Chapter 457: Eat More

Mo Hua refined the zombie disciple, "ate" its evil thoughts, and then began to meditate and refine.

Within the evil thoughts were some fragmented memories. All of them were about refining corpses, raising corpses, and controlling corpses. The Zhang family's generations-long inheritance involved sneaky things. They openly sold coffins and secretly refined corpses. This disciple was also like that. He could also be considered an ancestor of Zhang Quan. However, his talent was average, only at the Qi Refining stage, and he hadn't been a zombie for long before the corpse poison attacked his heart and he became a walking corpse. The Zhang family people were afraid he would expose them, so they killed him and sealed his divine sense in the ancestor portrait. Many other ancestors of the Zhang family were the same. When he was alive, he became a zombie; after he died, he was still a zombie. So, the evil thoughts that manifested after death were also of a zombie. The Zhang family clan itself was entirely half-human, half-corpse like this.

Mo Hua refined its evil thoughts. At the same time, a cold, rotten-smelling, deathly decay of desires also polluted his divine sense. Bloodthirsty desires were born in Mo Hua's heart, as if he himself had also turned into a zombie, thirsting for flesh and blood, desiring to choose people and devour them. Evil thoughts entered his heart, and Mo Hua immediately entered a meditative state, calming his heart and meditating, abandoning杂念 (zánian - miscellaneous thoughts). Mo Hua's heart did not panic. As Master Zhuang said, every time evil thoughts entered the heart, it was a test of one's Dao heart. Whether one could uphold their original intention and guard their Dao heart amidst rampant material desires and entwined evil desires was extremely important to cultivators. Once the Dao heart is lost and the original intention is obliterated, it is very easy to go astray and deviate from the heavenly Dao. People are not born immune to all evils. The Dao heart also needs to be tempered bit by bit. Mo Hua planned to start from small evil thoughts, temper his will, and gradually enlighten his mind. Little by little, he would strengthen his Dao heart until, in the future, ten thousand evils could not invade. Even if an evil god entered his brain or a heavenly demon disturbed his heart, his heart would be like a bright mirror, without a speck of dust.

The zombie disciple was quickly refined by Mo Hua. Its slight evil thoughts were also abandoned by Mo Hua. Mo Hua's divine sense also clearly grew. This was the most obvious growth in Mo Hua's divine sense in the past few months. But it was still not enough. Mo Hua smacked his lips, still wanting more. The zombie disciple was only at the Qi Refining stage, and its divine sense was not strong. After refining its evil thoughts, the divine sense obtained was not much. This bit of divine sense was not even enough to fill his teeth. Mo Hua felt a little regretful, then opened his eyes. Bai Zi Sheng was just staring at him with bright eyes. Seeing Mo Hua open his eyes, he immediately asked, "How is it?" Mo Hua said, "Nothing." Bai Zi Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "What's next?"

Mo Hua thought for a bit and said, "I'll take another look. You still need to do what you said before, that..." "Mhm, mhm," Bai Zi Sheng nodded and said, "Knock you out, shout 'Master', burn the picture, and scatter the ashes..." Although it was slightly different from what Mo Hua said, it was roughly the same. Mo Hua then carefully opened this painting again. On the surface, it was an "ancestor portrait", but in reality, it was a visualization picture of a "zombie portrait". He looked at it again. There were also people in the painting who turned their heads and looked at him. What was revealed was still a zombie face. Also, a zombie detached from its seat, jumped out of the painting, and jumped into Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness. This time, Mo Hua released two zombies, and then closed the painting again. These two zombies were still only at the Qi Refining stage. If counted as humans, they were disciples of the Zhang family. If counted as zombies, they were just walking corpses. After these two zombie disciples jumped into Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness, they looked at each other, and their faces showed the same wild joy. This Sea of Consciousness was too vast. The divine sense inside was too rich, enough for them to eat for a long time. It was even possible that they could eat directly to the Foundation Establishment stage! Unexpectedly, this young, small cultivator's Sea of Consciousness was actually a treasure trove for eating.

But their joy did not last long. A Fireball Technique whistled and exploded in an instant, directly blasting one walking corpse away. Fresh red flames burned its whole body, causing it to suffer torment and struggle on the ground. The other walking corpse was stunned. What was that just now? Fireball Technique? Where did a Fireball Technique come from in the Sea of Consciousness? Soon, it knew where the Fireball Technique came from. Because not far away, a small cultivator with eyebrows like a painting was staring at it with profound eyes, without joy or anger, and pointing a small finger at it. Before this walking corpse could react, a fireball condensed between the small cultivator's fingers. This fireball was very fast, very accurate, and also very ruthless. In an instant, it flew in front of it. The walking corpse's dead white pupils were filled with red fire light, and then its whole body was also blasted away by the Fireball Technique, falling to the ground and suffering the pain of the fierce fire burning its body. This pain was very real. The walking corpse almost forgot that it was already dead and had no physical body. Its heart panicked. What kind of divine being was this small cultivator?

Mo Hua had no plans to waste words. Time was limited, and he needed a quick battle and quick decision. This time, he didn't play hide-and-seek. Walking corpses at the Qi Refining stage could not detect the background of the Zhang family's old ancestor. Mo Hua was simple and rough, directly using the Fireball Technique to kill these two walking corpses. After killing them, he refined their evil thoughts and enhanced his divine sense. Afterward, Mo Hua repeated the process, opening the picture to release corpses, blasting and killing them with Fireball Technique, and refining their evil thoughts. Although the evil thoughts at the Qi Refining stage were not strong, accumulating a little made a lot. After "eating" several walking corpses, Mo Hua felt that his divine sense had obviously increased again. But it was still a little insufficient. This time, his ideas were focused on the several ancestors in the front row of the Zhang family. Those who were seated at the front were also ranked among the Zhang family's ancestors and were at least elders of the Zhang family. The evil thoughts of elders should also be stronger. But how to lead them to his Sea of Consciousness? Mo Hua thought for a moment, his eyes slightly bright. He took out two sheets of paper, one to cover the Zhang family's old ancestor and one to cover the disciples and grandchildren in the last seats. Only the middle row, which looked like Zhang family cultivators who were elders, was left exposed. Mo Hua randomly picked one person and stared straight at him. In just a few breaths, that "person" also turned its head and looked at Mo Hua. It was also a zombie face. It had a hooked nose, upturned eyes, a sinister face, and a blue-iron complexion. It was an Iron Corpse!

It saw Mo Hua, its expression vicious. Subsequently, a greedy look flashed in its gray-white eyes. With just a flash of its body, it pounced into Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness. After entering Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness, the Iron Corpse was startled. Even if it was an elder and had seen the world, it was also shocked by Mo Hua's Sea of Consciousness. Then, it laughed madly, "Hee hee." Its laugh was hoarse, its throat broken, ear-piercing and unpleasant. Mo Hua, hidden nearby, nodded. It seemed that the Iron Corpse elder also couldn't see through his hiding... Mo Hua then carried his staff, tiptoed to the back of the Iron Corpse, raised the Thousand Jin Staff high, and gave the Iron Corpse a staff blow to the head. The Thousand Jin Staff smashed onto the back of the Iron Corpse's head. Mo Hua even heard a "clang" sound, like metal colliding. Mo Hua's palm also felt slightly numb. And that Iron Corpse elder was also smashed into a stagger, its face ferocious and somewhat dazed. It turned its head to look, saw Mo Hua, and its expression was even more surprised. After a moment, it came back to its senses, and its gaze was even greedier. Looking at Mo Hua's eyes was like looking at a thousand-year-old ginseng. Mo Hua felt a little regretful. It seemed that the Iron Corpse's strength was still very strong. The damage from a sneak attack was not great. This Iron Corpse elder's figure was solid, unlike ordinary walking corpses whose figures would dissipate a little after a staff blow. It was hit by Mo Hua with one staff, but it only staggered a few times, its expression painful, but it had no injuries.

The two confronted each other, and neither of them made a move easily. The Iron Corpse elder could not figure out Mo Hua's background. Although it had covetousness in its heart, it also had scruples. It carefully sized up Mo Hua and then looked around the surroundings. Suddenly, it realized something and said in a hoarse voice, "I was wondering why several disciples entered your Sea of Consciousness and didn't come out. It turns out they suffered your poisonous hand!" The manifestation of divine sense was profound. Compared to its own Iron Corpse elder, it was not inferior at all. Those Zhang family disciples at the walking corpse realm were fundamentally not this small cultivator's opponents. It was nothing to say that they died in his hands. Mo Hua did not comment. A stern look flashed in the Iron Corpse elder's eyes. "You killed my Zhang family disciples, what crime should you be charged with?" Mo Hua muttered in his heart, "I don't just want to kill your Zhang family disciples, I also want to kill your Zhang family old ancestor..." But on the surface, he only said indifferently, "They wanted to eat me, I killed them. It can also be said that they brought it upon themselves."

The Iron Corpse elder sneered, "They just wanted to eat a few mouthfuls of your divine sense, yet you killed them. At such a young age, your methods are too ruthless." Mo Hua was stunned. "Did you not become a zombie and your brain also rot off? You can say such things?" The Iron Corpse elder snorted coldly. It was calculating Mo Hua's strength in its heart. This little ghost's divine sense manifestation should be innate talent. But divine sense confrontation was not that simple. Even if this little ghost had some talent, how could it be mentioned in the same breath as the Zhang family's hundreds of years of inheritance of corpse Dao methods? This little ghost might be able to pick up some scraps from one or two small disciples. But since it let itself in, then this little ghost was a big meal for all the Zhang family disciples! The Iron Corpse elder looked at the fresh, tender, and lovely Mo Hua and couldn't help but lick its tongue. Mo Hua also understood its thoughts and snorted coldly in his heart, "It's still not certain who is whose big meal." The Iron Corpse elder looked at Mo Hua and couldn't hold back. It suddenly opened its big mouth, revealing dense fangs. The fangs were quenched with rotten corpse poison. Its body turned into a green light and directly bit towards Mo Hua. Its attack looked fast, but all its actions had already been seen through by Mo Hua. Mo Hua displayed the Water-Passing Step and calmly dodged the Iron Corpse elder's pounce. The Iron Corpse elder went all out, continuously changing its moves, stretching out sharp claws, and pouncing several times from different angles, but all were dodged by Mo Hua one by one. Mo Hua even stepped on the Iron Corpse elder's head in the end and calmly retreated.

The Iron Corpse elder was both angry and furious. This little ghost dared to humiliate itself? It made a posture to pounce forward again, but found that Mo Hua, who had pulled away, remotely pointed his fingers, and fire light suddenly appeared. A fireball whistled over. The Iron Corpse elder's pupils shrank. It only had time to cross its arms and block in front. Then the Fireball Technique exploded in front of its body. The clothes on its two arms were burned and destroyed, revealing blue-iron, dead-person-like arms. The iron arms were burned black. Its whole body was still licked by tongues of fire. The Iron Corpse elder took a deep breath. Fireball Technique? How is that possible? How can divine sense condense into a technique? It realized something was wrong... This little ghost was not simply lucky or talented, able to manifest divine sense. He must have inherited divine sense methods! Manifesting techniques within the Sea of Consciousness. This kind of method was extremely brilliant. It had been parasitic in the painting for so long and had eaten the divine sense of so many cultivators, but it had never seen or even heard of such a method. Even the old ancestor probably didn't know this kind of method. Fear was born in the Iron Corpse elder's heart. "I need to plan for the long term..." It was really unwise to fight this little ghost alone. It needed to gather the strength of the entire Zhang family clan and make another plan to kill this little ghost and then divide and eat his divine sense. If there was an opportunity, it would seize his inheritance! The strength of the Zhang family would surely increase greatly! The Iron Corpse elder's mind was set, and it had the intention to retreat.

Mo Hua instantly saw through its thoughts. Since it wanted to run, Mo Hua was not polite. He used the Water Prison Technique with a backhand to control the Iron Corpse, and then frequently sent out Fireball Techniques, one after another. The blazing flames directly engulfed the Iron Corpse elder. A moment later, the fire light retreated, and smoke and dust filled the air. The Iron Corpse elder roared angrily and stepped out from within the fire and smoke. Its eyes were red, its body was huge, and its skin color was blue-iron and black, obviously also corpse-ified. Its overall strength had climbed another level. "Little ghost, you've angered me!" The Iron Corpse elder was angry and corpse-ified. But to Mo Hua, there was actually no difference. He still controlled it with the Water Prison Technique and then blasted and killed it with the Fireball Technique. The Iron Corpse elder's strength had nowhere to be exerted, and it could only be suppressed by Mo Hua. It knew in its heart that things were not good. It exhausted all its strength, withstood the impact of the Fireball Technique explosions, and rushed towards Mo Hua. But when it looked up, there was no figure in front of it. Mo Hua had already displayed the Water-Passing Step and calmly retreated, pulling away again, controlling it with the Water Prison Technique again, and blasting and killing it with the Fireball Technique again... The fire light flew in, the Iron Corpse elder's face was ferocious, its figure was wretched, and its heart was shocked. It had lived for so many years and eaten so many cultivators, but it was completely no match for this small cultivator? It was actually suppressed by his techniques to the point of having no power to fight back? It was only like a sandbag, fixed by techniques and then beaten? The Iron Corpse elder found it hard to believe.

Mo Hua also frowned. It seemed... it couldn't be killed. After this Iron Corpse was further corpse-ified, its skin and flesh were too tough. Relying solely on the Fireball Technique could suppress it, could defeat it, but it was difficult to kill it. If it consumed it like this, it was possible that its own divine sense would be exhausted, and its technique power would weaken, just enough for it to find an opportunity to escape. Mo Hua's gaze was slightly cold. "I need to find a way to slaughter it." The Iron Corpse elder also understood this reasoning. Since it was not Mo Hua's opponent, it could only hard resist Mo Hua's Fireball Technique, try to minimize the damage, and wait for Mo Hua's divine sense to be exhausted. Then it would have an opportunity to escape, or even counter-kill. Suppressing it with techniques like this also consumed a lot of divine sense. This little ghost wouldn't last long... Indeed, a moment later, the Fireball Technique stopped. The Iron Corpse elder was overjoyed. Just as it looked up, it saw Mo Hua closing his eyes and concentrating, not knowing what he was doing. The Iron Corpse elder was startled. What did this little ghost mean? Distracted? Or giving up? Or was something wrong with its divine sense? Should it escape first, or directly pounce over and kill him?

In this moment of hesitation, it suddenly discovered that something was wrong. The aura of its whole body seemed to have changed. The Iron Corpse elder suddenly lowered its head and looked down, only to see that at some point, many light blue, fine spirit power threads had appeared under its feet. These threads were winding and twisting, flowing by themselves, connecting into mysterious patterns. The Iron Corpse elder's eyes widened. What was this again? It saw that the situation was not good and lifted its legs to run, but it was already too late. Mo Hua's first formation had already been drawn. This was a Gold Lock Formation. The light blue spirit power formed a formation on the ground, then emitted golden light and condensed into sections of spirit power chains, firmly locking the Iron Corpse elder in place. The Iron Corpse elder tried several times but could not break free. And after another while, the second formation was also drawn. This was a Melting Fire Formation. The moment the formation patterns were formed, the light blue spirit power emitted dazzling red light, and the ground turned into a sea of fire, like a fierce flame furnace, trapping the Iron Corpse elder inside to burn.

The Iron Corpse elder's heart felt fear. Formation? This little ghost was a formation master? But was this how formation masters drew formations? Without a pen or ink, could they condense formations so quickly just by relying on divine sense? Formations upheld the heavenly Dao and were the biggest killers to divine sense. What's more, it was such a real and powerful formation. The Iron Corpse elder's heart trembled. "It's over, the boat has capsized in the gutter." It was so hungry and wanted to come out to eat something, but it was actually set up and roasted by a little ghost who came out of nowhere? The cultivation world was really dangerous! Even a little ghost was so dangerous. Faced with death, the Iron Corpse elder wanted to exhaust all its strength and struggle again. For a moment, it broke free from the Gold Lock Formation, but it was again fixed in place by Mo Hua's Water Prison Technique. A moment later, the spirit power in the Gold Lock Formation was restored, turning into a golden lock, firmly locking it. And the Melting Fire Formation, like a melting furnace, was continuously burning its body. A dull knife cuts meat, and sooner or later, there will be a time when it is finished cutting. Despair was born in the Iron Corpse elder's heart.

Mo Hua then sized up the Iron Corpse elder from the side and suddenly asked curiously, "Is your corpse-ification method passed down from your old ancestor?" The Iron Corpse elder gritted its teeth and said, "What about it?" "Do you still have other methods?" Mo Hua asked. The Iron Corpse elder was angry and did not speak. "You have no other methods, you will just have to die here today," Mo Hua reminded it "kindly". The Iron Corpse elder was so angry it was speechless. Mo Hua touched his chin and thought. This Iron Corpse elder seemed to be at the end of its rope and had no other methods. Mo Hua felt a little regretful and disappointed and said, "Did your old ancestor only pass down this little bit of stuff to you?" The Iron Corpse elder sneered, "Naturally impossible. My old ancestor has many methods, how could a small..." It stopped mid-sentence, then was suddenly startled. Was this little ghost setting it up? What did he mean? What did he want to know? Old ancestor... He wanted to figure out the old ancestor's methods? Could it be... he was plotting against the old ancestor? The Iron Corpse elder's heart was shocked. No, impossible. How could a little ghost like him... The Iron Corpse elder was startled, and then its face showed horror. No, it was possible! Relying on this little ghost's unfathomable skills in the Sea of Consciousness, it was really possible to plot against the old ancestor! If he really succeeded and figured out the old ancestor's methods, then the old ancestor, the old ancestor... The old ancestor was in danger! The Iron Corpse elder's heart trembled.

Mo Hua saw that its thoughts were seen through by it and couldn't help but regretfully say, "How good it is to be a muddled ghost." If you think clearly about everything, then I can only slaughter you. Although Mo Hua originally had no plan to let it live. Mo Hua was also not verbose. He concentrated on urging the formation and directly refined the Iron Corpse elder, whose expression was shocked, and then swallowed it in one gulp. The Iron Corpse's divine sense was much stronger. After Mo Hua swallowed it, it temporarily still could not be refined completely. It was estimated that it would take several days to slowly refine it. Some evil thoughts also occasionally popped up from the bottom of his heart. Mo Hua could only calm the evil thoughts in his heart gradually after meditating with a calm heart.

After leaving the Sea of Consciousness, Mo Hua opened his eyes and looked at the Zhang family's ancestor portrait. There were still many zombies in the painting, several Iron Corpses, and also Zhang Quan's old ancestor. One by one... Not a single one would escape! He just didn't know if his divine sense would directly reach thirteen patterns after "eating all of them in one go"... Mo Hua couldn't help but think. Bai Zi Sheng asked, "Are you... alright?" Mo Hua came back to his senses and shook his head. "Nothing." Bai Zi Sheng frowned. "Something's not right..." Bai Zi Xi's eyes were like water. She also stared at Mo Hua for a while and said doubtfully, "Why does your face look so bad?" Mo Hua rubbed his small face. "I ate some bad things, I need to digest a bit." This chapter is a bit long, over 5,000 words. I wrote a little late. (End of this chapter)