More to the Story (Continued)

The Azure Mysterious Corpse King floated down from the air, looking as if he had used the black umbrella in his hand as a parachute. Hongdou had already landed, but she was still slowly floating in the air.

The saying "attack while the enemy is crossing the river" suggests that this was an excellent opportunity to strike. Unfortunately, Hongdou lacked combat experience and had no intention of launching a sneak attack. She obediently stood on the ground and waited for her opponent to fall. Yu Shuying, on the other hand, had a thoughtful expression and did not offer any advice.

After the Azure Mysterious Corpse King landed slowly, it spun halfway around and raised its hand in invitation, "Come on, let's fight."

Hongdou glanced at the other person and said, "Won't it be inconvenient for you to fight in this outfit? Should you tidy it up first?"

The Azure Mysterious Corpse King was still holding a black umbrella in one hand, leaning it against his shoulder as if he were on a spring outing. He was wearing a lot of jewelry such as earrings and bracelets, and a black dress with a hem that reached his calves, which was obviously not suitable for strenuous exercise.

"Don't worry, just go ahead and do it."

"Oh, then be careful."

Hongdou thought the other party was quite easy to talk to, but she knew in her heart that this was the King of Monsters, who was on par with her maternal grandfather. She could not judge a book by its cover and dared not be careless in the slightest. She reached out and made a move, and the void cracked open. The Purple Primal Emperor Slash flew out from the crack and landed in her palm.

"All spirits gather, the spirit platform is sealed!"

Without hesitation, Hongdou unleashed her ultimate move, gathering countless vengeful spirits into a spirit blade tens of meters long, which she then slashed out with a deafening roar.

This was Yu Shuying's instruction: since they lacked combat experience, they should play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Instead of competing with their opponents in martial arts techniques, they should leverage their Foundation advantages and determine the winner directly through their ultimate moves. Even a fixed set of moves was better than a martial art full of flaws.

The Azure Mysterious Corpse King pointed a finger, and the air in front of him suddenly condensed, forming an invisible barrier of energy. Hongdou's Spiritual Qi longsword struck it, but it didn't budge. Only the immense energy that rippled outwards and the cracked earth below proved that Hongdou's strike was not just a pretty face.

With a sharp cry, Hongdou charged forward with her sword, attempting to break through the defenses. However, the Spiritual Qi sword could not withstand her force and shattered inch by inch. Each break produced the sound of cannonballs exploding, while the Azure Mysterious Corpse King remained as steady as a rock.

"Tread the Blade, Drink Blood!"

Yu Shuying, attached to Hongdou, activated her energy and cast a spell. A beam of blood-red light adhered to the Purple Primal Emperor Slash, and the scattered Spiritual Qi re-condensed. Hongdou used it roughly, causing the scattered and insubstantial force to be gathered. The powerful Foundation inherited from the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King resonated with the Purple Primal Emperor Slash, and it immediately hummed. Man and sword seemed to become one, and the tip of the sword spat out a purple light, easily piercing through the invisible energy barrier.

The Azure Mysterious Corpse King remained unmoved, gathering a sliver of azure Sword-Ray at his fingertips to launch a counterattack. His sword fingers flicked and thrust, incredibly sharp, the sword flowers piercing the air with streaks of white. His other hand still held up the black umbrella, his skirt swaying, his steps as graceful as a dance, like weaving a beautiful palindrome, causing Hongdou to retreat in defeat.

After only three exchanges, Hongdou's stance was completely shattered, her sword moves were full of flaws and lacked any structure. Fortunately, she was protected by the "Distorted Maze Domain" on her body, which could distort space, causing her opponent's Sword-Ray always deviate by the slightest bit and just graze past her.

"Ten Thousand Souls Gather Evil, Divine Souls Become Ferocious Together!"

Hongdou quickly unleashed the second move, unleashing a powerful burst of inner energy. Evil spirits howled, and malevolent spirits scattered. The surrounding energy resonated and vibrated, creating ripples that spread outwards.

The Azure Mysterious Corpse King was forced back several steps. She immediately spun around, and the black umbrella in her hand spun rapidly. All the energy and evil spirits that were affected by her actively bypassed her and were no longer impacted. She then pressed forward again, trying to continue trembling.

With a swift slash, Hongdou unleashed a fierce blade aura that left no room for evasion. The Azure Mysterious Corpse King spun his black umbrella, seemingly attempting to use its surface to block the attack, but in the next instant, the scattered evil spirits and ripples of energy suddenly coalesced, condensing into three energy blades. These blades, combined with Hongdou's attack, slashed at the Azure Mysterious Corpse King simultaneously from four directions: up, down, left, and right.

No matter how large the black umbrella of the Azure Mysterious Corpse King was, it could only block one side, and was immediately shattered into pieces by the combined attack from all sides.

"Don't let your guard down, she's definitely not dead."

Yu Shuying quickly reminded Hongdou to prevent her from letting her guard down and being taken advantage of by her opponent.

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, a sword light attacked Hongdou from the side. Hongdou immediately dodged backward and swung her knife to counterattack, but the Azure Mysterious Corpse King, which had been hit, shattered like a mirage. Then, the sword light reappeared and attacked Hongdou from behind.

In the blink of an eye, sword light slashed, reversed, thrust, and hooked, with the Azure Mysterious Corpse King using extremely exquisite sword techniques and ethereal footwork to launch an attack on Hongdou. In an instant, the shadows of umbrellas were so numerous that Red Bean could no longer be seen.

Reminded by Yu Shuying, Hongdou realized that the other party wanted to interrupt her power-building with frequent and rapid attacks, preventing her from having a chance to use her ultimate move. However, she was unable to create distance. Sword lights flashed before her eyes. Her Purple Primal Emperor Slash countered fiercely, but was repeatedly evaded by the Sword-Ray light. Even when it did hit, it was only an illusory umbrella shadow, making it difficult for her to catch her breath.

If someone were to observe from a high vantage point, they would see a group of Azure Mysterious Corpse King holding black umbrellas, dancing gracefully around Hongdou. Although their long, black dresses lacked any sense of grandeur, they possessed a unique charm. No matter how Hongdou moved, the dancing group would follow, always keeping her at the center.

The difference is too big!

Yu Shuying couldn't help but sigh in her heart. In the past, when Hongdou faced enemies, she could play to Foundation strengths and avoid her weaknesses, relying on her Foundation to kill them. However, when facing Azure Mysterious Corpse King, whose foundation was in no way inferior to hers, her own shortcomings were quickly magnified. In this battle, Azure Mysterious Corpse King did not use any ultimate moves from beginning to end, but he neutralized Hongdou's two killing moves and easily gained the upper hand, firmly grasping the direction of the battle.

Unlike Si Jingyu, who usurped Hongdou's body to fight against the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King, Si Ming Yu Shuying was merely attached to Hongdou's body. She could assist from the sidelines and offer advice, but she could not take over. Therefore, even though she knew how to resolve the current situation, the opportunity was fleeting. When she offered advice, the Azure Mysterious Corpse King would change his tactics again, and she was always a step behind in reacting.

However, Yu Shuying was not without a way to break the deadlock. Before going into battle, she ordered Hualiu to wait on the arrow tower and prepared a Filth-Severing Blood Arrow from the ruins of the Blood Abyss Sect. Once this arrow hits its target, it will cause a blood explosion with power equivalent to the self-destruction of a Spirit Transformation Grandmaster, and it will also pollute the soul.

The Filth-Severing Blood Arrow might not be able to seriously injure the Azure Mysterious Corpse King, but it would be more than enough to disrupt her battle. However, Yu Shuying hesitated. Although the Azure Mysterious Corpse King clearly had the upper hand, she was not in a hurry to win. Several times, Hongdou exposed her weaknesses, and Yu Shuying only attacked with Sword-Ray without using her ultimate move. Hongdou was protected by the Distorted Maze Domain, which made it difficult for ordinary moves to penetrate. The two were locked in a stalemate for a time.

A moment later, a figure suddenly flew upwards from within the city, crashing through the top of the observation tower. It was Dai Wen. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, swung his broadsword, and with a slump, completely crushed the roofless observation tower. His sword intent surged rapidly, and the surrounding air currents converged, all condensing on his treasured sword. Before the sword move was even unleashed, the surrounding space had already lost its color.

However, the Stiff Corpse King Kunming below was even more imposing than Dai Wen, and the dense corpse energy almost blocked out the sun above. It seemed that the two sides were about to determine a winner.

The Azure Mysterious Corpse King, "Even if you can hold me off, you can't win other battles. You'll still lose. If that's all you're capable of, then this war could end today."

His words suggested he had no intention of holding back any longer.

Yu Shuying's mind raced as she weighed the pros and cons. If she let Hualiu shoot the Filth-Severing Blood Arrow at Kunming to help Dai Wen win first, and then Dai Wen and Shen Wumian joined forces to attack Zhu Mei, and after defeating Zhu Mei, the two of them would then attack the Azure Mysterious Corpse King, how feasible was this plan? And without the Filth-Severing Blood Arrow, how would they deal with the Azure Mysterious Corpse King?

"Alright, the most important thing right now is to hold out for this period. If we can just delay for another half month, Si Ming will definitely notice something is wrong. Once he arrives, we can defeat the Azure Mysterious Corpse King without the Filth-Severing Blood Arrow. There's not much point in keeping this arrow."

Just as Yu Shuying made her decision and was about to send a signal to Hualiu, Kunming's momentum was suddenly extinguished, and then he flew out like an anti-aircraft missile.

Yu Shuying looked up and saw that Kunming's chest was clearly dented, and his spine was almost bursting out of his back. It was obvious that he had been smashed by pure force. You know, the strongest advantage of a zombie is its defense. The identity of the person who can do this is obvious.

"You'd better run, there's still time," Yu Shuying earnestly advised the Azure Mysterious Corpse King. "Because my man has arrived."

"He's my man too!" Hongdou reacted remarkably quickly in this situation.

Just as the Azure Mysterious Corpse King was stunned, the Zhu Mei followed in Kunming's footsteps, screaming as it crashed through the city gate and flew out, looking even more miserable.

Amidst the billowing dust at the city gate, a figure of modest stature slowly emerged, gradually becoming clearer.

"I apologize, I was in such a rush that I forgot to put on my golden armor and arrived without riding on a seven-colored cloud. But I'm sure everyone will be satisfied with the performance to come."

The Azure Mysterious Corpse King stopped her attack and was about to ask about the other party's identity when a thunderclap suddenly sounded from the ground, and a golden dragon broke through the air and attacked. The distance of a Qianzhang was covered in an instant. Her expression changed drastically. She quickly turned her black umbrella to block in front of her and created many clones, each forming an army, with the black umbrella like a large shield.

"The Banners Obscure the Enemy Like Clouds!"

The golden dragon crashed into the army of black umbrellas with unstoppable momentum, not even bothering to distinguish which one was the true form. With a flick of its tail, Sword Qi surged forth like a tidal wave, annihilating everything, and it successfully found the true form.

Impacted by the golden dragon, the black umbrella's surface caved inward, and the ribs emitted a screeching sound as if it could no longer withstand the force. The Azure Mysterious Corpse King finally understood why Kunming and Zhu Mei had been beaten so badly; the opponent's strength was simply beyond imagination. Even though the black umbrella absorbed 60% of the force, the remaining 40% still made her arms numb and unable to resist. She slid a hundred feet across the ground before finally regaining her footing.