Two men appeared out of nowhere. One was about forty years old, entirely swathed in black robes, exuding a musty aura.
This man was named Zu Shouchun, a native of Xiangxi. He also held another identity: a descendant of the Xiangxi Corpse Herding Sect, a lineage of corpse herders.
Corpse herders were a unique profession in the Xiangxi region. In ancient times, returning to one's ancestral land was paramount. If a person died far from home and couldn't be buried in the family grave, they became a wandering spirit, denied rebirth.
However, Xiangxi was a region of harsh mountains and difficult terrain. Transporting a corpse back home from such places was incredibly challenging, which led to the emergence of the corpse herding profession.
Ordinary corpse herders worked in pairs. They would apply special medicinal herbs to the corpses to prevent decomposition.
When traveling, the two herders would walk one in front and one behind, each carrying two bamboo poles on their shoulders. The corpses were then tied to these poles between them. As they walked, it appeared as though the corpses were being herded, hence the name "corpse herder."
When an industry has been passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years, there are bound to be exceptional individuals who improve upon it. The Corpse Herding Sect was an organization formed by such people. They sought to avoid relying solely on physical strength and instead researched methods to control corpses using talismans. This allowed a single person to manage multiple corpses.
However, in later times, especially over the past century, with the promotion of cremation and the general rise in education, corpse herders have largely vanished from the annals of history.
Nevertheless, in some remote mountain villages of Xiangxi, corpse herders still exist, though their scope of operations has become very limited, confined to the remote mountainous areas of Xiangxi.
After all, in this era, carrying a corpse around would undoubtedly attract the attention of the authorities.
This man, Zu Shouchun, had generations of corpse herders in his family. He was also one of the few remaining corpse herders in the world.
This fellow was in his forties and still a bachelor. He had no successor, and no one was willing to learn his craft. Originally, Zu Shouchun believed his family's skill would die out with him. However, things had changed in recent years.
With the resurgence of spiritual energy on Earth, Zu Shouchun discovered that some of the lost techniques within the Corpse Herding lineage could be used again.
Following this, a mysterious person approached him, claiming to be from the Heavenly Demon Sect. This individual provided Zu Shouchun with a considerable sum of money and a secret manual on corpse herding. This book contained methods for refining corpses into zombies and then controlling them.
Of course, none of this came for free. Zu Shouchun was required to join the Heavenly Demon Sect and obey their commands, assisting them with certain tasks. Zu Shouchun agreed without hesitation.
The man beside Zu Shouchun was named Xue Boru. He also hailed from a sect with a thousand-year legacy, and his identity was that of a long-lost mechanist.
The origins of their profession could be traced back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Lu Ban was said to be their ancestor, and the Mohists of the Warring States period were believed to be the predecessors of the mechanists.
Later, with the establishment of Confucianism as the sole honored philosophy, these mechanists lost their livelihoods and eventually disappeared into the river of history. Only Xue Boru's lineage managed to survive through arduous inheritance.
He too had been recruited by the Heavenly Demon Sect and had obtained substantial resources from them.
Zu Shouchun and Xue Boru already knew each other, and now they served the Heavenly Demon Sect together. The ancient tomb in the mountains was a place of extreme yin, and Zu Shouchun discovered it to be an excellent location for refining zombies. Thus, he unceremoniously occupied it and, in his madness, used the villagers to refine zombies.
However, his frenzied actions attracted members of the Righteous Alliance. The guide, A Liang, was Zu Shouchun's subordinate. He had long been bribed by Zu Shouchun. On one hand, A Liang helped Zu Shouchun identify targets, luring them into the mountains where they were killed and refined into zombies.
On the other hand, A Liang also gathered intelligence from outside, reporting it to Zu Shouchun at all times.
This time, A Liang discovered that someone was investigating Zu Shouchun and quickly informed him. Zu Shouchun, along with Xue Boru, who was visiting at the time, devised a plan. A Liang was to lure the targets to this location, where they would ambush them. The plan was successful.
...
On Little Immortal Island, Ling Tian took out his phone and found a message notification on an app. It was an email containing a large amount of data.
Ling Tian was somewhat surprised because this was an encrypted email, and only one person knew its address: Xie Liheng, the Secretary-General of the Righteous Alliance.
As Ling Tian opened the data, he was stunned by its contents.
Xie Chong was dead, Situ Leisheng was dead, and Zhang Ziying, a disciple of Longhu Mountain, was also dead. In total, nearly ten outstanding young talents from various sects had met untimely deaths!
In the email, Xie Liheng earnestly stated that he needed Ling Tian's help. If Ling Tian was still alive, he should reply with a message.
Ling Tian hesitated for a moment before finally typing a line of text. Subsequently, Ling Tian sought out Qiu Hong and requested some relevant intelligence. It was then that he discovered that the martial world had been in turmoil recently.
Ling Tian then informed the four women that he had to go on a long journey. Shortly after, an albatross took flight from Little Immortal Island, heading directly north towards the coastal city of Binhai.
It was late autumn, the season when fish and seafood were at their most delicious. Near the coast of Binhai City, three men were fishing on a fishing boat about ten meters long.
These three men were none other than Xie Liheng, the Secretary-General of the Righteous Alliance, Xuanyuan Jie of the Xuanyuan family, and the Daoist Master Zhuge Tianji.
Xie Liheng and Xuanyuan Jie were lazily casting their fishing rods, while Daoist Master Zhuge Tianji was engrossed in reading a bound ancient book.
After a while, Xuanyuan Jie threw down his fishing rod.
"I say, Old Xie, what's gotten into you? The martial world is in chaos, so many people have died, and you still have the mood to go fishing!
Are you tired of being the Secretary-General!"
"Brother Xuanyuan, please calm yourself. The current situation is not favorable for us. The personnel deployment of the Righteous Alliance is already at its limit, and the enemy is in the shadows while we are in the light. This puts us at a significant disadvantage.
To break this deadlock, we need new strength to join us, someone who can act as a hidden pawn."
Upon hearing this, Daoist Master Zhuge Tianji also smiled.
"Old Xie, are you referring to that kid?"
Xie Liheng nodded.