The Eerie Wooden Statue

There are eighty-one stone steps on all four sides of the high platform, which connect to the floor of the stone hall.

As Zhong Liang stepped onto the first stone step, the four Copper Corpses on the platform turned around in unison, their four pairs of gray-black eyes staring intently at Zhong Liang, creating a suffocating sense of oppression.

A flicker of panic crossed Zhong Liang's eyes, but after regaining his composure, he continued walking forward.

As he got closer to the platform, the Sha Qi emanating from the Copper Corpse grew stronger, as if it would tear Zhong Liang apart and devour him alive if he dared to step onto the platform.

Tang Fu, Miaofa, and the others in the distance also watched the Copper Corpse's actions with solemn expressions, fearing that it might suddenly attack. At the same time, they were extremely curious about what method Zhong Liang had to lure the Copper Corpse off the platform.

After Zhong Liang stepped onto the last step, he did not rush to take the next step, but stood still on the last stone step.

At this moment, there was no trace of tension on his face; instead, he had a calm expression, and even a strange smile on his face.

"Just as recorded in the Jade Slip, these Copper Corpses will not attack unless one steps onto the high platform."

"If that's the case, then the method of luring corpses recorded in the Jade Slip should also be effective."

Zhong Liang thought to himself.

Zhong Liang then made several hand Method Formula and struck the four Copper Corpses.

Then, Zhong Liang threw out four pieces of bloody meat, each the size of a washbasin, which landed not far from the four corners of the platform.

Immediately, the Copper Corpse's eyes began to turn red, and it let out a low, hissing roar.

They all leaped high into the air, using both legs to propel themselves forward, and pounced on the four pieces of flesh below the platform.

Like ravenous beasts, they grabbed at flesh and blood and shoved it into their mouths.

A piece of flesh the size of a washbasin was torn apart and swallowed in just a few bites.

However, this piece of flesh and blood clearly could not satisfy them; on the contrary, it aroused their long-dormant craving for flesh and blood.

They raised their blood-red eyes, opened their mouths to reveal sharp fangs still covered in blood and flesh, and looked at Tang Fu and the others.

Upon seeing this, Tang Fu, Miaofa, and the others' expressions changed drastically.

"Why didn't the Copper Corpse attack Zhong Liang?" Miaofa Fa asked Tang Fu beside him in a panicked voice.

"Damn it! The Jade Slip Zhong Liang showed me Rong Yi incomplete; he deliberately concealed crucial information."

Tang Fu looked at Zhong Liang, who was walking step by step towards the Bronze Corpse Coffin on the high platform, and said angrily.

At this point, he understood perfectly well that Zhong Liang had been using him from the very beginning.

He hadn't finished speaking.

The group then turned and fled out of the stone hall.

"Boom!"

Just then, the stone hall's doors mysteriously closed on their own.

The group was trapped inside the stone hall.

Miaofa, who was at the forefront, produced a Zen staff in his hand. He raised the staff and smashed it heavily against the stone gate.

"Bump!"

The Miaofa reversed two steps.

The stone gate trembled a few times, then returned to normal.

Miaofa's expression turned extremely ugly.

Unable to break through the stone gate meant they were trapped, meat on the plate of the four Copper Corpses.

He turned to look at the four Copper Corpses charging towards him and shouted loudly.

"Stop running! We have no choice but to fight to the death. If we don't kill these Copper Corpses, we won't get out of here alive."

A golden bowl appeared before him, radiating golden light that shot towards one of the Copper Corpses.

The Copper Corpse, bathed in golden light, seemed to be suppressed by an invisible force, its speed drastically reduced and its movements becoming sluggish.

The corpse aura emanating from the Copper Corpse seemed to have met its nemesis, and began to slowly dissolve.

Seeing this, the other cultivators knew that escape was impossible, so they all used their skills to attack the Copper Corpse and prevent it from getting closer.

Tang Fu urged the Flame Apex Whip to wrap around a Copper Corpse.

Just as the long whip was about to entangle the Copper Corpse, the Copper Corpse raised its hand and struck the long whip with its palm.

Unexpectedly, the whip nimbly shifted downwards, cleverly dodging the Copper Corpse's palm.

Then, the long whip, like a nimble snake, quickly wrapped around the Copper Corpse's left leg and extended upwards, instantly binding the Copper Corpse's body tightly.

Having succeeded in one move, Tang Fu's eyes suddenly sharpened, and a blazing flame ignited on his long whip.

The flames spread along the long whip towards the Copper Corpse.

A chilling aura emanated from the Copper Corpse, which mingled with the raging flames, unleashing a violent surge of energy that swept across the surroundings.

The flames and the corpse energy were locked in a stalemate, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.

"Tang Si, help me kill this corpse first!" Tang Fu shouted loudly.

Apart from Miaofa, the other three monks, working together, barely managed to hold off a Copper Corpse.

The three cultivators and three Rogue Cultivators from the Tang Family, working together, barely managed to stop a Copper Corpse.

Upon hearing Tang Fu's words, Tang Si turned his flying sword around and slashed at the Copper Corpse that was trapped by the Flame Apex Whip.

"Ta-da..."

The flying sword struck the Copper Corpse as if it were striking metal, producing a series of sparks, but the Copper Corpse's body remained almost completely unharmed.

Seeing this, Miaofa shouted loudly.

"These Copper Corpses possess exceptionally strong physical bodies; ordinary Spirit Artifact are unlikely to harm them."

"What should we do then?" Tang Fu asked.

"Hold off the three Copper Corpses for a moment and don't let Copper Corpse get close. Once I've used Buddhist magic to kill the Copper Corpse I've trapped, I'll be free to help you."

Tang Fu nodded, "Okay!"

While controlling the golden bowl, Miaofa also summoned his Zen staff.

Golden light radiated from the staff, crashing down upon the Copper Corpse trapped in the golden bowl.

The staff struck the Copper Corpse on the head, and the Copper Corpse's indestructible skull was dented.

Seeing that the staff could injure the Copper Corpse, Miaofa was delighted and continued to urge the staff down, striking continuously.

After more than a hundred heavy blows, the Copper Corpse's head was smashed to pieces, but it did not fall; only its corpse aura weakened considerably.

Miaofa then swung his staff dozens more times, smashing the Copper Corpse's body to pieces. Only then did the Copper Corpse's corpse energy dissipate and it cease moving.

Upon seeing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy.

"Master's Buddhist teachings are indeed profound; he was able to slay the Copper Corpse all by himself. Master, please lend us a hand and kill all three Copper Corpses. Then we'll go and settle accounts with Zhong Liang," Tang Fu shouted.

Miaofa, upon hearing this, did not move.

Just now, he killed the Copper Corpse seemingly easily, but in reality, it consumed a lot of his spiritual power.

He has less than 50% of his spiritual power left. At most, he can kill one more Copper Corpse before exhausting his spiritual power.

Miaofa Fa would never deplete his spiritual energy and leave himself in a dangerous situation with no spiritual energy left just to save Tang Fu and the others.

Miaofa turned his gaze toward the high platform.

On the high platform, Zhong Liang had already opened the enormous Bronze Corpse Coffin.

Inside the Corpse Coffin, there was no corpse or skeleton, but instead a blue wooden human-shaped sculpture.

The statue depicts a young woman, naked.

The wooden statue is carved with great skill and lifelike detail, as if it were a woman who had truly fallen into a deep sleep.

The wooden statue was covered with extremely complex and mysterious magical runes, adding an eerie and mysterious aura to it.

The moment Zhong Liang saw the wooden statue, his eyes widened, gleaming with disbelief.

"Soul-Nourishing Wood! There is such a huge piece of Soul-Nourishing Wood in the world, and it has even been carved into a human figure. It is simply a waste of its precious resources."

Soul-Nourishing Wood is an extremely rare third-tier Ghost Dao treasure, coveted by all ghosts. Just a palm-sized piece is enough to keep the soul of the dead from dissipating for a thousand years.

Once a cultivator has formed their core, their soul becomes stable and not easily dissipated.

Some cultivators, unwilling to let their souls return to the underworld after death, would seek out Soul-Nourishing Wood, where their souls would reside, and in their soul bodies, they would cultivate the Ghost Dao, becoming ghost-like beings.

However, this Soul-Nourishing Wood gives the impression of being on the verge of decay.

It's as if, due to the passage of time, the spiritual essence within the Soul-Nourishing Wood is nearly exhausted.

Zhong Liang suppressed his greed for the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

The statue was so eerie that he dared not touch it.

But inside the Bronze Corpse Coffin, apart from the wooden statue, there was nothing else.

This greatly disappointed and angered Zhong Liang.

Having spent years and endured countless hardships to reach this place, are we really going to leave empty-handed?