Volume One: The Journey of the Useless, Fiery Demon-Slaying Chapter Sixty-Two: The Power of the Rune Array, The Corpse Emerges from the Coffin

With the ink line sealing the Gate of Life, the formation became an endless illusion. When preparations were nearly complete, Lu Qichang sent the young villagers away, leaving only himself and Yang Chengzi to enter the great formation. There was still half a stick of incense's time before noon—the most suitable moment to open the coffin.

No one wished to be involved in such troublesome matters, but with the cawing of crows and the strange circumstances surrounding the coffin, Yang Chengzi could not ignore what he had seen and heard. If something went wrong, the entire village might suffer, and as a Daoist, Yang Chengzi could not afford to gamble with such consequences.

Daoism teaches the importance of cause and effect. By chance, Yang Chengzi had learned of this, and thus the cause was already his. No matter how much of the cause he bore, if many villagers were to die because of this, the sin would be immense. As a Daoist, the consequences might never be fully accounted for.

Moreover, Chen San was still unconscious, and they would have to stay another day or two. If those two corpses came out at night, without the aid of the formation, the idea of easily dispatching them was mere fantasy—the cost could be catastrophic.

Thus, both coffins had to be tested with talisman formations. After a brief rest, it was noon. Under the blazing sun, Yang Chengzi and Lu Qichang walked to the coffins. Yang Chengzi, as the senior disciple, took charge, for Lu Qichang could not handle it. Yang Chengzi produced half a dozen yellow talismans from his robe. The use of yellow talismans required skill in Daoist arts and mastery of spells.

Lu Qichang, an outer disciple, often used yellow talismans, but his cultivation was insufficient. He could only control nine at once, and none could be the Talisman of Breaking Evil, which required soul power to activate—a skill beyond the reach of outer disciples. Success was impossible.

When Yang Chengzi brought out dozens of yellow talismans, Lu Qichang thought nothing of it, assuming he was merely preparing. Upon learning Yang Chengzi intended to open the coffin with these talismans, Lu Qichang was astounded. Before opening the coffin, Yang Chengzi advised him to be ready for anything, then closed his eyes to begin the ritual.

Lu Qichang was extremely nervous. He had been a Daoist for a decade, had dealt with ghosts and minor demons, but had never encountered a corpse demon—only read of them in ancient texts. He knew well their terror. Though the sun blazed overhead, his hands trembled.

Yang Chengzi remained calm, as if everything was under control. Holding the talismans, he tossed them into the air, and they drifted like snowflakes.

He raised his fingers and recited the incantation: "Resplendent Way unveils Heaven's might, Sanqing's spell cuts down evil." With the chant, the talismans ceased drifting and hovered in midair.

Lu Qichang sensed nothing, but Yang Chengzi's spiritual consciousness had already connected with all the talismans. His soul power surged forth. With a sharp "Command!", all the talismans shot toward the first coffin like blades.

A series of thuds echoed as the talismans pierced the coffin, leaving marks like those from a knife. Lu Qichang was stunned; he had been pondering how to open the coffin, never imagining Yang Chengzi would use talismans.

He glanced at Yang Chengzi, who slowly opened his eyes.

Lu Qichang stared at the coffin, swallowing nervously. "Senior Brother, is there a corpse demon inside?"

Yang Chengzi shook his head. "The body inside this coffin hasn't become a corpse demon—only bones remain. No need to open it; just bury it later."

Lu Qichang nodded, realizing that with so many talismans breaking evil inside, if there were a corpse demon, it would have been forced out already—there would have been movement. The first coffin was safe, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Yang Chengzi approached the second coffin, repeating the same ritual.

"Resplendent Way unveils Heaven's might, Sanqing's spell cuts down evil. Command!" The talismans surged toward the coffin like moths to flame, again producing thudding sounds as they pierced through. But this time, before any movement from within, white mist began seeping from the spots where the talismans had penetrated.

Yang Chengzi was alarmed. "Be careful!" As he spoke, the coffin lid was flung backward with a bang.

Lu Qichang was quick-witted. Sensing danger, he leapt aside—had he not, the lid alone could have crushed him.

As the lid fell, white smoke billowed from the coffin and quickly spread, blocking out the sun. This was not mist, but corpse vapor produced by the talismans burning the corpse demon.

Such dense corpse vapor was unexpected. Yang Chengzi dared not let down his guard. As the formation was shrouded, darkness descended. Fortunately, both men knew the formation’s layout well.

Concerned for Lu Qichang’s safety, Yang Chengzi called out, "Head to the Xun position!" He drew out his peachwood stake and thrust it at the coffin, the collision ringing out.

Damn, it escaped, Yang Chengzi thought, pulling out more talismans and casting them skyward, reciting another spell.

With a series of bursts, some of the smoke was dispersed. Looking into the coffin, he saw the peachwood stake had pierced it, but nothing was inside. Glancing around, he saw no trace of the corpse demon. Only black, sticky fluid lay on the ground, causing Yang Chengzi to frown. That direction pointed exactly to the Xun position—had it gone toward Lu Qichang?

Yang Chengzi drew the Shangqing Sword and shouted, "Qichang, it may be headed to Xun. Ready your peachwood stake!"

Lu Qichang replied, unseen, "I'm waiting. If it comes, I'll stab it to death."

Hearing Lu Qichang was safe, Yang Chengzi relaxed a little and rushed toward Xun, Shangqing Sword in hand. The closer he got, the stronger the stench of decay became, making him nauseous.

With a swipe of his finger across the sword, its blade glowed red. The corpse vapor touching it was continually evaporated, rising to the formation's upper reaches. Within the formation, the vapor diminished, visibility improved, but upon reaching Xun, he found Lu Qichang waiting with his peachwood stake. The two stood back to back, waiting, but the corpse demon did not appear.

This was a bad omen. It differed greatly from the corpse demons Yang Chengzi knew. Their bodies were hard as stone, but they had no intelligence—only the predatory instinct of beasts. They would never hide, but instead seek out human presence. The current situation suggested either the corpse demon possessed intelligence and deliberately avoided them, or it was truly trapped within the formation.

But moments ago, it had nearly reached Xun. As a corpse demon, it should have found Lu Qichang by his human aura. Something was wrong.

Could it not be a corpse demon? Then what was the origin of this pervasive corpse vapor? Was it some evil sorcerer's creation, carrying not only a body but intelligence as well?

Yang Chengzi gripped his Shangqing Sword and said to Lu Qichang, "I’ll take you to the Gate of Life. You should leave the formation. I fear this is no ordinary corpse demon—your presence might distract me."

Lu Qichang understood, and though worried for Yang Chengzi, his own skills were limited. Against a normal corpse demon, perhaps he could survive, but if this was something else, self-preservation was doubtful. He agreed without argument.

"Should we summon the master? This thing seems evasive—hard to deal with."

Yang Chengzi shook his head. "Within the formation, it can't cause much trouble. Wait outside and keep others from wandering in."

Back to back, they moved toward the Gate of Life. After sending Lu Qichang out, Yang Chengzi searched the formation, traversing all eight positions, but found nothing.

After this thorough search, Yang Chengzi concluded the special corpse demon was deliberately avoiding him. Not only was it intelligent, it was cunning.

As Yang Chengzi pondered how to force it out, a golden talisman shadow crashed down from above the formation. Startled, he realized the creature was trying to escape overhead, but the power of the formation suppressed it.

After a quarter-hour, Yang Chengzi still had not glimpsed the corpse demon, only wandered blindly through the formation. Wherever the Shangqing Sword passed, corpse vapor was evaporated, gathering overhead and thickening. This outcome was unexpected; Yang Chengzi had never anticipated the corpse demon could hide so thoroughly. If it continued, by nightfall, as the yin energy grew and the formation weakened, things could spiral out of control.

But Yang Chengzi had a plan: use ink lines to seal the paths within the formation, gradually forcing it toward the Death Gate at the Li position and slaying it there.

He sent Lu Qichang to prepare enough ink lines. Meanwhile, he guarded the Gate of Life, vigilant. Lu Qichang hurried home, villagers helping him. They slaughtered four large roosters, mixing four bowls of rooster blood with four bowls of ink. The ink line and a large spool were soaked whole in the mixture. To cover the entire formation, at least one full spool was needed.

Time was short. Once the ink lines were soaked, Lu Qichang carried the bucket to Yang Chengzi. Even Yang Chengzi was astonished, but urgency left no time to find dozens more ink lines. He thought Lu Qichang had some cleverness; the roosters were freshly killed, full of yang energy.

Yang Chengzi took the bucket, found the end of the line, and began winding it around tree trunks, proceeding cautiously, knowing the corpse demon was hiding. A single wound could mean deadly corpse poison.

Following the eight trigrams—Qian, Dui, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Kun—Yang Chengzi sealed each path with the ink line. Only Li, the Death Gate, remained. Within the formation, the Li position covered the largest area.

This was not a killing formation; the Death Gate did not trigger spells, but with the ten Celestial Stems and twelve Earthly Branches shifting, Li was larger than Yang Chengzi expected. The ink line in the bucket was nearly exhausted, so he calculated carefully, sealing Li in halves to conserve material.

On the left side of Li, Yang Chengzi smelled a pungent stench of decay. Though the white corpse vapor had dissipated, the odor was unbearable. No need to search—surely the corpse demon was ahead. Yang Chengzi cautiously lifted the bucket, ready to splash the remaining rooster blood at any moment.

Even half a bucket of rooster blood would rot the corpse demon’s body, or at least strip off a layer of skin. Passing the tree trunk, he saw it at last: the corpse demon appeared before him, its back turned, gnawing on something.