Published: August 15, 2025
Chapter 64: Quhun
Han Li used his fingers to feel the burly man's icy cold body temperature. Looking into his dull and expressionless eyes, he guessed at everything Zhang Tie had gone through.
More than likely, Doctor Mo, together with Yu Zitong, had abducted Zhang Tie, who had once made some progress with the Elephant Armor Technique. They then forged a false impression that Zhang Tie had left, deceiving many eyes and ears within the seven mysteries sect. Secretly, they used some kind of magic to strip Zhang Tie of his soul and spirit, then altered his body into something so bizarre, closely resembling the state of someone who had mastered the Elephant Armor Technique.
Han Li's guess was very accurate; the truth was not far from that.
Back then, Doctor Mo had a sudden idea to combine the Elephant Armor Technique with the corpse refining technique provided by Yu Zitong, aiming to create a batch of powerful corpses that would obey orders and sweep through the martial world. However, in such a short time, they only managed to produce one burly man. Doctor Mo regarded him as a precious treasure, usually hiding him somewhere secret at the foot of the mountain. The last time he returned to the mountain, he had brought him back along.
Yu Zitong had no interest at all in such mediocre corpses and even sneered at them. When his physical body was still alive, there were many ways to subdue these incomplete corpses, and compared to the high-level ironclad corpses of true immortal cultivators, their power was far inferior. They could only show some presence in the secular world. The only advantage was probably the simple materials and easy refining process; anyone with a bit of magical power could probably create them.
After a long time, Han Li suddenly withdrew his hand from the burly man's face and averted his uneasy gaze from him. His eyes settled on the broken stone door as he began to stare blankly.
At that moment, he felt a chill in his heart—not because of sorrow over Zhang Tie's tragic fate, but because of his own cold-heartedness and ruthlessness.
He had thought that upon learning of his friend's miserable end, he would angrily raise his head and shout the names "Mo Juren" and "Yu Zitong," his voice full of hatred and resentment.
But in reality, apart from slight sadness, he felt no strong emotions or fury. It was as if the one in this state was not his former friend Zhang Tie, but some unrelated passerby.
Could it be because he knew that the Zhang Tie before him was only an empty shell without a soul and spirit? Or had his heart truly turned so cold and iron-blooded?
This selfish and indifferent reaction frightened Han Li himself. Only now did he realize that, without knowing when, he had become so unfamiliar to himself!
Finally snapping out of his daze, Han Li gave a complicated look at the burly man, unsure how to address "him."
Recalling Doctor Mo's words that the soul and spirit were "lost," that this was a "walking corpse," Han Li lifted his head to the sky and gently said,
"Brother Zhang, I suppose you have already reincarnated. Your leftover body is now useless; I'll just borrow it for a while! I promise to use it carefully and hope you won't blame me."
After this prayer-like statement, Han Li comforted himself with a self-hypnosis and then said to the burly man,
"Since you are Brother Zhang’s leftover shell without an autonomous soul, I will call you 'Quhun'! I hope you can assist me in the days to come."
Hearing Han Li’s words, the burly man stood motionless, showing only his usual obedient demeanor without any other reaction. It seemed he truly had no independent consciousness and could only passively accept commands.
"I'm really talking to a mindless body like this; how foolish of me!" Han Li said self-mockingly, shaking his head. Then, with a relaxed step, he walked into the stone house.
"Quhun, keep up."
Han Li had completely recovered from his low mood. His expression returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. It seemed he had indeed become as hard and rational as he thought, no longer easily troubled by emotions.