Chapter 504: Zombie Soldiers

Chapter 506: Zombie Soldiers

“Zhang Clan’s Ancestor’s Divine-Sense is so strong… if I ‘consume’ it and then refine it, I should be able to break through the bottleneck and reach the Thirteen-Pattern Divine-Sense, right…”

Mo Hua murmured to himself.

Thirteen-pattern Divine-Sense…

For early Foundation Establishment cultivators, the limit of Divine-Sense was thirteen patterns.

Once Divine-Sense reached thirteen patterns, he would be only one step away from what his master had said was required to establish Divine-Sense in Foundation Establishment…

Mo Hua felt a spark of anticipation in his heart.

Then he hesitated.

“Should I eat it now?”

The residual spirit of Zhang Clan’s Ancestor was too strong; forcibly consuming it would be overwhelming and take a long time to “digest”…

And Mo Hua still didn’t know what was happening outside.

He had, however, already sent the news of the corpse mine out.

But in Nanyue City, there seemed to be no force capable of opposing the Lu Clan.

Now that Zhang Quan was dead, Lu Chengyun held sole control over the Corpse King. Operating the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Revival Formation, he could refine and control corpses simultaneously. If his power continued to grow, no one in a second-grade prefecture could stop him…

“This is troublesome…”

Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then decided to refine Zhang Clan’s Ancestor first.

One must devour the meat within reach as soon as possible.

By “consuming” Zhang Clan’s Ancestor, his own strength would increase; even if something went wrong, he would have more confidence.

Moreover, Zhang Clan’s Ancestor was no weakling.

Though he had been blasted into smoke by Mo Hua, it was not guaranteed he couldn’t have tricks to resurrect or restore his Divine-Sense.

Such old villains are always cunning.

Everything had to be done carefully—eradicate completely and leave no hidden dangers!

Consume thoroughly, leave no trace!

Mo Hua immediately acted, transforming his Divine-Sense into a formation to refine the residual spirit of Zhang Clan’s Ancestor.

Just in case, he first used the Golden-Lock Formation to trap the smoke of Zhang Clan’s Ancestor, then manifested the Molten Fire Array, roasting it slowly with crimson flames.

After roasting for a while, Mo Hua suddenly remembered.

The Zhang Clan didn’t just have the Ancestor; there were also the Iron-Corpse Elders.

The eleven Iron Corpses from before—six were near death, left only as shadows.

The remaining five Iron Corpses had also been mostly destroyed by the Ancestor in the final attrition battle. Four were ruined; the last one was the clan’s Grand Elder, but barely alive…

Mo Hua felt relieved.

The Ancestor was strong and cunning.

Luckily he had been cautious…

No, he had been prudent!

Using these Iron Corpses, he had forced out the Ancestor’s techniques, drained its power, and endured its vicious attacks…

Then he ambushed the old zombie, finally grinding it down to death.

Otherwise, victory would have been uncertain…

Controlling the Iron Corpses, turning them to his use, using their own spears against their shields.

“The Spirit-Pivot Formation is really useful!”

Mo Hua admired it in his heart.

The Iron Corpses couldn’t be wasted…

He gathered the remaining Iron Corpses and, along with Zhang Clan’s Ancestor, tossed them into the Molten Fire Array.

From the lowest disciples to the ancestors, and all the previous generations, the entire Zhang Clan was stewed in one pot by Mo Hua…

Only when the smoke turned from blue to white did Mo Hua inhale it all at once, then slowly refined it…

This process took a long time.

From defeating and controlling Zhang Quan and Elders “Song” and “Si,” setting traps to hunt the other Iron-Corpse Elders, to finally controlling and suppressing Zhang Clan’s Ancestor…

Five to six days had already passed.

Mo Hua hid in the sealed little white coffin, knowing nothing of the outside.

Meanwhile, a great battle had erupted outside…

Foundation Establishment cultivators clashed with Iron Corpses, tearing mountains apart.

The mine suffered under magical attacks and force; rocks shattered, slopes became pitted.

Beneath the Foundation Establishment cultivators were the Dao Soldiers forming long formations, fighting against the tide of corpses.

The Dao Soldiers’ formations were disciplined, executing orders without fail, striking decisively. The roaming corpses were hideous, fearless of death.

The battle was magnificent and brutal.

Across Nanyue City, the ground was littered with walking corpses, thousands besieging the city.

The city gates were closed; miners and cultivators defended the walls against the invading corpses, as well as any cultivators bitten by Iron Corpses and corrupted into fleshless husks.

Dark clouds gathered over the city, a grim atmosphere prevailing.

Everyone was uneasy, unsure whether tomorrow would bring bright sun or torrential rain.

If the Dao Court won, all forces would suppress the corpse mine and exterminate the zombies—everything would be fine.

If the Dao Court lost, the surging corpse tide would instantly swallow Nanyue City.

Then, every cultivator inside would become food for the zombies.

Some families and sect cultivators unwilling to die with the city secretly fled, but most were intercepted by scattered walking corpses.

Once the battle began, any wounded with blood flowing would attract hordes of walking corpses.

Even Iron Corpses might appear.

If Iron Corpses arrived, no fleeing cultivator could survive.

Among the countless corpses across the mountains…

Even Foundation Establishment cultivators could die at the hands of a first-grade walking corpse.

A few days earlier, a Foundation Establishment Dao Soldier commander had been wounded by an Iron Corpse, separated from his formation, and drowned in a tide of walking corpses.

No matter how many he killed, more would swarm him, like a drowning man consumed by a corpse tide—struggling, but never reaching shore, ultimately torn apart alive…

Yang Jishan’s heart ached.

These Dao Soldiers were brothers who had shared life and death with him, yet they perished so horribly before his eyes.

And he could do nothing.

There were simply too many zombies, too powerful.

Despite thorough preparation, he hadn’t expected such heavy losses.

Initially, everything had gone smoothly…

Three days ago, at the Mao hour, they struck the Lu Clan with thunderous force.

The Lu Clan had been suppressed.

Some elders and disciples fought hard, escaping the city to join Lu Chengyun.

But most of the Lu Clan’s disciples, fearing the Dao Court, dared not resist.

The elders’ cultivation was sealed, disciples confined, the gates protected by formations, awaiting later judgment.

Later, when zombies besieged the city, some Lu Clan disciples, with treacherous intent, tried to open the gates to let zombies in and join Lu Chengyun.

But the zombies recognized no kin; the first to be eaten were those who opened the gates.

Then, Dao Soldiers, miners, and local Nanyue sect cultivators paid a heavy price to repel the walking corpses and reseal the gates.

Yang Jishan, furious, executed the troublesome Lu Clan disciples and elders before the rest, intimidating them into obedience.

The Lu Clan became much more compliant afterward.

The problem lay with the corpse mine…

The battle over the corpse mine was far more difficult than they had imagined.

They had split into two forces: one to suppress the Lu Clan, the other to exterminate the corpse mine.

The intelligence was reliable, the array maps accurate, formations known—breaking the formation should have been easy.

Over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, with Dao Soldiers, struck together, smashing the stone walls near the mine gates, breaking array patterns, shattering rocks, toppling the natural stone gate to expose a breach.

The two Iron Corpses at the gate, though powerful, were no match for them.

They pushed forward all the way to the stone hall gate.

Yet Yang Jishan discovered that the corpse cultivators were prepared, waiting in formation.

Not only that, the pitch-black mine was filled with corpse energy; countless red eyes lit up in swarms.

These were the bloodthirsty eyes of the zombies.

Yang Jishan had anticipated this.

Though it was an ambush, frontal clashes were unavoidable.

Yang Jishan, born of the Yang Clan, commander of Dao Soldiers, battle-hardened, feared no fight.

The Foundation Establishment vanguard charged, Dao Soldiers formed up behind, other family and sect cultivators supported from the wings, ordinary Qi-Refining cultivators followed.

Corpse cultivators’ techniques were insidious, but in frontal group battles, under the charge, they were a disorganized rabble, easily crushed.

The zombies they summoned mostly fought independently, unable to match Dao Soldiers, failing to block their charge.

If a corpse cultivator died, their zombies lost control, attacking indiscriminately—including their own masters.

The Dao Soldiers surged forward irresistibly.

Until Lu Chengyun appeared.

Behind him loomed a gigantic zombie, with long fangs, blood-red eyes tinged with dark gold.

“Corpse King!”

Cultivators who knew rumors of Dao-Sin shivered.

They had calculated, heard, or been warned secretly by their sects or families.

This Corpse King was the embryo of Dao-Sin!

Yang Jishan’s heart skipped; a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

The Dao-Sin embryo must be crushed in its cradle!

“Kill!”

Yang Jishan waved his hand. Dao Soldiers donned armor, united in purpose, charging forth. The formations on their armor connected, responding to each other, coalescing into a spectral tiger.

Lu Chengyun remained calm, raising both arms.

The Corpse King’s chest markings glowed, and it roared to the sky, shaking mountains.

Nearby, twenty iron coffins trembled; lids flew open, Iron Corpses leapt out.

In the mine, tens of thousands of walking corpses roared together, like a thousand ghosts on the move, chilling all who saw them.

A fierce battle erupted.

Cultivators fought zombies; blood and corpse energy, magic and necromancy, clashed and intertwined…

This was the largest-scale cultivator battle in the Xiao Huang Prefecture in nearly eight centuries.

After the battle, Dao Soldiers failed to take the corpse mine and suffered heavy casualties.

Lu Chengyun still held the mine, commanding the Corpse King, dozens of Iron Corpses, and tens of thousands of walking corpses. Despite the Dao Soldiers’ assaults like waves, he remained unmoved.

Yang Jishan’s prolonged attack led to mounting losses.

Moreover, corpse cultivators were secretly stealing bodies.

Dead Dao Soldiers and cultivators could be turned into zombies, soon gnashing their teeth against their own allies on the battlefield.

Yang Jishan had no choice but to retreat.

Most of Lu Chengyun’s subordinates were zombies; he didn’t fear attrition.

Yang Jishan’s troops were all living people; they couldn’t afford losses.

Moreover, dead cultivators would only strengthen Lu Chengyun.

He could only order a retreat, stationing Dao Soldiers outside to encircle the mine, attempting to trap Lu Chengyun.

Lu Chengyun sent thousands of walking corpses to attack Nanyue City, diverting forces.

Thousands of walking corpses formed a tide.

Any surviving cultivators along the way either became blood food or were converted into walking corpses, joining the tide.

Yang Jishan had no choice but to split his forces to defend the city.

He also ordered all miners, independent cultivators, and family and sect cultivators to stay within Nanyue City, forbidding any departure.

The extermination of the corpse mine would require careful planning.

The Dao Soldiers and Dao Court forces who suffered setbacks stationed outside the mine, taking pills to heal and recover.

In a mountain cave, everyone’s expression was grim.

Some vented angrily:

“Lu Chengyun, that beast!”

“He’s raised so many zombies, then allowed walking corpses to attack the city!”

“For his own gain, he’s created so much killing—he deserves to die!”

“Dark cultivators act like this all the time. You’re just shocked…”

“Because he’s dark, it’s normal to do evil? So we shouldn’t criticize?”

“Why are you mad at me…”

“Your mindset will eventually fall to darkness too…”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

“All right, all right, stop arguing…”

“Honestly, I’ve lived long, but this is the first time I’ve seen such ruthless methods, and the first time someone could raise so many zombies…”

“With the Dao Court unified, few dark cultivators dare act this way now…”

“That’s because dark cultivators act secretly; you just can’t see it.”

“No way!”

Someone sneered, “Those flashy, righteous-looking people—how do you know they aren’t secretly dark cultivators?”

“Like Lu Chengyun’s case; if it hadn’t been exposed, who would know?”

“That’s an accusation of intent!”

“Hmph, you just can’t understand…”

…

The large cave was filled with noise.

Yang Jishan called for silence, speaking gravely:

“Other matters can wait. The urgent task is to pool our efforts and find a way to capture the corpse mine!”

“The longer this drags on, the greater the disaster!”

His gaze was stern.

After all, this Corpse King was connected to Dao-Sin.

Dao-Sin was the truly terrifying threat…

Everyone fell silent; many felt despondent.

Some present were from small families or minor sects, unfamiliar and uneasy in such large-scale battles, and dared not speak.

Others were indeed from major sects and great families, but clearly it was their first time facing such formations.

They were also at a loss.

Moreover, their opponents were countless zombies.

When they fought, they realized in such large-scale chaos, individual cultivation could only do so much.

A cultivator asked, “Commander Yang, I don’t understand something…”

Yang Jishan nodded, signaling him to continue.

The cultivator said, “Logically, we had many people, with Dao Soldiers charging the front. Even if we couldn’t take the corpse mine, we should at least have severely damaged the corpse cultivators…”

“In group battles, Dao Soldiers are always unbeatable.”

“So why, instead of gaining the advantage, did we fall behind?”

Many cultivators were confused.

In the chaos, their blood boiled; they simply fought alongside, using spirit tools, martial techniques, magic—whatever came to mind.

Following Commander Yang’s orders, advancing and retreating together.

Could fight? Fight. Couldn’t? Retreat.

They didn’t think much beyond that.

Why, despite the advantage, they lost? They were baffled.

Yang Jishan sighed, furrowing his brow:

“If my estimation is correct, this Corpse King can simultaneously control dozens of Iron Corpses and nearly ten thousand walking corpses.”

Everyone exchanged glances. “So what?”

Wasn’t that known from the start…?

“Not the same,” Yang Jishan shook his head. “This is not ordinary corpse control.”

He knew the Dao Court prohibited dark cultivator inheritance; ordinary cultivators rarely interacted with them.

Even in major sects, cultivators’ understanding of dark cultivators was superficial.

They couldn’t comprehend the deeper techniques.

Yang Jishan continued:

“Ordinary corpse control is crude, giving only simple orders—‘kill,’ ‘eat,’ ‘attack,’ or ‘defend.’”

“And when many zombies are controlled, though they have a common goal, they act independently, like headless flies.”

His expression grave, Yang Jishan said, “But these zombies are completely different…”

“They are still zombies, but the control method is extremely refined.”

“All zombie actions are coordinated, advancing and retreating in formation—it’s unbelievable…”

“Even if individual zombies are unchanged, once disciplined and unified, their overall power is incomparable.”

Yang Jishan sighed, “This is similar to Dao Soldiers; we generally call them dark cultivator ‘Zombie Soldiers’…”

Zombie Soldiers…

Everyone’s faces changed.

…

Elsewhere, Lu Chengyun looked at the Corpse King and nodded slightly.

Zhang Quan was right—having the Corpse King allowed these zombies to form a ‘Zombie Army.’

In today’s battle, zombies fought as soldiers, rivaling Dao Soldiers without disadvantage.

And since they felt no pain, they feared neither injury nor death.

Zombie Soldiers were even stronger than Dao Soldiers.

Lu Chengyun sneered.

Though he didn’t know why, the Dao Court had learned of him and sent Dao Soldiers to besiege him.

But in a second-grade prefecture, with a second-grade Corpse King commanding Iron Corpses and walking corpses, they wouldn’t take the corpse mine anytime soon.

Even if the mine fell, he had ways to escape.

He could just use a scapegoat.

He could shed the inconvenient identity of Lu Chengyun, start anew, and rise again…

As long as the Corpse King remained under his control.

As long as he retained the Spirit-Pivot Formation…

After all, formations are the foundation of a formation master.

Lu Chengyun smiled faintly, a cold glint in his eyes.

Suddenly, a thought struck him—Mo Hua…

Mo Hua had been used as a sacrifice, fed to Zhang Quan’s Ancestor Diagram.

He wondered if, after all this time, Mo Hua had been completely consumed…

Lu Chengyun had intended to check long ago, but the mine was under siege, delaying him; he couldn’t leave.

Inwardly, he thought:

“After some time, once he’s fully eaten, I’ll go see. I’ll also turn that young cultivator’s corpse into a small zombie to serve me…”

Lu Chengyun’s gaze darkened.

What he didn’t know was, Mo Hua hadn’t been fully eaten—instead, he was about to ‘consume’ the entire Zhang Clan…