[Special Event—Siege of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, Completed!]
[Obtained massive amounts of loot]
[Void Refining cultivator corpses *13, Divinity Transformation, Nascent Soul, Golden Core cultivator corpses...]
[Obtained Ling Tian's body!]
[From Zhen Wu and Ling Xu, two of the Four Great Leaders of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, your family has obtained the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems' "Secret Scripture of Corpse Stitching," which records tens of thousands of years of precious experience in corpse stitching techniques.]
Inside the Ancestral Space, having just experienced the great battle at the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, Li Wei looked at the lines of information scrolling across the panel, finding it hard to suppress the rising corners of his mouth.
Immediately, with a thought, Li Wei appeared within a space filled with the heavy scent of blood.
Above the Sea of Blood, the "Heaven-Imprisoning Lock" was swirling.
In the sky within the Heaven-Piercing Coffin, black mist churned.
Chains descended from above, suspending a dense array of corpses—all of them "spoils of war" seized from the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems.
Hanging right at the forefront were Zhen Wu and He Hao.
The moment he stepped onto the ground, Li Wei could sense the exhilaration of the Sea of Blood.
The "Boundless Sea of Blood" was evidently even more gluttonous for the "delicacies" of powerful experts from the mortal world than it had been in the Underworld.
One by one, zombies crawled out from the Boundless Sea of Blood.
Zhen Wu had long since lost all signs of life. Blood could be seen flowing from his abdomen—that was the result of Li Wei continuously using the "One Thought" technique until he finally found an opening to deliver a fatal strike.
Spatial Spiritual power had also thoroughly annihilated his Divine Soul.
Zhen Wu's features were peaceful in death.
Li Wei still remembered the final moment when the North Star Spirit-Breaking Spear pierced into Zhen Wu's abdomen.
Zhen Wu originally had a chance to struggle, yet he simply chose to accept death, leaving behind only the words: "So be it, so be it."
Tap, tap, tap!
Li Dalong approached, treading across the Sea of Blood and causing ripples in the bloody water.
Li Dalong had also sustained significant injuries from this battle; even though he was replenishing himself through the Sea of Blood, he still looked pale and weak at this moment.
Walking beneath He Hao—who was hanging on by a thread, his Spiritual power suppressed by the Heaven-Imprisoning Lock—Li Dalong raised his head slightly.
His expression was one of pity.
"What a pity."
As the Sect Master of the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect, He Hao had conducted himself commendably over the past three hundred years.
The entire Westfall Prefecture had flourished due to the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect taking up residence there.
The secret techniques passed down from antiquity within the sect had also caused Westfall Prefecture to produce quite a few outstanding cultivators.
Furthermore, it was precisely because of He Hao's emergence that the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect and the Li Clan had maintained good relations.
"Fellow Daoist."
Li Dalong did not mask his aura, and He Hao opened his eyes.
This Sect Master of a secluded sect was in a wretched state, his long hair scattered in disarray. Yet, even though he was bound securely, he remained neither humble nor arrogant.
He stiffly turned his head to look at Li Dalong, his gaze clear.
"Fellow Daoist, please listen to what I have to say. After I die, the new Sect Master of the Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect will undoubtedly be Elder Duanmu."
Hearing these words, Li Dalong furrowed his brows.
He Hao continued,
"Duanmu Qi is a man of immense prestige and profound shrewdness, yet he is also far more ambitious.
Within the sect, he has his own clan descendants. His goals in this life are to break through to the Integration Realm and to strengthen the Duanmu Clan.
Because of this, friction is bound to arise between Westfall Prefecture and Azure Cloud Prefecture."
"However, in such chaotic times, my Westfall Prefecture serves as a natural barrier for the Azure Cloud Prefecture.
Fellow Daoist, you should understand better than I do the importance of Westfall Prefecture to Azure Cloud Prefecture.
As long as my Eternal Ancient Immortal Sect stands, no matter what happens, Azure Cloud Prefecture will have a buffer to maneuver."
"To stabilize Duanmu Qi, one needs only satisfy his ambitious nature; simply granting official positions to the Duanmu Clan will suffice..."
Even as his voice grew increasingly weak, He Hao continued to speak of the affairs concerning the two prefectures.
With a final, long-drawn sigh, He Hao lowered his head, maintaining a completely dignified and open demeanor to the very end.
Li Dalong wore an expression of admiration, while secretly cursing that damnable "Dao Seed."
He shook his head and walked to a secluded spot within the Sea of Blood.
There, he saw the Old Ancestor of the Zhao Clan standing in place, his body already withered and completely devoid of intelligence.
"I wonder when I'll be able to refine him into a Zombie Emperor."
Li Dalong's gaze was filled with anticipation.
In the final two layers of the Daoist techniques from Heaven-Piercing Coffin's legacy, the "Heaven-Piercing Coffin Corpse Driving Art," there were methods for refining a Zombie Emperor and a Zombie Progenitor, corresponding to the Integration Realm and the Mahayana Realm, respectively.
Refining a Zombie Emperor would require a vast amount of materials, and his mastery of the "Corpse Driving Art" had to be absolute.
Furthermore, to control a sufficient number of zombies, his Divine Soul also needed to be powerful enough.
Only in this way could he ensure that the zombies he refined would absolutely obey his commands and not rebel.
Even now, the number of Void Refining zombies Li Dalong could control with absolute authority over their life and death was no more than three.
Among them, only one zombie had truly reached the Void Refining Realm.
Turning his head slightly, he saw Spiritual Qi surging and a crushing pressure radiating outward. A smile surfaced on Li Dalong's face.
A massive amount of spoils was piled up there, all harvested from this great battle!