Chen Xuan grew even more vigilant. Halting in place, he activated every concealment method at his disposal and prepared to approach the stone gate.

But just then, his ears twitched.

His eyes narrowed.

A moment later, a Yin-Yang curtain flowed from his palms and enveloped his body.

His figure blurred before melting into the surrounding stone as though he had become part of the cavern itself.

A few seconds later, a group of black-robed cultivators arrived.

Silver masks concealed their faces, while a faint aura of death lingered around them like a shadow.

Their leader stepped up to the stone gate. He neither knocked nor attempted to force it open.

Instead, he urged his divine sense and transmitted a message inward.

Once the gap between two cultivators became large enough, mental transmissions could sometimes be intercepted.

Although the black-robed man was at the Core Formation realm, Chen Xuan’s soul had always been exceptionally powerful.

As a result, the message reached his ears with perfect clarity.

"Elder Xia, we’ve brought the items you requested." The man in black said.

Silence followed. There was no immediate response.

Beyond the gate, the metallic rattling of chains gradually softened. Moments later, even that sound disappeared.

Only then did a voice emerge from within.

It was hoarse and dry, as though its owner had not spoken for centuries.

"Enter."

As soon as that word fell, the stone gate slowly parted, unveiling a darkness so dense it seemed to be the mouth of a giant beast.

The black-robed cultivators bowed respectfully.

Then, each carrying a wooden coffin on their shoulder, they stepped through the opening and entered the chamber.

The gate then began to close.

Yet what none of them noticed was the faint ripple running across the nearby wall.

In the brief instant before the entrance sealed shut, a subtle distortion flickered through the air.

Then everything returned to quiet.

--

When Chen Xuan appeared again, he found himself inside a vast underground chamber.

On the opposite side of the room stood the group of cultivators that had just arrived with him, while at its very center were only two things.

A man and a coffin.

The old man looked horrifying.

Black spots covered his face.

His skin hung loosely from his bones, appearing as though it might fall off at any moment.

Strands of pale white hair fell messily around his shoulders, giving him the appearance of a madman who had long abandoned reason.

Beside him rested a massive stone coffin.

It was far larger than the ones carried by the black-robed cultivators.

Countless iron chains wrapped around it from every direction, layer upon layer, binding it so tightly that it looked ready to burst.

The coffin’s lid trembled from time to time.

Whenever it did, however, the chains flashed with a black light and constricted even further, suppressing whatever lay imprisoned inside.

The elderly man paid no attention to the coffin.

Unaware that an intruder had slipped into the chamber, his gaze settled on the wooden coffins being carried into the room.

A greedy light surfaced in his eyes, glowing green despite the darkness.

"Did you finally bring them?"

He went straight to the topic, unwilling to exchange a greeting or pleasantries.

The silver-masked leader nodded.

He cast a quick glance at his subordinates, who immediately knew what to do.

The black-robed cultivators immediately dropped to one knee and carefully lowered the coffins before the old man.

Then they opened them.

Death Qi surged.

Black miasma billowed from the coffins like smoke from a freshly opened tomb, spreading throughout the chamber before gradually dissipating.

As it settled, the contents of the coffins were revealed.

Bodies.

Each coffin contained a corpse with pale white skin and lifeless eyes.

The only mystery was that their fingers would twitch sporadically, as though they were alive!

Still, by the lack of vitality flowing through them and the thick Death Qi lingering around their flesh, there was no doubt that they were dead.

The old man hummed in satisfaction.

His tongue swept across his lips once more as his gaze wandered over the bodies.

"Hmmm. It seems you’ve done well."

"The refinement appears to be complete. Their strength has already reached the Nascent Soul realm."

He paused briefly and waved his hand.

A series of crackling noises echoed through the room, as though his aging bones might snap apart at any moment.

In response, one of the corpses stirred.

It was a young woman.

She slowly rose from her coffin and stepped forward with stiff, unnatural movements until she finally stood before the old man.

The latter stretched his hand.

He touched her pale face and pinched and tugged on her cheeks, as though evaluating livestock.

"Good... Good... That should be enough," he grinned.

Then, he waved his hand again.

The remaining corpses climbed from their coffins and gathered around him like an army.

After dismissing the black-robed cultivators with a wave, Elder Xia no longer paid them any attention.

His entire focus shifted to the giant stone coffin as the walking corpses assembled around it one by one.

Behind him, the stone gate rumbled open once more, allowing a beam of outside light to spill into the chamber.

Seeing this scene and noticing the crimson glint in his eyes, the man in charge of the black-robed cultivators knew it was time for them to leave.

However, before he did so, he offered a final reminder.

"Fellow Daoist Xia, our side has fulfilled its end of the agreement."

"I trust the Undead King Sect will honor its own promises as well."

"Hm." Elder Xia nodded, causing the man to breathe a sigh of relief.

Without another word, he led his people away.

Only Elder Xia remained in the room, surrounded by pale, twitching corpses and standing before a massive, chained coffin.

The atmosphere was suffocating.

Yet what happened next was even more unsettling.

Elder Xia began to chuckle.

At first, his voice was low, but it quickly grew louder until the walls of the chamber were trembling violently.

Just as it seemed that he had gone crazy, his laughter stopped without warning.

A creak echoed as his neck twisted 180 degrees, causing his face to stare in the opposite direction from the rest of his body.

The pale corpses mirrored his movements.

Their shadows stretched across the floor, seemingly merging into a towering silhouette.

Dozens of eyes locked onto the same corner of the room.

Elder Xia smiled.

Then, both he and the corpses opened their mouths, their voices overlapping into a single one.

"Hehehe."

"Aren’t you going to come out now?"