Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Mystery, Dao Ye is Very Unhappy

Blood-colored pillars of light connected to the sky, directly blasting open the clouds.A strange rhythm propagated through the air.

In every corner around the walls of the Lanxiu Building, in places unknown to Yi Chen and his companions, one formation pattern after another lit up.

By the time Yi Chen arrived near the pillar of light, he saw a circular blood pool about five meters in diameter on the open ground in front of him.

The pillar of light was emanating from the pool of blood.

A pale red light shield enveloped the entire blood pool.

The perimeter of the blood pool was built of unknown black stone, inset with various strange gemstones. There were five notches on the circular edge divided into quintiles, each containing a putrid object: a black heart, a rotten liver, a dirty spleen, a stinky lung, and a foul kidney. Numerous threads of blood connected and wriggled on them, exceptionally eerie.

Inside the blood pool lay hundreds of corpses, haphazardly submerged—it seemed that all the people from Lanxiu Building were gathered here.

Seeing the corpses in the blood pool, Yi Chen knew that the entertainment industry of Fengyun County had suffered a devastating blow.

From production to demand, all had been severely hit; it would likely take three to five years to recover.

After all, the ones soaking in the pool were the elite professionals of Fengyun County's entertainment industry.

Bubbles gurgled up in the thick blood water.

Within the viscous blood, faces of various people floated and sank, each taking their turn as the others finished.

Men and women, old and young.

Yi Chen even spotted a silver-haired old man among the floating figures in the blood water.

Truly vigorous in old age.

To think he had come to such a place to spend the night at such an age.

Perhaps this is what passion looks like.

"Girls in their teens, men in their eighties, a pear tree's blossoms overshadowing the crabapples—though they walk in troubled steps."

"Heh heh heh," a strange laugh echoed.

Within the pale red shield, a mysterious figure clad in a black robe and hood spoke with a cold laugh,

"Fengyun County's response is quite quick, but alas, you are not quick enough."

"The 'Five Viscera Five Elements Black Heaven Attraction Formation' is already activated, and the Corpse God's divine body will soon be welcomed back by our sect. Our Longevity Cult particularly values talent, and considering the difficulty of your cultivation, why not join our Corpse God sect?"

"I've killed quite a few people lately, and today I don't want to kill anymore."

"Don't mislead yourselves."

"If anyone among you is willing to lay down your arms and surrender respectfully, I can still recommend that person as an incense master after joining the sect."

"After joining the sect, we will all be brothers, pursuing the great Dao of longevity together."

While the figure in the black robe spoke persuasively, the woman in white ghostly garb furrowed her brow and said sharply, "Black robe, the formation is only one step away from completion, why do you waste words?"

"Have you not heard that in the long night, dreams abound?"

Hearing this, the figure in the black robe showed an expression of unexpected displeasure, feeling dissatisfied in his heart, but still suppressed his temper and began to cast various hand seals with the woman in white toward the blood pool to carry out the final step of the Attraction Formation.

The strange rhythm in the air became even more pronounced.

"Damn it, it's that group of lunatics from the Corpse God Cult; I knew there was something complicated behind all this, involving so many counties." Searᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Now it seems that the ghostly incidents in the other counties have been nothing more than a ruse to cover up what's happening in Fengyun County."

Lin Baihu's face turned a bit pale. With the information he had, he quickly understood the cause and consequence.

Behind the chaos in Ping'an County, there was the evil Corpse God Cult stirring up trouble.

"Corpse God Cult? What on earth is that?" Yi Chen's eyes were somewhat bewildered.

Although he had been hurriedly catching up on reading the classics lately, this was indeed a blind spot in his knowledge.

Lin Baihu's gaze sharpened, his eyebrows knitting together as he quickly explained, "It is normal for the Daoist not to know about these things."

"According to the archives of our Peacekeeping Division, the Corpse God Cult was originally known as the Longevity Cult, and it is somewhat connected to the Dao Sect."

"This cult was originally founded by a mighty being from the Dao Sect known as True Monarch Wan Hua, a person of astounding talent, but he fancied the notion of eternal life."

...

As Lin Baihu spoke like the spilling of beans, Yi Chen came to understand.

Eight hundred years ago, there was a powerful Daoist called True Monarch Wan Hua—a prodigy boasting mastery over countless spells, expert in everything, second to none.

Yet, he could not achieve eternal life, nor could he see any hope for it, nor could he break through the bottleneck of his own cultivation.

If things continued, his inevitable end would be a shovelful of yellow earth.

He was not content with that.

He hated the thought—how could he, dazzling in talent, be lumped in with rotting wood?

If it hadn't been for distractions in his early years, how could he have ended up in such straits, with his life force insufficient?

There's a limit to human effort.

In life and death, there lies great horror.

Thus, he decided no longer to be human.

The gifted True Monarch started on a deviant path of self-rescue. He secretly killed to practice his skills and with his outstanding aptitude, he actually managed to forge a new path for himself.

That was to cultivate the Blood Dao with the spirit, and house the Primordial Spirit in a corpse.

For the sake of preserving life and attaining longevity, the Blood Dao was exceptionally endowed.

For the sake of bodily immortality, lasting forever in this world, the Corpse Dao was unique on its own.

Blood Dao, large cup.

Corpse Dao, large cup.

If the two were combined, wouldn't that be an extra-large cup?

With an extended lifespan and formidable strength, the combination could complement each other's flaws, eliminating the vulnerability of relying on a single practice.

This was quite like Qin Shi Huang eating Sichuan peppercorns while touching a live wire, extremely numb to the point of no return.

In his shocking and brilliant fashion, he created numerous spells, killing and extracting blood, summoning spirits and commanding ghosts, refining corpses, and nurturing gods…

In his later years, the already crazed man went on to establish the Longevity Cult, boldly claiming to forge a new path to immortality for all, self-proclaimed as the Longevity God.

Before long, his followers included a throng of desperate evildoers and even demons who joined him, participating in the profound arts, their power becoming increasingly formidable, at their peak boasting thirty-six saints.

The Sect Hierarch of the Longevity Cult treated all with equal disdain as they seized cities and territories, felled mountains and destroyed temples.

Whether the orthodox path or the heretical, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.

All were fine things to bolster the body.

The essence-blood was used to nurture corpses, the living souls to refine gods, and the secret techniques to fill the library.

In the end, the True Monarch of Myriad Transformations actually succeeded in cultivating an undying corpse.

The Primordial Spirit also transformed and began cultivating the Blood Sea Primordial Spirit.

In the moment when he used the secret technique to seize the corpse and merge souls, the exasperated orthodox path, the heretical path, and the super-experts from the imperial court all emerged and joined forces to execute him, splitting him into six Corpse God Daoists.

Because eradicating the physical body of the True Monarch of Myriad Transformations would cost too much, his undying corpse was secretly dismembered and suppressed in various locations across the continent, while the whereabouts of his Primordial Spirit remained unknown, and all the forces involved in the siege of the Longevity Cult kept their silence.

Following this battle, the Longevity Cult crumbled and dispersed over the course of eight hundred years, leaving its remnants to become the present-day Corpse God Cult.

Upon learning such secrets, Yi Chen and the others were so shocked they looked like dumbfounded dogs.

This is what happens when one strays from the right path, the more knowledge one possesses, the more rebellious they become.

The True Monarch of Myriad Transformations was truly a fiendish genius to have stirred up such a storm.

…

…

"What do we do now, run or not?"

In the midst of the chaos, Yi Chen seized on the crux of the matter.

This ancient secret was so deep that one could get buried by it just by listening.

What Lin Baihu said was merely the version from the Ping'an County authorities; who knew what the truth was back then. Eight hundred years ago, the Da Yue dynasty hadn't even been established for that long.

As a cunning old fox, Yi Chen had long understood that history is but a young girl to be dressed up by anyone.

"Everyone, run to the Ping'an County authorities, and get the news out about what's happening here," suddenly Lin Baihu spoke up.

"Lin Baihu, what about you?"

"I want to try and see if I can stop them. I have a secret technique that comes at a great cost, but I have to try. If the Corpse God Cult gets their hands on a part of that undying corpse, who knows what kind of chaos these madmen will unleash next."

The group couldn't help but look at him with solemn respect, instantly understanding Lin Baihu's intent.

It seemed that Lin Baihu himself did not have much hope for his attempt and had made preparations for both outcomes.

He planned for Yi Chen and the others to break through to the Ping'an County authorities with the news, while he himself would take a chance at a life-risking assassination of the two members of the Corpse God Cult in front of the formation.

In this tattered world, there always seemed to be people who would step forward at critical moments, unafraid to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

Such people are the backbone of the Human Race.

Yi Chen knew he could not be such a person, but he had boundless respect for those who were.

He bowed deeply to Lin Baihu, wished him to take care, and prepared to flee.

Any more dawdling, and what? Waiting for the feast to begin?

The Corpse God Cult, after planning so long, how could they not have contingencies in place?

Although his expression was calm, inside he was dying of urgency.

Lin Baihu had raised the mood to such a pitch, even the Lotus Master and Abbess Shuiyue were somewhat tempted to stay and try their luck.

Ultimately, reason prevailed, and the group collectively bowed deeply to Lin Baihu before preparing to flee.

However, within just a few seconds, Yi Chen, with a defeatist look on his face, led the Lotus Master and the others sheepishly back.

At this moment, the mysterious man in the black robe and the woman in white had ceased their casting, and two golden armored corpses stood in front of Yi Chen and the others.

"Run, why aren't you running?"

"You were given a chance before, but you didn't take it. Today, you are all going to die,"

"Especially that big, dumb Taoist, you're quite impressive, eh? Daring to kill my corpse ghost. I will flay you alive inch by inch and throw you into the blood pool to enhance my formation's power,"

the man in the black robe said sinisterly.

The Corpse God Cult had invested so much in this place, would they really allow people to freely escape and spread the news?

To come and go as they please, was this some sort of formation or a brothel?

They had expended so much resource and effort in their preparations.

When the blood-red pillar rose into the sky, everything would be settled.

The whole region where the Lanxiu Building stood was imprisoned by an invisible barrier formed by the formation, blocking both entry and exit.

No matter what choices they made, the outcome was the same: birds in a cage.

In the end, they couldn't avoid a fight.

Hearing the words of the man in black, Yi Chen fell silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, revealing his bright white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

He drew out the Dragon-Slaying Sword, and slowly said:

"I'm glad you think Daoist Yi is impressive, but I don't like being called a big, dumb Taoist. Let me explain something to you, I'm not a big dumb guy, I am... robust!"

Yi Chen roared, his muscles bulging as deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi diffused throughout his body, transforming him into a purple streak that thundered towards the mysterious man in the black robe.

His bones were too stubborn, he disliked being someone else's hound, so he had no choice but to carve out his own destiny.

Witnessing the full force of Yi Chen's assault, the man in the black robe's complexion finally changed.