"Master Ren, if we don't cremate him, there will be trouble!"
"Anything is fine—but cremation is out of the question! Think of something else!"
Seeing Ren Fa's unyielding stance, Jiu Shu had no choice but to compromise.
"…Very well. We'll temporarily store the coffin at the mortuary. By tomorrow, I'll find a new burial site."
Ren Fa finally agreed.
The workers carefully resealed the coffin, placing it back in position. He stood before it, his voice low and heavy with emotion.
"Father… please bear with it for one night. Tomorrow, I'll find you a better resting place…"
On the way back, Jiu Shu lowered his voice.
"Tonight… stay alert. I have a feeling this isn't over."
"We understand," Uchiha Mo replied calmly.
Back at the mortuary, the coffin was placed in the west wing.
Jiu Shu personally arranged the defenses—glutinous rice scattered across the ground, ink lines drawn into a tight grid over the coffin lid. No gaps. No weaknesses.
Only after everything was secured did he return to rest.
Deep into the night, the moon was hidden and the stars were faint.
Then—
Thud.
A dull sound echoed from within the coffin.
Followed by scratching.
Sharp.
Grating.
The ink lines began to glow faintly, emitting a golden light. The grid shifted subtly, like a living net, locking the corpse energy inside.
Bang!Bang!Bang!
Ren Weiyong slammed violently against the coffin from within. Each impact made the golden light flicker—but it held.
The disturbance quickly alerted everyone.
Jiu Shu arrived first, lantern in hand.
Wencai and Qiu Sheng followed behind, still half-asleep and disheveled. The Uchiha brothers stepped out as well, calm and observant.
"M-Master… what's happening?" Wencai clutched Jiu Shu's sleeve.
Jiu Shu examined the seal carefully.
"Nothing serious. He won't break through."
As if responding to his words, the pounding slowed—
Then stopped.
Silence returned.
Wencai exhaled in relief. "That scared me to death… even after dying, he still won't rest…"
"Enough," Jiu Shu said, waving him off. "Everyone go back to—"
BOOM!!
The coffin exploded.
Wood shattered into fragments as debris scattered in all directions.
Ren Weiyong shot upright.
He was completely different.
Eyes—blood-red.
Forehead—marked with a crimson sigil.
Black energy surged wildly around him.
"ROAR!!"
"Heaven and Earth without limit—borrow the power of the cosmos!"
Jiu Shu raised the Bagua mirror, and golden light burst forth, pinning the corpse in place.
"Brother Mo!" Jiu Shu called out urgently. "The caster is five li west—can you—"
"Of course."
Before he could finish, Uchiha Mo vanished into the night.
Five li west—
A desolate graveyard lay under the cold wind.
Broken tombstones leaned at odd angles as ghostly flames flickered in the darkness.
At the center stood a crude altar draped in black cloth.
On top of it—
A dark ceramic jar filled with rotting organs, releasing a suffocating stench.
Before it stood an old man, gaunt and withered.
His feet traced ritual steps as his lips moved in constant chanting.
Before him stood a straw effigy, trembling with every incantation.
The talisman on its forehead pulsed faintly.
Far away—
The same sigil burned on Ren Weiyong's corpse.
"Cough… cough…"
The old man coughed violently, yet his movements only grew faster.
His eyes burned with hatred.
"Twenty years…"
"Ren Weiyong… you treacherous dog…"
"My master helped your family rise—and you repaid him with betrayal!"
"You withheld payment, seized his burial ground… and had him killed!"
"For twenty years…"
"I've planned this."
"Sealing the grave with cement… turning fortune into curse…"
"So even in death—you would never know peace!"
"You would rise…"
"And slaughter your own bloodline."
"Wipe them out!"
"And now…"
"It's finally happening!"
"Lin Jiu… you meddlesome fool…"
"You destroyed my corpse-nurturing ground… and helped my enemy…"
"How could I let you live?!"
He bit his tongue and spat blood onto the effigy.
"Rise, Ren Weiyong!"
"Kill them!"
"Kill them all!"
Black energy surged violently from his body, pouring into the effigy.
Veins bulged as his face twisted with madness.
"Lin Jiu! Ren Fa!"
"You will all die!"
"No one can save you—!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
His laughter echoed through the graveyard.
Back at the mortuary—
The corpse roared.
Under the golden light, it pushed forward, black energy churning violently as it resisted the suppression.
Jiu Shu's face paled, his hand trembling slightly.
"Master!"
Wencai threw glutinous rice forward.
Sparks erupted as it struck the corpse.
For a moment—
It faltered.
Then—
It swung its arm straight at Jiu Shu.
"Watch out!"
Uchiha Xiuren moved.
Instantly.
He appeared in front of Jiu Shu, delivering a precise side kick that intercepted the blow.
Bang!
The impact rang out like metal striking iron.
The corpse staggered back.
Xiuren flipped cleanly through the air and landed steadily, shaking his numb leg slightly.
"…What a tough body."
And now—
The real battle—
Had begun.