Chapter 157: Chapter 151: Tier 2 Corpse Puppet, Puppet Dao Battle Array

「Two years later.」

Yinmu Mountain Corpse Nurturing Ground.

Lu Zhao sat cross-legged on a massive black rock at the canyon’s edge. A bone-chilling Yin Wind crept up from the depths, tearing at his thin robes with a mournful wail.

His gaze, sharp as a falcon’s, pierced through the ink-black Yin Qi below—so dense it was almost tangible. It was as if this Corpse Nurturing Land, silent for untold ages, had become a prehistoric beast awakened by the scent of blood, greedily and frantically devouring the thick Yin Qi.

At the bottom of the canyon, streams of grayish-black Vengeful Qi, visible to the naked eye, were violently ripped from the air by an immense, unseen force. They swirled and funneled frantically toward a huge wooden coffin in the canyon’s darkest depths—the resting place of the Tier Two Strong Demon Ape.

Wherever the Yin Wind passed, a thick layer of black frost visibly crystallized on the steep cliffs, shimmering with an ominous, spectral light.

The air was thick with the acrid stench of rust and corpse poison. The cold was bone-chilling, and every breath felt like inhaling countless tiny ice needles.

The huge main coffin had become a bottomless abyss, seemingly swallowing everything. The Gathering Yin Runes on its surface resembled the living veins of a great beast, pulsing with a low, eerie, dark light as they drew in and expelled the vast Yin Qi.

Seeing this, Lu Zhao silently clenched his fists inside his sleeves, his knuckles turning white from the force. There was no fear in his eyes, only an almost icy focus. And beneath that focus lay a sliver of irrepressible excitement.

’Two thousand Spirit Stones for a jar of "Tier Two Demon Beast" Essence Blood... It really wasn’t a waste! The immense Spiritual Qi and Yin Evil Resentful Power in this Essence Blood far surpasses what any ordinary Tier One Demon Beast could provide. It nourished the Demon Ape’s ferocious corpse in the coffin like a sweet rain and, more importantly, forced it to resonate with the Yin Vein of Yinmu Mountain. If not for this, according to the Corpse Nurturing Chapter of the *Blood Shadow Corpse Refining Skill*, this Tier Two Corpse Puppet would have needed at least another year or two to gestate. In the end, spending those expensive Spirit Stones saved me a precious one to two years.’

The Demon Ape devoured the Yin Qi, and Lu Zhao, like a statue carved from the rock, patiently awaited the corpse’s transformation. The shrieking Yin Wind in the canyon was his only clock, its every passing moment tugging at his nerves.

「Seven days later, in the afternoon.」

After seven days of Yin Qi surging like a storm toward the Demon Ape’s wooden coffin, the baleful Yin Qi that once filled the canyon had thinned. Like an ebbing tide, it was now slowly converging on the Strong Demon Ape’s coffin.

A tremor ran through Lu Zhao, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. His thoughts raced as he realized the critical moment had arrived. In an instant, the key principles of the Corpse Nurturing Chapter from the *Blood Shadow Corpse Refining Skill* flowed through his mind.

’The Yin Evil is receding, the pressure is fading... It’s about to succeed! The corpse has reached the Perfection Realm and its Yin Evil Origin has stabilized. The breakthrough is imminent!’ In that moment of realization, Lu Zhao’s muscles tensed. His Divine Sense locked firmly onto the three smaller coffins beside the main one—the resting places of the three Tier One High-Grade "Strong Iron Ape" Corpse Puppets.

「Half an hour later.」

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Three dull, dry, yet piercing cracks suddenly echoed through the deep valley. The sound came from the lids of the three Companion Coffins!

The Locust Wood Coffin Lids bowed violently upward, propelled by a savage force from within. Instantly, a terrifying spiderweb of cracks spread across them. Before a single breath could be drawn, they exploded with a crash, like smashed Pottery Jars!

"ROAR!"

"HOWL!"

"SHRIEK!"

Three roars, filled with endless hostility and monstrous cruelty, ripped through the canyon air almost at once. The massive sound waves slammed into the rugged rock walls, triggering a CLATTERING echo of falling scree. Amid the billowing dust and debris, three huge shadows, each more than ten feet tall, abruptly rose!

Their bodies were covered in bluish-black skin, as rigid as if cast from Refined Iron. All their hair was gone, and their skin was covered in purplish-black corpse spots.

Deep within their empty eye sockets, two points of eerie, green ghost fire burned violently and erratically. Two disproportionately massive arms hung down to their knees, ending in black claws wreathed in a deathly stillness. The claws’ tips glinted with a chilling, metallic sharpness. These were none other than the Tier One High-Grade Corpse Puppets, transformed from the "Strong Iron Apes"—Demon Beasts renowned for their power! They now "stared" intently in Lu Zhao’s direction as the dense Corpse Qi radiating from them spread out as if it were a physical substance.

The three Iron Ape Corpse Puppets tilted their heads back, letting out silent roars at the gloomy sky. Their twisted postures and savage auras were enough to make any Qi Cultivator tremble in fear.

Lu Zhao stood atop the high boulder, gazing down at the three Corpse Puppets wreathed in an aura of death. Seeing their power stabilize at the Qi Cultivation Peak, he felt an indescribable ecstasy surge within him. ’Success! Three Corpse Puppets at the Qi Cultivation Peak! I finally have the cornerstones for my Corpse Puppet Battle Array!’

With a mere thought, Lu Zhao sent out his Divine Sense Threads, linking them with flawless precision to the Control Spirit Patterns at the core of each of the three Iron Ape Corpse Puppets.

"Freeze!"

A silent command from his Divine Sense pierced the mist.

A moment ago, the three giant Iron Ape Corpse Puppets had been roaring at the sky with earth-shaking ferocity. Now, as if their souls had been ripped from their bodies, the roars died abruptly.

Their massive bodies froze solid. Their arms, raised to the sky, locked in place. Even the dancing Ghost Fire in their eye sockets stopped moving. They became like three statues radiating a malevolent aura, standing motionless in the swirling dust. This sudden silence was far more suffocating than their earlier roars.

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