Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 259: Chapter 255: Corpse Ghost Daoist, Profound Celestial Ancient Hall

RUMBLE...

The thunder roared. A torrent of purple lightning surged forward like a vast ocean, instantly engulfing all five zombies.

In terms of raw power, each of these five zombies was stronger than a young prodigy like Li Kuangba.

Furthermore, the most crucial aspect of zombies is their lack of consciousness. This means they feel no pain and are ferocious, fearless, and unafraid of death.

Five such zombies working together could definitely kill a Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm expert.

However, when it came to zombies, Ning Jiang was their perfect nemesis.

The Thunder Power he cultivated was Supreme Yang and Firm, a natural counter to all sorts of Yin Evil Power. Any and all demonic or heretical forces had to retreat before his thunder.

What’s more, this was no ordinary thunder; it was Celestial Tribulation Thunder. It was infused with a faint heavenly might, making the Thunder Power even more tyrannical.

TZZZZZZZ!

As the sea of purple lightning submerged them, a sound like deep-frying meat erupted from the five zombies’ bodies.

AWOOOO.

They let out blood-curdling shrieks as wisps of black gas billowed from their bodies. They were heavily wounded.

If anyone else had tried to deal with these zombies, even someone stronger than Ning Jiang, they wouldn’t have achieved such a good result. The key was the suppressive nature of his Thunder Power.

”Looks like we won’t need to step in after all.”

Watching Ning Jiang’s overwhelming display of power, Li Kuangba and Liu Bingxue gave wry smiles. They knew it wasn’t their turn to act; if they went up there, they’d just get in the way.

”You are already dead, yet you tried to defy heaven and alter your fate. Look at you now—neither human nor ghost. Allow me to grant you release!”

Amidst the thunder, Ning Jiang’s voice boomed. The Purple Thunder erupted like a volcano, brilliant to the extreme, and completely inundated the area.

Countless streams of black gas poured out from the five zombies’ bodies, only to be annihilated by the thunder. This was the Yin Evil Power dwelling within them.

As soon as this Yin Evil Power dissipated, the once-frenzied zombies grew quiet, and the green light in their eyes vanished without a trace.

”It’s over.”

A dozen or so breaths later, the five zombies stood there, completely motionless.

SHING.

Ning Jiang took out a banner—the Celestial Thunder Banner. With a single wave, it collected all five zombies.

After some refinement, these five zombies could be transformed into Celestial Thunder Soldiers. Moreover, with his methods, he could enhance the strength of each Celestial Thunder Soldier to rival the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm.

When that time came, he would have five new bodyguards at the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm.

Of course, the strongest being inside the Celestial Thunder Banner currently was the Thunder Spirit War General. The Thunder Spirit War General had been refined from the Blood Demon King, and its power was comparable to the Earth Martial Realm.

”Thunder Spirit War General, I will pass the refinement technique to you. Remain within the Celestial Thunder Banner and forge these Celestial Thunder Soldiers for me.”

”Yes.”

The Thunder Spirit War General possessed some simple Spiritual Wisdom and was able to obey Ning Jiang’s commands.

This was nothing. If Ning Jiang could further refine the Celestial Thunder Banner in the future, the Thunder Spirit War General’s intelligence would be no different from a human’s.

He immediately passed the refinement technique for the Celestial Thunder Soldiers to the Thunder Spirit War General.

After receiving the refinement technique, the Thunder Spirit War General immediately mobilized the power of the Celestial Thunder Banner to temper the five zombies.

”This Magical Treasure is no simple thing.”

Li Kuangba and Liu Bingxue were quite surprised. The item actually contained its own space.

However, they knew not to ask questions they shouldn’t. Besides, the stronger Ning Jiang was, the better it was for them.

In a place like the Profound Celestial Ancient Land, insufficient strength could lead to death at any moment. Having an ally as powerful as Ning Jiang was their good fortune.

”Let’s go. We’ll continue exploring,” Ning Jiang said.

”Continue exploring? Is there really anything else here?” Liu Bingxue was taken aback and asked, confused.

”You’re mistaken. Do you think these five zombies were all there was to it? You underestimate this place. Killing over a thousand people to set up this entire area... how could those five zombies possibly have been responsible for such a grand scheme?”

Ning Jiang’s rhetorical question sent a chill down Liu Bingxue’s spine.

Indeed, the five zombies weren’t even at the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm. How could they have orchestrated such a massive undertaking?

”The one responsible must be at least at the Earth Martial Realm, right? Or even higher?”

At this thought, everyone’s expressions stiffened. If there really was such a powerful zombie, they would have no choice but to die.

”Let’s go. This area is just a Blinding Technique to confuse people. The true heart of this Stone Forest isn’t here!”

Ning Jiang waved his sleeve, unconcerned.

He had the Celestial Thunder Banner. If an Earth Martial Realm zombie really did appear, he could just deal with it using the banner.

Thunder Power was more than enough to completely suppress any zombie.

Not long after, under Ning Jiang’s guidance, they stepped into an area overgrown with weeds.

”Strange. This whole area has been dead and lifeless, with no vegetation whatsoever. But there are plants and trees here?” Everyone noticed the anomaly.

”Young Master Ning, what’s going on?”

Liu Bingxue asked. She knew Ning Jiang was unfathomable and was certain he knew the reason.

As expected, Ning Jiang said, ”It’s simple. The Life Essence Qi from everyone killed in this Stone Forest has all been gathered here. This place is the heart of the Stone Forest.”

As his words fell, everyone’s expressions grew heavy.

”Huh? There seems to be a broken stele here?”

Amidst the thick weeds, the group discovered a fractured tombstone.

Hearing this, everyone gathered around.

HISS.

Suddenly, someone gasped. Near the broken stele, a crack had split open the ground. Through the fissure, they could vaguely make out a blood-red coffin below.

”My god, there isn’t actually an Earth Martial Realm zombie down there, is there?”

A shiver ran down everyone’s spines, and they stumbled backward. They felt as if their bodies were about to disintegrate, an extremely piercing pain spreading through them.

This was because a sharp aura emanated from the coffin, pricking their bodies like thousands of tiny knives.

At this moment, even Li Kuangba felt an unbearable sensation, as if his skin were being sliced by a blade.

”All of you, stand back. I’ll take a look.”

Ning Jiang’s gaze was sharp. In his hand, the Celestial Thunder Banner flickered with layers of lightning, ready to erupt at the slightest sign of trouble.

”Open.”

He stomped his foot, and immense power traveled into the ground. The earth split open, and the coffin was jolted out.

As soon as the coffin appeared, an extremely evil aura spread from it.

Even experts like Li Kuangba and Liu Bingxue found it hard to breathe and difficult to endure.

”Get back even further.”

They retreated another ten thousand feet, leaving only Ning Jiang behind.

’If there really is a zombie, it’ll be the perfect new addition to the Celestial Thunder Banner’s power.’

A flicker of excitement flashed in his eyes. Ning Jiang waved the Celestial Thunder Banner, and with a RUMBLE, a thunderbolt shot out and struck the coffin lid.

BANG.

The coffin lid was sent flying.

Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats. They didn’t even dare to breathe.

”Huh? It’s empty.”

Under the group’s tense gazes, the coffin was revealed to be completely empty. There was nothing inside.

”What’s going on? Could it be that the being inside emerged long ago?”

Everyone arrived at a terrifying conclusion. An empty coffin was unlikely; this place had been specifically set up for someone to rise from the dead and defy their fate. The coffin should have contained a body.

”Right, there seemed to be some words on that tombstone,” Zi Yunfei reminded them.

”Let’s go take a look.”

They found the broken stele again. The characters on it were actually very blurry and hard to make out, which was why everyone had overlooked it before.

After some effort, they managed to decipher what was written on it.

It was three words—

Corpse Ghost Daoist!

”What? The Corpse Ghost Daoist?!” Liu Bingxue was aghast, her face a mask of stunned disbelief.

”What is it? You know his origins?” Ning Jiang asked, surprised.

”Of course I do.” Liu Bingxue took a deep breath. ”If this name got out, it would shake all of Lei Province. This is the name of the Evil Spirit Sect’s founder! The being who established the Evil Spirit Sect was known as the Corpse Ghost Daoist!”

”Is that true?” Li Kuangba was greatly startled. His knowledge of Lei Province was not as clear as Liu Bingxue’s.

”There’s no mistake. The Corpse Ghost Daoist’s reputation was immense. He single-handedly established a Top Grade Sect. Who wouldn’t know of him?” Liu Bingxue said.

”Young Master Ning, what’s really going on here? Did the Corpse Ghost Daoist come back from the dead?” Li Kuangba looked toward Ning Jiang.

”It’s not resurrection. As I said, not even a Venerable could accomplish such a feat. The Corpse Ghost Daoist is indeed alive, yes, but the body is controlled by a completely new Spiritual Wisdom. It has nothing to do with the original person.”

Death was, after all, death. How could it be so easily reversed?

One hundred thousand years ago, the Celestial Corpse Venerable that Ning Jiang had met was also resurrected with a new Spiritual Wisdom; the original host had long since perished.

Of course, the Corpse Ghost Daoist was a world away from the Celestial Corpse Venerable.

”To think that the Corpse Ghost Daoist was actually a reanimated corpse... It seems we’ve stumbled upon a massive secret,” the group lamented.

’To be reborn from a corpse... I’m afraid he must have committed many heinous and unconscionable acts to sustain his existence.’

Ning Jiang gave a cold smile. The Corpse Ghost Daoist was, in essence, a zombie. For a zombie to sustain its existence and prevent its body from decaying, it needed a constant supply of fresh blood.

This Corpse Ghost Daoist had likely committed an astonishing number of massacres in secret.

An idea began to form in Ning Jiang’s mind. If he got the chance, he would like to meet this Corpse Ghost Daoist.

But this wasn’t something to be rushed. The man had founded a Top Grade Sect, which meant he was at least at the Heaven-Reaching Realm. With his current Celestial Thunder Banner, it would be difficult to confront a Heaven-Reaching Realm expert.

”Let’s go.”

In the end, the group found nothing of value in the Stone Forest.

After leaving the Stone Forest, they decided to stick together for the next few days, jointly exploring the vast Ancient Land.

Over the next few days, their Luck was quite good. They successively discovered several treasure sites and found a good deal of Spirit Medicine.

They even found an immortal’s grotto, which contained several secret manuals. They each made a copy, though of course, Ning Jiang looked down on such manuals. However, the Yanyue Sect would have a use for them. Time slowly passed until the seventh day.

BOOM!

The entire Profound Celestial Ancient Land shook violently. Immediately after, a pillar of light shot up from its center, connecting heaven and earth and piercing through the firmament.

”The Profound Celestial Ancient Hall is opening!”

PS: A note about the update schedule. Updates have been erratic recently, and I’m very sorry for that. But writing a novel is never a smooth process. Sometimes, you hit a bottleneck. That’s the most agonizing time for an author, a living hell where you just can’t get the words out.