Chapter 52: The Corpse Cave, Base of the Zombie Army!

"Whew..."

Qin Feng slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, then stood up and bowed three times before the bronze coffin.

"Such a great kindness needs no superfluous words. Corpse King, I will surely release you within two years."

"No need for thanks, no need for thanks at all. Off you go now," the Corpse King replied with extreme politeness.

The shock this little zombie had brought it was simply too profound. It felt as though it were witnessing an incomparably terrifying golden-armored corpse rising slowly like the morning sun. Was the long-dormant corpse clan truly about to rise once more?

"Aunt, let's go." Qin Feng looked toward Mu Rusue.

"Alright." Mu Rusue nodded and followed Qin Feng away.

Before leaving, she cast another glance at the Bagua mirror suspended above the bronze coffin. What a pity. The Bagua mirror could not be taken away right now. They would simply have to wait until Feng'er returned to release the Corpse King to claim it then.

"Big Brother Corpse, congratulations!" the peach tree demon offered with a flattering smile.

It felt that choosing to follow Qin Feng was the wisest decision it had ever made. To remain by Qin Feng's side forever, it had even changed its form of address. Previously it had called him Corpse Brother, but now he had been promoted to Big Brother Corpse. For a demon soldier to address a mere hairy zombie as "Big Brother" would surely make other demonic entities laugh their teeth out if word ever got out.

Yet the peach tree demon did not care at all. Big Brother Corpse was so monstrously gifted that one day, he would dominate both the mortal and nether realms. And as Big Brother Corpse's trusted confidant, its own status would naturally rise along with him.

"Feng'er, what are your plans next?" Mu Rusue asked as they walked along the cavern path.

"First, we need to find a karst cave to serve as the base for the zombie army, and then return to the urban area to further expand the scale of the army. Although I can conceal my aura now, my appearance will still invite pursuit if seen by others. Only by expanding the zombie army to a certain scale can we be truly safe," Qin Feng said solemnly.

The zombie army was still immensely useful. Although they hadn't played a major role when dealing with Fengyang—and even lost over two hundred numbers to him—there was a valid reason for that. After all, Fengyang was a disciple of Mount Longhu, and his cultivation realm was not low. How could a group of jumping corpses possibly harm someone like him?

However, against ordinary Taoist practitioners, the zombie army would display miraculous effects. Surely not all Taoist disciples were as powerful as Fengyang? Moreover, as his own strength grew, the power of the zombie army would increase as well.

"How do you plan to expand the scale in the urban area? We'd be better off staying deep in the mountains, hunting animals and turning them into zombies," Mu Rusue suggested.

"There aren't many animals left in this mountain, and large ones are even scarcer. The peach tree demon and I searched for a long time before we managed to find just one fierce tiger and a large black bear. If we go to the urban area, we can completely infiltrate mortuaries to steal corpses. The number of corpses in mortuaries is counted in the tens of thousands," Qin Feng replied with a cunning smile.

"Feng'er, it seems you really have become much smarter since turning into a zombie," Mu Rusue praised, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Was I not smart before?" Qin Feng curled his lips in mild dissatisfaction.

"You didn't seem very smart before. Otherwise, why would you have fallen for a girl like Liu Xue? I told you back then that Liu Xue was unreliable, and anyone could tell from her physiognomy that she wasn't the marrying or childbearing type. Yet you poured your heart out to her and wouldn't listen to a single word from your aunt." Mu Rusue showed no fear of angering him as she exposed his past missteps.

"Alright, alright, it was my fault back then," Qin Feng chuckled bitterly.

Conversing along the way, the two soon reunited with the zombie army and led them out of the mountain cave. Without stopping, they pressed on at full speed, leaving the mountain behind.

After half an hour, they found a cavern beneath a cliff on another mountain. It was a natural karst cave—deep and vast, comparable to five or six football fields, and spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of thousands of zombies.

"This is the place. From now on, this will be the headquarters of the zombie army!"

Qin Feng drew his black peach-wood sword, stepped outside the cave entrance, and carved two large characters into the rock above: Corpse Cave.

He then turned to Mu Rusue. "Aunt, it will soon be dawn, and I happen to have some free time. Why don't you impart the legacy of the Wuji Celestial Master to me now? As for the remaining portion that you haven't fully absorbed yet, you can absorb it later. Teach me the illusion arrays and aura-concealing arrays first, so I can set them up tonight to prevent the corpse Qi from becoming too dense and attracting Taoist practitioners."

"Very well." Mu Rusue agreed without a moment's hesitation.

Shortly after, Qin Feng began studying the array formations under Mu Rusue's guidance, while the peach tree demon led the zombie army to tidy up the interior of Corpse Cave.

There were many uneven patches inside the cave, and the walls also needed smoothing out. Since it was to be their base, it needed to look like one. Fortunately, the zombies' fingernails were sharp enough to spare them the trouble of finding tools; they simply used their razor-sharp nails to level the uneven surfaces.

Unbeknownst to them, the sun had reached its zenith.

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, its blinding rays piercing through the clouds and mists of the cliff and casting down upon the valley below. The entrance of Corpse Cave was also bathed in sunlight.

The outer fringes of the entrance fell within the sun's reach, but Qin Feng and the zombie army remained deep inside the cave, entirely unaffected.

At this moment, outside the Qianyuan Cave of the Wuji Celestial Master:

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Fengyang and his two companions, who had previously fled, suddenly reappeared at the cave entrance.

In truth, the three of them had not run far. They had halted upon reaching the foot of the mountain specifically to wait for dawn.

To be safe, Fengyang had decided to wait until noon, when the sun's rays were most ferocious, and use the surfaces of the Bagua mirrors to refract the sunlight directly into the cave and scorch Qin Feng to death. Although the cave was deep and direct sunlight might not reach all the way, they had three Bagua mirrors. They could completely utilize the principle of light refraction to deal with the zombies inside.

One mirror outside, two mirrors inside. The exterior mirror would refract sunlight onto the second mirror; the second mirror would refract it onto the third; and the third mirror could then beam the sunlight straight onto the zombies.

"We proceed according to the original plan. Baihe, you stay outside; Wufeng, you take the middle position; Xiaodao, you go to the innermost part. This time, we must make that corpse burn to ashes and leave not a single bone behind!" Fengyang declared with murderous intent.

"Senior Fengyang, there doesn't seem to be any corpse Qi coming from the cave. Could that zombie have escaped?" Wufeng frowned and asked.

"Have you forgotten? That female cultivator can conceal corpse Qi. In such a short amount of time, where could that monstrous zombie possibly escape to?" Fengyang retorted sternly.

"That's true, I almost forgot about that," Wufeng muttered.

"Execute the plan!"

Fengyang led Wufeng in a swift dash into the cave, while Baihe remained outside, holding a Bagua mirror to angle the sunlight inward.

The cave was deep and featured a sharp bend. Once they reached the corner, the direct path of the light was blocked. At that point, Wufeng produced his Bagua mirror, capturing the light at the bend and projecting it further into the cavern's depths.

Fengyang proceeded alone into the innermost recess. When he finally reached the end of the cave, his expression darkened.

Not only was there no zombie in the cave, but not even a ghost's shadow remained.

"Stop reflecting! Let Baihe come in, they've already escaped," Fengyang shouted toward the cave entrance.

His gaze then landed upon the statue of the Wuji Celestial Master, finally drawing him to a line of inscriptions carved beneath the pedestal.

"Wuji Celestial Master? It is actually the Wuji Celestial Master! And the legacy left behind by the Wuji Celestial Master himself! This... this is the Taoist Treasury! I... I have actually found the Taoist Treasury of the Wuji Celestial Master!"

Fengyang's heart hammered against his ribs, his breathing grew ragged, and his entire face flushed with intense excitement.

Without hesitation, following the instructions carved by the Wuji Celestial Master, he stepped to the *Li* trigram position of the Bagua layout and kowtowed three times.