Chapter 248: Raising Corpses

“Trouble.”

Chen Luo extended his hand, and a Soul Banner materialized. When it came to dealing with these types of demonic entities, nothing proved more effective than banesouls.

The moment the Soul Banner appeared, it radiated a gray aura that enveloped the entire area in soul-banes. Demonic spirits swirled out from within the banner. Unlike previous encounters, the main soul’s position had changed—Ye Feng’s master had retreated to a supporting role, while the Demonseed Sect Leader now occupied the dominant position.

This Foundation Establishment realm cultivator possessed an exceptionally powerful spirit. Upon entering the Soul Banner, he had swiftly grown into the strongest main soul.

As the Soul Banner manifested, the distant lantern immediately halted. Even the flames spilling from it retracted back into the lantern itself.

With a flash of red light, the lantern abruptly turned and fled.

This creature knew how to assess its enemies; upon realizing it couldn’t win, it immediately tried to escape. But how could Chen Luo possibly let it get away? He swept the Soul Banner toward the lantern’s escape path.

Several main souls instantly flew out, with the Demonseed Sect Leader’s banesoul being the fastest among them.

The moment the Soul Banner descended, the Demonseed Sect Leader materialized beside the lantern. His translucent arm clamped down on the lantern, and a surge of yin banesoul energy shook the flames within, making them flicker as if they might be extinguished at any moment.

“Have mercy!”

The painting demon’s terrified voice pierced the air, but the Demonseed Sect Leader remained oblivious. He seized the lantern and crushed it with a single hand.

Boom!

The lantern exploded in a burst of light. Shattered paper and bamboo fragments scattered across the ground as the central flame was extinguished. However, this flame represented the painting demon’s life essence. After flickering twice, it reignited, though its glow now illuminated a smaller area.

As the Demonseed Sect Leader prepared to strike again, Chen Luo stepped forward, restraining his hand. “Where’s the Life-in-This-World Inn?” he demanded.

“The inn… it’s gone,” the painting demon whimpered.

Like attracts like. With the Demonseed Sect Leader’s suppression and Ye Feng’s master circling menacingly nearby, the painting demon trembled like a lamb among wolves.

“How did it disappear?” Chen Luo frowned. He’d originally planned to investigate the woman from the inn and Ning Chenye upon his return, but now they’d vanished entirely.

“It was—”

The painting demon’s words cut off abruptly.

Danger.

The mummy’s long-dormant consciousness in his mind screamed a warning.

Chen Luo abandoned the painting demon and fled at top speed. The instant he escaped, unimaginable pressure descended from above.

BOOM!

The ground collapsed, bending all surrounding trees under the force. A massive crater remained where the candle had stood, its fragments scattering across the earth. The central painting demon candle shattered into countless pieces, its flames and scattered paper fragments reduced to ash that drifted across the ground.

Standing at the edge, Chen Luo clearly saw a translucent finger rise from the crater before vanishing into the pitch-black sky.

The dust settled.

Yinsha Forest returned to its eerie silence, as if nothing had occurred.

The collapsed crater, scattered leaves, and mud began flowing back into place, restoring the landscape to its original state within moments. The flattened trees straightened, returning to their upright positions.

Chen Luo felt a chill run through him.

The depths of Yinsha Forest ran deeper than he’d imagined. That finger had manipulated primordial energy of heaven and earth - far beyond the capabilities of mere Foundation Establishment cultivation.

He didn’t know what entity that finger belonged to, but he understood one thing:

Yinsha Forest was not to be provoked.

Nor should he inquire about the Life-in-This-World Inn.

Avoiding this area, Chen Luo encountered no further trouble. He swiftly crossed Yinsha Forest, arriving at the swamp where he’d buried the corpse earlier.

As soon as he emerged from the forest, a weight lifted from his shoulders, as if a mountain had been removed. His vision also returned to normal.

The swamp area remained unchanged since his first visit—still permeated with toxic miasma and emanating a murderous aura.

This place held mysteries, and Chen Luo didn’t venture deep. Instead, he searched along the edge. Soon, he found the formation he’d set up years ago near a rotting tree.

The formation’s foundation stones were covered in green moss, the toxic miasma and mud having fused with the structure.

Twenty years had passed without a single visitor to this place.

“Recover!”

Chen Luo activated the formation’s seal, withdrawing it into his cultivation.

As the formation dissipated, the corpse-nourishing site he’d hidden reappeared. The once-murderous pond now radiated an even colder energy. Chen Luo sensed the cultivated corpse he’d placed here years ago as he approached.

The Core Formation corpse he’d retrieved from Yue Country’s great tomb emerged from below, a black iron aura coiling around its forehead.

Iron Corpse!

Twenty years of corpse cultivation had actually produced an Iron Corpse.

The corpse’s accumulated murderous energy had reached its peak. If revealed, this progress would make Corpse-Raising Sect cultivators’ eyes glow with envy.

Normally, creating an Iron Corpse took centuries.

Chen Luo’s friend Dry Corpse Daoist had spent decades refining a single black-haired corpse—a feat only possible because of the corpse’s exceptional essence. Most cultivators couldn’t even achieve that level.

To Chen Luo, casually tossing a corpse anywhere and retrieving an Iron Corpse was a crude method of corpse cultivation, unheard of in its simplicity.

“Pure luck.”

Chen Luo guided the corpse puppet out from within.

He was no longer a novice in corpse cultivation. With the Black Carapace Daoist’s knowledge now part of him, he had become an expert in the art. Looking back at his previous methods, he saw nothing but flaws - crude techniques and rudimentary skills. It was only this particular corpse’s high quality that had prevented it from rotting into mud like others would have.

“Not perfect, but the Black Carapace Daoist’s materials will come in handy.”

While Iron Corpses were rare, they held little value for Chen Luo now. Only the higher-tier Silver Carapace Corpse King could truly benefit him. His original plan for returning to the God Lake Immortal Sect had been to use the Demonic Heart Art to exploit weaknesses and visit old friends. But the combination of the Black Carapace Daoist and this Iron Corpse had opened up a new path.

Perhaps he could achieve Core Formation combat power ahead of schedule!

He cast a barrier array around the area.

With the location’s thick murderous aura, it was perfect for corpse cultivation. Chen Luo began preparing his materials.

With a flash of light, Chen Luo retrieved the corpse-cultivation materials prepared by Black Carapace Daoist from his Pouch of Holding. The White Jade Bone immediately began to shimmer upon extraction. In addition to these, Chen Luo also took out the coffin of bloodwater and the Blood-haired Girl he had acquired during his ghost temple expedition.

The bloodwater was from a great demonic entity, and the Blood-haired Girl was a corpse spirit.

Both were premium materials for corpse cultivation. Even the bronze coffin left behind by the Coffin-Bearing Old Man was a top-tier treasure that could nourish corpses and gather souls - a prize that corpse cultivators would dream of obtaining.

With Black Carapace Daoist’s brain in his possession, Chen Luo understood the purpose of each item clearly.

“Let’s start with some corpse qi.”

Chen Luo produced a handful of pitch-black corpse qi pearls and stuffed them all into the zombie’s mouth.

With a single hand, he formed a seal and his fingers flashed across the zombie’s body like lightning.

Each time his index finger touched down, a black light would flash.

These corpse qi pearls had been collected by Black Carapace Daoist over the years, originally intended for refining the Silver Carapace Corpse King. Now in Chen Luo’s hands, they would help him achieve his goal.

The Core Formation zombie he was refining was of higher quality than the Iron Corpse Black Carapace Daoist had prepared himself. Even Black Carapace Daoist’s brain acknowledged that this corpse puppet had a higher chance of success.

As the thought surfaced in the Black Carapace Daoist’s mind, Chen Luo swiftly raised his hand. Channeling spiritual energy to his fingertips, he thrust them into the zombie’s chest.

ROAR!

The Iron Corpse’s eyes snapped open, unleashing a furious bellow.

Fortunately, Chen Luo had already set up a soundproof formation. As the corpse’s energy erupted from its mouth, a wisp of black fire materialized in Chen Luo’s right hand - the Black Carapace Daoist’s ancestral secret art.

CRACK!

The palm, now wreathed in black flames, struck the zombie’s forehead. The influx of malevolent energy caused the corpse’s accumulated essence to surge violently. The twenty-year-old condensed malevolent energy, once dormant, now burned with the restlessness of ignited flames.

The heart began pounding in triplets.

Chen Luo withdrew his left hand and opened the nearby Pouch of Holding, producing a dozen materials. Under his control, these ingredients seamlessly integrated into the corpse puppet.

The zombie’s roar was suppressed, its senses sealed. The trapped malevolent energy, now contained within the corpse, began circulating under the Black Carapace Daoist’s ancestral technique. Forced compression transformed the energy into a seething liquid - a process akin to a cultivator’s transition from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation. Unlike the cultivator’s self-directed path, this corpse refinement relied entirely on external manipulation.

Bone Implantation!

The Black Carapace Daoist’s thoughts resurfaced. Chen Luo swiftly produced the White Jade Bone transformed from Lady Bai Gu, darted behind the zombie, and summoned black flames around his palm. He struck the zombie’s spine with both his hand and the White Jade Bone. The restrained corpse convulsed anew, but the Black Carapace Daoist’s secret technique proved brutally effective. Within moments, the zombie was once again subdued. Simultaneously, the Bloodfiend Pool beneath their feet churned violently, its malevolent energy surging into the zombie’s body. There, it fused with the White Jade Bone to form something akin to a ‘Pseudo-Core Seed’.

A lesser corpse puppet would have exploded at this stage, but Chen Luo’s cultivated corpse possessed extraordinary resilience. The influx of malevolent energy merely intensified its struggles without causing structural damage.

Time passed in measured intervals. Chen Luo periodically infused the zombie with more malevolent energy, followed by stimulation with black flames. Under the effects of the corpse-cultivation technique, the Iron Corpse’s aura grew increasingly potent. The accumulated malevolent energy within its body gradually liquefied, slowly coalescing toward the heart’s position.

Blood essence and corpse spirit!

Without needing the Black Carapace Daoist’s mental prompt, Chen Luo already manipulated the blood essence with his spiritual energy, pouring it entirely over the zombie’s body. He simultaneously released the restrictions on the Blood-haired Girl. Before she could react, he tapped her forehead, guiding her spirit to merge with the zombie’s brow.

The triad’s fusion caused the zombie’s aura to surge to its zenith.