Spirit Vessel

Chapter 279: Charging Into Mount Banda

The Northern Frontier Prefecture was at the northernmost area of the Jin Dynasty, several hundred thousand miles away from the Southern Grand Prefecture. Normal people would never be able to travel between these two places even if they tried for a lifetime. It was simply two different worlds in their eyes.

The cultivators in the northern region were different. This was the home of corpse controllers. The strong masters there all belonged to this classification.

The terrorizing corpse caves had controllers capable of refining a living Giant into a corpse slave.

A very long time ago, there was a period when corpse controllers almost ruled the Jin Dynasty. Many ancestors from the great powers were refined by them. Because of this, the cultivation world could tolerate them no longer and formed an alliance to siege them.

In that era, even though corpse controllers had several masters far beyond the level of Giant, they couldn’t withstand the fury from the entire world. Three ancient corpse caves were eradicated completely.

Eventually, the defeated group retreated to the northern frontier!

At that time, the cultivation world itself suffered grievous losses. More than one hundred Giants were killed. If they were to invade the north to uproot the corpse masters, the price would have been too heavy.

Since both sides no longer wanted to fight, several leaders with the highest authority in the corpse caves signed a truce with the masters of the cultivation world. They promised to no longer sacrifice and refine living people. In the end, they maintained their lineages in the northern region.

This happened a long time ago, even before the establishment of the Jin Dynasty.

“Yin corpses are coming, the living of the Yang affinity, make way!” This old corpse controller was running towards Mount Banda. The spectacular lineup of corpses behind him now numbered more than one thousand.

He stared at the broken corpse that belonged to the Omni-Heaven Marquis in the middle of the ridge.

“I can’t believe the Evil Woman is strong to this level. Her evil energy alone could turn a Giant into a corpse.” The old man gave a devious smile.

Feng Feiyun was right, this old corpse controller was the Lawless Cave Lord from the northern region, and he was here for the marquis’ corpse.

The defeat of the great army and the death of the marquis made many cave lords come running to collect his corpse!

A Giant’s lifespan was too long. Moreover, they would be buried in ancestral lands after death where they would be protected by supreme guardians. These corpses were incredibly rare because of this, so all corpse controllers would covet them.

The cave lord hoarsely laughed and took out a large charm from his chest pocket. It was as red as blood and had many twisting runes engraved on it.

“Lawless is our creed! Sacrifice humans to seal the heavens!” The corpse-suppressing charm flew towards the ridge where the marquis was. It was originally only the size of a palm, but now it suddenly stretched out to be eight meters long like a majestic red tablet. The corpses nearby all quivered on the ground.

“Boom!” This charm was too powerful. Some corpses were pushed down to the ground as their bodies began to crack.

This charm was an ancient treasure of the Lawless Corpse Cave specialized in subduing corpses at the Giant level.

Even though this body had undergone the third transformation, it could still be suppressed. The charm had an unfathomable power when it came to these creatures.

The marquis issued a long hiss and shot out bursts of lightning from its body in an arc that covered both the sky and ground. Lightning crackled everywhere as the air and clouds were torn apart.

The charm couldn’t suppress it and was forced back.

“Hmph! Worthy of being a marquis. It has become even more powerful after death. Hehe, yes, the stronger, the better...” The Lawless Lord rang his bell. All the corpses were howling near the ridge.

A great battle ensued between a third-transformation corpse and a cave lord. They exchanged blows from dozens of miles apart since one was at the base of the mountain and the other was on the mountain ridge.

The earth was being boiled and the sky enveloped.

“Now is the time!” Feng Feiyun wanted to use this chance while all the corpses were in disarray. After more than one month of observations, he found six different climbable paths. They were all well-hidden and quite dangerous.

He chose the most remote path. This could avoid alarming the cave lord and the third-transformation corpse to minimize his risk.

However, he only managed to cross several hundred meters before a corpse full of black energy crawled out of a pit and attacked him.

“Pluff!” A white light flashed and split the corpse into two pieces.

Feng Feiyun didn’t stop at all. He must reach the top of the mountain before the fight between those two monsters end.

He collected the palace, rapidly advancing through a barren stone forest and into a narrow mountain path. This place was dark and grim; a series of shadows rushed out to meet him.

There were more than thirty corpses!

Their corpses were already rotting with tattered clothing. They could condense spirit energy due to drinking the blood of a Giant on the ground. Thus, they were much stronger than ordinary corpses.

“Crimson Fire Art!” Feng Feiyun pointed his finger and a plume of flames penetrated a corpse’s forehead. The fire spread from its head and burned the rest of its body to ashes.

Their body was as tough as steel, but this flame could easily burn them. Other cultivators wouldn’t have an easy time like Feng Feiyun.

A fire ignited from the ground as the five elements were channeled by him.

Dozens of corpses could fight against a grand achievement God Base, but they were suppressed by the five elements and couldn’t put up the slightest bit of resistance.

A total of thirty-eight corpse palaces fell to the ground. A white light swept by and collected them all into a boundary stone.

“The Minor Change Art is at five percent power right now with five elements present. If I could understand the Yellow Earth Art completely, maybe I can understand ten percent of the minor art and double my battle prowess.”

The five elements art couldn’t be considered a technique from the Eight Arts Volume alone, only the Minor Change Art could barely be considered one. When minor turns into grand, that would be when it became the real technique.

The contents of the Eight Arts Volume were too profound and broad. Just one art alone could take a lifetime to master. Few could cultivate two arts at the same time, let alone all eight. Those who could garner some success in two arts were already exceedingly rare.

Mount Banda had plunged into darkness with layers of black clouds hanging above. One could hear the roars of corpses and the bell of the corpse controller.

These were the only two sounds in a ten-mile radius, but they were able to directly kill any cultivator at the Immortal Foundation realm.

Feng Feiyun activated his Infinite Spirit Ring. It floated above his head and used its energy to stop the power of these frightening sounds. He stepped on the bones, issuing crisp noises as he made his way forward. These bones had been dragged here by the corpses. There were human bones as well as bones of animals. The flesh had been eaten completely, leaving behind scary skeletons.

“Hiss!” Horrifying screams resounded from ahead. There was a faint glimpse of a figure that then vanished right into the fog before them.

Along this path were many old monuments. The right side had two lifelike stone statues with smooth lines. A line of inscriptions was carved to record the events of several hundred years ago.

If it wasn’t for the ever-present threat of the corpses, Feng Feiyun would definitely sit down and carefully read it. Alas, it was not the right time. He passed by several ancient sites with haste.

Along the way, some corpses would jump out. They were all at the first transformation, so Feng Feiyun easily took care of them.

After going through the narrow crevice, the ground turned red like blood and became steeper. It could be said that there was no road, only intertwining and rising platforms of rocks.

Feng Feiyun began his ascent. After making it to the end of this rocky section, he saw a figure that caused his heart to jump before he could even stand straight.

It was an old corpse that wore a neat set of white armor. The only reason he was an “old” corpse was because he had died a long time ago. His actual age seemed to be quite young.

He looked more like a melancholic man than a corpse. He stood there motionless as if lost in thought. Of course, he had been dead for many years and only climbed out of his grave recently.

His body was still untouched; his flesh didn’t rot. His eyeballs were still there, but they were empty and dark. Meanwhile, his skin was frighteningly pale without any blood.

He was just standing there, but a suffocating pressure was being exuded. Feng Feiyun didn’t dare to move since this horrifying force was comparable to the Omni-Heaven Marquis’.

A third-transformation corpse was actually here. What was his origin?

“Bro, there is a grave behind him, don’t tell me he just crawled out of it?” Little Demoness appeared behind Feng Feiyun out of nowhere. She curiously stared at the white-armored man several hundred feet away.

She continued: “I heard that Mount Banda is an ancient holy land with a single altar. It isn’t strange for a few ancient corpses to be buried here.”

Feng Feiyun gently bit the tip of his tongue and cursed in his mind. That Evil Woman really was a big threat. Her corpse energy was too thick; wherever she went, even people that had been dead for an unknown amount of years initiated their corpse transformations.

If she didn’t come here, these corpses would have continued their eternal slumber instead of crawling out of their graves.

He thought: ‘I hope the good corpse and true body can take care of her!’

Little Demoness exclaimed in astonishment: “Hey! Bro, look at the jumping purple light inside the grave behind him. Such a rich spirit energy, don’t tell me an ancient treasure is gestating there?”

Her shouting alerted the white-armored corpse. It finally moved and turned its head!

“Boom!” His empty eyes stared at them. An aura of death rushed out from his otherworldly gaze, intending to devour the souls of men.