In the early morning, Mount Panyun was shrouded in layers of mist.
Inside the command tent, Song Miao, an eleventh-realm coffin bearer, with his proud disciple Tan Xin, cupped his fists respectfully and said, "In the Ghost Realm, the lineage of coffin bearers, Eleventh Realm Song Miao, pays respects to the great demon lords."
Tan Xin respectfully added, "Coffin bearer Tan Xin pays respects to all lords."
"Both of you," Bai Ye rose and said with a smile, "Please take a seat."
"Thank you!"
Song Miao and Tan Xin took their seats, leaving a particularly conspicuous coffin placed behind them.
Shi Jun Gang, clad in a black long dress and with her face veiled, looked at the master and disciple coffin bearers with unconcealed disgust. These Taoist cultivators who dealt with corpses and vengeful spirits were truly the dregs of human cultivators, always parading around with coffins plastered with yellow talismans and bound with chicken blood and ink lines. It was utterly chilling.
However, the demon race had set up four command tents on Mount Panyun, not only to deter the Snow Region Heavenly Lake but also to curb the northward expansion of human mountain forces. After all, the enormous Kunpeng Immortal Ship was constantly traveling between Mount Luoyan and the ancestral home of the Mo family, and with the increasing number of Mo family wanderers in the northern territories, the Mo family's ancestral home's involvement in worldly affairs was a certainty.
Moreover, Yu Zhi reportedly had even greater plans in the demon and ghost realms. Therefore, the demon race currently needed significant assistance near the Snow Region Heavenly Lake. As for the 200,000 cavalry of the demon race to the east, their commander Su Chan was as cunning as a monkey; without giving them some incentive, there would be no action. Now that the coffin bearer lineage from the ghost realm was willing to cooperate with the human race, the demon race should offer their full support.
Thus, Shi Jun Gang had proactively invited Song Miao and Tan Xin, the leaders of the coffin bearers, to the command tent for a secret discussion.
"Both of you," Shi Jun Gang smiled slightly and asked, "After the eastward migration of the coffin bearers, on which mountain do you intend to establish your sect?"
"That depends on the overall situation of the world," Song Miao replied with a smile. "After all, once we coffin bearers establish a sect, we must be able to stand firm. To put it bluntly, if the demon race were to mobilize all their forces and attack the Fusang Great Wall to the south right now, it would be no problem for us coffin bearers to establish our sect on the mountains near the Fusang Great Wall."
"That's right," Tan Xin added with a smile. "The more places with fresh flesh and blood, the better. We coffin bearers need to sacrifice living beings' flesh and blood to nourish and refine our corpses and nurture souls. The more people there are, the better. If the demon race occupies this world, we wouldn't mind establishing our sect near Baidi City."
"Hahahaha~~~" Bai Ye couldn't help but burst into laughter. This young lady was quite interesting. She was cute, her cultivation was not weak, and her figure was also good. He couldn't help but squint his eyes. Perhaps in the future... he could take her in, and it wouldn't be bad.
As a result, Song Miao looked at Bai Ye, narrowed his eyes, and smiled faintly, with a rather sinister air.
Immediately, Bai Ye felt a shiver. The old fellow's gaze was so sinister! Even though it was just a fleeting glance, it sent a chill down Bai Ye's spine. But Bai Ye had nothing to say; after all, the other party was stronger. Although they were both eleventh realm, Song Miao possessed an eleventh-realm flying zombie and an eleventh-realm vengeful spirit. Combined with his own strength, this was equivalent to three eleventh-realm human cultivators. Bai Ye, as a fox demon, had a strong physique and powerful spells, roughly equivalent to two ordinary eleventh-realm human cultivators. When compared like this, it seemed like he still couldn't win!
However, Bai Ye's expression remained calm, his eyes calmly looking at Song Miao. Even if he couldn't win, it didn't mean his cousin couldn't. His cousin Yu Zhi, as a thirteenth-realm great demon of the demon race, could probably crush this coffin bearer, his prized flying zombie, and vengeful spirit with a single slap. Having a strong backing gave him confidence.
"You two are jesting," Shi Jun Gang narrowed her beautiful eyes and smiled. "May I ask how many cultivators from the coffin bearer lineage have come this time?"
"All of them," Song Miao said. "Ever since that one absorbed the luck of the Kusong River, the spiritual energy in the ghost realm has almost completely vanished. Out of necessity, the coffin bearer lineage had to migrate eastward. This time, thousands of cultivators in the middle five realms have come with us, and the lower five realms number in the tens of thousands. Currently, half are scattered in the Snow Ridge area, and others have already headed south to seek their own way."
He took a deep breath and continued, "Almost the entire coffin bearer lineage is waiting for me, their ancestor, to rally them and establish a sect. At that time, all the coffin bearers in the world will be united, striking out with a single fist, no longer fearing human cultivators."
"This is excellent," Shi Jun Gang smiled. "If there's anything the demon race can help with, please do not hesitate to say. The demon realm and your ghost realm have an alliance, and we will never mistreat cultivators from the ghost realm."
"Thank you!" Song Miao said. "Does the demon race currently have any living human captives? If so, please give some to us coffin bearers. Many of our zombies have not seen flesh and blood for days. If this continues, they might run out of spiritual energy and eventually lose their combat effectiveness."
"We do," Shi Jun Gang replied with a smile. "Lord Bai Ye, please select 5,000 people from our captives and hand them over to Lord Song Miao."
"Yes!" Bai Ye nodded with a smile.
Feng Quan, a twelfth-realm sword cultivator, frowned. He found these two coffin bearers particularly irksome and wished he could draw his sword and cut them both down. Upon hearing Shi Jun Gang's words, Bai Ye rose and left without a word.
"This..." Song Miao was stunned.
Shi Jun Gang smiled and said, "Lord Feng Quan's realm is high, and his temper is peculiar. There's no need to mind him."
"Mm," Song Miao nodded.
"By the way, Lord Song Miao," Shi Jun Gang narrowed her eyes and smiled, "The Snow Region Heavenly Lake is currently holding a mourning ceremony for that naturally strong young martial artist. I believe Lord Song Miao has been keeping a close eye on this matter, haven't you? Perhaps your disciple injuring Chen Ben and causing the corpse poison to attack his heart was also part of your original plan, wasn't it?"
"Hahahaha~~~" Song Miao let out a hearty laugh. "Nothing can escape Lord Shi Jun Gang's discerning eyes. Indeed, the physique of a ninth-realm martial artist with natural divine strength is simply an immortal-grade embryo for refining corpses. I am currently waiting for Chen Ben's funeral. Once I obtain this corpse, I, Song Miao, will have the opportunity to become the first twelfth-realm coffin bearer in thousands of years."
"Is that so..." Shi Jun Gang smiled. "Forgive my presumption, Lord Song Miao, but I still wish to advise you not to underestimate that person named Lin Zhao from the Snow Region Heavenly Lake. Perhaps while Lord Song Miao thinks you are plotting against him, you are actually being plotted against by him."
"Could it be that Lord Shi Jun Gang has sensed something amiss?"
"No," Shi Jun Gang shook her head. "I am merely speaking based on my understanding of Lin Zhao. This person cannot be judged simply. Otherwise, something beyond your expectations will surely happen."
"Please rest assured," Song Miao cupped his fists and said, "The cold poison refined by Tan Xin, let alone a mere ninth-realm martial artist, even a fifth-realm martial artist cannot withstand it. Chen Ben's death is certain. Of course, I, Song Miao, also thank Lord Shi Jun Gang for your reminder. I will be extra careful when I go to excavate the corpse. Please rest assured."
"That would be for the best," Shi Jun Gang raised a cup of wine and smiled. "Then I wish you and your disciple success!"
"Thank you!"
...
At the Villa on the Summit.
In the study of Tian Ran Ju, Wu Zhi set up a sword formation restriction, shielding the heavens and earth.
Lin Zhao stood in front of the desk. On the table was a topographic map of the back mountain. After careful consideration, he said, "This battle must be absolutely foolproof. We must plan for them by considering the peak strength of an eleventh-realm coffin bearer. Mu Zha, tonight you will send people to ambush 100 Divine Dragon Crossbows near the selected burial site. Ensure absolute secrecy."
"Yes!" Mu Zha said solemnly.
"That Star River realm coffin bearer, Tan Xin..." Lin Zhao frowned. "Chu Yu, can you contain her? I mean, can you contain her along with her possessed zombie and vengeful spirit?"
"Last time we were unprepared. This time we can be." Chu Yu cupped his fists and said, "My lord, please rest assured, I will do my best to contain her power."
"Mm," Lin Zhao nodded and looked at Wu Zhi and the others. "The primary target this time is to kill the eleventh-realm coffin bearer Song Miao. When the time comes, Wu Zhi and you, the two of you, don't need to do anything else. Directly attack Song Miao's main body. Killing Song Miao will be a great achievement. In addition, Chen Ben, who is hidden among the crowd, will also attack Song Miao with you. What I am most concerned about now is Chen Ben's current strength level."
Mu Zha scratched his head, saying somewhat awkwardly, "That brat's fists are incredibly heavy right now, roughly equivalent to... more than half of a Tian Yuan realm martial artist. I feel like in a few more days, I won't even be qualified to teach him anymore."
Lin Zhao chuckled and said, "Alright, then Chen Ben will join the two of you in killing Song Miao. In any case, Song Miao must die, otherwise our ambush plan will have failed."
Saying this, he took out talismans from his bag. "Each person gets ten Immobilization Talismans, ten Demon Suppression Talismans, and Shatter Evil Talismans. Additionally, each person gets ten Sword Glimpse Talismans, Swiftness Talismans, and Bravery Talismans. It's okay if you use all these talismans. My only request is that you must kill Song Miao, and preferably kill Tan Xin as well. These two people alive will always be a threat to us."
"Yes!" Chu Yu, Xiang Ji, and Xu Sheng all nodded.
Wu Zhi and Mu Zha, on the other hand, wore smiles on their faces. A thousand threads of thought unfurled in their minds. The last time Lin Zhao distributed talismans like this was when the ten people from the Great Chen Dynasty went to kill the Nascent Soul realm old wild boar. At that time, everyone doubted Lin Zhao's abilities, but after that, there were no more doubts. Looking at the scene before them, how could Wu Zhi and Mu Zha not reminisce about the past? At this moment, Lin Zhao, strategizing and planning with meticulous foresight, was truly the unparalleled one in the world!
All plans were set, awaiting execution.
...
Two days later.
A funeral was held at the Villa on the Summit. A group of Snow Region cavalry carried an empty coffin down the mountain for burial. Lin Zhao, Mu Zha, Wu Zhi, and others stood before the tomb, their eyes red. Chen Ben's mother, unaware of the truth, cried her heart out. In fact, Lin Zhao didn't want the old lady to be so sad, but only by doing so could it appear genuine and increase their chances of avenging Chen Ben!
Late at night.
Figures rose from Jiuzhangyuan, soaring towards the back mountain of the Snow Region Heavenly Lake!