The Quest for Immortality

Mo Hua quickly set up a Formation.

Yang Jishan also issued a strict order that, without permission, no Cultivator was allowed to enter the mine.

This mine was a veritable Corpse Mountain.

Moreover, in the mountain, the Corpse King still lay dormant.

After placing the horde of zombies, some Taoist Soldiers were left to guard, and the other Cultivators returned to the city to rest for a while.

Mo Hua returned to the cave dwelling with his fellow senior brothers and sisters.

Having controlled the undead for an entire evening, the strain on his Divine Thought was considerable, and he was quite exhausted. Now that the issue had been resolved, he slept soundly.

It was only upon awakening that Mo Hua realized Uncle Yang had been waiting for him outside for a long time.

Unlike Mo Hua, Uncle Yang hadn’t dared to sleep at all.

Every time he lay down, he would recall the terrifying Taoist Demons, the powerful Corpse King, the ferocious horde of zombies, the broken Sunset Spear, and the Taoist Soldiers and Cultivators who had met their end in the zombies’ jaws.

He thought of the Black Hand nurturing the Taoist Demon.

He thought of the seemingly innocent, yet utterly inscrutable Mo Hua.

He remembered the shocking moment on the grave-mound, when the Corpse King knelt down.

He thought again of the thousands of zombies now controlled by Mo Hua...

His head throbbed intensely.

His mind was in complete chaos.

Yang Jishan’s complexion was pale, his breathing weak, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

In contrast, Mo Hua had just the opposite appearance: after sleeping, he looked energetic, his eyes shone brightly, and even his cheeks were full and round.

”Uncle Yang, is there something wrong?” Mo Hua asked curiously upon seeing Yang Jishan.

How could there not be something wrong!

Yang Jishan felt a bitterness inside, but for a moment he didn’t know how to start.

”Is it about those zombies?” Mo Hua asked again.

Yang Jishan nodded, and finally, with some nervousness, he asked, ”What do you plan to do with them?”

Mo Hua thought for a moment but said nothing.

Yang Jishan tried to appear calm, but his heart was in his throat.

A Corpse King, dozens of Iron Corpses, tens of thousands of Walking Corpses.

To form Corpse soldiers, what a formidable force that would be!

He was afraid that Mo Hua would make some excessive demands.

Or perhaps he would simply, with his ”corpses,” gain independence, take the wrong path, and become a thorough little Demon Head.

Yang Jishan was fraught with uneasy thoughts.

It was at this time that Mo Hua asked, ”Uncle Yang, how does the Taoist Court normally handle such a Corpse Tide?”

Yang Jishan was startled, pondering for a moment before slowly answering:

”When dealing with a Corpse Tide, the Taoist Court usually hunts down the primary culprits.”

”Corpse Cultivators who practice Corpse refinement and create zombies are the first to be apprehended and questioned. If they resist, they are executed without discussion.”

”If captured alive, they are all thrown into the Taoist Prison, and their sentences are determined by the severity of their crimes. The lightest sentence is exile to the Southern Wilderness, to be used as cannon fodder in wars, while most are sentenced to death. The only difference is the method of their execution.”

”The heavier the crime, the slower and more painful the death.”

”Besides Corpse Cultivators, all zombies will be burned to ash.”

”Because zombies do not die and carry Corpse Poison, once they come into contact with blood, the Corpse Qi changes and they will rise again to kill and devour humans, and the spread of Corpse Poison is also a great harm...”

”Moreover, all Evil Artifacts and Evil Formations used for Corpse Refinement must be utterly destroyed.”

”Those who shelter Corpse Cultivators, condone Corpse refinement, or assist in the practice are considered accomplices and share the same guilt...”

...

Yang Jishan told Mo Hua all this in great detail.

After listening, Mo Hua pondered and said, ”So, these zombies, they all need to be burned, right?”

Yang Jishan, somewhat anxiously, nodded faintly:

”Yes...”

”I understand,” Mo Hua nodded, ”then let’s do it that way.”

Yang Jishan was taken aback, ”Burn them?”

”Yes.”

Yang Jishan found it hard to believe. ”The Iron Corpses and the Corpse King too?”

Mo Hua was somewhat puzzled, ”Otherwise?”

With shock in his heart, Yang Jishan still could not help but ask in a low voice:

”Don’t you want to keep them?”

Mo Hua shook his head, ”They are harmful things, what use do I have for them? Besides, keeping them poses a great risk. The Corpse King is especially prone to losing control. Naturally, it’s better to burn them, to completely eradicate evil, to bring this to a close...”

Yang Jishan’s mouth opened slightly, his heart so touched he nearly cried.

What a deeply principled child!

He had previously thought Mo Hua might have ulterior motives. Hence, he was uneasy. It turned out he had thought too small.

”However...” Mo Hua then said.

Yang Jishan’s heart skipped a beat.

Usually, after ”however”, there’s rarely good news...

His anxiety returned.

”I have some tasks for these zombies,” Mo Hua said.

Yang Jishan’s heart sank slightly, but he still asked solemnly:

”What tasks?”

Mo Hua answered, ”I want to command these zombies to build a mine.”

”A mine?” Yang Jishan furrowed his brow.

”Yes,” Mo Hua nodded, ”to build a mine...”

”The ones who suffered the most from this Corpse Tide are actually the Mining Cultivators of South Yue City.”

”They already have a hard life, the Spirit Stones are scarce, and living day-to-day is tough. After death, they are refined into zombies and forced to do evil, dying with their eyes wide open.”

”In life, they are exploited by others; in death, they are still enslaved...”

”After this Corpse Tide, the mine has largely collapsed, the mines inside are damaged, the Formation is broken, the Corpse Qi is dense, and evil and filth abound. It can no longer be used.”

”Without the ability to mine, the Loose Cultivators of South Yue City lose their livelihood.”

”If we were to leave things as they are, they wouldn’t be able to survive.”

”So I thought, what if we constructed a bigger mine, connecting several mountains, established a more comprehensive Formation, reinforced the mountain body, cleared the Corpse Qi, purified the evil, and found ways to increase the mine’s output...”

”To give the Loose Cultivators of South Yue City a safe place to make a living, so they don’t have to risk their lives and live in constant fear, and won’t be buried in a mine by accident, leaving orphans and widows alone and helpless...”