Chapter 298: The Corpse Moved!
The Violet Qi Division Cultivators flew into the air with him. The East Pill Division Cultivators around Meng Hao also began to shoot into the air to follow.
Chu Yuyan glared viciously at Meng Hao for a moment. Then she turned her supple waist and flexed her long legs. As she turned, her robe pulled tight around her firm rear end, which Meng Hao couldn’t help but notice. She, along with Lin Hailong and the other alchemist Cultivators all shot off toward the basin surrounding the Rebirth Cave.
Of course, that is exactly where the Immortal’s corpse was located.
Meng Hao took a deep breath. He was no longer thinking about the matter regarding Chu Yuyan. Instead, as he flew up into the air, he focused his thoughts. Flying next to him was none other than Ye Feimu.
Ye Feimu was quiet for the space of a few breaths, then began to explain to Meng Hao what was going on, “There is nothing blocking the way to the corpse. However, if you touch it, you will instantly be sucked into a strange realm. Some people return from it, others don’t. Every day at about this time, the strange power of the corpse suddenly drops by half. Therefore, when this happens, the bizarre life within the Rebirth Cave will emerge.
“Therefore, the Patriarchs from the various Sects will go ahead to stand guard, giving the rest of the Sect disciples a window of time. Unlike some of the other Sects, all we need is a sample of blood. As for the Violet Qi Division, it’s possible they have some other goals. However, they will cooperate with us. After we get some blood, then we can focus on other priorities.
“The reason so many alchemists and Violet Furnace Lords are here is because the blood from the Immortal’s corpse is actually invisible. The instant it leaves the corpse, it dissipates into Heaven and Earth. Only us Cultivators of the Dao of alchemy can take advantage of that instant to use pill concoction techniques to capture and refine the escaping blood.”
Ye Feimu’s explanation was extremely detailed. Once he finished, he lowered his head and increased his speed as he proceeded forward. It seemed the only reason he had been hanging back was to explain these things to Meng Hao.
Meng Hao could sense the ease in tension between them. However, a bit of challenge still existed within his words, as if he wanted to warn Meng Hao that he would be waiting to see who would be the first to refine some of the Immortal’s blood.
Meng Hao had not come here for any blood sample, though. He had come because of the beckoning voice. Everyone else might be unaware, but Meng Hao knew that this person... was not dead at all!
Many thoughts flowed through his head as he transformed into a beam of light that shot forward. He flashed through the air, soon catching sight of Li Daoyi, Zhou Jie, Xu Qing and the others. All of them were converging on the basin.
What most captured Meng Hao’s attention was the young man named Ji. His Cultivation base was at the peak of the early Core Formation stage, and he was surrounded by seven or eight guards, all of them old men. He moved forward, his entire body exuding a lofty and proud air. Completely disregarding all of the surrounding Southern Domain Cultivators, he sped off into the distance.
At the same time, the young woman surnamed Fang shot forward, her face filled with cold indifference, her entire body emanating blinding silver light. The beams of light shot off of her like sharp arrows, causing anyone who looked at her to feel stabs of pain.
The Ji youth and the Fang girl were both matchlessly stunning. Whether intentionally or not, they had long since become the focus of attention in the area. Next to them, anyone, be they Chosen or Dao Child, were like ants. The difference in status was just too great. This of course caused the Southern Domain’s Chosen and Dao Children to feel somewhat recalcitrant. However, keeping in mind the warnings of their various Sects, and fearsome power of the two, they maintained their silence.
The Western Desert Cultivators were also present. They were big and tall, and their bodies were covered with totemic tattoos. As they flew forward toward the basin, their totems shone with rays of bright light, clearly beyond ordinary.
A short amount of time passed, and soon, the moment of opportunity arrived for any Cultivator who neared. It didn’t matter what purpose the various Sects had, all their disciples charged forward.
In fact, many of the disciples from the other Sects outside of the main periphery, had calculated the time and were now charging forward too.
Meng Hao focused himself, accelerating for the space of about ten or more breaths. Suddenly, he felt as if a wind were blowing up against him. The wind carried with it the stench of decay, and as it passed over him, he felt his skin becoming sticky, as if he were covered in sweat.
The bizarre wind of decay penetrated into his flesh, piercing through him, causing his expression to change. He could immediately sense that everyone around him was feeling the exact same thing.
At the same time, the aura of the Nascent Soul Cultivators from the various clans began to weaken, as if it were being violently suppressed. Meng Hao recalled being told about this phenomena when he first arrived.
It didn’t take long for Wu Dingqiu’s Cultivation base to be suppressed down to the great circle of Core Formation. His face was pale as he led everyone forward through the black fog, closer and closer to the mountain-like corpse.
The instant Meng Hao caught sight of the corpse, he saw that it really was the size of a small mountain. Its skin was gray, and covered with brands that looked like magical symbols. The symbols seemed to squirm bizarrely, and emitted glowing light.
The five-colored light twisted up into the air, but was obscured by the black fog, making it difficult to see clearly. However, the closer he got, the clearer it became. The magical symbols were obviously grouping together into a larger text.
As the Cultivators from the other Sects approached and saw the magical text, someone cried out, “The Dao Divinity Scripture!” More and more Cultivators neared, and more than half of them sank to the ground cross-legged to stare at the scriptural text.
Some of the Violet Fate Sect disciples also stopped and sat down cross-legged to stare at the magical symbols. Meng Hao glanced over, frowning slightly. In that slight glance, he suddenly realized that his Spiritual Sense was showing signs of disorder.
He immediately focused his vision, looking toward the corpse. Disciples from other Sects who were clearly more interested in the corpse itself were now nearing it.
As he approached, its sheer vastness filled his vision. Wu Dingqiu led the Violet Qi Division disciples, clearly fearful of the strange teleportation effect. All he intended to do was break the skin of the corpse and extract some blood. Suddenly, the beckoning feeling once again appeared, floating deep within Meng Hao’s mind.
“Come.... Come to me.... I’ve been waiting a long time for you.... The whole truth, all the answers, will be explained to you, my heir....”
The beckoning filled Meng Hao’s whole body, causing him to tremble. Looking around, it was clear that no one else could hear the sounds which he was now hearing in his ears, the calling.
The instant he began to look around, a roaring sound suddenly began to fill the air, coming from the corpse itself. At the same time, the ground began to shake. The entire Rebirth Cave basin began to quake violently.
A thunderous sound echoed out, causing the surrounding Cultivator’s expressions to change immediately.
“It moved!!” cried someone from one of the other Sects. “I just saw the corpse’s hand move!”
“That’s impossible! This corpse has been dead for years. How could it possibly move!?”
“I saw it too! The corpse’s hand moved a bit.... It couldn’t have been an illusion....”
Meng Hao began to pant. He too had just seen the supposedly dead corpse move its right hand!
He knew that he wasn’t mistaken. After all, he had known from quite some time ago that this supposed corpse... was actually alive!
As gasps of astonishment filled the air, and the thunderous sound filled the air, all eyes instantly swivelled to look toward the corpse. The corpse... slowly lifted its enormous hand into the air. The speed with which it moved seemed slow, but within the blink of an eye, the hand had reached up high, as if it were going to place its hand on its head. Instead, its hand suddenly descended at high speed toward the ground.
This caused everyone’s scalps to go numb, and to gape with wide eyes. Just as everyone was about to shoot backward in retreat... the hand slammed into the ground.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
An indescribably loud sound shattered the air. The ground quaked, and the sky drained of color. At the same time, the black fog shot up into the sky. The earth rippled into great waves, sweeping out as if it were an attack.
Bloodcurdling screams filled the air. Everything went dim, and was thrown into chaos.
The shocking boom resonated out, and the ground heaved. The faces of the various Sect Patriarchs who were leading the way to the Rebirth Cave immediately fell. At the same time, the fog floating in the sky began to seethe violently, then shoot back toward the ground.
Next, an incredible, indescribable gravitational force sprang into being. It emanated out from the corpse, immediately beginning to drag everything in the area toward the corpse. The nearby Cultivators had no time to avoid it, and were instantly snagged by the force and sucked in. As soon as they touched the surface of the corpse, they disappeared.
Li Shiqi, Wang Youcai, Li Daoyi, Wang Lihai, Zhou Jie, Chen Fan, all of them were instantly grabbed by the wild gravitational force. In the blink of an eye, they were sent tumbling toward the corpse, and then disappeared, teleported to who knew what strange place.
Next to Meng Hao, Chu Yuyan and Ye Feimu, as well as the rest of the East Pill Division and Violet Qi Division Cultivators, were incapable of evading. All of them were sent spinning toward the corpse, and then disappeared.
To Meng Hao, it felt as if some enormous hand had grabbed him and was dragging him toward the corpse. There was nothing he could do to prevent it. His expression, however, was calm. He could tell that the force which was grabbing him contained no evil. If it did, then considering its abilities, even if he tried to escape far way, he still wouldn’t be safe. This he knew.
“Well, you’ve called for me three times already, I might as well go along!” His eyes shone brightly. After feeling the beckoning three times, and hearing the words contained therein, he had long since understood that he absolutely must come here!
The importance of Heaven and Earth is superseded by the importance of one’s father and mother.
The matter of his parents had weighed on his heart from the very beginning. He had an intense feeling that this was his chance to get some answers!
The instant he touched the corpse and vanished, Meng Hao saw the Ji Clan youth and the young Fang woman also being sucked in and vanishing.
After that, everything went black....