Once everything was settled, Han turned to Yun Yun with a serious expression.

  "What did you mean earlier? What kind of creature has been raised here?"

  Yun Yun's face grew tense. "Dai Liu, using the methods of the Earth Corpse Sect, found his way here. In the Earth Corpse Sect, such places are referred to as Death Curse Hellish Grounds."

  "These grounds are born from the natural gathering of doom and death. If a rift from the underworld happens to form, the energy converges and creates this kind of terrain."

  "Such places, if they happen to have buried corpses, can give birth to a Death Curse Hellish Corpse. Upon its birth, it absorbs most of the mystical energy from the surrounding doom-infused land."

  "This type of corpse is incredibly fierce, possessing many unique abilities. Right after forming, it can rival a realm of inner organ cultivation, and its growth speed is terrifying."

  "And unlike ordinary zombies, the Death Curse Hellish Corpse... has a soul."

  "When Dai Liu arrived, the corpse had already killed those men, drained their blood, and disappeared."

  "He took advantage of the situation, killing all the remaining miners, then entered the mine to cultivate. The remaining death aura and doom energy were beneficial for his corpse cultivation, and had we arrived even an hour later, he would have completed his cultivation and left."

  "A special being born from the devouring of heaven and earth’s might..."

  Han’s expression darkened with concern. "That’s terrifying."

  He quickly sent a snail message to Lu Qingmo, explaining the situation.

  "Earth Corpse Sect? Death Curse Hellish Corpse?"

  "Wait for me there."

  Lu Qingmo hung up in a hurry, and not long after, she appeared from the sky.

  "Where’s Dai Liu’s soul?" she asked.

  Han handed her the soul fragment, and Lu Qingmo immediately began searching through it.

  Dai Liu screamed, "Stop! Stop! My father is an elder of the Earth Corpse Sect! You can’t do this to me! Aaaah!"

  Soul-searching was never pleasant—it could cause harm to the soul. But Lu Qingmo didn't care about the Earth Corpse Sect and quickly obtained what she needed.

  After being injured by a magical seal and severely beaten by Han, Dai Liu's soul was already in a fragile state, almost dissipating. But just then, a fan-shaped mark appeared in the center of his forehead, and a figure sprang out.

  "Who? Who dares harm my son?!"

  The figure was a stern middle-aged man, his gaze burning with rage. As soon as he appeared, the surrounding temperature increased.

  However, from his intangible form, it was clear that this was just a soul imprint—not even a split soul, similar to the former "Su Tian Nu."

  The man, Dai Lin, looked at Han and the others, locking his eyes on Lu Qingmo. His expression changed, and he was about to erupt, but then he bit back his anger.

  "A master!" Han thought.

  "I am Dai Lin, an elder of the Earth Corpse Sect. Could you please show the Earth Corpse Sect some mercy and spare my son? I, Dai Lin, will offer a generous reward!"

  Dai Lin glanced at his son with rising anger, but because he was only a soul imprint, powerless to act, and facing unfamiliar experts, he had no choice but to swallow his fury.

  "Don’t make me find a chance to make you all wish you were never born!"

  Lu Qingmo didn’t even glance at him, simply uttering two words.

  "Kill him."

  Swish!

  A wooden sword appeared out of nowhere, slicing through Dai Lin’s soul imprint, then swiftly taking Dai Liu’s life.

  Han acted decisively and without hesitation.

  "I don't care about the Heavenly Mother Sect's Tian Nu—why would I fear the likes of you, Earth Corpse Sect?"

  "Earth Corpse Sect? How many teachers do they even have?!"

  Far away in Tianwang County, located in the distant lands of the Tianmo Province, the Earth Corpse Sect’s main gate...

  "Ah!"

  A roar of pain and fury echoed as Dai Lin’s soul shot upwards into the sky, releasing his burning rage. His eyes were bloodshot.

  "If I don’t avenge this, I, Dai Lin, swear I will never be human again!"

  Heaven above, how could it be that his son, who was so obedient and kind-hearted, met such a tragic fate after just one journey?

  "Old Heaven, blind and deaf!" Dai Lin’s soul returned to his body and stepped out of his palace, storming toward the Earth Corpse Sect’s heart.

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  Looking into his open palace, the floor was covered in bones, and a broken, naked woman lay, her body bruised and her neck twisted.

  "The Earth Corpse Sect is a dark force from Tianmo County," Lu Qingmo explained.

  "From Dai Liu's memories, their strength is slightly stronger than the forces in Tianyue County, but not by much. They specialize in cultivating and raising corpses using various terrains. Among cultivators of the same level, they’re quite strong."

  "Tianmo County... That’s far from here."

  There are four entire counties between Tianyue and Tianmo.

  "This is just a small, insignificant dark sect. No need to worry about them." Lu Qingmo shook her head.

  Compared to the Xuandu Sect, this sect was nothing.

  "If they dare to come here, I’ll make sure they don’t leave."

  After saying this, Lu Qingmo flew back to the mine. After a brief investigation inside, she came back out.

  "It’s definitely a Death Curse Hellish Ground," she sighed. "The Death Curse Hellish Corpse has formed, but it could be hiding anywhere. Tracking it down will be difficult."

  "Such corpses are invulnerable to fire, cannot be severed by metal, and are impervious to water. They are born from the cracks between the living and the underworld, naturally endowed with the ability to conceal themselves, making them hard to find."

  "The essence of living blood, the doom of the heavens and earth, and the corrupting force of sin can all nourish its growth, making it extremely fast."

  "Is it difficult to deal with?" Han quickly asked.

  "It’s not hard now, but if given time to grow, it will become troublesome."

  "The Death Curse Hellish Body is powerful even among those of the same level, with innate corpse-based abilities."

  Han frowned, sensing the growing danger of this creature.

  Yun Duoduo asked bluntly, "When the iron mine was being excavated, didn’t anyone notice this was a Death Curse Hellish Ground?"

  "It was initially just a place where doom was gathering naturally," Lu Qingmo replied, shaking her head. Although she had never been here before, it was easy for her to deduce the past events.

  "Places where doom gathers aren’t rare. Many ore veins show such signs."

  "Gathered doom, buried sin, cracks between worlds..." Han murmured, understanding the formation conditions.

  "Did a lot of people die here, under the mine?"

  "From my observations using Daoist techniques, over a thousand people were buried beneath this mine."

  Han was shocked. "Over a thousand people?"

  Yun Duoduo gasped in surprise.

  "Furthermore, every one of them died with strong resentment and hatred, their souls bound by sinful power."

  "And recently..." Han added, "There have been two earthquakes, which turned it into a Death Curse Hellish Ground."

  Old legends say that when the earth shakes, rifts form between the living and the underworld, leaking the aura of the underworld and disturbing the human world.

  "Let’s head back to Heiyun Town," Lu Qingmo said. She glanced at Han.

  "Mojie, we’ll return on our own."

  "Alright."

  With that, Lu Qingmo flew away, truly carefree.

  As they made their way back, Yun Yun suddenly spoke up.

  “Han, this time... thank you for saving me.”

  Han smiled nonchalantly, “No need to thank me, this was something between me and Yun Duo. You actually helped us out.”

  Though Han could have handled it even without Yun Yun's help, she indeed played a crucial part.

  Yun Duo, who was belatedly aware of the situation, chimed in, “You're right, Han, we would’ve been in danger without you. That would’ve been bad for me and Big Sis.”

  “Han, you’re amazing!” Yun Duo looked somewhat excited. “You’re still at the Meridian Stage, but you could easily handle a ghost corpse comparable to a small-level organ stage!”

  “You’re the strongest and the most gifted person I’ve ever met!”

  “The ghost corpse doesn’t practice martial arts; it’s just a body, which I happen to have an advantage over,” Han said humbly.

  “You’re truly powerful. I’m no match for you,” Yun Yun felt a complex emotion stir in her heart.

  As someone who also practiced both martial and spiritual paths, she couldn’t help but compare herself to Han at times.

  However, every time, Han’s abilities outshone hers by miles.

  When she reached the Organ Stage during the last trip to Black Mountain, she thought, "Now, I might get a head start on Han."

  But after today, Yun Yun realized that this kind of genius was beyond comprehension—it exceeded her imagination.

  There was simply no comparison. They weren’t even from the same world.

  “Aunt Mo’s judgment really never goes wrong,” Yun Yun suddenly commented.

  Han was confused. “Why bring up Aunt Mo?”

  “I was twelve when Aunt Mo came to Black Cloud Town in her second year. It was the age when I could begin cultivating,” Yun Yun explained.

  “My father took me to meet Aunt Mo, hoping she would take me as a disciple, but...”

  Back then, it turned out that Yun Yun’s talents were not enough to impress Aunt Mo.

  Later, Aunt Mo took Yun Yun’s younger sister as a disciple—though it was just a nominal apprenticeship. It was likely a complex situation for Yun Yun.

  At that moment, Yun Duo hugged Yun Yun’s arm in what seemed like a silent comfort.

  Han didn’t speak; it wasn’t the right time for the so-called "genius of Black Cloud" to say anything.

  Back at Black Cloud, Yun Yun left first, and Han and Yun Duo went to meet Aunt Mo in the Peach Grove.

  “This must not be spread,” Aunt Mo instructed after giving some brief directions to Yun Duo, telling her to leave first.

  “Aunt Mo, how should we deal with this?” Han asked.

  “We cannot allow the deathly cursed ghost corpse to grow any stronger,” Aunt Mo said. “We need to find it quickly.”

  She sighed again. “The world’s changing; demons are rising. Now we have the cursed ghost corpse. Who knows what else may appear in the future?”

  “But where can we even search for it?”

  The ghost corpse had already been dealt with; otherwise, Han could have demonstrated his decisive skills.

  “I’ll think about it,” Aunt Mo furrowed her brow.

  “We can’t make a big deal of it, lest the heretics hear and come after the cursed ghost corpse…”

  Such a special and dangerous corpse would be irresistible to certain corpse refining cultivators.

  If someone could turn it into their own life-bound corpse, their future would be bright indeed.

  “By the way, Aunt Mo, why didn’t the cursed ghost corpse kill everyone in the mine, and only target the government martial artists?” Han wondered aloud.

  Aunt Mo shook her head. “I don’t know either.”

  “The ghost corpse has a soul and might even have memories from its past life. No one knows its thoughts.”

  “Could the ghost corpse have gone to Black Mountain?” Han considered the possibility, thinking about how there was no place that could compare to Black Mountain in terms of powerful blood essence.

  “No, the Mountain God is still there. It won’t allow such a thing to enter.”

  Han then handed her two bags.

  One was Dai Liu’s space bag, and the other was a special tool for storing corpses.

  “Two green zombies and a ghost corpse, though they’re badly damaged, the value has greatly dropped,” Aunt Mo commented.

  “Refining corpses is a dangerous path to power—walking corpses, white zombies, green zombies... and even the most terrifying of all, the Earth and Heaven corpses.”

  “Usually, when facing a corpse refining cultivator, you’ll have to deal with several ruthless, death-defying creatures.”

  “Though most arts are neutral, those who practice corpse refining and corpse control are easily led down the evil path.”

  Refining corpses, using your enemies’ bodies, isn’t necessarily wrong, but it comes with the risk of being hunted by family and friends.

  But some cultivators, in their quest for power, would go so far as to dig up ancestral graves or intentionally slaughter living beings—this is pure evil.

  Aunt Mo cautioned, “Always remember your original intentions and never stray down the wrong path.”

  “Don’t worry, Aunt Mo,” Han reassured her.

  With someone like An Lang around, Han felt she would rather sleep than waste her energy on causing harm.

  After all, she had been asleep for five years before, turning her into a full-fledged homebody ghost.

  That perfectly fit the saying: "Once dead, burn paper when needed."