“This precisely… what is this?” Gray Second Master asked with a trembling voice.

Before opening the coffin, he anticipated that a “big thing” might be hidden inside this massive bronze coffin. But he didn’t expect this thing to be so huge and so terrifying. It was like a multitude of corpses piled up, woven, and then molded together into a grotesque flesh-corpse image.

This flesh-corpse image was over ten people tall. As its aura fully released, a foul stench assailed their noses, and a bone-chilling gloom permeated the air, filling people’s hearts with dread.

Corpse creatures are greedy devourers of flesh. Such a massive flesh-corpse image was no exception. After detecting the presence of living people nearby, two slits cracked open on the flesh-corpse image’s deformed head, like two pitch-black, blood-red pupils, glaring at Gray Second Master and the others.

At the same time, its body writhed. With a wave of its flesh arm, it stirred up a foul wind and bloody rain, sweeping towards the crowd.

Gray Second Master was greatly alarmed, but he didn’t flee. In the face of a powerful enemy, the more you try to run, the faster you die. What’s more, he was closest, and at this moment, trying to run would be impossible.

“Everyone, attack together and suppress this evil creature!” Gray Second Master shouted loudly. Then, gritting his teeth, he immediately took out a whole bottle of treasured blood wine, sprinkled it on the array, bit his finger and touched his forehead, and then with his hand pinching formulas and reciting a mysterious incantation, he fully activated the ancient Daoist array disk he had arranged earlier – a formation that seemed neither array nor talisman.

For a time, the array disk above greatly flourished with light. Ancient, profound seal characters and patterns condensed out, forming a layer of light curtain.

The foul wind and bloody rain stirred up by the flesh-corpse image, like a tide of blood, directly crashed onto the light curtain. A huge booming sound rang out, and strong fluctuations shook open. The array disk’s light curtain dimmed significantly, and the corpse image’s blood tide was also being evaporated.

The flesh-corpse image’s first wave of offense was thus resolved. But in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a roar filled with rotten flesh and a foul stench, the corpse image raised its arm high and struck down again. The huge arm, stuck with ferocious zombies, covered the sky and ground like a giant shadow, descending towards Gray Second Master.

Gray Second Master, activating the array disk, had no way to avoid. Seeing the writhing corpse arm, along with gloomy dead qi, killing towards him, he immediately hardened his heart, gritted his teeth, and detonated the yellow jade talisman. The yellow jade blood-patterned talisman exploded open, instantly giving birth to streaks of golden light, bright and magnificent, rushing upwards, exploding the flesh-corpse image’s arm into pieces. Countless pieces of flesh, like rain, poured down.

Gray Second Master hurriedly sacrificed his life magic treasure, an earth-element shield, to protect his entire body and prevent his qi and blood from being contaminated by the corpse image’s flesh rain.

The flesh-corpse image’s arm was shattered by Gray Second Master’s detonated yellow jade talisman. But in an instant, countless remnant limbs and flesh began to re-condense, forming a new corpse arm. This arm was thicker, entwined with gloomy black qi, and even dripping with blood and water.

Before Gray Second Master could react, this arm, carrying anger, black qi, and blood water, began to press down on him again. And Gray Second Master had almost exhausted his tricks. If he had to take this move again, his life shield would shatter, and his entire life would be lost here.

“Quick, help!” Gray Second Master turned his head and roared hoarsely.

Shi Bu Zhen thought without hesitation, and for the first time, stood by Gray Second Master’s side. With a loud shout, he activated his golden core power, covering his entire body with a layer of earth-stone armor, wanting to resist the corpse image’s attack together with Gray Second Master.

Rat, who was off to the side, his gaze flickering slightly, took no action, but retreated a few steps. On the contrary, the other four black-robed cultivators took action at this moment. It seemed Gray Second Master was still useful, and they didn’t want him to die here either.

The black-robed young master waved his long sword, slashing out streaks of blood light. The black-robed old man sacrificed a strange-looking short knife, which emitted a pitch-black light. The other two big men seemed to be body cultivators; neither used spirit tools nor magic treasures, but directly attacked the flesh-corpse image with the power of their physical bodies.

Booming and explosive sounds rang out, and flesh was blasted away. Some zombie remnant limbs even flew past Mo Hua. Mo Hua had already drawn a second-grade nineteen-pattern gold-stone array on the ground early on and hid inside to prevent being affected. A second-grade nineteen-pattern array is still one pattern short of twenty patterns, after all, and cannot block a golden core attack. But if it only blocks the residual waves of battle, then there is no big problem. Mo Hua knew he was a “fragile skin,” so he lay on the ground early on, shrinking inside the array.

The residual waves of battle transmitted. Powerful fluctuations impacted his array, causing the array light to flicker and dim, and the array patterns showed signs of shattering, seeming to be on the verge of collapse. But this gold-stone array did not disappoint Mo Hua’s expectations and finally held up.

Waiting for the wind and waves to subside slightly, Mo Hua raised his head to look. He saw Gray Second Master in a mess in front of the massive bright yellow bronze coffin, and his life shield was also somewhat dim. Shi Bu Zhen’s earth-stone armor was already full of cracks. Rat stood to the side, his face somewhat pale, but he seemed unharmed. The black robes of the two black-robed big men were largely torn, exposing the muscular bodies beneath, but their faces were still not exposed. The black-robed young master and the black-robed old man, one controlling a sword and the other controlling a knife, were relatively far away, so they were not affected.

And opposite the crowd, under the combined efforts of six or seven golden core experts, the huge flesh-corpse image’s two arms had already been blasted away. Mo Hua was secretly alarmed. This flesh-corpse image was very strong, but these golden cores, especially these black-robed cultivators, also seemed not weak. Even Gray Second Master’s ability was not small. They not only resisted the corpse image’s attack but also counterattacked, blasting off the two corpse-woven arms of the corpse image.

Mo Hua looked again at the flesh-corpse image that had hatched from the bright yellow bronze coffin and was condensed from countless corpses, his brow furrowing slightly: “Indeed, it has ‘Dao Evil qi’…” “But the degree of evil transformation is not deep, only a trace. It seems not yet fully hatched, only a prototype…”

If not for this, everyone in the field would have already been dead. Mo Hua knew all too well how terrifying Dao Evil is. Not to mention these six or seven golden cores, even if sixty, six hundred golden cores came, it would fundamentally be useless. They would all ultimately face death. A true third-grade “Dao Evil” would be enough to completely destroy the territory of Gu Shan, and even involve the territory of Qian Xue, causing the entire territory of Qian Xue to fall into disaster.

“Is this Dao Evil naturally generated, or… is someone raising it?”

Raising Dao Evil… Mo Hua’s heart shivered. Could it be… his Martial Uncle is raising it?! Dao Evil contains the evil transformation qi of heaven and earth, this terrifying thing. Ordinary cultivators would avoid it in time; only those who truly have the qualifications to raise it, the ability to raise it, and have succeeded in raising it, according to Mo Hua’s knowledge, are only his Martial Uncle.

“Martial Uncle…” Mo Hua’s brow furrowed tightly. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head. It shouldn’t be… The territory of Qian Xue cannot be compared to the territory of Da Hei Shan. Da Hei Shan is a second-grade remote small territory, where the mountains are dangerous and the people are poor, and cultivation is difficult. While Qian Xue is a fifth-grade large territory, where the Dao of cultivation is prevalent, and prominent families and sects abound, and there are Dong Xu Old Ancestors guarding it. Even surrounding territories like Gu Shan are all within the sphere of influence of various prominent families. Some small fights and noises are acceptable, but they cannot tolerate a big demon head like his Martial Uncle, who possesses the title of “Daoist.” Generally speaking, his Martial Uncle’s hand should not be able to reach the territory of Qian Xue.

And with his “fate” with his Martial Uncle, if he truly came, he should have encountered him early on, or at least been able to detect him. Of course, Mo Hua hoped that he would never encounter his Martial Uncle again. He was afraid of his Martial Uncle’s narrow-mindedness and that he would remember his grudge. Given their origins, as long as they met, his Martial Uncle would definitely want his small life.

Of course, these were all things for later. The biggest trouble at hand was still this flesh-corpse image with the bud of Dao Evil qi. This one flesh-corpse image, buried deep within Gu Shan, was a huge hidden danger. If this hidden danger was not resolved, not to mention whether they could leave this tomb alive, the entire city of Gu Shan would be in peril. Once this flesh-corpse image truly became “Dao Evil,” the entire territory of Qian Xue would likely be stirred up into a cruel slaughter and evil disaster.

Amidst the turmoil, prominent families might be able to preserve themselves based on their generational foundations. But the most afflicted would still be the bottom-level loose cultivators. Mo Hua sighed slightly in his heart.

And just as he was thinking, there was another disturbance in the distance. Accompanied by the foul wind rolling back, the huge flesh-corpse image began to re-condense and regenerate again. The people who had just breathed a sigh of relief, including Gray Second Master, immediately felt their hearts sink and their expressions become solemn.

The flesh-corpse image roared. In the sound, there was a sense of deep resentment, as if countless dying people were struggling and roaring within. At the same time, its flesh body was also wriggling and transforming little by little. The numerous remnant limbs on its body seemed to come alive, reassembling one by one into corpse evil, their heads emerging from its rotten flesh body.

“Not good!” Gray Second Master didn’t know exactly what change was occurring to this flesh-corpse image, but he knew that the more bizarre the changes within the tomb, the less they could let it develop. Gray Second Master took out another yellow jade talisman. On this talisman slip, more blood-colored inscriptions were engraved.

“Kill!” Gray Second Master activated the talisman slip, conjuring streaks of golden light, and killed towards the flesh-corpse image. The others also realized that the situation was not good and acted accordingly. Knife, sword, talisman slips, magical techniques, and physical strength were used to strangle the flesh-corpse image, as well as the large and small corpse evil it hatched. For a time, the scene was extremely bloody and intense.

After such an exhaustive battle, they finally stopped the strange changes of the corpse image. But this flesh-corpse image still seemed immortal. No matter how it was killed, it could still slowly regenerate. Gray Second Master’s face was pale. “What exactly is this thing? How is it endless…” His spiritual power was already running low, and his life magic treasure was also somewhat dim. If they continued to fight like this, they would definitely be exhausted to death.

After pondering for a while, Gray Second Master gritted his teeth and said, “No way, let’s retreat a bit first and then think of a way.” The others also knew the pros and cons of this situation and nodded in agreement. The crowd then used their means together, launched one last wave of offense, and then took advantage of the time the flesh-corpse image was regenerating to quickly retreat.

But as Gray Second Master retreated, the array was broken, and the suppression of the bronze coffin’s feng shui formation was lessened. The yellow jade talisman exploded, and the surrounding Daoist seal characters were also completely annihilated. Without these restrictions, the flesh-corpse image’s flesh body regenerated faster. Although it was only for a few brief moments, it quickly wriggled and restored itself into that huge thing again.

Seeing the crowd wanting to run, the flesh-corpse image was furious. Its two huge, deformed arms constantly waved between the deep pits, like two giant pythons, stirring up dust and blood water all over the sky, intending to capture and kill the fleeing Gray Second Master and the others. But no matter how long its arms were, they had a limit. And it was hatched from the bronze coffin, seeming unable to leave the bronze coffin. Therefore, it did not catch the golden core realm Gray Second Master and the others.

Watching Gray Second Master and the others escape further and further, the flesh-corpse image was enraged by the “flesh” that was flying away. Accompanied by a roar mixed with numerous ferocious roars, its body began to fully differentiate into one corpse evil after another. These corpse evil were hatched from its flesh body, mixed with its corpse poison and dead qi, like its “offspring.”

The flesh-corpse image’s offspring separated from its flesh body, bared their teeth and claws, and then, like a tide, chased after the fleeing crowd. These “offspring” corpse evil were dense and continuous, making Gray Second Master’s scalp numb. Even Mo Hua was startled. He was hidden on the edge of the deep pit, and the flesh-corpse image couldn’t harm him. But these separated, tide-like corpse evil offspring were different. Once submerged in this corpse tide, he would definitely die without a burial place.

Mo Hua didn’t hesitate either and immediately turned and ran. And in the chaos, Mo Hua’s escaping figure also attracted the attention of another person. This person was Rat. Seeing Mo Hua’s figure, he was like a cat seeing a mouse, and immediately his greed took over, and he couldn’t help but chase after Mo Hua. In his heart, this tomb robbing trip was definitely a failure. Such a huge corpse image was simply unkillable; being able to escape was already not bad. Since this trip was destined to be empty-handed, he might as well catch Mo Hua and torture him to find out the whereabouts of the touch-gold talisman. As long as he got the touch-gold talisman, he would fly away to a distant place. After that, he would change his head and face and go seek that great opportunity.

Rat’s eyes glowed slightly red, and his forehead also began to turn iron-green. He chased after Mo Hua with a gloomy face. The corpse evil chased him, and he chased Mo Hua. This was different from the situation inside the fork in the road. Before, in the fork in the road, Mo Hua could still maneuver and leave room using his movement technique. But now, a large group of corpse evil were chasing behind. Both of them could only run forward. Mo Hua, however, as he used the Passing Water Steps, dodged left and right several times, but was still easily caught up by the corpse evil behind him.

Once submerged in the corpse tide, dense zombie hands would grab him, and zombie teeth would gnaw him. There was fundamentally no space to dodge; no matter how good his movement technique was, it would be useless. Therefore, Mo Hua could only run straight. But Passing Water Steps is not good for long-distance running. He was still in the Foundation Establishment stage. Running like this would only constantly be caught up by Rat, and finally fall into Rat’s hands.

Mo Hua’s brow furrowed slightly. Being chased by this one dead rat several times was endless; he also lost patience. Mo Hua’s face gradually turned cold. Rat didn’t notice. His mind was completely focused on how to catch Mo Hua and where to torture him after catching him.

Finally, they ran for another incense stick of time. Rat was almost only an arm’s length away from Mo Hua. As long as he reached out, he could touch him. His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and Rat immediately stretched out his rough big hand, grabbing towards Mo Hua’s shoulder and head. As expected, he grabbed him.

Rat’s expression was overjoyed, and even his gaze was full of greed. But he didn’t rejoice for long. The next instant, a water mist dispersed, and Mo Hua’s figure directly disappeared from his hand. Rat’s expression was stunned. He couldn’t help but raise his head to look. With this one look, he saw a pair of golden pupils. In the pupils, there was imprisonment, sword qi was vast, and a sharp sword intent directly broke through the air and chopped directly into Rat’s eyes.

Intense stinging pain transmitted. Rat hissed and roared, covering his eyes. His figure also couldn’t help but pause, and then his divine soul trembled, and fear was born in his heart: “What kind of evil thing is this…”

Before he could think clearly, he felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders. At the same time, another pair of hands grabbed his calves. Not only that, his body, his head, everywhere was being grabbed by corpse evil hands. There were even corpse evil opening their sharp teeth and beginning to gnaw on his head…

Deterred by the Shock God Sword, Rat’s movement technique paused for a moment, and then he was caught up by the dense corpse evil. Rat was greatly alarmed and struggled hard, but the more corpse evil he struggled off, the more corpse evil climbed onto his body. In just a moment, he was thus alive, submerged by the corpse tide.

Mo Hua didn’t turn his head to look; he simply didn’t have the time. In this kind of life-and-death situation where he was being chased by the corpse tide, being able to conjure a Water Shadow Illusion Body and add a Shock God Sword Pupil was already the limit. Even the Shock God Sword, he only displayed for an instant. After that, he ran away without looking back, running towards the distance.

He kept running until he entered the tunnel before the underground palace. Only then did Mo Hua breathe a sigh of relief. This was the road they had taken to come here, and it was also the only exit. Mo Hua immediately drilled into the tunnel, and it seemed that no corpse evil were chasing him from behind. Mo Hua turned his head to look and saw that the corpse evil were like water, but most of them were gathered around the flesh-corpse image, and there were fewer towards the outside. At the edge of the tunnel, there were only a few scattered ones left.

The bronze coffin and the corpse image were of the same origin. The corpse image could not leave the bronze coffin. And this group of hatched corpse evil, and that huge flesh-corpse image were “mother and child connected,” they also seemed unable to leave the corpse image too far. Mo Hua slightly relaxed his breath.

“Little brother.” Someone called him. Mo Hua turned his head to look and found it was Gray Second Master. In addition to Gray Second Master, there was also Shi Bu Zhen, as well as the black-robed cultivators. They were all gathered inside the tunnel at this time. These people were in the golden core realm, and their strength was stronger than Mo Hua’s. When they encountered danger, they ran faster, so they also dodged the corpse tide. It was just that at this time, the crowd’s aura was weak. Obviously, they had just battled the flesh-corpse image and added a life-and-death run, all were somewhat exhausted.

Gray Second Master stared at Mo Hua for a look and asked, “Little brother… are you alright?” Mo Hua’s face showed the luck of surviving a disaster. He nodded and said, “I was lucky and escaped.” Gray Second Master also breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze flickering slightly: “That’s good.”

Mo Hua then walked inside the tunnel. Before he had walked a few steps, a simple and heavy muffled voice suddenly rang out: “Where’s Rat?”

“Rat?” Gray Second Master was slightly startled. Only then did he look around and found that Rat was indeed not among the crowd. And the person who asked was Shi Bu Zhen. Shi Bu Zhen wrinkled his brow and then looked at Mo Hua, saying, “When we were running, I saw Rat escaping with you. There’s no reason you escaped and he didn’t. Where is Rat?”

In Gray Second Master’s group, Skin Mister was in the Foundation Establishment stage, but his status was special. Gray Second Master was the leader, and Shi Bu Zhen and Rat, relatively speaking, had the best relationship. Therefore, at this juncture, he was the only one concerned about Rat.

Mo Hua shook his head, “I was just focused on escaping, I don’t know about anything else…” Shi Bu Zhen stared at Mo Hua for a look, feeling some doubt in his heart, but after thinking about it, he felt it was not possible. It was not too possible for a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator to harm a golden core to death.

Just at this time, a series of heavy footsteps came from the mouth of the tunnel. Mo Hua’s heart trembled slightly. He turned his head to look and saw a blood-soaked body, hanging with rotten flesh, covered in bite marks, a Rat, walking step by step. His face was full of resentment, his eyes full of bloodshot threads, staring at Mo Hua deadly, and said, “Little ghost, you… killed me…”