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墨書 Inktalez
It is well known that ghosts do not cast shadows, so I was certain this was no ghost! As I took a closer look at the shadow, it appeared fuzzy, with an enormous head that suddenly made a ghastly face at me, resembling a shadow puppet with hollow eyes and mouth. My scalp tingled, and I couldn't help but scream, "There's a ghost!"
"Child, that's just a Shadow Specter, nothing to be afraid of!"
"Oh! So it's that, you gave me quite a scare!"
According to the Mausoleum Secrets, "Those who die with great resentment have shadows that do not disperse or break. They detach from their bodies and cultivate alone over time, eventually becoming a specter. They hide in the shade of trees, bushes, or dark rooms to frighten people and absorb their Yang Qi for sustenance; they are harmless spirits!"
A Shadow Specter lacks the courage to frighten someone with Daoist Practice. If a ghost does not reveal itself, people cannot see it. Even if you possess the Yin-Yang Eye, you may not be able to perceive it. Moreover, my vision was still too low-level; in this waterlogged tomb chamber, I would face severe interference!
"This kind of ghost is far too low-level; it's hard for someone of cultivation to even notice it. What's there to be alarmed about?" Zhengyang seemed to sense my confusion and casually explained.
It was just a false alarm; having seen the world, how could I fear such a lowly ghost!
I walked over to the northern wall of the tomb. Aside from the central passageway, there were many murals carved into the green bricks, though none held much value. The subjects of these carvings were diverse—hunting, feasting, music, acrobatics, weapons, houses, clothing styles, landscapes, clouds and trees, fish and crabs—all beautifully depicted. There were auspicious divine birds like phoenixes and qilins; many ancient stories were also recorded here—scenes of palace feasts, tales of swords hanging in seasons, Baili's meeting with his late wife, Bo Yu mourning his parents, boys facing off with staffs, noble life depictions, and scenes from Emperor Wu's life.
As I focused intently on the brick carvings, another shadow appeared on the wall. Its neck was missing from view but its body was quite robust as if it were sitting somewhere and twisting its form. I thought to myself, "Another Shadow Specter!" I paid it no mind and continued examining the carvings.
"What is that?!" With a loud shout, Zhengyang lunged forward and swiftly drew his Shrimp Whisker Sword. I saw a headless shadow about 1.7 meters tall reflected on the wall standing right behind me. A chill ran down my spine; I dared not turn around but scrutinized that shadow instead. My heart sank—could it be a corpse transformation?
That thing reached out as if to grab my neck. "Get back!" Terrified, I crouched down just as Zhengyang swung his sword horizontally at the creature's neck. It struck with a clang as if hitting stone and sparked a shower of sparks. The creature seemed oblivious and continued reaching for me with its large pincers.
"Son of a bitch! Give me back my Brother Huzi! Zhengyang! What demon have you released by opening the coffin?"
"You deserve to be choked to death!"
I suddenly turned back to look, and the Headless Corpse was thrashing its arms, one of which had a gash. With a crack, the joints of the Headless Corpse shifted, and its hand elongated by an inch, reaching straight for my neck. I could hear the rushing wind in my ears, and it seemed about to pounce on me. Just then, everything went dark, and a gust of wind brushed past my nose with a loud splash, drenching me in water. When I opened my eyes, I realized it was a stroke of luck! The Headless Corpse's legs were chained down; as it lunged forward, the chains tightened, causing it to stumble hard but not fall completely, instead being propped up by the Azure Dark Sword.
"This thing's Killing Intent is much stronger now. The Shrimp Whisker Sword is a Mausoleum Treasure; it can slice through gold and jade like mud! The Killing Intent of the sword is incomparable to ordinary blades; how can it strike this thing without leaving a mark?" Zhengyang rarely used the Pure Jun Sword; he usually wielded the Shrimp Whisker Sword, which, while not an ancient treasure, was sharp enough to chop through fifty stacked coins with a single strike.
"A treasured sword should return to its rightful owner! Why not use this Corpse King to open its blood seal?"
"This is the Corpse King?"
That question reminded me; I had seen records of the Corpse King in Mausoleum Secrets. The so-called Corpse King was a unique technique from Zangming Mountain. In life, the Corpse King was no ordinary person; after death, he was fed the Corpse Refining Pill from Zangming Mountain and transformed into a Corpse King. The Corpse King's body was as hard as iron, akin to someone practicing Vajra Armor or Iron Shirt.
I planned to interpret this through the murals and compare them with Historical Records to clarify the origins of this Headless Corpse, making it easier to find its death door!
Back in the Three Kingdoms period, after Sun Quan of Eastern Wu declared himself emperor, Sui Chun from Kuaiji County killed Prefect of Houguan and proclaimed himself Eternal Life General. He allied with Li Huan and Lu He from Huiji, rapidly expanding his influence across Huiji and Jian'an counties. Sun Quan was alarmed and quickly dispatched General Lü Dai to Houguan. Sui Chun feigned surrender and was granted a title by Lü Dai while under supervision by the imperial guards. He led troops to quell Li Huan and Lu He's forces, stabilizing Huiji and Jian'an. It’s easy to imagine that Sui Chun faced exclusion at court and fell into deep depression; soon after, he was exposed for his feigned surrender plot and executed by Sun Quan. The disciples of Taiping Dao used the Nine Sons Soul Locking Chain to suppress him so that he would never be reborn.
As for when he was fed the Corpse Pill and transformed into a Corpse King, I couldn't determine that yet based on my current knowledge. It is certain that this Corpse King underwent several transformations. The first occurred during the Western Jin dynasty. When I fell victim to Soul Enchantment and accidentally touched a copper nail, I deduced from Mausoleum Secrets that it was Xu Jingyang's Soul Fixing Nail. Judging by the traces of combat, it seemed that Azure Dark Sword had been inserted at that time as well. The sword soul nail composed of Azure Dark Sword and Soul Fixing Nail was Xu Jingyang's unique skill! From the gaps in the coffin, it appeared that the soul nail had been driven in at least three times.
The second transformation could be inferred through the Shrimp Whisker Sword; it likely occurred during the Tang dynasty. During this transformation, Sui Chun must have just become a Corpse King. The Corpse King's arm bore a deep cut. By examining the blade marks on the corpse, one could conclude that they were caused by Tang Dao; looking at the seams in the Corpse King's arm revealed neat fractures—definitely inflicted by Tang Dao. Later generations' attempts at cutting bones resulted in rough fractures rather than clean cuts.
The third transformation could be traced back to the Song dynasty. This time it resulted from grave robbers entering the tomb with intentions of pulling out Azure Dark Sword. Based on a porcelain fragment found inside the coffin, one could make this judgment. The Song people valued simplicity; rain-soaked green was emblematic of that era—indicating this fragment was brought in by grave robbers. Strangely enough, the Corpse King was quickly subdued again, and the Soul Fixing Nail was reinserted.
The fourth transformation likely occurred within forty years; it might have been done by followers of Maoshan Dao. They probably entered just before the Soul Fixing Nail was about to lose its effectiveness. Due to limitations at that time and societal pressures against superstitions, they had no choice but to replace three iron chains with ones made exactly as described in Mausoleum Secrets. Maoshan Dao also replaced rusted iron pillars to delay further transformations.
It’s possible that park renovations led to those iron pillars being removed without discovering the Tomb.
With these thoughts in mind, I began piecing together clues and my thoughts became clearer.
The Headless Corpse King swung its chains with a loud clatter, pulling me back to reality. I glanced at the Corpse King. This creature clearly lacked intelligence; it was merely drawn to my Spirit Yang Body. Throughout the various transformations of corpses, the only thing that had remained untouched was the Azure Dark Sword embedded in the Heart. Could the key to this mystery lie there? Because the Heart was pierced by the sword, previous sorcerers had overlooked this detail and continued to suppress it with the Soul Fixing Nail.
As this thought crossed my mind, I shuddered and resolved, "Let's treat this dead horse as if it were alive!" I seized the moment when the Corpse King spread its arms wide. With a swift leap, I rushed forward, gripping the hilt of the sword with both hands and placing one foot on its chest, using all my strength to pull out the sword. The Corpse King would not let me take it easily; its hands came crashing down like iron claws. I steeled myself and refused to let go, enduring its blows. One strike landed heavily on my ribs with a crack, and I felt as if my ribs had broken. Another strike aimed for my shoulder, but I gritted my teeth and shouted, leaning back forcefully, "Let’s go!" Using the momentum from the corpse's strike, I finally pulled out the Azure Dark Sword, which seemed to be rooted in place. The sudden extraction caused me to fall heavily to the ground; fortunately, there was some standing water to cushion my fall, but I still saw stars.
The Corpse King remained upright, black mist hissing from its chest like smoke from a factory chimney, reeking terribly. I knew that its Killing Intent had been unleashed.
"Good job! You actually broke the Corpse King! Quickly use the Azure Dark Sword to strike it!" I heard Zhengyang shout. Without hesitation, I raised the Azure Dark Sword and swung it at the Corpse King. Several beams of Azure Light flashed as the corpse was cleaved in two and fell with a thunderous crash. Black blood gushed from within the Corpse King while the blade gleamed brilliantly.
Zhengyang and I lifted the Corpse King into a coffin and closed the lid. I intended to enter the Passageway when Zhengyang stopped me, saying, "We didn’t come here to fight; we’re leaving with the sword!"
Zhengyang took out a peach wood branch from his bag and inserted it into the stone coffin as if piercing through tofu. After inserting eighty-one branches, they formed a diagram of the Four Symbols resembling the Big Dipper found in Zeng Hou Yi's Tomb.
Later, when I asked Zhengyang about it, he explained that it was called the Dusheng Formation. Once the Corpse King's Killing Intent was broken and the Nine Sons Soul Locking Chain was removed, after some time, its soul would be able to leave its body and gain a chance at Reincarnation.
We crawled out of the Tomb and worked hard to replace the Sealstone.
Years later, after renovations were completed in the park, it indeed resembled what Zhengyang had described: walkways and rainbow bridges were built along with an artificial waterfall that expanded the pond, completely submerging the ancient tomb beneath it. The flowing water would accelerate the dissipation of Eerie Energy. After these renovations, the park regained its former vibrancy—though that is another story.
Returning to Old Man Li's house, it was already three or four in the morning. After soaking glutinous rice water and changing our clothes, my mind raced with questions: How did Zhengyang know about this Tomb? Why hadn’t Maoshan Dao eliminated the Corpse King back then? And why hadn’t this Azure Dark Sword been stolen? What connection did this sword have with me? Why did it feel like it belonged back with its rightful owner?
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