Fu Yunming’s father hailed from the demonic Listening Snow Manor, serving as one of its four hall masters. Later on, however, his father met his mother and chose to take her with him in retiring from the rivers and lakes. Yet during their journey into seclusion, their entire family was ambushed and slaughtered by righteous factions.
Fu Yunming had witnessed his parents die right before his very eyes.
Those righteous figures had originally intended to kill him as well, but ultimately decided against it, choosing instead to send him to the White Lotus Temple.
The Abbot of the White Lotus Temple possessed the surname Tang, a monk with white hair and a beard.
Abbot Tang did not pressure him to let go of the past, choosing instead to care for him attentively. Abbot Tang would often share Buddhist philosophies with him, even though the Abbot knew full well that the boy had no patience for them.
Thus, years passed by in cycles of three. The child within the temple grew into a young lad.
Little did Fu Yunming know, the life within the White Lotus Temple would one day be shattered. It was a year of severe drought across the realm; Abbot Tang flung wide the grain silos to welcome the refugees from the town. Yet a disheveled monk incited the displaced populace and ended up murdering Abbot Tang.
That very monk usurped the position and became the new abbot of the White Lotus Temple, Gongsun Bai.
Although Fu Yunming had never truly cared for temple life, that does not mean he wanted to see it end this way. He had grown up there, and the place had long since felt like home.
The childhood memory of his parents’ deaths gradually faded, transformed into the image of Abbot Tang collapsing in a pool of blood.
Gongsun Bai possessed formidable martial arts of his own, expanding the White Lotus Temple until it ultimately became the third-largest sect in the rivers and lakes. Left with no other choice, Fu Yunming could only drift across the pugilistic world, secretly accumulating strength and biding his time.
He had originally planned to wait a few more years until he was thoroughly prepared before reclaiming the White Lotus Temple. However, his trip to the Profound Moon Sect had earned him a promise from Song Guyang. With the martial world’s supreme master backing him up, this endeavor was already guaranteed to succeed.
Coincidentally, during this period, Fu Yunming had managed to acquire leverage over Gongsun Bai. Discovering that Gongsun Bai was engaged in the abuse and murder of infants, he immediately began preparations to expose him.
While Fu Yunming knew about Gongsun Bai’s atrocities, he lacked concrete evidence. Although evidence regarding Abbot Tang’s murder existed, too many years had passed, and circumstances had changed; he feared Gongsun Bai would simply flatly deny it and twist the narrative.
Fu Yunming thought of a certain individual, Wei Jia. His cat possessed extraordinary spiritual intelligence, and Wei Jia’s martial arts were formidable, making him a potentially valuable combat asset when the crucial moment arrived.
Knowing that the Hatred-Hating Ancestor had long since vanished without a trace, Fu Yunming spread rumors across the rivers and lakes that the prisoner had escaped. Because Wei Jia held a blood grudge against the Hatred-Hating Ancestor, he would inevitably come to the White Lotus Temple.
Sure enough, Wei Jia came, bringing his black cat along with him.
After the crowd discovered the infant skeletal remains beneath the peach tree and initiated an investigation, Wei Jia joined the search solely to find clues regarding his enemy.
Everything had proceeded smoothly, leading them straight to the location of the infants.
Yet at this very moment, looking down at the infants inside the secret chamber, Fu Yunming’s expression was shrouded in dark gloom.
They had still arrived a little too late.
So many children had already died.
Gongsun Bai had regained his composure. He pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. To think there would be a secret chamber beneath the peach grove containing so many infants? This matter is likely connected to the infant skeletal remains outside the Heavenly Prison. Honored young heroes do not worry, the White Lotus Temple will definitely investigate this thoroughly!”
Fu Yunming frowned. “Abbot Gongsun, do you truly claim ignorance of this?”
“Naturally.”
With a light chuckle, Fu Yunming produced a stack of letters from his sleeve.
Acquiring these letters had been no easy feat.
Fu Yunming had only managed to secure them two days prior.
“This junior happened upon several letters. They appear to be correspondence between you and the medical expert of the rivers and lakes. This junior caught a glimpse of their contents and felt genuine terror. Abbot Gongsun, what on earth were you and the medical expert plotting? Placing infants in ice and snow to see which ones survive four hours without dying, is that how you identify a pure-yang physique? What were you planning to do with a pure-yang physique once you found it?” Fu Yunming asked, feigning innocence.
“Silence! Shut your mouth!” Abbot Gongsun raged.
The moment Fu Yunming produced those letters, Abbot Gongsun had lunged forward to attack. Those letters were painfully familiar, white paper patterned with cloud motifs, precisely the correspondence he had exchanged with the medical expert!
However, Fu Yunming’s movements were blindingly fast!
Abbot Gongsun found himself completely unable to touch him!
Fu Yunming casually tossed the letters in his hand into the air.
The documents fluttered and scattered in all directions.
Curiosity piqued, the onlookers picked up the scattered pages to read.
“Abbot Gongsun actually did such a thing! He conspired with the medical expert of the rivers and lakes to unearth a pure-yang physique! That means these children were placed in the ice and snow by Abbot Gongsun himself!”
“How many infant corpses were buried outside the Heavenly Prison? Over a hundred, right? What a monstrous sin!”
Realizing his actions were exposed, Gongsun Bai abandoned his pursuit of Fu Yunming.
Since all these people already knew, he would simply slaughter every last one of them.
It was no difficult task.
In an instant, hundreds of figures surged out from the peach grove!
Those monks wore tattered, rotting robes and bore pale, bluish complexions. Their eyes were rolled upward, their movements stiff and mechanical, as if completely devoid of consciousness!
“What the hell are these things?!” someone cursed loudly.
“Are these monks even alive?”
“They are dead, obviously! Can’t you see their flesh is rotting? This young master has traveled the rivers and lakes for years, and this is my first time encountering something so terrifying! What on earth are these, corpses?”
“Are there really corpses walking around in this world?”
“Run away, run!”
Lu Fenghuo drew his saber and slashed it directly across the body of one such corpse.
The corpse split cleanly into two. Yet it made no difference, it continued moving.
Sheath in hand, Lu Fenghuo turned tail and bolted at full sprint, letting out a heartfelt battle cry: “Run away, run!”
Shen Yuansi instantly followed suit without hesitation.
Fu Yunming:
He desperately wanted to point out that running was entirely unnecessary.
However, the space around him was already completely empty.
Fu Yunming settled cross-legged onto the ground, driving his sub-demon pestle straight into the earth.
The stone pagodas throughout the peach grove began to shift instantly!
The formation was activated!
Squinting his triangular eyes at the sub-demon pestle, Gongsun Bai looked Fu Yunming up and down before suddenly letting out a cold, mocking laugh. “So it was you.”
The White Lotus Temple had originally been a small monastery.
Its abbot had been an old man accompanied by a young boy.
Passing by the monastery, Gongsun Bai had been consumed by greed. He murdered the abbot and seized the temple for himself.
It was a pity, however, that the young boy accompanying the abbot had managed to escape.
The person before him was also a monk, and he possessed the ability to manipulate the peach grove’s formation. Without a doubt, he was that very same boy who had fled all those years ago!
“You had a path to heaven yet refused to walk it, and instead cast yourself into hell with nowhere to go. After all these years, I had long since let you go, but to think you delivered yourself right to my doorstep! Very well, I shall start with you and let my children enjoy a hearty meal!” Gongsun Bai cackled hideously.
In an instant, hundreds upon thousands of corpses swarmed frantically toward Fu Yunming!
With a flick of his wrist, Fu Yunming instantly triggered a trapping formation!
Seeing this, Gongsun Bai found something immensely amusing and burst into raucous laughter. “You actually think a formation can restrain corpses? Hahahahaha, what an absolute absurdity! Young friend, have you lost your mind?”
Fu Yunming looked slightly puzzled. “Who told you this formation was meant to trap corpses?”
Gongsun Bai’s laughter cut off abruptly.
If it wasn’t meant to trap corpses.
Then it was meant to trap a person.
A pristine white figure materialized within the peach grove. Even as a blurry silhouette, it gave off the unmistakable impression of peerless, breathtaking grace!
It was none other than Song Guyang!
The moment he laid eyes on that figure, Gongsun Bai turned around and fled without a second thought!
What a joke.
Across the entire rivers and lakes, who could stand as Song Guyang’s match?
Not a single soul.
Gongsun Bai attempted to escape, but it was futile.
The trapping formation was already complete! No one could get out!
Left with no alternative, Gongsun Bai whirled around to fight!
Countless corpses instantly altered their trajectory, swarming overwhelmingly toward Song Guyang!
Atop a tall white pagoda in the distance.
A white-robed figure stood perched on the apex of the roof. His eye corners and thin lips were tinged with a reddish-orange hue, a small mole rested at the tip of his nose, and his features were utterly gorgeous.
It was the medical expert of the rivers and lakes, Zhaifu Ying!
Zhaifu Ying surveyed the battlefield unfolding below in the peach grove.
Gongsun Bai actually dared to lock horns with Song Guyang?
A complete fool. Beyond saving.
Even Zhaifu Ying himself did not dare face him head-on.
Not even his poisons, Zhaifu Ying could not guarantee they would have any effect on Song Guyang.
A pawn like Gongsun Bai was spent.
Zhaifu Ying turned and walked away.
Leaving behind only a palm-sized, blood-red spider crouching atop the roof tile.
Down in the peach grove.
The more Lu Fenghuo pondered, the stranger it felt.
He hadn’t written a cultivation fantasy novel, how on earth did zombies get into the plot?
Lu Fenghuo turned around and walked back.
Stopping beside the corpse he had previously cleaved in half, he squatted down to examine it closely.
Hmm? What was that on the crown of the corpse’s head?
An extremely faint, blood-red thread.
Resembling a spider silk.
In an instant, enlightenment struck Lu Fenghuo.
Weren’t these blood spiders?! Feeding blood spiders with human blood allowed them to link directly with corpses, enabling remote control through the silk.
No wonder Gongsun Bai looked so scrawny and sickly.
So he had been expending his vitality to raise all these corpses.
Lu Fenghuo immediately turned back.
He needed to share this discovery with the demonic monk at once.
Returning to his original spot, a familiar white figure caught his eye.
A fine sight as always, pleasing to the eye.
“Song Guyang, go chop off Gongsun Bai’s hands!” Lu Fenghuo called out.
Without asking why, Song Guyang instantly severed Gongsun Bai’s arms!
A piercing shriek of agony escaped Gongsun Bai as excruciating pain racked his body!
Blood sprayed across the ground.
At the very same moment, countless blood-red silk threads were exposed along the severed stumps, only to wither away into ash within a matter of seconds!
Every single corpse collapsed to the ground, motionless.
High atop the pagoda roof, the blood-red spider suddenly shuddered violently! A moment later, it burst into a cloud of blood mist and vanished into thin air.
The conclusion was sealed.