Mo Hua followed the roof, avoiding the Corpse Cultivators, left the gate of the Corpse Walking Stronghold, went under a large rock, and met up with Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi.
Bai Zisheng asked, "Why did it take you so long?"
Mo Hua chuckled and said, "I found Instructor Yan!"
"Instructor Yan is alright, isn’t he?" Continue your adventure with empire
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded, "We’ll rescue Instructor Yan in a few days."
Bai Zisheng looked perplexed, "Why wait a few days? Just rescue now. I’ll rush in and slaughter all those Corpse Cultivators!"
Mo Hua was indifferent, "Sure, then you go."
Bai Zisheng paused, then scratched his head and said:
"Forget it. You’re craftier. Let’s follow your plan."
Mo Hua was displeased, "You’re the one full of crafty ideas."
Bai Zisheng muttered to himself:
"I wish I could have more crafty ideas. Sadly, my nature is too upright to think of such things."
Mo Hua murmured softly, "I think you’re just dull..."
Bai Zisheng ruffled Mo Hua’s hair, "You dare call your senior brother dull again?"
...
The two bickered and argued incessantly.
Bai Zixi picked up a stick and knocked each of their heads once, "Focus on the matter at hand!"
"Oh."
The two quickly complied.
And so, the trio began to discuss what to do next.
Bai Zisheng thought for a while and then said:
"We set up an ambush on the inevitable path, then capture Zhang Quan. With no leader, the Corpse Walking Stronghold will be in chaos, and we can take the opportunity to wipe it out..."
Just as Mo Hua was about to nod, something suddenly occurred to him, and he shook his head and said:
"No, that won’t work."
"Why not?" asked Bai Zisheng, puzzled.
Mo Hua pondered, "Behind Zhang Quan, there must be someone else."
"Who?"
"The person drawing Formations for him."
Mo Hua’s expression grew serious, "The Formation Diagrams Instructor Yan drew for the Corpse Walking Stronghold were standard Five Elements Formations, and they were all for architectural purposes."
"But the ones used for Corpse Refinement are completely different Evil Formations."
"Zhang Quan cannot draw such Formations, and from what I’ve seen, it seems that no one else in the Stronghold can, either."
"At least from the Corpse Cultivators I’ve seen, none can produce such Formations."
"Moreover, these are the Spiritual Pivot Formations of the Minor Hidden Spirit Sect, which are not something ordinary Formation Masters can produce."
"Without figuring out who this person is, killing Zhang Quan and razing the Black Mountain Stronghold won’t solve anything."
"Formations are the key, as long as this person knows about Formations, they will continue to kill people, buy corpses, refine corpses..."
"And," Mo Hua paused, then sighed, adding:
"This Ultimate Formation is an inheritance of Instructor Yan’s Sect, and I don’t want any Cultivator to use it for evil..."
Bai Zisheng nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll listen to you."
Bai Zixi also slightly nodded and asked Mo Hua:
"Have you figured out what to do?"
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded, then said:
"We’ll let Zhang Quan return to the Corpse Walking Stronghold, then we’ll spy on him to see who he meets with, who is helping him with Formations..."
"After clarifying these matters, we’ll inform Sister Situ and join forces with the Taoist Court to take down the Corpse Walking Stronghold."
"Then capture Zhang Quan, take his Corpse Controlling Bell, and restore the Spirit Pivot Formation Chart."
"And best of all, we’ll drag out the Cultivator behind him as well..."
"Eliminate the root to prevent future troubles..."
...
Mo Hua explained everything systematically.
Bai Zisheng nodded his agreement but still expressed his concern:
Ordinary bandits that dared to kill people, were willing to kill people, and had killed before, could join Corpse Walking Stronghold.
But entering Corpse Walking Stronghold did not guarantee being taught the ways of Corpse Refinement.
One had to go through an assessment, endure some seniority, and gain Zhang Quan’s trust, to become a legit Corpse Cultivator.
Corpse Cultivators were those who refined corpses and controlled corpses, the Corpse Path Demon Cultivators.
Corpse Cultivators refining corpses required Cultivator corpses.
The sources of corpses were several.
One was through robbery and murder.
The Cultivators within the stronghold, before joining, were either Sin Cultivators or bandits, accustomed to robbing and murdering.
But this "loot" included not just Spirit Stones and Spiritual Artifacts, but also the bodies of Cultivators.
The bandits of Corpse Walking Stronghold would kill people, then bring the corpses back to be used for Corpse Refinement.
The second was to buy.
Employing people like Wang Lai to kill Mining Cultivators, buying corpses.
Or to purchase them from tomb raiders who dug up graves.
Of course, the main source was still the Mining Cultivators.
After all, there were many mines in South Yue City and numerous Mining Cultivators, and in their eyes, Mining Cultivators’ lives were cheap, not worth much Spirit Stones.
After buying the corpses, came Corpse Refinement.
Mo Hua had taken a cursory look at this before.
The means of Corpse Refinement, indeed as Sister Situ said, required herbs, Corpse Raising Coffins, Corpse Controlling Bells, etc.
But the specific techniques became somewhat complicated.
Which herbs to use, in what proportions, to boil into a foul-smelling medicinal juice.
Then, to soak the corpse in the medicinal juice.
After enough soaking time, place it into a Corpse Raising Coffin for refinement.
During Corpse Refinement, Corpse Cultivators would walk back and forth around the coffin every day, while walking, shaking the Corpse Controlling Bronze Bell.
This process had numerous steps, but the division of labor was clear.
Just like the herbs in Alchemy, the refined iron in Artifact Refining, the Corpse Cultivators of Corpse Walking Stronghold saw corpses as a "material" for refining, not as people.
Their expressions were cold and numb, as if it were perfectly natural.
Mo Hua frowned as he watched.
He even thought of directly drawing some Reversed Spirit Formations, to collapse the Corpse Walking Stronghold altogether.
But upon reflection, he held back.
Impatience could ruin grand plans; he could not act impulsively.
The Corps Cultivators of Corpse Walking Stronghold, continued to report the minor matters of the stronghold, but did not touch on the formations related to Corpse Refinement.
Mo Hua listened for several days without any clue, until after three days, he overheard something.
A Corpse Cultivator, in a low voice, asked Zhang Quan,
"Householder, shall we send the corpses?"
Hearing this, Mo Hua was intrigued.
Send corpses?
What corpses? Where to? Why send them?
Could it be... for Formation Painting?
Mo Hua remembered that in Corpse Walking Stronghold, some of the newly refined Walking Corpses had no formations on the heart meridian.
Since there were none, then they must be painted.
Send corpses... that means it’s not that he himself would paint them, nor that they would be painted within Corpse Walking Stronghold, but instead they were sent out for someone else, for someone else to help him paint?
Mo Hua strained his attention, very curious to know exactly where these corpses were being sent, to whom, and who would help Zhang Quan with the Formation Painting?
But Zhang Quan just shook his head, "No."
That Corpse Cultivator looked a bit startled before hesitatingly saying,
"If we don’t send them soon, it might be too late. Those Zombies... can’t be controlled..."
Zhang Quan’s gaze turned cold, "If they can’t be controlled, then dispose of them, feed them to other Zombies. Do I need to teach you this?"
That Corpse Cultivator quickly bowed his head and said, "Yes."
After the Corpse Cultivator stepped down, Zhang Quan huffed coldly and began to meditate.
Mo Hua, however, frowned slightly.
This Zhang Quan, he seemed not very cooperative.