Please control me, my divine being!

Chapter 102 Crossing the Ridge, Planting Treasure Herbs

"It seems there are no major problems with Li Qinghe. The two of them will probably be busy for a while. Once they settle down, they can start building their power from small groups."

Zhou Qing already had a general idea of ​​who should form the society.

He has recently consulted many books to try to complete the status of "Azure Mystery Balance Heavenly Venerable" regarding the altar and ritual diagrams.

As Zhou Qing's understanding of the cultivation world deepened, his knowledge of Dao lineages and paths became more profound, and he began to have doubts about the structure of the gods.

Each lineage is different, but they all share commonalities.

Among the deities within a Dao lineage, some can control the entire lineage and influence most of the paths within it, while others only control one path.

For example, the "Invite the Corpse to Ride the Evil" lineage.

Among them, the two most deities are undoubtedly the "Myriad Corpse Immortal" and the "Yin Corpse Venerable".

It seems that matters within the Dao lineage can be addressed to these two deities, but the chances of them responding to believers are very small. Those cultivators who have not found the right deity for their path can only worship these two great gods.

Within the Dao lineage, the deities who control other Dao paths only respond to believers within their own Dao path.

When Gu Qinghan was working as a "coffin craftsman," the main deity he worshipped was called "Lord of Coffin Mountain."

As the Lord of Coffin Mountain stopped responding to the prayers of believers, this path gradually lost its influence and even faced extinction.

Even a long-established cultivation force like the Yinqi Gu family will decline directly after the Lord of Coffin Mountain disappears. Even with its profound foundation and solid roots, it can only slightly slow down the rate of decline.

"The Dao lineages, the paths of the Dao, and the authority of the gods—there are too many secrets within them for me to comprehend now. But any society that takes me as its faith must encompass multiple Dao lineages and paths."

Zhou Qing's approach to creating the altar and ritual diagrams was to avoid favoring any particular lineage of Dao.

The rituals for worshipping deities differ between different lineages; there are no distinct lineage styles, only the most basic rituals.

This is a basic ritual that can be used by any path within the Dao lineage, and even by some ordinary people. Zhou Qing has been collecting and studying these kinds of rituals recently.

Now that his own rituals are almost complete, he is just waiting for Li Qinghe to make preparations before establishing the society!

"Li Qinghe is not in danger in the short term; the focus should still be on Gu Qinghan."

Zhou Qing's heart stirred, and he switched to Gu Qinghan's game interface.

This guy is a real ticking time bomb; if you're not careful, he could cause a major disaster.

Judging by the time, she should have reached Linggang by now.

Creak, creak.

The thick hemp rope rubbed against the coffin lid, making a harsh sound.

After traveling all night, the coffin finally stopped. The pallbearers removed the nails from the coffin lid and tapped the coffin a few times to indicate that they had arrived at their destination.

Gu Qinghan immediately pushed open the coffin lid.

Boom!

As Gu Qinghan sat up from inside the coffin, she smelled a strange odor permeating the air.

It's somewhat like the aura of a corpse, but with many other things mixed in.

She looked around and saw that she was still in the mortuary, but this mortuary was much larger than the abandoned mortuary on the outskirts of Jiang'an City. There were hundreds of coffins inside, and incense smoke lingered in the air.

Taking a small breath of the aroma, she felt refreshed and invigorated.

"This is a mixture of corpse energy, yin energy, and incense smoke!"

The air above the ridge is almost filled with these things, so a zombie like me only needs to stay here to naturally become stronger, which is equivalent to raising a zombie at all times.

2

Gu Qinghan was surprised.

Her current physical strength is roughly in the range of white zombie to black zombie. This is not obtained through normal corpse raising, but through the blessing of the Heavenly Venerable.

But even if she has consciousness, there is one undeniable fact: she is a zombie and can improve herself through the method of raising zombies!

"But if I continue to advance to the next level, becoming a black zombie, or even a hopping zombie or a wandering zombie, will I still be able to retain my human nature and become human again?"

The zombies are always hungry.

However, the other zombies are mindless and are controlled by corpse raisers and corpse drivers.

Therefore, this kind of hunger is dispensable to them, because they are inanimate objects and their ability to move depends entirely on control spells and talismans.

But she has the thoughts and feelings of a normal person, and that is the biggest contradiction.

Continuing to advance in the Corpse Path would only intensify her torment.

The conflict between the mind and the body will become increasingly estranged, eventually reaching a point where it is irreconcilable.

"Just inhaling some air from the ridge should be fine. Normally, corpses are buried in corpse-raising grounds for decades, and I also have the Heavenly Venerable looking after me—"

Gu Qinghan put her worries aside and enjoyed the sweet air. This was the most comfortable moment for her body since she became a zombie.

But this good mood didn't last long.

A coffin bearer, whose face was covered in yellow paper money and whose features were obscured, walked over.

The business of entering and leaving the ridge was monopolized by the coffin bearers, and this force has now developed into one of the major giants in the ridge.

The coffin bearers were all dressed uniformly, with yellow paper money stuck to their faces, wearing black cloth short shirts, carrying a bundle of thick hemp rope on their left shoulder, and a sturdy carrying pole on their right shoulder.

He was tall and strong, with calluses on his hands and feet.

"It will cost one hundred blood money per day to cross Dailing Ridge." The coffin bearer stood in front of the coffin, his voice leaving no room for doubt. Through the holes in the yellow paper, he looked at the three men: "One hundred each, for living people."

Gu Qinghan glanced at Jin Buhuan beside her, and at Xu Mofan, who was still unconscious.

A string of blood money coins costs around five to six hundred coins, depending on the quality.

In other words, just breathing inside the ridge would cost the three of them half a string of blood coins a day!

It truly is a monopolistic business.

But since we're already here, we can't go back now.

Gu Qinghan pinched his nose and took out three hundred coins. After the coffin bearers accepted them, they took out three wooden plaques from their pockets. The plaques had a special incense on them, which could be smelled from a distance.

"Wearing the wooden plaque can prevent you from being corroded by corpses, yin energy, and miasma, and can also prevent the zombies in the area from bothering you, but it will only be effective for one day."

If the fragrance disappears, please come and replace it promptly; otherwise, we will not be responsible for any problems that may arise.

After handing over the wooden plaque, the pallbearers went to the next group of guests' coffins.

Gu Qinghan then realized that the yin energy and corpse energy permeating the ridge was like sweet rain to her, but to an ordinary person like Jin Buhuan, it was undoubtedly a slow poison.

She is the odd one out.

"Let's go out and take a look first."

Gu Qinghan suppressed his hunger and walked out of the mortuary where guests were received, full of anticipation.

The entire ridge was shrouded in thick, dark clouds, and even at midday, no sunlight shone down.

What catches the eye.

It is a cluster of low-rise houses mixed in with the trees on the mountain, probably numbering in the hundreds.

Besides, there were countless coffins, randomly placed everywhere. Almost the entire ridge was covered with traces of coffins, stretching to the end of her sight.

There are no streets, nor are there any trading areas.

Aside from the mortuary being the territory of the coffin bearers, the surrounding area is relatively open. A few dozen steps ahead, dark coffins are placed haphazardly at the crossroads, and next to the coffins sit many emaciated beggars with thinning hair.

As soon as someone stepped out of the mortuary.

They would swarm around and lead the stranger to the right place.

"Esteemed guest, my surname is Zhang. Before I began cultivating, I was the seventh child in my family. You can just call me Zhang Qi."

A man with sunken eyes, looking more lifeless than energetic, approached, his face full of flattery: "I've lived in Guolinggang for ten years, I know this area very well. For just two coins, you can be my guide for a day!"

"You're a cultivator?" Jin Buhuan asked, somewhat taken aback as he pushed the cart.

In his view, cultivators, if not all of them are high and mighty, are certainly far more glamorous and respectable than ordinary people.

But this person in front of me looks worse than even a beggar in Jiang'an City!

"Sir, that was all in the past."

Because of my failed breakthrough, I incurred a lot of debt. I sold my essence and blood at the herbal medicine shop and mortgaged my heart, liver, spleen and lungs to barely pay off my debts.

Now that my body is almost completely ruined, I only survive by acting as a guide, showing the way to these gentlemen and earning a little money.

Zhang Qi adopted a very humble posture, showing no emotion whatsoever because the other party was an ordinary person, which made Jin Buhuan somewhat uncomfortable.

It was on the side, though.

Gu Qinghan was more concerned about something else: "Since you said you sold your essence and blood, and have lost your heart, liver, spleen, and lungs, how can you live?"

"It's just a mortgage, not the loss of these organs. Baicao Tang is a major force in the Baicao Qihuang lineage, with branches all over the world and miraculous methods..." As he spoke, Zhang Qi pulled open his clothes.

From his chest, countless grasses and vines grew densely, piercing his skin and curling into a ball, the wounds filled with congealed blood.

It's like grass and trees springing out of the soil.

"This is the method of planting medicinal herbs in the pharmacy."

Those of us who have pledged our hearts, livers, spleens, and lungs will first be cultivated into precious medicines, nourished by our entire bodies and flesh.

When customers come to the herb garden to buy medicine, they will send a special herb gatherer or a mountain herb traveler to pick the mature medicinal herbs.

However, the pharmacy wasn't without a way to survive.

Each person's birth date, time, and the five elements and zodiac sign are different, so the precious medicines they produce will naturally be different as well.

Many of the precious medicinal herbs have been successfully cultivated, but they may remain unsold for a long time.

If one can raise enough money to redeem their heart, liver, spleen, and lungs before selling this precious medicine, the pharmacy will lift the herb-planting ritual.

As Zhang Qi spoke, with each breath he took, one could see plant roots wriggling beneath his skin, visible in the locations of his internal organs.

Hearing his words, Gu Qinghan felt something was off.

The area around Yinqi Valley is mostly inhabited by corpse drivers. She has had very little contact with cultivators of the Baicao Qihuang Dao lineage. Judging from the situation, their level of evil is no less than that of her own group who play with corpses.

"Let's go, lead the way."

She didn't ask any further questions, but pulled her straw hat down lower and said in a deep voice, "Go to the Corpse Shop of Withered Glory."