Strange mountains and rivers

Wu Tianen heard the uncertainty in Chen Huaisheng's words and nodded.

Although evil spirits such as corpses, ghosts and monsters have existed for thousands of years, they have never been mainstream and are in a marginal area. Therefore, not many people practice them, but this does not mean that their sense of existence is weak.

Because there are so many types, there are too many variations, and the relationships between them are also mixed. Even those who know something about this type can only get a glimpse of it, and it is difficult to see the whole thing.

Wu Tianen knew that Chen Huaisheng was somewhat interested in things like demons and ghosts when he was investigating Lu Zhaolin's death. He also asked himself some questions, and later spent some time learning and understanding the art of demons and ghosts.

On the contrary, he knew very little about demons and ghosts, so he relied heavily on Chen Huaisheng.

There are about a dozen monks in Huluji, but they are basically in the early stage of Qi training, and only four of them are in the middle stage of Qi training.

The highest one is only at the fifth level of Qi refining, and he is over eighty years old, that is, Lai Shuichang's uncle.

The other three are all at the fourth level of Qi Refining, one is very old, and the other two are in their prime, probably around sixty years old.

Wu Tianen still planned to meet the people from Huluji first. After all, they were the landlords and knew more about the appearance of the corpse.

Lai Shuichang's uncle Lai Muben met with the two fourth-level Qi Refiners He Shengyuan and Huang Liushi and the group, which also shows the importance they attach to the Chonghua Sect.

Wu Tianen was too lazy to involve too much in the relationship with Fengyi Sect and the Ding family. Since he was here, he wanted to solve the problem first and then talk about other things.

Naturally, Chen Huaisheng was the main protagonist, Wu Tianen basically said nothing, and Sandang Ling acted as Chen Huaisheng's deputy, cooperating with Chen Huaisheng to inquire about the situation.

"... So, this kind of corpse ghost doesn't appear every day or two, or even just at the end of last year. It existed two or three years ago, and it just disappears and appears, but it suddenly became more frequent at the end of last year? "

Chen Huaisheng frowned: "Are you sure it's not one corpse, but multiple corpses?"

"Definitely." It was He Shengyuan who replied, "The corpse that appeared the year before last was very weak and fragile. I encountered it head-on. I used the fire talisman to burn it until it screamed, and I even chopped off one of its arms. , although it ran away later, it never appeared again, and the one that appeared at the beginning of last year was a mother-child ghost..., the skeleton that appeared in Gourd Branch last month only had a skeleton on its body, but Carrion grew,..."

"Carrion has grown?" Chen Huaisheng felt a little complicated.

"Yes, someone has seen with their own eyes that there is no clear boundary between carrion and new meat, it is more like a gradual change..."

He Shengyuan has put a lot of thought into this aspect and has a good grasp of the details of the intelligence.

Chen Huaisheng felt a little numb.

According to what the other party said, the corpses that appeared the year before last, the beginning of last year, the end of last year, or even this year were not one or a group at all, but maybe several groups, but there might be some relationship between them.

There are zombies, there are skeletons, there are mutating ghouls, and there may even be sentient beings.

If this comes from a group, how big is that group and how did they come to Huluji?

What's the purpose of coming here?

Are there any other factors behind this?

Sandeling's hands were shaking as he took notes.

It was his first time to participate in such an operation. He was excited, a little scared, and a little shocked.

After all, things like corpses and ghosts were too far away for him who had been practicing in the mountain gate.

I had heard the elders talk about it before at the mountain gate, but they were all vague and seemed more like something from another world.

But now, after following Chen Huaisheng and seeing those corpses today, I feel a little uncomfortable.

Now he heard the other party talking about the skeletons growing carrion and new flesh gradually, which made him even more disgusted.

Min Qingyu, who was sitting behind Chen Huaisheng, was slightly better.

She was not a young lady who stayed away from home. She had also followed the clan elders before, but this was the first time for her to do something like this.

Ghosts and corpses have always been the most disgusting evil spirits among spiritual practitioners. They are more feared than monsters, but because they are rare, everyone doesn't care about them, but now they have to face them head-on.

"Master He, I would like to ask, the skeleton you saw in a gradual state of carrion and new flesh has appeared several times. Was it seen by the same person?" Min Qingyu asked, sitting behind Chen Huaisheng.

He Shengyuan was stunned for a moment and looked at the other party carefully.

A female cultivator with a third level of Qi refining, but she is very young, but her accent sounds like she is from Yanzhou, no, she is from Fuyang.

Could it be that the disciples from Hebei recruited by the Chonghua Sect were promoted to the third level of Qi Refining in just one year? Or has the Chonghua Sect begun to recruit disciples who have already refined their qi?

But this is not the time to inquire about this situation. Since someone is asking the question on behalf of the Chonghua faction, he has to answer: "This demon corpse appeared three times, but it was not encountered by one person. One group of people encountered has been killed, and the other two If you are lucky enough to escape,..."

"We would like to inquire carefully if you can invite these two groups of people." Min Qingyu whispered a few words behind Chen Huaisheng, and Chen Huaisheng nodded.

Huluji had nothing to do here and quickly called people over.

After some inquiries, the people from the Chonghua faction knew what was going on.

The skeleton I saw for the first time only had carrion on the waist and ribs. The condition of the second time was unknown. The skeleton I saw for the third time had carrion and new meat on the ribs, thighs, and arms.

What's more important is that the first skeleton had a bare and tasselless skull on top of it, but when it appeared for the third time, it was already covered in armor, and several pheasant feathers had been inserted into the skull.

Although it was just a very simple leaf armor with a few extra pheasant feathers, and it still looked tattered, this change made people shudder.

Everyone looked confused, including Wu Tianen, who still didn't quite understand.

Chen Huaisheng also knew that it was difficult for ordinary people to understand it, so he sighed and explained: "I'm afraid this is not an ordinary demon corpse. It is difficult for us to judge what kind of combination it is now, but we can be sure that both There are demon corpses and zombies, and even demon corpses or zombies have already possessed certain intelligence. What is even more dangerous is that they are still in a period of rapid growth."

Wisdom? Rapid growth period?

Seeing everyone's confusion, Chen Huaisheng pondered for a moment and said: "The gradual change between rotten meat and new meat on the skeleton is a clear proof. It is constantly absorbing and digesting the spiritual energy from the outside world and converting it for its own use. This is the rotten meat that everyone sees. From nothing to something, from something to many, and then the carrion further gradually turns into new meat. When the new meat is full and all the internal organs are complete,..."

"That's the Corpse King?!" A thick and loud voice came from outside the door.

"Master Qin?!" Wu Tianen and Chen Huaisheng both looked over, and the Huluji group hurried out to welcome him, "Master Qin, Master Ding, are you here?"

"Fellow Taoist Chonghua is here, we have been looking forward to it for a long time." The person in front was tall and tall, with a dark face and beard, and piercing eyes. He was at the fourth level of foundation building and was probably around eighty years old.

Another woman was wearing an embroidered jacket with a frosty brocade dress and a white border, and a crimson-colored pleated horse-faced skirt underneath. She had a plump figure, a face like a silver basin, eyebrows like spring mountains, big breasts and fat buttocks, and breast waves when she walked. The waves of her hips were swaying, causing people to subconsciously focus on her and ignore the others.

Master Qin should be Qin Shouzhong of Fengyi Sect, and if Master Ding is right, she is Ding Runyao, who is famous in Fuyang Dao.

Wu Tianen, Chen Huaisheng, Sandang Ling, and Min Qingyu also stood up. Wu Tianen came out first and calmly handed over his hands: "Chonghua Wu Tianen is polite."

Chen Huaisheng and others also followed suit. "Chonghua Chen Huaisheng (Sang Ling, Min Qingyu) has met Qin Zhenren and Ding Nvshi."

After some inevitable greetings, Qin Shouzhong sat down at Wu Tianen's invitation, while Ding Runyao looked around happily and sat down happily.

There were several other people following Qin and Ding, and they all took their seats behind them.

"The little brother just now is very insightful. If this skeleton keeps absorbing spiritual energy, it can grow into a corpse king. Unexpectedly, the little brother also discovered this situation. I only realized this after careful investigation yesterday... …”

Seeing Chen Huaisheng hesitate to speak, Qin Shouzhong was quite surprised, "Little brother, is there anything else you want to say?"

"In my humble opinion, I'm afraid it's not just that simple." After glancing at Wu Tianen, under Wu Tianen's encouraging gaze, Chen Huaisheng said without any politeness: "This monster has a Douyu in the first place. It belongs to the general, which means this I'm afraid the monster was a warrior before he died. I'm not sure whether he was a spiritual practitioner during his lifetime. It depends on its history and where it came from..."

Wu Tianen was thoughtful, but Qin Shouzhong's expression changed slightly and his eyes flickered.

"I heard that the area between Fuyang and Zhaigu has always been a battleground for military strategists from ancient times to ancient and medieval times. There have been constant wars. I don't know how many battles have been fought in this area for thousands of years. I don't know how many soldiers died, but there are famous ones. The Battle of Zhuolu, the Battle of Banquan, the Battle of Hadai, and the Battle of Julu were all in this area. When the Beirong invaded Hebei, there were also continuous wars, with dozens of battles, large and small,..."

"Almost all Beirong warriors are martial arts cultivators, which is actually a synonym for our spiritual cultivation. However, their martial arts cultivation and our spiritual cultivation have different emphases. We focus on our own spiritual realm cultivation and advocate the immortal way of heaven, while they do not focus on martial arts. In the heavy realm, weapon cultivation and spells are more respected, or in other words, combat power is more valued..."

When Chen Huaisheng said that almost all Beirong warriors were martial arts cultivators, everyone realized the problem. If this ghoul was a martial arts cultivator before his death, but now he has become a ghoul and is still growing. This is It's a bit tricky.

"Little brother, what basis do you have for saying that this monster corpse was transformed by a Beirong general?" Qin Shouzhong asked loudly.

"There are already a few pheasant feathers on the Douchi. From what I heard from the description, they should be the feathers of the wolf pheasant outside the Great Wall. There seems to be no such thing in Hebei. Except for the Beirong people, it seems that no one would have traveled thousands of miles to bring this thing. Wear it on your head?" Chen Huaisheng said with a smile.