Chapter 9 – True Transmission of Talismans, Foundation Establishment Dharma Corpse

[You have killed a Qi Condensation Stage Spell Corpse, gained 80 EXP, Soul Crystal Shard (White)*1]

[Current EXP: 9150]

[Innate Divine Ability (32/100): Not Awakened]

Lu Chen picked up the glowing fragments scattered from the Spell Corpse he had just slain, then turned his gaze toward the bronze door beside the corpse.

“Aside from the area behind this bronze door, it seems I’ve thoroughly explored the entire tomb palace. There shouldn’t be any remaining Spell Corpses or Azure Mystic Puppets outside…”

Indeed, after paying the price of reviving over a hundred times, Lu Chen had finally cleared the entire underground palace.

During this process, he had slain nearly a hundred Spell Corpses and numerous Azure Mystic Puppets.

It was also during this time that Lu Chen discovered Soul Crystal Shards weren’t guaranteed drops – they were precious items that only appeared once every three Spell Corpses on average.

This meant if he wanted to collect enough Soul Crystal Shards to awaken his innate ability, he would need to explore this Ancient Cultivator Tomb instance approximately two more times.

Yet even so, the nearly ten thousand EXP alone made this trip worthwhile.

Not to mention the tremendous improvements in his combat experience and skill levels during this process.

Not only had his Flowing Cloud Step and Water Dragon’s Roar reached the ‘Major Achievement’ level through intense battles with the Spell Corpses, but even his Sharpness Art had broken through to a realm beyond Major Achievement.

This was also the first time Lu Chen learned what lay beyond Major Achievement.

[Sharpness Art (MAX): Breakthrough Realm]

[Effect: Transform Qi into blades, capable of piercing metal and stone]

Unlike the initial Dry Metal Power that could only briefly coat weapons, when Sharpness Art reached the Breakthrough Realm, Lu Chen felt it had evolved from a mere Spell to something approaching a Divine Ability – a technique nearing divine perfection.

Now he could not only attach Dry Metal Power to any object, but even directly condense special Dry Metal Swords using his own Spiritual Power, achieving the level of transforming Qi into swords.

One must understand that before reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, few cultivators could transform Qi into swords, let alone manipulate objects with Qi.

This required not only extremely high control over a specific type of Spiritual Power, but also sufficient Spiritual Power reserves.

Although Lu Chen currently didn’t have abundant Spiritual Power, his control over metal-attributed Spiritual Power had reached an abnormal level.

However, ‘transforming Qi into swords’ wasn’t particularly useful for him at present.

It merely served as a means to enrich his ranged attack options.

In terms of actual power, transforming Qi into swords was even less reliable than attaching ‘Dry Metal Power’ to a weapon and then executing Water Dragon’s Roar.

After all, his Water Dragon’s Roar had now reached Major Achievement.

He could now make his sword blade produce fifty vibrational forces within one second.

Every ten vibrations would double the original sword technique’s power.

Fifty vibrational forces equated to Lu Chen’s sword technique power increasing by a full five times.

Coupled with Purple Haze Divine Light’s restraining effect on Spell Corpses, this was what enabled Lu Chen to easily slay the numerous Spell Corpses in the tomb.

One must understand that a fifth-layer Qi Condensation Stage Spell Corpse equivalent possessed both a Body Cultivator’s physique and a Magic Cultivator’s spells.

In terms of actual combat strength, they were typically considered one or two layers higher than their nominal level.Lu Chen could easily defeat them, even with certain restraining relationships, but his current strength was truly not to be underestimated.

However, due to the lack of reference points and his current focus entirely on exploring the instance, Lu Chen didn’t feel particularly powerful at the moment.

Outside the bronze gate of the Ancient Cultivator Tomb.

【Water Dragon’s Roar: Major Achievement 1/3000】

【Flowing Cloud Step: Major Achievement 1/4000】

“Both Water Dragon’s Roar and Flowing Cloud Step have reached bottlenecks. It’s about time to explore that strange bronze gate.”

Lu Chen took a deep breath and pushed open the bronze gate before him.

Boom…

As the heavy bronze gate slowly opened, a strong putrid smell instantly spread from within.

The pungent odor made him instinctively furrow his brows.

When he entered the room and saw what was inside, his pupils instantly contracted.

Before him was a massive underground cave, with numerous burial chambers carved into the surrounding walls.

Estimating the number of tombs, there were at least over a hundred.

This indicated that at least a hundred Azure Cloud Sect disciples were buried here.

However, all these tombs were now in ruins, with many coffins inside the chambers completely shattered.

At the center of the cave was a large plaza.

On the plaza, a strange man sat with his head lowered amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Though called a man, the other was actually a corpse-turned Foundation Establishment Stage Corpse.

This corpse had white hair, an empty left sleeve, and numerous broken swords embedded in its shoulder, as if it had just emerged from a brutal battle.

Though merely sitting with its head lowered, it still exuded a powerful pressure that Lu Chen had only felt from Foundation Establishment Stage teachers at his school.

This made Lu Chen wonder…

Could this be a Foundation Establishment Stage Corpse before him?

With some curiosity, Lu Chen examined the panel opposite him.

【Foundation Establishment Stage Corpse · Ye Chenglin (Severely Injured)】

【Description: Azure Cloud Sect Direct Lineage Disciple, proficient in Talismans, current strength less than one-tenth of original】

Looking at the panel, Lu Chen felt quite heavy-hearted.

A Foundation Establishment Stage Corpse, even with less than one-tenth of its original strength – he had really hit the jackpot.

At this moment, the Corpse · Ye Chenglin seemed to sense Lu Chen’s arrival.

He raised his head to look at Lu Chen, his crimson eyes lacking the madness typical of ordinary corpses, instead showing an indescribable emptiness and weariness.

“You… are… who?”

This corpse could speak?

Hearing Ye Chenglin’s question, Lu Chen was quite surprised.

This was the first time he had encountered a talking corpse.

According to the knowledge about corpses he had learned at Luocheng High School, generally only corpses that reached the Corpse Core Stage would possess near-human intelligence.

A small portion of corpses could achieve ‘enlightenment’ before reaching the Corpse Core Stage.

Such corpses either possessed extremely strong willpower to resist the corpse-transformation consciousness within, or carried powerful obsessions that persisted even after death.

But regardless of which type, such corpses were extremely dangerous.

Because they were no longer beasts acting on instinct, but intelligent beings with self-awareness.

Facing Ye Chenglin’s question, Lu Chen thought for a moment before saying: “Azure Cloud Sect outer sect servant, Lu Chen.”

“Azure Cloud Sect… outer sect… servant…”His words seemed to stir certain memories in Ye Chenglin, making his gaze grow even more confused.

Lu Chen did not rush to attack but quietly stood in place, waiting for Ye Chenglin’s response.

By now, he had long understood that this Ancient Cultivator Tomb before him was the burial ground the Azure Cloud Sect in the game had built for its disciples.

Although he was currently just a lowly servant in the game’s Azure Cloud Sect, even as a servant, he could still gather a fair amount of information.

For instance, he knew very well that the Azure Cloud Sect in the game had certainly not declined to the point where the resting places of its disciples would collectively undergo corpse transformation.

Therefore, the timeline within this instance and the timeline in the game must be far apart.

Lu Chen wanted to know which period of the Azure Cloud Sect the timeline in this instance belonged to, and he was also curious about what had happened to the Azure Cloud Sect outside the instance.

After all, toppling a Sect guarded by a Deity Transformation Stage expert was no simple matter. There must be some earth-shattering secrets hidden behind it.

Since he didn’t have to worry about death inside the instance, he could first chat with this sentient Corpse Fiend.

“Azure Cloud Sect, Azure Cloud Sect…”

Ye Chenglin lowered his head, murmuring these three words repeatedly.

Slowly, Ye Chenglin’s eyes grew brighter, as if he had finally remembered something.

“That’s right, the Azure Cloud Sect. Yes, I am Ye Chenglin, the True Disciple of the Ten Thousand Talisman Peak, seventieth generation of the Azure Cloud Sect…”

“But… why am I here…”

Ye Chenglin stood up in confusion, looking at the corpses scattered around him.

These corpses were either decayed to mere skeletons or broken and tattered, as if gnawed by something.

“Senior Brother Luo, Senior Sister Gao, Junior Sister Zhao… how did you end up like this…”

Ye Chenglin walked up to a few of the corpses, his expression slowly shifting from confusion to sorrow.

“Oh, I remember now. I was the one who killed you all.”

“Master said I am a born Nine Yin, destined to become a Corpse Fiend after death.”

“If the Sect encounters changes in the future and the resting places of the disciples are disturbed, I am to intervene.”

“Let no one out, let no one in, let no one out, let no one in…”

Ye Chenglin repeated these words over and over, the Death Qi around him gradually thickening.

By now, Lu Chen roughly understood the cause and effect of the situation.

As a rare born Nine Yin, Ye Chenglin was destined to undergo corpse transformation after death.

His master had taken advantage of this and entrusted him with a task: to guard this Underground Tomb.

If any disciple’s corpse in the tomb underwent corpse transformation, Ye Chenglin would step in to eliminate the transformed disciple completely.

In addition, Ye Chenglin was to act as the tomb guardian, dealing with any strangers who intruded into the tomb.

As for why the Azure Cloud Sect insisted on burying its disciples underground despite the risk of corpse transformation, Lu Chen understood this very well.

Since ancient times, the Immortal Cultivation World had always adhered to one saying:

“The soul returns to its homeland, and the body rests in peace.”

This meant that only by properly burying a person’s body could their soul return to their homeland and proceed to reincarnate.

If a disciple’s corpse were left exposed in the wilderness, their soul would wander aimlessly outside.

Not only would they be unable to reincarnate, but they might also accumulate resentment and become ghosts, bringing calamity to the surrounding area.Thus, the custom of burial in the earth has been passed down continuously.

Not only in the game, but even in the Nine Provinces Immortal Alliance where Lu Chen resided in reality, this tradition was likewise upheld.

Normally, as long as the tomb’s location wasn’t situated in some Yin vein perilous land, the bodies buried there would most likely not undergo corpse transformation.

Yet something unknown had occurred in the current underground tomb—or perhaps with the Azure Cloud Sect that constructed it—causing the Yin Qi here to become intensely concentrated, leading to the disciples within the tomb transforming into corpses and stiffening into Jiangshi.

The bodies surrounding Ye Chenglin were undoubtedly those Azure Cloud Sect disciples who had undergone corpse transformation.

The injuries on his body were likely sustained in battles with these corpse fiends.

In a sense, it was precisely Ye Chenglin’s presence that kept this multitude of corpse fiends slumbering underground, preventing them from rising to the surface to wreak havoc.

One could say he fulfilled his duty with utmost loyalty.

But this very fact was not good news for Lu Chen at the moment.

Because aside from preventing the corpse fiends in the tomb from escaping, Ye Chenglin also had to keep outsiders from entering.

And Lu Chen was undoubtedly an outsider.

“You… should not be here…”

Ye Chenglin looked at Lu Chen, slowly descending from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Then he raised his only remaining right arm, deftly drawing something in the air.

This movement immediately made Lu Chen’s hair stand on end, stirring an intense sense of crisis within him.

Without the slightest hesitation, almost the instant Ye Chenglin raised his hand, Lu Chen charged toward him at full speed.

Talisman·Lesser Five Thunders Technique!

As Ye Chenglin completed his talisman, a thick black lightning bolt immediately shot toward Lu Chen.

However, this black lightning ultimately failed to strike Lu Chen, instead hitting an afterimage.

Boom!

The black lightning struck the ground, instantly blasting a crater about five meters wide.

Numerous electric arcs flickered within the pit.

Having narrowly dodged the attack, Lu Chen dared not linger, fully executing the Flowing Cloud Step in an attempt to close the distance between himself and Ye Chenglin.

But just as he approached within seventy meters of Ye Chenglin, he suddenly found his footing giving way beneath him.

In the urgent moment, Lu Chen had no choice but to use his sword to prop himself up, vaulting through the air like a pole vaulter and flipping several times before finally regaining stable footing.

He stared grimly at the residual talisman marks at his previous landing spot.

A talisman that softens the ground… When was it drawn?

Indeed, Lu Chen’s lost footing wasn’t accidental.

Rather, Ye Chenglin had unexpectedly cast the Swamp Technique at some point, softening portions of the surrounding ground.

Had Lu Chen studied Talismanship, he would have realized that what Ye Chenglin drew wasn’t merely a simple ‘Thunder Talisman.’

Instead, while drawing the Thunder Talisman, he had simultaneously completed the Swamp Talisman.

It was just that Ye Chenglin’s talisman-drawing speed was so incredibly fast—so fast that Lu Chen completely failed to perceive it—that he assumed only one talisman technique had been cast.

Such skill sufficiently demonstrated Ye Chenglin’s mastery in the talisman lineage.

And this was with Ye Chenglin having only one arm and no pre-prepared talismans on hand.

Otherwise, Lu Chen might not have even cleared ten meters before being bombarded to death by a sky full of talismans.

After all, while the Air-Drawing Talisman technique is formidable, the true advantage of talisman masters lies in their ability to prepare numerous talismans in advance using large quantities of talisman paper, unleashing them all at critical moments.A talisman master without prior preparations and one who is fully prepared are two entirely different concepts.

However, Lu Chen had little time to marvel at Ye Chenglin’s exquisite talisman skills.

More black lightning was already surging from the distance.

This time, Lu Chen didn’t even bother to dodge.

Because there was simply no way to avoid it.

Purple Haze Divine Light!

As the dazzling radiance enveloped his entire body, the dense black thunderbolts in the air struck him directly.

Boom!

Amid the deafening explosion, a charred figure crashed heavily against a pillar in the underground cave like a broken doll.

“Pfft…”

Leaning against the pillar, Lu Chen violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

He looked down at his chest, pierced through by the lightning, and his arms that had been blown to oblivion.

In just a brief encounter, he had been severely wounded by Ye Chenglin’s talismans.

The sheer disparity in strength made Lu Chen feel a long-lost sense of helplessness.

Watching Ye Chenglin begin drawing talismans again not far away, Lu Chen smiled bitterly and said, “A Dharma Corpse at the Foundation Establishment Stage… such an opponent is truly formidable.”

As his words faded, the black lightning transformed from the talismans completely engulfed him.

The once noisy underground cave finally fell silent.

When the lightning dissipated, Ye Chenglin gazed coldly at Lu Chen’s charred corpse, his expression indifferent as if he had merely done something trivial.

After confirming Lu Chen’s death, Ye Chenglin murmured, “This is the resting place of Azure Clouds disciples. Those who trespass… shall die.”

“Fellow Senior Brothers, with me here, no one can disturb your peace… No one can…”

(End of Chapter)