Chapter 508: Pursuit and Kill

Chapter 510: Pursuit and Kill

Lu Chengyun’s spirit stone warehouse had been destroyed, cutting off his supply of spirit stones. The Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation slowed down, and the speed of corpse refinement grew ever slower.

Yang Jishan was overjoyed.

The other cultivators also breathed a sigh of relief.

In battle, Lu Chengyun was consuming zombies.

They, however, were losing living human lives.

Now that the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation was weakened and gradually stopping, breaking free from this endless consumption was a boon for their side.

The Dao soldiers and the various cultivators could not help but feel grateful toward Mo Hua.

Next came direct confrontation.

The Dao soldier commander led the Dao soldiers and the allied cultivators into chaotic battle with the iron corpses and roaming zombies.

Yang Jishan issued orders, coordinating the forces, while Mo Hua observed the battle at his side.

Within the corpse mine, the fighting was intense.

The cultivators’ swords and blades clashed with the claws and fangs of the zombies. Spirit energy and corpse qi intertwined, corpse poison spread, spells flew, cultivators fell one by one, and zombies were shredded.

It was both horrific and magnificent.

Mo Hua watched, astonished.

Although he had seen scattered skirmishes between cultivators and zombies, and even fought zombies in escapes, standing atop the mountain and surveying the battlefield made the brutality and shock of the scene all the more evident.

A wave of compassion arose in Mo Hua’s heart.

These Dao soldiers were still human.

Even with low cultivation, serving as mere foot soldiers in this war, they had parents, perhaps wives and children.

Death here would leave grieving loved ones behind.

And the zombies had once been human, likely miners who suffered oppression under the Lu family.

In life oppressed, in death reduced to cannon fodder to aid evil.

Mo Hua sighed.

They could not afford to continue such drawn-out attrition.

If this continued, who knew how many cultivators would be injured or killed?

Even Nanyue City could face catastrophe.

Mo Hua surveyed the situation, frowning, and used his Divine Sense to calculate the principal and subordinate sequences among the zombie ranks controlled by the Spirit-Pivot, then said to Yang Jishan: “Uncle Yang, take out the tall iron corpse, the one-armed iron corpse, and the fat iron corpse first.”

Yang Jishan was slightly startled. “Why?”

He didn’t quite understand why Mo Hua singled out these few iron corpses among dozens. They didn’t appear to be the strongest.

Mo Hua explained: “There are two types of roaming zombies on the field.”

“One type is controlled by corpse cultivators using corpse-control bells.”

“The other type is controlled through formations, manipulated by the iron corpses.”

“The zombies controlled by corpse cultivators are few and fight independently, posing little threat. But those controlled by formations are different…”

“These three iron corpses each carry a formation controlling the largest number of zombies. Kill them, and nearly half of the zombies will turn into a mindless mob, driven only by instinct, no longer a coordinated army of corpses, and will be easy to deal with.”

Yang Jishan was stunned. “How do you know this?”

Young Master Yun was also surprised.

They only knew the zombies were formation-controlled, not the inner workings.

Mo Hua said vaguely, “I’ve seen the formations Lu Chengyun drew, so I can calculate it.”

Yang Jishan nodded, half understanding.

Young Master Yun froze.

Calculate? Could it be…?

He had a vague suspicion but couldn’t believe it.

Yang Jishan called someone over and ordered: “Send the command: assemble three Dao soldier teams. Ignore the other zombies, only kill those three iron corpses!”

“Yes!”

The Dao soldiers obeyed, relaying the command.

Soon, three Foundation Establishment commanders, each leading a team, charged toward the three iron corpses.

With deliberate intent and precision, within half an hour, the three iron corpses were destroyed, their heart veins shattered.

With the deaths of the three iron corpses, most of the zombie army suddenly went berserk, running chaotically like headless flies, seeking to devour anyone in sight.

This was the instinct-driven chaos after losing control.

For ordinary cultivators, uncontrolled zombies were deadly.

But in these battle conditions, without coordination, the zombies were a disorganized mass. Even if bloodthirsty, against disciplined Dao soldiers, their threat was greatly reduced.

Yang Jishan felt a surge of hope.

“It really works!”

He immediately waved his command flag, ordering the Dao soldiers into formations, grinding the chaotic zombies down bit by bit.

Once the roaming zombies were annihilated, the remaining iron corpses, facing coordinated Dao soldiers, were no longer formidable.

A general without soldiers is no longer a general.

Iron corpses without zombie armies were just ordinary iron corpses.

The Dao soldiers swept through the battlefield like a guillotine, cutting down zombies one by one.

The situation quickly became clear.

The Dao Court’s forces gained the upper hand, while the zombie army suffered heavy losses.

Soon, Lu Chengyun ordered the remaining zombies to retreat.

Suppressing the corpse mine was a prolonged effort.

This was just one battle among many over these days, one victory among several contests of fate.

But this victory was the clearest of all.

Yang Jishan exhaled deeply.

From now on, he would always bring Mo Hua into battle.

Mo Hua released his Divine Sense, scanning the battlefield, and after brief calculations, informed Yang Jishan which zombies were controlled by which iron corpse, so that killing a specific iron corpse would scatter the zombies it commanded.

Not only that.

He could identify tricky corpse cultivators, know how to counter severe corpse poison, and figure out how to dismantle evil formations.

Mo Hua enumerated everything with the precision of a scholar.

Formations he could see at a glance; corpse mine details he had overheard in secret; corpse refinement methods he had studied from texts and learned through battles with the Zhang family ancestors and elders.

Yang Jishan grew increasingly alarmed.

He nearly suspected that Mo Hua had built the corpse mine, drawn the formations, recruited the corpse cultivators, and even refined the zombies himself, controlling them all.

Perhaps Mo Hua himself was a little master of corpse arts…

Otherwise, how could he be so familiar?

Of course, Yang Jishan only thought this; he knew it was impossible.

“Probably learned about it while investigating the corpse mine…”

Yang Jishan marveled, finally understanding why his fifth younger brother, Yang Jiyong, admired this boy so much.

Mastery of formations, courageous and clever, with a pure Dao heart, and able to secretly gather such detailed intelligence…

This was exactly the talent the Dao Soldier Division needed.

Yang Jishan looked at Mo Hua with shining eyes, wishing he could bring him back to the Yang family.

Meanwhile, Lu Chengyun’s expression darkened.

In just a few days, things had turned sharply against him.

It seemed all his secrets had been seen through: the layout of the stone hall, the deployment of zombie troops, the operation of the formations…

The opponent was exploiting his flaws, slowly eroding his power.

Lu Chengyun felt pressure, even a sense of suffocation.

The web he had carefully woven was tightening; once fully closed, he would be trapped, a fish on the chopping block.

“The corpse mine won’t hold much longer…”

Continuing was meaningless.

When a decisive cut is delayed, chaos ensues.

Lu Chengyun resolved to escape: “I must find a way out, to live another day.”

“As long as I get out, there’s still a chance.”

“Escape, change my name, attach to another family or sect…”

“Though I’m not young, my face shows no age, still refined and elegant…”

“With my skills, I can marry into one family, then another.”

“At worst, find an older one to marry into…”

“There are enough foolish women in this world who only care about looks, I can deceive another one.”

“With fewer zombies, I can refine more.”

“If the Ten-Thousand-Corpse Formation is gone, I can rebuild it.”

“As long as the corpse king is under my command, I will rise again!”

Lu Chengyun’s expression darkened, a cold light in his eyes.

The zombies’ attacks became fiercer, recklessly countering, seemingly willing to die with him.

Yang Jishan frowned. “Lu Chengyun, is he fighting to the death?”

Mo Hua shook his head. “No, he’s running.”

He understood Lu Chengyun well.

Selfish to the core, Lu Chengyun valued his life above all. He would not die for the corpse mine.

The old Lingyin Sect, the current Lu family—they meant nothing to him.

Even if the Lu family fell, even if the corpse mine was destroyed, he would escape and seek another host.

Sure enough, days later, amid a chaotic battle, Mo Hua sensed a familiar aura hidden among the corpse cultivators.

The aura was subtle, but could not escape Mo Hua’s thirteen-pattern peak Divine Sense.

Other mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators present, though stronger in Divine Sense, were unfamiliar with Lu Chengyun and could not detect him.

Following the aura, Mo Hua saw a familiar, masked corpse cultivator sneaking about.

He immediately recognized him as Lu Chengyun.

Mo Hua pointed and shouted: “Uncle Yang, that’s Lu Chengyun! He’s trying to run!”

Yang Jishan was startled, then changed expression, waving his command flag and shouting: “Seize him!”

Several Dao soldier squads formed a long line and charged at Lu Chengyun.

Lu Chengyun cursed under his breath, surprised.

But he was secretly shocked that, despite concealing his cultivation at Refining Qi Stage Nine, he had been recognized.

Unable to escape, he withdrew into the stone hall.

The battle subsided; Lu Chengyun did not get away.

“Running at this moment?”

Mo Hua found it suspicious. Scanning the stone hall, he noticed the formation’s aura had shifted.

He calculated briefly and understood.

Lu Chengyun had set up numerous Ground-Rending Formations in the stone hall.

If he escaped, the formations would activate, destroying the stone hall and collapsing the corpse mine, burying all corpse cultivators and Dao Court cultivators together.

Even Foundation Establishment cultivators might escape, but many Refining Qi cultivators would die.

Those dead cultivators, including Dao soldiers, corpse cultivators, and clan cultivators, would become materials for future zombie refinement.

Yang Jishan’s gaze grew cold.

“Lu Chengyun is truly vicious!”

Mo Hua shivered.

Afterward, everyone was cautious of the Ground-Rending Formations and did not press too hard.

Mo Hua spent some time calculating the positions of these formations, marking them, and giving the information to Yang Jishan.

Whenever the Dao soldiers gained advantage and pushed back the zombies, some of the Ground-Rending Formations were destroyed.

Gradually, the formations were eliminated.

Eventually, Lu Chengyun could no longer restrain himself. One late night, taking advantage of the Dao soldiers’ retreat, he activated all remaining Ground-Rending Formations, shaking the corpse mine.

The formations were few and not powerful, but caused chaos.

With the corpse king and iron corpses as guards, Lu Chengyun escaped from the corpse mine.

Groups of fearless zombies formed a wave to cover his retreat.

Yang Jishan led Dao soldiers and cultivators in pursuit.

The battle moved from the corpse mine to the corpse mountain.

The hills were filled with cultivators and zombies fighting, with uncontrolled zombies wandering as roaming corpses.

The fight lasted a full day. Lu Chengyun finally reached a desolate, eerie mountaintop a hundred li from Nanyue City.

The mountaintop was barren and vast, devoid of human presence.

Only rugged rocks and withered black grass remained.

Yang Jishan consulted his map and saw the location marked: Grave Mountain.

His expression turned grave.

Other cultivators also sensed a premonition.

This was no good place.

Yang Jishan narrowed his eyes.

Capturing Lu Chengyun, subduing the corpse king, and annihilating the zombies would come down to this battle.

He ordered: “Proceed carefully, enter the mountain!”

Dao soldiers advanced toward Grave Mountain.

No sooner had they entered than the earth shifted, stones shook, and zombies emerged from the soil.

These zombies were older, more toxic, and included many iron corpses.

Yang Jishan’s face darkened.

How many more had Lu Chengyun refined over the years?

Was Grave Mountain, like the corpse mine, another of his zombie-refining sites?

Yang Jishan frowned.

The Dao soldiers, exhausted from the chase, were about to catch him when new zombies appeared.

This was endless…

Lu Chengyun’s cunning ran deep.

Yang Jishan had no choice but to have his forces camp outside Grave Mountain, monitoring for any signs of escape.

The group discussed their next move.

“The question is, how many zombies are still inside?” a middle-aged cultivator said.

“If too many, we can’t compete.”

“Without knowing the number, we risk ambush…”

“We don’t have enough hands…”

Yang Jishan frowned, expression grim.

The fighting had already cost many lives.

Most remaining cultivators were injured, and some needed blood serums to suppress corpse poison, unable to act.

The remaining strength was less than a third.

How many zombies Lu Chengyun still commanded remained unknown.

If he pretended weakness to lure them in, they would fall into his trap and suffer great losses.

But Grave Mountain was solitary and toxic.

How could they know how many zombies were inside?

Mo Hua said: “Catch a roaming zombie, then an iron corpse.”

Yang Jishan was momentarily stunned.

Mo Hua continued: “I’ll examine the formations on them to roughly estimate how many zombies Lu Chengyun still commands.”

Yang Jishan was speechless.

Other formation masters exchanged glances.

Young Master Yun’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

“Can that really be estimated?” Yang Jishan asked uncertainly.

“Yes,” Mo Hua nodded.

Yang Jishan didn’t fully understand but saw no better option. After a moment, he nodded: “Fine.”

He personally caught three roaming zombies and one iron corpse, securing them with iron chains.

The zombies roared, struggling.

Corpse poison seeped like blood from their bodies, coating the chains with a pungent stench.

These zombies were visibly more violent and toxic.

Bai Zisheng stood in front of Mo Hua to protect him from uncontrolled zombies.

Bai Zixi stood behind, fingers imbued with sword energy, quietly vigilant.

Mo Hua said: “Uncle Yang, open their chests.”

Yang Jishan nodded.

He had done this once before, so it was routine.

Moments later, the surface of the zombies’ heart veins was cut open, revealing the formations connected to their flesh.

Mo Hua took out paper and brush, tracing the formations, then identified several unique sequence patterns.

The Spirit-Pivot Formation uses sequential array patterns to “encode” the zombies.

By reverse-engineering the sequential patterns, one can work backwards through the “encoding” to determine the total number of sequences in the Spirit-Pivot Formation system—that is, the total number of zombies.

This was something Mo Hua had not been able to do before.

This kind of derivative calculation is quite complex, consuming Divine-Sense and testing one’s understanding of formation arts.

But ever since refining the Visualization Diagram, reaching the peak of thirteen-pattern Divine-Sense, and drawing the Spirit-Pivot Formation hundreds or thousands of times, Mo Hua’s Divine-Sense had become powerful, and he was thoroughly familiar with the Spirit-Pivot Formation. Now he could attempt this derivative calculation.

Mo Hua frowned as he studied the sequential patterns, focusing his mind on the calculation.

Yang Jishan and the others watched him, tense and silent, not daring to breathe.

After an unknown length of time, Mo Hua finally came back to himself, exhaling slowly, his face slightly pale.

Yang Jishan asked nervously, “Well?”

Mo Hua hesitated, saying,

“I can only give a rough estimate, it’s not very precise…”

“That’s fine, that’s fine,” Yang Jishan said.

Mo Hua continued,

“…Judging from the sequential patterns, inside this graveyard, there are roughly forty iron corpses controlled by the Corpse King, and about five thousand walking corpses.”

Yang Jishan nodded, frowning deeply.

This situation was rather serious.

Walking corpses were manageable, but over forty iron corpses were unexpected and far from easy to deal with.

Yet Yang Jishan was curious about one thing more:

“How… exactly did you calculate this?”

Mo Hua scratched his head and pointed to a pattern:

“These array patterns are connected and have an internal sequence. Spend some Divine-Sense, do the calculation, and you can figure it out…”

Yang Jishan didn’t understand.

He glanced at the other formation masters and found them equally puzzled.

Only Young Master Yun stared blankly, murmuring to himself:

“Derivative calculation…”

This… among all the Yun family formation masters, only the patriarch could do this… derivative calculation with Divine-Sense?

At such a young age, he could do derivative calculations?

Is this something someone his age could even learn?

Young Master Yun looked at the seemingly innocent Mo Hua, his emotions in turmoil.