The Quest for Immortality

In South Yue City, various clans and sect cultivators related to the Heaven Shu Pavilion gathered, each with their means and powers.

It wasn’t only the gaunt old man who could see this.

Above the mine, corpse qi pervaded the air.

Within it, countless types of corpses were bred.

Although those present were from prominent powers and had seen much of the world, they all inhaled sharply in the face of the soaring corpse qi.

With the Taoist Court united, the Demon Path gradually declined.

Where today could one find such intense corpse qi, let alone so many zombies?

For a time, everyone was frightened and appalled.

”Audacious to the extreme!”

”Who is refining corpses?”

”… How many people have been killed?”

”Defying the Taoist Court, disregarding Taoist Law, this is outrageous!”

”… Which Demon Sect’s handiwork is this?”

…

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, and eventually, someone asked:

”What should we do?”

At this question, everyone fell somewhat silent.

A cultivator said, ”With an evil demon present, we cannot sit idly by. We must annihilate it!”

”There are too many…”

”We can’t handle this…”

”Don’t forget our main task. We came here not to meddle in unnecessary matters.”

”How can this be called meddling in unnecessary matters?”

”Exterminating demons and protecting the way is just and righteous!”

”Hmph, putting on a righteous appearance, who are you trying to impress…”

”You motherfucker…”

Voices of argument rose within the inn.

But it remained within the inn only.

The entire Nanyue Inn had been booked by these cultivators, who set up measures to conceal sight and sound, keeping outsiders away. If one wasn’t of their ilk, they couldn’t enter this inn.

After a long dispute, the gaunt old man, who practiced Three Talents Divination with Copper Coins, suddenly frowned and slowly asked:

”Do you know where that person is?”

There was a moment of silence among the crowd, and then they all shook their heads.

The gaunt old man continued:

”He let us calculate his location, drawing us here, but once here, his trace is nowhere found. Instead, we encounter a mountain permeated with corpse qi. Do you think this is a coincidence?”

”What are you implying?”

The gaunt old man said, ”Perhaps it is because of this Corpse Mountain that he led us here.”

Everyone exchanged glances, and someone else spoke:

”And then what?”

”Did he have a moment of compassion, hoping we would lend a hand?”

”No, he’s dragging us here to do the heavy lifting…”

”Or perhaps, is it a test for us? Whoever can solve this problem, he’ll meet with them?”

”What are you thinking?”

”Our intentions aren’t pure… he is not some benevolent old man bestowing opportunities upon others.”

”Indeed… That person is arrogant, a genius with exceptional talents, thinking of no one as his equal. Why would he play such a boring game with us?”

”Then what do you suggest we do?”

The crowd looked at each other, each with their own ulterior motives, and remained silent.

They eventually dispersed unhappily, leaving the matter unresolved.

After the gaunt old man and two others returned to their room, they set up a Sound Isolation Formation and began a secret discussion.

The middle-aged cultivator said, ”The corpse qi is too intense, and in a short while, it is likely to evolve into a Corpse Tide. This South Yue City is no place to linger.”

The gaunt old man asked, ”What do you mean?”

”What else could I mean? Let’s hurry and leave. If we don’t go now and get caught in the Corpse Tide, we might not be able to get out.”

The middle-aged cultivator’s tone was slightly heavy, ”Even without the Corpse Tide, anyone who can deceive the heavens and refine so many zombies with these methods is not someone easy to contend with.”

”What good does this thankless task bring us? Why should we wade into these muddy waters?”

The gaunt old man was silent.

The middle-aged cultivator asked in surprise, ”You don’t plan to stay, do you?”

The gaunt old man’s brows were tightly knit, and he nodded slightly.

The middle-aged cultivator clicked his tongue and turned to ask the white-clothed youth, ”What about you, young master?”

The white-clothed youth nodded and said:

”With the Corpse Tide wreaking havoc and the lives of sentient beings at stake, I also wish to stay and offer whatever help I can.”

Such youthful idealism and fiery words gave him a bit of a headache.

But if he were to leave alone… without the old man’s Three Talents Divination with Copper Coins, he would be like a headless fly, bumping around aimlessly.

The middle-aged cultivator, somewhat unwillingly, asked the old man:

”Do you really want to stay?”

The gaunt old man nodded, as if pondering something serious, and after a moment, he slowly said:

”I… have a premonition…”

The middle-aged cultivator was taken aback, ”What premonition?”

The gaunt old man took a deep breath, his gaze uncertain:

”These days, I occasionally feel a sense of dread.”

”It seems that there is a great terror ahead, extremely dangerous, with life and death uncertain.”

”Yet, if we can suppress the Corpse Mine and save this city, or even the cultivators in this prefecture border, perhaps we can establish a good karmic connection. In a future encounter with life-and-death adversity, there might be a glimmer of hope for survival…”

The middle-aged cultivator furrowed his brows.

He felt nothing, and naturally, he believed in nothing.

But he also knew the saying: Heed others’ advice, and you’ll have enough to eat.

In the Cultivation World, cultivators who live to an old age must trust even the most ethereal of premonitions.

”Fine, I’ll stay too, but let me make it clear: the moment things look bad, I’m out of here.”

The middle-aged cultivator said resignedly.

The gaunt old man nodded, the white-clothed youth breathed a sigh of relief and smiled faintly.

The next day, there were fewer people in the inn.

Some had left South Yue City, unable to find any clues about Mr. Zhuang, and went elsewhere to search.

Some, concerned about the outbreak of the Corpse Tide and unable to fend for themselves, left without a word.

But there were also those who stayed.

Some, like the gaunt old man, had a vague premonition of a thread of karma and mystery emanating from the Corpse Mine.

There were also those who had no premonitions but were simply of upright character and wished to eliminate the zombies, hoping to do something for the local cultivators.

The crowd discussed how to suppress the Corpse Mine.

However, with countless zombies inside the mine, dealing with it was extremely tricky.

”With just us cultivators, I’m afraid it won’t do.”

”We need to write a letter, to call for reinforcements from our clan or sect.”

”It will take some time...”

”But there’s no other way, we can’t just rush in unprepared like a brash young man and seek death...”

”We know nothing about the situation inside the Corpse Mine.”

”How many Iron Corpses, how many Walking Corpses, are there any other special zombies, and who is refining them? Are the local Tao Cultivation forces involved?”

”Don’t even think about it, there must be local forces involved. The construction of a Corpse Mine requires a lot of manpower and material resources. Without the support of local forces, it can’t be built.”

”The Lu Family, perhaps...”

”I think so too.”

”Any evidence?”

”Just a hunch, you can tell at a glance...”

”When the mighty dragon doesn’t suppress the local snake, then we’re in trouble.”

A young cultivator said proudly:

”It’s a pity that this place is only a Second-Grade Prefecture Border. The Heavenly Dao limits us; Golden Cores cannot act. Otherwise, I would have my father come over and flatten this mountain with one sword!”

”Alright, alright, we know your father is a Golden Core...”

”Even a Golden Core coming over wouldn’t be able to flatten it with one sword...”

”Even if it were flattened, these zombies wouldn’t be exterminated in a short time. Once the zombies go out of control and invade South Yue City, then all the cultivators in the city would turn into zombies, resulting in an even bigger problem...”

”Young man, don’t be too hot-tempered.”

”To solve problems, we can’t do without military force, but relying solely on military force won’t do either...”

The young cultivator sat down sullenly.

”So what do we do?” someone else asked.

After a moment of contemplation, someone slowly said, ”Taoist Court?”

”To request the mobilization of Taoist Soldiers?”

”That might be a solution...”

”Who has connections to the Taoist Soldiers Court?”

”There are a few uncles in my family who hold positions within the Taoist Soldiers Court...”

An elder shook his head, ”Forget it, the Taoist Court won’t send Taoist Soldiers. Even if they do, how many can they send?”

”The risk is too high, the cost too great.”

”Why would that be? Eliminating demons and purging evil is the fundamental principle of the Taoist Law, as well as the responsibility of the Taoist Court!”

”That’s what is said...”

”Don’t oversimplify the matter.”

”So much manpower and material resources can’t just be mobilized at will.”

”Exactly, if you count everything from top to bottom, with all that gets skimmed off each layer, the actual cost could be even greater.”

”You shouldn’t say such things...”

”The Taoist Court has its own difficulties...”

”What difficulties? The kind that come from demanding bribes and kickbacks?”

”Don’t be snide...”

”Your mother’s...”

As the people talked, the conversation turned heated.

”Alright, alright,” an elder with a white beard and high seniority slowly said, ”Let’s talk about the important matters.”

The argument subsided.

After a moment of silence in the room, someone else said:

”Why don’t our families jointly submit a petition to the Taoist Court, clearly stating the pros and cons, bringing the matter into the open, so that the Taoist Court cannot ignore it...”

The crowd nodded slightly in agreement.

At that moment, the gaunt old man from the group suddenly stood up, his hands clutching a Copper Coin for divination, his face pale.

The cultivators looked at each other, some puzzled.

The white-bearded elder frowned and asked, ”Brother Wen, what has happened?”

The gaunt old man’s expression was panicky, his voice trembling as he said:

”Just now, I had a moment of inspiration and cast a divination with the Copper Coin...”

”The divination revealed...”

”It revealed... the future scene of the mine.”

Thinking of that vision, the gaunt old man was still somewhat shaken:

”The living mixed with the dead, the boundaries between life and death indistinguishable, the living like corpses, corpses like the living, and reigning above them, a Corpse King with dark gold blood in its eyes, not subject to the control of any man or corpse...”

Upon hearing this, the white-bearded elder’s face turned pale.

The other cultivators, however, were somewhat at a loss, ”What of it?”

”It means,” the gaunt old man said with a look of fear, slowly:

”That within this Corpse Mine, a Corpse King has been refined. If not suppressed and left unchecked, it will turn into a disaster within a hundred years. This Corpse King will become... a Corpse Sin!”

”Which is to say, this Corpse Mine is actually nurturing a Taoist Demon!”

At these words, all the cultivators were stricken with fear.

”Taoist Demon!”

This was a term only seen in the Tao Cultivation Canon, signifying a disaster that human power could hardly resist.

Even the clans or sects with a thousand years of heritage had records of being destroyed by a Taoist Demon...

Nurturing a Taoist Demon?

The voice of the white-bearded elder trembled involuntarily, ”Is this... true?”

The gaunt old man’s heart throbbed, ”The divination is so...”

After a pause, he added, ”I couldn’t have calculated such a thing with my own abilities...”

The implication was that someone else had made him calculate it or, rather, had conveyed it through his divination to everyone...

Who that person was, everyone had a clear idea.

The white-bearded elder fell silent for a moment, his face stern as he said:

”Report this matter to the Heaven Shu Pavilion, request the Pavilion Elders to calculate.”

”At the same time, also petition the Taoist Court, to request support from the Taoist Soldiers...”

”If it’s true as said, that within the Corpse Mine, a Taoist Demon is being nurtured, then we must mobilize all the cultivators we can, at all costs, to suppress the Corpse Mine, slay the Corpse King, and eradicate this Taoist Demon from its inception, leaving no future troubles!”