Ku Bu Luohan

Zhou Yi took out the Eight Trigram magic tool he had obtained.

Tool: Corpse Suppressing Compass

Grade: 1st Rank

Description: A special magic tool for driving zombies. Those above Silver Corpse risk losing control.

Zhou Yi bit the tip of his tongue, pressed a drop of heart blood onto the tool, then refined it with True Essence.

In a hazy daze, a mysterious connection linked Zhou Yi to the Arhat Silver Corpse.

"No wonder Old Ancestor Tai Yin kept this tool close—it's deeply bound to the Silver Corpse. Anyone who refines it can wrest control of the Silver Corpse from him."

By now, Tai Yin's soul was no longer inside the Silver Corpse.

Zhou Yi channeled True Essence into the compass, and the Silver Corpse in the courtyard shot skyward, leaping over ten zhang in a single bound.

Boom!

It crashed to the ground, smashing a pit several zhang wide.

In terms of raw physical strength alone, zombies far surpassed humans—let alone this corpse, whose original form was a Buddhist Golden Body Arhat.

Its power and defense were even greater than the Demon Race's.

"Roar!"

The Silver Corpse let out a howl, spitting a cloud of purple corpse qi.

A nearby rockery and strange stones corroded and vanished in an instant, leaving a pool of purple-green corpse poison on the ground.

"In close combat, I wouldn't stand a chance. If I get hit by that corpse poison, I'll be crippled even if I survive."

Zhou Yi found himself thinking Old Ancestor Tai Yin wasn't so bad after all.

He delivered his head, delivered his tool, and even delivered his corpse after death.

Second day of the second month.

Dragon Raises Head.

Spring returns to the earth, all things revive.

The capital of Great Jing, stifled all winter, suddenly seemed to come alive.

Taoists and Buddhists paraded through the streets, drawing crowds of onlookers. The matter of the Crown Prince selecting a tutor had spread throughout the capital.

Many cultivators who loved making a show swept the streets clean, sprinkled water, and loudly blew conch shells to proclaim the deeds of immortals, drawing countless ignorant folk to kneel and kowtow.

Old Ancestor Tai Yin had also loved such spectacles—the more unsociable a person, the more they wanted to stir up a commotion and draw attention, using it to flaunt the Heavenly Corpse Sect's might.

Zhou Yi flatly refused, instead ordering them to keep a low profile.

But the Heavenly Corpse Sect's strength lay in their corpse refinement. No matter how low-key they tried to be, the moment dozens of Bronze Corpses appeared, they couldn't help but draw eyes.

They made their way to the Eastern Palace.

Red walls and green tiles, utterly luxurious.

No one stopped Zhou Yi when he entered. The imperial guards, seeing the Bronze Corpses, trembled in their boots and nearly fled with their heads in their hands—hardly the look of elite imperial troops.

Ahead, a group of monks had arrived before the Heavenly Corpse Sect.

The leader wore tattered robes, eyes closed, barefoot, with prayer beads each the size of a chicken egg.

Yang Bai reported in a low voice: "Ancestor, this man is an Ascetic Monk from Biyun Temple, two generations senior to the current abbot. He's called Ku Bu Luohan."

"Ku Bu Luohan, to experience the ultimate suffering of the human world, blinded his own eyes, pierced his eardrums, and swallowed charcoal to ruin his throat—a ruthless man."

"Besides Biyun Temple, Puzhao Temple and Jinguang Temple have each sent two Guardian Arhats."

Guardian Arhats are the title given to Buddhist cultivators who have attained Innate and condensed a Golden Body, similar to the Daoist Innate True Person.

Buddhist Arhats lean toward physical techniques and spiritual secrets, while Innate True Persons excel in spells, alchemy, and artifacts—each has their strengths.

The Heavenly Corpse Sect had already investigated thoroughly. The Buddhist and Daoist experts vying for the Grand Tutor position, comparable to Ancestor Tai Yin True Person, numbered seven in total.

Five from the Daoist sect, three from the Buddhist sect. Since Tai Yin himself was originally of the Maoshan lineage, the Daoist side held an absolute advantage in this contest.

Ever since Pu Du Ci Hang was appointed National Tutor, the Buddhist sect's momentum had surged. They built temples everywhere and pushed out the Daoist sect.

The Heavenly Corpse Sect, a newly risen top-tier Daoist power, had been labeled a Heretical Demonic Path by Pu Du Ci Hang, and many small Daoist temples had been squeezed until their lineages were broken.

"Jinguang Temple... Do you know anything about Vajra Chan Master?"

Over sixty years ago, Zhou Yi had traveled through Jiangnan challenging martial experts. Passing Jinguang Temple, he had crossed hands with Vajra Chan Master.

His Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill had already perfected his physical body, flawless and leakless. Only spiritual perfection remained before he could communicate with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to temper his Golden Body.

"Vajra Chan Master, forty years ago, forcibly broke through to Innate Grandmaster, summoned a heart demon, and passed into bliss."

Yang Bai had spent last night gathering all information on Guo Bei Sword Saint, knowing that Zhou Yi had ties with Vajra Chan Master.

"The one sent by Jinguang Temple this time is Vajra Chan Master's master, Du E Luohan. Legend says he's over a hundred and forty years old..."

The lifespan limit of the Innate realm is one hundred and fifty years.

Du E Luohan had less than ten years of Lifespan remaining.

"What exactly is the Buddhist Sect planning..."

Zhou Yi quickened his pace, catching up to the Puzhao Temple group.

As he passed Ku Bu Luohan, a True Essence flying needle silently struck out in a sneak attack.

Ku Bu, walking with eyes closed, paused mid-step and snatched at the True Essence flying needle with one hand.

Ding!

The needle, capable of piercing metal and stone, left only a faint mark on Ku Bu's palm.

"Which fellow cultivator is this?"

Ku Bu's voice was hoarse to the extreme; without careful listening, even his words were hard to make out.

A ripple of divine sense swept back and forth through the vicinity, finally locking onto Zhou Yi and the Silver Corpse.

Zhou Yi stepped forward and said, "This poor Daoist is Tai Yin. I have long heard of Master Ku Bu's reputation; meeting you today, your fame is well-deserved."

"You are not Tai Yin!"

Ku Bu shook his head and said, "This monk's heart tells me you are another person."

Zhou Yi paused, then quickly realized—there was actually such a Buddhist divine ability.

"What a fine Buddha Heart. I hope I may still witness the Master's other divine abilities and spells today."

With that, he turned and left.

From that brief probe, Zhou Yi had already gauged the situation.

A nearby monk said, "These are the Heretical Demonic Paths of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, Patriarch. You need not show them any courtesy. Master Pu Du has long wanted to eliminate them!"

Ku Bu shook his head and let out a sigh.

"This man has a deep foundation and cultivates orthodox Daoism. I am no match for him."

The Buddhist and Daoist forces that came this time, large and small, totaled over thirty factions. Four to five hundred monks and priests gathered together, clearly split into two distinct camps.

Though the Heavenly Corpse Sect was looked down upon within the Daoist sect, no one cared about that now in the midst of a doctrinal dispute.

Old Ancestor Tai Yin's strength was already unmatched in the world.

The Eastern Palace was vast in area. Crown Prince Li Zhu vacated over a dozen halls to host the Buddhist and Daoist masters.

The Buddhist Sect took the east side, the Daoist Sect the west side, preventing any conflict.

Before the Magical Combat, the lavish banquet need not be described in detail.

The main banquet hall held over seventy people—the leaders and deputies of each Buddhist and Daoist faction, with Daoist priests making up seventy percent.

Crown Prince Li Zhu was only fourteen or fifteen years old, yet his conduct in social interactions already bore the bearing of royalty.

During the banquet, the Buddhist and Daoist masters traded verbal jabs, perfectly demonstrating how to insult someone without using a single curse word.

Compared to the eminent Buddhist monks, the Daoist True Persons were truly unskilled in verbal sparring. Outnumbered three to seven, they were repeatedly silenced by retorts, shouting that they'd teach the other side a lesson and nearly coming to blows.

Li Zhu, seated at the head, always managed to mediate the atmosphere at the right moment, subtly favoring the Daoist sect in his words.

If the seventy-plus Buddhist and Daoist true cultivators started fighting now, the Eastern Palace would be razed to the ground.

"All of them are decades old, at least masters in their own right, yet their acting is so fake!"

"The ones bickering and shouting are all deputies; each leader sits steady as a mountain. Are they performing for the Crown Prince, or for someone else..."

Zhou Yi glanced toward the screen behind the banquet hall. A mass of majestic aura was gathered there.

The Dragon Qi of Great Jing—the Imperial Dynasty's Fortune!

The moment Zhou Yi's divine sense touched it, it felt like being scorched by fire.

"There's still Dragon Qi protecting the body, warding off all evils. It seems Great Jing still has a few years of imperial mandate left."

Headache. Writing is painfully slow.

I've sorted out the later plot. I hope I can write something a bit different, rather than just following the storyline.

Just two chapters today. Going to sleep early.

At least three chapters guaranteed tomorrow.

I've already received the contract notification, so feel free to invest~

Thank you for your support, dear readers.