He then ordered his son Zhong Gan to take several trusted disciples and throw them into the Three Corpses Tomb.
Birds of a feather flock together, and the three demon corpses readily accepted them. Furthermore, Zhong Gan knew the art of regenerating flesh and strengthening the soul, which was of great use to the demon corpses, helping them recover their primordial spirits injured by True Man Baiyang. Thus, they became sworn brothers.
The Wu Hua family father and son, along with the demonic corpse Qiongqi and the evil Taoist Zhong Gan, joined forces with each other to commit evil, thus giving rise to a powerful force and reigniting their evil flames.
The Wu Hua family father and son were contemporaries of the Yellow Emperor, so they naturally knew that the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum contained a Haotian Treasure Mirror and a Nine Doubts Cauldron, both of which were unique treasures in the world.
They had been plotting for a long time, just waiting for the Holy Emperor's Divine Talisman to become ineffective so they could steal the treasure!
...
Jiang Liu pondered for a long time. He knew that once the strange beggar Ling Hun recovered from killing the white-haired dragon girl Cui Wugu in Qingluo Valley, she would never forgive him. Now, having killed this disciple of the Golden Flower Sect, there was absolutely no possibility of reconciliation.
"I've offended both the righteous and the evil paths, I've become a rat crossing the street! Since that's the case, I might as well strike first. Those few demonic corpses, if I can subdue them, would be a great help. I can destroy their primordial spirits with the Vajra Divine Rocket and refine them into armored corpses using the Corpse Refining Technique, that's definitely doable. My second primordial spirit also needs a body. Although my primordial spirit was shattered, I have the experience of one cultivation session, so it will only take about a month to recover... As for the Sacred Tomb's treasures, so many powerful figures are watching them, I can't take them myself, but if I can control these demonic corpses, I can make some plans!"
After thinking it over, Jiang Liu prepared all sorts of talismans. Thunder magic was the best for suppressing evil spirits, and the "Great General Talisman" was also the nemesis of zombies. He then headed towards the Wuhua Ancient Tomb. The demonic Taoist's death would soon be known to the demons within the tomb.
Now is the perfect time to catch them off guard.
Chapter 111 Sneak Attack
Upon arriving at the entrance of the Wuhua Ancient Tomb, one sees half a stone tablet standing in the center, while the other half is shattered on the ground, with faint traces of red characters visible among the fragments.
The four large characters “Those who advance further shall die” can be vaguely discerned. The vermilion color has faded, but the powerful and vigorous characters can be seen from the fragments and remains.
Suppressing his strength and concealing his aura, he stepped inside, only to be met by a gust of cold wind blowing from behind the monument.
From afar, a monster emerged from the darkness, with a dragon-like head, two forked horns as large as tree trunks, a bird-like body with broad wings, its length unknown, eyes as big as buckets, gleaming with dark light, and a gaping, blood-red maw.
Upon seeing the river flow, it spread its wings as if to pounce.
Jiang Liu snorted coldly and charged forward. The demon was startled, then quickly disappeared into the darkness without a trace.
He strode away, his movements seemingly huge, but his footsteps landed silently, as light as a feather.
After walking another half mile, a stone tablet stood in the middle of the tall and wide passageway. It was much taller and more intact than the stone tablets we had seen before.
Upon closer inspection, the stele was covered with tadpole-shaped characters, resembling seal script but not quite. Jiang Liu, having read the Daoist canon, was somewhat familiar with this tadpole script. This suggests that the world of Shu Mountain and the world of Journey to the West share some similarities, but the causal connections between them are elusive, and Jiang Liu, with his limited strength, naturally couldn't understand the relationship.
Upon closer inspection, the inscription on the stele recounts the life achievements of the Wu Hua family father and son, which is what is commonly referred to as the final verdict after death.
After Jiang Liu finished reading, he looked around again and his eyes immediately fixed on the top of the stone tablet.
This stele was originally six or seven zhang tall, about five zhang wide, and about one zhang thick, carved from a single piece of mountain stone. At the top of the stele was carved something, neither bird nor beast, perched on it, with two wings and bulging eyes, a ferocious shape, and a fierce look as if it was about to take flight, so lifelike that it seemed to come alive.
It was exactly the same as the monster we had encountered before; it was the manifestation of the spirit in this stone sculpture.
"You do have some discernment, knowing I'm not someone to be trifled with, and you didn't make any unusual noises to attract the attention of the demonic corpse in the tomb. Considering your arduous cultivation, I'll spare your life!"
Jiang Liu searched the surrounding area but found nothing else, so he ventured deeper, becoming even more cautious.
After walking about half a mile, six or seven points of light suddenly appeared in the darkness underground, dispelling the darkness.
We had already entered the main burial chamber. The wooden structure had long since rotted away over the years, with only some tall stone pillars still standing in the chamber.
The few points of light came from inside the tomb chamber, where two ancient stone cauldrons, each several meters in diameter, were filled halfway with black oil. Each cauldron had three lamps, their flames flickering and sometimes displaying strange colors. The wicks were as large as a human arm, and their material was unknown.
Jiang Liu caught a faint, pleasant fragrance emanating from the lamp oil. His nose twitched slightly, and he instantly focused his mind, thinking to himself, "It's actually a rare treasure! This lamp has the effect of calming the mind and restoring focus. If I light this lamp while cultivating, the effect will increase by at least 50%!"
With a flash, he hovered atop a stone pillar in the tomb chamber, relying entirely on his physical strength without using a trace of vital energy, thus attracting no attention from anyone.
Looking down, in the very center is a huge stone bed, on which lies a human twice the size of an ordinary person, dressed in strange and ancient clothes, holding a bow in his left hand and a bronze halberd in his right, lying on his back to the sky.
On both sides lay many corpses, each holding stone tools and implements, numbering about a hundred. These corpses were all more than twice the size of ordinary people, and apart from the different kinds of red and green hair growing on their skin, they were indistinguishable from living people.
Jiang Liu narrowed his eyes, recalling what "Four-Eyed Taoist" had said about the levels of zombies, and thought to himself, "There are hundreds of bronze-armored zombies! And that demonic zombie, its cultivation should have reached the level of a flying zombie, but judging from its strength, it's far weaker than the zombie demons in the White Bone Cave! Did that White Sun True Man injure you so badly? You haven't recovered yet..."
Just as Jiang Liu had predicted, Wu Hua had suffered a fierce battle with Bai Yang Zhenren, destroying most of his magical treasures and injuring his vital energy, thus reducing his cultivation level. Although his primordial spirit remained, it was severely wounded. It would take him another three to five years to borrow the earth's spiritual energy in the tomb for a second cultivation before he could regain both physical and spiritual stability and move freely.
Rongdun and Qiongqi each had one more tribulation to complete, and they needed two cauldrons of spiritual oil that had been stored for thousands of years in the tomb, along with several divine lamps, to protect their primordial spirits, so they could not stray far.
This spiritual oil was originally a sacred object in the Xuanyuan Sacred Mausoleum. They stole it from the outer mausoleum when the Sacred Emperor's divine talisman was about to expire. It has infinite uses and is the most feared item by the Heavenly Demons.
Jiang Liu unleashed one of the "Diamond God Rockets," and at the same time, his vital energy leaked out.
The demon corpse was startled and sat up abruptly. It immediately nocked an arrow into its bow, opened its large eyes, and glared angrily at Jiang Liu on the stone pillar. It was about to shoot.
Jiang Liu's "Vajra Divine Rocket" was faster, and since the demon corpse was still injured and its form and spirit were not yet stable, it wouldn't be noticeable in a direct battle, but this sneak attack was somewhat slow. He was also a little careless, not expecting that someone would dare to break into his lair, and damn it, without using any magic power.
These factors combined led to Jiang Liu's surprisingly successful sneak attack.
The "Diamond Divine Rocket" is a rare treasure specifically designed to injure the primordial spirit. This time, it struck the demon corpse squarely, severely damaging its primordial spirit. Unable to control itself, the demon leaned back and fell onto the stone bed.
Just then, all the zombies in front of the bed came to life, each wielding a bow and arrow, and rushed forward together.
Jiang Liu's lips curled up as he summoned the "Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler" and flew towards the demon corpse. Then, he carried the demon corpse and fled.
There was no time to collect the spirit oil and the magic lamp, because several booming sounds came from the depths of the tomb, and several overwhelming demonic auras swept in. Naturally, it was the demonic corpse Qiongqi and Rongdun, along with the auras of several humans, namely the demonic cultivator Zhong Gan and his disciples.
You might be able to win in a one-on-one situation, but if you're going to fight three against one, it's just suicide!
He fled without a second thought for the treasures, passing through the stone tablet and the cave entrance, disappearing into the night with a gust of wind.
All that remained were the echoing roars deep within the tomb, mournful and furious, sending chills down one's spine!
"roar!"
"Rong Dun, stop chasing! Our tribulations haven't ended yet, we can't stray far from the tomb, or we'll surely be harmed by the Heavenly Demon. Your father will be rescued by Zhong Gan. We'll avenge Wu Hua in forty-nine days!" A hoarse, unpleasant voice came from the darkness, then retreated back into the tomb.
The demonic corpse Rong Dun stood in front of the broken stone tablet for a long time before finally retreating.
As for Jiang Liu, he ran wildly through the forest, then stopped, stuck a "Great General Talisman" on the demon corpse's forehead, threw it on the ground, and turned to look at the three people chasing after him.
Chapter 112 Corpse Refining
The three men chased after him in a cloud of black smoke. When they saw Jiang Liu stop, several blood-red banners within the black cloud shook violently, and they let out a series of shrill howls.
Suddenly, a patch of will-o'-the-wisps, like green fireflies, rose from the banner.
Immediately, a cold wind rolled in, and ghostly shadows appeared. Each of the green fireflies carried a hideous ghost head, as big as a bucket, in a thousand different shapes and forms, extremely fierce and evil. Each had a gaping mouth with overlapping fangs, emitting various extremely shrill ghostly howls, and they flew over like raging waves.
A crimson sword light shot straight at them, clearly a flying sword from the evil sect.
Jiang Liu laughed loudly. In the midst of a thunderstorm in late spring, a ghost cultivator actually dared to fly above his head.
"They really have a death wish! Even the heavens are on my side!" Jiang Liu's lips curled up slightly. The dark clouds that were already high in the sky were suddenly struck by lightning by his supernatural power.
"boom!"
As soon as the first spring thunder rumbled, a torrential downpour began.
A terrifying current of electricity erupted overhead, and amidst the lightning and thunder, an incredibly thick and ferocious lightning snake appeared!
With the help of thunder and rain, this lightning strike was exceptionally powerful, and the lightning serpent seemed to come alive, constantly roaming among the clouds.
A deafening roar, almost deafening, echoed from the heavens and earth, followed by a blinding light illuminating the pitch-black sky.
A flash of lightning turned the dark clouds almost entirely into a bright white, and then the surging ghost heads vanished instantly, with two charred human figures "fluttering" down from mid-air.
The other person transformed into a beam of light and tried to escape, clearly possessing a protective magical artifact that withstood the attack of the heavenly lightning.
Unfortunately, he still chose the wrong tool and route to escape.
On such a stormy night, he was still flying high in the air. Even without Jiang Liu controlling the lightning, his chances of being struck by lightning were still very high!
Another bolt of lightning struck down. It was nighttime, and Jiang Liu could clearly see the person in mid-air. He paused for a moment, his bones and skeleton clearly visible as if on an X-ray, before falling to the ground.
"Didn't your mother tell you not to stand on high places when it's thundering? Who else would get struck if not you!"
After searching the three charred corpses, it was found that the magical artifacts on their bodies had been blasted into charcoal by heavenly lightning, and even the blood-red flying sword had become a pile of scrap metal, unusable.
"As expected, attacking by borrowing the power of heaven doesn't yield any treasures!"
Carrying the demon corpse, they entered the prepared cave, finally having the chance to examine the ancient demon corpse closely: its skin was bronze, its muscles like steel, its eyes half a foot long, merging into thin lines, with pupils slightly visible, seemingly open yet closed. Coupled with its seven or eight-inch-long, protruding wide mouth, and its thick, strong mustache and beard, resembling a hedgehog, its appearance appeared even more ferocious and exceptionally powerful.
Even after he had passed out, he still held the large bow and the bronze halberd in his hands.
【Poisonous Dragon Armor-Piercing Bow】
[Mid-grade Treasure]
[Using the main sinew of a thousand-year-old venomous dragon as the string and refined bronze as the bow arms, it requires the strength of thirty stones to draw the bow.]
"A good bow should be drawn with a strong pull, and an arrow should be used with a long reach. In the hands of a master archer who can hit a target from a hundred paces, this great bow paired with a sharp arrow becomes a powerful cannon..."
Upon seeing the bronze halberd again, Jiang Liu was immediately overjoyed, having acquired another rare treasure.
[The Sleeping War of the Holy Emperor Xuanyuan]
[Low-grade spiritual weapon]
The weapons within the Xuanyuan Sacred Mausoleum, stolen by the demon corpse Wuhua, were refined over many years and acquired a rudimentary spiritual essence. Having been worshipped within the Sacred Mausoleum for thousands of years, they are impervious to all evil and difficult for worldly demons to corrupt.
Everyone knows that while flying swords are powerful, capable of taking a person's head from a thousand miles away, they are also vulnerable to various forms of impurity. Common examples include black dog blood and menstrual blood, which will diminish their spiritual power once they come into contact with the sword, requiring careful purification to restore their original state.
Some evil sects have crafted special antidote for flying swords that is more than ten times stronger than black dog blood. Once it comes into contact with the sword, the spiritual energy will dissipate and the sword will lose control.
Forging a flying sword of the spirit weapon level is no simple task; a good one can take sixty years to complete.
When facing a powerful enemy, who wouldn't feel the pain of using a corrupted flying sword? But to defeat the enemy, one has no choice but to be ruthless. Now, this bronze halberd is actually immune to the corruption of evil spirits; wouldn't you say it's incredibly precious?
The "Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler," being a pure Yang treasure, also possesses this function, but how many pure Yang treasures are there in the world? More importantly, the "Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler" is only for self-defense, not an offensive magical weapon!
The value of a bronze halberd that can be used as a flying sword is self-evident!
Looking at Wu Hua, he was struck head-on by the "Vajra Divine Rocket," a weapon specifically designed to attack the primordial spirit. This mid-grade spiritual weapon, a one-time use attack, unleashed power no less than a full-force strike from figures of the Three Immortals and Two Elders.
Wu Huashi's primordial spirit was already damaged by Bai Yang Zhenren's attack. Now, after suffering such a blow, although his primordial spirit has not yet collapsed, it is not far off.
The most direct manifestation of this was that they were suppressed by the "Great General Talisman" without any reaction whatsoever.
While this state isn't the perfect opportunity for corpse refining, it's not far off.
After setting up a lightning array at the cave entrance, Jiang Liu began refining the corpse.
Jiang Liu was already mentally prepared to fail in refining a demon corpse at the "Flying Zombie" level. Killing this demon corpse was simple; he could shatter its primordial spirit using the "power of one province" from the Nine Provinces Cauldron, but that would also destroy its physical body.
Destruction is always easier than construction!
Although the Maoshan Corpse Refining Technique is a minor path, it is still a profound and mysterious power. In this contest, Jiang Liu witnessed the power of the primordial spirit. No wonder the Earth Immortals who have "refined Qi into Spirit" can achieve a preliminary state of immortality; the strength of the primordial spirit is enough to ensure a successful possession. Even if they enter reincarnation, they can protect a trace of their true spirit from annihilation, and after reincarnation, they can break through the mysteries of the womb and recall their past and present lives.