Chapter 273: Corpse Immortal
Although it had long been suspected that the appearance of Nascent Soul–equivalent zombies was only a matter of time, when the first such creature truly emerged, everyone was still struck with shock.
Fortunately, a powerful cultivator from the Alliance acted swiftly, slaying that Nascent Soul–level zombie. Such mindless creatures, though blessed with immense physical strength, could never fully wield it.
The Alliance's strongest experts—especially the sect masters of the three top sects—each possessed numerous techniques of the Nascent Soul realm. Working together, it was no real challenge to bring down a mindless zombie of that level.
What truly troubled everyone was the implication: if one had appeared, would more follow?
One Nascent Soul zombie could still be barely managed, but if two, or even more, were to appear, it would become a true disaster.
"Prepare for the worst." The Sect Master of the Taiqing Sect finally spoke.
It was obvious he had lost the last trace of confidence in his heart. The emergence of Nascent Soul zombies had shattered even his final reserve of courage.
"I wonder how our Old Ancestors are faring." The Valley Master of Shennong Valley felt a wave of worry. Their only remaining hope now lay with the Nascent Soul patriarchs who had gone to seek a method of dealing with this crisis.
"Let the true disciples join the battle as well." The Sect Master of the Yin-Yang Sword Sect urged. They had no choice but to bring out every bit of strength. Each minute they held out might be enough to await word from the patriarchs.
"This…"
The sect masters of Taiqing and Shennong Valley hesitated. True disciples were the lifeblood of a sect's heritage. Their last resort had been to send the disciples away if things turned dire, ensuring the lineage would not be lost.
"If this zombie calamity isn't resolved, then there will be nowhere left to flee." The Yin-Yang Sect Master voiced the cruel truth.
"Sigh!"
The other two masters could only let out long sighs. They knew he was right.
With the true disciples entering the battle, the situation finally stabilized. Yet for how long this fragile balance could be maintained, no one could say.
—
Qinghe Cultivation Realm.
"Master, Master, I found a great place for hide-and-seek!" Little Ruanruan came running to Gu Mo with sparkling eyes, eager to share her discovery.
"Ruanruan, you went outside again? It's dangerous out there." Gu Mo pinched her chubby little cheeks.
"But Ruanruan is really strong!"
The little girl patted her chest proudly—and she wasn't wrong. By now her cultivation had reached the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment. What's more, she hadn't been trained by Gu Mo, but had instead comprehended cultivation on her own. Even in sleep, the spiritual energy within her body would circulate by itself.
Thus, though she spent her days wandering about, her cultivation never fell behind.
Not only that, Ruanruan's grasp of secret arts and techniques came with uncanny ease. Though only at the Foundation Establishment stage, her combat strength was no less than that of a Core Formation cultivator.
In the Qinghe Realm, no one beneath Nascent Soul could pose her any real threat.
And with the protective treasures Gu Mo, Yuan Niya, and Chu Feifei had given her, even if she faced a Nascent Soul true lord, she could still escape unharmed.
"Master, I'm going to find Auntie Niya and Auntie Feifei to play hide-and-seek too!" Before Gu Mo could reply, Ruanruan had already scampered off.
Soon after, Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei arrived.
"The Tianyuan Realm has already seen the appearance of Nascent Soul–level zombies." Yuan Niya brought grim news.
"They say some cultivators are already evacuating. If that realm collapses, Qinghe will surely become the zombies' next target." Chu Feifei's face showed her worry.
The situation gave no sign of hope. Qinghe might look peaceful, but that peace was maintained by Gu Mo alone. Once Tianyuan fell, Qinghe would inevitably become the second battlefield.
"Don't worry. With the heritage of Tianyuan's sects, they won't collapse so easily." As Shennong Valley's true disciple, Gu Mo knew well the depth of their foundations; they could last for a long time yet.
What he needed most was time. If he could gather enough fifth-tier Sun Essence, he planned to dig out the Demon Sect's fifth-tier spirit vein in Tianyuan.
With that in hand, even Nascent Soul zombies would no longer be a threat.
"Master, Master, let's go play hide-and-seek!" Ruanruan tugged on his hand, her eyes full of excitement. Hide-and-seek was her favorite game.
"All right, all right. But from now on, you mustn't run off again." Gu Mo knew she would never let him go without playing at least one round.
"Yay!"
She clambered happily onto his back and led him toward her "secret spot."
"Mm? Ruanruan, this is the place you found?"
The three exchanged startled glances. What she had discovered wasn't just a good hiding place—it was clearly a hidden ruin.
And it was concealed with such skill that ordinary methods would never have revealed it.
"Uh-huh!"
Seeing their astonishment, the little girl's face filled with pride.
"Be careful."
Gu Mo lifted Ruanruan into his arms and looked at Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei. With that, he took the lead inside.
At the mention of ruins, he was reminded of those once discovered by the Fenghua Sect. He had sent people searching ever since, but not a trace had been found.
Now, though, this place was most likely that very site.
"This is…"
The instant he entered, Gu Mo realized they had stepped into another space entirely. No wonder it had been so well hidden—the ruin wasn't even in the Qinghe Realm, but within an independent pocket dimension.
The traces of fierce battle were everywhere, proof of a great war that had taken place here. Recalling the heap of scrap metal he had once seen in Fenghua Sect's Nascent Soul cultivator's storage ring, Gu Mo was now certain—this was indeed their ruin.
Since it had already been explored, he didn't linger at the entrance but led them deeper inside.
Along the way he encountered several barriers, but with Little Black—the grade-four peak Tombstone Moss—at his side, they were easily dispelled without triggering any response from the ruins.
Not until they reached a high platform did even Little Black meet its match. The barrier enshrouding it was far too formidable for a grade-four to breach.
"This platform must be the ruin's core. I wonder what treasure lies inside." Yuan Niya circled it curiously.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, she let out a startled cry. On the barrier cloaking the platform, she had spotted a crack.
"Little Black!"
Little Black couldn't break a restriction without a crack, but now that one had appeared, Gu Mo felt it could give it a try.
At Gu Mo's command, Little Black quickly spread over the crack, then began tearing it open bit by bit.
The moment Little Black ripped the crack wider, Gu Mo's expression changed. Through the opening, he saw a head placed upon the high platform, and in the center of that head's brow, a hairpin was embedded.
As the restriction was torn apart, the head's eyes began to tremble. A surge of powerful soul force rippled throughout the high platform. Yet, as the hairpin released a faint glow, it once again forced the head's eyes shut.
"My lord, have you finally returned?" A phantom silhouette of a beautiful woman emerged from the hairpin, her gaze sweeping through the crack toward Gu Mo and the others, before finally fixing on Ruanruan.
"Ah!"
Ruanruan shrank behind Gu Mo in panic. At this moment, she too felt the hairpin seemed familiar, though she had never seen it before.
"You are not my lord. Who are you, and why do you carry my lord's aura?" The phantom woman stepped through the restriction's crack, her eyes locked on Ruanruan.
"Senior, Ruanruan should be a descendant of your master's bloodline." Gu Mo had already guessed the truth by now. Ruanruan was a clone refined from mysterious blood, and that blood had originally been obtained by Fenghua Sect from this very ruin.
As for the phantom's identity, it was clearly the spirit of the hairpin. For a spirit to condense into such a form, it had already surpassed spirit tools and spirit treasures—this had to be a legendary Immortal Spirit.
Which meant that hairpin was an immortal artifact—and a complete one at that, unlike the powerless fragment Gu Mo held.
"Hmph, cultivator, do you realize what consequences your actions will bring?" The Immortal Spirit's gaze swept over Gu Mo, her tone unfriendly.
She knew the seal here could not last much longer, but Gu Mo's action had torn a direct hole through it, breaking the balance.
Now she was forced to use all her power to suppress that head. Once her strength was exhausted, the head would break free.
"My apologies!"
Gu Mo hurriedly recalled Little Black. As it withdrew, the opening healed back into its earlier cracked state. The seals broken by the tombstone moss were all reversible.
"Mm?"
Seeing this, the Immortal Spirit was stunned. Clearly, such a method was beyond her expectations.
"Senior, may I ask—what is the origin of that head?"
Although Gu Mo already suspected it belonged to the same body as the headless corpse back in the Tianyuan Immortal Realm, both the corpse and the head were shrouded in mystery. Now, finally facing someone who knew the truth, Gu Mo naturally wanted to ask.
Perhaps he could find a clue to resolving the zombie disaster.
"That is a Corpse Immortal."
The Immortal Spirit fell silent for a moment before speaking.
From her explanation, Gu Mo pieced together the general truth: long ago, a Corpse Immortal descended, bringing a great zombie calamity upon this world.
Her master—an Immortal as well—had also descended upon hearing that his homeland was in peril. He fought the Corpse Immortal to the death.
In the end, her master succeeded in severing the Corpse Immortal's head, sealing it separately from its body. But that battle exhausted all of her master's strength. Thus, the power to suppress the Corpse Immortal had to be drawn from this world itself.
That explained why the cultivation ceiling of this world had steadily declined—the world's strength was siphoned away to suppress the Corpse Immortal.
"Senior, where is that Immortal now?" With the Corpse Immortal about to break free, if that Immortal could be found, perhaps the disaster could be resolved.
"I have already lost contact with my master." The Immortal Spirit's voice carried endless sorrow. For an immortal artifact to lose its bond with its master, there were only two possibilities: either it had been abandoned, or its master had perished.
"Then, Senior, is there any other way to prevent the Corpse Immortal from reviving?" Gu Mo had expected it wouldn't be simple. If that Immortal were still alive, he would have sensed the failing seal long ago. Since there had been no reaction, the answer was clear.
Which meant the only way forward was to rely on himself.
"As long as the head does not reunite with its body, the Corpse Immortal cannot be resurrected." The Immortal Spirit's gaze turned toward the high platform. But her strength could no longer truly suppress the head.
At this point, she had no spare power left—every last shred was being used to restrain the head. That was why she hadn't stopped Gu Mo when he broke the seal earlier. Fortunately, the seal had not been permanently damaged.
"Senior, to what level can you suppress the head's power?" Gu Mo asked after some thought.
"To the Soul Formation stage—but that would only last a few breaths. And even suppressing it doesn't mean destroying the head will be easy." The Immortal Spirit shook her head.
"Senior, how much longer can you endure?" Gu Mo pressed further.
"As long as the seal remains intact, I can last a few more years." Though uncertain of Gu Mo's intent, she still answered.
Because when the head broke the seal, it would mark her own end as well. Naturally, she hoped someone could reinforce the suppression.
With the answers he needed, Gu Mo left the ruin, laying potato mines around its perimeter.
"Gu Mo!"
Chu Feifei looked at him anxiously. Learning that the source of the Tianyuan Realm's zombie calamity was a Corpse Immortal, the weight of it was overwhelming.
This meant Soul Formation–level zombies were not the peak. In the future, even greater threats might emerge.
"Don't worry. I think I've already found a way."
Gu Mo handed the sleeping Ruanruan to Chu Feifei. Before leaving, the Immortal Spirit had left Ruanruan her master's legacy. Now, Ruanruan was in deep sleep, absorbing the Immortal's inheritance.
As for Gu Mo's questions earlier, they had not been idle probing—he truly had thought of a way to deal with that head.
Back at Qinglu Sect, Gu Mo immediately entered the Black Fog Space and located a certain seed. Over the years, though he had focused on upgrading plants, he had never stopped acquiring new ones. Every so often, he would open a blind box.
Most of the time, the results were duplicates. But after so many attempts, he had accumulated some new plants. At the time, since he was busy upgrading the Sunflower, and the new plants didn't noticeably improve his combat power, he had stored them away.
But now, Gu Mo felt that one of those new plants might be the key to dealing with the Corpse Immortal's head.
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