Chapter 308: Return

The silence outside remained absolute.

A cold wind rustled through the air, its breath whispering through the courtyard.

Instantly, the expressions of everyone in the courtyard shifted, even the Sect Leader of the Corpse-Raising Sect’s face hardening with grave concern. He had just probed the area with his Divine Sense and discovered that it couldn’t penetrate the courtyard walls—an utterly abnormal situation.

To block the Divine Sense of a Core Formation cultivator like himself required extraordinary measures, likely a high-level divine ability.

“Elder Corpse Tide is still outside,” one of the elders said grimly. “Even if he encountered the Sect Leader, he would never remain completely silent.”

“I’ll go investigate,” declared the Corpse-Raising Sect Elder nearest the gate. This was their territory, and with the Sect Leader—a Core Formation cultivator—present, no real danger was likely. This was a prime opportunity to demonstrate his worth.

Clang!

The lid of a nearby casket flipped open, revealing a zombie radiating a dark, metallic aura. With a light spring from its feet inside the casket, it floated effortlessly to the Elder’s side. As fellow corpse cultivators, they would never venture out alone to face the enemy.

Under the Corpse Refining Elder’s control, the zombie glided to the gate and stiffly pushed it open.

A blast of icy air swept into the courtyard.

The night was eerily quiet, bathed in moonlight that made it seem no different from any other. The Corpse Refining Elder, ever cautious, first sent his Iron Corpse flying out to scout ahead.

Nothing seemed amiss. His Divine Sense detected no anomalies, no sign of any enemies. The other Elders and the Sect Leader of the Corpse-Raising Sect watched this unfold. When the Sect Leader remained silent, the Elder guided his Iron Corpse to step out of the courtyard.

“Who’s there?! Hiding in the shadows—come out and face me!”

The Elder didn’t venture far beyond the gate. Instead, he amplified his voice with magical energy, projecting it across the sect grounds.

“I’ll go take a look too,” another Elder said, summoning his own cultivating corpse. Three more Elders followed suit, each with their own undead companion. Together, they stepped into the night.

Four men and four corpses made for a formidable group, able to support each other in case of trouble.

Inside, the Sect Leader sat motionless, the gray energy controlling his brow twitching rhythmically. This familiar sensation sent a chill of danger through him, yet he couldn’t pinpoint its source. His divine soul screamed warnings, convinced danger lurked nearby.

“Send messages to Void Sage and Old Ghost Nine Poisons,” the Sect Leader instructed the Elder beside him. Strangely, the Elder didn’t respond.

Upon closer inspection, the figure beside him was no Elder at all, but a bizarre cultivating corpse.

The corpse stared blankly at him.

Outside the courtyard, the four Elders who had emerged controlled their cultivating corpses, beginning a systematic search of the grounds. The sight of four men accompanied by four corpses in the spacious outer courtyard created an eerie chill. The lead Elder approached the side chambers where the disciples resided and commanded his cultivating corpse to push open the wooden door.

Creak.

The door swung inward, revealing an empty room.

“Strange,” the Elder muttered, frowning. “Even if someone vanished, they wouldn’t disappear so completely.”

He turned to look at the three Elders behind him. “Fellow Elders…”

The three Corpse-Raising Sect Elders who had accompanied him out of the courtyard were gone. Only three inert corpse puppets stood forlornly in the moonlight, their pale glow sending a shiver down his spine.

Where had they gone?

“Elder Corpse Howl? Elder Corpse Kui?” he called out.

No one answered.

He dispersed his Divine Sense, carefully scanning the positions where the corpse puppets stood. He found nothing, but the puppets’ placement confirmed that three Elders had indeed been present moments before.

A cold dread gripped his heart. Instinctively, he wanted to retreat to the small courtyard.

He recalled his cultivating corpse, ordering it to guard him closely. Simultaneously, he circulated his True Essence at maximum speed, desperate to return to the Sect Leader’s side.

The silent disappearance of the three Foundation Establishment Elders indicated that their opponent possessed power far surpassing the Foundation Establishment Realm. Only a Core Formation True Person like the Sect Leader could contend with such a threat.

“Hurry!”

The dozen or so steps that he could normally traverse with a mere thought now felt impossibly vast. The stiff Iron Corpse trailed closely behind, guarding him. At first, the Elder noticed nothing amiss, but when he finally regained his composure, the Iron Corpse was only a step away.

This unsettling change alerted the Corpse-Raising Sect Elder to the danger.

He swiftly activated his cultivation technique, commanding the Corpse Puppet to halt.

“Freeze!”

As the technique took effect, the Corpse Puppet froze instantly. Yet, eerily, its rigid, corpse-like face twisted into a chilling grin. The ghastly smile, bathed in moonlight, appeared all the more sinister, striking fear even into the heart of this Corpse-Raising Sect Elder, who had spent decades handling the dead.

Why is it smiling?

This thing is just a zombie!

An invisible force was permeating the area. Unbeknownst to the Elder, tendrils of malevolent energy seeped into his body, amplifying his terror.

Finally, he stumbled back onto the staircase.

He slammed open the wooden door, which someone had inexplicably shut, and shouted into the courtyard, “Sect Leader! There’s something out there!”

His words were cut short as a flash of movement caught his eye. A grotesque, wrinkled corpse face materialized before him, its skin like tree bark, sharp teeth bared, and eye sockets deeply sunken. A familiar silvery-gray luster shimmered beneath its skin.

The Elder’s head spun for a moment before the realization slowly dawned on him.

This is the Sect Leader’s Silver Carapace Corpse King.

But why was the Sect Leader’s Silver Carapace Corpse King displaying emotions? Sweat trickled down his forehead as he cautiously raised his gaze toward the courtyard, searching for the Sect Leader’s figure.

Where was the Sect Leader?

A chilling Yin Wind swept through the empty courtyard. The Corpse-Raising Sect Leader and the Elders who had been waiting there had vanished without a trace, as silently as the three Elders outside. Before the terrified Elder could scream, a shadow enveloped him, and a rustling sound, like someone flipping through the pages of a book, echoed from the darkness.

The moonlight remained unchanged, but the entire mountain peak was desolate, not even a single Corpse Puppet in sight.

Chen Luo flew swiftly.

Since reaching the Core Formation stage, his magical energy flowed ceaselessly. The ten drops of spiritual energy that had gathered had transformed into a jade-green hue, closely resembling the legendary Golden Core Jade Liquid.

Under the influence of ten drops of Jade Liquid, Chen Luo felt an increasingly clear connection to the primordial qi of Heaven and Earth. In the Foundation Establishment Realm, flying on his sword consumed his own magical energy, but after reaching Core Formation, flight no longer required any expenditure. The surrounding Heaven and Earth primordial qi replenished the energy of a Core Formation True Person, not only eliminating consumption but also stabilizing their cultivation during flight.

Since mastering the second Formation Pattern of the Demon Bone Array Sigil Art, Chen Luo’s body had been undergoing constant transformation.

Strange patterns emerged on his Core Formation physique, radiating a fierce demonic aura. The final surge of demonic qi from the Thousand-Eyed Centipede had proven immensely helpful. Now, he resembled a savage, ancient demon, inspiring awe and dread in those who beheld him.

“Perfect timing to visit Master,” Chen Luo thought.

The imposing aura of a Core Formation Ancestor swept across the heavens as he transformed into a streak of rainbow light. In less than half a day, he returned to the God Lake Immortal Sect.

Landing on Wu Dao Peak, Chen Luo immediately spotted Master Chengfeng, still at the early Foundation Establishment stage, at the foot of the mountain.

Demon beasts possessed long lifespans, but their cultivation progressed at a snail’s pace. To the ancient Master Chengfeng, Chen Luo’s sixty years of age made him little more than a toddler.

“Greetings, Senior Chengfeng,” Chen Luo said.

Master Xianhe Chengfeng flapped his wings and landed on a nearby rock, watching Chen Luo descend from the sky with wary eyes. To him, Chen Luo appeared as an unparalleled great demon, his entire being radiating an overwhelming aura of demonic qi. Though he retained a human form, Chengfeng was certain he was a transformed member of the Demon Clan.

“Junior Nephew Chengfeng, long time no see,” Chen Luo said with a mocking grin. During Chen Luo’s last visit, Chengfeng had insisted on being addressed as “Senior Brother.” Now that Chen Luo had advanced to become a Core Formation True Person, addressing him as “Junior Nephew” felt perfectly justified.

“You are…” Chengfeng frowned, his mind racing through the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had ventured out over the past few centuries. Yet none matched the staggering demonic energy radiating from this figure. Had there truly been such a fellow disciple, he would surely remember him.

“Martial Uncle Chengfeng, Senior Brother Chengfeng, Junior Nephew Chengfeng… Hahaha!” Chen Luo burst into laughter, his figure blurring as he transformed into a streak of light and soared toward Wu Dao Peak at the mountain’s summit.

Chengfeng froze at these words. A memory suddenly resurfaced: a junior disciple who had joined the sect decades ago—a Qi Refining novice he had casually rescued during a sect mission. Later, that youth had successfully achieved Foundation Establishment and become an Elder of Wu Dao Peak, officially becoming Chengfeng’s “Junior Brother” in sect hierarchy. But how long had that youth been cultivating? Not even a century!

Could he have reached Core Formation in less than a century?

Impossible!

It couldn’t be that junior. But if not him, then who?

Xianhe Chengfeng was suddenly bewildered. He stopped in mid-air, frantically searching his memories for every acquaintance from his past.

Meanwhile, atop Wu Dao Peak, Void Sage stood wearily, Bai Su beside him still clad in her customary white robes. Her aura was far more subdued than before, and her cultivation had leaped from the Qi Refining realm to Foundation Establishment.

Nearby, Huang Ying and two unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivators sat within the hall. These five now represented the strongest forces of the God Lake Immortal Sect.

The Ghost Temple had emerged with terrifying suddenness.

In less than a decade, it had devoured the lands of six kingdoms, pushing the Corpse-Raising Sect and Nine Poisons Valley to the very borders of the Immortal Sect. Only by uniting the three major sects could they barely hold back the tide—a feat largely owed to Void Sage.

Armed with Chen Luo’s Blackstone Secret Technique and forbidden arts from the demonic cultivation realm, Void Sage had successfully achieved Core Formation. He had condensed a Crimson Pill, a tier above the Blood Pill, and it was this newfound power that allowed him to stem the Ghost Temple’s advance, preserving the God Lake Immortal Sect and the last bastion of the Shi Kingdom.

But even the Crimson Pill’s power was now failing to hold back the Ghost Temple. Their cultivation methods were disturbingly peculiar: the more living beings they corrupted, the stronger they became. They had seized all the spirit meridians within the six nations formerly controlled by the Corpse-Raising Sect and Nine Poisons Valley, assimilating the Immortal Cultivators within into Ghost Cultivators. The leader of these Ghost Cultivators, having absorbed so many souls, had grown to an alarming degree.

During their last confrontation, even the combined efforts of the three of them had barely managed to repel him.

“If even the Sect Leader can’t withstand him next time, what will become of us?” an Elder voiced his concern.

“The Ghost Temple is connected to the Demonic Heart Ancestor,” Void Sage said. As the self-proclaimed ‘successor’ of the Demonic Heart Ancestor, he understood the depths of the Ancestor’s terror better than anyone. “The source of their power doesn’t originate from our realm.”

“If we can’t win, we’ll retreat,” Bai Su declared. “Most of the Immortal Sect disciples have already scattered. If a few of us can’t defeat him, surely we can still escape?”

“Nonsense! Why don’t you go to the demonic cultivation realm to find Xiao Luo? With his talent, he’ll undoubtedly reach Core Formation within fifty years. If you go there, I’ll—”

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

“What do you need me for?”

As the group argued, a figure flew in from outside and strode into the main hall without ceremony.