Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 19 Ancient Corpse King

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the village head brought several villagers to find him.

"Brother Zhou, last night... last night we heard some noise, wasn't it...?"

Zhou Ning nodded: "The seven zombies have been dealt with."

The village head and the villagers were overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

Zhou Ning did not laugh, but said in a deep voice:

"Village head, there's something else in that cave."

The village head's expression changed: "There's more?"

Zhou Ning nodded: "They're much more powerful than those zombies. I need to go in and take a look."

The village head hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Brother Zhou, would you like to call a few more people to keep you company?"

Zhou Ning shook his head:

"No need. Too many people will only get in the way. You all wait outside. If I haven't come out by noon, go to Lanruo Temple to find my master."

He took out several "exorcism talismans" from his bag and handed them to the village head:

"Take these talismans for self-defense. After I go inside, stay outside and don't go near the cave entrance."

The village head took the talisman and said in a trembling voice:

"Brother Zhou, you...you have to be very careful."

Zhou Ning nodded, tidied his belongings, and headed towards the cave on the back mountain.

The cave entrance remained dark and gloomy, with gusts of cold wind blowing.

Zhou Ning took a deep breath, pulled out an "evil-repelling talisman" from his waist and held it in his hand, while holding the Qingfeng sword in his other hand, and slowly walked into the cave.

The cave was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Zhou Ning circulated his inner energy and poured a wisp of spiritual power into the Qingfeng Sword. The sword emitted a faint blue light, barely illuminating a few feet in front of him.

The cave is very deep, and the further you go in, the more open the space becomes.

The cave walls are covered with traces of human excavation, clearly indicating that, as the village head said, this place was once a quarry.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

There are two roads, one to the left and one to the right.

Zhou Ning stopped, closed his eyes, and used his divine sense to perceive the aura on both sides.

On the left, it was cold and damp, with a strong stench of decay.

On the right, it was relatively dry, with a faint... spiritual energy?

Zhou Ning opened his eyes and chose the right side.

He continued along the passage on the right, and after walking for about half a cup of tea's time, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

This is a huge stone chamber, about the size of the main room in an ordinary house.

In the center of the stone chamber, there was a huge stone coffin.

The stone coffin was bluish-black in color and covered with densely packed runes, faintly emitting a spiritual light.

At each of the four corners of the stone coffin, there is a thick iron chain that securely locks the coffin lid.

Zhou Ning approached the stone coffin and carefully examined the runes on it.

He had never seen these runes before.

It is neither a Taoist talisman nor a Buddhist incantation, but some kind of more ancient script.

He reached out, wanting to touch the stone coffin...

"Don't touch it!"

An old and weak voice suddenly rang out in the stone chamber.

Zhou Ning abruptly withdrew his hand and looked in the direction of the sound.

In the corner of the stone chamber, an elderly man with white hair sat cross-legged.

He was wearing a tattered Taoist robe, his face was sallow, his eyes were sunken, and his lips were chapped, indicating that he had not eaten for a long time.

"You are..." Zhou Ning looked at him warily.

The old man struggled to raise his head, a glimmer of light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Young man...you...how did you get in?"

Zhou Ning said, "I came in through the cave entrance. Old man, what are you doing here?"

The old man gave a wry smile: "I...I'm here...to suppress what's inside this stone coffin."

He pointed to the stone coffin, his eyes filled with exhaustion:

"Beneath this place... lies an ancient corpse king. A hundred years ago, my master risked his life to seal it here. I was ordered to guard it here, and it has been... thirty years now."

Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat.

Ancient Corpse King?

"And those zombies from last night..." he asked.

The old man sighed:

"The seal has loosened, and the Corpse King's corpse energy has leaked out, causing the nearby corpses to turn into zombies. I... I no longer have the strength to deal with it."

He stretched out his withered hand, took out a jade slip from his bosom, and handed it to Zhou Ning.

"Young man... this jade slip contains the method to reinforce the seal. I... I can't go on, can you... can you help me...?"

Before he could finish speaking, his hand fell to his sides, his head tilted to the side, and he closed his eyes.

Zhou Ning checked his breathing; he was no longer breathing.

He remained silent for a moment, then placed the old man in a corner of the stone chamber and built a simple grave with stones.

Then, he picked up the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

The jade slip records a formation called the "Nine Nether Corpse Suppression Formation," which requires forty-nine specially made corpse-suppressing talismans arranged in a specific direction to strengthen the seal.

Zhou Ning carefully studied the method of setting up the formation, then took out talisman paper, cinnabar and pen from his bag and began to draw the corpse-suppressing talisman.

He had never drawn such a symbol before, and could only imitate it stroke by stroke according to the illustrations in the jade slip.

First attempt, failure.

The talisman spontaneously combusted.

The second attempt failed.

Uneven distribution of spiritual energy.

The third one, success.

However, its potential is very weak, and it is probably not very useful.

Zhou Ning was not discouraged and continued drawing.

One, two, three...

It wasn't until the sun was setting that he finally finished drawing all forty-nine corpse-suppressing talismans. Most of them had dim spiritual light, and only a dozen or so were barely usable.

"We have no choice but to give it a try."

Zhou Ning took a deep breath and, following the diagram in the jade slip, affixed the forty-nine talismans to the four walls, floor, and ceiling of the stone chamber, arranging them in specific directions.

Finally, he affixed a "talisman for exorcising evil" containing his strongest spiritual power to the very center of the stone coffin.

"Nine Netherworlds suppress the corpse, preventing evil spirits from invading! Swiftly!"

He formed hand seals and poured all the internal energy into the talisman array.

"Buzz!"

The rune array lit up with a dazzling golden light, illuminating the entire stone chamber as bright as day.

The stone coffin shook violently, and the iron chains rattled, as if something was struggling inside.

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth and suppressed the last bit of his internal energy.

"Give me—the town!"

The golden light surged, and the tremors of the stone coffin gradually subsided, eventually returning to silence.

The light of the rune array gradually dimmed, but the runes on the stone coffin were noticeably brighter than before.

The seal has been reinforced.

Zhou Ning slumped to the ground, panting heavily.

His internal energy was almost completely drained, and he didn't even have the strength to stand up.

But a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.

He did it.

"Young man... thank you."

A faint sound echoed in the stone chamber.

Zhou Ning looked up and saw a phantom figure appear on the old man's grave; it was the old man himself.

"Senior..." Zhou Ning struggled to stand up.

The old man bowed deeply to him:

"I've waited thirty years, and finally I've found someone I can entrust my life to. Young man, what's your name?"

"This is Zhou Ning, a junior."

"Zhou Ning..." The old man nodded:

"A good name. Zhou Ning, remember this: the Corpse King beneath this stone coffin was not formed naturally, but was deliberately created by someone."

Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat: "Someone deliberately created this?"

The old man nodded:

"Thirty years ago, before my master passed away, he told me that there was a powerful force behind this Corpse King. They dug up ancient tombs everywhere, searching for the remains of powerful people, and used evil magic to create the Corpse King for their own use."

He paused, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes:

"That force is called... Black Mountain."

Montenegro!

Montenegro again!

Zhou Ning felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled the name his master had once mentioned.

Black Mountain Demon.

"Senior, what exactly is the Black Mountain Demon?" he couldn't help but ask.

The old man shook his head: "I don't know either. My master didn't tell me much, only that it was a great demon dwelling in the north, with boundless magical power and countless demon followers. We...we are no match for him."

He sighed, and his figure gradually faded away.

"Young man, my time is running out. You...you remember, the seal on this Corpse King can only last for ten years. Within ten years, we must find a way to completely destroy it. Otherwise...otherwise, the entire Baihe Village, and even the surrounding hundred miles, will be turned into a ghost realm."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's figure completely vanished.

Silence returned to the stone chamber.

Zhou Ning stood there, silent for a long time.

ten years.

He only has ten years.

Within ten years, he must become powerful enough to completely destroy this Corpse King.

Otherwise, the villagers of Baihe Village, and even more people, will die a violent death.

Zhou Ning clenched his fist, turned around, and strode out of the cave.