Everything was going smoothly... Three days ago, they took action at 6 A.M., striking the Lu Family with lightning-fast measures. The Lu Family was suppressed. Even though some elders and disciples fought desperately, fleeing the city to seek refuge with Lu Chengyun, most of the Lu Family’s descendants were too afraid of the Taoist Court to resist. The Lu Family elders had their cultivation sealed, the disciples were put under house arrest, and a Formation was set up at the door barring exit, leaving them to be dealt with later. Later, when the zombies besieged the city, some Lu Family disciples harbored other intentions, wanting to open the city gates secretly to let the zombies in, so they could defect to Lu Chengyun as well. But once the zombies entered the city, they did not recognize anyone; the first to be devoured were these very disciples of the Lu Family who opened the gates. Afterwards, the Taoist Soldiers and the Mining Cultivators, along with the cultivators from the local South Yue Sect, paid a considerable price to resist the Walking Corpses and reseal the gate. Yang Jishan, in a furious rage, selected a few Lu Family disciples and elders who had caused trouble and, before all the Lu Family cultivators, beheaded them all, thereby deterring everyone else. After that, the main Lu Family settled down quite a bit. The problem arose with the Corpse Mine... The battle at the Corpse Mine was more difficult than they had imagined. At that time, they split their forces in two, one suppressing the Lu Family, the other set out to eradicate the Corpse Mine. The intelligence was accurate, and the Formation Diagram posed no issue; knowing the layout of the Formation, breaking through it was convenient. More than twenty Foundation Building Cultivators, along with the Taoist Soldiers, acted together, shattering the nearby stone walls of the Corpse Mine gate, breaking the Formation Patterns, and causing the natural boulder gate to topple and misalign, revealing a gap. The two Iron Corpses at the gate, though powerful, were clearly no match for the crowd. After that, they pushed through all the way to the entrance of the Stone Palace. Yang Jishan, however, found that the Corpse Cultivators were fully prepared and waiting in strict Formation. Not only that, in the pitch-black mine, the Corpse Qi was pervasive, and countless red dots flickered on and off. These were the bloodthirsty eyes of zombies. This was within Yang Jishan’s expectations. Though it was a surprise attack, direct confrontation was inevitable. Born in the Yang Family and leader of the Taoist Soldiers, Yang Jishan was a veteran of countless battles and naturally did not shy away from the fight. The Foundation Building leader charged at the front, the Taoist Soldiers formed up in battle Formation behind him, the other clan and Sect Foundation Building Cultivators flanked from the sides, while the regular Qi Refinement cultivators followed up with the assault. The Corpse Cultivation Techniques were sinister, but in a direct group battle, under the ferocity of the charge, they were a disorganized rabble, no match for the attackers. The zombies they summoned mostly fought individually, unable to contend with the Taoist Soldiers, unable to stop their charge. And once a Corpse Cultivator died, their zombies would lose control, turn frenzied, and attack any cultivator indiscriminately, including other Corpse Cultivators. The Taoist Soldiers were unstoppable for a time. That was until Lu Chengyun stepped forward. Behind him followed a huge zombie, with long fangs and blood-red eyes with a hint of dark gold. "Corpse King!" Those who had heard the rumors of Taoist Demons felt a chill at the sight. They had either calculated it, heard about it, or had been secretly warned by cultivators of their Sect or clan. This Corpse King was the embryo of a Taoist Demon! With his heart racing, a flash of cold light shone in Yang Jishan’s eyes. The embryo of a Taoist Demon must be strangled in its cradle! "Kill!" With a wave of his hand, Yang Jishan ordered the Taoist Soldiers, clad in armor and armed to the teeth, to charge with shared hatred, their armor’s Formation Patterns connecting breaths, resonating with one another, coalescing into the phantom of a fierce tiger. Lu Chengyun remained composed, spreading his arms wide. The Corpse King’s chest Pattern lit up, it roared towards the sky, the sound reverberating through the mountains. Nearby, twenty iron coffins trembled, the lids flung open, and Iron Corpses leaped out stiffly. And from the mine, tens of thousands of Walking Corpses howled in unison, akin to a procession of myriad demons swarming forth, sending shivers down one’s spine. A fierce battle erupted suddenly. Cultivators versus zombies, Blood Qi against Corpse Qi, spells against Corpse Manipulation, a fight to the death, resistance, and entanglement... This was the largest scale battle of cultivators in the Minor Wilderness State Boundary in nearly eight hundred years. After the intense battle, the Taoist Soldiers failed to capture the Corpse Mine, suffering numerous casualties instead. Lu Chengyun still controlled the Corpse Mine, commanded the Corpse King, and had dozens of Iron Corpses and tens of thousands of Walking Corpses under him; despite the ferocity of the Taoist Soldiers’ attacks, they remained unmoved. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 After long being unable to take the mine and with his forces increasingly damaged, Yang Jishan had no choice but to order a retreat. Lu Chengyun, with mostly zombies under his command, did not fear attrition. But Yang Jishan could not afford to lose more living people. Not to mention, those cultivators who died would only strengthen Lu Chengyun’s forces. Yang Jishan could only give the order to retreat, but after withdrawing, he commanded the Taoist Soldiers to encamp outside the mine, intending to besiege and starve out Lu Chengyun. In retaliation, Lu Chengyun released thousands of Walking Corpses to attack South Yue City, a tactic akin to besieging Wei to rescue Zhao. These thousands of Walking Corpses formed a Corpse Tide. Every living cultivator they came across on their way either became blood nourishment or was converted into a Walking Corpse, becoming a part of the Corpse Tide. Yang Jishan, left with no better option, had to divide his forces to defend the city. Experience new tales on empire He also commanded that all Mining Cultivators, Loose Cultivators, and cultivators from the clans and Sects must stay and defend South Yue City, not allowed to leave. The matter of exterminating the Corpse Mine would have to be a long-term consideration. The first to be shaken were the Taoist Soldiers and the various forces of the Taoist Court, who encamped outside the mine, taking Pills to heal and recuperate. In the cave where matters were discussed, everyone’s expressions were grave. Someone, dissatisfied, cursed aloud: "That beast, Lu Chengyun!" "He’s refined so many zombies and now allows the Walking Corpses to attack the city." "For his own selfish gains, he’s caused so much slaughter. He truly deserves to die!"