Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
"Do you guys have any gains?"
While Chen Mobai was looking at Yan Jinye's reply, Shan Hongyi also asked his own disciple.
"Reporting to Master, Chen Shishu and I inquired some cultivators nearby. According to them, a hundred years ago, this Lonely Soul Ridge was the cave dwelling of a Foundation Establishment cultivator known as Feiming Daoist."
"He was skilled in Formation and Corpse Driving. Before his mysterious disappearance, he had mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation and even had a record of retreating unscathed after clashing with late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. He was quite a notorious figure among the loose cultivators."
"Although this place is a second-tier spiritual vein, it was once an ancient battlefield and graveyard. The corpse energy has contaminated the ley lines, so after Feiming Daoist disappeared, not many cultivators were willing to come here to explore."
After Yu Lian finished relaying the information he had gathered, Shan Hongyi nodded and looked towards Chen Mobai and Bi Yiyuan.
"Do the two junior brothers have any suggestions?"
"We'll follow senior brother's lead."
Chen Mobai stuck to his usual response, and Bi Yiyuan also nodded in agreement.
"Hmm, if Feiming Daoist was at mid-stage Foundation Establishment in life, after turning into a zombie, a mere hundred years would at most restore him to the Foundation Establishment realm. The three of us joining forces should be enough to suppress him."
Shan Hongyi's words meant that the next step was to charge in.
"Good, there are also two junior sisters inside. With five of us at Foundation Establishment taking action, unless Feiming Daoist has evolved into a Golden Armor Corpse, he will become the whetstone for my body tempering."
Bi Yiyuan spoke with great confidence.
Among the three, only Chen Mobai smiled without saying a word.
"You stay outside. If there really is an unexpected situation, like if we don't come out after a long time, immediately return to the sect and report this matter."
Before entering, Shan Hongyi asked Yu Lian to stay behind, which the latter was naturally happy to do.
After all, he had not yet reached Foundation Establishment, and if touched by the aftermath of a clash between Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was still very likely that he would be injured.
"I'll lead the way."
Bi Yiyuan briskly entered the cave entrance first, followed by Chen Mobai.
In the Tianhe Realm, Night Pearls are used for illumination. Although they are supreme treasures to mortals, to cultivators, they are merely a very common spiritual item.
As soon as Chen Mobai entered the cave entrance, he felt a chilling aura.
With a slight frown, the Red Dawn Cloud Mist Robe on his wrist spread out, forming a faint cloud of mist that enveloped the three of them.
Bi Yiyuan and Shan Hongyi were taken aback by this scene.
"Junior brother, we are not very familiar with each other's divine abilities and magical artifacts. Just take care of yourself."
Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai realized that this was the custom in the Tianhe Realm.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly that even among fellow sect members, there was a lack of the trust that should be there.
But he certainly went with the flow and retracted the Red Dawn Cloud Mist back to his side.
Bi Yiyuan's skin emitted a layer of copper light, and his whole body radiated a slight warmth. Wherever he passed, the chilling aura was dispelled, making it very comfortable for Chen Mobai and Shan Hongyi following behind.
The three soon encountered a fork in the road.
Under normal circumstances, they might have to split up.
But Shan Hongyi once again sent out a message talisman.
"Follow this talisman, and you will find Junior Sister Yan."
Without needing his instruction, Bi Yiyuan had already charged into the left cave entrance. Chen Mobai's brow furrowed slightly as he began to smell a faint stench.
Was he approaching the lair of the Silver Armor Corpse?
"Evil creature!"
Just as he followed into the cave, he suddenly heard Bi Yiyuan shout angrily, followed by a flash of copper light, and a rotten skull with a helmet flew over.
With a flash of red light, as Chen Mobai's thoughts flowed, the Red Dawn Cloud Mist turned into a fan, sending the zombie head that Bi Yiyuan had knocked away flying.
"It seems this place is a natural breeding ground for zombies."
Shan Hongyi's voice came from behind, and at the same time, a trail of fire lit up, turning into a crimson flame serpent that turned three awakening zombies from the cave walls into ashes.
"Did Junior Sister Yan really pass through here?"
Chen Mobai activated his Piercing Vision, looked around the cave, and found no recent signs of battle.
"It seems we need to be more careful. If Feiming Daoist was skilled in Formation in life, he might have changed the pathways of his lair. The message talisman will only follow the shortest path to Junior Sister Yan, and this rigid weakness can be easily exploited."
While Shan Hongyi spoke, Chen Mobai also released two Red Flame Triple Sword Talismans. Six sword qi interwove, and purple sword light flashed, clearing the zombies that had awakened on both sides of the cave.
"What should we do next? Charge in or retreat?"
Ahead of the two, Bi Yiyuan was not to be outdone. At some point, he had taken out an iron mace from his Storage Bag and, swinging it around, smashed several zombies into bone fragments.
"Charge! With our strength, we can flatten this cave dwelling!"
Shan Hongyi's eyes sharpened, and seeing the faint light of the message talisman about to disappear from sight, he immediately made a decision.
"Good, keep up!"
Upon hearing this, Bi Yiyuan swung his mace fiercely, directly smashing the six zombies blocking the way and charging forward with a bright copper glow, like a bronze statue rampaging ahead.
Chen Mobai and Shan Hongyi simultaneously released talismans, and after clearing the field with fire serpents and sword qi, they followed at top speed.
Boom, Boom, Boom!
The three of them marched on, killing as they went.
Amidst the grating sound of shattering bones, firelight and sword qi crisscrossed, and the air was filled with the mixed scents of corpse stench, burnt smell, and earthy odor, causing all three to involuntarily switch to internal breathing.
Who knows how many they killed, but after crossing about a hundred meters, no more zombies appeared.
Chen Mobai let out a slight sigh of relief. Although he had only used talismans to solve the problem and the loss of spiritual power was minuscule, the number was just too great.
He felt that he had at least exorcised fifty or sixty heads.
"These are the lowest level Iron Corpses among zombies. Villains buried in breeding grounds for zombies can be refined into them, and Qi Refining cultivators at the seventh level can easily deal with them."
Shan Hongyi spoke, and just as Chen Mobai was wondering why he was explaining this to him, a dull thumping sound started.
Suddenly!
The mace that Bi Yiyuan had thrown out suddenly flew back, hitting the cave wall and making the whole mountain seem to shake.
Chen Mobai spread out his Red Dawn Cloud Mist, blocking the falling dust and rocks.
"Huh, this Copper Armor Corpse is well-refined; it's quite strong."
Bi Yiyuan's voice came over, followed by two blood-red pupils lighting up in the dust, and then a burst of dazzling copper light erupted, accompanied by a series of crackling sounds like metal clashing, assaulting Chen Mobai's eardrums.
With a rip!
Accompanied by the sound of flesh and bones being torn apart, Chen Mobai's Piercing Vision, even through the dust, saw Bi Yiyuan tear a Copper Armor Corpse in half.
"Generally speaking, a Copper Armor Corpse is equivalent to the late Qi Refining stage. Plus, with its copper skin and iron bones, it's immune to ordinary spells and has immense strength. Even a peak Qi Refining true disciple of a sect might not be able to defeat it."
Shan Hongyi's voice sounded beside Chen Mobai, who nodded lightly.
Being able to exchange a few moves with a body-tempering Foundation Establishment cultivator before being torn apart shows the might of the Copper Armor Corpse.
At that moment, two more blood-red pupils lit up in the dust.
Another Copper Armor Corpse!
On Chen Mobai's right side, sensing his weakest aura, it moved like the wind, its hands like claws, rushing towards him.
With a light pat on the Storage Bag at his waist, a green flying sword flew out like a fish, gently slicing across the Copper Armor Corpse's neck.
In an instant, the Copper Armor Corpse that had reached Chen Mobai's face was decapitated.
Its body, still in inertia, collided with the Red Dawn Cloud Mist and the scorching Fire Jade Dust, sparking a series of sparks and then burning fiercely, emitting a strong stench of decay.
On the other side, Shan Hongyi released a Clear Wind Talisman, blowing the dust in the cave into a ball and clearing the visual obstacle.
But seeing more clearly made their hearts sink.
Without knowing when, ten Copper Armor Corpses had surrounded them, their eyes open, blood-red pupils filled with a desire for flesh, coldly watching them.
"Junior brothers, don't hold back anymore; Junior Sister Yan might be in danger."
Seeing this scene, Shan Hongyi's originally relaxed demeanor became a bit more solemn, and he took out a crimson flying sword from his Storage Bag.
If Feiming Daoist had twelve Copper Armor Corpses, then he must have had at least one Silver Armor Corpse in life.
Plus, he turned himself into a Silver Armor Corpse, so Yan Jinye and Mei Jingjun, both at early Foundation Establishment, would not have been able to survive here for half a year.
Boom, Boom, Boom!
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators from Shenmu Sect took action at the same time. Even though ten Copper Armor Corpses formed a formation and absorbed the earth's evil yin energy to boost their ferocity, they were still defeated without a chance when all three of them brought out their magical artifacts.
Bi Yiyuan, who had regained his mace, smashed three Copper Armor Corpses into bone fragments, while Chen Mobai and Shan Hongyi's two flying swords simultaneously executed the Red Flame Sword Technique, with fiery sword light covering the sky, turning into a long rainbow of sword qi, covering all the remaining zombies.
After the sword rainbow swept through, only gray-black marks were left on the cave walls.
After the three stopped holding back, there was no longer any existence that could stop them. Following the newly activated message talisman, they broke through three cave walls, killed at least a hundred Iron Corpses, and finally broke into a huge open cavern deep underground, four or five hundred meters down.
"Three senior brothers, here!"
As they landed, they heard a voice full of surprise.
Looking over, they saw at the center of the cavern, there was a clear pool of water.
In the center of the pool, there was a white jade altar with a blackwood coffin on it.
The coffin should have been nailed shut, but someone had opened it, and the lid was half-opened, revealing a corpse inside wearing a shiny silver robe with closed eyes.
A yellow paper talisman with cinnabar was stuck on the corpse's forehead, probably a Corpse Suppression Charm, and next to the head was a five-colored lotus lamp, unfortunately, the wick seemed to have burned out, and there was no light.
"This is Feiming Daoist's corpse; he turned himself into a zombie. Luckily, Madam Guo had a second-tier Golden Jade Axe, or else we might have been in grave danger."
By the side of the altar's coffin, three Foundation Establishment female cultivators sat, with Yan Jinye speaking.
She and another female cultivator stretched out their hands, infusing spiritual power into the Silver Armor Corpse's forehead talisman, suppressing the awakening of this zombie.
And the last woman, plump and beautiful, wearing a veil, manipulated a magical artifact, cutting off the flow of yin evil energy back to the altar.
Chen Mobai and the others landed only to see that the Silver Armor Corpse's chest had been chopped into by a jade axe, but the wound did not bleed, only revealing white bones and peeled flesh.
"Junior Brother Chen, take action and help them deal with this Silver Armor Corpse. Leave the rest to me and Junior Brother Bi."
Shan Hongyi arranged the tasks, and Chen Mobai nodded lightly.
"Anything else? Are there other Silver Armor Corpses?"
Being able to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment realm, none were easy to deal with. With just one sentence, the veiled woman deduced their speculation.
"Yes, in this cave dwelling, besides Feiming Daoist himself, there should be another Silver Armor Corpse that he cultivated in life."
As he spoke, a sneer came from inside the coffin.
Chen Mobai and the others' expressions changed, and they attacked Feiming Daoist at the same time.
However, the five-colored lotus lamp lit up with a burst of fire, forming a barrier that blocked all their attacks.
"Unexpectedly, my humble underworld could attract five Foundation Establishment cultivators."
Another voice came from above, and a series of silvery-gray lights fell from the sky, turning into zombies, surrounding a tall commander with a helmet and a broad-bladed sword.
Undoubtedly, this was a Silver Armor Corpse.
Only a Silver Armor Corpse could possess the same level of intellect as a normal person.
"Who are you? Do you think you stand a chance against the six of us?"
Shan Hongyi stroked his beard, testing with his words while taking out a compass-like magical artifact from his Storage Bag.
"Me? You come to my cave dwelling and don't know who I am?"
The Silver Armor Corpse holding the war sword said something that made everyone frown.
"You are Feiming Daoist? Impossible! "
"Heh heh heh, there's nothing impossible. You know nothing about the Netherworld Great Law."
The voice came from the Silver Armor Corpse in the blackwood coffin, who couldn't move but vibrated his belly to make a sound.
"Not good, let go!"
At this moment, Shan Hongyi seemed to realize something and shouted at Yan Jinye and Mei Jingjun, who were continuously infusing spiritual power into the Silver Armor Corpse's forehead talisman.
But it was already too late, the Corpse Suppression Charm in the middle of the talisman ignited and turned to ash in an instant.
The silver-robed corpse in the blackwood coffin laughed with its mouth wide open, and its tightly closed eyes opened, revealing a faint golden pupil that made everyone shudder.
A terrifying aura erupted from the coffin!
Yan Jinye and the other two women, already at their limits, spat out blood and were sent flying.
"Not good, he must have swallowed a Golden Armor Corpse's corpse pearl in life, which is why he could transform his body in just a hundred years and already has some characteristics of a Golden Armor Corpse."
Shan Hongyi, who had seen much of the world, saw this scene and his face changed drastically.
"Old fellow, you seem to know quite a bit."
The Silver Armor Corpse floating in the air holding the war sword looked at Shan Hongyi with a surprised expression.
"Junior sisters, retreat!"
Shan Hongyi made a quick decision, threw two bottles of pills to Yan Jinye and Mei Jingjun, then threw a handful of talismans towards the white jade altar and flew upwards.
But as soon as he flew up, he was blocked by a sword slashing through the air.
Bi Yiyuan, however, did something Chen Mobai didn't expect.
He swung his mace fiercely, aiming directly at Madam Guo, whom he had just rescued from the white jade altar.
With a clang!
The jade-handled golden axe flew out, blocking Bi Yiyuan's strike, but Madam Guo spat out blood, staining a large area of her veil red.
"Senior Brother Bi, what are you doing?"
Yan Jinye was shocked and was about to stop Bi Yiyuan from striking a deadly blow when Mei Jingjun pulled her aside.
"Don't you understand? There's something wrong with her."
Chen Mobai was initially confused, but after hearing Mei Jingjun's words, he frowned and quietly began to look for a way out.