The Daoist sect, naturally, could not passively await their doom. They dispatched people multiple times to sneak out, or used carrier pigeons to send for aid, but all such assistance vanished without a trace.
Perhaps not receiving a reply was a good thing for them.
For they did not know that all the martial arts forces in the Xiangnan region had already been occupied by the Corpse Manor. The few remaining sects faced a similar predicament to the Daoist sect.
Once they unified Xiangnan, they would advance elsewhere, bringing the entire Song Dynasty martial arts world under the Corpse Manor's sphere of influence.
In less than half a month, the Corpse Manor's influence grew exponentially. Their disciples numbered in the tens of thousands, each capable of being considered a master in the jianghu.
One sect after another fell into the Corpse Manor's hands. Their disciples were forced to practice the Corpse Manor's cultivation techniques, transforming into beings that were neither human nor ghost.
Beneath Chicken Lone Mountain, Shi Bu Niāo licked his eyebrows with his tongue, looking at the high mountain gate of the Daoist sect with a hint of impatience. Su Dan Novel Network.
If they hadn't wanted the Daoist sect to retain more experts to learn the New Lying Corpse Divine Skill, they would have already charged up and annihilated the sect without leaving a single survivor.
Did this Daoist sect truly believe its Tortoise Shell Divine Skill was invincible?
Before the New Lying Corpse Divine Skill, it was nothing more than trash!
A wisp of black smoke flickered in Shi Bu Niāo's eyes. In his vision, the Daoist sect mountain was shrouded in dense black smoke, forming a cowering ghastly face.
This indicated that the Daoist sect was in a state of fear, with everyone inside the mountain gate living in precarious safety. Attacking the mountain gate at this moment would likely result in most of them surrendering.
This skill no longer belonged to the realm of martial arts; it was an ability the Corpse Manor's ancestor had bestowed upon Shi Bu Niāo.
Some days prior, the Corpse Manor had brought back a corpse.
This corpse had awakened within the Corpse Manor, claiming to be the Corpse Manor's ancestor, a thousand-year-sleeping Zombie King.
Whether it was "Ancestor" or "Zombie King," both were self-proclaimed titles, and their veracity was unknown.
However, the ancestor's overwhelming strength was undeniable. He had bestowed upon the Corpse Manor a supreme divine skill. Within days, Corpse Manor disciples who practiced this martial art had become first-rate masters in the jianghu, their strength having increased tenfold or more.
The only requirement the ancestor had for this divine skill was for the Corpse Manor to expand rapidly and have more people learn the New Lying Corpse Divine Skill.
Shi Bu Niāo waved his hand grandly, "The time is ripe. It is time to cast the net. My children, commence the attack!"
The Corpse Manor disciples revealed ferocious expressions, emitting wolf-like howls and strange cries as they charged towards the Daoist sect's mountain gate.
The Daoist sect's mountain gate was built on a sheer cliff, and the only way to ascend was via a rope bridge.
This rope bridge had long been retracted by the Daoist sect members. The remaining four sides were sheer cliffs, and under normal circumstances, the Corpse Manor disciples would be unable to ascend.
But to everyone's surprise, these Corpse Manor disciples began to cling to the cliff face, crawling towards the summit like geckos!
The Daoist sect disciples were terrified, their hands and feet turning numb. These black-clad individuals no longer resembled martial artists but rather man-eating demons from bizarre tales.
At one of the mountain gate's entrances, seven or eight Daoist sect disciples stood guard, with a man sporting a middle-parted hairstyle giving orders.
This man was the senior disciple of the Daoist sect, named Wu Kai.
Because he could fight to a draw with third-rate masters and also hold his own against Grandmaster-level experts, he had earned the jianghu nickname "Five-Five Kai."
Wu Kai watched the Corpse Manor disciples relentlessly climbing up from below, his scalp tingling slightly. He immediately ordered his junior brothers and sisters to hurl rolling logs, rocks, and incendiary oil down the mountain.
He absolutely could not allow these individuals to ascend. If they made it up, their fate would be far worse than death.
A comely female disciple of the Daoist sect took out a packet of lime powder and sprinkled it down towards the attackers.
The Corpse Manor disciples, who were climbing, were immediately blinded. The female disciple seized the opportunity, hefted a rock weighing several dozen catties, and smashed it down towards the Corpse Manor disciple.
Blinded by the lime powder, the Corpse Manor disciple could not dodge and was directly hit by the large rock.
The female disciple's face lit up with joy. Such a heavy rock, thrown from such a height, would cause even a first-rate master to bleed profusely. She had dealt with an attacker.
However, the female disciple's joy lasted only a few seconds before her face contorted in terror.
The Corpse Manor disciple had indeed been struck by the rock, his skull deformed, and his face shattered into several pieces, but... he was still alive!
His hands still gripped the cliff face firmly. His broken face contorted into a terrifying grin, and he continued to climb towards the summit like a spider, his terror no less than that of Wen Wen crawling around outside in the dead of night.
The female disciple trembled and took two steps back, her will to fight completely gone. As a martial artist, she had always considered herself a "manly woman," never batting an eye when killing enemies in battle.
But the scene before her ignited her fear. These individuals attacking the mountain gate were not human at all!
As Shi Bu Niāo had said, after days of being besieged and subjected to relentless pressure, the Daoist sect disciples' spirits had reached their breaking point. All it took was the display of overwhelming strength, and they would lose their will to resist.
"Little Junior Sister, what's wrong?"
Wu Kai, having just shoved one Corpse Manor disciple back down the mountain, noticed the female disciple's anomaly.
"Senior Brother, I... Ah!"
A scarlet tongue snaked out from beneath the cliff face behind the female disciple, coiling around her slender waist.
The sticky tongue writhed rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it had twisted into a binding knot. The Corpse Manor disciple with the shattered face, his mouth agape in a ferocious grin, slowly crawled upwards.
Not only had the female disciple's position been breached, but Corpse Manor disciples were also climbing up at other points.
When they were close enough, Wu Kai got a clear look at their faces and felt a chill run down his spine.
On their tongues, faces, and arms, there were stiff corpse spots. They did not breathe, and their skin was devoid of warmth.
These Corpse Manor disciples could perhaps no longer be called humans, but rather monstrous corpse-men!
They were mere martial artists, not supernatural beings who captured ghosts and subdued demons. Facing this scene, they had no power to resist.
The male disciples who attempted to resist were gruesomely dismembered by these corpse-men, their bodies devoured as if they were delicacies.
Those who surrendered were force-fed a pill by these corpse-men. After consuming it, they became stiff, sitting motionlessly with vacant eyes.
As for the female disciples, regardless of whether they resisted, they were all bound by the corpse-men's tongues.
They were not fed the pills, as they had other uses.
The corpse-men would arrange for them to learn the New Lying Corpse Divine Skill, after which they would be sent to the ancestor's chambers.
To date, nearly a thousand female disciples from various sects had been sent to that room, but not a single one had ever emerged alive.
Wu Kai took a deep breath, also filled with despair. He wanted to drop his shield, thinking that at least then he might survive.
But as his hand loosened, he immediately tightened his grip.
He was the senior disciple of the Daoist sect. Others could surrender, but he could not!