Chapter 191: Chapter 175: Xuerou’s Corpse and Wealth, a New Rank 2 Corpse Puppet

Lu Zhao waited outside the cave for three months. When there was no longer any sign of movement from within, he entered. The moment he stepped inside, he smelled the faint stench of Corpse Qi mingling with the acrid scent of earth.

As he walked deeper into the damp, cold cave, he immediately saw the body of a female cultivator lying silently in a corner. It was none other than—Li Xuerou.

Looking at the now-lifeless body that had once belonged to a meticulous, ruthless, and decisive woman, Lu Zhao couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh. ’This woman’s methods and temperament were both extraordinary. What a pity she lacked a bit of luck and fell at the final hurdle of Foundation Establishment.’

He walked forward and calmly removed the Storage Bag hanging from Li Xuerou’s waist. When he sent his Divine Sense inside, Lu Zhao’s brow twitched. The internal space of this Storage Bag was far larger than any other similar Magical Artifact he had ever seen; it was clearly quite valuable. However, this was just a minor detail, and Lu Zhao’s attention was soon drawn to other items.

The first thing to catch his "eye" was a Jade Scroll lying quietly in a corner of the Storage Bag. Lu Zhao took it out and submerged his Divine Sense into it.

A clear stream of thought instantly flooded his Sea of Consciousness:

"Senior, if you are reading this Jade Scroll, then I, Xuerou, have likely already perished. I implore you, Senior, to please place my body into the ’Corpse Nourishing Coffin’ as soon as possible. This coffin is a Tier One High-Grade corpse-nurturing Magical Artifact. It can delay the body’s decay to the greatest extent, preserving its Corpse Qi and preventing physical decline..."

Following the instructions, Lu Zhao searched through the Storage Bag. Soon, he took out an oddly shaped coffin and placed it on the ground.

The coffin was about seven feet long and over two feet wide. Its entire body was a deep, muted greenish-black, made of a material that seemed neither wood nor stone, and it was cold to the touch.

Its surface was not smooth but covered in dense, dark red Runes as fine as a mosquito’s wing. These Runes were not static; they pulsed with an extremely faint light, like breathing, and emitted a cold, stable Spiritual Pressure. The lid fit perfectly, its edges also carved with complex sealing sigils. The coffin was just large enough for a single person to lie flat.

Without hesitation, Lu Zhao bent down, lifted Li Xuerou’s cold body, and carefully placed it inside the Corpse Nourishing Coffin.

Inside the coffin, Li Xuerou lay quietly. Her face had lost all color, taking on a lifeless, deathly pallor like fine, cold jade, yet it exuded the silence of death.

Her once neatly trimmed fingernails had now grown slightly longer and taken on a grayish hue. But what was most striking was her long, black hair. Perhaps influenced by the special Spirit Body she possessed in life or by the Corpse Nourishing Coffin itself, it had become abnormally thick and smooth. It spread across the bottom of the coffin like the finest black silk, making her bloodless face seem even paler and creating a breathtaking, yet eerily tragic, contrast.

Lu Zhao’s gaze fell upon the woman in the coffin, and he felt an indescribable stir in his heart. Her face was already stunningly beautiful in life, but now, her lifeless appearance, framed by that waterfall of dense black hair, added an air of mystery and fragility.

Moreover, in all his decades in the Cultivation Realm, she was arguably the most unique and memorable woman Lu Zhao had ever met. The memory of her past ruthlessness and decisiveness intertwined with her present silent, tragic beauty, creating a stark contrast.

He quickly shook his head, his eyes regaining their clarity as he completely banished that inappropriate stir of emotion from his heart. ’The path of Cultivation is long; there is no room for pointless sentimentality.’ He reached out and slowly closed the heavy, greenish-black lid, sealing it tightly.

He submerged his Divine Sense into the Jade Scroll again to continue reading the message Li Xuerou had left. Soon, the scroll mentioned her enemy.

When the name clearly appeared in Lu Zhao’s Sea of Consciousness, his pupils contracted sharply, and his breath caught in his throat.

"The Chu Family... It’s actually the Chu Family!"

’No wonder even a Vice Hall Master of the Bixia Sect returned in defeat! No wonder Li Xuerou refused to reveal her enemy’s name back then! So it’s the Chu Family, a behemoth entrenched in their own territory, presided over by a Fake Core Ancestor!’

At this moment, Lu Zhao fully understood Li Xuerou’s prior concerns. Faced with a power like the Chu Family, an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would likely not even dare to entertain thoughts of revenge upon hearing the name, only seeking to avoid them at all costs. She had been worried that if he learned the truth, he would abandon their deal outright.

And Li Xuerou’s worries hadn’t been misplaced. Right now, Lu Zhao felt a heavy pressure descend upon him. The Chu Family was an existence he absolutely could not afford to provoke at his current level.

Never mind the Chu Family’s own strength; even their influence within the Sect was something Lu Zhao couldn’t trifle with. He had even heard a rumor that one of the Sect’s Golden Core Ancestors was supposedly very close with the Chu Family.

However, this pressure did not last long. Lu Zhao’s eyes soon became sharp and determined once more.

’I’ll just deal with it when I’m strong enough!’ he thought to himself. ’If I can reach Core Formation in the future, or if I can raise Li Xuerou into a Tier Three Corpse Puppet, what’s a mere Fake Core Cultivator to me?’

The goal was distant, but not unattainable. The path of Cultivation was, by its very nature, a journey of defying the heavens and overcoming all obstacles. He buried this promise deep in his heart for now, letting it become another source of motivation for his future endeavors.

The rest of the Jade Scroll detailed Li Xuerou’s possessions. When he saw the list of items, even with his firm willpower, Lu Zhao couldn’t help but feel a wave of speechless astonishment.

There were five Tier Two Spiritual Materials!

A "Tier Two Middle-Grade Fire Cloud Ginseng," entirely crimson and wreathed in faint, fire-cloud-like patterns.

Two "Tier Two Lower Grade Golden Lingzhi," shaped like Lingzhi mushrooms but with a metallic sheen.

An incredibly heavy "tortoise shell from a Tier Two Middle Stage Turtle-type Demon Beast," covered in profound patterns.

And the most precious of all, a "Tier Two High-Grade Profound Gold Stone" that was impossibly hard and shimmered with a cold, dark light!

Lu Zhao followed the scroll’s directions and took out these five Spiritual Materials one by one from the Storage Bag. Feeling the pure and powerful Spiritual Qi fluctuations they emitted, he was filled with emotion. Li Xuerou’s wealth was comparable to that of some veteran Foundation Establishment Cultivators! He had no idea how she had managed to collect so many rare Tier Two Spiritual Materials.

He then carefully put away these valuable Tier Two Spiritual Materials.

After storing the Spiritual Materials, Lu Zhao took out the three remaining items from the Storage Bag:

A Token, engraved with a complex bird-like totem and shimmering with contained Spirit Light.

Thirty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, emitting a dense and Pure Spiritual Qi.

And a huge, varied pile of Corpse Refining Materials that gave off either a cold Yin aura or a bloody stench! Among them were three jars sealed with special Talismans, containing a dark red liquid that exuded a particularly ferocious and powerful aura—the Essence Blood of Tier Two Demon Beasts!

Looking at the mountain-like pile of Corpse Refining Materials before him, Lu Zhao’s admiration for Li Xuerou’s resourcefulness and meticulous planning grew. The difficulty and effort required to gather such a large, complete, and high-quality collection of Corpse Refining Materials was by no means a simple task. As someone who had gathered such materials before, he understood this deeply.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the Token. He had learned from the Jade Scroll that this was the Beast Taming Token used to control the large golden bird—the Golden Feather Bird.

The Jade Scroll also contained a detailed description of this Golden Feather Bird: this bird fed on gold and iron, possessed high bloodline potential, and had a significant chance of advancing to a Tier Two Demon Beast upon reaching adulthood!

However, according to the Jade Scroll, Li Xuerou’s Golden Feather Bird was still in its infancy. For it to mature naturally would take at least another thirty years. To accelerate its growth, it would need to be fed large quantities of High Tier Gold and Iron Spiritual Material.

Seeing this, Lu Zhao’s eyes suddenly lit up!

’It feeds on metal, and its growth can be accelerated with High Tier Gold and Iron Spiritual Material...’

’Isn’t this perfectly tailored for me?’ After all, when he refined Tier Two Puppets in the future, the failure rate would undoubtedly be extremely high, producing a large amount of scrapped metal materials that still contained spirituality.

In the past, this scrap was either sold off cheaply or piled up, taking up space. Now, with the Golden Feather Bird, didn’t he have the perfect "recycling bin"?

Scraps that contained spirituality but could no longer be used for Puppet Refining could be fed to this bird, turning waste into treasure!

Lu Zhao immediately picked up the Beast Taming Bag containing the Golden Feather Bird and cautiously extended his Divine Sense into it.

Inside the bag’s space, the magnificent golden bird stood with its head held high, alert. Its feathers looked as if they were cast from gold, and its gaze was as sharp as lightning. When it sensed Lu Zhao’s unfamiliar Divine Sense, it immediately let out a sharp, hostile screech. A golden light erupted from its body as it radiated resistance and aggression.

Lu Zhao was about to take out the Beast Taming Spirit Plate and use its power to forcefully suppress the bird’s resistance, but he had a change of heart and stopped.

’After all, I didn’t raise this bird from a young age, so its hostility toward me is normal. Forcibly suppressing it might damage its spirituality or even plant the seed for a future backlash...’

He decided not to use the Token to suppress the bird for now.

’Forget it. I’ll take it slow. Taming a Spirit Beast requires patience and skill.’ Lu Zhao withdrew his Divine Sense and properly stored the Beast Taming Bag and the Token. Taming a Demon Beast was not something that could be rushed.

An hour later, Lu Zhao carefully put away the Tier Two Spirit Gathering Array Plate that Li Xuerou had set up. He then meticulously cast a spell to erase all remaining auras and traces from the area. After confirming everything was clean, his figure flickered and transformed into a barely perceptible Escape Light, silently departing from the temporary cave dwelling.

And his next destination was clear—the Yinmu Mountain Corpse Nurturing Ground!

「One day later.」 Lu Zhao arrived at Yinmu Mountain. Relying on his familiarity with the Yinmu Mountain Corpse Nurturing Ground, he quickly found a naturally formed Extremely Yin Corpse Nurturing Cave on the mountain’s shaded side.

The Yin Qi here was dense and pure, and deep within the Earth Vein, there was even a faint, elusive trace of Evil Qi. It was a perfect location for cultivating a Corpse Puppet.

Lu Zhao personally went through the process of Corpse Refinement once more.

Half a month later, he dug a deep pit in the core of the Corpse Nurturing Cave. Instead of taking Li Xuerou’s body out, he carefully placed the entire greenish-black Corpse Nourishing Coffin into the pit.

As soon as Li Xuerou’s body was in the pit, the dense Yin Evil Qi, as if it had found its home, gathered in wisps and slowly seeped into the coffin.

After Lu Zhao filled in the pit and set up an Array around it, he stood by the edge, looking at the fresh patch of earth. A complex emotion flickered in his eyes before it settled into calm anticipation.

"Li Xuerou, I have refined you into a Zombie as you wished. The Yin Evil Qi in this cave is pure and suits your constitution well. With the help of the Corpse Nourishing Coffin, in three to five years, I should be able to harvest a powerful Corpse Puppet even stronger than the Strong Demon Ape Corpse Puppet." He murmured to himself, as if speaking to the person in the coffin, or perhaps to strengthen his own conviction.

Having done all this, Lu Zhao did not linger. He turned and disappeared into the mountain forest, his figure quickly vanishing from sight.

And Yinmu Mountain returned to its silence. Only in the depths of the cave did the Yin Qi churn soundlessly, nourishing the special "vessel" within the coffin, quietly awaiting the day it would break through the earth and be reborn.

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