Shedding the Shroud of Undeath

“Is it a plan targeting Brockman?”

“Yes, but not *just* him, Deboning. You wouldn’t believe the super-secret scheme our Grand Pontiff Yetha, Philip, is currently cooking up!”

Patting a stack of documents in his hand, Du Chen chuckled, “Alright, first help me transfer all the data from the nineteenth level onto the Precious Lotus Scripture. I’ll need to study them at my leisure!”

Du Chen conjured a Lotus Sacred Artifact, but it was already overflowing. Not to mention the spoils from Brockman, combined with his own possessions, they filled more than half of the artifact. “Heh, the Lotus Sacred Artifact is still too small. I need to speed up my cultivation to expand it. For now, I’ll just have to consult with the Grand Matriarchs and ask these experimental subjects to squeeze in with them!”

Du Chen summoned Lucy and Lily, but before he could speak, he noticed the two Grand Matriarchs were remarkably different from their usual selves. While their appearance remained the same, their essence...

Previously, the twin Grand Matriarchs, Lucy and Lily, had always appeared as red-haired, shoulder-length maids. Even under the cloak of night, their captivating beauty possessed a subtle, ghostly aura. Though not overtly obvious, Du Chen’s profound perception allowed him to discern it.

Today, however, despite the underground Laboratory remaining dim, the Grand Matriarchs looked extraordinarily… radiant. Du Chen simply couldn’t find a more fitting adjective.

“Hm? Ladies, you two…” Deboning, with his formidable strength, quickly noticed the Grand Matriarchs’ transformation as well. “The Undead aura on you has significantly faded; it’s almost imperceptible!”

“Yes, we were just about to ask about this ourselves,” Lily quickly interjected. “But without Francis’s help, we couldn’t emerge from the sacred Lotus Sacred Artifact, so we had to wait until now!” Meanwhile, Lucy surveyed her surroundings, asking in surprise, “What is this place? Is it safe to speak freely?”

“Deboning, go stand guard at the entrance. Don’t let anyone disturb us!”

Du Chen gazed at the two Grand Matriarchs in astonishment. “Esteemed seniors, what changes have you undergone? You can speak now. Has my Lotus Sacred Artifact malfunctioned and harmed your Undead bodies?”

Du Chen was deeply bewildered. After all, his current understanding of the Precious Lotus Scripture’s applications was superficial; he was completely ignorant of many of its profound immortal cultivation techniques, so he couldn’t rule out any unexpected occurrences.

“You needn’t worry,” Lily chuckled. “Our Undead aura has indeed faded considerably, but this is a good thing!”

“Yes, let’s start from the beginning. Francis, it seems you don’t fully understand your Lotus Sacred Artifact either!” Lucy smiled. After Du Chen nodded in acknowledgement, she continued, “When your Lotus Sacred Artifact detaches from your body, we can enter and exit it, and our size will change with the artifact’s — it’s quite wondrous. But what’s even more marvelous is, when you imprint the Sacred Artifact onto your body…”

She furrowed her brow slightly, seemingly organizing her thoughts. After a long pause, she finally said, “I can’t explain the specifics, but when you imprint the Sacred Artifact onto your body, it’s as if we enter another mystical space…”

“Another space?” Du Chen was taken aback. At most, he had hidden inside the Precious Lotus Scripture and flown around, but he had never hidden within it and then *also* affixed it to his body—nor could he even accomplish such a feat.

Therefore, Du Chen had never realized that once the Precious Lotus Scripture transformed into a tattoo, it would generate an entirely different dimension!

The Lotus Sacred Artifacts clearly held many more functions for Du Chen to unearth. Were the three Triple Qian Trigram lotuses merely limited to flying, smashing foes, and storage? Was Fourth Bro only capable of invisible defense? Was Old Five truly useless?

Du Chen chuckled sheepishly, “Esteemed seniors, I truly don’t understand the Lotus Sacred Artifact very well. Could you please elaborate on that space? Heh, my understanding of those three lotuses is still limited to using them for hiding and flying!”

If Master Grape were here, he would surely throttle Du Chen with a binding cloth and bellow in his uniquely lewd voice, “You damn brat, you’re using the Qian Celestial Lotus Platform as an airplane!? Heavens, why don’t you just jerk off until you drop dead!? Such a waste of divine treasures! You’d be better off using an atomic bomb to kill a fly!”

Alas, Master Grape wasn't present, so Du Chen narrowly escaped that tirade, listening intently as Lucy spoke.

“The passage of time within that space seems incredibly slow. Moreover, a profoundly sacred radiance permeates the entire dimension. Initially, my sister and I thought we were doomed upon seeing that all-encompassing holy light. But to our surprise, we suddenly heard a voice—a very kind and holy voice belonging to an old man. I couldn’t understand it, but I can mimic a few syllables for you!”

Lucy then recited a few syllables. Du Chen understood in his heart that it was likely someone chanting Buddhist scriptures in Chinese. Unfortunately, he was completely ignorant of such texts; even if Lucy perfectly replicated the sounds, he wouldn’t comprehend them.

“With that voice and the sacred radiance filling the space, my sister and I remained completely unharmed! At first, we thought it was a feature of your Lotus Sacred Artifact, and that the voice was specifically protecting us, which is why we didn’t inquire about it when we faced the assassins last time!”

Lucy paused, then added, “But recently, some strange things have been happening, as you’ve observed!” She turned. “Our Undead aura is gradually dissipating, especially for Lily and me. Our Undead aura has almost completely vanished, possibly because our cultivation is the highest. But this isn't like the purification you performed on Kuban; rather, it’s…”

After another moment of thought, she continued, “Instead, it’s as if it’s helping us reshape our human bodies—no, not human bodies, but an entirely new kind of body. We don’t know what it is, and you never mentioned such a phenomenon, so I deduce that something has occurred within the Lotus Sacred Artifact that even you are unaware of!”

The more Du Chen listened, the more astonished he became. What in the world was happening? He racked his brain, recalling tales of immortal artifacts from gods, immortals, and demons from his past life, only to arrive at an uncertain conclusion: once the three Triple Qian Trigram lotuses transformed into tattoos, they must have become spatial treasures akin to Laozi's Alchemy Furnace or Guanyin's Jade Purifying Vase, then exerting a particular influence on those contained within them.

But what exactly *was* this influence?

Seeing Du Chen’s worried expression, Lucy smiled. “You needn’t worry. Lily already said this change is an incredibly good thing for us sisters! Lily and I, being the strongest among us in cultivation, have already undergone the most noticeable transformations. From our experience, these new bodies are many times stronger than our former human bodies. Once all of us sisters complete this transformation, we can restore the formidable reputation of the Red Phoenix Battle Formation to its former glory—or even surpass it!”

“This is truly wonderful!” Du Chen was overjoyed. While he was delighted to discover another function of the Lotus Sacred Artifacts, there was an even greater implication: the Grand Matriarchs were now inextricably linked to him! Haha!

“Thank you, Francis. You’ve given us sisters the chance to re-emerge into the world, to see the light of day again, and to recover our strength!” Lucy and Lily bowed respectfully.

Du Chen hastily replied, “Esteemed seniors, please, no need for formalities. You are friends of my ancestors, Sigurd and Wolf. I am truly delighted to be of assistance!”

“Indeed, a great kindness needs no thanks!” The two sisters exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

Lily added, “Oh, and the space within the Precious Lotus Scripture doesn't just affect us. It seems to have an influence on the items you’ve placed inside as well… You should check them quickly!”

Du Chen was startled. He quickly released all the items from the Precious Lotus Scripture, among them Harry, who had been too timid to enter the dragon’s lair.

Upon seeing Harry, Du Chen hastily asked, “Harry, did you discover anything inside my Lotus Sacred Artifact?”

Harry shook his head blankly. “No, it was pitch black in there. I stumbled in cluelessly and stumbled right back out just as cluelessly!”

Du Chen looked at Lucy. “Right, I’ve also turned others into tattoos and affixed them to my body before, but none of them ever noticed anything strange!”

Lucy frowned. “Could it be that this change is specifically targeting us Undead!?”

“We’ll investigate that later,” Du Chen replied. “Esteemed seniors, you mentioned my items were affected. Which ones?”

Lucy said, “Hold on a moment… Right, all the affected items seem to be related to the Undead! It appears the changes within your Sacred Artifact truly only target us Undead!”

Du Chen inspected them one by one. Sure enough, some anti-plant-type materials obtained from Philip’s Alchemy Laboratory, along with certain items that in his previous life would have been described as having a heavy yin energy, or strong ghostly aura, had all undergone subtle changes—all of them had significantly less ghostly aura!

After verifying back and forth, Du Chen, though unclear on the precise details, could roughly estimate what had transpired.

The exterior of the three lotuses was for slaying evil spirits, while the interior was for aiding benevolent ones—such was the conclusion Du Chen, not one to delve into profound intricacies, arrived at! As for the reason, Du Chen rationalized it himself: although the Buddhist school preached equality, it still differentiated between evil spirits and benevolent ones. The Precious Lotus Scripture’s purpose must be to eliminate evil spirits upon encountering them. However, if one encountered pitiful spirits, benevolent spirits who died unjustly, or heroic spirits like the Grand Matriarchs who sacrificed themselves for humanity, then one should offer assistance—for these were all good deeds!

Thus, the Grand Matriarchs’ transformation was, in fact, a grand good deed, allowing heroic spirits to see the light of day again, indirectly equating to saving over a hundred lives—a truly immense act of benevolence!

Du Chen smiled, and then his laughter grew louder, for he had just thought of something rather interesting!

“Esteemed seniors, since this matter brings you no harm but offers immense benefit, then please feel at ease residing within my Lotus Sacred Artifact! The affairs concerning this ancient castle are complex, and I have other urgent matters to attend to immediately. Please allow me to explain further at a later time!”

The Grand Matriarchs, now relying on Du Chen’s assistance, naturally offered no objection. They excitedly returned to the Precious Lotus Scripture, and Shieb Harry, just as cluelessly, went back inside as well.

“Deboning, come back!”

Du Chen idly twirled the Merfolk King's Cube in his hand, a sly smile gracing his lips as he looked at Deboning. “According to Alex, this item is entirely forged from sacred materials, and its supposed purpose is to restrain the Undead. However, it makes no logical sense for Philip to create something that counters the Undead. Therefore, its original function must have been the opposite—to amplify Undead power. This means certain intriguing changes must have occurred… Heh, my schemes against Philip and Brockman can now be perfectly refined… Come, let’s first rescue Brockman, then sell him out *again*. I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to count my money…”