83: Hidden within the Poison Dragon Ravine lies a mystery; an ancient coffin and a ferocious corpse reveal their true nature.

Leaving the ruins of the Mountain God Temple, Li Muchen didn't immediately head to the "Poison Dragon Ravine" revealed by Release Void. He first found a hidden cave nearby to meditate and adjust his breathing, recovering most of the True Essence consumed by setting up and breaking Formations and using thunder techniques last night. At the same time, he carefully sorted through the information from Release Void, the records in Wu Yuanshan's files, and what he had seen and heard since entering Western Hunan.

Corpse Old Nine was cunning and ruthless. With his nest destroyed, his capable Iron Corpse ruined, and himself severely injured, he would surely be more cautious, perhaps even having abandoned the base near Wild Boar Gully. If Poison Dragon Ravine truly was his last secret corpse-raising ground, it would surely be filled with traps and dangers. As for that potentially "even more powerful evil creature," it was an even greater unknown.

As for "Hemp Third Aunt," her danger Rank was marked as "High" in the files. She excelled in Gu poison and ghost-raising arts, seemingly sharing origins with the Corpse Driver but not interfering with each other. If Corpse Old Nine really had an old acquaintance with her and went to seek refuge, things would become even more complicated. Gu poison techniques were eerie and unpredictable, hard to guard against, and when combined with corpse-refining arts, their power increased even further.

"I need to settle this quickly, finding him and resolving this hidden threat before Corpse Old Nine meets up with Hemp Third Aunt or fully recovers," Li Muchen decided.

At dawn, he set off again. This time, he no longer hid his tracks, but he didn't make a grand entrance either. He simply pushed his movement technique to the limit, moving toward Poison Dragon Ravine like a swift gust of wind through the mountains. His Spiritual Sense was highly focused, constantly probing the Aura fluctuations and energy traces on the path ahead, both for tracking and as a warning.

The further west he went, the more treacherous the mountains became. The miasma thickened, and traces of poisonous insects and Vicious Beasts became more frequent. In many places, there were no paths at all, requiring him to scale precipices and trek through impenetrable primeval forests. The ancient, murky "Earth Yin" energy characteristic of the Western Hunan land also grew heavier, as if it had settled with countless ages of death and secrets.

Based on the general location provided by Release Void and his sense of the flow of Earth Yin corpse energy, Li Muchen finally arrived at a daunting place in the afternoon.

Ahead, two black cliffs, looking as if split by a giant axe, formed a bottomless, dark fissure. Above the fissure, grey-green, roiling poisonous miasma loomed year-round; even in daylight, sunlight could hardly penetrate it.

At the entrance of the fissure, jagged rocks stood tall and not a blade of grass grew. Only some strangely colored moss and lichen clung to the slippery rocks. A gust of Yin wind, a mixture of deadly poison, decay, and a strong stench of corpses, surged out from the depths of the fissure in waves, making one feel nauseous.

This was the Poison Dragon Ravine. True to its name, it was like the wide-open mouth of a poisonous Dragon, waiting to swallow all intruders.

Li Muchen stopped a hundred paces from the ravine entrance. His Spiritual Sense carefully extended forward, but as soon as it approached the entrance area, he felt a powerful, chaotic, and violent evil Yin field. Like an invisible barrier, it interfered with and even repelled the probing of external Mental Energy. His Spiritual Sense felt like it had fallen into a thick mire, making progress difficult and his perception blurred.

"What a powerful natural death trap, plus man-made Restrictions," Li Muchen frowned. The terrain of Poison Dragon Ravine itself was treacherous, and the pervasive poisonous miasma served as a natural barrier. Corpse Old Nine had clearly built upon this, setting up powerful interference and defensive Formations, making it hard for outsiders to see the truth inside the ravine.

He tried to control his Spiritual Sense more finely, attempting to penetrate the weak points of the chaotic field like a thin needle, but with little effect. He could only barely perceive that deep within the ravine, the corpse energy was as thick as substance, and more than one place emitted a powerful Aura of "dead things" filled with resentment and ferocity. One of those Auras faintly carried Corpse Old Nine's unique, mixed, and evil dharmic power fluctuations; though weak, it still existed.

Corpse Old Nine was indeed hiding here! Moreover, there were indeed other powerful "things" inside the ravine.

A frontal assault? Li Muchen looked at the roiling poisonous miasma and the chaotic field in his perception, shaking his head. Charging in blindly would mean not only facing unknown poisons and Formations but also potentially alerting Corpse Old Nine and the evil creatures he raised, falling into a passive state of being besieged. Especially in a home field the opponent had managed for years, the risk was too great.

He needed to find another way.

Li Muchen retreated further and carefully observed the terrain around Poison Dragon Ravine. The ravine entrance was narrow, with nearly vertical black cliffs on both sides, soaring into the clouds and difficult for even monkeys to climb. But... his gaze fell to the right of Poison Dragon Ravine, about a mile away, where the mountain slope was slightly gentler. There was an ancient ridge covered in thick vines and shrubs, with almost no visible tracks, which seemed to wind toward the peaks behind Poison Dragon Ravine.

Perhaps he could bypass it from above, look for another entrance, or... observe the situation inside the ravine from a high vantage point.

He no longer hesitated. With a movement of his body, he sped toward that hidden ridge.

The path along the ridge was indeed difficult, with almost no road to speak of, consisting entirely of steep slopes and dense forests that required climbing. But for Li Muchen, this was much safer than directly entering Poison Dragon Ravine. It took him nearly an hour to arduously reach the top of the ridge. The altitude here was high, and the grey-green poisonous miasma above Poison Dragon Ravine rolled beneath his feet like a murky sea of clouds.

Crouching behind a giant rock, he looked down.

Part of the full view of Poison Dragon Ravine was revealed before him. It was a narrow north-south fissure dozens of meters deep, no more than ten meters wide at its broadest point, with steep cliffs on both sides. A stream was faintly visible at the bottom, along with some manually refined platforms and cave entrances. The heavy corpse energy and poisonous miasma mostly gathered at the bottom and the lower half of the ravine.

At the deepest part of Poison Dragon Ravine, at the base of the cliff on the shady side, Li Muchen saw an exceptionally large cave entrance that was clearly man-made and expanded. The entrance was blocked by two heavy, dark wooden doors that seemed to be mixed with metal. Densely packed, layered dark-yellow talismans were pasted on the doors, fluttering slightly in the poisonous miasma. The strongest corpse energy and Corpse Old Nine's weak Aura were emanating from that very cave.

"Corpse Raising Cave..." Li Muchen locked his gaze there. That must be the core of Corpse Old Nine's final nest.

But how to get down? Going directly down from this nearly vertical cliff would inevitably expose him to the poisonous miasma and the line of sight from the cave entrance. Furthermore, although his Spiritual Sense couldn't perceive it clearly, given Corpse Old Nine's cunning, the cliff walls and the ground near the entrance were definitely filled with traps.

Just as he was considering his strategy, that dark wooden door below suddenly opened a crack with a "creak"!

A thin, hunched, and slow-moving figure, leaning on a black wooden cane, arduously squeezed out from the crack. It was Corpse Old Nine!

He looked even more pathetic than last night. His face was as grey and defeated as a dead man's, and the black robe he wore was covered in dark-red stains. He walked with a limp, his Aura withered and weak. Clearly, the backlash from the Blood Escape Substitute Technique and his injuries from last night were extremely severe.

Corpse Old Nine looked around warily (mainly at the ravine floor and the opposite cliff), then looked up at the roiling poisonous miasma above, seemingly not noticing Li Muchen on the high ridge. He coughed a few times, spitting out a mouthful of thick phlegm laced with black Qi, then pulled out a palm-sized, oddly shaped black bone whistle from his robe, put it to his lips, and blew hard.

No sound came out (or rather, it was beyond the range of human hearing), but strange ripples appeared on the surface of the bone whistle.

A moment later, rustling sounds came from several other smaller caves deep within Poison Dragon Ravine. Then, seven or eight zombies with stiff movements but seemingly more "agile" than ordinary Walking Corpses wobbled out and gathered before Corpse Old Nine. These zombies wore tattered ancient clothing, and their skin was shriveled and bluish-black. They were clearly quite old, "old stock" that Corpse Old Nine had collected over many years.

Corpse Old Nine muttered something to these zombies and waved his cane, seemingly issuing commands. Then, he moved away from the entrance, and the zombies formed a crooked line, mechanically walking into that dark wooden door and disappearing.

Corpse Old Nine didn't follow them in but stood guard warily at the door, seemingly waiting for something.

Li Muchen was puzzled. Corpse Old Nine was heavily injured; what was his intention in driving these "old corpses" into the core of the Corpse Raising Cave now? To replenish guards? Or... was he performing some ritual or operation that he was currently unable to complete himself?

He waited patiently. After about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, the zombies that had entered didn't come out. Instead, a low, suppressed sound, like countless stones rubbing together or metal scraping, faintly came from the dark doorway, getting clearer and closer!

Hearing this sound, a sickly excitement and expectation actually appeared on Corpse Old Nine's grey face, and his hand holding the cane trembled slightly.

Finally, amidst that tooth-grinding scraping sound, a huge shadow that almost blocked the entire doorway slowly "moved" out from the dark depths!

It was actually... a giant stone coffin!

The stone coffin was dark green all over and covered in simple, rough patterns. The lid was not completely closed, leaving a palm-wide gap from which a thick, black corpse baleful energy, almost solidified, billowed out like smoke! The stone coffin itself was extremely heavy, being "carried" out slowly in an eerie, synchronized manner by the seven or eight "old corpses" from before, who had tied it with thick hemp ropes soaked in corpse oil!

The moment the stone coffin was carried out of the cave, the entire Poison Dragon Ravine seemed to vibrate slightly! The roiling poisonous miasma at the bottom of the ravine suddenly became a bit more violent. Even Li Muchen, high above, felt an unprecedented, bone-chilling, and terrifyingly fierce Aura, like a Vicious Beast that had slept for thousands of years suddenly waking up, erupting from that stone coffin!

This Aura was so strong and evil that it far surpassed the Iron Corpses he had seen before, and was even several times more terrifying than Corpse Old Nine in his prime!

Even Corpse Old Nine couldn't help but take two steps back in the face of this Aura. However, his face was filled with fanaticism and greed as he rasped, "Soon... almost there! As long as you absorb enough 'living soul blood food,' you can fully awaken and become my, Corpse Old Nine's, strongest 'Corpse King'! When that time comes, whatever Palm Thunder, whatever bullshit Taoist, they will all become your blood food and my stepping stones!"

He coughed violently but struggled to take out a small black jade bottle from his robe. He uncorked it and carefully poured the thick, dark-red liquid, which emitted a pungent smell of blood and resentment, onto the gap in the lid of the giant stone coffin.

"Sizzle..."

The liquid seeped into the gap, acting like oil on a fire. The fierce Aura from within the stone coffin became even more violent, and the lid began to vibrate slightly, as if the thing inside couldn't wait to break out of the coffin!

On the ridge, Li Muchen took all of this in, his heart filled with shock.

This stone coffin and the "thing" Sealed inside were likely Corpse Old Nine's true trump card and ambition! It was by no means an ordinary refined corpse; its Aura was so ancient and fierce that it was very likely a true "ancient corpse," or even some ancient malevolent entity that had undergone a terrifying mutation, which Corpse Old Nine had discovered by chance and was trying to control by nourishing it with evil methods.

No wonder he dared to stay in Poison Dragon Ravine after his defeat last night; he was relying on this not-yet-fully-awakened "Corpse King"!

He must not let it fully awaken!

A cold light flashed in Li Muchen's eyes. Right now, Corpse Old Nine was heavily injured and weak, with most of his focus on the stone coffin—it was the perfect time to strike! Moreover, he had to resolve both the "Corpse King" and Corpse Old Nine before the "Corpse King" broke out of the coffin!

He no longer hesitated. The True Essence in his body surged wildly, and in the palm of his right hand, that brilliant white thunder light began to condense once more! This time, he didn't compress it; instead, he gathered all the purest Yang Thunder power he could mobilize!

At the same time, he flipped his left hand, and the earth vein suppression talisman connected to the Yuntai Mountain earth vein appeared in his palm again. Although the distance was great and he couldn't directly borrow the immense power of the earth vein, the "suppression" and "stabilization" dao rhyme inherent in the suppression talisman, combined with his own True Essence, could still create a powerful binding and interference effect!

Below, Corpse Old Nine seemed to sense something. He suddenly looked up, staring toward the ridge with suspicion and uncertainty. But the poisonous miasma and Restrictions interfered with his perception; he didn't find a specific target, but warning signs blared in his heart!

"Who is it?!"

At the very moment he shouted—

On the ridge, Li Muchen's figure suddenly leapt out like a giant bird spreading its wings! He didn't just dive down; as he leapt, he pressed the earth vein suppression talisman in his left hand heavily toward the Poison Dragon Ravine below!

"Buzz—!"

An invisible yet heavy-as-a-mountain suppression force didn't target Corpse Old Nine or the stone coffin directly, but accurately enveloped the ground and space near the entrance of Poison Dragon Ravine! The movements of the "old corpses" carrying the coffin suddenly halted as if they were carrying a thousand pounds, and Corpse Old Nine also felt his whole body grow heavy, his dharmic power no longer flowing smoothly!

At the same time, Li Muchen held his right hand high above his head. In his palm, a sphere of brilliant white thunder, even more intense and violent than last night's, had already formed. The thunder light danced, forcing back and purifying the surrounding poisonous miasma!

"Corpse Old Nine! Die!"

With a sharp cry, Li Muchen's figure fell like a meteor, carrying a majestic thunderous power and an unstoppable Aura, crashing down toward the giant stone coffin and the terrified Corpse Old Nine at the bottom of the ravine!

The Palm Thunder's light illuminated the dark Poison Dragon Ravine and also reflected Corpse Old Nine's distorted face, which was filled with despair and madness.

The final battle erupted violently in this miasma-filled death trap!