Chapter 405: Unusual Living Corpses

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

After hearing the village head’s explanation, the two of them suddenly understood. “No wonder these living corpses are so tough, unlike those that could be refined by ordinary people. It turns out they are abandoned.”

“Is it common for living corpses to be abandoned?”

The village head shook his head. “Not at all. I’ve lived for eighty years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen masterless living corpses. I had only ever heard of such a thing before.”

“What are the possible causes of living corpses becoming masterless?”

“I’ve heard that there are only two reasons for this: either the master has died, causing the living corpses to lose control and wander aimlessly, or the master has intentionally released control over them. Another possibility is that the corpses rebelled and ate their master.”

“From the behavior of the corpses in our village, they don’t seem bloodthirsty, so the third scenario is unlikely.”

“Is there a way to find the owner of these living corpses?”

When Lu Yang asked this, the village head’s expression became conflicted, and after furrowing his brow, he finally sighed.

“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 wrist, like this.”

The village head squatted down and drew three interlocking circles on the ground, with the word “ghost” written in the middle.

“If the owner of these living corpses is still alive, they will have the same pattern on their right wrist.”

“Although I’m only at the second layer of the Qi Training Stage, I once studied under a remarkable corpse driver when I was younger. My teacher was at the peak of the sixth layer of the Qi Training Stage!”

“During my time studying with him, I memorized the marks of all the corpse drivers in the surrounding counties, and none of them match this style. As for corpse drivers from other areas, I haven’t come across them.”

This was one of the reasons the village head hadn’t reported the situation—since the living corpses weren’t from local corpse drivers, even if the authorities got involved, they wouldn’t be able to find the owner.

“Have you heard of the Corpse-Driving Sect?” Lu Yang asked.

The village head chuckled. “How could I not know the name of the Corpse-Driving Sect? Thirty years ago, I had the rare chance to catch a glimpse of a disciple from the Corpse-Driving Sect from afar. He was truly an outstanding young man, far beyond the likes of me, who can barely grasp the basics of corpse-driving.”

“Do you know where the Corpse-Driving Sect is located?”

“That’s quite far away.”

The village head pointed west. “The Corpse-Driving Sect is located in the central part of the Desolate Lands. From here, it’s about eight million li westward.”

Meng Jingzhou nodded. “Looks like we still have a few days to go.”

With their trusty old horse, eight million li wasn’t that far. When Meng Jingzhou first ran away from home, the distance between the imperial capital and the Dao Seeking Sect was far greater than that, and it only took a few days.

The speed of their travel depended entirely on the horse’s mood.

Meng Jingzhou had initially thought that the carriage’s speed was due to a space-formation array in the chassis, allowing them to traverse distances quickly. He later realized that while the carriage was indeed a treasure, the real reason for their speed was the old horse itself.

“Now that we know about the existence of the living corpses, could we stay here for the night?” Lu Yang asked.

“Fine. My wife passed away, and my children have all moved to the county, so it’s no trouble for me to offer you a couple of extra blankets,” the village head replied.

The two of them rested in Jianshi Village for the night, adjusted their plans, and bid farewell to the village head the next morning, continuing on their journey.

“You two were quite lucky last night,” Everlasting Fairy said, stretching her body as she woke up, twisting and flexing as if she were still alive.

Even though a soul body didn’t have muscles or bones, old habits from life tend to carry over.

“Why do you say we were lucky?” Lu Yang asked.

“Well, the living corpses you encountered last night were carefully refined by a high-level cultivator. They had no one commanding them, and due to their lack of yang energy, they were weak. They could only maintain basic activities by absorbing energy from those buns. Otherwise, you two wouldn’t have stood a chance against them.”

“If my guess is correct, that group of living corpses moving together could be enough to handle a Unity Stage cultivator.”

“Unity Stage!” Lu Yang was shocked. He knew that the living corpses they encountered last night were tough, but he never imagined they could be strong enough to face a Unity Stage cultivator.

Although Lu Yang didn’t know much about the art of refining living corpses, he understood that creating corpses of that level required the skill of a Unity Stage cultivator.

The fact that these living corpses were likely a combat tool of a Unity Stage cultivator made it even more unimaginable that they could be abandoned.

Could it be that a Unity-level corpse driver had died?

Just the thought sent a chill down Lu Yang’s spine.

Nowadays, people rarely fought to the death, especially at the Unity Stage, where conflicts were typically resolved without fatal consequences. Unity Stage cultivators were incredibly powerful, with multiple life-preserving methods. Unless the power disparity was immense—between someone like his master Daoist Non-Speaker, the Grand Elder or Qiu Jin’an, fighting against a regular Unity Stage cultivator—it was incredibly difficult for one Unity Stage cultivator to kill another.

Seeing Lu Yang’s expression change, Meng Jingzhou curiously asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You remember that Everlasting Fairy resides within me, right?”

Meng Jingzhou had been present when Everlasting Fairy had been revived, so he knew about her existence.

Meng Jingzhou blinked, then suddenly clapped his hands as if he had just remembered something. “Ah, right! I almost forgot. So, what did the fairy say?”

“…Hold on a second. Let’s talk about what the fairy said in a bit. Why did you act like you only just remembered?”

Meng Jingzhou scratched his head sheepishly and started counting on his fingers. “Well, in my imagination, someone who has an ancient immortal living inside them should have extraordinary luck, wield incomplete ancient treasures as weapons, possess shocking secrets, be invincible at their level, and frequently attract beautiful women. You know, stuff like walking into secret realms as if it’s their own home.”

“But from what I’ve seen, you don’t really act like that. The only thing that fits the profile is being invincible at your level, but that’s not particularly unusual in our Dao Seeking Sect.”

“Oh, right, you also know a bunch of ancient secrets that are only useful for scaring people from the Nine Nether Sect.”

Lu Yang: “…”

Yeah, I’d like to know the reason for that too.

“So, what did the fairy say?” Meng Jingzhou asked again.

“She said the group of living corpses we encountered last night had the strength to rival a Unity Stage cultivator.”

Meng Jingzhou’s eyes widened, his pupils shrinking as he clearly came to the same realization as Lu Yang.

How could living corpses of that level be left unattended like this?

Something unusual must have happened!

“We should go to a major city and find out if there’s been any recent battles or reports of a Unity Stage cultivator’s death. There’s no way something this significant would leave no trace.”

Lu Yang nodded. He was thinking the same thing.

“Oh, by the way, since you have an ancient immortal living inside you, could you ask her if she knows how to resolve my karmic backlash?” Meng Jingzhou looked at Lu Yang with eager hope. Right! Even if Eldest Senior Sister couldn’t help, there was still the ancient immortal!

An ancient immortal with heaven-defying abilities should be able to easily solve something as small as karmic backlash, right?

“I already asked.”

“And what did she say?”

“She told you to go die.”

“?”