80: Earth Fire Burns Corpses to Break Through the Maze
Li Muchen's gaze swept toward the clearing where Corpse Old Nine had been talking with his subordinates.
The campfire was still burning, though its flames had grown dimmer, flickering uncertainly against the messy footprints and scattered debris. He walked over quickly, his Spiritual Sense spreading out like liquid mercury to carefully probe every inch of the ground.
Soon, behind the large rock where Corpse Old Nine had just been sitting, he discovered a cave entrance concealed by withered yellow weeds. The entrance was about the height of a person, sloping downward into pitch-black darkness, emitting an odor even more pungent and nose-piercing than the valley—Evil Qi, the smell of medicine, and... a faint trace of Buddhist aura?
It wasn't pure, clean righteousness, but a mixed remnant of Buddha Power carrying resentment, anxiety, and a certain greedy desire.
Release Void!
Li Muchen's heart tightened. That apostate monk had indeed been here. Perhaps he was currently hiding inside this cave, or in some secret place connected to it?
He didn't enter immediately. First, he carefully checked the area around the entrance, confirming there were no new traps or warning formations. The traces of the concealed weeds were very fresh, clearly a hurried job, rather than a meticulously planned mechanism.
He took out three Heart-Clearing Talismans and two Evil-Breaking Talismans from his robes, activated them with True Essence, and stuck them to his chest and back. The talismans emitted a faint clear light, forming a thin protective barrier. Then, he gripped the short thunder-struck wood staff on his back.
Fully prepared, Li Muchen restrained his aura and cautiously stepped into the cave.
It was narrow at first, barely wide enough for one person to pass sideways. The cave walls were damp, covered in dark green moss, and the air was thick with the smell of earth and a faint rot. After going about three zhang deep, the passage suddenly opened up, and the view became clear.
This was a naturally formed cavern, quite spacious, about five or six zhang square. Several half-burned animal fat torches were stuck into the walls, their jumping flames emitting thick black smoke and providing dim, flickering light.
Even though Li Muchen was used to seeing much, the scene inside the cave made him frown deeply.
On one side of the cave wall, several rough stone niches had been carved out. Inside the niches were bottles and jars of various sizes made of pottery, porcelain, and even containers made from skulls, emitting all sorts of pungent and strange odors—a sickening mix of fishy sweetness, sour rot, and burnt bitterness.
The ground was even more of a mess. A large number of talismans were scattered about, their paper a dark red, clearly drawn with some kind of blood. There were also bone tools of various shapes; some were prayer beads made from human finger bones, others were daggers carved from animal bones. Herbal residues were piled in a corner, already rotted and black. Even more shocking were the bone fragments scattered everywhere on the floor that did not belong to animals—judging by their shape, they were clearly human bones.
The most eye-catching thing was in the center of the cave.
There, a complex evil array about two zhang in diameter had been drawn with a dark red, blood-like viscous liquid. The array patterns were twisted and hideous, resembling snakes or insects, appearing to crawl slowly under the dim firelight. At the eye of the array, three heavy black iron coffins were placed side by side!
The coffins were entirely black with no decorations on the surface, yet they emitted a bone-chilling cold aura. The lids were not fully closed, leaving a finger-wide gap. Through the gaps, one could vaguely see iron-gray stiff limbs, and a thick corpse-evil energy, like a solid black mist, continuously overflowed and rolled out.
These were the three Iron Corpses that were about to be finished!
On the clearing at the edge of the evil array, near the cave entrance, lay a dirty, blackened felt blanket. Scattered on the blanket were several fragments of grayish-brown monk robes, the fabric coarse with torn edges. An empty mineral water bottle rolled nearby, with a supermarket price tag still attached to it. There was also half a stick of burnt-out incense, the ash scattered in the shape of a lotus—a mark commonly used by small temples in the Western Hunan area.
Release Void had indeed stayed here! And judging by the traces, he hadn't been gone long, likely around the time Corpse Old Nine left the valley to "handle business."
Li Muchen walked to the three iron coffins, concentrating his Spiritual Sense to investigate carefully.
The Iron Corpses in the coffins were basically formed. Their bodies were a dull iron-gray, with shriveled skin clinging to the bones, yet they had a faint metallic luster. The corpse-evil energy was contained within their bodies, only leaking slightly through the gaps in the lids. They were currently in a state of deep sleep with very weak perception of the outside world, needing only one final "blood meal" activation ritual to be fully completed and turned into ferocious killing weapons.
"I absolutely cannot allow such evil things to escape and cause harm." Li Muchen's gaze turned cold. Although he upheld the Daoist principle of purity and disliked unnecessary killing, he had zero tolerance for such evil weapons refined from the corpses of innocent people, destined to slaughter living beings.
After a moment's thought, he didn't choose to use Palm Thunder to directly strike the iron coffins. That would make too much noise and might destroy the cave structure, causing a collapse. Furthermore, since the Iron Corpses were nearly complete, the backlash of Evil Qi could cause accidents.
He walked to the core eye of the evil array.
A fist-sized stone, black as ink, was buried there. Its surface was covered in twisted evil patterns, currently emitting a faint dark light, continuously drawing cold corpse energy from the ground and funneling it through the array patterns into the three iron coffins—this was the "Yin-Gathering Stone" that maintained the evil array's operation and nourished the Iron Corpses.
Li Muchen pressed his fingers together like a sword, the liquid gold True Essence in his Dantian flowing and condensing at his fingertips.
A sharp, peerless golden spike flickered at his fingertip. Though only an inch long, it emitted a heart-palpitating evil-breaking aura.
Without hesitation, he pointed a finger at the center of the Yin-Gathering Stone!
"Sizzle—"
The moment his fingertip touched the black stone, it made a sound like a hot iron entering water. The evil patterns suddenly erupted with a blinding black light, seemingly trying to resist, but under the impact of the golden True Essence glow, the resistance was as fragile as paper.
"Crack!"
With a crisp sound, the Yin-Gathering Stone split in two at the impact. The twisted evil patterns on the surface instantly dimmed and collapsed, making a faint "hissing" sound like living creatures before completely dissipating.
The light of the entire evil array on the ground suddenly went out. The dark red array patterns faded, dried, and cracked at a visible speed. The gathered Earth Yin corpse energy lost its guidance and began to scatter aimlessly, and the temperature inside the cave even seemed to rise slightly.
Having lost the continuous nourishment of the evil array and the final activation ritual, the refining process of these three Iron Corpses was forcibly interrupted. They might be stronger than ordinary Walking Corpses, but they would never become true "Iron Corpses." Over time, the bodies would gradually rot, and the Evil Qi would slowly dissipate, eventually turning into ordinary withered bones.
Having done all this, Li Muchen did not stay, quickly searching the cave.
Most of the jars in the stone niches contained various poisonous insects and medicinal liquids; although strange and evil, they were of little value. He searched around but found no trace of Release Void, nor any other valuable clues or items—no letters, no Magical Artifacts, not even any decent personal belongings.
Clearly, both Corpse Old Nine and Release Void were cunning individuals with multiple hideouts. Truly important things would never be left in a "workshop" that could be exposed at any time.
Li Muchen delayed no further, turning to exit the cave.
Standing at the valley entrance, he looked back at the gloomy and silent Wild Boar Gully. The night wind whistled through the valley like a ghostly wail. He knew that although Corpse Old Nine had fled after being heavily injured, he had not been killed; and Release Void's whereabouts were even more elusive, like a poisonous snake hidden in the shadows.
Tomorrow night's appointment at the "Mountain God Temple" might be the next key point.
He didn't leave Wild Boar Gully immediately but found a hidden spot near the valley entrance—a depression behind a giant rock, surrounded by stones on three sides with only one opening, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.
He sat cross-legged in the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture and began to regulate his breathing to recover.
The battle just now hadn't been long, but using Palm Thunder consumed a lot of energy. Although the True Essence of a Peak Foundation Establishment was vast, the power of thunder was extremely masculine and positive, putting a significant load on the mind. Only now that he had calmed down did he feel that the liquid gold True Essence in his Dantian was a bit dimmer than usual, and his Purple Mansion's Spiritual Sense was also somewhat fatigued.
He expanded his Spiritual Sense alert to the maximum, covering a radius of thirty zhang. Any slight movement would not escape his perception.
A faint numbing sensation from the leaping thunder seemed to linger in his palm. That feeling of wielding heavenly power and purging evil was indeed exhilarating. However, he knew well that the first display of Palm Thunder's might, while deterring the demons, had also exposed part of his strength. These monsters in Western Hunan were extremely vengeful and cunning; his next moves had to be even more cautious.
The night grew deeper.
The grayish-white mist permeating the mountain valley also seemed to have been dispersed quite a bit by the power of the thunder technique just now, becoming much thinner. More moonlight was able to spill down, casting cold patches of light in the valley.
In the distant mountain forest, the shrill cries of owls occasionally echoed, adding a bit more killing intent and desolation.
Li Muchen closed his eyes and concentrated, his breathing gradually becoming long and dense. True Essence flowed slowly through his Meridians, recovering a bit with every completed cycle. In the Purple Mansion, the seed of Spiritual Sense emitted a warm, clear light, nourishing his tired mind.
Time passed minute by minute.
About an hour later, he suddenly opened his eyes.
Within the perception of his Spiritual Sense, extremely faint footsteps came from the direction of the valley entrance—not human footsteps, but more like the sound of some clawed animal treading stealthily on fallen leaves.
They're here.
Li Muchen rose quietly, pressing against the edge of the giant rock and looking out.
Under the moonlight, three short black shadows were creeping in from the valley entrance. They moved on all fours, swift and silent, their bodies resembling dogs but not quite. Their fur was sparse, their skin a sickly grayish-white, and their eyes glowed with an eerie green light in the darkness.
Corpse Hounds.
A common scouting method of the Corpse Driving lineage in Western Hunan. Dog corpses are processed with special techniques to retain their sense of smell and some mobility for tracking and guarding. These things have no sense of pain and do not fear death, making them extremely troublesome.
The three Corpse Hounds clearly noticed something unusual at the cave entrance. They stopped in front of it, lowering their heads to sniff the ground, their throats emitting low "wuwu" growls. One of them raised its head, its green eyes scanning the surroundings alertly.
Li Muchen held his breath and suppressed all his aura.
A Corpse Hound's sense of smell far exceeded that of a living dog, but they couldn't perceive True Essence fluctuations and could only rely on scent and sight. As long as he didn't reveal his form, he wouldn't be discovered.
After a moment, the three Corpse Hounds seemed to confirm that no one was inside the cave. Two of them turned and ran toward the valley exit, clearly going back to report. The remaining one stayed at the entrance, crouching down like a statue, its green eyes staring fixedly toward the valley entrance—it was on guard.
Li Muchen's mind raced.
He couldn't let it stay here. If Corpse Old Nine or Release Void received the report, they would likely return quickly. He had to deal with this Corpse Hound as soon as possible and then leave.
Silently, he slid out from behind the giant rock, hugging the ground like a ghost as he approached the Corpse Hound.
Ten zhang, five zhang, three zhang... The Corpse Hound seemed to sense something and suddenly turned its head, its green eyes locking onto Li Muchen's direction!
"Awoo—!"
It had just opened its mouth, preparing to sound the alarm—
A golden light flashed.
Li Muchen pointed his fingers like a sword, and a Sword Qi condensed from True Essence shot through the air, accurately piercing the Corpse Hound's forehead. The Sword Qi entered the brain, instantly shredding the faint trace of controlling corpse energy.
The Corpse Hound's howl caught in its throat, its body stiffened for a moment, and then it slumped to the ground, the green light in its eyes quickly fading.
Li Muchen dashed forward, picked up the Corpse Hound's body with one hand, and quickly retreated to his hiding spot.
He glanced toward the valley entrance—the other two Corpse Hounds had already run far away, disappearing into the night.
This place was no longer safe to stay.
He hesitated no longer, stuffed the Corpse Hound's body into a rock crevice to hide it, and then used his movement technique to glide out of Wild Boar Gully like a night bird, vanishing into the vast mountain forest.
Behind him, Wild Boar Gully fell back into a deathly silence.
Only the campfire, nearly burnt out, still flickered in the wind, as if silently recounting everything that had happened tonight.
In the distance, the continuous mountains of Western Hunan remained silent under the night sky.
Li Muchen knew that the struggle against these monsters had only just begun. And that hidden Release Void, like a poisonous snake, needed to be found and eliminated as soon as possible to remove the future threat.