Sheng Qinghong hadn't expected the assassin's swordplay to be so formidable. Cheng Zhi's killing intent surged, and once he struck, he never hesitated. A sea of blade-shadows came crashing down, leaving Sheng Qinghong unable to keep up.
In that instant, everything he felt with his eyes, heard with his ears, and sensed against his skin was swept up in a boundless expanse of blade-wind and blade-snow. Clutching his sword, he was like a tiny skiff caught in a torrential storm, battered by raging winds that howled and shrieked without end.
Sheng Qinghong struggled to swing his sword and parry. His mind went blank as waves of blades and crushing gusts surged all around him, roaring past and grinding him down.
"Die!"
The roar that burst from his throat was shredded by the wind. Blade-sharp gusts slashed across his body, opening terrible wounds on his chest, his waist, his arms, and his wrists. The pain made him feel as though his body had been torn to pieces.
With a sharp, ringing clang, the sword in Sheng Qinghong's hand was reduced to half a broken blade. His eyes went vacant, and a broken knife pierced his heart.
"Pfft!"
He opened his mouth and spewed a gush of blood from his throat. His hollow eyes gradually lost focus, blood continued to spill from his mouth and nose, and his vision faded into the void.
Seizing the opportunity, Cheng Zhi swung the broken blade in his hand and cut off Sheng Qinghong's head. Then he sprang up and kicked the eldest young master's headless corpse through the pavilion window. With a thunderous crash, the carved window panels and railing shattered.
Without a moment's hesitation, Cheng Zhi charged forward again. Holding Sheng Qinghong's head in his right hand, he planted his foot and launched himself from the top floor of Linjiang Immortal, plunging into the river. A few bubbles burbled to the surface, and he was gone.
Barren Mountain, night.
After night fell at midnight, a figure appeared outside the desolate valley, shrouded in deathly gloom. It was none other than He Ping. Beside him, He Fusheng held a white lantern.
"Young master, we've arrived."
He Fusheng spoke in a low voice. "This is Panshi Valley. Several geomancy experts from the mansion surveyed the terrain from every angle and studied the records before finding this place that meets your requirements."
Hearing his steward He Fusheng, He Ping didn't reply. His deep, dark eyes narrowed as he gazed into the distance by moonlight, looking down from above to study the valley below, known as Panshi Valley.
Even through the layers of tree-shadows, he could tell the valley floor was steeped in dense yin energy. It was a place of ill fortune.
The silent moonlight spilled coldly across the valley floor. The ground below was a stretch of scorched brown earth, like mud. Not a blade of grass grew there, and the valley held only a few stunted trees with yellowing leaves.
"...Geomancy has it that any land where not a blade of grass grows is barren and perilous, with no life to be found. Such terrain has no auspicious burial site. This is a place of ill fortune. The dead are best buried somewhere lush with plants and overflowing with life."
He Ping's gaze was somewhat detached as he muttered to himself.
He Fusheng's eyelids twitched. The moment he arrived, a sense of foreboding and heaviness had gripped him. An oppressive feeling kept rising from the depths of his heart.
"Indeed. This place is truly ominous..."
Even knowing nothing about geomancy, He Fusheng could tell the place was perilous. It was as if a frigid, sinister wind rose from the valley floor, scraping his cheeks like a knife. He suddenly felt the cold all around him, and icy air seemed to worm into every limb and bone, stinging him.
He Ping's constitution was even frailer than an ordinary person's. His face was sickly pale, his cheeks sunken, and a cloak was wrapped around him to ward off the wind. He surveyed the valley floor on all sides, confirming once more that this was the place he had been looking for.
The Incense Burner Spirit Nourishing Method contained instructions on corpse refinement. The first step was to find a suitable burial site.
Ordinary people searched for burial sites so that, once their bodies were laid to rest, their descendants might receive blessings and protection. Those refining corpses sought burial sites for an entirely different reason: to use the fierce baleful energy within the earth to refine a corpse that would neither rot nor decay.
"This place is suitable. It should help me refine Cheng Yujiao's corpse into a vicious corpse."
He Ping silently made up his mind.
"Let's go. Have them bring the coffin over."
"Yes, young master."
He Fusheng chuckled, then suddenly whistled. Several figures behind them came forward, carrying a pitch-black coffin.
There were nearly twenty people, made up of He Family guards and servants. The guards wore black fitted clothes beneath leather armor, with leather bracers and leggings. Their hands rested on the hilts of the long sabers at their waists.
The men carrying the coffin were loyal servants of the He Mansion. They wore black clothes and white shoes, with bamboo hats on their heads, and their steps wavered slightly.
The coffin hung from a long carrying pole painted bright red. Eight men carried it carefully, four in front and four behind.
The black coffin lid had been nailed shut, and an iron chain was wrapped around it. Yellow paper talismans were pasted to both the chain and the coffin, giving it an eerie appearance.
The corpse inside belonged to Cheng Zhi's elder sister, Cheng Yujiao. Since she had died in the ancestral hall at Ghost Stockade, she had been tainted by intense yin energy. Threads of black qi showed beneath her skin, and a layer of white hair had gradually grown over her body. Then her teeth had sharpened, and her fingernails had begun to lengthen.
—These were signs of corpse transformation.
He Ping had recognized them at a glance.
However, although Cheng Yujiao's corpse was transforming quickly, it would only become a White Baleful Zombie. That wouldn't be of much use to him, and it wasn't worth the effort.
According to the records in the Incense Burner Spirit Nourishing Method, the Death Longevity Incense refined from a White Baleful Zombie could extend one's life by only a hundred days.
He Ping intended to refine Cheng Yujiao's corpse into a Black Baleful Zombie, then make Death Longevity Incense from it. That would extend his life by two hundred days.
"Forming a White Baleful Zombie isn't difficult. As long as the yin energy is strong enough, the corpse will rise. But to create a Black Baleful Corpse, I need to use burial techniques to expose the body in its coffin to the turbid baleful energy in the earth's veins. Only then can it become a vicious Black Baleful Corpse."
He Ping led the coffin-bearing party down into the valley. To find a suitable burial hollow, he once again used the secret art of Heavenly Gaze. He carefully sensed the geomantic pattern beneath his feet, feeling for the movement of some peculiar force.
In the days before, he had sent retainers from the He Mansion to secretly survey the terrain around Suian City. At last, they had found that this valley was suitable for cultivating corpses.
"There should be a place of turbid baleful energy here, perfectly suited to serve as a burial hollow."
A look of consideration passed through He Ping's eyes.
The moment he entered Panshi Valley and sensed the configuration of its earthly energy, he knew this was the most suitable place.
He Ping's soul was far stronger than an ordinary person's, allowing him to discern the flow of earthly energy. By observing the earth's veins with his family's secret art, he had indeed found a suitable place for a vicious burial: a vacant patch of ground at the very center of the valley floor.
Not a blade of grass grew here either. According to geomancy, it was a place of ill fortune for burials, but for He Ping, who wanted to refine a corpse, it was the perfect burial site.
"This is the spot!"
He Ping bent down and scooped up a handful of the muddy sand. The soil in his palm was dark and gloomy, streaked with traces of dark red blood.
"...Blood mixed with sand. This must be Red Sheep Land. This kind of terrain shelters corpses in the shade. A corpse buried here is bound to absorb the turbid baleful energy and become a vicious corpse."
He stood and exhaled.
"Someone, dig down here."
"What are you waiting for? Get to work!"
He Fusheng assumed the authority of the He Family steward and waved his hand sharply. Several servants from the He Mansion lifted their spades and shovels and began digging with all their might.
About two hours later, they had dug a deep pit in the Red Sheep Land. The steward then directed everyone to work together and lower the coffin into it.
The sky had grown darker still, and a full moon hung overhead.
Cold moonlight poured down, carrying a deep, ghostly chill.
Before long, another half hour had passed. Only then did the servants slowly shovel the earth back into place. They also poured crow's blood over the coffin and mixed lime into the soil they used to fill the grave.
At the very moment the coffin was lowered into the earth, He Ping, standing nearby, keenly sensed the change with his powerful soul.
As the coffin was buried, a strange force began converging on the grave from all around.
The Red Sheep Land was already a place of ill fortune. Now it had become an activated black hole, greedily drawing in the yin energy and turbid baleful energy from its surroundings.
Whoosh!
A chilly, sinister wind stirred.
The people present instinctively tightened their clothes.
They had no idea that the coffin in the grave had changed. They assumed only that the mountain air grew colder late at night.
The only one who knew the truth was He Ping.
He hadn't spoken once. Now he slowly closed his eyes, sensing the female corpse sealed inside the coffin.
He had planted the Eight Element Bone Locking Method in Cheng Yujiao's corpse. This secret technique had formed a Blood Talisman concealed between the female corpse's brows.
"This Eight Element Bone Locking Method works on zombies too. The Immortal Puppet Sect's restriction is even more powerful. It might even help me control Cheng Yujiao after she transforms into a corpse."