wait.

The only option: blow it up!

“How to blow it up?”

Mo Hua pondered.

He could not use the Spirit-Reversal Array; its collapse was devastating but too specialized, easily exposing his hand and attracting Lu Chengyun’s attention.

The Earth-Fire Array should suffice.

He would set the Earth-Fire Array at the small tunnel Little Tiger had dug. The rock walls were thin there; part of the corpse mine should collapse, allowing him to escape…

Decision made, Mo Hua prepared to draw the array, but suddenly paused.

His divine sense detected Lu Chengyun approaching.

Mo Hua quickly scrambled back into bed, covering himself with the quilt, pretending to sleep.

Moments later, footsteps echoed outside the stone chamber.

The sound was faint but unmistakable.

Lu Chengyun paced outside, circling as if hesitating, then spoke gently:

“Young master…”

Mo Hua ignored him.

Lu Chengyun called again, warmly, like a polite old friend.

Mo Hua sensed a slight sinister edge in his divine sense, some hidden intent, yet no direct killing intent. His curiosity prompted him to get out of bed and open the door.

Before opening, he ruffled his hair, then, eyes half-open, feigned surprise at seeing Lu Chengyun:

“Head of the Lu family, what brings you here?”

He even rubbed his eyes, playing the sleepy act.

Lu Chengyun paused slightly. “Young master, you’ve been in your room all this time?”

Mo Hua, feigning innocence: “It’s midnight—where else would I be?”

He muttered softly, slightly annoyed: “There’s nothing fun here anyway…”

Lu Chengyun hesitated.

For a moment, he couldn’t tell if Mo Hua was truly naive or cunningly playing him.

Such a young age, such deep scheming… yet so innocent-acting?

Lu Chengyun frowned, silent.

Mo Hua tested further:

“Family head, at this hour, is there something you need from me?”

Lu Chengyun regained composure, suddenly smiling:

“I’ve come to fulfill a promise.”

“A promise?”

He nodded. “I told you before, if you helped me construct the array’s core, I would teach you… that formation…”

Mo Hua’s sleepiness vanished, his eyes sparkling:

“Really?”

Lu Chengyun smiled: “I am the head of my clan; naturally, I do not go back on my word.”

Do not go back on his word…

Mo Hua’s mind flashed to Lu Chengyun promising Zhang Quan the ancestor chart, only to kill him before revealing it—he inwardly grumbled: I don’t trust you one bit!

But outwardly, he pretended ignorance: “Can I learn now?”

Lu Chengyun shook his head: “Some preparation is still needed.”

Mo Hua, puzzled: “Preparation?”

Lu Chengyun sighed: “This formation… is extremely difficult. I studied it for decades to achieve some small mastery.”

“The hardest part of the formation lies in divine sense.”

“The threshold for divine sense is very high…”

“You have extraordinary talent, young master, but you are still young. With your current divine sense, you likely cannot learn it yet. Before learning this formation, you must first enhance your divine sense.”

Mo Hua was stunned, then exclaimed: “Enhance divine sense? Could it be—”

“Yes!” Lu Chengyun nodded. “You’ve likely guessed… the visualization chart!”

Mo Hua gasped, incredulous:

“You actually have the visualization chart?!”

Lu Chengyun nodded, meaningfully:

“You’ve actually seen this chart before…”

“I’ve seen it?” Mo Hua blinked in confusion.

Lu Chengyun: “Yes, the same ancestor chart that Zhang Quan had.”

Mo Hua feigned shock, exaggerating his expression.

Though overdone, Lu Chengyun was trying to bait him, so he did not suspect.

Mo Hua thought a moment, then blinked:

“But when I saw that chart, my divine sense didn’t increase…”

Lu Chengyun smiled mysteriously: “That’s because your method was incorrect.”

“Is there another method?”

Lu Chengyun nodded, gently:

“Follow me, young master…”

Mo Hua, puzzled, obediently followed.

Lu Chengyun led him to a secret chamber, containing an altar.

This altar was simpler than before.

Three plates on it: one for hand bones, one for foot bones, and a skull in the middle.

White candles burned on the altar, their flames an eerie green. The wax flowed like human tears, solidifying at the base.

Strange-shaped implements and a white coffin were also present.

The setup looked very familiar to Mo Hua, almost identical to the altar in the Walking Corpse Fortress where Zhang Quan used human consciousness as a sacrifice to honor the ancestor chart.

Mo Hua’s expression showed fear:

“Family head, this is…”

“This is an altar,” Lu Chengyun said.

Seeing Mo Hua uneasy, he smiled slightly:

“This ancestor chart is special. Only by offering incense and making a ritual sacrifice can one open the heavenly eye, perceive the chart’s truth, comprehend the Dao within it, and thereby enhance divine sense.”

He pointed to the white coffin:

“I’ve lit the incense, prepared the offerings…”

“Next, I will present the visualization chart.”

“Before that, young master, you only need to lie in this coffin, empty your mind, disregard life and death, and you will be able to perceive the chart’s essence, enhancing your divine sense…”

His tone gentle, smile faint, but his eyes reflected the eerie green candlelight.

Mo Hua hesitated: “Re… really?”

Lu Chengyun’s voice low and firm: “Naturally…”

“But…” Mo Hua glanced at the coffin.

It resembled the one in the Walking Corpse Fortress, but more exquisite, smaller, seemingly tailored for him…

“I… I don’t want to go in…” he said timidly.

Lu Chengyun’s expression turned severe, his face twisted:

“Go!”

Mo Hua was startled.

Lu Chengyun’s smile turned sinister: “Young master, don’t waste my goodwill!”

Mo Hua frowned, hesitated, then, under Lu Chengyun’s cold gaze, slowly lay down in the small coffin.

Lu Chengyun sneered, sealed the coffin with nails, then solemnly presented Zhang Quan’s ancestor chart.

Incense smoke spiraled, candlelight flickered.

Lu Chengyun bowed and chanted:

“Today, the chart is opened, incense offered in reverence…”

“…With white bones, we honor the ancestors; with human consciousness, we serve as the feast.”

“Zhang family ancestors, I, Lu Chengyun, pay my respects!”

Inside the coffin, Mo Hua immediately let out a pained cry.

He remembered when Zhang Quan had offered human sacrifices to the chart, the coffin sounded exactly like this.

And the scratching with nails, tearing at the coffin, producing heart-wrenching, agonizing cries of despair and torment…

But Mo Hua was afraid of pain…

His little hands could never recreate that.

So he let Little Tiger do the scratching for him.

Little Tiger’s claws flailed; the coffin made a “squeak-squeak” sound, heart-wrenching indeed.

Mo Hua shouted along:

“So uncomfortable!”

“Ah!”

“It hurts! Let me out!”

…

Lu Chengyun remained unmoved.

As the shouting subsided, the coffin gradually became silent.

Lu Chengyun stood for a long while, then sighed regretfully:

“What a talent… truly a pity. The cultivation world is harsh; even prodigies are doomed to early demise…”

He shook his head and left the altar.

Mo Hua lay quietly in the small coffin, patted his chest once Lu Chengyun was gone, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then he glanced at the Zhang family ancestor chart on the altar and licked his lips, muttering:

“Is he feeding me to the chart, or feeding the chart to me?”