Mo Hua's heart stirred, his gaze sharp as he stared at Zhang Quan.
He wanted to see how Zhang Quan would start the ritual, how he would offer the bell, and which Ancestral Master Image he would be worshipping.
Moreover, where exactly was the altar that Zhang Quan intended to open?
Mo Hua had scoured Corpse Walking Stronghold without finding any trace of an altar.
Zhang Quan instructed a corpse cultivator:
"Prepare the offering."
The corpse cultivator took the order and left. In a short while, he brought in a bandit who was holding a pottery jar filled with blood-stained water.
Zhang Quan nodded, then closed the door to the secret chamber.
After checking around and confirming the absence of "outsiders," his expression turned solemn, and he walked over to a screen.
The screen was old and placed against the wall, painted with withered landscapes in ink.
Zhang Quan formed several hand gestures and muttered something.
Mists of ink gathered at the top of the screen, rippling wave after wave until they dissipated into nothingness, revealing a hole.
Mo Hua was slightly astonished.
There was another secret chamber within this secret room?
And he had not discovered it himself.
It seemed he had underestimated Zhang Quan.
This Zhang Quan, the secrets he kept were indeed not few...
Mo Hua thought to himself.
There was yet another secret chamber behind the screen.
From his position on the roof beam, Mo Hua had a poor vantage point and could only glimpse a corner of the room, unable to see its entirety.
But even from this one corner, one could see the lavish decoration, the sinister candlelight, various bizarre furnishings, and a table draped with a golden cloth.
Mo Hua switched to another roof beam, clinging to the timber, his small head dangling as he peeked inside.
Now he could see more clearly.
There was indeed an altar inside.
An image was enshrined on the altar.
It was too far away to see clearly, and Mo Hua dared not focus his gaze on it. With just a hurried glance, he moved his eyes away.
The offering was placed on the stage.
But they were not proper offerings.
Three dishes, one holding hand bones, one foot bones, and the middle one containing a skull.
It was uncertain whether these were the bones of an innocent cultivator or those of Zhang Quan's Ancestral Master.
Candles were also lit on the altar.
The candles were white, but the flame they produced was an eerie green, and as the candlewax dripped, it resembled human tears, hardening at the base of the table.
Mo Hua guessed that this must be corpse oil.
Besides, there were various strangely shaped objects.
Mo Hua was not a corpse cultivator and did not understand them.
And below the altar, a coffin was displayed.
This coffin was snow white in color.
Its material was neither wood nor stone, neither copper nor iron.
Mo Hua observed for a long time before realizing that it must be a bone coffin.
Immediately, he felt a slight surprise.
Could this bone coffin also be used for Corpse Refinement?
But what kind of corpse would a bone coffin refine?
He had only heard of Walking Corpses, Iron Corpses, Copper Corpses, Silver Corpses, Golden Corpses; he had never heard of a... Bone Corpse.
What use could there be for a zombie that was only bones?
Mo Hua inwardly scoffed.
It was at this moment that he saw Zhang Quan and several corpse cultivators prostrate before the altar, then chanting something:
"With minor threats approaching, may the Ancestral Master demonstrate power..."
"Lend me your Divine Thought, to refine the Copper Bell..."
"...the Copper Bell drinks blood, leaving no bones behind..."
"Use the white bones to worship the Ancestral Master, and offer human consciousness for the feast."