Chapter 190 Clues to the Emperor's Corpse

Chen Shuyu, still in the car, was able to hack into Jiang Junci's chat account.

Before long, she retrieved the chat records from his account: "After Jiang Junci left the Coffin Gate, the person who contacted him the most was Zi Wan'er."

"Mostly, she was asking him how he was doing, and how his relationship with Huanzi was progressing."

"About half a year ago, Zi Wan'er mentioned that the drought demon corpse they took away showed no signs of awakening. She suspected that it was because the drought demon's corpse was incomplete."

"However, at that time, Jiang Junci didn't ask us for the drought demon's hand."

"Two months ago, Zi Wan'er contacted Jiang Junci again, saying that Xie Ban Gui and the others discovered that the reason the drought demon's corpse hadn't awakened was that there was no divine consciousness within the body."

"They suspected that what they had obtained at the time wasn't the real drought demon corpse. Or rather, the drought demon's divine consciousness and corpse had been sealed separately."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but frown, "Is that possible?"

Zombies don't belong to the category of ghosts and monsters, but exist independently outside of demons, monsters, and ghosts. If we had to classify them, they could probably be categorized as "monsters."

Generally, zombies don't have souls; what supports their activity is a burst of resentment trapped in their chest.

Ordinary zombies have habits similar to those of wild beasts, guarding their own territory. They don't allow anyone to enter their domain, nor do they venture outside of it. They have no magical power, but rely on instinct to hunt.

When zombies cultivate to a certain level, they develop divine consciousness. At this point, they can think simply.

As the zombie's divine consciousness grows stronger, they become beings surpassing ghosts and gods.

As for the four great zombie progenitors, they stand shoulder to shoulder with gods and demons.

The drought demon corpse we brought back, capable of cultivating divine consciousness? Moreover, capable of separating divine consciousness?

Wouldn't that mean she had at least reached the level of a flying zombie? Or perhaps even the highest level of zombie – Bu Hua Gu (Imperishable Bone)?

Ling interjected, "Completely possible!"

"Among the Hou Tu Eight Guardians, the Left Four Guardians are passed down through generations, while the Right Four Guardians were the four divine generals under the Emperor's command in the past. Legend has it that in order to wait for the Emperor's return, they cultivated zombie secret arts using their own living bodies, forcibly refining themselves into zombies."

"In later years, some kind of conflict seemed to have occurred between the Left and Right Four Guardians, and the Left Four Guardians disappeared from the martial world."

I pondered, "Since the Emperor had zombie secret arts, why didn't he cultivate them himself? And how did he become lost in reincarnation?"

Ling hesitated for a moment and said, "As far as I know, the Emperor also cultivated zombie secret arts."

"He left his body somewhere, and his soul went to reincarnate."

"As for why he became lost in reincarnation, we haven't investigated it thoroughly yet."

"Oh, right!" Chen Shuyu added, "According to our investigation: Xiang Kai's third uncle, Xiang Ding Tian, and Bu Youming's father, Bu Huangquan, once searched for the location of the Emperor's physical body. But they also disappeared from the martial world because of it."

"Back then, when Fox King Chen Ye, who is Huanzi's master, went to guard the Shan Hai Secret Realm, Xiang Kai and Bu Youming also invaded the Shan Hai Secret Realm. I suspect that they broke into the Shan Hai Secret Realm to search for the Emperor."

I turned my head and said, "Haven't you had any news of the Emperor all these years?"

Ling said, "There have been some vague clues."

"For example, Bu Youming once came very close to the Emperor's corpse. Unfortunately, when he opened the Emperor's mausoleum, his divine consciousness was forcibly diverted, and he fell into a great dream. Bu Youming almost lost his life because of it."

I asked curiously, "What dream did Bu Youming have?"

Ling replied, "Bu Youming himself said: When he was on the verge of death outside the Emperor's mausoleum, he suddenly seemed to wake up from a dream. He found himself sitting in a library, holding an unfinished novel called *Yin Guan Shang Lu* (The Coffin on the Road)."

"Everything he experienced was a plot point in *Yin Guan Shang Lu*, including the protagonist waking up from a dream and finding himself sitting in a library, which was exactly as written in the novel."

"If it hadn't been for a loophole left in the ending of that novel—the protagonist wakes up in the library, and the librarian tells the protagonist that the novel was a casual work left by a senior student in the Chinese department—Bu Youming would have been trapped in that book alive."

"I once sent someone to contact Bu Youming, but he ignored my people, so we have never been able to determine whether Bu Youming really saw the Emperor."

I lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and said, "Was the reason the Left Four Guardians refused to contact the Three Palaces because of Ling Guan San Ren's betrayal?"

"That's part of the reason!" Ling said, "Ling Guan San Ren is not actually the Lord of the Central Palace. According to the agreement between the Emperor and the Nine Coffin Taoist, the position under the Emperor's command must belong to the Coffin Gate. Ling Guan San Ren should be the Emperor's prime minister."

"Although the Central Palace has always existed, the position of the Lord of the Central Palace has always been vacant. It was probably a position that the Emperor personally reserved for someone?"

"Ling Guan San Ren used some means to take away the Central Palace's forces."

"You…you…" I hesitated for a long time before I couldn't help but ask, "Are you and Cang Tianji the Emperor's consorts?"