Chapter 181 – Infiltrating Black Lotus Sect—Lu Chen, More Fiend-Like Than Fiends

Special Instance: Sword Formation Ruins, Sword Pavilion Third Floor

“Hah, after hundreds of deaths, I’ve finally uncovered everything worth knowing.”

Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, mentally compiling the intelligence gathered through sacrificing over a hundred lives.

First was the Corpse Fiend Cave nearest to him.

The so-called Corpse Fiend Cave was essentially a lineage similar to the corpse-driving traditions within the Immortal Alliance.

However, unlike those who manipulated others’ corpses, the Corpse Fiend Cave’s Corpse Manipulation technique was unique.

They would separate their own Heaven, Earth, and Human souls, merging them into meticulously prepared Jiangshi.

At the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment Stages, they became ‘Human Corpse Fiends’; at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Stages, ‘Earth Corpse Fiends’; and at the Deity Transformation and Tribulation Transcendence Stages, ‘Celestial Corpse Fiends’.

The Corpse Fiend Cave’s ‘Corpse Dissection Fiend’ method involved fusing these Three Corpses.

Thus, after refining a complete ‘Human Corpse Fiend’, the Immortal Fiends of Corpse Fiend Cave would begin cultivating an ‘Earth Corpse Fiend’, having it devour the Human Corpse Fiend to endow the Earth Corpse Fiend with two of the three souls.

Similarly, the subsequent Celestial Corpse Fiend followed the same process.

As for ‘Corpse Dissection Fiend’, it required them to completely subdue the ‘Celestial Corpse Fiend’ and compel it to undergo corpse dissection.

This essentially used the Celestial Corpse Fiend’s body as nourishment to nurture the Corpse Fiend Cave Immortal Fiend’s own Divine Soul.

If they succeeded in ‘Corpse Dissection’, they could instantly ascend to immortality.

But if they failed, their Divine Soul would be controlled by the Celestial Corpse Fiend’s Physical Body.

Using their Divine Soul as nourishment, the Celestial Corpse Fiend would then birth its own Divine Soul.

In the history of Corpse Fiend Cave, there had been seven successful transcendents who achieved immortality through Corpse Dissection.

The remaining twelve were ‘Nirvana Corpses’ who failed transcendence.

Here, ‘Nirvana’ referred to these Corpse Fiends devouring the original Cultivator’s Divine Soul from Corpse Fiend Cave, achieving Rebirth through Nirvana.

Each Nirvana Corpse was equivalent to a Mortal Realm Immortal among Cultivators.

They represented the pinnacle of existence in the Mortal World.

It was precisely by relying on these twelve Nirvana Corpses that Corpse Fiend Cave could stand alongside the Black Lotus Sect and Great Thousand Mountains as one of the three top forces in the Immortal Fiend world.

This was the information Lu Chen had uncovered about Corpse Fiend Cave.

After obtaining this intelligence, Lu Chen abandoned any thought of disguising himself as a Disciple of Corpse Fiend Cave.

Not only did he lack knowledge of corpse cultivation methods, but he also couldn’t possibly cultivate an ‘Earth Corpse Fiend’ in a short time.

Thus, he outright excluded Corpse Fiend Cave from the forces he intended to infiltrate under disguise.

The situation with Great Thousand Mountains was similar to Corpse Fiend Cave.

The so-called Great Thousand Mountains was essentially a gathering place for countless Demons and Monsters.

Cultivators of Great Thousand Mountains consumed demon essence blood, using secret techniques to gradually transform themselves toward demonhood.

In this aspect, their cultivation methods resembled what Lu Chen knew in his previous life as ‘Bloodline Warlocks’.

They were a group of peculiar Immortal Fiends who believed the human body had limits and thus decided to abandon humanity.

But Lu Chen was an orthodox Cultivator, possessing not a trace of demon essence blood in his body—a genuine human.

Therefore, attempting to imitate the Immortal Fiends of Great Thousand Mountains was undoubtedly impossible for him.

With this calculation, the only identity Lu Chen could feasibly adopt was that of a Black Lotus Sect Disciple—the one he was most familiar with.In the recent dozens of resurrections, Lu Chen had consistently followed this approach.

However, Bai Yu of the Black Lotus Sect was inherently cautious, and it took Lu Chen dozens of deaths to finally devise a method to fully gain her trust.

After organizing all the intelligence gathered from these hundreds of deaths, Lu Chen immediately stood up.

“In the most recent attempts, I was very close to success. With the experience from these tries… I should now be confident in seizing that Sword Array Fragment Map from their hands.”

With these words, Lu Chen effortlessly descended from the Sword Pavilion’s third floor.

This time, however, he did not head toward the Corpse Fiend Cave’s stronghold but instead made his way to a valley in Hidden Sword Peak.

Although his goal was to infiltrate the Black Lotus Sect, his core objective was actually to earn the absolute trust of Perfected Water Moon Bai Yu from the Black Lotus Sect.

During previous struggles for the Sword Diagram, Lu Chen had discovered that without Bai Yu’s trust, she would merely use him as cannon fodder in battles against cultivators from the Great Thousand Mountains and the Corpse Fiend Cave.

Even if Lu Chen tried his best to conceal his abilities in such fights, the moment he unleashed his Sword Domain, Nascent Soul Stage cultivators from both the Great Thousand Mountains and the Corpse Fiend Cave would immediately target him.

This wasn’t because Lu Chen’s Sword Domain was powerful enough to threaten Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. No matter how formidable his Sword Domain might be, it couldn’t bridge the vast gap between him and those at the Nascent Soul Stage.

The real reason Liang Jinyun, a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator from the Corpse Fiend Cave, and Kong Guangping, a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator from the Great Thousand Mountains, targeted him was that both sought to devour his Harmony Realm Sword Domain.

Faced with this situation, Lu Chen quickly changed his strategy, shifting the key to obtaining the Sword Diagram to how to win over Bai Yu and gain her absolute trust.

A significant reason for Lu Chen’s numerous subsequent deaths lay precisely in this endeavor. After all, Bai Yu was extremely suspicious—so much so that she would rather kill mistakenly than let anyone slip by. At the slightest hint of anything amiss from Lu Chen, she would immediately attack him.

Fortunately, Lu Chen ultimately traded life after life for a set of invaluable intelligence. Who would have thought that Bai Yu, one of the Elders of the Black Lotus Sect, actually had a childhood sweetheart who had been refined into a corpse fiend by the Corpse Fiend Cave?

She had never revealed this secret to anyone, because in the Black Lotus Sect, which emphasized severing emotions and desires, if Bai Yu were to disclose this, the sect would not help her seek revenge but would instead use it to torment her, forcing her to completely abandon such attachments.

Only then could she devote herself entirely to the Black Lotus Buddha Mother. Thus, even though she harbored deep hatred for a certain Golden Core Stage Protector from the Corpse Fiend Cave, she never showed it.

It was only after learning this secret and presenting the corpse of that Golden Core Stage cultivator from the Corpse Fiend Cave as a pledge of loyalty that Lu Chen finally gained Bai Yu’s trust.

Therefore, what Lu Chen needed to do now was to kill that Golden Core Stage cultivator from the Corpse Fiend Cave who was currently exploring a valley in Hidden Sword Peak. By doing so, he would have initially secured his footing within the Black Lotus Sect.

Hidden Sword Peak, Sword Testing Valley.

The so-called Sword Testing Valley was a place where disciples of Hidden Sword Peak traditionally practiced their swordsmanship. It served as an excellent location for them to test and refine their sword techniques.It contained many sword marks left by the predecessors of Hidden Sword Peak.

If the disciples of Hidden Sword Peak could gain even a slight insight from these sword marks, it would bring them immense benefits.

However, with the fall of the Azure Cloud Sect and the brutality of the sect-destroying battle, the Sword Testing Valley had long been rendered unrecognizable.

Not only had the valley’s environment drastically changed, but due to the Sword Array Fragment Map, the scattered sword qi within the valley had undergone a peculiar transformation over the long years, evolving into a special “Sword Qi Turbulence.”

These Sword Qi Turbulences varied in strength—the strongest could severely injure even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, while the weakest could be easily withstood by a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.

After extensive exploration, the Immortal Fiends had largely discerned the periodic patterns of the Sword Qi Turbulence in the Sword Testing Valley.

They understood which periods were the most dangerous to enter the valley and which were the safest.

But this was only relative.

Because even during the valley’s safest period, the most terrifying Sword Qi Turbulence could still appear unexpectedly.

Thus, whether it was the Black Lotus Sect, the Great Thousand Mountains, or the Corpse Fiend Cave, all proceeded with extreme caution during their explorations.

They would only advance further after confirming that no terrifying Sword Qi Turbulence was forming nearby.

Thunder Corpse Daoist Yi Chi of the Corpse Fiend Cave was no exception.

“Protector Yi, we are about to reach the core area of the Sword Testing Valley. Where should we set up our base?”

Upon hearing this, Yi Chi fell into deep thought.

Although the Sword Testing Valley was vast, the safe areas discovered so far were limited.

If they wanted to explore the valley as thoroughly as possible, a suitable base was absolutely essential.

After studying the map for a moment, Yi Chi finally selected a location.

“Right here.”

Seeing the spot Yi Chi had chosen, the ten Foundation Establishment Stage disciples of the Corpse Fiend Cave immediately headed toward it.

Soon after, the group arrived in front of a cave residence within the Sword Testing Valley.

The vast Sword Testing Valley housed many cave residences left behind by the disciples of Hidden Sword Peak.

These cave residences varied in strength, and some still contained remnants of items left by the former Hidden Sword Peak disciples.

The cave residence Yi Chi and his group had chosen was not only once frequently used by a Golden Core Stage Sword Cultivator of Hidden Sword Peak but was also rarely affected by the Sword Qi Turbulence of the valley, making it an ideal base.

However, shortly after the eleven of them entered the cave, they unexpectedly discovered that someone had already taken possession of it.

Lu Chen sat before a campfire, calmly watching Yi Chi and the others as they entered the valley.

Upon noticing Lu Chen’s Black Lotus Sect attire and his mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, one of the Corpse Fiend Cave disciples, eager to prove himself, immediately spoke arrogantly: “Trash of the Black Lotus Sect, this place now belongs to our Corpse Fiend Cave.”

“If you know what’s good for you, leave quickly. Otherwise…”

Before the disciple could finish his sentence, a Sword Qi swept past his neck.

The next moment, the disciple stared at Lu Chen in shock before his head separated from his body and he collapsed to the ground.

This sudden turn of events immediately put the other Corpse Fiend Cave disciples on high alert.

They quickly summoned coffins and released their respective Corpse Fiends.

Lu Chen watched the coffins calmly, making no move to stop them.After all, Lu Chen had already experienced similar scenes hundreds of times.

He not only knew the actions of Yi Chi and the others like the back of his hand, but could even recite their subsequent words from memory.

What was happening now was merely a formality.

“Brat, how dare you kill our Corpse Fiend Cave’s people, you…”

Splat!

Before the Corpse Fiend Cave Disciple could finish speaking, another Sword Qi suddenly swept across his neck.

With his control gone, his Corpse Fiend instantly went berserk, beginning to indiscriminately attack everyone around it.

This included the Corpse Fiend Cave Disciples closest to it.

Watching the sudden chaos, Yi Chi—who had maintained an expert’s demeanor all along—finally took action.

A black coffin abruptly appeared behind him.

As the coffin opened, a robust arm reached out from within, directly grabbing the out-of-control, slaughter-crazed Corpse Fiend.

Faced with an absolute difference in strength, the mere Foundation Establishment Stage Corpse Fiend was no match for this Golden Core Stage Corpse Fiend.

With just one hand, it crushed the other’s head.

Then Yi Chi’s Golden Core Stage Corpse Fiend licked the remaining blood on its hand, a look of intoxication appearing on its ferocious face.

It seemed quite satisfied with the meal.

But it suddenly seemed to catch a scent, sniffing the air before directly turning its gaze toward Lu Chen’s direction.

The fiery look in its eyes was as if Lu Chen were some peerless delicacy in its view.

Though it desperately wanted to tear Lu Chen apart immediately, Yi Chi stopped it.

Stepping out from the group, he looked toward Lu Chen in the cave from a distance.

“Although I’ve long known your Black Lotus Sect and Great Thousand Mountains couldn’t be trusted, I never expected you’d have the courage to directly attack us.”

“Since you’re the one who broke the rules first, don’t blame me for what comes next.”

“A Sword Cultivator who has mastered Sword Intent, and one so young at that.”

“Heaven has truly treated me well, delivering such premium Materials right to my doorstep.”

“With you, I might actually be able to refine a Celestial Corpse Immortal in the future.”

“Go, Lei Guang, capture him for me.”

Upon hearing Yi Chi’s command, the Golden Core Stage Corpse Fiend immediately charged toward Lu Chen.

But mere moments after it launched forward, it froze in terror where it stood.

Because a blood-red vicious weapon had suddenly appeared in Lu Chen’s hand.

Even a fierce Golden Core Stage Corpse Fiend like itself couldn’t help but shudder upon seeing the eerie vertical eye on that vicious weapon.

It felt as if it were being watched by some ancient Vicious Beast.

Not only that, but as this strange vicious weapon appeared,

A sea of blood instantly enveloped the entire Cave Residence.

Witnessing this scene, Yi Chi cried out in terror: “Harmony Realm! You’ve actually mastered a Harmony Realm Sword Domain!”

Seeing the manifested Sword Domain around them, Yi Chi lost all his previous arrogance.

Because even though he was at the Golden Core Stage and Lu Chen was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage,

A Harmony Realm Sword Domain could completely threaten him.

In response, Lu Chen calmly walked toward him and his Earth Corpse Immortal, saying: “Dealing with you has nothing to do with courage. It’s simply because you… are too weak.”

As he spoke, the Sword Domain: Mountain of Corpses Sea of Blood conjured numerous arms that grabbed Yi Chi and his companions.

Yi Chi could barely resist the grasping blood hands thanks to his Golden Core Stage Protective Qi.

But the Foundation Establishment Stage Corpse Fiend Cave Disciples possessed no such capability.Thus, along with their corpse immortals, all these individuals were dragged into the blood sea and soon fell silent.

Before long, the vast cave residence was left with only Lu Chen, Yi Chi, and his Earth Corpse Immortal.

“You wanted to use my body to refine a corpse immortal. Unfortunately, it seems you lack the capability.”

“Let me borrow your head instead.”

As he spoke, the blood sea on the ground began to churn violently.

Soon after, a unique spirit sword entirely composed of blood materialized in Lu Chen’s hand…

(End of Chapter)