Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Great Way of Corpse Deities

Xu Changqing escorted Chen Tao and the others to the entrance of the mortuary and handed them the five lanterns he was holding. Chen Tao and the others were puzzled when they saw Xu Changqing give them unlit lanterns and were about to ask, but Xu Changqing immediately raised his hand to stop them. He then extended his hand and made a cutting motion in the air above Shawn's head, and a small flame appeared between his index and middle fingers, though small, it gave a warm feeling to everyone who saw it. Xu Changqing then placed the flame inside Shawn's lantern to light the candle, and did the same for the others, lighting their lanterns one by one.

"The mountain is very dark and easy to get lost in. The light from the lanterns will guide you down," Xu Changqing patted his hands, straightened his clothes, and said seriously, "But you must remember, before you enter the mountain town, no matter what happens behind you, do not turn back, understand?"

Although the group was somewhat dismissive, they still nodded in agreement. Xu Changqing could tell they didn't take his words seriously and gave a cold laugh in his heart, deciding not to warn them again. He turned to head back to the mortuary.

At this moment, Shawn quickly walked up to Xu Changqing and said gratefully, "Mr. Xu, seeing the magical Chinese techniques today has broadened my horizons and opened a new field of study for my research on Chinese culture. I am truly grateful!" As he spoke, he searched his body and took out a jade pendant about the size of half a palm from his coat pocket, saying, "This thing is also from China! It was taken from China by a colonel friend of mine back home, and he sold it to me when he was poor and destitute. It's said to be from the Forbidden City in China! I'll give this to you as a token of gratitude, and it can also be considered a return to its rightful owner!"

"Quite a fine piece of ancient jade from Hetian!" Zhang Yuan, who had a jade antique shop at home, recognized the quality of the jade at a glance.

Xu Changqing was taken aback when he saw the ancient jade pendant, took it, and examined it carefully. Although the jade was of high quality, it wasn't particularly useful to him. What truly interested him were the subtle patterns on the surface of the jade. He felt these patterns resembled some kind of script but didn't want to use his divine eye in front of others. He reluctantly accepted it, saying, "Since Mr. Shawn is so kind, I will accept it!" He then took out a Taiji copper plaque from his sleeve and handed it to Shawn, saying, "This Taiji soul-sealing plaque is made by me. I give it to you as a memento of our meeting."

Chen Tao and the others looked at Shawn, who was delighted to receive the Taiji soul-sealing plaque, with envy. After what they had just experienced, they all knew Xu Changqing was a truly capable and extraordinary person, and the copper plaque was certainly a magical artifact. Unfortunately, they hadn't brought any valuable items with them, only some loose change, and being from wealthy families, they felt it was inappropriate to ask for one. They could only watch as Shawn put the copper plaque in his pocket.

Watching the five people disappear into the peach blossom forest with their lanterns, Xu Changqing was about to turn back to the mortuary when he stopped at the entrance. He turned around and looked at the seventh row of the sixty corpses in the courtyard, feeling something was off. He quickly walked over and saw that the seal on this particular corpse was different from the others. The other corpses were sealed with yellow silk talismans treated with realgar, which not only locked the essence and soul of the corpse but also sealed the continuously emanating corpse qi. According to Xu Changqing, the only type of corpse that required such elaborate sealing with so many magical tools was the elite copper-armored corpse.

To confirm his suspicion, Xu Changqing slightly lifted the yellow silk talisman covering the corpse, revealing the forehead. The skin on the corpse's forehead was not the usual iron-gray of ordinary corpses but a light yellow, with a tree-like corpse pattern in the center. These characteristics were unique to copper-armored corpses. Xu Changqing re-covered the corpse with the yellow silk talisman, showing a look of envy. As he turned to walk back into the mortuary, he calculated with his fingers and muttered to himself, "No wonder the corpse qi was so heavy even from a distance. There's such a treasure inside. If nothing goes wrong, the Zhong family in Xiangxi might produce a corpse deity in a hundred years. What good fortune!"

For all the families and sects involved in corpse transportation, the practice was not just about earning merit by sending spirits home but also about using their status to search for copper-armored corpses. Corpses are divided into five types: walking corpses, zombies, copper-armored corpses, silver-armored corpses, and gold-armored corpses. Above these are the divine corpse deities, flying night demons, and drought demons, which are considered deities rather than corpses. Walking corpses are ordinary corpses, zombies are corpses that have gathered a certain amount of corpse qi and become incredibly strong, requiring fresh blood to balance their yin and yang, and have no consciousness, acting on instinct. Copper-armored, silver-armored, and gold-armored corpses, on the other hand, have very different conditions for their formation. Their八字 (bazi, or birth chart) must be of the highest quality, and they must die with a grievance, which seals their seven orifices and prevents their consciousness from dissipating. They must also be buried at the most yin hour and in a grave that is a major yin site.

Under the refinement of the nine yin qi, the corpse will transform into different types of armored corpses based on their bazi. Among these, the gold and silver-armored corpses with dragon qi are the strongest, while the copper-armored corpses are the weakest. However, the bodies of gold and silver-armored corpses must be those of emperors and princes with dragon qi, who usually die peacefully. Even if they don't, they are rarely buried in extremely yin sites, making such corpses extremely rare. According to the records in Xu Changqing's sect, only two gold and silver-armored corpses have appeared since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods.

Gold and silver-armored corpses retain the knowledge and wisdom of their former lives, are incredibly strong, and are impervious to weapons and ordinary magical tools. They instinctively absorb the essence of the sun and moon, refining their bodies, and can eventually become flying night demons, transcending the five elements and the three realms, akin to deities. They can also practice magic, possessing the highest level of earth遁 (dun, or earth travel) techniques, making them invincible as long as their feet touch the ground. Even a celestial immortal at the level of refining the spirit and returning to the void would struggle to subdue them in a one-on-one confrontation.

The two gold and silver-armored corpses that appeared during the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods were likely unlucky, as they emerged during periods of decline in the Chinese empire's fortune and the last two bursts of celestial qi. Many high monks and immortals used this opportunity to refine their spirits and achieve the status of celestial immortals. The two gold and silver-armored corpses were quickly surrounded and eliminated by a dozen such immortals, their essence becoming the foundation for these immortals to achieve their goals. Afterward, the celestial qi gradually dissipated, reducing the number of successful practitioners. What were once basic cultivation techniques, such as refining qi into spirit and forming a golden elixir, became the pinnacle of achievement. The gold and silver-armored corpses also disappeared due to the lack of celestial qi.

While the formation of copper-armored corpses is also difficult and requires many conditions, the body's bazi does not need to be as noble. High-ranking officials and distinguished generals can also become copper-armored corpses, and they do not require as much celestial qi. Copper-armored corpses have most of the abilities of gold and silver-armored corpses but are not as powerful. They also have nine major yin acupoints, which can be exploited by those skilled in corpse cultivation. Once captured, the cultivator will erase the copper-armored corpse's consciousness and use the Seven Stars Body-Swapping Technique to transfer their own consciousness into the corpse. They will then find a major yin site and enter seclusion, and within sixty years, the copper-armored corpse can transform from yin to yang, becoming a drought demon, transcending the five elements, and achieving the great way of corpse deities.

Xu Changqing's sect also knew the techniques of corpse cultivation, but their luck was always poor. Most of the dozen or so copper-armored corpses that appeared throughout history were taken by the Three Mountains Talisman sect and other orthodox Daoist sects skilled in corpse cultivation. The few that escaped were destroyed by high monks and immortals not practicing corpse cultivation, causing great pain to the ancestors of Xu Changqing's sect.

Although the coveted copper-armored corpse was right in front of him, Xu Changqing had no intention of seizing it. An ancestor of his sect, skilled in divination, had once tried to locate the positions of all copper-armored corpses and discovered that they all had a predetermined destiny. Who could obtain them and who could not was predestined. If someone forcibly took a copper-armored corpse and practiced corpse cultivation, they would eventually suffer a mental breakdown and be destroyed. This was why the Three Mountains Talisman sect, despite having many copper-armored corpses, had never produced a corpse deity, as their cultivation path was the Upper Qing Golden Elixir Path, not the path of corpse cultivation.

As Xu Changqing walked back, he used the sect's secret technique to calculate that this copper-armored corpse belonged to the Zhong family of Xiangxi, but there seemed to be some variables. If a step was taken wrong, the Zhong family might end up with nothing.

Entering the mortuary, Xu Changqing went straight to the bathing room. The old Daoist, Zhong, was leading his nephews to undress and soak in the glutinous rice water Xu Changqing had prepared. The black qi surrounding the seven Daoists was being forced to their heads by the glutinous rice water, then escaping through their orifices as thin, long black smoke, which was absorbed by a green jade gourd hanging from the ceiling. Although the scene was strange, the seven men did not resist, and their expressions were very pleasant, similar to those of opium smokers in the mountain town.

Hearing Xu Changqing's footsteps, the seven men opened their eyes and looked at him. The six young men then closed their eyes again, while the old Daoist stared at Xu Changqing and sighed, "It seems you already know."

"Would you bring such a treasure here without expecting me to notice?" Xu Changqing laughed coldly, took a yellow earth gourd from the ceiling, uncorked it, and poured out a black pill, crushed it, and threw it into the glutinous rice water, saying, "The corpse qi of a copper-armored corpse is no small matter. You may need to stay here for a few more days to completely remove the corpse qi. Otherwise, if you rush, your cultivation will be affected by the corpse qi, and something could happen, which would be disastrous for you, old man."

"Prosperity comes with risk! When we obtained this copper-armored corpse, we already anticipated many troubles," the old Daoist smiled, splashed some water on his face, and said solemnly, "But this time, it might be a bit more complicated. The Nine Lives True Lord from Mount Mang is following us."

Mount Mang is considered a holy site for corpse and ghost cultivation, and is regarded as a gathering place for evil and heretical sects by the orthodox Daoist sects. The Nine Lives True Lord, whose real name is Hu Zhixue, was a scholar in the Daoguang period. He had once studied the combined techniques of Buddhism and Daoism from the immortal Wu Chongxu, but later obtained a secret manual for living people to practice ghost cultivation. To avoid war, he went into seclusion in the Mount Mang area. After mastering his evil techniques, he became one of the most powerful figures in the region. He used the souls of eight former generals to create eight life souls, and with his own true soul, he became the Nine Lives True Lord.

Although Hu Zhixue was one of the most knowledgeable figures in the Mount Mang area, his character was extremely despicable. He liked to steal others' magical tools and use living people to create evil tools. He was also a notorious womanizer, still indulging in women daily even in his eighties. He also used his wives and concubines to practice the soul-destroying dance of the demon path to seduce disciples with weak wills, stealing their essence to enhance his own cultivation. If he hadn't been hiding in the Mount Mang area and been cautious, even with nine lives, he would have been eliminated by the righteous sects who considered the destruction of evil as their life's mission. This time, if it weren't for the attraction of the copper-armored corpse, he would never have left the Mount Mang area.

"I know!" Xu Changqing was not surprised that the Nine Lives True Lord was following the old Daoist. He looked in the direction of the mountain town and laughed coldly, "The ghostly qi of this old man is not much weaker than the corpse qi of your copper-armored corpse. It can be detected from hundreds of miles away. What surprises me is that this old man has the nerve to come to a place filled with high monks and immortals to cause trouble."

"High monks and immortals?" The old Daoist laughed dismissively, "Changqing, don't joke! The people in the mountain town can hardly be called high monks and immortals. Nowadays, the truly powerful ones are all in seclusion, hiding away. Why would they come here for a little money to hold a water and land ceremony?"

"Don't underestimate these high monks and immortals. I need their help to open the heavenly gate and send the two thousand wandering souls on their way," Xu Changqing hung the gourd back on the hook and said calmly, "Although their individual cultivation levels are not high, if they work together, even someone of our level would struggle." He then walked out and said confidently, "I'll take care of the Nine Lives True Lord. Since he dared to cause trouble on my territory, I, as the host, must properly entertain him."

Hearing Xu Changqing's words, the old Daoist's slightly tense expression relaxed, and he closed his eyes, quietly soaking in the glutinous rice water.

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