Chapter 842
Long-haired Zombie
"I never imagined that I would encounter a corpse raiser in this era. The corpse raising technique you use feels familiar to me. Which school of corpse raising are you a disciple of? Aren't you afraid of ending up with your body and soul destroyed?"
Song Changsheng held his sword and confronted his opponent. Although his cultivation level was clearly one level lower than his opponent's, the aura he exuded was still above that of the black-robed corpse-raising man, and even slightly overwhelmed him.
"A descendant of the corpse-raising lineage? Heh, more like a remnant." The black-robed corpse-raising man gave a self-deprecating sneer, his voice sinister and chilling, a foul stench that was hard to conceal quietly emanating from the intense fluctuations in his own emotions.
Corpse raisers, a profession that is almost extinct in the long river of history.
Their greatest skill was raising zombies, which was the starting point of their glory and also the main reason for their demise. No righteous cultivator could accept their corpse being refined into inhuman zombies and puppets after death.
Puppet masters can craft puppets from other materials, but corpse breeders cannot live without corpses. Therefore, stealing corpses has become commonplace, and the stronger a person's cultivation and physique are in life, the more favored they are.
These corpses were given "spiritual intelligence" through secret methods, and after absorbing endless yin energy, they transformed into zombies that transcended the three realms and were not within the five elements.
The corpse raisers drove these zombies to wreak havoc in all directions, further deepening the enmity.
In addition, the biggest difference between zombies and puppets, besides their intelligence, is that zombies also contain corpse poison. Anyone bitten or scratched by a zombie will be infected with the corpse poison and eventually turn into a zombie devoid of humanity!
During a certain era, at the height of the Corpse Path, several major Corpse-Raising lineages united, and tens of thousands of Corpse Raisers swept across most of the human cultivation world.
It was a catastrophe that could be described as the end of the world. Countless ancient surnames and lineages were reduced to ashes by the surging tide of corpses. In the end, it was only by the intervention of powerful figures from holy lands that the turmoil was quelled. The number of cultivators who perished in that catastrophe was too many to count.
All the corpse-raising sects involved suffered the bloodiest and cruelest retaliation after the war. It was better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free; everyone involved with them was killed without exception.
The once-thriving lineages of corpse-raising practitioners were directly severed, and all the classics related to corpse-raising were burned to ashes.
Over the next tens of thousands of years, the profession of "corpse raiser" simply disappeared from this world.
It wasn't until the next era, after a major reshuffle in the human cultivation world, that they slowly emerged. However, they dared not challenge the bottom line of the human forces too much. They changed their tradition, transforming "corpse raising" into "corpse refining," and claimed to be a branch of "puppet masters," which is now known as "corpse puppets."
Although both corpse puppets and zombies use corpses as their carriers, corpse puppets have limited intelligence and do not need to be fed with essence and blood. The corpse poison in their bodies is only deadly and not contagious.
Because of their disciplined behavior and cautious actions, they were not targeted for further investigation. Gradually, the various human factions came to accept their existence.
With the last batch of "corpse raisers" changing their allegiance, the profession of "corpse raiser" has completely disappeared.
Unexpectedly, such a pure corpse raiser is hidden in this chaotic ancient domain.
Using an extremely yin place, a soul-locking bronze coffin, and the [Gui Water Pearl] to nurture a corpse is extremely rare even in the most developed world of the corpse path. This reveals the other party's ambition; he wants to nurture a zombie king!
If he succeeds, the entire Chaotic Ancient Domain will suffer.
Song Changsheng was not a champion of justice. The surrounding cultivation worlds were all very powerful, and even if a zombie horde broke out, someone would come to clean up the mess.
If he wanted to leave, the black-robed corpse-raiser couldn't stop him at all.
The main reason he chose to stay was for the [Guiyin Pearl] mentioned above.
Although the 【Guiyin Treasure Pearl】is used by corpse breeders to raise corpses, it is actually a genuine treasure of Yin-attribute laws, containing the 【Extreme Yin Law】.
Yin-attribute cultivators can absorb it to replenish their own Dao essence, which can significantly increase the success rate of breakthroughs for cultivators below the Golden Core stage.
As the saying goes, men belong to Yang and women belong to Yin. Zhuang Yuechan is only one step away from breaking through to the Golden Core stage, and she needs this item as an aid.
Zhuang Yuechan absorbed the nascent soul essence of True Monarch Yu Shu. Even without using the Golden Core, she has a success rate of over 50%, a number that is unattainable for most people.
But in Song Changsheng's view, this was not enough, far from enough. Within his capabilities, he wanted to do his best.
This [Guiyin Pearl] can increase Zhuang Yuechan's success rate by at least 10%.
This treasure is rare and hard to come by. Now that we've had the chance to encounter it, we certainly can't let it go.
"scoff"
The black-robed corpse raiser chose to strike first, his figure appearing like a ghost, a strong stench of corpses assaulting the senses, his withered arm leaving a dark mark in the air.
"Step back a bit, it'll get quite dusty soon." Song Changsheng shielded Zhuang Yuechan behind him, and with a flick of his [Jinghong Sword], the sword's light transformed into a white streak that shot out.
The sword's momentum surged like a mighty river, its sharpness fully revealed.
As soon as his aura began to emerge, the black-robed corpse-raiser knew he had met a tough opponent. He quickly wrapped himself in his black robe and retreated.
But Song Changsheng's target was not him, but this underground space.
The Corpse Raiser, who uses zombies as his henchmen, is invincible. But what he is facing here is very likely a Zombie King, so he must sever the Yin energy that is the source of its power as quickly as possible.
"Boom..."
The sharp sword energy instantly tore apart the underground space before them, releasing the extremely yin energy accumulated over ten thousand years.
With a flash, Song Changsheng arrived on the Soul-Locking Copper Coffin. With lightning speed, he shattered the barrier set up by the black-robed man with a single sword strike. With a wave of his wide sleeve, he unleashed a powerful devouring force.
"The Great Divine Power [Universe Within a Sleeve]"
Pulled by the power of space, the [Kui Yin Pearl] flew uncontrollably toward Song Changsheng.
"You dare!"
Seeing this, the black-robed corpse-raiser's eyes widened in fury. In order to raise corpses, he had searched everywhere for extremely yin places that were over ten thousand years old, but after searching for over a hundred years, he still had not found one.
Just then, the earth dragon overturned, causing the ground to collapse and the mountains to crumble, revealing an extremely yin place buried beneath the earth's crust, which allowed him to fulfill his wish.
But now, it has been destroyed by Song Changsheng's sword.
It was bad enough that the extremely yin land was destroyed, but Song Changsheng actually wanted to steal it right in front of him. The value of this [Guiyin Pearl] far exceeded that of this 10,000-year-old extremely yin land for them, the corpse raisers.
Song Changsheng completely ignored his impotent rage, cleaved through the collapsed ground with a single sword strike, and, pulling Zhuang Yuechan by the hand, transformed into a streak of light and rushed towards the surface.
He originally intended to destroy the Soul-Locking Coffin as well, but he could sense that the zombie nurtured inside was no ordinary corpse. He was not confident that he could kill it in one blow. Rather than releasing a troublesome opponent to join forces with the corpse raiser to kill him, he decided to start with the corpse raiser.
After Song Changsheng emerged from the ground, he pointed his fingers like a sword and pointed them at the ground.
"Great Divine Power [One Finger to Dust]"
Fingers, like dragonflies skimming the water, spread out ripples, and an invisible spatial force spread out, freezing the soil and the surrounding space together.
He then reached out to Zhuang Yuechan and smiled slightly, saying, "My lady, may I borrow your Jade Cleansing Sword for a moment?" Before Zhuang Yuechan could answer, the Jade Cleansing Sword slid out from her sleeve like a nimble snake. The spirit of the sword, Nameless, said with a disdainful expression, "This sword is not something that just anyone can wield. I only recognize its master."
"I agree."
With Zhuang Yuechan's approval, Song Changsheng reached out and grasped the hilt of the Jade Cleansing Sword.
Wuming originally wanted to resist, but found that the surrounding space had been completely sealed off by Song Changsheng at some point, and he could not even exert one-tenth of his usual strength.
"How is this possible..." Wuming was shocked. He knew that Song Changsheng was very strong. After all, he had witnessed the entire Five Academies Competition. He just didn't expect that when he was actually facing him, the pressure would be so strong that there was no room for resistance.
"I know that when you followed [True Lord Yu Shu], you witnessed many magnificent sword techniques. Behold my sword strike; it possesses some of the True Lord's might!"
Song Changsheng gripped the sword hilt tightly. The nameless man, who had been struggling, gradually calmed down after sensing the powerful sword intent emanating from him, and acquiesced to Song Changsheng's control over him.
He slowly closed his eyes, immersing his mind and magical power into them, and endless sword energy gathered in his hands from all directions.
"Chong-"
Clang!
The sword vibrated incessantly.
Song Changsheng suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp sword light flashing in his eyes, and shouted sharply, "Slash!"
"Wow"
As the bright sword light fell, Song Changsheng's Heaven-Opening Intent enveloped the black-robed corpse-raising man who had just broken through the blockade.
The world, starkly black and white, was eerily quiet.
"This is... the essence of swordsmanship."
The black-robed corpse-raiser was a man of great experience and knowledge. He instantly understood his predicament and immediately became extremely vigilant.
However, the intent of swordsmanship is unpredictable, and Song Changsheng's strength far surpasses his own. How could he possibly withstand a sword strike unleashed with all his might from the Jade Cleansing Sword?
From the moment one becomes immersed in the essence of swordsmanship, defeat is already inevitable.
In the distance, the glint of a sword flashed.
This sword strike seemed poised to cleave the chaotic world in two!
"puff"
A strange spray of blood erupted from the black-robed corpse-raiser's chest, sending him flying backward. He crashed heavily into the ground, creating a huge crater. Blood soaked through his clothes, and a gruesome wound stretched from his left shoulder across his chest to his right waist.
Song Changsheng's sword almost cleaved him in two, and through the wound, one could clearly see his internal organs throbbing inside his chest cavity.
"cough cough"
"Who exactly are you? You're only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm; you shouldn't possess such power." The black-robed corpse-raising man struggled to his feet from the deep pit, his face filled with astonishment and uncertainty.
He had originally thought that Song Changsheng was just a rogue cultivator wandering around the Chaotic Ancient Domain, who happened to be passing by. Now it seemed that this was not the case at all. He even thought that Song Changsheng was a disciple of some ancient sect who came specifically to target him.
Faced with his questioning, Song Changsheng responded with an even more ferocious sword strike.
The black-robed corpse-raising man was, after all, a veteran Golden Core cultivator. With a flick of his sleeve, he summoned a palm-sized ebony tablet, and a shield of dark light enveloped him completely.
"boom--"
As the sword energy struck, the dark shield shattered instantly, and the obviously valuable ebony plaque cracked with several spiderweb-like patterns.
The black-robed corpse-raiser carefully put away the ebony plaque with a pained expression. He patted the black brocade pouch at his waist, and a beam of eerie light shot into the sky before crashing to the ground, revealing a tall, hideous body with a ferocious and ugly face, two menacing fangs at the corners of its mouth, and its entire body covered in long hair.
The moment it appeared, a stench like rotting meat wafted out, making people want to vomit, and its green eyes flickered with phosphorescent light.
“A zombie.” Song Changsheng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Before he entered the Dao, Song Changsheng had consulted relevant ancient books because of his strong curiosity about these things, and confirmed that "zombies" did exist in this world.
But this was the first time he had ever seen a real zombie in his cultivation so far, and he was greatly disappointed, as it was far from the image he had imagined.
However, his previous impressions of zombies all came from movies and TV shows from his previous life, which were fictional characters, so it was perfectly normal for them to be inconsistent.
In this world, "zombies" also have their own separate realms.
The first tier is the Purple Zombie, which is a newly born zombie. They are usually transformed from corpses that have just died. Their bodies are a strange light purple color. This is the weakest zombie. Not to mention Qi Refining cultivators, even ordinary martial artists can kill it as long as they know the right methods.
The second stage is the White Zombie. Its strength does not increase significantly. It fears light and can only move at night. Most of the time, Qi Refining cultivators can easily deal with it.
The third stage is the Green Zombie. At this stage, both speed and strength are significantly improved. This is one of the stages with the greatest improvement. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators are no match for them. They are no longer afraid of light and can move freely.
The fourth stage is the hairy zombie in front of us. It has improved significantly in all aspects, and its intelligence is gradually approaching that of an adult. Its pair of sharp claws are comparable to spiritual treasures, enough to leave traces in space. It can completely rival cultivators of the same level.
The one in front of us is already capable of going toe-to-toe with a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
This shows that the black-robed corpse raiser was highly skilled in the art of corpse raising, daring to control such a powerful zombie.
This is just an ordinary hairy zombie. The zombie king inside the Soul-Locking Coffin is probably close to the fifth level or even higher!
……
P.S.: Happy National Day, fellow Daoists!
First of all, thank you fellow Daoists for your enthusiastic support last month. By the end of the month, we had received more than 1500 monthly tickets. If we still count 1,600 tickets, we will add at least 16,000 words this month. I promise to update as soon as possible.
Also, I had a bit too much fun during the day, so I'll just update with 4,000 words for now and then. I'll definitely make up for the rest later.
Have fun, fellow cultivators! Mwah! (End of Chapter)