Stubbornly Unrepentant, The Mastermind!

"Congratulations, you got it right. Too bad there's no prize."

Lin Chen looked at the Landlord Elder, his tone indifferent. "Spill it. What's really going on?"

Originally, Lin Chen had planned to kill the landlord's family outright, but the other party had mentioned a master. Clearly, there was someone else behind the landlord's corpse-raising—he was just a puppet pushed to the front.

Lin Chen wanted the Origin of the landlord's family, and he wanted the Origin of the Evil Cultivator behind them too.

"It's like this..." The Landlord Elder, seeing he was no match for Lin Chen, had no choice but to lay everything out. Four years ago, after his wife and child died, he lost all will to live.

Just then, a Mysterious Figure found him, claiming he could revive his wife and child. The Landlord Elder naturally didn't believe it, but the man used some technique to make the corpses move and even communicate with the landlord.

At that point, the Landlord Elder had no choice but to believe. Following the man's instructions, he set up a corpse-raising ground to revive his family. However, during this process, the corpses couldn't leave the ground, or everything would be ruined.

The Mysterious Figure came by every so often, providing materials needed for Raising Corpses. With his help, the Landlord Elder became a First Order cultivator.

"Do you really think that Mysterious Figure would help you for nothing?" Lin Chen looked at the Landlord Elder, letting out a faint sigh. "What he calls 'revival' is just turning them into neither human nor ghost—Corpse Puppets. They're not your wife and child; they're that man's puppets."

"No, the master said that when the four years are up, they'll truly come back to life. He wouldn't lie to me!" The Landlord Elder shook his head frantically.

"Deluded. Since that's the case, don't blame me."

Lin Chen's face darkened. He'd felt some sympathy for the Landlord Elder—otherwise, he could have killed him with one punch. But now that he knew the man was set on his path, he wouldn't hold back.

He activated his Blood Qi True Flame, and the temperature in the basement shot up. At the same time, the two ice coffins shook violently.

Boom—Boom—

With two dull thuds, the ice coffins exploded, and two figures shot out—the Woman and the Man.

"Old man, let's fight together!"

"Dad, if we die, we die together!"

The Woman and the Man blurred into motion, appearing beside the Landlord Elder in an instant. A relieved smile spread across his face. "Good!"

"Ah—"

But the next moment, the Landlord Elder screamed in agony. The Woman and the Man had latched onto his neck from both sides, biting down and frenziedly devouring his flesh and blood.

"You..."

The Landlord Elder's face was full of disbelief. How could his own wife and child harm him?

"Idiot. They're both Corpse Puppets I refined. I just used you as cover." A hoarse male voice came from the Woman's mouth, and she continued, "Making you a cultivator was just so that when the Corpse Puppets emerged, they could devour the blood of a close relative and advance further."

"Too bad, after four years of scheming, you ruined it. They had to emerge early, so their strength isn't what I'd hoped." The Woman turned to Lin Chen, murder in her eyes. "Today, I'll use you as blood food to restore some of the Corpse Puppets' power."

"Kill..." The Landlord Elder looked at Lin Chen, his eyes filled with regret, and forced out a single word.

Whoosh—

Lin Chen moved. In a blur, he appeared before the Landlord Elder. His fist, wreathed in Blood Qi True Flame, came down, and the old man turned to ash.

The moment the Landlord Elder was killed, the two Corpse Puppets attacked Lin Chen. He quickly swung his fist to meet them.

Boom—Boom—

Two dull sounds rang out. Lin Chen and the two Corpse Puppets were both knocked back. Their strength was roughly equal—for now, neither could gain the upper hand.

After a short skirmish, Lin Chen suddenly sensed a sharp attack coming from behind. Instead of alarm, he felt pleased. "You finally decided to show yourself!"

Before the words faded, Lin Chen punched backward. With a dull thud, a figure flew backward and slammed into the basement wall.

"You were hiding your strength!"

The newcomer's face changed. Just moments ago, Lin Chen had been evenly matched with the two Corpse Puppets, but now he could suppress him—and he was a Third Order cultivator.

Clearly, Lin Chen had been holding back.

Lin Chen looked at the newcomer with a light smile. "Someone as cautious as you—if Young Master didn't hide his strength, would you have shown yourself?"

The Mysterious Figure was always extremely careful when meeting the Landlord Elder. The old man didn't even have a way to contact him. To find him, Lin Chen had to lure him out.

According to the Landlord Elder, the Corpse Puppets were about to emerge, so the mastermind wouldn't be far away. Lin Chen deliberately suppressed his strength to bait him into acting.

The mastermind took the bait, which also meant he was likely in the urban village, secretly watching the Landlord Elder.

"Stop him!"

Realizing the gap in their strength, the man ordered the two Corpse Puppets to block Lin Chen while he tried to escape. If a sneak attack couldn't beat Lin Chen, a direct fight would be suicide.

Facing the charging Corpse Puppets, Lin Chen fully activated his Blood Qi True Flame. Two punches landed, and both Corpse Puppets turned to ash.

"What!"

The man's face went pale. Second Order Corpse Puppets, destroyed in an instant, not even a trace left?

He thought he'd already overestimated Lin Chen's strength, but he'd still underestimated him.

Whoosh—

A figure appeared before him. Who else could it be but Lin Chen? But instead of killing him outright, Lin Chen asked, "Do you know the Corpse Demon Elder?"

"No, but the Corpse Demon Elder is an idol of our Corpse Puppet Lineage." The man shook his head. When he mentioned the Corpse Demon Elder, a look of longing crossed his face.

Since they both refined Corpse Puppets, Lin Chen had thought the man might be connected to the Corpse Demon Elder. But it turned out he didn't know him at all.

"You can die now." Lin Chen's Blood Qi True Flame surged, and his fist fell.

"Spare—"

Before the speaker could finish, they were engulfed by the Blood Qi True Flame and instantly turned to ash.

"Killed a Third Order Evil Cultivator. Origin +2000."

"Origin:"

"Upgradeable Martial Art: Phoenix Undying Body, First Layer (4/9)"

"Upgrade!"

Lin Chen chose to upgrade again. The Blood Qi True Flame within him swelled noticeably. At this point, even among Fifth Order cultivators, his strength was no longer weak.

He dialed Xu Fei's number and informed him of what had happened. Learning that an Evil Cultivator had been refining corpses in a busy area, Xu Fei was also furious.

The Demon Suppression Division would handle the follow-up. Lin Chen left the urban village and drove straight back to school.

Li Lin was about to sleep when she suddenly heard sirens. Soon after, the first floor was sealed off, and all the tenants in the building were called in for questioning.

"Uncle Zhou is dead?" Li Lin's face was full of disbelief. Just an hour ago, she had seen the Landlord Elder.

"Yes. Zhou Zhiming dug a basement underground to store his wife and child's bodies. An electrical leak caused his death." The security officer looked at Li Lin and asked calmly, "During this time, did you notice anything unusual about Zhou Zhiming?"

"Bodies?"

Li Lin's face turned pale. Didn't that mean they, the tenants, had been sleeping right on top of corpses?

At first, Li Lin had felt a bit sorry for Zhou Zhipeng. But after learning this, she realized he had lost his mind and gone mad. It made her think of what Lin Chen had said—that pitiable people might have hateful qualities!

Li Lin didn't dare hide the matter of the Ghost Marriage. She told the security officer everything. After giving her statement, she moved straight to a hotel for the night, planning to find a new place to live tomorrow.