The Quest for Immortality

Situ Fang couldn’t help but laugh and cry, ”Who taught you that line?”

”Elder Yu!”

”The Elder Yu from Tongxian City’s Monster Hunting Guild?”

”Mm.” Mo Hua nodded.

Situ Fang sighed and agreed.

”Elder Yu isn’t wrong in what he says, you should listen to Elder Yu more in the future and not to your Uncle Zhang.”

Mo Hua nodded on the outside but privately mocked in his heart:

”That’s because you’ve never heard Elder Yu scold people, otherwise you wouldn’t say that...”

Situ Fang hadn’t really interacted with Elder Yu, so she was unaware of what kind of Elder he actually was.

She probably thought that Elder Yu was the kind of elder who was respectable and notable, with a ”gentle and approachable” way of speaking...

Mo Hua shook his head inwardly and then said:

”Let the zombie be burnt. Zhang Quan did many evil deeds; there should be other clues. Just keep looking.”

”However, this is not necessarily a bad thing,” Mo Hua thought again and said:

”At least now we know the Court Leader’s true colors, so we can be more cautious next time.”

”Mm.”

Situ Fang nodded, her mood slightly improved.

She had been busy the whole day yesterday and was quite exhausted. She had just rested for two hours, let her guard down a little, and the Court Leader had sabotaged everything behind the scenes, making all her efforts go to waste....

Situ Fang was anxious, self-blaming, and feeling guilty toward Mo Hua.

But she didn’t expect that Mo Hua didn’t mind and was instead comforting her.

Such a good kid...

Situ Fang said earnestly:

”I was negligent this time, consider it a favor I owe you. If you need help with anything in the future, just ask.”

Mo Hua grinned and said, ”Okay!”

After coaxing Situ Fang away, Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi stuck their heads out – they had been eavesdropping the whole time.

Bai Zisheng asked:

”We kept a few corpses; should we tell Sister Situ?”

”Let’s not mention it for now.”

”Why? She’s on our side, right?” Bai Zisheng was puzzled.

Mo Hua considered Situ Fang’s situation and said:

”It’s enough to have Sister Situ help with the aftermath. After all, she is only at the Qi Refinement level, while Zhang Quan was at the Foundation Establishment level, and also a Corpse cultivator. If they were to confront each other directly, Sister Situ would be in great danger.”

After considering this, Bai Zisheng said, ”That’s true.”

Bai Zixi also nodded in agreement.

However, the three of them didn’t realize that they were at the Qi Refinement level as well...

The matter of the zombies was put on hold for the time being.

The Taoist Court destroying the bodies and obliterating the evidence meant that there were no leads left, and the investigation could not proceed.

While it seemed to be a significant issue, it had fizzled out on the surface.

But no one knew that Mo Hua had secretly kept a few corpses, nor did anyone know what Mo Hua was planning to do with the zombies...

In a small compartment.

In front of Mo Hua were two coffins.

Inside the coffins were the zombies Mo Hua had stolen.

He had drawn Formations all around.

There were Formations like the Sound Isolation Formation, Energy Sealing Formation, Solid Earth Formation, Earth Fire Formation, Earth Prison Formation, Wood Binding Formation...

Bai Zisheng glanced around and couldn’t help asking:

”Aren’t there a bit too many Formations...?”

With a serious expression, Mo Hua said, ”Even when hunting rabbits, the lion uses all its strength. We must be meticulous in our work and not afford any oversights...”

Bai Zisheng looked at the Formation Patterns surrounding them again and was somewhat speechless.

That’s a little too ”meticulous”...

It’s like a spider’s web...

Mo Hua, now with twelve Divine Sense Patterns, had Formation skills far beyond the first-grade.

These casually drawn first-grade Formations, laid out one after another at no cost, were piled up layer upon layer, quite a lot...

Bai Zisheng felt that Mo Hua was just itching to draw Formations for fun.

Mo Hua still seemed unsatisfied.

He checked the Formations again and, finding a few empty spaces, added several more around the corners of the room until it was completely full.

Now it looked comfortable...

Mo Hua nodded with satisfaction, then began the ”coffin opening and corpse examination”.

Bai Zisheng opened the coffin, and the zombies lay there rigidly, motionless.

As Mo Hua didn’t fully understand the nature of zombies, he asked Bai Zixi:

”Junior Sister, these zombies won’t move, will they?”

Bai Zixi explained, ”There are many types of zombies. Some are naturally formed from corpses, while others are intentionally refined...”

”With the accumulation of resentment, the convergence of Yin energy, the infusion of Filthy Qi into the body, over the years, they can turn into zombies naturally.”

”Those naturally formed zombies are ferocious, greedy for flesh and blood, and they will keep killing, eating people, and even other living creatures.”

”The zombies refined by people will be weaker and need cultivators to control them with Evil Artifacts. If uncontrolled, they mostly sleep in their coffins, nurturing Corpse Qi, with only some instinctual minor movements...”

”But if these intentionally refined zombies lose control, they become like naturally formed zombies, drawn to Blood Qi, killing and eating people...”

”Oh, I see.” Mo Hua nodded again and again, then pointed to the coffins and asked:

”So these haven’t lost control, right?”

”They have lost control.” Bai Zixi said.

Mo Hua was startled, ”They have?!”

Bai Zixi nodded, ”Yes, they have, but these low-level Walking Corpses are too weak, and they’ve exhausted their Corpse Qi. Even if they’re out of control, they can’t move, unless...”

”Unless you feed them blood?” Mo Hua said.

”Mm, anything with Blood Qi will do.”

”And after feeding them?”

Bai Zixi’s gaze flickered slightly, ”They will come back to life on their own, ceaselessly seeking flesh and blood to consume...”

Mo Hua frowned, ”That’s still quite dangerous...”

Immediately after that, he weakly asked:

”So, if you get bitten by a zombie, will you turn into one?”

”It’s possible.”

”Why is it only possible?”

Bai Zixi replied, ”Zombies carry corpse poison.”

Mo Hua frowned, ”Corpse poison?”

Bai Zixi raised her tiny index finger and explained:

”This so-called poison is essentially ’corpse qi’, similar to spiritual energy but innately sinister.”

Bai Zixi, looking at Mo Hua, added, ”This kind of corpse qi turns into corpse poison, which can taint a cultivator’s blood qi and cause them to turn into a zombie.”

”If there’s little corpse poison, or it’s weak, the transformation is only partial.”

”Once the corpse poison is too strong or invades the heart meridian, then the cultivator will become a zombie.”

Then she cautioned Mo Hua, ”You mustn’t get bitten by a zombie. You are frail, and your blood qi is weak, so if you’re poisoned, your injuries will also be more severe.”

”Mm-hm.”

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly.

Then he began to ponder, thinking he should come up with a way to restrain zombies, so he wouldn’t be caught off guard and panic when faced with danger.

But this was not an urgent matter.

”Then how are zombies artificially refined?” Mo Hua thought for a moment and asked.

”It requires blood meals, filthy substances, some sinister herbs, and also a Corpse Refining Coffin, or what might also be called a Corpse Raising Coffin.”

”I don’t know the specifics of how to refine them, as I’ve never done it,” Bai Zixi said with a clear voice.

Disciples of the Worldly Family aren’t allowed to engage with the knowledge of evil arts and the Demon Path, to prevent the rise of sinister thoughts and corruption of character.

Only when they grow up and set out to travel or study are they carefully instructed by the elders at home, who inform them of the tactics of evil demons, allowing them to be vigilant and avoid falling into demonic traps, ending up with no place for their corpses.

The Bai Family likely does not teach this knowledge either.

Bai Zixi probably knows about it because she is a diligent student, with a rich knowledge of Tao Cultivation and wide-reaching interests.

Mo Hua looked at Bai Zixi as if she were an elegant and exquisite ”Tao Cultivation Encyclopedia,” and couldn’t help but admire her, saying:

”Junior Sister, you truly know a lot!”

Bai Zixi’s expression remained indifferent, but a pair of shining eyes revealed a hint of pride.

Bai Zisheng curled his lips, ”Sycophant.”

”And you know?”

”I... I don’t know...”

Bai Zisheng muttered.

Zixi had great talent, a good memory, was serious about her cultivation, and had a breadth of knowledge.

In terms of scholarship in the path of cultivation, he indeed couldn’t compare with Zixi.

Mo Hua patted Bai Zisheng on the shoulder and also nodded in praise:

”It’s valuable to have self-awareness...”

It took Bai Zisheng quite a while to catch on and he couldn’t help but scratch Mo Hua’s little head in response.

After understanding the principles of corpse refinement, Mo Hua started to research formations.

First was the coffin.

This kind of coffin is called a Corpse Refining Coffin, or Corpse Raising Coffin.

Combining refining, storing, and raising of corpses, it is a type of evil artifact in the realm of demonic arts.

Each zombie has its own coffin.

The type varies with the level, and the quality of the coffins differs as well.

Zombies are categorized as Walking Corpse, Iron Corpse, Copper Corpse, Golden Corpse, etc., and the corresponding coffins are made of wood, iron, copper, and gold respectively.

A corpse of a certain class should be placed in a coffin of the corresponding level.

Mo Hua couldn’t help but mock inwardly.

In life, people are distinguished by rank and status, and even in death, as zombies, their coffins are segregated into gold, silver, copper, and iron.

It’s truly fussy even in death.

Zhang Quan ran a coffin shop.

He most likely crafted these coffins himself.

However, the formations on the coffins were definitely not his own work.

Zhang Quan was not a Formation Master and lacked the ability to do so.

Mo Hua studied the formations on the coffins and frowned.

Read latest stories on empire

The formations on the coffins were not Ultimate Formations but rather common Earth Series Evil Formations.

The core of the formation was an Earth Series formation, only twisted in form; the ink was human blood mixed with bone powder, among other unnamed filthy substances.

The Formation media were bone shards embedded in the coffin.

The Formation eye was a decaying heart, which seemed treated or cured in some way—mixing blood qi, filthy qi, and spiritual energy to provide power for the Corpse Formation to operate.

This formation, while gruesome and bloody, had a somewhat crude underlying logic.

Mo Hua was not too impressed.

What truly caught Mo Hua’s attention was the formation at the heart meridian of the zombies.

If his guess was correct, this formation was indeed an Ultimate Formation.

Mo Hua called out, ”Junior Brother.”

Bai Zisheng nodded, then, furrowing his brow and enduring the nausea, he took out a dagger and carefully sliced through the skin on the Walking Corpse’s chest, revealing the formation integrated into the flesh.

Mo Hua watched and took notes on paper.

At the same time, he released his Divine Sense and engaged in Calculation, deducing the formation patterns.

This process was slow and prone to mistakes.

If a mistake was made, he had to start over.

Mo Hua spent a whole day studying several corpses, comparing them, and finally managed to piece together a complete formation.

Mo Hua looked at the formation on the paper, a serious expression on his face.

As expected, this formation contained twelve distinct patterns.

It was a proper First-grade Formation with twelve patterns, an Ultimate Formation!

But he dared not study it because this twelve-pattern Ultimate Formation was very likely an Evil Formation used for Demon Path corpse refining...

After all, he surely couldn’t learn it to go and refine corpses...