95. Into the Black Coffin

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Chen Huangpi had no parents.

From childhood onward, he had known only the companionship of his master and the bronze oil lamp.

Therefore, when he saw Yi Qingzhou weeping and wailing like an ordinary mortal, Chen Huangpi found himself at a loss.

“Yi Qingzhou, stop crying,” Chen Huangpi said. “I promise you this much: once my cultivation is strong enough, I will come and kill you, then deliver your body to your mother. Is there anything you want me to tell her?”

The quarter-hour was nearly up.

Before long, Yi Qingzhou would lose his mind completely and become an Immortal Corpse that knew nothing but slaughter.

The next time they met, things might not be so peaceful.

Hearing Chen Huangpi’s words, Yi Qingzhou opened his mouth, then hesitated.

Several times he tried to speak, but not a single word would come out.

In the end, all he could say was, “I will write a letter and keep it on me. That will be enough.”

There were some things that could never be spoken through another person’s mouth.

Chen Huangpi seemed to understand.

He thought to himself, “If I were Yi Qingzhou, I certainly wouldn’t write a letter. I’d just make a recording and send it over. Otherwise, after finally becoming an immortal, wouldn’t I still be no different from an ordinary mortal?”

Yi Qingzhou saw through his thoughts.

He merely laughed and said nothing more.

“Time is nearly up.”

With that, Yi Qingzhou waved his hand, and the frozen time around them began to flow once more.

The immobilized surroundings naturally returned to normal.

It was as though only an instant had passed.

At that moment, upon the altar, besides Chen Huangpi and the others, only the Vast-Eyed High God, Lord Mang Mountain, Song Jiu, and a host of evil beings remained.

Yi Qingzhou asked, “Must these evil beings be killed as well?”

At once, every one of them turned to Chen Huangpi.

Among them were the Yellow-Skin King’s subordinates.

Of course, even subordinates varied in closeness and loyalty.

These particular followers had come of their own accord. Unlike the evil beings from earlier, who had signed and sealed written contracts, their relationship with him was not bound by a firm debt.

Chen Huangpi thought for a moment, then said, “I am a reasonable man. You have no grudge against me, so naturally I will not kill you. But I cannot simply let you go just like that.”

One of the evil beings pondered, then picked up a stone.

Chen Huangpi recognized it.

It was the very creature that had first tried to trade a stone for his black smoke at the marketplace.

He had not expected that, after so much time, it would still be shameless enough to try the same trick.

More importantly, the other evil beings began imitating it one after another.

Chen Huangpi shook his head. “I do not want stones. I do not want branches either. And you there—why are you pulling its head off? Hurry up and put it back.”

The evil beings obediently did as they were told.

They really were a pack of paupers.

None of them could produce anything worthwhile.

After some thought, Chen Huangpi brought out the Soul-Seizing Register.

Though the Soul-Seizing Register possessed extraordinary powers, it was of little practical use to Chen Huangpi by now. Most of the time, he treated it merely as a portable storage space.

Even if he signed contracts with these evil beings and had them sell their lives to him, they could still break their promises.

In the end, he would have to send the Life-Taking Ghost to kill them.

That went against Chen Huangpi’s intentions.

Just then, the Life-Taking Ghost suddenly said, “Contract Master, there is no need to worry. Sign as boldly as you please. Once the contracts are complete, I have a way to make them willingly give their lives for you.”

Chen Huangpi was somewhat surprised. “Is that really true?”

He was the Contract Master. If the Soul-Seizing Register truly possessed such a method, then logically, he should have known about it.

The Life-Taking Ghost answered in a hollow voice, “The Soul-Seizing Register is incomplete…”

With that single sentence, Chen Huangpi immediately understood.

He looked at the group of evil beings gazing at him expectantly.

“Do not worry,” he said calmly. “Sell your lives to me without hesitation. Once you sign and seal the contracts, we will all be one family.”

“Thank you, Yellow-Skin King!”

“The King is a good evil being!”

“From now on, we all share the same family name!”

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The evil beings were delighted. One after another, they obediently came forward to sign and seal the contracts.

Those without hands to write simply pressed their fingerprints onto the documents.

Once everything was complete, Yi Qingzhou merely willed it, and all the evil beings vanished, sent out of the God-Burial Mound.

He was sealed here and unable to escape.

But sending the evil beings away was effortless.

Just then, Song Jiu and Lord Mang Mountain exchanged a glance.

They seemed to have reached some decision.

Song Jiu looked toward Chen Huangpi and was about to speak when a branch suddenly emerged from the void and pierced straight through his skull.

The Bronze Oil Lamp sneered. “You foolish cur. You didn’t really think you were going to live, did you?”

A strand of green smoke entered the Soul-Seizing Register.

Chen Huangpi turned his gaze to Lord Mang Mountain.

Lord Mang Mountain let out a bitter laugh. “I only regret that I did not join forces with the Eye of Tribulation to kill you back then. Instead, I allowed you to flaunt your power beneath the name of an immortal. Do it. Give me a quick death. If there is another life, I will become a wild dog if I must, and I will bite off a piece of your flesh and savor your taste!”

At those words, the Bronze Oil Lamp laughed.

It was because Chen Huangpi had also begun to smile.

That smile made Lord Mang Mountain’s scalp prickle.

Chen Huangpi studied Lord Mang Mountain’s head and said disdainfully, “You need not keep calling yourself ‘this lord.’ Others may not know your true form, but I have read plenty of books. I know you are a monkey.”

“Heh.”

Lord Mang Mountain had assumed Chen Huangpi was planning some underhanded trick.

He had not expected Chen Huangpi merely to humiliate him. Unfortunately, the young man was narrow-minded and ignorant.

His true form was no ordinary monkey.

He was a mountain demon, a mountain demon worshiped as an arhat.

But why was Chen Huangpi staring at his head?

Could it be that he intended to cut it off?

The next moment, Chen Huangpi’s words dispelled his confusion.

“Monkey brain is also an excellent tonic.”

Chen Huangpi’s tone was utterly serious.

Upon hearing this, Lord Mang Mountain’s expression became extraordinarily colorful.

Then he saw the immortal wave his hand helplessly. A moment later, he felt his neck tighten, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness completely.

With a thunderous crash, Lord Mang Mountain’s body shrank rapidly and fell heavily to the ground.

A collar had appeared around his neck, with chains wrapped around its end.

He looked just like a one-legged monkey that had recently escaped from a cage.

Chen Huangpi slapped the Soul-Seizing Register.

Lord Mang Mountain instantly turned into a streak of ghostly light and vanished into its pages.

Yi Qingzhou said, “With that collar around its neck, it cannot cause trouble. All you need do is form a thought. If you want it to live, it will live; if you want it to die, it will die.”

“Only…”

Yi Qingzhou hesitated. “Monkey brain is a tonic? But it is a mountain demon…”

“A mountain demon is still a monkey,” Chen Huangpi replied. “That only makes the tonic even more potent.”

His master was dead at present.

But soon, Chen Huangpi would revive him. Once he awoke, his body would surely be extremely weak.

When that happened, Chen Huangpi would prepare several servings of monkey brain to nourish him.

Surely, after that, his master would no longer be angry about being drugged.

At that moment, Chen Huangpi looked toward the Vast-Eyed High God.

“Come back to the Pure Immortal Abbey with me. Afterward, the two of us can go together to the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty. What do you say?”

The Great Qian Immortal Dynasty had been sealed.

Although the Vast-Eyed High God was powerful, there was no way it could break through the seal.

Even if it crossed the Nine Seas and climbed the Threefold Mountains, it still would not be able to enter.

The Vast-Eyed High God hesitated as well.

“I committed a mistake…”

“You had your reasons. You did nothing wrong.”

“That is not how it works. A mistake is a mistake. The two cannot be conflated.”

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“Then take my word as the standard!”

Those words left the Vast-Eyed High God at a loss.

Chen Huangpi’s tone was exceptionally serious, exactly the same as when he had ordered it to retreat behind him while he blocked the radiance of the Eye of Tribulation Sword.

“Very well! Then I shall take your word as the standard.”

The Vast-Eyed High God nodded. “When you go to the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, I will carry you there and let those cultivators and immortals see just how imposing you truly are.”

It was a divine being of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.

At the height of its power, it could stir the winds and clouds. It was extraordinary and wondrous beyond measure. Otherwise, why would the Abbey Master have brought it to the Hundred Thousand Mountains?

If it carried Chen Huangpi wherever he went, it would naturally leave countless people stunned.

Chen Huangpi smiled happily. “Then, once you leave the God-Burial Mound, return to the Pure Immortal Abbey and wait for me. When I come back, I am still going to sneak some of your offerings.”

“It is a promise!”

The Vast-Eyed High God made its vow to Chen Huangpi.

Afterward, Yi Qingzhou likewise sent it out of the God-Burial Mound.

At that moment, upon the immense altar, only Yi Qingzhou and Chen Huangpi remained.

The Bronze Oil Lamp urged him, “The quarter-hour is almost over. Chen Huangpi, we should leave.”

After the quarter-hour passed, Yi Qingzhou would no longer be able to remain conscious.

He would become an Immortal Corpse that knew nothing but slaughter.

For he had always been an evil being.

Yi Qingzhou smiled. “You should go. I do not want you to see me in such an ugly state.”

“My cultivation advances extremely quickly. I will come find you soon.”

Chen Huangpi gave Yi Qingzhou a deep look.

Then he walked toward the black coffin.

The coffin opened by itself. Yi Qingzhou was controlling it.

Endless black smoke poured from within like water. It was the source, seemingly similar to the black smoke surrounding Chen Huangpi, yet utterly different.

The smoke within the coffin was far purer.

Chen Huangpi gazed at the source, and his brow suddenly furrowed.

He had the distinct feeling that he had forgotten something.

He therefore asked, “Is this source related to the black smoke within me?”

“No.”

Yi Qingzhou’s voice held a faint trace of ferocity. “This source comes from me. It is my deathly aura, my immortal power. In a certain sense, I myself am this source.”

“Chen Huangpi, you truly should leave.”

With that, Yi Qingzhou suddenly raised his head and looked at Chen Huangpi. The endless source immediately surged forward.

Before Chen Huangpi had time to react, the source dragged him into the black coffin.

The coffin slammed shut.

The eight bronze oil lamps positioned around the altar flickered erratically.

Their cold light fell upon Yi Qingzhou, stretching his shadow long across the ground and twisting it into something grotesque.

“No…”

Yi Qingzhou’s expression suddenly changed. As though he had remembered something, he cried out in terror, “Why didn’t I tell him that there are three thousand God-Burial Mounds in the Hundred Thousand Mountains?”

“Wait. Three thousand God-Burial Mounds?”

“The immortals the Abbey Master brought from the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty numbered exactly three thousand…”

“No, no!”

“How did I die? Why was I sealed here?”

Yi Qingzhou’s expression became frenzied. His body twisted, and his skin was no longer as crystalline and jade-like as before. Instead, it turned deathly white, while large patches of blue-black lesions spread across it.

The next instant, darkness swallowed the altar.

Within the darkness came a rustling sound.

Then a twisted, frenzied wail rang out:

“Why is there a nail in my primordial spirit?”

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

There will only be two updates today. Once I finish one more chapter, I am going to rest.

End of Chapter

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