Chapter 1141

After traveling discreetly and enduring the elements for about half a month, Mo Hua arrived at Dafeng Ferry.

Dafeng Ferry was a sand-sea port, originally quite remote and rudimentary. However, because a sand sea lay beyond the port, with the Grade-Four Desert City on the opposite side, frequent travelers gradually transformed it into a bustling hub, akin to a small immortal city, though not officially designated as one. Many cultivators, who earned their living as merchants, traders, and ferrymen, settled there.

Standing at Dafeng Ferry, Mo Hua looked into the distance, already seeing the vast expanse of rolling yellow sand, wind, and dust that obscured the sky. This was the sand sea. Across the sand sea lay the Great Wilderness. A scorching sensation emanated from the dust, interwoven with the palpable aura of war, flowing fire, pain, and slaughter. This potent mix made his blood rush, his heart pound like a war drum, and filled him with a restless agitation.

Mo Hua quietly exhaled, composed himself, and stepped into Dafeng Ferry. Dafeng Ferry was a chaotic mix of people at the moment. Among them were local impoverished cultivators, various types of foreign cultivators, family members, sect disciples, and even some independent rogue cultivators. Many of these cultivators exuded a murderous aura, clearly having much blood on their hands. Others were cloaked in black robes, their auras concealed. Mo Hua, however, could clearly sense that these were demonic cultivators.

The situation in the Great Wilderness was becoming increasingly chaotic. Those capable of entering the Great Wilderness were all skilled individuals with diverse intentions and highly complex backgrounds. Mo Hua did not want to get involved in any further disputes, fearing he might accidentally break his vow against killing. All he wanted now was to reach the Great Wilderness.

However, a vast sand sea separated him from the Great Wilderness. Cultivators below the Ascension realm could not traverse it by air, making flight impossible. To cross the sand sea, one had to take a sand boat. A "boat pass" was required to board a sand boat.

Mo Hua walked around Dafeng Ferry, offering a few spirit stones to local cultivators and asking how to obtain a boat pass. He then visited several local shipping companies and attempted to negotiate. All his attempts failed. With the rebellion in the Great Wilderness, the battle situation chaotic, and the journey perilous, boat passes had become exceptionally scarce. Moreover, recently there had been an incident where demonic cultivators boarded a sand boat, slaughtered all the cultivators on board mid-journey, and seized the vessel. Consequently, local ferry services had become much stricter in issuing boat passes. Without connections or an endorsement from an influential and reputable local elder or family head, it was impossible to buy one with spirit stones alone.

Mo Hua suddenly found himself missing Elder Ji. Elder Ji, despite his myriad vices and dubious character—being skilled in drinking, gambling, and other indulgences—was remarkably adept at networking. If he were still alive, he could have gone out for a few nights, met some elders, and perhaps pulled some strings to get a "boat pass." Unfortunately, Elder Ji was dead, and had died miserably, his essence depleted. Mo Hua felt an inexplicable wave of sadness.

He shook his head. As it was getting late, he found an inn in Dafeng and settled in for the night, planning to find another way to obtain a boat pass the next day.

As night fell, the air grew colder, and the strong winds howled, rattling the doors and windows. Mo Hua sealed the doors and windows with an array, then set up additional arrays for sound insulation and spirit-sense blockage. Afterwards, he sat at the table and pulled out a book. The book was ancient, made of parchment, and bore four characters on its cover: The Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses.

This was a rare Corpse Dao classic, found in the storage bag of Elder Xu, a Golden Core realm cultivator from Yin Corpse Valley. Along the way, Mo Hua had been preoccupied with travel, constantly worrying about the backlash from the "Ominous Fiend and Vicious Ghost" and his martial uncle's machinations. His mind had been clouded, leaving him no time for other concerns. He hadn't even had time to examine Elder Xu's storage bag. Now that he had reached Dafeng Ferry and found temporary lodging, he finally had the leisure to study Elder Xu's "relics." Among Elder Xu's belongings, this "Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses" was undoubtedly the most unique. This scripture detailed numerous methods for refining "strange corpses" with peculiar forms and profound functions.

Mo Hua actually knew quite a bit about the art of "corpse refining." Years ago, while traveling with his master, junior senior brother, and junior senior sister, they passed through Nanyue City and encountered a corpse disaster. He was then imprisoned by the Lu family patriarch in the Corpse Mountain mine, where he associated with a group of corpse cultivators and personally witnessed numerous instances and methods of corpse refining. He had also briefly studied some aspects of corpse refining. With this existing knowledge, reviewing "The Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses" now made the intricacies of corpse refining even clearer to him.

Demonic cultivators who followed the Corpse Dao relied primarily on the "zombies" they refined and nurtured for most of their strength, in addition to their own "corpse transformation." The stronger the zombies refined, nurtured, and controlled, the greater the corpse cultivator's power. The "strength" of zombies was categorized by both grade and type. Grades, in the common understanding, were divided by major cultivation realms: First-grade for Qi Refining, Second-grade for Foundation Establishment, Third-grade for Golden Core, and so on. The types, however, involved many subtleties. Mo Hua's previous knowledge included general classifications such as Walking Corpses, Iron Corpses, Copper Corpses, and Golden Corpses. While zombie grades and types shared some commonalities, they represented entirely distinct concepts within the Corpse Dao.

Zombie grade was determined by the cultivation realm of the main "material" used for refinement—the corpse itself. This type of corpse, serving as the "material" for refinement, was known as a "raw corpse." The grade of the refined zombie corresponded directly to the cultivation realm of the "raw corpse." Refining a corpse from a Qi Refining raw corpse yielded a first-grade corpse. Refining from a Foundation Establishment raw corpse yielded a second-grade corpse... Golden Core was third-grade, and so forth.

Once the grade was established, then came the pursuit of types. Building upon the "raw corpse," and supplemented with specific Corpse Dao techniques, special human blood, and spirit treasures imbued with malevolent energy, different "types" of corpses could be refined. The specific type of zombie that could be refined depended not only on the raw corpse's grade and the refining method but also on a certain degree of luck. First-grade raw corpses almost exclusively produced "Walking Corpses." Second-grade raw corpses primarily yielded "Walking Corpses," a small fraction were "Iron Corpses," and there was an extremely rare chance of refining a "Copper Corpse." Third-grade raw corpses still predominantly produced "Walking Corpses," though the chances of "Iron Corpses" and "Copper Corpses" increased. A very small probability existed for "Silver Corpses," and an extremely rare chance for "Golden Corpses" to appear.

The rarer the zombie type, the tougher its flesh and blood, and the greater its power. Sometimes, they could even fight against cultivators of a higher realm. Of course, nurturing such rare zombie types required immeasurable effort and luck. For corpse cultivators, being able to nurture a "Golden Corpse," or even just a "Silver Corpse," was considered a lifelong pursuit. For most corpse cultivators below the Golden Core realm, nurturing even a "Copper Corpse" was already an unattainable luxury.

Mo Hua paused to recall. He recalled that the Ascension realm demonic overlord from Yin Corpse Valley whom he encountered in the Blood Sacrifice Grand Array had nurtured an extremely terrifying Golden Corpse. Young Master Shi had nurtured a "gold-plated" Copper Corpse, which, strictly speaking, was still a Copper Corpse. Earlier, when he was being pursued, the four Golden Core elders from Yin Corpse Valley had also only nurtured Copper Corpses. Beyond these examples, the vast majority of corpse cultivators only nurtured Walking Corpses and Iron Corpses. Those with Copper Corpses were extremely rare, let alone Silver or Golden Corpses, which were even higher. It was clear then that "corpse refining" was indeed difficult, and refining a rare type of zombie was even more challenging. For corpse cultivators seeking to refine powerful corpses, beyond mastering superior Corpse Dao techniques, their primary recourse was to kill more and rely on sheer luck. The larger the base number of raw corpses, the higher the probability of refining rare zombie types.

Beyond these common classifications of Walking Corpses, Iron Corpses, Copper Corpses, Yin Corpses, and Golden Corpses, there existed more unusual and rare "Strange Gate Zombies," also known as "Strange Corpses." Heaven and Earth are boundless, and creation is diverse. Zombies were no exception; there would always be wondrous, unfathomable variations. Strange Corpses were precisely that. Elder Xu's "Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses" documented many rare, almost extinct zombie types that ordinary cultivators, and even ancient corpse cultivators who had steeped themselves in the Corpse Dao for hundreds or thousands of years, seldom encountered. Mo Hua had essentially never heard of any of them before.

Examples included the "Earth Repository Corpse," "Beauty Corpse," "Drought Demon Corpse," "Flying Celestial," and others. The "Earth Repository Corpse," according to legend, is imbued with the Dao essence of the Earth Repository. It possesses the ability to discern truth from falsehood, track elusive traces, and know things beyond ordinary perception. Mo Hua vaguely suspected that Elder Xu had nurtured an Earth Repository Corpse, which was how he managed to track him down. But with Elder Xu dead, he wondered where this Earth Repository Corpse had gone. A "Beauty Corpse" is created by killing a beautiful woman without harming her flesh, preserving the most beautiful moment of her life, and then refining her into a zombie. This type of Beauty Corpse is also a kind of "Figurine Corpse." A "Drought Demon Corpse" generally refers to a corpse nurtured from the charred remains of numerous cultivators, killed by intense fire. Such a corpse gains strength from both natural opportunities and the lingering resentment of the human world, eventually transforming into a "Drought Demon." Once a Drought Demon appears, it brings drought to a thousand miles. This is a type of Strange Corpse that can be described as a "natural disaster." "Flying Celestial," legend states, is an Ascension-level zombie capable of flying and escaping underground. Once refined, it transcends the Three Realms and is beyond the Five Elements.

These various Strange Corpses—some eerie, some fierce, some mysterious, some powerful—left Mo Hua profoundly shocked. However, most Strange Corpses in the "Scripture" were only briefly mentioned. It described the methods of their creation and transformation but lacked specific "corpse refining" techniques. Mo Hua found this odd, but on second thought, he realized it made sense. Since they were "Strange Corpses," most were products of wondrous natural transformations; how could they be easily refined by human hands? Of course, it was also possible that the refining methods for these Strange Corpses were the "top secret of top secrets" within Yin Corpse Valley, comparable to forbidden techniques of a sect. They wouldn't be easily divulged, and even Elder Xu might not have been privy to them. For Elder Xu's "Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses" to even record the names of these "Strange Corpses" was already considered an extremely valuable inheritance. This scripture had indeed broadened Mo Hua's horizons and taught him a great deal.

He couldn't help but flip further through the pages. When he reached the third-to-last page, he suddenly froze. This particular page had been smeared over by an unknown hand. The text and ink had merged into a solid block, rendering every character illegible. Mo Hua rested his chin in his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face. "What does this mean? Someone didn't want others to know, so they obscured the text?" Curious, Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then decided to try and restore the text to see what was recorded on that page. However, he tried several times and failed. The smudged ink was special, a viscous mixture of demonic beast blood and the blood of a human with unique spiritual roots. It had completely fused with the parchment, making separation impossible. Clearly, someone had gone to great lengths to erase this record. Was it Elder Xu or someone else?

Mo Hua didn't understand, so he decided to get to the bottom of it. There must be some secret involved. If it concerned an existence like his martial uncle, he would definitely "play dead" and not dare to pry. But if it merely concerned an elder from Yin Corpse Valley, using causality divination to calculate it shouldn't pose a significant problem. Moreover, he wouldn't delve deeply, just enough to get a glimpse. Knowing what was recorded on that page would suffice.

Mo Hua then used his spiritual sense to control his ink, setting up an array to strengthen the room's defenses. Following the Great Wilderness Demonic Bone Divination technique, he then divined the causality of the erased text on the third-to-last page of "The Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses." The more specific, targeted, and accurate the causality divination, the less spiritual sense it consumed, the smaller the risk, and the lower the probability of a "backlash." Mo Hua was now increasingly familiar with the intricacies of divination.

As his spiritual sense was consumed, the divination technique was activated. Within the phosphorescent flames, causality was reversed, and a vision emerged. On the third page of "The Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses," originally obscured by blood ink, the stains transitioned from deep to light, then bright red, before gradually fading away. The obscured characters began to reappear, one by one... Mo Hua paused, then continued to watch. As causality flowed backward and the bloodstains receded, two more characters emerged: "Xiao Fei Tian."

At this point, the causal flow began to impede, seemingly involving secrets difficult to glimpse. Mo Hua expended more spiritual sense. The Great Wilderness Demonic Bone Divination technique accelerated, the phosphorescent flames intensified, and more cracks appeared on the demonic bone. Finally, another character appeared: "Ling." Mo Hua was even more surprised; he had actually found the character "Ling" (Spirit) in a demonic sect's Corpse Dao scripture. Finally, as expected, the character "Shi" (Corpse) appeared. At this point, the demonic bone completely shattered, and the phosphorescent flames gradually extinguished. Mo Hua's spiritual sense was nearly depleted, so he ceased the causality divination and mentally connected the characters he had just divined: "Little Flying Celestial Spirit Corpse."

Mo Hua's heart tightened. What was this? Not a Blood Corpse, not an Evil Corpse, not a Yin Corpse, but specifically... a Spirit Corpse? The presence of "Flying Celestial" implied it was a type of "Flying Celestial," capable of flight and subterranean movement, possessing the abilities of the Ascension realm. But why was the character "Little" added? Mo Hua couldn't shake the feeling that the "Little Flying Celestial Spirit Corpse," the entry obscured in the Yin Corpse Valley's "Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses," was inexplicably odd. And there was a strange sense of familiarity about it.

Mo Hua began to ponder, but after a long time, he suddenly realized that a large, fragmented blank space had appeared in his mind. His past memories had faded significantly. Many people and events were already blurry in his mind. Many details, in particular, he no longer recalled clearly. A faint chill ran through Mo Hua's heart. This was the lingering aftereffect of the "Ominous Fiend and Vicious Ghost" fate array. Once he succumbed, he would either lose his sanity and devolve into a murderous demon, or lose his memory and become a puppet. Then, something bizarre would descend, and he would be controlled by his martial uncle.

Mo Hua sighed and, after a moment of contemplation, put away "The Treasured Scripture of Strange Corpses." As for zombies, understanding them was sufficient; delving too deeply into their study wasn't particularly useful. As a righteous path cultivator, he would never refine or nurture corpses in this lifetime, making it unworthy of excessive thought. His immediate priority was still to resolve the issue of his fate and to form his Golden Core. To address his fate, he needed to find "anchors" to preserve his memories and stabilize his humanity. As for forming his Golden Core, he would first have to reach the Great Wilderness and then adapt to the circumstances.

The problem, however, was that the Great Wilderness was currently engulfed in the fires of rebellion. Traversing it would undoubtedly lead to fierce conflicts and slaughter. In a war zone, being alone offered freedom of action but would inevitably lead to conflicts and disputes. The most troublesome aspect was that, to avoid a backlash from his fate, he could not casually kill. In such circumstances, it was typically best to find a "guard" to accompany him. Thus, if "Big Tiger" were still alive, he would make an excellent companion.

Additionally, there was the matter of strengthening his spiritual sense. To form his Golden Core, his primary goal was to find a way to elevate his spiritual sense to the realm of twenty-four second-grade patterns. And after his battle with Elder Xu of Yin Corpse Valley, Mo Hua became even more certain of one thing: namely, that a twenty-one second-grade spiritual pattern Divine Sense Sword could indeed slay Golden Core cultivators. Furthermore, it wasn't merely a "slay" but an instantaneous "kill." Slaying and instantaneous killing were entirely different concepts.

Mo Hua's eyes deepened. In other words, as long as his spiritual sense was strong enough, the Spirit Slaying Sword, once unsheathed, could "instantly kill" any cultivator whose spiritual sense realm was lower than his own. His current spiritual sense threshold was his "slaying line." It could instantly slay any cultivator, ignoring their flesh, blood, or spiritual power. This was the true power of attaining the Dao through spiritual sense. Therefore, he had to use every possible method to enhance his spiritual sense. Not only was this crucial for forming his Golden Core, but it was also essential for raising the "instant death" slaying threshold of his Divine Sense Sword, thereby ensuring true safety for his perilous journey into the Great Wilderness.

Although breaking his vow against killing might trigger the fate curse, the choice of whether to kill or not had to remain in his own hands. Furthermore, if he could learn stronger causality techniques to counteract the "Vicious Ghost and Ominous Fiend" array set by his martial uncle, or if one day he truly gained the ability to contend with his martial uncle and no longer be suppressed by the fate curse, then the Grand Void Divine Sense Sword could break through its "limitations," truly manifest, and unreservedly slay in all directions. Dao-transformed spiritual sense damage, ignoring physical defenses, would result in instantaneous death. Regardless of one's status, physical strength, or spiritual power, below the slaying line of the Divine Sense Sword, all beings were equal. A single glance would bring death. This was truly terrifying destructive power.

Mo Hua's heart surged with emotion, but he calmed down after a moment and let out a slight sigh. "It's just..." Contending with his martial uncle was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Enhancing his spiritual sense was also fraught with difficulties. His spiritual sense was currently at twenty-one patterns, already stronger than many early Golden Core cultivators, but each subsequent advancement of a single pattern would be extremely difficult. Reaching twenty-four second-grade patterns felt like crossing an unbridgeable chasm.

Mo Hua counted on his fingers, silently calculating for a while. Then he looked up towards the south, murmuring to himself: "I hope the chaos of the Great Wilderness will hold the opportunities I need..."

The next day, Mo Hua went out again, seeking a boat pass. But after searching for a long time, he still found nothing. Without revealing his identity, it was nearly impossible for him, an unconnected rogue cultivator from out of town, to obtain a boat pass. Even when he offered a high price, no one would sell one to him. In this world, there was nothing that couldn't be bought with spirit stones. If there was, it was only because one didn't have enough spirit stones. Mo Hua was no longer as he once was; he had enough spirit stones, but he didn't dare to spend too many on a boat pass. First, it would easily arouse suspicion. Second, flaunting wealth would easily attract greedy attention. He feared that desperate cultivators would try to kill him and seize his spirit stones before he even boarded a ship. Heaven possesses the virtue of cherishing life, and Mo Hua truly did not want to kill.

After circling the area and meeting obstacles everywhere, Mo Hua ultimately had to temporarily give up. But on his way back to the inn, Mo Hua's peripheral vision caught sight of a notice posted on the street. The notice stated that a large fleet was recruiting "guards" to cross the sand sea. Mo Hua's eyes lit up slightly. He wasn't entirely clear about the requirements for this "guard" position, what duties it entailed, or how dangerous it might be. However, he reasoned that as the formidable top-ranked spiritual cultivator from the Qianxue Sword Debate Competition, with late Foundation Establishment cultivation and mastery of various Five Elements spells, he should be more than capable of handling the guard duties.

Mo Hua made up his mind and followed the notice's instructions, walking into a nearby shipping company.