"Ancestors of the Zhang Family above, I, the junior disciple Zhang Quan, kowtow to you!"
...
Mo Hua frowned upon hearing this.
The ancestors of the Zhang Family?
Then this painting must be dedicated to the forebears of the Zhang Family.
If they were forebears, they were also Ancestral Masters.
That would mean, from their ancestors, the Zhang Family had possessed the Corpse Refinement method and established their coffin shop, passing it down through generations.
Following the "borrow Divine Thought, refine the Copper Bell, offer human consciousness for the feast."
Mo Hua listened, feeling somewhat confused.
At this moment, Zhang Quan opened the bone coffin, grabbed the blood-offering bandit with a pale hand, and threw him into the coffin.
Although the bandit struggled, he was no match for Zhang Quan, a Foundation Building Cultivator. Unable to break free, he was forcefully shut inside the bone coffin.
Inside the coffin, he pleaded, begging for mercy, his fingers tearing at the coffin walls, letting out a wretched cry.
A moment later, the cries ceased, and there was no more movement inside the bone coffin.
When Zhang Quan opened the coffin lid again, the bandit was bereft of life, his eyes wide open in terror, but motionless.
His fingers, from scratching, were devoid of nails, covered in blood.
Yet, apart from that, there was not a single injury on his body.
Just like that, he became lifeless and still.
As if someone had directly consumed his Divine Soul.
A chill ran through Mo Hua's heart, followed by a sudden realization.
The so-called "borrow Divine Thought, refine the Copper Bell."
It must refer to using the Divine Thought of the Zhang Family's Ancestral Master to refine the Copper Bell and enhance its Corpse Control capabilities.
Among these corpse cultivators, Zhang Quan was a Foundation Building Cultivator, who naturally found controlling an Iron Corpse to be a trivial matter.
The other corpse cultivators, however, were only at the peak of the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.
For them to control Iron Corpses, which were close to Foundation Establishment strength, was indeed somewhat forced.
The only option was to employ this method to borrow Divine Sense, allowing the Divine Thought of the Zhang Family's ancestors, through refinement, to attach to the Copper Bell and assist them in controlling corpses.
"Offer human consciousness for the feast."
It meant to feed the Zhang Family's Ancestral Master with human consciousness.
On the surface, the high altar served as the sacrificial platform, with white bones as the offering.
In reality, however, the bone coffin was the true platform, and the living person's consciousness served as the true sacrifice.
"So to speak, is this Ancestral Master Picture of the Zhang Family in fact a... Contemplation Map?"
Mo Hua's thoughts flickered, and he blinked his eyes.
The bandit was used as a sacrifice, his Divine Soul consumed, dying in horror.
Zhang Quan pulled the bandit out of the bone coffin and tossed him aside, instructing:
"Take him later to feed the corpses."
Afterward, he mumbled something under his breath, and then from his Storage Bag, he took out a Copper Bell adorned with blood-colored, exotic Patterns.
It was the very Corpse Controlling Bell that Mo Hua had been longing for!
Mo Hua's eyes shone brightly.
If his guess was correct, inside the Corpse Controlling Bell, there lay the Spiritual Pivot Formation with a first-grade twelve-Pattern design.
I must think of a way to snatch that Copper Bell!
And also that Contemplation Map—I must find a way to snatch that too!
But how to snatch them?
It probably won't be easy with Zhang Quan right underneath one's eyelids.
Mo Hua frowned and pondered.
Meanwhile, Zhang Quan continued to offer the bell in front of the altar.
He took out three iron cups, placed them on the platform, then put the Copper Bell into one of the cups, and poured blood water into it.
Blood slowly seeped into the copper bell.
It was as if the copper bell was drinking the blood.
Mo Hua lay on the roof beam, his thoughts racing.
"Should I create some disturbance outside to lure Zhang Quan out..."
"Or should I call Junior Brother and Junior Sister to directly take it by force?"