Yang Jishan heaved a sigh. Given the current situation, the Corpse Mine couldn’t be taken down in a short period of time. "It can’t be helped then, slow it down a bit..." Afterward, without changing his expression, Yang Jishan continued to apply pressure on Lu Chengyun as always. The two sides had many encounters, each sustaining injuries, maintaining a delicate balance. It wasn’t until Yang Jishan had crafted dozens of Spirit Swords, inscribed with Chaos Spirit Formation Patterns. And other Taoist Soldiers followed his instructions when engaging with the Walking Corpses. First, shatter their heart meridians, destroy their Formations, then sever their limbs and heads, dissipate the Corpse Qi, and they could be successfully subdued. When dealing with Iron Corpses, use the Spirit Sword to pierce their heart meridians. The effect of the Chaos Spirit Formation could only disrupt the flow of Evil Power and not completely isolate it, so Lu Chengyun was still able to control the Iron Corpses, but with a delay. Often when he ordered the Iron Corpses to kill, his thought would transmit, and after a few breaths’ delay caused by the Chaos Spirit Formation, the Iron Corpses would then react. Albeit only for those few breaths. But on a battlefield where every split second counts, that was enough to be fatal. If the deployment of Corpse Soldiers was delayed by these few breaths, the attack of the Taoist Soldiers would become faster by that much. As a result of this give-and-take, vulnerabilities could be exploited. With the Corpse Formation destroyed and the control over the Iron Corpses obstructed, the situation quickly turned grim. In short order, the Corpse Soldiers suffered heavy casualties. Lu Chengyun urgently gave the order to retreat, pulling back to fortify the Corpse Mine. The outcome of the battle was clear; however, Yang Jishan refrained from mounting a strong attack, so as not to give Lu Chengyun an opportunity. Instead, he stationed his forces nearby, contemplating another method of assault. But the next day, new Iron Corpses and Walking Corpses emerged among the Corpse Soldiers. Yang Jishan furrowed his brow, saying: "How can there be more?" An experienced old Formation Master, eyeing the Stone Palace with a solemn look, slowly said, "It’s...the Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses has begun its operation..." "The Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses?" The old Formation Master said, "The young friend from before reported this Formation in the information he sent." "Though it’s just a Compound Formation, it already shows the rudiments of a Large Formation." "Powered by Evil Power, using the Corpse Refining Coffin as the Formation media, it’s a demonic Formation that integrates corpse raising, corpse refinement, and corpse control." "Once the Formation is activated, it has a significant cost." "But once it starts, zombies can be refined rapidly, on a large scale, in a production-like manner." "If this continues, our men will keep dying, while they’ll keep refining more corpses..." Unable to help himself, Yang Jishan cursed aloud: "Formations again! Where on earth does he get all these troublesome Formations from?" The old Formation Master was momentarily taken aback, then a sharp light appeared in his murky eyes as he said coldly: "The Great Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses... is not an ordinary inheritance." "It’s likely that someone intentionally gave it to him, with the purpose of him raising a...’Taoist Demon’..." The words "Taoist Demon" were spoken lightly by the old Formation Master. Yet when they fell on everyone’s ears, they weighed heavy as lead. A chill crept up within Yang Jishan’s heart. He glanced again at the dark Corpse Mine and the eerie Stone Palace within. In the Stone Palace, there was the Corpse King, a host of zombies, the Ultimate Formation, and the embryonic form of the Demon Path Great Formation—the Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses... All of these might just be the pieces and game arranged by someone manipulating from behind the scenes. That person wants to use the state boundary as a chessboard, using Formations as pathways, human corpses as pawns, to raise a dragon named "Taoist Demon"! And within this state boundary, the people who are pawns, from their life to death, might know nothing at all. Even Lu Chengyun himself may not be clear on it. Yang Jishan’s expression turned solemn, his heart clouded with brooding thoughts. How this game would end, whether in victory or defeat, whether in life or death, and what, in the end, would be raised, no one knew... ... In the Stone Palace, atop the Ten Thousand Corpses Sacrificial Altar. Lu Chengyun’s gaze was faintly icy as he surveyed his surroundings. The Corpse King stood behind him, guarded by Iron Corpses on his left and right. And beneath Lu Chengyun’s feet, the Ten Thousand Corpses Compound Formation was running at full capacity. Tremendous Spiritual Power surged from the Formation eye, corrupted by Blood Qi and Yin Qi to form Evil Power, which circulated through the Formation Pivot and flowed onto the Formation Patterns. The Patterns glowed an eerie red, feeding Evil Power into the coffins and nourishing the innumerable zombies inside. "Truly worthy of the Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses!" Lu Chengyun was full of ambition. He still remembered the words spoken by the person who had given him the Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses: "Killing is a sin; refining people into corpses. Through sin one attains the Path; from corpses one crowns a king." He didn’t dwell on the temporary defeat. Discover stories at empire As long as he had the Corpse King, the loss of some Iron Corpses and Walking Corpses mattered little. And with the Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses at his disposal, he could keep refining corpses and raising more indefinitely, securing an invincible position! The more corpses he refined, the stronger the Corpse King would become. And as he controlled the Corpse King, commanding the submission of ten thousand corpses, he would naturally become stronger as well. Lu Chengyun’s laughter gradually sounded out, his voice shedding its gentle disguise to become cold and eerie, like a night owl in the deep mountains, chilling to the bone... At this very moment, in a secret chamber within the Stone Palace, there was another altar. Atop the altar was placed an "empty" Contemplation Map. Below the altar, a small white coffin was set. Inside the coffin lay a young Cultivator. This young Cultivator slowly opened his eyes. For a moment, his pupils were alight with brilliant starlight, awe-inspiring and dazzling. Moments later, this radiance gradually receded and hid deep within his eyes. His pupils became even darker, deeper. Amid the depth, there was a restrained brilliance. This was an indication of an extremely profound Divine Sense. Mo Hua had now completely assimilated the massive Evil Thoughts from the Zhang Family’s zombies. His Divine Sense had successfully broken through its bottleneck, advancing further, reaching the peak of a Cultivator at the Initial Stage of Foundation Establishment: Thirteen Stripes at their pinnacle!