Banshee Family Training Record

Page 429

The harvesting process went very smoothly. Soon, she had picked the whole, shady green lotus root and sealed it in a jade box.

You Wensi leaped back onto the bridge and stood beside Yun Chu'an. He wasn't particularly excited; he simply said "thank you for your hard work," waved, and continued forward.

The narrow bridge was not short. As the four of them made their way forward in the pitch-black environment, they saw the space ahead tremble and shake.

Then, in the pitch-black space ahead, a group of eerily pale people were carrying a sedan chair and walking towards them.

Those were pale paper figures, lit with pale candles, carrying pale sedan chairs, and scattering pale paper money, walking step by step toward this place.

The bridge was so narrow that neither side could pass at the same time. When they met on the narrow path, Yun Chu'an stopped in his tracks, and then he heard his beloved wife Qi Qiao speak softly, "The main function of these paper figures is to patrol the secret realm and prevent cultivators who are not from the Corpse Driving Sect from taking the contents inside."

"It's not difficult to untangle them, I can do it."

You Wensi and Rong Jieyu also stepped forward to help her undo the restrictions on the paper figures.

Yun Chu'an looked at the paper figures, his eyes lighting up, and then asked with some eagerness, "How strong are they?"

Qi Qiao's expression shifted upon hearing this. She turned to look at him, her eyes filled with a hint of resentment: "You want to destroy them all again?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Chu'an quickly waved his hand and shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I was just asking, just asking."

He swallowed hard and continued, "These paper figures, they are indeed made of paper, right? I'm wondering, what level of strength do they possess?"

"Even if it's just the Foundation Establishment stage, wouldn't it be enough to replace our most basic terracotta warrior puppets, allowing us to raise a cannon fodder army at a lower cost?"

Upon hearing his idea, You Wensi was taken aback, then her eyes lit up: "It seems so... Good heavens, how come we never thought of this before?"

Rong Jieyu said, "That's because we were only in the sect before, pursuing high-end combat power. We didn't rule a country, and we never thought about how to fight a national war."

As she spoke, she looked at Yun Chu'an again: "Paper figures are indeed cheaper to make, but the production process is more complicated."

"It requires an extremely intricate and complex magic array to be imprinted on it in order to create a paper doll with Foundation Establishment strength. And to create a paper doll with Golden Core strength, the process is even more complicated, requiring multiple repetitions of drawing..." (The rest of the text appears to be a series of unrelated phrases and keywords, possibly from different sources.)

Upon hearing this, Yun Chu'an thought for a moment and said, "So you mean all of these can be replaced by printing presses?"

Rong Jieyu choked for a moment. She didn't have a system, and in normal times, she would always intentionally or unintentionally overlook Yun Chuan's printing press, a powerful object.

She hesitated for a moment, but found herself unsure. In the end, she could only shake her head and give a wry smile: "Let's go back and try... Maybe it will work, but we haven't tried it before, so we can't say for sure what will happen."

Yun Chu'an nodded, his heart leaping with joy: "If it really works, then we can save the Xuanhuang Mother Qi and do some research to see if we can use it to create an even more powerful puppet."

He had always known that the Primordial Qi could be used to create even more powerful, giant terracotta warriors with the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, this thing is extremely expensive, and the design alone requires him to spend a considerable amount of high-grade spirit stones in the system to purchase it.

He had always been reluctant to part with it, and the Primordial Qi was ultimately finite, making mass production impossible. Therefore, despite all the effort, he had not yet put it into action.

But now, if there are replacements for cannon fodder with Golden Core stage strength, a new plan can be put on the agenda.

His heart was filled with anticipation. Beside him, Qi Qiao, with the help of You Wensi, had easily removed all the restrictions on the paper figures carrying the sedan chair.

So the paper figures carrying the sedan chair turned around and returned to the other side. Yun Chu'an and the others continued forward and soon crossed the long bridge to the other side.

Here, the aura of vengeful spirits was even stronger. Yun Chu'an looked up and saw rows of upright coffins, each emanating an even more powerful aura of vengeful spirits.

Clearly, what's stored here are extremely powerful zombies.

Seeing this, Yun Chu'an's expression gradually turned serious. He released his senses and carefully explored the area, then couldn't help but be moved: sealed within these coffins were many powerful zombies that had even reached the Nascent Soul stage. If these were released, they would be a force capable of destroying a large vassal state!

Beside him, You Wensi's expression suddenly became excited, and he muttered to himself, "Golden Armor Corpse...the Golden Armor Corpse is sealed inside!"

Yun Chu'an turned to look at her, saying nothing, and quietly waited for her to explain what "golden-armored corpse" meant.

Beside her, Rong Jieyu explained, "The Golden Armor Corpse is the highest achievement of the Corpse Driving Sect. It is made from the corpses of late-stage Golden Core cultivators. Once it reaches its full potential, it will possess strength comparable to a true Nascent Soul cultivator."

"If it really works, a corpse-driving cultivator with four golden-armored corpses will have no rivals within the Nascent Soul stage."

She exclaimed in amazement, but Yun Chu'an showed no envy whatsoever: "Really? One-on-one, could he really defeat a Nascent Soul stage cultivator?"

Rong Jieyu hesitated to speak, but You Wensi immediately chimed in: "While that is true in theory, in reality, cultivators at the early Nascent Soul stage all possess their own unique skills and special magic weapons, so achieving that is not easy."

Yun Chu'an nodded slightly, understanding in his heart: "I know that the Golden Armor Corpse is very strong. So, is there anything even more to achieve?"

Rong Jieyu said, "Yes."

As she spoke, she looked at Qi Qiao.

The latter suddenly felt a surge of tension, but then Yun Chu'an put his arm around her shoulder and said, "That means there isn't any. Alright, let's continue forward and see how many treasures are left in this secret realm."

You Wensi nodded gently, but then her gaze swept over the surrounding coffins, her expression showing a hint of reluctance: "Then... what should we do with these golden-armored corpses?"

"Should we destroy them? Or... leave them all here?"

She asked this question, but her voice clearly betrayed a hint of reluctance. After all, they were all powerful combatants; if she could control four golden-armored corpses in battle, she could leap to the very pinnacle of the Nascent Soul stage.

Rong Jieyu also looked at Yun Chu'an with anticipation, hoping that something that would be perfect for both of them would happen.

However, Yun Chu'an's attitude on this matter was quite firm: "Destroy it! This thing is too conspicuous; the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it."

“A bronze-armored corpse with the strength of a Golden Core cultivator can be used privately. Even if it is discovered, it can be blamed on someone else. There are countless people in the countryside who secretly cultivate zombies, and no one will really investigate.”

"But the Golden Armored Corpse..." he said solemnly, "you don't want the Qingyun Sect to suddenly become serious again, with all the Nascent Soul stage elders mobilizing to conduct a thorough investigation of the remnants of the Corpse-Driving Sect throughout the Central Plains, do you?"

In fact, even now, the righteous sects are still investigating the remnants of evil and demonic cultivators like the Corpse Driving Sect, but the efforts are not very strong. The only ones they send out are Foundation Establishment disciples like Yan Shuiyi from back then. The deacons above the Golden Core stage are busy with other things, let alone the elders at the Nascent Soul stage.

If one day the Nascent Soul stage Qingyun elders were to mobilize again because of the Corpse Driving Sect, that would be a momentous event that would shake the Central Plains.

Chapter 838 Soul-Nourishing Wooden Coffin

Upon hearing this, You Wensi trembled slightly. Her expression revealed a kind of fear, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying.

Then, she closed her eyes slightly, took a few deep breaths, and barely managed to calm herself down.

Then, she took a slight breath, opened her eyes again, and said, "I understand... Destroy all these golden-armored corpses, and then try to recycle as much of what's inside as possible, and make use of the waste."

As she spoke, a sense of loss lingered on her face. What could possibly be salvaged from a finished golden-armored corpse?

No matter how they are recycled, it's just a drop in the ocean compared to their current value, and not worth worrying about at all.

As Rong Jieyu listened to this, she felt as if her heart was bleeding. Qi Qiao, on the other hand, didn't feel anything. Although this girl could sense from reading her past life's memories that these golden-armored corpses were precious, important, and valuable.

However, she was not the same person as in her previous life. The things of the Corpse-Driving Sect were more like an unattainable dream to her, so although she felt a little sorry for destroying them, she was not heartbroken to the point of being devastated.

Yun Chu'an gently patted his beloved wife's shoulder, his attitude was firm and unwavering.

To put it bluntly, even if something is incredibly nutritious in a dog's eyes, a human wouldn't treat it like a precious treasure.

Then, he put his arm around Qi Qiao and continued forward.

The ground here is covered with various mysterious and complex formations, and numerous traps and mechanisms are set up. If one is not a core member of the Corpse Driving Sect, one will fall into their trap if one is not careful.

At least, both You Wensi and Rong Jieyu were in awe of the many traps in this secret realm. They didn't even dare to go first. Qi Qiao had to lead the way and make the judgment before they dared to take action, disarm the traps, and then destroy the golden-armored corpses inside.

During this time, Yun Chu'an, who knew nothing about it, was unable to do anything. Helpless, he could only stand by and watch as the women struggled to make a fuss.

All the golden-armored corpses here will be destroyed.

You Wensi was still a little heartbroken, so Yun Chu'an hugged her and comforted her. After a while, the group composed themselves and set off again, continuing forward until they arrived at the deepest and most central part of this secret realm.

Then, everyone saw a huge mahogany coffin, quietly suspended in mid-air, exuding a chilling aura.

A large, gleaming metal padlock hung from the head of the coffin, as if to lock the corpse inside. At each of the four corners of the coffin, a headless, golden-armored corpse dressed in a light blue burial robe sat on the ground, supporting the coffin on its shoulders, ensuring that it was neither touching the sky nor the ground, thus guaranteeing that the contents were completely sealed and that there was no leakage.

Upon seeing this, You Wensi stopped in her tracks. Looking at the huge coffin in front of her, a hint of apprehension flashed in her eyes: "A soul-nourishing wooden coffin, complete with all five elements... A secluded secret realm, the very core of which, with such conditions specially set up for its nurturing, the corpse nurtured in this coffin must be extraordinary."

Rong Jieyu looked up, glanced around at the cold and eerie environment of the secret realm, and then said, "I'm afraid the whole purpose of this secret realm is just to raise the zombie in the coffin in front of us."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chu'an's expression turned quite serious: "What kind of zombie would it be? Could it be at the Nascent Soul stage?"

He couldn't help but hesitate. If it was a zombie at the Nascent Soul stage, he had no way to fight it now. Turning around and running away was the only good option.

Qi Qiao frowned her beautiful brows and shook her head slightly upon hearing this: "No, it shouldn't be... The Corpse Driving Sect previously focused most of its energy on the research of perfect, immortal resurrected corpses."

"Therefore, the object in this coffin is not some extremely powerful zombie, but something else."

"As for what exactly it is..."

As she spoke, her gaze swept over the four headless, golden-armored corpses before her, her expression hesitant: "We need to open this coffin first to be sure. However, the formation is both mysterious and fragile, making it difficult to break."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chu'an's expression immediately became somewhat subtle: "What do you mean? Even you don't know how to safely open her?"

Qi Qiao shook her head, looking somewhat troubled: "If it were my past life, there should be a way. But that's a secret technique unique to the Corpse-Driving Sect, and it requires a Nascent Soul stage cultivation to use..."

As she spoke, gazing at the enormous coffin before her, her face was filled with resentment and regret: "I can't do it now. To open it, I'll probably have to force it open."

"However, if we force it open, we must eliminate these four golden-armored corpses at the same time in an instant, rendering them all incapable of movement. Otherwise, the coffin will become unbalanced, its foundation will be unstable, and the contents inside may deteriorate, greatly reducing their value."

Upon hearing this, Yun Chu'an knew that accomplishing all this would indeed be quite difficult. Zombies were known for their tough and resilient bodies; to eliminate them all in an instant would require immense strength and perfect teamwork.

Upon hearing this, You Wensi also looked regretful, but looking at the coffin in front of her, she did not insist. She said, "Chu'an, let's go. Anyway, this place is secluded. It's not too late to come back and retrieve it after Qiao'er breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage."

Rong Jieyu was also a little annoyed, but there was nothing she could do about it.

However, Yun Chu'an thought differently. He pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth inwardly.

“The longer the night lasts, the more things can go wrong,” he said. “Qiao’er needs to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, but who knows how many years or months that will take. If a hundred years pass… by then, this treasure might not be worth the trouble of going through all that trouble for us.”

As he spoke, his gaze gradually sharpened, fixing on the enormous coffin before him. He said, "To eliminate four headless, golden-armored corpses at the same time? I can give it a try. These guys don't seem that difficult to deal with."

Before he finished speaking, he exhaled a breath of spiritual energy, which then dispersed in all directions. The next moment, the three avatars, each wielding a Guan Dao (a type of halberd), stood around the coffin, staring at the golden-armored corpse in front of them with murderous intent.

The spiritual energy around his body began to surge and churn, indicating that he was ready to act. Rong Jieyu sensed that this was a very risky matter and was about to speak up to stop him, but seeing his resolute expression and determined mind, she said no more. She nodded gently and said, "Alright then, let's give it a try. Regardless of success or failure, we will leave here, completely destroy this place, and never have any contact with it again."

As she spoke, she felt a pang of heartache. Following her previous methods, she would undoubtedly have transformed this place into her secret base to revive the Corpse-Driving Sect.

Unfortunately, her career has now completely deviated from its former path.

Qi Qiao nodded slightly, being the one with the mildest reaction: "I'll activate this thing. I'll give instructions later, and you can do the work."

With the two working together, You Wensi and Rong Jieyu also sprang into action, one on the left and one on the right, to support him.

Then, Qi Qiao stood at the front, formed a hand seal, and silently recited a spell.

The spiritual energy of the underworld surged around, systematically awakening the bodies of four headless, golden-armored corpses that carried the coffin, serving both as support and as guards.

The four Vajra Guardians moved slightly, shaking off the thick layer of dust from their shoulders. Their stiff bodies, like machines, slowly rose to their feet, their terrifying aura sweeping in all directions, sending shivers down one's spine.

Yun Chu'an narrowed his eyes, gripped his Guan Dao, and golden lightning flashed and surrounded him and his four avatars.

He wasn't entirely confident he could kill all four headless, golden-armored corpses simultaneously. He could only do his best, hoping to eliminate them all in a single instant.

Time ticked by, and under intense pressure, every second felt like an eternity to Yun Chu'an.

Finally, when all four headless golden-armored corpses stood up, Qi Qiao suddenly shouted, "Attack!"

Before the words were even finished, a flash of golden light appeared—

Four guan dao (a type of halberd), each carrying a bolt of golden divine lightning, instantly pierced the bodies of the four headless, golden-armored corpses. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated text.)

Their prized defensive capabilities proved utterly ineffective against the deadly attribute counter of the golden divine lightning. Their bodies froze on the spot, unable to move an inch further.

Chapter 839 Origin of Corpse Qi

A strange, pungent smell of charred, decaying flesh began to rise and permeate the air. Yun Chu'an sheathed his halberd, exhaled, and felt that he had fulfilled Qi Qiao's request.

However, at this moment, the zombie girl's expression changed drastically. Rong Jieyu and You Wensi also changed their expressions and hurriedly stepped forward, one on the left and one on the right, reaching out to try to hold down the coffin.

The next second, the coffin seemed to explode with thunder, jumping and trembling wildly, as if something inside was about to come out.

"What happened?" Yun Chu'an asked anxiously, and Qi Qiao immediately replied, "Thunder magic is their natural enemy, and it seems that the thing inside has been stressed!"

You Wensi said, "Judging from this situation, what is being nurtured in this coffin should be a primordial corpse energy, complete with all five elements. It should be a supreme treasure used to nurture a Nascent Soul stage zombie."

Opposite the coffin, Consort Rong's expression shifted upon hearing this, then she pursed her lips and remained silent.

Primal Corpse Qi is a precious resource commonly used within the Corpse-Driving Sect. It is extracted from the remains of cultivators, mixed with their cultivation level and residual life force, and is also one of the important raw materials for refining zombies.

A corpse that has lost its original corpse energy can be regarded as a "useless corpse," and injecting a large amount of original corpse energy into a zombie's body is one of the simplest and most primitive methods to enhance the zombie's combat power.

Of course, it has many other uses, but You Wensi did not elaborate, so Rong Jieyu guessed what she meant.

This precious primordial corpse energy was reserved for Qi Qiao.

After all, she was the greatest masterpiece of the entire Corpse-Driving Sect, representing the perfect immortal resurrected corpse with the power to bring the dead back to life.

After saying this, You Wensi said no more. Yun Chu'an looked at the increasingly rampaging coffin, his expression hesitant: "Now that this thing has gone berserk, can it still be used?"

You Wensi said, "Suppressing it is not difficult, but the formation has been broken, and it will only gradually dissipate and fade away in the future. If we don't want to waste it, we should use it as soon as possible."

Her meaning was clear: this thing needed to be given to Qi Qiao right now.

Upon hearing this, Yun Chu'an felt no pity whatsoever and immediately nodded, saying, "Then how do we use it? Qiao'er, do you know how to absorb this corpse energy?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Qiao hesitated, "I...I know, but the corpse energy here is too powerful. I'm afraid my current strength isn't enough..."

She had no prior experience in creating zombies and wasn't very confident about it. Upon hearing this, Yun Chu'an couldn't help but feel regretful. After trying so many things, in the end, this most precious resource was going to be wasted?

He was unwilling to give up, and at this moment, Consort Rong spoke again: "It's not that it's difficult, it's just that you'll have to work a little harder."