Time was of the essence. Without delay, everyone sent out messages to report the matter of the "Taoist Demon".
The news set off a thousand ripples. Not only were various clans and sects shocked, but the Taoist Court was also shaken.
Within the Heaven Shu Pavilion.
The Pavilion Elder watched the celestial observatory, deducing in his mind, before slowly nodding and saying,
"It's a sign of the Taoist Demon..."
He took out a Jade Slip, inscribed a few patterns, and then instructed a disciple, "Give this to the Taoist Soldiers Court."
The disciple respectfully took it, sealed it in a secret box, and without delay, promptly delivered it to the Taoist Soldiers Court.
The Taoist Soldiers Court urgently deliberated and then issued a mobilization order:
From Li State, the boundary of Minor Wilderness State, as well as the nearby Black Mountain State Boundary, Li Mountain State Boundary, and Great Wilderness State boundary, to the borderlands of the barbaric territory, summon ten Foundation Establishment leaders and two thousand first-assessment Taoist soldiers.
They were to march day and night to South Yue City in the boundary of Minor Wilderness State to suppress the Corpse Mine and quell the undead menace. Any who obstructed their path were to be executed without mercy!
Meanwhile, the Central Tao Court also sent out a summons:
Within a five-hundred-mile radius of Minor Wilderness State Boundary, any power acknowledged and assessed by the Taoist Court was to deploy at least one Foundation Building Cultivator to South Yue City to aid in the fight, to flatten the Corpse Mine, and to exterminate the Corpse King.
After the matter was settled, rewards would be distributed according to merit.
Should anyone disobey the command, their clan or sect would be demoted in rank, and they would be ineligible for promotion for a hundred years...
With the order released, various powers were stirred, and cultivators moved about in alarm.
The momentum of an impending torrential downpour was gathering over South Yue City...
At the high pavilions of the Heaven Shu Pavilion,
The Pavilion Elder stood alone, his gaze deep as he looked up at the sky. After a long while, he murmured softly,
"Gui Tao's people, huh..."
In his eyes, there was a hint of surprise.
"To actually rear a Taoist Demon... within a hundred years... another great demon will arise..."
"But... is the Taoist Demon so easy to rear?"
"Is it the problem of Gui Tao's people or has the Heavenly Dao... developed a problem...?"
The Pavilion Elder silently gazed at the sky.
Yet in the sky, where winds surged and clouds roiled, and within the daylight, no one could discern the mysteries secreted away; under the blazing sun, not a single sign could be seen.
The frown on the Pavilion Elder's brow only grew deeper.
...
Outside, the situation was rapidly changing, with undercurrents flowing in secret among various powers.
Within the Corpse Mine, however, it was business as usual.
Each evening, Zhang Quan would still ring his bell for corpse refinement, Lu Chengyun continued his Formation Painting, and Mo Hua shared the same routine, tracing over Lu Chengyun's Formation Patterns.
Within the bronze coffin, the Corpse Qi grew denser, its presence more imposing.
But within it, the triple layers of control slowly intensified...
Until three days later, the Corpse King was about to be refined to completion.
Within the Ten Thousand Corpses Sacrificial Altar, Zhang Quan could hardly contain his glee, and he burst into wild laughter, saying,
"Soon after the Corpse King awakens and comes under my control! The entire Minor Wilderness State Boundary will be littered with floating corpses, becoming a true Minor 'Corpse' Wilderness; and I, Zhang Quan, will become the old ancestor of the Corpse Path of this state boundary!"
"Lu Brother, Lu Chengyun!"
"I will make you realize who the real short-sighted one is—it's you!"
After laughing, Zhang Quan left.
Once Zhang Quan had gone, Lu Chengyun made his appearance.
With a calm expression, he reinforced the Spiritual Pivot Evil Formation and, looking in the direction Zhang Quan had left, sneered,
"Playing tricks under my nose? Courting death!"
After sneering, Lu Chengyun, too, departed.
The last to show himself was Mo Hua, with his big eyes twinkling.
He smoothly opened the coffin, drew the formation, used the genuine Spiritual Pivot Formation to suppress Lu Chengyun's Evil Formation and increase his own control over the Corpse King.
After finishing his work, Mo Hua's young face broke into a mischievous grin as he exclaimed playfully,
"Let's see who this big dumpling will listen to once it's refined!"
Mo Hua earnestly completed the Formation Drawing, meticulously sealed the coffin, and tiptoed away from the Ten Thousand Corpses Sacrificial Altar.
After leaving the altar, Mo Hua pondered for a moment and then, using Little Tiger, sent a note to his Junior Brother and Sisters.
The note read:
"In three days, on the fifteenth of July, the Corpse King will be refined, and the Formation of Ten Thousand Corpses will commence."