The Terror of the Heavens Begins with Gu

Chapter 271 Completing the Resurrection Ritual and Reuniting with Master Jiang
Master Ji specially set up an altar and used a special sealing array to seal the head and body of the corpse demon once again before he felt at ease letting Li Zhen put the corpse demon into an empty room.

He advised Li Zhen to use heavenly lightning to completely kill the corpse demon at the right time, but Li Zhen did not agree.

Without hiding anything from Master Ji, he frankly stated that he wanted to find a way to suppress the ferocity of the Corpse Demon and refine it into an evil entity under his control.

He finally managed to refine the vampire into something almost like a hairy zombie.

If we destroy the "Corpse Demon" now, not only will we fail to obtain the Hairy Zombie, but all our previous efforts will be wasted.

Li Zhen was naturally unwilling to accept this.

Master Ji reminded Li Zhen of the danger posed by this corpse demon.

But Li Zhen wasn't really worried about that.

He has to go to any world every now and then to complete a mission, and facing danger is commonplace.

More importantly, after visualizing the Great Black Buddha Mother, he was about to master the visualization technique of sublimating the five elements and evil spirits.

Having endured such a difficult ordeal before, Li Zhen knew that if he didn't make some preparations when the final calamity arrived, there would be no other outcome but death.

The closer Li Zhen got to mastering the Dharma he practiced, the greater the pressure he felt.

But having come this far, he had no choice but to stop.

The further into the mission worlds he goes, the more dangerous they become. Even if he stops practicing the Five Elements Evil Sublimation Method, he might not die from the backlash of this method, but he could still die in one of the mission worlds.

Only by going all the way to the end, truly crossing that threshold, and seeing a higher world, will he be able to see his own way out.

Knowing that Li Zhen wanted to keep the Corpse Demon, Master Ji thought for a moment and said that after Zhou You woke up, he would discuss with Zhou You how to use the special methods of Maoshan and Xuanxu Temple to set up a special seal for the Corpse Demon, sealing away some of its corpse energy so that Li Zhen could control it.

This is certainly the best course of action.

Although it requires suppressing some of the Corpse Demon's power, it also allows Li Zhen to directly control the current Corpse Demon.

During this process, Li Zhen can gradually suppress the ferocity of the Corpse Demon. When he can control the Corpse Demon at its peak, he can break the seal on it.

One of the difficulties here is that the Corpse Demon contains the consciousness of Zhou You's senior brother, Zhao Jun.

This consciousness has already merged with the Corpse Demon, making it impossible to separate or destroy it directly.

If Li Zhen wants to regain control of the Corpse Demon, he will eventually have to eliminate Zhao Jun's consciousness, which will most likely result in Zhao Jun being reduced to ashes.

Zhou You could not possibly watch his senior brother remain imprisoned in the body of the Corpse Demon, nor could he possibly witness Zhao Jun's eventual annihilation.

Actually, if Li Zhen could simply erase Zhao Jun's consciousness, then Zhou You wouldn't have much to say.

But now, if Zhou You were to watch Zhao Jun being tortured while imprisoned, he would surely soften his heart again.

Li Zhen told Master Ji that he could find a way to persuade Zhou You.

Master Ji said that he would go and remove the corpse poison from Zhou You and his disciples after he had rested.

Removing the corpse poison was not a troublesome matter; he didn't even need to take action. In fact, he could have done it simply by standing by and instructing a few apprentices.

However, he was not at ease with his apprentice, so he insisted on waiting until he was able to help Zhou You and his apprentice get rid of the corpse poison.

The process actually went very smoothly.

Before noon, the corpse poison in Li Zhen's body was also easily removed by Master Ji.

By this time, Zhou Le'an had already bought back what Li Zhen needed.

It's sunny today, so Li Zhen can't go out. He has to wait until evening to go out for the ceremony.

In the afternoon, Li Zhen, who was adjusting his state, suddenly received some unexpected news from the kid who had recovered somewhat.

"You mean, the cat demon didn't die?" Li Zhen asked, frowning as he stood in front of the jar containing the little ghost's heart.

His heart pounded a few times, and the little ghost's weak voice came from within: "I saw it get maimed, and in the end, the cat demon controlled its body and escaped, even taking a piece of my body that I fell down with it."

After thinking for a moment, Li Zhen asked, "Is it that the cat demon didn't die, or that the rotten cat didn't die either?"

He remembered that at the last moment, he saw the rotten cat's body explode, and the sealed cat demon rushed out of the rotten cat's body. In fact, when he sent out the vampire zombie, he also casually threw the rotten cat's remains aside.

Unexpectedly, the cat demon returned to the rotten cat's remains in the end.

This is likely related to the lack of a suitable person to possess nearby.

At the time, besides Master Ji, the only other people still alive at the scene were his four disciples. None of them were suitable for possession, because Master Ji would have noticed no matter which disciple the cat demon possessed.

Like the cat demon, returning to the body of the rotten cat and quietly escaping is the best option.

If the little devil had also died at the hands of the Corpse King, then Detective Li wouldn't have been able to discover that the cat demon was still alive.

This would certainly leave a huge scourge for the world.

In the final battle, even the incredibly resilient red-eyed bat and the demon fetus nearly died, yet the cat demon still managed to escape, demonstrating its remarkable tenacity.

It seems that guy has changed again in the last few days...

The little devil replied, "I only know that the cat demon didn't die. As for the cat... I don't know. But I feel that it probably didn't die either. As long as the cat's head is still intact, it won't die. But it must have been seriously injured. I don't know whether it died later."

"Can you sense where your own body is?" Li Zhen asked again.

“Okay,” the kid said, “but it’s a bit far now. I can only sense which direction it is in. I need to get closer to it before I can sense where it is.”

"Then how can it know when you go to see it?"

"It's probably not possible, but once we get close enough, we should be able to tell."

"How do you feel now?"

"It's alright. If you... if you give me three, four... no, six drops, if you give me six drops of blood, I'll definitely recover faster."

"I can't squeeze out that much blood right now. I'll wait until I recover a bit."

"Remember your words."

"Can you directly revert to the appearance of the demonic fetus and grow its body, or do you need to find the remaining parts of the body before you can restore the demonic fetus to its full form?"

"I do not know either."

"Can the cat demon kill people now?"

"Probably not. It's not much better than me. It's definitely hiding behind the scenes now, and it doesn't even dare to show its face."

"It claims to be immortal and indestructible, yet it's been beaten to this state?"

"I know it's a bluff... Never mind, I'm exhausted right now. If you want to find that cat, just drip a drop of your blood into this spot, and I'll wake up. Don't bother me unless it's absolutely necessary... Oh, by the way! I stole that stone; half of it is..."

Before the little devil could finish speaking, his heart fell silent again.

Li Zhen shook his head, squeezed out a drop of blood from his arm, and dripped it into the jar.

As evening approached, Li Zhen, along with Zhou Le'an and the still-recovering Red-Eyed Bat, headed out towards the Jiang family's residence.

Master Ji asked Yu to accompany Li Zhen.

Li Zhen did not refuse.

At this time, Zhou You and his disciples had already woken up and were discussing with Master Ji how to deal with the Corpse Demon.

By the time Li Zhen and the others arrived at the place where they had been buried, it was already dark.

The bodies that were originally left here are still there, but they have attracted a few wild dogs.

Dian and Zhou Le'an buried the bodies together, and then Zhou Le'an burned some paper money at his elder brother's grave.

This place had already been used for a burial once, so it couldn't be used again. After Zhou Le'an finished burning the paper money, Li Zhen led Zhou Le'an and Yu deeper into the Jiang family compound, which was shrouded in corpse energy and evil spirits.

With Li Zhen's protection, neither Zhou Le'an nor Li Zhen felt any discomfort from the corpse energy and evil aura.

The Jiang family's house was originally an excellent burial site, a place used to bury the dead and build tombs.

These days, the place has been shrouded in corpse energy and evil spirits, causing even more yin energy to accumulate and disrupting the natural order of the area.

However, for Li Zhen, the current environment is more suitable as his burial place, because he needs extremely strong corpse energy and yin energy to stimulate the yang energy in his body.

Only after his body has completed its transformation and his yang energy has risen again will the changes that occurred after he survived the tribulation gradually become apparent.

Having found a place where the aura of corpses was gathering, Li Zhen asked Yu to help him dig a pit in the ground.

Just as the ceremony was about to begin, Li Zhen suddenly sensed something was wrong. He turned around and saw a figure vaguely in the corpse aura, somewhat resembling Master Jiang.

The aura of death surged, and the person quickly disappeared.

Li Zhen didn't care too much.

On the way, he asked Zhou Le'an about Master Jiang's whereabouts.

Zhou Le'an and Yu told him that Master Jiang had disappeared, neither alive nor dead.

Li Zhen didn't believe that Master Jiang would leave silently.

His obsession with carrying on the family line had become a mental demon; how could he possibly leave directly?

It now seems that Master Jiang has most likely gone back to the Jiang family home.

But given the Jiang family's circumstances...

For a moment, Li Zhen didn't know whether Master Jiang was a human or a ghost.

This ceremony was similar to the one he had Zhou Le'an perform at his grave before, but with a few more steps.

If Zhou Le'an were to do it, it would be a bit troublesome.

Let the rain do it; that's just right.

As expected, Li Zhen was buried back in the grave and entered a state of semi-consciousness.

This time he did not lose all consciousness and could perceive the information that the runes might be transmitting, as well as the movements in the outside world.

That's why he wasn't worried that the person he saw in the corpse energy might be Master Jiang.

In this state, Li Zhen would experience the entire process of his body decaying and regenerating, just like when he first buried himself.

After he was buried, there were no further incidents.

On the third day alone, Li Zhen was awakened by a message from the runes on his arm reminding him that he could return.

Li Zhen sighed softly, opened his eyes in the darkness, raised one arm, pushed aside the soil covering him, and stretched it into the outside air.

He dug up the grave and slowly climbed out.

The sky was bright, but it was still gloomy here at the Jiang family's place, so it was impossible to tell what time it was.

Li Zhen brushed the dirt off his body and looked at himself.

Most of the rotten flesh on his body had disappeared, and new, vibrant flesh had sprung up from it.

Most of the original pitted wounds had disappeared, and he had become a bizarre being composed of rotting flesh and new flesh, with rotten chunks of flesh still hanging in some places, making him look rather creepy.

Detective Li was not disappointed with the progress.

Having recovered to this extent, the subsequent process does not require burying oneself; one only needs to wait for the new body to regenerate little by little.

If he is not satisfied with the speed of regeneration, he can use some tricks to slightly speed up the regeneration of his body.

After sensing it, Li Zhen clearly felt that the yang energy in his body had increased significantly.

This feeling is indescribable.

He could clearly see that the corpse energy surrounding him dared not approach his body, and deliberately avoided him when it surged, obviously because it was wary of the yang energy in his body.

Even the four of them—wind, thunder, rain, and lightning—could not make the corpse energy here give way, which shows that the yang energy in Li Zhen's body, who has been resurrected three times, has reached an extremely terrifying level.

It wasn't just the yang energy; he had already visualized several demons, and their internal organs were also beginning to change.

A faint aura of evil emanated from Li Zhen's body.

Strange golden curves appeared and disappeared on his body, forming a mysterious talisman, and specks of blood could be seen on the golden light.

This talisman is somewhat similar to the one he drew on himself when he visualized demons.

These changes appeared only for a moment and then disappeared without a trace, as if they had never happened at all.

Li Zhen didn't pay attention.

Since this change has already occurred, it cannot truly disappear; he will eventually figure it out.

He looked up at the figure that had appeared in the corpse aura.

The other party had been there for an unknown amount of time, seemingly observing from the side. Only after the corpse energy thinned out did Li Zhen finally see the other party clearly.

"Master Jiang?" Li Zhen spoke up first.

The other person swayed slightly, but did not respond.

Li Zhen said, "Your Jiang family has built your home in this burial ground and enjoyed it for many generations. But it has declined in your generation. That is fate, and you cannot change it."

The figure walked towards Li Zhen, revealing a rotting face and a pair of gray, lifeless eyes.

This person was indeed Master Jiang, and his signature long beard was still there, but he was no longer human, but a special being infected by the aura of death.

Li Zhen glanced at Master Jiang a few more times and realized that Master Jiang was not a living person, but he was not completely dead either, and seemed to be turning into a zombie.

This transformation is irreversible, and a zombie will soon appear here.

Approaching Li Zhen, Master Jiang said in a somber voice, "You, stay here and continue the Jiang family line. Everything here is yours! I have a lot of treasure!"

Li Zhen shook his head: "I'm afraid you can't keep me here."

Master Jiang's beard began to flutter.

Li Zhen took a few steps outside and suddenly said, "You have already taken Lei as your adopted son, and he promised to let one of your sons take the surname Jiang to continue the Jiang family line."

Old Master Jiang turned around and looked at Li Zhen's back with his dull eyes: "Will he... keep our promise?"

Li Zhen stopped: "You no longer have the right to negotiate with him, but I can. I guarantee that he will have a son with the surname Jiang who will come here every few years to burn incense for you. As for you, living like this will only make you a menace. You might as well rest in peace sooner."

After standing there for a while, Master Jiang suddenly said to Detective Li, "There's still a zombie here. You... don't forget about it."

After saying that, he walked deeper into the Jiang family compound.

Detective Li was a little surprised.

The zombie must be referring to "Uncle Dong".

After he went out, he asked Zhou Le'an and the others, and they all said they had not seen Uncle Dong's body, so they thought that Zhao Jun might have eaten it. They did not expect it to still be here.

Guided by Master Jiang, Li Zhen successfully found Uncle Dong, who was secretly absorbing corpse energy. After sealing him away, he took him away from there.

Just as Li Zhen was about to leave the area shrouded in the corpse aura, he suddenly noticed a huge "torch" appearing within the corpse aura.

(End of this chapter)