Chapter 397: The Unusual Undead

After listening to the village chief's explanation, the two suddenly understood. "No wonder these living corpses are so tough; they don't seem like something an ordinary person could refine. So they're actually just lost."

"Is it common for living corpses to get lost?"

The village chief shook his head. "How could it be? I'm eighty years old, and this is the first time I've ever seen ownerless living corpses. I'd only heard stories about them before."

"What are the common reasons for a living corpse to become ownerless?"

"I've heard there are only two reasons why a living corpse becomes ownerless. Either the master dies, causing the corpse to lose control and wander aimlessly, or the master intentionally releases control. The third possibility is that the living corpse retaliates and devours its master."

"Based on the behavior of the living corpses in our village, they aren't bloodthirsty, so it doesn't seem like the third scenario."

"Is there a way to find the living corpses' master?"

When Lu Yang asked this, the village chief's face showed a conflicted expression, his brows furrowed, and he finally sighed. "Yes, there is."

"Every corpse-driver leaves a unique mark on their living corpses to signify ownership. The living corpses in our village all have the same mark on their right wrists, like this."

The village chief squatted down and drew three interlocking circles on the ground with his finger, with the character "ghost" in the middle. "If the living corpses' master is still alive, they will also have the same pattern on their right wrist."

"Although I'm only at the peak of the second Qi Condensation Layer, and my cultivation is limited, I learned from an amazing corpse-driver when I was young. My teacher was at the peak of the sixth Qi Condensation Layer!"

"During my time with my teacher, I became familiar with all the patterns of corpse-drivers in the surrounding counties, and none of them had a similar style to this. I haven't encountered corpse-drivers from other regions."

This was also one of the reasons the village chief hadn't reported the incident. Since the living corpses weren't from a local corpse-driver, reporting it to the authorities wouldn't help them find the owner.

"Elder, have you heard of the Corpse Driving Sect?"

The village chief chuckled. "How could I not know the Corpse Driving Sect? Thirty years ago, I was fortunate enough to glimpse a disciple from their sect from afar. He was truly a young talent, far beyond the likes of me, who struggled even with the basics of corpse-driving techniques."

"Do you know where the Corpse Driving Sect is located?"

"That's quite a distance." The village chief pointed west. "The Corpse Driving Sect is in the very center of our Desolate Province. From here, if you head straight west, it's eighty million *li* away."

Meng Jingzhou nodded. "It seems we'll need a few more days of travel."

With the old horse, eighty million *li* wasn't a great distance. When he ran away from home, the journey from the Imperial Capital to the Dao Inquiry Sect was far more than eighty million *li*, yet it only took a few days. How fast or slow they traveled depended entirely on the old horse's mood. Meng Jingzhou had initially assumed their swift travel was due to a spatial array in the carriage's chassis, allowing it to traverse space and shorten distances. He later discovered that while the carriage itself was indeed a treasure, the true reason for their speed was the old horse.

"Now that we know about the living corpses, Elder, would you allow us to stay overnight?"

"Alright. My wife passed away, and my children have all moved to the county, so your stay would merely mean adding two extra blankets."

The two rested and recuperated for the night in Steadfast Stone Village. The next day, they bid farewell to the village chief and resumed their journey.

"You two were quite lucky last night," the Undying Immortal stretched, twisting her body and loosening her "limbs." Although a soul body had no concept of muscles and bones, habits from life tended to persist even after death.

"Lucky?"

"Indeed. The group of living corpses you encountered last night were meticulously refined by a powerful cultivator. It's just that they were uncommanded and lacked sufficient *yang* energy, leaving them too weak to move much. They could only maintain basic functions with that pile of large steamed buns every day. Otherwise, you two wouldn't have stood a chance against them."

"If I'm not mistaken, that group of living corpses, acting in unison, would be strong enough to contend with an Integration Stage cultivator."

"Integration Stage!" Lu Yang was astonished. He knew the living corpses from last night were tough, but he never imagined they were powerful enough to contend with an Integration Stage cultivator. Even without understanding the intricacies of refining living corpses, Lu Yang knew that only an Integration Stage cultivator could create living corpses of such potency. These living corpses were clearly a combat method used by an Integration Stage cultivator. How could they have been discarded so casually? Could an Integration-level corpse-driver have died?

The thought sent shivers down Lu Yang's spine. In current times, intense rivalries and fatal conflicts among cultivators are rare. Integration Stage cultivators, in particular, seldom resort to killing each other, given their immense power and numerous life-saving techniques. Unless there's a significant disparity in strength—like the gap between his master, Immortal Bu Yu, the Grand Elder, Qiu Jin'an, and an ordinary Integration Stage cultivator—it's incredibly difficult for one Integration Stage cultivator to kill another.

Seeing Lu Yang's expression change slightly, Meng Jingzhou couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"You should remember that the Undying Immortal lives inside me."

Meng Jingzhou had been present when the Undying Immortal was revived.

Meng Jingzhou blinked a few times, then slapped his palm, looking as if he had just remembered something. "Ah, I recall now! You have an ancient immortal residing within you. What did the immortal say?"

"...Hold on, let's set aside what the immortal said for a moment. Why do you look like you just remembered?"

"You can't blame me for that." Meng Jingzhou scratched his head sheepishly, counting on his fingers. "Well, in my imagination, someone with an ancient immortal inside them should constantly encounter extraordinary luck, wield ancient fragmented artifacts as weapons, possess all sorts of astonishing secrets, be familiar with various cultivation methods, be invincible at their level, often utter profound words, possess knowledge far beyond their current stage, have beautiful women falling for them, and navigate secret realms as easily as if they were returning home."

"But your usual behavior isn't like that. The only characteristic that fits is being invincible at your level, but that's not particularly remarkable in our Dao Inquiry Sect."

"Oh, and you also know various ancient secrets that are only useful for bluffing the Nine Nether Sect."

Lu Yang just stared.

*Yes, I'd like to know why too.*

"So, what did the immortal say?"

"She said the group of living corpses we encountered last night could rival an Integration Stage cultivator in combat," Meng Jingzhou replied. His pupils constricted, clearly having arrived at the same conclusion as Lu Yang. How could living corpses of such power be freely roaming outside? Something significant and unknown must have occurred!

"Let's find a large city and inquire if there have been any major battles, or if any Integration Stage cultivator has perished. It's impossible for an event of this magnitude to leave absolutely no trace."

Lu Yang nodded, having thought the same thing.

"Oh, by the way, since you have an ancient immortal residing within you, could you ask her if she has a method to resolve my karmic backlash?" Meng Jingzhou looked at Lu Yang eagerly. He realized that if his senior sister couldn't help, the ancient immortal might. An ancient immortal possessed boundless power; surely, resolving a mere karmic backlash would be effortless for her.

"I already asked," Lu Yang replied.

"What did she say?"

"She told you to die."

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