Luo Yu had traversed mountains and rivers, searching for practitioners who could help him drive away the revenants. But each time, he was disappointed. After a year and a half of wandering, he still had nothing.
No one wanted to get involved with revenants, especially when it came to matters of the Luo Family. Luo Yu had met many Master Mason Taoists from the Mount Mason Order, but all claimed they were powerless. The Order’s influence within the Taoist world had waned; their words now carried little weight.
With his uncle Jude Luo and companion Lucy Lu by his side, Luo Yu did not find the endless journey dull. He still planned to seek out someone in the supernatural world who could help.
But disappointment came again and again. Luo Yu visited over a hundred sects, but not one was willing to intervene. Along the way, they killed many revenants—there were revenants everywhere. The most troublesome were the blood-sucking revenants.
Time flew by, and two years had passed. Luo Yu could only return home. He planned to head south, where it was rumored that strange supernatural arts existed in the southern mountains. He wanted to see if he could find someone capable of subduing Luo Yichen.
After a brief week at home, Luo Yu set out again. Before reaching the southern mountains, he encountered a man wearing a green mask, who claimed he could subdue revenants.
The green-masked man told Luo Yu that dealing with such revenants was simple. Revenants of that level all possessed the Golden Soulstone—destroy the Soulstone, and the revenant could be easily eliminated.
Luo Yu did not quite believe the green-masked man; he sensed an aura of evil about him. The man seemed to notice Luo Yu's doubt and asked Luo Yu to take him to a revenant so he could demonstrate his power.
Following the trail of heavy corpse energy, Luo Yu finally found a village overrun with revenants. The village harbored an especially powerful revenant. What happened next made Luo Yu fully convinced of the green-masked man's strength. Though he did not seem like a good person, his power was undeniable.
Faced with a horde of revenants, the green-masked man tore through them as if cutting vegetables. With every punch, a revenant was smashed to pieces. The village's strongest, a red-furred revenant, could not withstand even a single blow. The green-masked man reached into its body and pulled out a blood-red stone—the Golden Soulstone. Though the red-furred revenant’s limbs were torn off, it was still alive and even showed signs of recovery.
Right in front of Luo Yu, the green-masked man crushed the red stone. The red-furred revenant on the ground shattered and turned to stone, dying completely. Luo Yu was now convinced.
At that moment, the green-masked man laid out his terms: he would help Luo Yu solve his family’s problem, but Luo Yu must follow his instructions. Luo Yu agreed. The man then led Luo Yu to a small coastal spot, where Luo Yu was surprised to find not just one, but over a dozen blue-faced men, and a man with a golden mask.
The golden mask man’s mask had a beautiful flower on the left side. He told Luo Yu that if they were to help, Luo Yu would have to do certain things in return, but he wanted Luo Yu to think it over before answering.
Luo Yu knew this group was powerful, but they were definitely not good people. Whatever they wanted him to do, it was likely something dark.
Seeing Luo Yu’s hesitation, the Golden Mask Man told him to go home and think for a whole year. If he decided, the same Golden Mask Man who brought him would come for his answer—he only needed to say yes or no.
Watching Luo Yu struggle, his uncle Jude Luo advised him to forget about it. Those people were not good; if he agreed, he might be bound to them for life. Lucy Lu shook her head and comforted Luo Yu, suggesting he could accept, since if he didn’t, the Luo Family’s tragedy would go on.
Conflicted and confused, Luo Yu returned home. His father was now bedridden, and hoped Luo Yu would begin managing family affairs. In a few days, he would leave for Gourd Village, and wanted Luo Yu to come so he could learn the way—so he’d know how to go when he was old.
Luo Yu told his father about the blue-faced men he met on the road, but said they weren’t good people. His father told Luo Yu to just follow his heart.
A few days later, his father was escorted to Gourd Village by the family’s corpse handlers, and Luo Yu went along. It was his first time there, and he felt uneasy.
But when Luo Yu arrived at Gourd Village, he was stunned. The place was like a paradise, with many people still living there. Most of the elders were corpse handlers. The Luo Family wasn’t the only ones—there were three other major corpse handler families elsewhere, the families of Luo Yichen’s three senior brothers.
The younger ones were revenants. Every day, these revenants took care of the elderly corpse handlers. Luo Yu was surprised—even his father was taken in by the revenants. He felt uneasy, knowing the fate of all four families was likely the same. At that moment, Luo Yu saw Luo Yichen again.
Luo Yichen immediately asked Luo Yu what he was plotting. Luo Yu panicked, but Luo Yichen did not pursue it. Instead, he sternly warned Luo Yu not to defy his fate, or he would take everything from him.
Luo Yu stayed in Gourd Village with his father for a while, not in a hurry to leave. During this time, he observed everything about the village and spoke with visitors, learning much. To eradicate the revenants, he knew he had to understand them fully.
Through conversations with villagers and revenants, Luo Yu learned that the dying corpse handlers living here had all their needs met by revenants who brought supplies from outside. His ancestor, Luo Yichen, was the village’s manager.
[Irrelevant passage skipped.]
Luo Yu even met his grandfather and several ancestors of the Luo Family. At the bottom of Gourd Village was a cave behind an iron gate. According to legend, only revenants approved by the three clan leaders could enter. Beyond it lay the Nether Syndicate.
The sight in Gourd Village moved Luo Yu deeply. In life, the corpse handlers commanded corpses, but in death, they were commanded by revenants.
After half a month, Luo Yu had learned the hierarchy among the village’s revenants and the layout of its surroundings.
On a cloudy day, Luo Yu’s father died. But a few hours later, he came back to life—looking younger, with a satisfied smile, as if reborn. Luo Yu knew his father still had feelings.
Father and son talked about things they’d never discussed before. But soon, the smile faded. His father grew cold and uninterested, obediently working as a newly made revenant.
Luo Yu learned that some people lose consciousness when they become revenants, and only by accumulating power can they regain it and manage the mindless ghouls. During this time, Luo Yu often saw corpse handlers deliver bodies, most of which became ghouls.
Those bodies that couldn’t become revenants were sent personally by Luo Yichen into the Nether Syndicate. From older revenants, Luo Yu learned that the three clans of the Nether Syndicate were holding a selection, choosing nine revenants to grant them greater power.
Many revenants hoped to receive power from the clan leaders, so they worked hard for the Nether Syndicate. Luo Yichen was no exception. Luo Yu realized that many Luo Family corpse handlers brought bodies here.
After learning everything, Luo Yu planned to go back and wait for the blue-faced man to arrive and negotiate a strategy. As he prepared to leave, Luo Yichen found him again and told him to follow instructions in the future. Back home, he should train young corpse handlers and send unclaimed bodies directly to the Nether Syndicate.
After speaking, Luo Yichen ordered a revenant to give Luo Yu two large chests of gold, saying it was a promise to the Luo Family descendants: as long as they continued the corpse handler’s work, they’d never lack money.
Luo Yu was angry but took the gold. He and several Luo Family corpse handlers returned home. Most corpse handlers felt their only fate after death was to end up here. Though they lost their emotions, they gained a second life and could accept it.
Except for his uncle, Lucy Lu, and his father, Luo Yu told no one about his plan. Yet he felt a chill down his spine—his father was now a revenant. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, so he returned to the Luo Family alone.
After returning, Luo Yu told everything to his uncle Jude Luo. Jude only shook his head, saying that even if Luo Yichen knew Luo Yu wanted to harm the revenants, he wouldn’t come. If he truly sensed Luo Yu was a threat, he would have killed him long ago.
There were still eight months left until the meeting with the blue-faced men. Luo Yu felt every day was endless. He no longer held any hope for help from the supernatural world.
Just then, a Taoist priest suddenly appeared. His name was Zhang Jizheng, a formally trained Taoist.
Luo Yu saw Zhang Jizheng was young, barely in his thirties, and didn’t expect much. But Zhang Jizheng explained his purpose: he wanted to help Luo Yu wipe out the revenants. Luo Yu was shocked—he couldn’t understand why Zhang Jizheng would help, since the Daoist Order usually treated him so coldly.