Chapter 846
[Soul-Stealing and Bewitching], Long-Term Planning
With the corpse-raiser dead, Song Changsheng easily broke the restriction on his storage bag.
As a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, Yin Wuxie had plundered the reserve supplies from several of the Chen family's strongholds. Logically speaking, his wealth couldn't be too bad.
However, Song Changsheng did not have high expectations for it. The part of the memory he obtained was not very complete, but he knew that in order to raise a zombie king, Yin Wuxie had almost invested all his wealth in Xie Kui.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be without a single suitable magical treasure.
He opened the storage bag, and the scene inside was exactly as he expected: it was completely empty except for a small pile of things in the corner, emitting a hazy spiritual light.
Excluding Yin Wuxie's personal clothing, there are even fewer items left.
There was only a small pile of spirit stones, twenty-five high-grade spirit stones, equivalent to two hundred and fifty thousand low-grade spirit stones, which any Foundation Establishment cultivator with a little extra money could afford.
According to Song Changsheng, he had received no less than a thousand high-grade spirit stones from the Chen family alone. In addition, he received spirit stones from his employment. At the peak of his wealth, he had tens of millions of spirit stones, surpassing the wealth of ordinary Golden Core cultivators.
However, after only a few decades, only this small pile remained, which brought Song Changsheng a great sense of disappointment.
"Something is better than nothing."
After casually putting away the spirit stones, Song Changsheng's attention fell on the jade slips beside him.
"The first part of the Nine Netherworld Corpse-Raising Secret Scroll... So it's the inheritance of the Nine Netherworld lineage. Perhaps the Corpse Master who taught Yin Wuxie this method was the successor of the Supreme Being of the Nine Netherworld?" Song Changsheng looked at the jade slip, which had turned slightly yellow, with a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
During the most prosperous period of the Corpse Raising Cult, many different sects of Corpse Raising emerged. The Nine Nether Sect could only be considered a middle-level sect. It was founded by the Supreme Being of the Nine Nether and used the "Secret Scroll of Corpse Raising in the Nine Nether" as its method of spreading its teachings. It had tens of thousands of followers.
After the zombie horde was suppressed, the Nine Nether Supreme was defeated and died. The Nine Nether Daoist lineage was also purged by the righteous path, and all disciples and even those associated with them were killed.
Such situations were very common at the time, and all the traditions of raising corpses were wiped out, eradicated completely.
The inheritances were all collected and burned, with only one exception: the Nine Netherworld lineage. One of the direct descendants of the Nine Netherworld Supreme was sent into a small world, as if they had made preparations for this long ago.
The spatial passage of that small world was destroyed, and in theory, it would be difficult for this small world to connect with the Purple Imperial Realm again, but now it seems that an exception has occurred.
The "Nine Netherworld Corpse-Raising Secret Scroll" in Yin Wuxie's possession is the most orthodox method of the Nine Netherworld lineage. Apart from the direct descendant of the Nine Netherworld Supreme who was sent away, it would be difficult for him to find any other source.
"These are truly troubled times." Song Changsheng sighed softly. Another one had appeared; over the years, he had lost count of how many this was.
"This secret technique..."
After thinking it over, he ultimately decided not to destroy the jade slip, but instead placed a restriction on it and put it in the corner of his storage bag.
Besides this scroll on the secret method of raising corpses, the remaining jade slips were mostly about methods of raising and refining corpses. Song Changsheng casually flipped through them and then tossed them aside.
Only the last volume piqued his interest.
"The Great Divine Power: Soul-Stealing Technique!"
A glint of light flashed in Song Changsheng's eyes. This was a supernatural power created by a corpse raiser, which was said to be able to capture Yin spirits and steal their souls!
This is a divine ability that ranks among the top in the human cultivation world, but for some reason, Yin Wuxie did not cultivate it, otherwise it could have caused him some trouble.
"So it turns out the spiritual power was insufficient."
He understood the reason after just a cursory glance: the requirements of this supernatural power for the soul could only be described as abnormal, and the vast majority of Golden Core cultivators in the world could not meet the cultivation conditions.
Without special opportunities, one needs to cultivate to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm before attempting to cultivate this supernatural power.
“I might give it a try.” Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow slightly.
Although his cultivation level was insufficient, his soul power far surpassed that of ordinary people due to the fusion of the essence blood of the Soul Clan King, thus meeting the requirements for cultivation.
"At least we've made some progress."
After going through all this trouble, besides the coffin and the [Kui Yin Pearl], this is the only thing he can currently find acceptable.
"There's even a bottle of [Essence of Laws], that's not bad."
Song Changsheng carefully selected and collected all the useful treasures, then burned the storage bag along with Yin Wuxie's corpse.
"The Chen family is far away in the Eastern Heaven Cultivation World. Let's go back to Rock City first. Judging by the time, the Rock City Lord is likely to turn into a zombie soon."
Song Changsheng never wanted to leave any loose ends. He had already dealt with Yin Wuxie, so what difference would one more make?
"The city lord of Rock City has turned into a corpse. I'm afraid no one in the city can control him. It's probably in chaos by now. I wonder if Yuechan has been affected."
Returning to Panshi City at top speed, Song Changsheng found the city unusually peaceful. Although there was some smoke in the air, there was no noise, only the melodious and clear sound of a zither echoing softly.
This was a piece he had never heard before, yet he could clearly feel the player's emotions and feelings from the music.
"It's Yuechan playing the zither; it seems the situation is under control."
Song Changsheng effortlessly passed through the protective array of Panshi City, flew to the top of the city wall, and looked towards the source of the zither music. There he saw Zhuang Yuechan, dressed in a flowing long dress, sitting high on a cloud, playing the zither in the hazy moonlight.
The city was quiet, and everyone was immersed in the beautiful music, including Master Mingtai.
Looking at Zhuang Yuechan's figure, Song Changsheng was momentarily disoriented.
Back then, he was ordered to go down the mountain to celebrate the birthday of the city lord. Just then, some villains caused trouble in Luoxia City, and the city was in chaos. The city lord descended from the sky in a white robe and stopped the turmoil in the city without bloodshed with a melody on his zither.
At that time, Song Changsheng was still young and did not have a clear understanding of power. The scene at that time had a great shock on his young mind and was deeply imprinted in his mind. Even after more than a hundred years, the memory is still so clear.
One person, one zither, and one town.
Zhuang Yuechan has now accomplished the same feat that Mu Guibai did back then.
Just as Song Changsheng was silently admiring the music, Zhuang Yuechan had already spotted him. When the music ended, she pressed her jade-like hand on the strings and flew to the top of the city wall to meet him.
"My wife's musical skills are superb; she directly prevented a turmoil. If Master knew this, he would be very pleased."
Among the Tianyin Mountain lineage of Luoxia City, only Zhuang Yuechan currently possesses the highest level of musical skill. She has not only perfectly inherited Mu Guibai's mantle but also shows great promise in surpassing her master.
"Has everything been resolved?"
Song Changsheng nodded slightly and said, "It's all resolved, and there were quite a few unexpected gains. I learned from the memories of the corpse raiser that the city lord of Panshi City, True Man Mingtai, was infected with the corpse poison and is currently in the stage of corpse transformation. There might be some hidden dangers left behind, so I rushed back immediately. I didn't expect that my wife had already resolved it."
Zhuang Yuechan said softly, "I didn't want to get involved, but Master Mingtai's character is truly moving. Even with the corpse poison in his body, he maintained the utmost restraint. He single-handedly built Rock City and provided shelter in a place of chaos, just like Ancestor Luoxia. It's a real pity that such a virtuous person has turned into a zombie."
Besides that, I have some other plans.
The Chaotic Ancient Domain is located between the three major cultivation worlds, a place where all sorts of people mingle and information flows freely. Among them, Rock City stands out for its superior order and geographical location.
If we can subdue or cooperate with Rock City, it will be like planting a nail or an informant north of the Tianshan Mountains.
This is a great opportunity.
Song Changsheng immediately understood Zhuang Yuechan's meaning.
News from the border regions is extremely scarce. The Tianshan Mountains and the Hengduan Mountains act as an insurmountable barrier, separating the two areas.
Even a powerful organization like the Myriad Manifestations Palace needs to rely on channels like the Five Academies Grand Competition to increase its visibility and integrate into the larger circle of the human cultivation world.
Only by staying within this circle can you get firsthand information about many things, so you won't be betrayed without even knowing it one day.
Now, thanks to Song Changsheng, the Song family of Wangyue has made a good impression on the stage of the Five Academies Grand Competition and seen a wider world.
Song Changsheng knew that if the Song family wanted to become a truly powerful clan, it could not stay in that corner of the Great Qi cultivation world forever. That insurmountable barrier was something that had to be overcome.
But the Song family at present is not qualified yet; they are far from it.
Effort may not yield results, but without effort, there will definitely be no results. It's not too late to start preparing now.
The first step in this endeavor is to gather as much information as possible about the area north of the Tianshan Mountains; only through understanding can one truly integrate.
Song Changsheng had been pondering this question for a while, and now Zhuang Yuechan had found him an excellent candidate.
If they can seize this opportunity to subdue Rock City, they will have successfully taken the first step.
"How advanced is Mingtai Zhenren's zombie transformation?"
"It's almost completely out of control. The effect of my music on them will end soon. It's best to control him first, and then think of a way to help him get rid of the corpse poison."
“I already know the location of the Extreme Yang Land. As long as the corpse poison hasn’t penetrated deep into his bone marrow, there’s at least an 80% chance of removing it from him. We can use that to negotiate with him.”
Just then, as the effect created by the zither music weakened, Master Mingtai's furious roar shattered the tranquility of Pan Shi City.
An elder from the city lord's mansion snapped out of his daze and hurriedly cried out for help: "Which senior is passing by? Please lend a helping hand to save Rock City! We will do everything in our power to repay your kindness!"
Before he could finish speaking, the bloodthirsty Mingtai Zhenren pounced on him. At that critical moment, Song Changsheng appeared in front of him without anyone noticing. He pushed him away with one palm and struck Mingtai Zhenren in the chest with the other, sending him crashing back into the ruins of the city lord's mansion. Instantly, smoke filled the air.
"Lord City Lord!"
Everyone was shocked and was about to rush forward, but Song Changsheng used his magic to keep them away and said in a deep voice, "Don't come near if you don't want to die."
Song Changsheng possessed an extraordinary aura, and he had just demonstrated his strength directly, stunning everyone with a single sentence.
"Suppression!"
With a single palm strike, an invisible spatial force formed a law cage around Master Mingtai, imprisoning him firmly within it. No matter how much Master Mingtai roared and struggled, he could not break free.
At this moment, Zhuang Yuechan also arrived, took out her jade flute and played a requiem, which immediately calmed down the extremely violent Mingtai Zhenren.
"This piece of music should keep him quiet for half an hour," Zhuang Yuechan said with a slight sigh of relief.
The crowd did not recognize Song Changsheng, but they were familiar with Zhuang Yuechan; she was the one who had played the zither earlier.
An elder from the city lord's mansion reacted and quickly said, "We are very grateful to the two experts for their help. The entire city of Rock is deeply grateful. May we ask your honorable names?"
"Now is not the time to talk about these things. The corpse poison in his body has begun to seep into his bone marrow. We must start removing the corpse poison as soon as possible. You should find a secluded place where there is no sun or moon and prepare plenty of pure yang items as an aid."
"You probably don't want others to see Fellow Daoist Mingtai in his current state, do you?" Song Changsheng said calmly.
“We understand, we understand, we will make the arrangements.”
Although everyone had doubts about the identities of Song Changsheng and his wife, the current situation left them no room for hesitation, and they immediately acted according to Song Changsheng's instructions.
Meanwhile, the other people in the city gradually awoke from the music and began to cause trouble again.
Despite the city lord's best efforts to suppress the rebellion, the effect was not very noticeable.
Seeing this, Song Changsheng flew into the air, making himself clearly visible to everyone.
Without saying a word, he flicked his finger and unleashed a spatial blade that directly severed the head of a Purple Mansion cultivator, which landed heavily on the ground and spun around.
He gathered his strength in his dantian and shouted sternly, "From this moment on, anyone who tries to cause trouble again will be executed. Do not say you were not warned!"
Song Changsheng made no attempt to conceal his aura, and the heavy pressure made everyone in the city feel suffocated.
Before the Golden Core cultivator, no one dared to act recklessly, and Rock City fell into silence. The elders of the City Lord's Mansion quickly mobilized their forces to take control of the various areas.
After resolving this minor incident, Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan, along with the imprisoned Mingtai Zhenren, followed an elder from Panshi City into the underground secret chamber of the City Lord's Mansion.
Someone has already prepared a large number of pure yang treasures for them to use.
After examining him, Song Changsheng said in a deep voice, "Given his current physical condition, it's impossible to remove the corpse poison in one go."
"I will use a pure yang treasure to cleanse his meridians and marrow in a moment, and my wife can play calming music to assist me. We'll suppress the corpse poison in his body first before making any further plans."
"Okay." Zhuang Yuechan flipped her hand.
With a wave of his hand, Song Changsheng drew in the surrounding pure yang treasures with an invisible force, rapidly extracting their pure yang power and channeling it into Mingtai Zhenren's body.
"what--"
……
P.S.: Wishing all fellow cultivators a happy Mid-Autumn Festival in advance! (End of Chapter)