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Chapter 196 The Corpse King Appears (Third Update)
To enter the tomb, another step is required. The tomb entrance is located on a 90-degree cliff face. The group will need to use ropes or ladders to descend to the tomb.
"Brother Chen, I, Lao Luo, just realized I have some personal matters to attend to. Here's what we'll do: you and your Xieling brothers go down first. I'll take care of these things up here and come down to find you in a bit."
Although Chen Yulou found it somewhat strange, he didn't say much. He'd finally found a way after all that effort, and he was already quite impatient.
Commander Luo watched as the Unloading Ridge group descended the cliff. He turned to look at his own troops, especially his adjutant Yang, who was standing beside him.
"Little Yangzi, how do you think I, Luo Laowai, have treated you all these years?"
"The commander-in-chief has been a benefactor to me, a true benefactor who gave me a second life."
"Stop using so many fancy words. I'm not well-educated, I don't understand them."
"...The commander-in-chief is very good to me."
"Yeah, all I do is hit and yell at you all day. Don't you hate me?"
"The commander-in-chief gave me a second life, how could I possibly hate him?"
"Well, that's good. Back in the day, I also ventured into western Hunan all alone. I had no money, just my life and a ruthless streak. In the end, I built this business and have so many brothers who rely on me for their livelihood. To be honest, sometimes I feel bitter. But that's just how the world is. If you want to get ahead, if you want to be a superior person, you have to suffer a bit. What makes you think you can succeed?"
During my toughest times, do you know what I ate? Bird droppings. But not all bird droppings were edible. Some birds especially loved to eat grains, but they couldn't digest them. Their droppings were edible, filling and satisfying. Those birds that liked to eat insects or grass seeds were much worse. But they all had to be dried before eating. If you ate them wet, you'd definitely vomit them up.
"Is it hard? I certainly feel it is. Even now, when I think about that hardship in bed at night, I secretly shed tears. There was no other way. Everyone was starving, everyone was hungry. Back then, if someone gave you a bite to eat, you'd be willing to be their dog."
Adjutant Yang's forehead began to sweat. He knelt down with a thud.
"Commander Luo..."
“I know what you’re thinking. I, Luo Laowai, am illiterate, yet I occupy such a large territory. You, who have only had a few years of schooling, think I’m unworthy. Your mother is sick and needs money. You’ve been poor since childhood and want to climb higher. I understand all of that. Because I also want to climb up. Otherwise, where would I be today? But if you want something, you can fight for it yourself. I, Luo Laowai, have earned everything I am today by risking my life. What right do you have to ask for it?”
A dozen or so soldiers surrounded him and pinned Deputy Officer Yang to the ground.
Lieutenant Yang opened his mouth to defend himself, but he knew that Luo Laowai was not one to listen to excuses. He wanted to hurl a few curses to show his integrity. Because, just as Luo Laowai had said, he truly looked down on this uneducated Commander Luo. But he couldn't deny that in his most difficult time, it was Commander Luo who had given him a meal. Not just a meal, but something that made him live better than most people.
But that's how people are. As time went on, he felt he couldn't stand his boss who was always cursing and swearing. "This guy's vulgar, uncultured, all he knows is recruiting men and buying guns. If I were in charge, I could definitely do a better job than him." This was Yang's true thought.
If Commander Luo were a second-generation rich kid with a family fortune, his jealousy would be understandable. But the other man built his empire from scratch. His jealousy is somewhat unreasonable. If you're not satisfied, then go and build your own empire. Unfortunately, Deputy Yang's thinking is that building an empire is too slow. Wouldn't it be faster to kill the boss and take over himself?
I don't understand this point in the original novel. He joined forces with another warlord, Ma Zhenbang, and killed Luo Laowai. But even then, wasn't he still under someone else's command? And as someone who surrendered, could his treatment be better than before?
Luo Laowai ignored his explanations, simply waving his hand to take him away. Then he began arranging the ambush for the evening. This guy earned his reputation as Commander Luo not just because he was ruthless. When it came to warfare, he had his own set of methods.
Meanwhile, Lu Xuan and his group finally entered the tomb. The tomb, built on a mountaintop, had one major drawback: it was easily exposed to wind and rain. Furthermore, geological activity had already severely damaged the entire burial chamber. Various burial objects were scattered haphazardly across the floor. But to be fair, they had indeed found some truly valuable items this time.
The gold, silver, and jade artifacts scattered on the ground were worth more than a hundred times more than those in the underground palace below. There were also various antiques that appeared worn but were actually even more valuable. The tomb of this Yuan Dynasty general was so valuable that Luo Laowai could double the size of his team and completely re-equip them.
The members of the Unloading Ridge Clan immediately began clearing the site and transporting various funerary objects. Lu Xuan, however, focused his attention on the purple-gold coffin in the center of the tomb chamber. He could now clearly sense that endless Yin energy was gathering on the purple-gold coffin in front of him.
Meanwhile, thunder began to rumble in the sky outside. Lu Xuan gazed at everything before him, finally understanding the overall structure. Extreme Yin and Yang, tribulation and rebirth. The reason this tomb existed atop the mountain was to absorb the Yin energy from the gathering energy below. Countless streams of Yin energy flowed into the body of the Yuan Dynasty tomb's occupant.
This operation is clearly an artificial creation of a so-called Xiangxi Corpse King. However, for the Corpse King to truly awaken, yin energy alone is far from sufficient. This kind of plot often appears in TV shows and movies: the Corpse King is lying peacefully, but as soon as the protagonist enters, it transforms into a zombie. This is actually a lucky accident.
Even if a corpse has absorbed enough yin energy, it still needs an external stimulus to truly undergo a transformation. This generally requires the life force of a spiritual being, such as a fox or cat. Of course, the best is a human, after all, the most intelligent of all beings.
Therefore, this tomb itself is a trap. Anyone who enters will become the final spark that ignites the awakening of the Corpse King.
"Everyone, get out. Now!" Lu Xuan suddenly shouted, startling the members of the Unloading Ridge faction.
Lu Xuan reached out and grabbed the explosives from one of the evil spirit gang members. With a forceful push of his right hand, he smashed the lid of the purple-gold coffin and threw the explosives inside.
Since the divination showed an ominous sign, it meant this thing posed a threat to him. Lu Xuan had no intention of letting this guy truly awaken and confronting him head-on. His path of cultivation had only just begun; it was better to play it safe for now.
Seeing that everyone had already evacuated from the cave, Lu Xuan didn't hesitate and ignited the explosives with the flame in his hand. Then he floated away.
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Chapter 197 Entangling Battle (Fourth Update)
However, just as Lu Xuan left the cave entrance, the dim sky suddenly brightened as if it were daytime. A bolt of lightning as thick as an arm descended from the sky and struck Ping Mountain directly.
Lu Xuan instinctively sensed something was amiss. He had watched many zombie movies in his younger days. In those stories, most zombies were afraid of lightning. However, there were also a few exceptions, such as emperor-level warriors, who, when stimulated by lightning, might transform into even more dangerous beings—the true zombie kings.
A muffled explosion echoed from the depths of the cave. But Lu Xuan had a strong feeling that it might be too late. The next second, a deep but suppressed roar came from the depths of the cave.
The already dilapidated tomb was further destroyed by the bombs and the roar. It finally collapsed completely. Amidst the flying debris, Lu Xuan saw a burly figure, easily two meters tall, clad in black armor, forcefully pushing his way out of the rubble.
Even from dozens of meters away, Lu Xuan could feel an extremely intense killing intent emanating from him, which even disrupted the surrounding spiritual energy.
"Gunpowder..." Lu Xuan shouted towards Chen Yulou and the others on the mountaintop. Although they hadn't actually seen what was happening, the group, who had never seen Lu Xuan so tense, immediately dropped a whole basket of explosives.
Lu Xuan's vital energy surged wildly, transforming into a stream of energy surrounding him. The moment the explosive basket approached his body, he used this energy to push it away, throwing it into the pile of rubble.
"Partridge Whistle." Partridge Whistle had already realized something was wrong. With two pistols in hand, he fired repeatedly, blowing up the basket of explosives.
An explosion, five times more powerful than the previous one, rang out again. The tomb collapsed completely, burying the zombie king in the rubble.
Lu Xuan sprinted along the cliff face, climbing to the top of the mountain. Looking down at the collapsed tomb, his expression remained unchanged.
"Senior, has the Corpse King been resurrected?"
"That's right, and it's not an ordinary Corpse King. The feng shui of the entire Bottle Mountain has been manipulated to specifically nurture this Corpse King. The lightning that struck just now failed to kill it. This means that this thing has truly undergone tribulation and been reborn. This is not an ordinary Corpse King; it has probably already gained consciousness."