Beneath the Shrine

An icy sensation pierced straight into the depths of the soul, as though it would freeze the souls of everyone nearby.

Almost at the same time, Jin Wuqian and the other four Ability Users standing behind him stared at Zheng Yi, whose entire body was covered in Cyan Flame.

The overwhelming pressure radiating from him, along with that bone-piercing chill, made them shudder and retreat again and again.

A reverence that sank deep into their bones suddenly arose.

At that moment, Zheng Yi appeared in their eyes like one of the Gods and Devils. Fear planted itself in their hearts like a seed, and they no longer dared muster any courage to resist or harbor even the slightest doubt.

Zheng Yi paid no mind to the changes in Jin Wuqian and the others behind him, focusing instead on injecting the Azure Nether Flame into the array.

At once, a point of light flickered. One node had been illuminated.

Following the array's pathways, the Azure Nether Flame lit up one node after another. Multicolored light shone like a host of stars, illuminating the sealed space in dazzling splendor.

At last, the final node lit up, linking the entire array into one whole.

The entire space suddenly brightened, then fell silent.

Zheng Yi drew a deep breath, a faint smile appearing on his calm face.

His luck had to be said to be good. The improved Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array, powered by Zombie Crystal Cores, had truly begun operating—and it had succeeded on the first try.

"Transport the zombie flesh and blood into the array."

At Zheng Yi's command, Jin Wuqian and the other Ability Users began directing the ordinary people lined up behind them. One person after another from the Gathering Place entered the battlefield and hauled over zombies in all manner of vehicles.

The rest carried the zombie flesh and blood, placing it in the locations designated by Zheng Yi with great speed.

He went straight to the center of the array, waved the Soul Devouring Banner, and placed the Blood Eggs of the yet-unborn Blood Fetus Ghost Infants at its heart. He also set up a small Soul-Bewildering Array to prevent others from being bewitched by these Blood Fetus Ghost Infants and doing anything "out of line."

Standing outside the array, he watched the operating Nine Yin Gathering Evil Vein Termination Array. The vast amount of zombie flesh and blood placed within it rapidly melted away, while the zombies' flesh-and-blood energy and Living Souls were continuously delivered to the Blood Fetus Ghost Infants at the center of the array.

According to Zheng Yi's calculations, it would take at least three years to successfully hatch these five Blood Fetus Ghost Infants.

After giving instructions that the Gathering Place needed to replenish the zombie flesh and blood on schedule, and that when the array's energy consumption reading became too low, they only needed to replenish the crystal cores at the nodes, Zheng Yi left behind a large portion of the Zombie Crystal Cores and returned to the Da Yi Immortal Domain.

Even though he possessed ghost creatures like the Blood Fetus Ghost Infants, which could reach the Foundation Establishment Realm the moment they were born, Zheng Yi did not dare relax in the slightest.

First of all, it would still take several years for these Blood Fetus Ghost Infants to be born. Who knew what might happen in those intervening years?

Furthermore, only one's own strength was true strength.

Ghost creatures like the Blood Fetus Ghost Infants could grow stronger merely by sacrificing flesh and blood and Living Souls. Their power and bizarre mutations were enough to astonish anyone.

Moreover, ghost creatures that could not be tolerated by the heavenly law were generally incomparably vicious, with resentment soaring to the heavens. Once they found an opportunity, they would surely turn on their master.

With his current cultivation at Qi Refining Stage Four, controlling these Blood Fetus Ghost Infants was truly beyond his abilities.

However, the chance of advancing another layer in cultivation within a short time was slim. The Soul Devouring Banner had already reached its carrying limit, making further rash action inadvisable for the time being. Thus, he also temporarily postponed further deep cultivation of the Black Fiend Technique.

Zheng Yi set his sights directly on cultivating the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art.

Cultivating the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art while traveling through the Apocalyptic World to kill zombies and obtain Zombie Crystal Cores—these were his most important tasks during this period.

In a short span of time, Zheng Yi slaughtered tens of thousands of zombies. He even massacred an entire zombie town, killing its Zombie King as well, whose body cultivation was almost equivalent to Qi Refining Stage Six.

He dug out the Zombie Crystal Cores, keeping the high-quality ones to support his cultivation of the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art.

The low-quality Zombie Crystal Cores, along with the flesh and blood of certain high-level zombies such as Red-Eyed Zombies, were all stored within the Soul Devouring Banner and brought back to the Gathering Place to sustain the array's operation and hatch the Blood Fetus Ghost Infants.

Two months passed in succession. Though the time was not long, Zheng Yi's progress in the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art was substantial, and he reached the Iron Fiend Armor stage in one stroke.

According to the realm divisions of the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art, there were Iron Fiend Armor, Bronze Skin, White Jade Bone, and finally Vajra Body.

It was said that upon reaching the highest level of the Profound Fiend Body Tempering Art, Vajra Body, one's entire body would become indestructible, and even Top-Grade Magic Tools of the Foundation Establishment Realm could not leave a wound upon it.

As for Iron Fiend Armor, it involved condensing Sha Qi into a suit of iron armor over the body. Its defensive power was formidable; below the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, few could break through Zheng Yi's defenses.

This secluded cultivation did not continue, however, as an important development forced Zheng Yi to end it early.

"Is everything you said true?"

In the Qi Family's main hall, Zheng Yi sat in the head of the family's seat and asked with a grave expression.

Qi Lin truly lived up to being the rebellious whelp Zheng Yi thought highly of. After taking power, he had almost entirely wiped out the members of the original Qi Family head's branch.

He had not even spared the collateral family members who had been closely connected to them. After this purge, fewer than thirty percent of the Qi Family members remained.

The ruthlessness of his methods greatly pleased Zheng Yi.

"My lord, such a major matter—I came to report it to you at once."

Qi Lin prostrated himself, his expression frightened and reverent, utterly different from his usual identity as the merciless, slaughtering head of the Qi Family.

If the other Qi Family members saw him like this, their eyes would surely pop out of their heads.

"Lead the way. I also want to see what this imprisoned cultivator of the Qi Family you mentioned is all about."

It turned out that Qi Lin had brought news of a hidden passage beneath the Shrine holding the Qi Family ancestors' memorial tablets. Inside, they had discovered an imprisoned cultivator.

Having discovered this secret, Qi Lin did not dare delay and immediately reported it to Zheng Yi. That was why Zheng Yi had made this trip to the Qi Family.

Qi Lin led the way into the deepest part of the Qi Family estate, to an Ancestral Hall that was clearly ancient. Reaching the Shrine, he turned a mechanism, revealing a passage behind it.

"My lord, it is down there."

"Mm."

Zheng Yi nodded slightly, but out of caution, he still summoned the Soul Devouring Banner before walking down the passage.

Qi Lin consciously led the way in front.

If there truly was any danger, Zheng Yi would be the first to kill him.

Of course, the chances of that were low.

Zheng Yi was now the biggest thigh Qi Lin could cling to. In the Ba Dong Town Mine region, ever since Qi Yuanzong and the others had fallen from power, there had been countless people eyeing the territory.

If Zheng Yi were not his backing, Qi Lin simply would not be able to hold his current position securely.

Zheng Yi understood this very clearly, and Qi Lin understood it even better.