Two years had passed since Xiao Fei's disappearance. During these two years, the sun continued to rise in the east and set in the west, just as it always had.
For the Dan Xin Sect, the loss of an alchemy genius like Xiao Fei meant that legends of him still circulated among the disciples.
However, everything else remained normal. The disciples went about their daily routines, unaffected.
They hadn't even realized Xiao Fei was missing.
This was because Foundation Establishment cultivators sometimes left the sect for two or three years, or even longer.
Other ordinary disciples had to complete sect missions periodically, which would quickly reveal their disappearance.
But Xiao Fei, as a second-tier alchemist, was only required to refine a batch of pills for the sect every five years.
Even Xiao Fei's master, True Person Guang Ling, hadn't realized that he had lost an excellent disciple with both great potential and a good disposition.
Only one person was an exception: Huang Feifei.
Even when Xiao Fei was in secluded cultivation, Huang Feifei would provide him with logistical support.
She usually kept in touch with Xiao Fei and had always been attentive to his every move.
If Xiao Fei was going to be away for an extended period, he would usually inform her.
His sudden disappearance this time, with no word, made Huang Feifei suspicious.
She began to investigate the matter in secret, and the results shocked her.
The last time Xiao Fei had appeared before everyone was when he met the Sect Master on the mountainside of the main peak.
Many disciples had witnessed Xiao Fei exchanging a few words with the Sect Master, after which the Sect Master personally took Xiao Fei away.
This had made many disciples present envious, regretting that they themselves didn't have the chance to fly with the esteemed Sect Master!
Yet, no one had noticed that Xiao Fei had disappeared from that moment on.
As a mere Foundation Establishment disciple, Huang Feifei naturally couldn't directly question the Sect Master about this matter.
So, she wrote a secret letter and quietly sent it to Xiao Fei's master, True Person Guang Ling.
Upon receiving the secret letter, True Person Guang Ling attached great importance to its contents.
He dispatched his eldest disciple, Fei Xin, to investigate. The situation matched the contents of the secret letter.
Xiao Fei seemed to have disappeared, his last known appearance being his departure from Ning Cui Peak with the Sect Master.
He immediately went to question the Sect Master personally.
The Sect Master showed a look of extreme surprise upon hearing this.
"What? This happened?"
"Alas! It's all my fault for being too careless. That day, he encountered a Golden Core evil cultivator in the Cui Hua mountain range.
When I heard about it, I immediately took him to the scene to search."
The Sect Master was heartbroken upon hearing about the disappearance of such an alchemy genius, almost beating his chest and stamping his feet.
"You discovered an evil cultivator in the Cui Hua mountain range?"
True Person Guang Ling's expression also turned solemn upon hearing this. The fact that there were evil cultivators operating in such an important sect area was alarming.
Moreover, disciples had been disappearing from the sect over the years without any clues, which he now suspected was related to this evil cultivator.
"We did discover one, and I even exchanged blows with that evil cultivator, but unfortunately, he escaped."
The Sect Master revealed a look of regret as he spoke.
"On our way back that day, he said he wanted to visit the sect's market, so I returned alone.
If I had known, I really should have accompanied him to the market."
"My disciple is not so important as to trouble the Sect Master for such escort. This is not your fault, please do not blame yourself."
True Person Guang Ling comforted the Sect Master instead, and then took his leave.
Upon returning to his cave dwelling, he frowned and fell into deep thought.
The Sect Master's words were indeed plausible. Besides, a disciple visiting the market wouldn't require the Sect Master himself to escort him; Xiao Fei didn't have that kind of standing.
However, all of this was just one side of the story.
Before he went to inquire, he had already asked Fei Xin to investigate. Since Xiao Fei left with the Sect Master, he had not reappeared, nor had he appeared in the market.
"Fei Xin, the disappearance of your sixth junior brother still requires investigation, but this must be done in secret, without alarming anyone.
Report all findings of the investigation only to me. Do not trust anyone easily, not even... not even the Sect Master."
True Person Guang Ling solemnly instructed Fei Xin.
His eldest disciple was prudent and reliable, someone he could entrust with this task.
"Yes! Your disciple obeys!"
Fei Xin accepted the order and withdrew. As an elder of the sect, True Person Guang Ling naturally had his own network of influence. At critical moments, all his people and connections could be mobilized.
Meanwhile, after Huang Feifei handed the secret letter to True Person Guang Ling, she didn't stop there. Instead, she continued to secretly gather clues.
Over the years, to earn more cultivation resources, she had been involved in various dark dealings, naturally giving her some connections.
...
In a cave, Xiao Fei's physical body had completely perished, transforming into a zombie that greatly satisfied the Sect Master.
During this period, his corpse had been refined in various environments.
It had been hung up and dried like a salted chicken for two months, boiled in simmering medicinal liquids for over ten days, and even deep-fried in oil.
Some miscellaneous refining materials were also directly integrated or hammered into his body.
One day, the Sect Master arrived at the secret cave again and opened the lid of a massive alchemy furnace.
This furnace contained not pills, but a zombie with a bronze complexion.
The Sect Master tapped the bronze corpse with an iron rod, producing a "dong dong" metallic sound.
"As of now, this is the closest to a successful zombie. It's only a small step away from a Silver Corpse of the Golden Core realm."
Once he gathered the remaining materials and continued refining for about a year, it would become a Silver Armored Corpse.
"Heh heh heh!"
"It proves that refining zombies from living people is the correct method.
Those old fossils have nothing but dung in their heads, inflexible and only know how to refine zombies from dead bodies."
The Sect Master's twisted and ferocious face was now filled with fanaticism.
Next, he could mass-produce zombies, and the establishment of his zombie kingdom was within reach.
He intended to refine all living people into zombies that he could command.
In his zombie kingdom, his command would be divine will.
At this moment, his triangular eyes seemed to see himself leading countless zombies, with everyone prostrating before him, the entire cultivation world trembling at his feet!
With his head full of fanaticism, the Sect Master stood the bronze corpse before him.
After this period of refinement, the original consciousness of the living person within the zombie should have been long eradicated. What remained now was only the zombie's instinct.
Now, it was necessary to imprint runes and restrictions into the zombie, after which it could be easily controlled.
This process was similar to how cultivators made spirit beasts recognize them as masters.
The Sect Master formed hand seals, conjuring runes in the air that all integrated into the bronze corpse.
This process lasted for about two hours, and it was finally completed.
At this point, the Sect Master took out a bronze bell and gently shook it.
As the pleasant ringing sound emanated, the bronze corpse before him suddenly lunged forward, unleashing a punch that struck the stone wall of the cave.
This punch shook the entire cave, causing soil and rocks to fall from the ceiling.
The Sect Master was very satisfied with this punch. He quickly stopped shaking the bell, or the cave would collapse after a few more punches.
As the ringing ceased, the bronze corpse stood still in its original position.
"Good! Very good!"
The Sect Master put away the bronze bell. He kept all these items related to zombie experimentation hidden in the cave.
On the surface, he was still the Sect Master of the Dan Xin Sect, and carrying these evil cultivation items would easily expose him.
His ability to remain hidden in the Dan Xin Sect for so many years was not unrelated to his meticulousness and caution.
The Sect Master dealt with a few more corpses before turning to leave.
After he left the cave, all the zombies within remained still like stone sculptures, even the most successfully refined bronze corpse.
Until a day later, the bronze corpse, which had been like a stone sculpture, now slightly lifted its eyelids, opening a narrow slit.
The eyes within the slit quietly scanned everything around them.