Rumbling sounds echoed out as a few dozen corpses exploded. Then, the deadly fluctuations faded away. Bai Xiaochun stood there stock still, as he had been the entire time, looking around blankly.
More refined corpses were crawling out of the rubble of the corpse refinery. Soon, more than a thousand had gathered, clustered around Bai Xiaochun, all of them looking at Xu Xiaoshan and howling at the tops of their lungs.
Earlier, everyone in the area had been crying out in shock, but now, they weren’t uttering even a single peep. As the disciples stared at the strange scene, they began to slowly back up, their scalps tingling with fear. The raging, murderous aura that erupted from the ranks of zombies left them completely and utterly shocked.
Xu Xiaoshan almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
As for the grand elder of Corpse Peak, he looked on with glaring eyes. After reaching Foundation Establishment, he had fought and struggled for years before finally becoming the grand elder of Corpse Peak, which he had presided over for more than a hundred years now. Considering how many refined corpses he had seen over the years, he believed himself to understand more about them than even some Core Formation cultivators.
However, what he was seeing now, more than a thousand zombies all protecting Bai Xiaochun, caused his eyes to shine with intense light.
“How is he doing this?!?!” he thought
As for Bai Xiaochun, he stood there on the verge of tears.
“I’m finished,” he thought. “Kaput. I destroyed the corpse refinery, and then for some reason all these corpses decided to ignore their own masters and protect me. It only took a moment for me to offend more than a thousand disciples. Is this gonna force me to abandon the sect? What do I do? What do I do…?”
Bai Xiaochun was well aware that this was not the Spirit Stream Sect. This was the Blood Stream Sect, and he could only imagine what his punishment for this catastrophe would be. Maybe they would beat him to death!
He could also sense the killing intent in the eyes of the surrounding disciples. However, it was at this point that, all of a sudden, the corpses behind him all howled, and then cleared a path.
A tall, green figure appeared in the depths of the destroyed corpse refinery. As it strode forward, sharp claws could be seen, which glinted like razor-sharp blades. The bizarre-looking figure had green skin and protruding fangs which were terrifying to behold.
It had a mass of green hair that was so long it was impossible to judge its length. Many of the hairs actually connected to other corpses, whereas some of it simply floated around in the area.
Bai Xiaochun stared in shock as the green zombie walked forward to stand behind him, where it remained motionless, radiating a powerful, murderous aura.
The surrounding disciples gasped yet again.
“That green zombie is controlling the other zombies! I can’t believe it!!”
“Heavens! How come I never knew about green zombies before? This is completely unprecedented!”
“That green zombie is incredible! It’s only as strong as the seventh or eighth level of Qi Condensation, but look at how it can control all the other zombies! Simply terrifying!”
Xu Xiaoshan was left gasping at the sight, and soon, his eyes were shining brightly. However, before he could say anything, laughter filled the air, and its source was none other than Corpse Peak’s grand elder.
“Wonderful,” he said, sounding very excited. “Simply wonderful!” He blurred into motion, and a moment later, was standing right in front of the green zombie.
Instantly, incredible pressure spilled out from him, causing all the surrounding zombies to tremble. However, they didn’t stop their howling. The grand elder didn’t seem to mind. He couldn’t stop looking at the green zombie, almost as if it were a gem. He seemed to be getting more and more excited.
“You’re called Nightcrypt?” he asked, turning to look at Bai Xiaochun, the same look in his eye as when he had been looking at the zombie.
Bai Xiaochun didn’t know who this person was, but he quickly put on a very serious expression. Clasping hands and bowing, he said, “Disciple Nightcrypt at your service. Greetings, Senior!”
“Let’s call this an emerald zombie. Did you refine it? And how?”
Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times. The truth was that he really didn’t know exactly why the zombie refining process led to the zombie looking or acting this way. But he quickly recorded the formula he had used onto a jade slip, which he then handed over.
After a moment of consideration, he performed a quick, secret test to see if he could connect mentally with the emerald zombie. Presumably, because the medicine contained some of his own blood, he could.
In the hopes of reducing whatever his punishment might be, he also handed over the jade slip that could control the emerald zombie.
Of course, he had already noticed the reactions of the other disciples upon seeing this old man, and how respectful their expressions became. Obviously, he was someone very important.
The grand elder took the jade slips and looked them over. Eyes burning with passion, he laughed heartily, and then gazed at Bai Xiaochun with admiration.
“Nightcrypt, I am the grand elder of Corpse Peak. You did a great job here. Splendid, really. You created a brand new type of zombie. I need to go back to study the method for some time to determine how to reproduce it. You have performed a great service for Corpse Peak!
“So what if you destroyed a measly corpse refinery? They’re easily replaceable. Besides, you didn’t do it on purpose, and in the end, nobody was killed. Actually, even if you had accidentally killed some people, it would all have been in the service of the sect, and wouldn’t have mattered at all!
“Elders, award him with 5,000 spirit stones and 30,000 merit points. Also, spread the word that anyone who dares to steal spirit stones from him will be considered my personal enemy!” Laughing excitedly, and eyes shining with praise, the grand elder turned and left with the emerald zombie.
“Huh?” Bai Xiaochun stood there watching as the grand elder left. The surrounding disciples were all enraged, but could do nothing more than grit their teeth and disperse. They had all seen the encouraging look in the eyes of the grand elder. One of the Corpse Peak elders walked over to give Bai Xiaochun 5,000 spirit stones, and also transferred 30,000 merit points to his identification medallion.
Although Xu Xiaoshan wasn’t very happy, he plastered a smile onto his face and hurried over to chat. From his wording, it was obvious that he hoped to get a copy of the formulas, so Bai Xiaochun magnanimously gifted him with one. After all, the formula was only in the early stages of development, and wasn’t really worth much.
Xu Xiaoshan was delighted, and immediately gave Bai Xiaochun high marks on his mission assignment. Looking like he had just acquired a precious treasure, he hurried away.
Bai Xiaochun looked at the emptiness around him, and the wreckage of the corpse refinery, and took a deep breath. He had been completely braced to be punished, only to have everything happen opposite of his expectations. All of a sudden, he realized that this place really was very different from the Spirit Stream Sect.
“The Blood Stream Sect is great! The giant’s hand is connected to my cultivation, I can work on the Undying Heavenly King much more quickly here than anywhere else, and if I cause problems because of pill concocting, the sect doesn’t punish me, it rewards me!” He sighed. Obviously, if he had done this same thing and not produced that zombie, then the grand elder of Corpse Peak would have been incensed. Most likely, not even death would have been able to wipe away the offense.