The Death of Zhu Zihua, the Copper Corpse is Born (Seeking Collections, Seeking Follow-ups)

Thoughts raced through Xu Yuan's mind. He knew that his position in the illusion differed from his real position, so the formation's location within the illusion could not possibly be the true location of the formation.

The formation he had destroyed just now had merely been a smokescreen.

"How do we find the real location of the formation, then?"

Xu Yuan frowned. In the next instant, a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind.

"That's it—the scent!"

Having found the key, Xu Yuan first helped Zhu Zihua drive back Nan Yun. In truth, their opponent within the formation only possessed the cultivation of the third level of Qi Refinement. She had merely been bullying Zhu Zihua after he had exhausted his spiritual energy.

"Remember to bring a sword next time that doesn't consume so much spiritual energy."

Still in the mood to tease him at a time like this, Xu Yuan stood before Zhu Zihua and began using the Martial Dao Sacred Embryo's freakish control over his body to analyze the complex air currents around him.

The most obvious thing was still the scent of incense, but as Xu Yuan calmed his mind, he discovered that the fragrance was slowly beginning to fade.

"As expected, an illusion formation of the middle Qi Refinement stage still can't completely deceive the five senses. I just didn't expect even this incense to be a smokescreen. Nan Yun, Nan Yun—among the three of us, you're the one who's hidden yourself the deepest."

Xu Yuan muttered to himself. In that brief span of time, Nan Yun and the horde of zombies charged at him once more. Yet none of their attacks could inflict any meaningful damage on Xu Yuan. Nan Yun raised her magic sword and hacked wildly, but all she left on Xu Yuan's body were a few pale marks.

"Found it."

Xu Yuan's eyes snapped open. He seized Nan Yun's hand before him, twisted it backward, then casually smashed her head apart with a slap.

After doing all that, he took a step forward. Within only a few breaths, amid the illusion formation's interference with his sense of smell, he had located a trace of the true incense fragrance.

Nan Yun and the horde of zombies within the illusion seemed to realize something as well, throwing themselves at Xu Yuan without regard for their lives. But he ignored them all and continued on until he reached the dirt mound where the Baleful Intent corpse had appeared earlier.

Xu Yuan raised his right leg and stomped down fiercely.

With a thunderous boom, the dirt mound was crushed beneath his foot. As smoke scattered in all directions, the nauseatingly rich incense fragrance gradually dissipated as well.

Looking around again, he was indeed still within the bounds of Soul-Severing Forest, while the village remained far off in the distance.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, are you all right?"

Turning to look at Zhu Zihua, who was gasping violently beside him, Xu Yuan asked. Zhu Zihua used his sword to support himself as he struggled to stand.

"I'm not dead yet."

Forcing out a reply, he took medicinal pills from his sleeve and swallowed them. Who knew what potent medicine this fellow had taken? After meditating to regulate his breathing for half an hour, his aura had actually recovered by half.

"Come on, Xu Yuan. Let's go settle the score with that bitch."

He shouted curses as he spoke. After everything that had happened, he had finally become convinced of Xu Yuan's abilities. At the same time, he hated Nan Yun, who had ambushed him, to the marrow of his bones.

Xu Yuan nodded and restored his own vital energy as well. After so many battles, he had gained absolute confidence in his own strength. This time, he also wanted to see exactly what trick Nan Yun was playing.

The two raced toward the village together. From far away, they could already smell an extremely dense stench of blood. The black crows of Soul-Severing Forest had all flown over by now, circling Filial Piety Village in flock after flock.

"Where's that thieving hag? Why did he kill so many ordinary people?"

Zhu Zihua scanned the village entrance. In just those few glances, the two had already seen the corpses of quite a few villagers.

They made their way to the center of the village, yet still found no living villagers. Only when they arrived once again at Gao Fu's home did they finally see Nan Yun.

At that moment, Gao Fu and his wife were kneeling before her, desperately begging her to spare their lives. Yet Nan Yun's magic sword did not pause in the slightest. With a casual sweep, two heads fell to the ground.

As fresh blood splashed onto her dress, she was practically covered in crimson from head to toe, looking both strange and seductively bewitching.

However, upon hearing the movement behind her, she still turned around in surprise.

"You actually managed to break the formation. Fellow Daoist Xu, I truly underestimated you."

She stared directly at Xu Yuan, completely ignoring Zhu Zihua beside him with his magic sword in hand, as though he were nothing more than some stray dog by the roadside.

How could Zhu Zihua endure such humiliation? His aura erupted as he charged forward.

"Demoness, you dared set up a formation to harm your Grandpa Zhu? Hurry up and offer your life!"

Xu Yuan's eyes widened. Before he could even utter a warning, a smile had already curled across Nan Yun's face.

"Idiot."

As her words fell, the roof behind Nan Yun suddenly burst apart. A huge black shadow pounced down, its target fixed on Zhu Zihua.

This fellow had been wholly focused on Nan Yun and had not noticed the movement above him at all. By the time he started in alarm and tried to swing his sword, the figure plunging down had already seized his magic sword in one hand and pinned him beneath its body.

"What a waste of effort."

Xu Yuan sighed but did not move, because the instant that monster landed, one of its palms had already pierced through Zhu Zihua's throat.

Zhu Zihua's eyes were wide as he stared fixedly at the monster before him, the light gradually fading from them.

This arrogant second-generation immortal did not know whether he had any other tricks left unused, but judging by his state, he probably would never get the chance to use them.

"It is?"

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan looked at the figure standing before him like an iron tower, nearly a zhang tall. Even from that brief glimpse, he vaguely sensed that this body had originally belonged to the old woman Nan Yun had rescued from the grave.

After killing Zhu Zihua, the eerie, demonic aura around Nan Yun seemed to have faded somewhat. In response to Xu Yuan's question, she returned to the smiling appearance of a senior sect sister from before.

"Fellow Daoist Xu should recognize her in this form. That's right—she is the old woman, and also the copper corpse I raised by feeding her corpse-transformation pills."

Narrowing her eyes with a smile, Nan Yun continued, "That old woman had been abandoned by her children. Her heart was already filled with resentment and despair. Furthermore, after returning from the grave, she had long been tainted by the yin energy of that senior's formation. She was originally perfect material for refining a living corpse."

"I had her take corpse-transformation pills while retaining her consciousness, then made her personally devour her own son and granddaughter. Hatred, exhilaration, pain, guilt—such deeply engraved emotions could nail her living soul fast to her flesh. Then, after a blood sacrifice of all the living beings in an entire village, this corpse could be completed."

"Only, what a pity." At this point, Nan Yun sighed. "Fellow Daoist Xu is simply too formidable. The time you left me was less than half a shichen. I hastily refined this corpse, and it is still not complete. After I kill you, I'll first have to let it feed on a few mortal corpses. Only once it is complete can it enjoy its main course."

Xu Yuan looked at her coldly and suddenly asked, "Everything you did before was false?"

If this woman's earlier performance had not been so lifelike, neither Xu Yuan nor Zhu Zihua could possibly have trusted her so completely. They had actually allowed her to light incense before them without taking any precautions.

Upon hearing this, Nan Yun's face blossomed into a smile once more. But it was no longer that gently smiling senior sister's expression—it was brimming with provocation.

"Junior Brother, after entering the mountain, I was the top courtesan in several Desire Immortal Pavilions. What kind of person could I not play? What a pity, though—now we're down the mountain. If we were still up there, let alone playing someone, there isn't any move this senior sister couldn't pull off."

After hearing her provocative words, Xu Yuan's gaze did not ripple in the slightest. Instead, it gradually turned colder. Since that was the case, there was no longer any need for him to speak.

Drawing the magical sword from his back, Xu Yuan looked at the iron-tower-like zombie before him and Nan Yun behind it. The spiritual energy and blood qi throughout his body boiled in full.

The Martial Dao Sacred Embryo, the Bright Thunder Body-Tempering Art, Spirit-Martial Unity, and his spirit veins all operated at their utmost limits.

"Then let Xu see just what caliber this copper corpse, which you went to such lengths to refine, truly is!"