Chapter 394 - Capturing the Corpse King

After a short while, a large number of disciples from the Corpse Refinery Sect had gathered in the skies above the black clouds. Those on land had changed their expressions, while Xiao Chen was still facing off in a silent battle against the Corpse King in the clearing in the middle.

Suddenly, a purple figure darted across and grabbed Xiao Chen before fleeing along with him. It was Su Lianyue, and Luo Shangyan wanted to charge forward upon seeing that before she was stopped by Qin Shaoyang. “Don’t go, Junior Sister Luo. It’s best to allow both of them to flee in the chaos.”

The crowd was becoming a little chaotic, as everyone’s attention was focused on the sudden appearance of Corpse Refinery Sect disciples. As such, no one noticed that Xiao Chen was gone.

Su Lianyue dragged him into a cave far away, and as the small mountain that it belonged to had been destroyed by the Corpse King’s Sword Qi, the entrance to the cave was basically sealed off by rocks, leaving only a small crack. From within, its inhabitants could see what was going on outside, but those who were outside would not easily notice that there were people in it.

“Even Ye Wuxin has come. Why are you standing there in a daze?” Su Lianyue glared at him lightly as she asked softly.

It was only then did Xiao Chen regain his senses. He immediately made a shushing gesture; he did not know what happened earlier on, but a wave of energy seemed to have been created in his body, and it affected his mood as well.

The cave was already narrow in the first place, and compounded with the fact that the mountain it was situated in was already deformed, the space in it had become even more narrow. Both Xiao and Su were squeezed close to each other in a somewhat intimate fashion, and Xiao Chen coughed softly to hide his awkwardness. He looked out of the cave, and as the cracks were not that wide to begin with, and Su Lianyue was not as tall as him, she had to bend her back to look outward with her neck lowered.

Nearly 100 Corpse Refinery Sect disciples descended from mid-air and surrounded the Corpse King. A loud laugh rang out, before someone said, “Why haven’t you people come to greet us after arriving at our Miasma Mountain Range?”

A man dressed in purple robes drifted slowly down from mid-air as the voice faded away. He looked handsome, but his face was deathly pale, and Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue could catch sight of his side view. Who else could it be, other than Ye Wuxin? Both Xiao and Su immediately concealed their auras.

Looking at the situation unfolding in front of him, Xiao Chen roughly understood that Ye Wuxin had known long ago about the presence of a 1000 year old Corpse King sealed at this location, and that he wanted to subdue it. However, the seal on the Divine Tree was incredibly powerful, and coupled with the fact that the Corpse King himself was already strong, he had finally waited till the seal’s power was beginning to fade. As such, he began to spread news of the artifact’s presence to attract cultivators from all over to this spot.

He planned to make use of the thousands of cultivators to kill the Corpse King once, thereby severely depleting its power. The sect would then reap the benefits and collect plenty of corpses back to their base. It was a great plan by Ye Wuxin.

Perfected Immortal Rising Void and Heavenly Eagle King, who were outside the cave, also understood immediately what was going on, and their expressions looked extremely unpleasant. Ye Wuxin smiled casually as he continued, “Don’t be mistaken, everyone. I’m here tonight to subdue the Corpse King. The Corpse Refinery Sect will not interfere in matters of both the Orthodox Path and Devil’s Practice.”

He was not lying. Basically, the Corpse Refining Sect would not involve itself in matters of the Light and Dark sides. Even if they were fighting to the death, the Sect would just busy itself with corpse collection. As for why it was actually classified as one of the Devil Practitioner Sects, it was probably because they seemed more evil than good.

In reality, however, the Corpse Refinery Sect would not spend all day thinking about how to overthrow the Orthodox Path sects like the other three Great Devil Practitioner Sects. It bothered itself with its own matters, but no one really knew what their disciples were actually doing. As such, it was the most mysterious sect, and many people of the younger generation had already forgotten about the existence of the sect. It was the appearance of the ambitious Ye Wuxin that changed the sect’s usual low profile manner.

By now, the faces of Heavenly Eagle King and Perfected Immortal Rising Void were extremely unpleasant. It did not matter if they were being made use of; Ye Wuxin’s level of cultivation was higher than theirs, and he had a terrifying Corpse Puppet up his sleeve. This was also territory of the Corpse Refining Sect and they could only count themselves unlucky to have landed in such a situation.

The Corpse King in the center of everyone had also felt a little threatened and seemed to have sense that this batch of newcomers had a special ability to subdue himself. “Who are you people?!” he growled.

Ye Wuxin gave an indifferent smile as he waved his hand. “Form up.”

About 100 disciples of the Corpse Refinery Sect in the surrounding area immediately began moving rapidly and joined up into a strange formation while chanting non-stop. A huge black net covered with Soul Absorbing Bells suddenly appeared in mid-air, as it fell upon the Corpse King.

The Corpse King leaped up, but the huge net was already raining down on his head. The bells chimed as he was enveloped within the net in an instant.

“Brazen fools!” the Corpse King growled as he slashed at the huge net with his sword. The net was made of an unknown material that allowed it to remain unscratched even as the valuable sword, that was capable of splitting rocks and mountains, smashed into it.

The people nearby also got a great shock. They had spent much effort to subdue the Corpse King earlier on, but he was trapped by the Corpse Refinery Sect within a few moves. All of a sudden, they grew even more wary of the mysterious sect.

They were unaware that the Corpse King had just been resurrected, and he would not have regained his powers so quickly. If it were not for their efforts, the Corpse Refining Sect would not have trapped the Corpse King so easily.

The Corpse King was charging to and fro in the net, causing the Soul Absorbing Bells to chime incessantly. Those who could hear them became dizzy, and nearly a hundred of disciples from the Corpse Refinery Sect were also shaking to and fro as they were dragged along by the net. It was not going to be easy to completely subdue the Corpse King.

Su Lianyue stretched herself out by habit in the cave as she saw this and smacked her head into Xiao Chen’s chin unexpectedly, causing Xiao to hiss softly. It was very soft, but it drew the attention of Ye Wuxin, who was standing outside the cave.

Ye Wuxin’s brows furrowed together before they slowly expanded back to their normal size. He then turned to look around before remarking casually, “I seemed to have smelled something familiar…” After speaking, he walked slowly in the direction of Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue.

The two cave inhabitants immediately held their breaths and hid behind a rock. They looked at each other. There was no need for words; a great rapport had been built between them. The moment Ye Wuxin drew near, they would unleash all their powers and attempt to kill him before he could react. Ye Wuxin’s level of cultivation was far above theirs, and they would not be able to defeat him in actual combat, even if they joined forces.

“Thud…thud…thud…” Both of them could already hear slow footsteps coming toward them from outside the cave. Just at this moment, there was a loud shout, “Chief, we’re losing control over the Corpse King!”

Ye Wuxin stopped walking and glanced at the gap in the black rock. He turned and walk back to his original spot only after ascertaining that there was nothing beyond the crack. The Corpse King’s aura and Rancorous Qi were growing increasingly stronger, and he already seemed to be breaking free of his bonds. Ye Wuxin frowned slightly as he casually formed a seal, sending a few gold seal talismans to fly out of his sleeve. He pasted them on the Corpse King’s back, and instantly, there was a hissing sound.

“Ah… the Corpse Kings behavior was turning increasingly insane. He was slashing wildly with his sword that was slightly longer than one meter. There was no way he could break free from the net, however. This fact caused the undead monarch to remark angrily, “You people are trying to rebel! I will never forgive all of you!”

Ye Wuxin frowned slightly as he spoke calmly, “You were an emperor while you were alive. Since you are unwilling to return back into the ground, you’ll belong to the Corpse Refinery Sect from now on.” After he finished speaking, he flung dozens of seal talismans on the Corpse King, instantly making it seem as though it was severely wounded. Nearly 100 disciples of the Corpse Refinery Sect also begun throwing their talismans on the undead being.

Within a short span of time, the Corpse King’s entire body was filled with talismanic seals, and his aura and strength eventually diminished. He no longer projected the majestic aura of an emperor when dealing with his subjects.

“Rebels and traitors, I’ll slay all of you in my next life…” the Corpse King was growing weak.

Ye Wuxin smiled calmly and somewhat sarcastically. “Next life? Ever since you were sustained by Malicious Grudges, you’ll never be reincarnated again. Dream on…” It seemed as though he was speaking to the Corpse King, yet more as though he was referring to someone else.

Everyone who was standing some distance away felt an indescribable feeling as they witnessed the Corpse King, who was majestic in nature not long ago, being captured by the Corpse Refinery Sect in a short span of time. With his capture, the black clouds created by him also dispersed. Upon seeing that they could finally leave, the cultivators cast all other thoughts aside and hurriedly fled out of the valley. The Miasma Mountain Range had already become a nightmarish place for them, and they never wanted to come back again.

It was only now that Perfected Immortal Rising Void and Heavenly Eagle King realized that Xiao Chen was gone. Both sighed and flicked their sleeves before leaving; it was a fruitless journey for them. As for Xiaoyue, she frowned and eventually left quietly with the crowd. Su Zimu and company were here just to take a look, and they were not that keen on obtaining the extraordinary treasure in the first place.

Even Yu Yifeng and his fellow disciples left eventually, leaving the place free of cultivators. The Corpse King was also finally subdued, and a Corpse Refinery Sect disciple clad in black walked up to Ye Wuxin. “What should we do with him now, Chief?” he asked, cupping his hands in deference. He then glanced to his sides before whispering, “During the past few days, a few elders had some words to say about you, Chief. In my opinion…”

Ye Wuxin took in a deep breath of air before replying calmly, “Of course I know about that. Bring the Corpse King back to my Corpse-raising Hall first, and we can’t allow Elder Wu and the others to know about this. As for the corpses here, get people to clear them away tomorrow. I’ll be busy again. Sigh…” He glanced at the cave containing Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue before leaving.

After the eventful night, peace finally returned to the valley. There were thousands of corpses strewn all over the ground, however, and it was a terrible sight under the moonlight.

Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue still dared not to move in the cave. A cold wind, carrying the smell of blood and gore with it, blew in. Xiao Chen looked at Su Lianyue. He went to the Corpse Refinery Sect for two reasons: for the Corpse Puppet, and more importantly, for the lost 31 as well. Perhaps, in his subconscious, he was afraid that Weiyang was involved in the incident.

What about Su Lianyue? What was she at the Corpse Refinery Sect for? Could it have been about the 31 people as well?

After two more hours, the moon gradually retreated westward, and moonlight seeped in from the cracks in the stone. Wind howled continuously outside, and shadows of tree branches danced on the ground. Xiao Chen reached his Divine Sense out to make sure that Ye Wuxin and gang were truly gone, before he dared to let out a breath of air. “Let’s go, they’ve left,” he said softly.

Su Lianyue’s legs were closed tightly together, and her face blushed slightly under the moonlight. “You go first, I’ll follow shortly,” she said softly.

“Oh,” replied Xiao Chen without much thought. He left the cave and was immediately assaulted by the pungent smell of blood. He gazed around to see corpses and detached heads strewn all over the ground, which was covered in rivers of blood. It was a sight too terrible to behold.

After a short while, Su Lianyue walked out of the cave as well. Moonlight fell on her, giving her the image as though she was wrapped in layers of thin purple yarn. She looked increasingly alluring, and she smiled gently as she spoke, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Young Master. Let’s go.”

Xiao Chen turned around and laughed as he saw her beautiful smile. “Thanks for your help tonight, Fairy.”

Su Lianyue sighed and placed her hands behind her back. She then raised her head to look at the bright moon, before smiling and saying, “I hope you won’t try to kill me on behalf of those Orthodox Path practitioners one day, Young Master.”

Xiao Chen smiled. “Let’s go. We should leave this place first and continue with our original plan tomorrow. From what Ye Wuxin just said, I believe security in the Corpse Refinery Sect will be must slacker these few days.”

Both of them walked out of the valley. Just as they reached the exit, they heightened their senses an drew out their magic treasures. Even though there was no movement outside, it did not really mean that everyone had left.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound as the shadow of a tree branch flickered far away. A figure landed right before both of them.