The Terror of the Heavens Begins with Gu

Chapter 270 The Corpse Demon and the Master of Schemes Pave the Way

After carefully examining the zombie for a while, Master Ji frowned and said, "This thing is terrifying. Calling it a zombie is no longer appropriate; calling it a corpse demon would be more fitting."

Feng asked curiously, "Master, what's the difference between a zombie and a corpse demon?"

Master Ji said in a deep voice, "The ones we encountered before that died but did not decay and had a mouthful of malevolent energy in their throats were all zombies. But this thing now has both a soul and a spirit, and its corpse energy and corpse poison have changed. It has begun to break away from the category of ordinary zombies. Calling it a corpse demon is more appropriate."

"Corpse Demon, Corpse Demon, a demon among corpses, even more terrifying than a zombie."

After saying that, Master Ji looked at Li Zhen and said, "Although you sealed this thing, you sealed it when it was in a weakened state. If it has a chance to recover, then things will be troublesome."

"Remember, you must not let its head and body reunite, otherwise no matter what sealing method you use, it will find a way to escape."

Detective Li hadn't spoken yet.

Lei couldn't help but say, "Is this thing that terrifying? Why not just burn it all?"

Master Ji shook his head: "If it were that easy to destroy, things wouldn't be so complicated."

"Ordinary fire definitely can't burn it, but if we use heavenly lightning, there's a good chance we can kill it."

When the Taoist master said "heavenly thunder," the zombie's head trembled.

Feng Cai realized how terrifying the zombie was and exclaimed in shock, "It's been dismembered and sealed away, yet it can still hear you, Master!"

Lei said, "Master, it...it won't hold a grudge against you, will it? If we let it out, it might come back to seek revenge on you."

Master Ji said speechlessly, "What are we doing coming down the mountain? If we're worried about retaliation from these evil creatures, we might as well not come down at all."

Lei wanted to remind him, "Master, you're in such a state now, things are different now," but after glancing at Master Ji's expression, he didn't say anything.

Tang Shanshan came out of the kitchen and looked at the zombie on the ground from a distance.

“We’ll also use some methods to strengthen this seal,” Master Ji said to Feng and Lei. “You two go and prepare some magical artifacts; we’ll set up an altar.”

The two responded and ran back into the house to prepare.

A strange "squeaking" sound came from behind. Feeling the familiar call, Li Zhen turned his head and saw the red-eyed bat squeeze open a door and stick its head out from under the crack.

Upon seeing Li Zhen, it made an even more urgent "squeak" sound and strained to squeeze its body, which was like a rag, out from under the door.

It wanted to fly, but with terrifying cracks all over its body, it couldn't take off. It only glided slightly on the ground before using its two twisted wings as feet to quickly crawl to Li Zhen's feet.

Li Zhen picked up the red-eyed bat and placed it in his palm.

Upon seeing the red-eyed bat again, he felt a long-lost joy, as if he were seeing a friend.

Think about it, from the moment he entered the world of "Gu", he was always accompanied by evil creatures such as red-eyed bats.

Many worlds have passed in the blink of an eye, and many moments of crisis have been experienced.

The red-eyed bat rubbed against Li Zhen's palm, its expression revealing excitement.

After devouring the Mahjong Ghost, the black dot that had appeared in its eye and the ghost face that had appeared on its back are now gone.

This indicates that it had actually died once when it faced Zhao Jun, who was possessed by the Corpse King.

Even at the cost of its own life, the red-eyed bat was not able to escape unscathed; it was still injured to the point that it took several days to fully recover.

This is the most serious injury suffered by a red-eyed bat since its birth.

This is also related to the fact that red-eyed bats are the most loyal.

At Li Zhen's command, only the Red-Eyed Bat disregarded its own death and dissipation, and head-on confronted the Corpse King.

The demon fetus was not as badly injured.

After sticking a few talismans on the zombie, Master Ji looked at the red-eyed bat and said, "I don't know where you found this evil creature, it's really strange. Even after being beaten like that, you still had a breath left, and you recovered to this state in just a few days."

He paused, then changed the subject, suddenly saying, "The problem with you doesn't seem so simple?"

He looked at the festering wounds on Li Zhen's body.

Li Zhen did not hide anything and told Master Ji about the method of "resurrection after nine deaths".

After listening, Master Ji frowned and pondered for a moment before asking Li Zhen, "Where did you obtain this method?"

Li Zhen hesitated for a moment.

Seeing Li Zhen's expression, Master Ji said, "It's okay if it involves secrets and we can't talk about it."

Li Zhen trusted Master Ji, but since the matter involved someone who might have already become a ghost immortal, he hesitated whether to discuss such a person here.

After thinking for a moment, he said simply, "This method comes from a senior who may have achieved the position of Ghost Immortal. I helped that person achieve the position of Ghost Immortal, and after his success, he taught me this method to solve the problems caused by my practice of evil magic."

Upon hearing the term "ghost immortal," Master Ji's expression became even more solemn.

Anything with the word "immortal" in its name is certainly not a simple being.

After thinking for a moment, Master Ji said, "The origin of this method is indeed extraordinary, but that's normal. If it didn't come from such a person, it wouldn't be so...strange, or even terrifying."

Upon hearing Master Ji's assessment, Li Zhen asked, "There is no such method in Maoshan."

He had always thought that it was because of his limited knowledge that he had never heard of such a method. He had guessed that such a method might exist in some major sects, although there might not be many.

Only after hearing Master Ji's words did I realize that I had been overthinking things.

Master Ji said solemnly, "This method is truly miraculous. It can regenerate the human body... If I am not mistaken, it not only regenerates your body, but it can even cause some changes in your body, making your yang energy stronger day by day."

“From yin to yang… I have never seen such a magical and bizarre method. To be honest, although Maoshan has many methods, none of them are like this.”

"You don't seem to realize the importance of this method."

After a pause, Master Ji emphasized, "Think about it, isn't one of the most difficult problems that most people who cultivate evil paths encounter the problem of their physical body being corroded by Yin energy? If you cultivate your method, this problem will no longer be a problem."

"How attractive is this to those heretics? You must not spread this method. If it attracts those people, even if you are not afraid, your daily life will be disturbed."

This method solved his most pressing problem. As soon as Li Zhen saw this method, he knew that it was extraordinary and of great significance to him.

Knowing this, he always harbored a hidden worry in his heart.

He said to Master Ji, "After practicing this method, I also noticed its strangeness, and I sometimes feel uneasy when I think about it."

Although he didn't say it explicitly, Master Ji understood what he meant.

Looking up at the gloomy sky, Master Ji sighed, "Those kinds of people have seen far more of the world, their vision far surpasses ours. How can we mortals see through their schemes? Perhaps only at a crucial moment can you see what they really want to do." "But by then, certain outcomes will happen to you whether you want them or not, and it will be too late for you to do anything."

"Once I recover a bit more, I will set up an altar and pray to the ancestors of Maoshan for your blessings, and see how the patriarchs react to you."

"If the patriarchs don't dislike you, they can have Zhou You set up an altar to pray for you. The patriarchs in Xuanxu Temple are quite reliable."

Li Zhen didn't know what effect the prayer would have, but he knew that Master Ji was paving the way for him. He was slightly moved and immediately thanked Master Ji sincerely.

Having traveled through so many mission worlds, he has encountered many kind-hearted seniors, but few of them have paved the way for him as seniors or mentors.

This is not only related to his saving Master Ji and his disciples, but also likely to Master Ji's serious injuries and his realization that he could no longer continue to exorcise demons, which made him somewhat disheartened and want to cultivate more like-minded people.

"And your arm." Master Ji lifted Li Zhen's arm, squinting at the purple skin infected with corpse poison. "You've been infected with corpse poison too, haven't you?"

Li Zhen said, "Master Zhou was poisoned by corpse poison and could not move. I had no choice but to have Master Zhou transfer some of the corpse poison to my body. My body is special and I am not afraid of this corpse poison."

“This corpse poison is extremely dangerous. Even if you were still alive, or even if you were dead and turned into a corpse, this corpse poison might still turn you into a zombie and make you rise up.” Master Ji looked at Li Zhen’s chest. “Zhou You is quite cautious and knows to seal your heart first. When I remove the corpse poison from Zhou You and his disciples later, I will also remove it from you.”

"However, your body is indeed special. I don't know if I can use the same method to remove the corpse poison from you as I do for living people."

At this point, he coughed a few times, then directed Feng and Lei to set up the altar before saying to Li Zhen, "I'm going to open the altar and set up the seal. You go and take care of your own affairs. Your body hasn't recovered yet, so you should also prepare some necessary things."

"By the way, although I've pieced that compass back together, it's not completely fixed yet, and it's not as effective as before. If you know how to fix it, you can go and take a look. If you can't fix it, I'll try to find someone to do it."

Li Zhen nodded and led the red-eyed bat towards the room from which it had just crawled out.

He sensed it; the banshee was inside the house.

Zhou Le'an, who had been talking to his younger brother and sister, heard what Master Ji said and quickly walked ahead to lead the way for Li Zhen.

Pushing open the door, Li Zhen smelled a musty odor.

This room was originally a woodshed, and it smells very musty, probably because the air has been quite humid recently.

The female demon, covered by clothing, sat cross-legged in the corner of the woodshed, with the basket that Li Zhen had prepared for her on her back.

Zhou Le'an said, "It has stayed here the whole time these past few days without moving around."

Li Zhen walked up to the female demon and removed the clothes covering her head.

The succubus, her lips stained with dried blood, looked up at Li Zhen with a slight smile on her face. She then slowly rose from the ground, looking just like a real person.

Seeing the succubus's expression, Zhou Le'an was stunned for a moment before he reacted.

Detective Li noticed that the pieces of flesh belonging to the ghost messengers behind the female demon were gone, and guessed that the red-eyed bats had eaten them.

He placed the red-eyed bat on his shoulder and took out the glass bottle containing the imp's heart from behind the banshee.

After the imp entered the demon's body, the heart gradually withered, and now it has shrunk to only half its original size.

After Li Zhen took out the jade talisman, the little ghost, who had recovered slightly, turned into a phantom and returned to his heart.

Her heart skipped a few beats, and she let out a pleading cry to Li Zhen.

Detective Li knew what the kid wanted.

He found a few still-active pieces of flesh on his body, took some blood, and dripped it into a jar.

As soon as the blood entered the jar, it was gradually absorbed by the beating heart and entered the heart cavity.

After the little devil recovers, I wonder if he can directly revert to his demonic fetus form...

We'll have to wait until the little ghost regains consciousness and ask him to find out.

After putting the jar back into the basket, Li Zhen took out the white bone club that the mahjong ghost had parasitized.

The white bone club, which was originally eerie and chilling to the bone with just a touch, was now held in Li Zhen's hand like an ordinary white bone club.

Vanished into thin air?
Li Zhen frowned.

He held the white bone staff in front of his eyes, closed them, and carefully sensed it. To his surprise, he discovered that a faint yin energy was hidden inside the white bone staff.

Within the yin energy, there was almost no sense of the mahjong ghost's consciousness, only a slight fluctuation of its consciousness.

If he hadn't been careful, he wouldn't have been able to detect the yin energy and the fluctuations of consciousness within it.

The fact that the Mahjong Ghost hadn't been completely wiped out relieved Li Zhen.

The relationship between this bone club and the Mahjong Ghost is very special. The bone club was not destroyed, but only devoured the Mahjong Ghost's ghost body, which may have allowed the Mahjong Ghost to retain some of its consciousness and Yin energy.

However, these yin energies are extremely weak.

If Li Zhen hadn't intervened, it would probably have dissipated soon.

Looking around, Li Zhen found a basket hanging on the wall used to hold a machete, put the white bone club and jade talisman inside, and finally covered it with a black cloth to create an environment full of yin energy.

At most, doing this will only prevent the yin energy in the white bone club from dissipating.

Actually, it's not difficult to strengthen the yin energy inside; the difficult part is restoring the consciousness of the mahjong ghost.

If you want the Mahjong Ghost to reappear, you need to find a way to restore its consciousness.

However, it is extremely difficult to restore this fluctuation of consciousness back to the state of the Mahjong Ghost.

At least Li Zhen can't do it now, and I don't know who can.

If there's no other way, do we really have to wait until we achieve immortality before truly reviving the Mahjong Ghost?

This may take some time.

Remembering that he had promised to find Pai Gow for the Mahjong Ghost and transform it into a Pai Gow Ghost, Li Zhen sighed inwardly.

The price paid this time was quite high...

After coming out of the house, Li Zhen asked Zhou Le'an to prepare some things necessary for him to complete the ceremony.

After sealing the Corpse Demon Zhao Jun, the runes on his right hand did not urge Li Zhen to return for the time being. This should be related to the fact that although the Corpse Demon was sealed, it was not completely eliminated.

However, once the seal on the Corpse Demon is completely perfected and the Corpse Demon itself is unable to break the seal, it should be determined that he has completely completed his mission.

Li Zhen knew that he wouldn't be able to stay in this world for much longer, so he wanted to complete the unfinished ritual as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)