Exacting Corpses

As the sun set, dusk began to fall.

The convoy had no choice but to stop and set up camp.

The Old Hundred-Household calmly directed the men, and in no time, the remaining twenty-odd soldiers had felled a large number of trees and built a simple camp.

They started fires and cooked meals.

They fed the horses.

The Old Hundred-Household untied a small pouch from his waist, which contained white powder. He sprinkled it in a circle around the entire camp.

Another half an hour passed.

The sun completely disappeared.

The world was covered by the night sky.

A dark shadow in the woods was watching them.

As night fell, they seemed to stop concealing their presence.

"Tell the brothers not to stray too far from the camp."

The Old Hundred-Household held his waist knife, holding a bowl of hot food, and warned the young men who were traveling with him.

A young soldier, eating his hot meal, asked indistinctly through a mouthful, "Boss, Wang Tie Wa had to relieve himself just as we were cooking, so he went a bit further away. He should be okay, right?"

Seeing the Old Hundred-Household's solemn expression, the soldier quickly put down his bowl, wiped his hands on his clothes, and stood up with his knife in hand. "I'll go look for him."

"No need."

The Old Hundred-Household stopped the soldier.

With so many of them gathered together, their Yang energy was strong, and those ghostly things wouldn't dare to act.

Once they separated, they would be picked off one by one.

If they were lucky, Wang Tie Wa might still come back alive.

If not, going now would only add another corpse for no reason.

Another half an hour passed.

Wang Tie Wa still hadn't returned.

The Old Hundred-Household's heart sank.

He had actually understood long ago that the moment they spotted the dark shadow, they had been targeted.

This had happened just seven days ago.

Those things were different from bandits; they wouldn't give up until they achieved their goal.

If they encountered mountain bandits, let alone dozens, even a hundred wouldn't be able to do anything to them.

Facing these things, the Old Hundred-Household felt very uncertain.

So he quickly returned to the carriage and took out the Venerable Soul Banner.

It was an Immortal Master's Magic Tool after all. Even if they couldn't use it, it would at least provide some peace of mind.

It would be even better if it could deter those ghostly things.

Tu Shan Jun finally saw the light of day again.

He observed the person holding the banner.

It was a tough old man, about fifty years old, with dark skin, his face crisscrossed with wrinkles and scars.

He exuded a strong Sha Qi.

He must have taken quite a few lives.

So, they've run into trouble, Tu Shan Jun realized.

Ever since they left the city, there had been a faint Yin Evil hanging behind them. Now, the surrounding Yin Evil was far more than just one source.

They were clearly being targeted by something.

"Woo!"

A long, mournful, low howl echoed.

Everyone who had been dozing off after eating the hot meal was instantly startled awake.

They quickly got up, held their waist knives, and nervously scanned their surroundings.

This wasn't the first time they had encountered such things. While they weren't completely familiar with it, they weren't overly surprised either.

However, fear still lingered in their hearts.

"Thump."

The sound of heavy footsteps landing.

A figure walked out of the darkness, silhouetted against the bright flames rising.

The person was wearing embroidered clothing, a long saber hung at their waist, their face was gaunt, and their eyes were a ghastly white.

"Tie Wa!"

The young soldier standing beside the Old Hundred-Household shouted, about to step forward to help.

But the Old Hundred-Household grabbed him.

The Old Hundred-Household shook his head at the young soldier.

Then, suppressing the fear in his heart, he said loudly, "Which immortal being reveals themselves here? We are the Embroidered Uniform Guard of Great Liang. Could you please be accommodating and release my young brother?"

Tie Wa, with his gaunt face and pale white eyes, moved stiffly, walking two more steps forward.

He only stopped right before the white line.

Extending his arm, he pointed towards the carriage.

The Old Hundred-Household looked in the direction of the finger.

"This is troublesome."

His heart sank again.

They knew perfectly well what was in the carriage.

It was the body of the Immortal Master from the Hall of Offerings.

These ghostly things were coming for the Immortal Master's body.

Mountain and Water Spirits and Ghost Creatures are good at eating people.

If they obtained the Immortal Master's body, they would naturally become stronger.

At that point, the twenty-odd living people they had wouldn't be able to reach the Liang Capital at all.

Seeing the Old Hundred-Household hesitate, that thing actually lifted its foot again, wanting to cross the white line.

"Clang."

The long saber was unsheathed.

The moment the Old Hundred-Household drew his saber, the over twenty soldiers under his command all drew their long sabers and formed a military formation, standing ready.

'Tie Wa' seemed to have some fear of the white line.

The lifted foot did not fall, but instead pointed at the carriage again.

The meaning was obvious.

Losing the Immortal Master's body was a great crime.

If they returned to the Liang Capital empty-handed, not only would they be implicated, but their families would also be held accountable.

Unless they all died here.

The good name of dying in battle could not only protect their families but also earn their wives titles and their sons official positions.

"Lord, why don't we give them the body of that Immortal Master, who is rumored to be from the Demonic Path, in exchange for safety?" the young man beside him suggested softly.

Their mission was originally to escort the Immortal Master and wait for the Immortal Master to finish fighting before returning.

Unexpectedly, upon reaching Eight Directions Prefecture City,

That Demonic Cultivator was so powerful.

It took the deaths of two Immortal Masters to kill the Demonic Cultivator.

The bodies of the two Immortal Masters could not be given away, but they could exchange the body of the Demonic Cultivator for safety.

The Old Hundred-Household had not yet reacted, but Tu Shan Jun within the Venerable Soul Banner was already furious.

Whoever dared to touch Li Qing Feng's body, he would make them suffer.

The Old Hundred-Household shook his head and said, "You can't negotiate with these things."

It wouldn't work.

Begging for survival with a body would only make them think they were easy to bully.

They were like ravenous beasts.

After eating the body, they would continue to follow them.

Seeing that the Old Hundred-Household still didn't speak, 'Tie Wa' was clearly impatient and lowered his foot.

"Sizzle!"

It was like a hot iron rod being plunged into fresh meat.

Directly cooked.

A smell of burning immediately spread.

A shrill scream rang out.

A blurry shadow quickly drilled out of Tie Wa's body.

But the white flame could not be extinguished at all.

In just a moment, it burned the thing into ashes.

Wang Tie Wa's body also turned into a dried corpse in the burning white ash, falling into the circle.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the lime powder, enhanced with gold powder and the Immortal Master's magic power, was effective.

Two people quickly stepped out from the military formation, ran to Wang Tie Wa's charred body, and dragged it back.

However, the shadows in the forest showed no signs of diminishing.

A red light flashed, and the short ghost creatures carrying the sedan chair landed on the ground.

Dark figures flickered, surrounding the caravan like refugees.

A pale, withered finger extended from the red bridal sedan chair.

It pointed towards the carriage compartment.

"We cannot obey."

The Old Hundred-Household roared, "You beasts, retreat quickly, or we will make you vanish into thin air!"

"Roar!"

A fierce Yin wind howled.

Gray Yin Qi surged out from the curtains of the red bridal sedan chair.

The Old Hundred-Household's words seemed to have angered them.

As the strong wind picked up, the white powder lines on the ground were actually blown away.

"Bring the black dog blood."

Thump.

Thud.

Four buckets of black dog blood were carried out.

"Dip the blood, wash the blades!"

The soldiers dipped their Waist Knives in the black dog blood, each grabbing a handful of dog blood to smear on their faces and bodies.

"Form the formation."

The Old Hundred-Household roared.

Twenty-four soldiers formed five-man squads, creating five small military formations.

As the white lines on the ground were blown away, leaving only faint traces, the hidden ghost creatures could no longer hold back.

They charged forward en masse.

The long night was like fire, Mountain and Forest Spirits ran rampant.

Boiled in oil over a fierce fire, Spirit Monsters were extraordinary.

"Kill."

The black dog blood, enhanced with magic power and gold powder, was like a layer of armor.

Chopping and hacking.

The soldiers in the battle formation quickly slaughtered the Yin Soul Ghost Creatures.

The Old Hundred-Household took large strides, holding his Waist Knife, and went straight for the sedan chair.

Puch! A single strike.

He chopped off the head of a short ghost creature.

Gripping the foot-long Venerable Soul Banner tightly, he thrust it towards another White-Faced Ghost Creature charging over.

The moment it was pierced, the White-Faced Ghost Creature was absorbed by the Venerable Soul Banner before it could even scream.

Tu Shan Jun nodded slightly.

Not bad, with the replenishment of Yin Soul Sha Qi, his injuries had recovered a portion.

The thing inside the sedan chair suddenly shot out, but instead of bothering the Old Hundred-Household, it turned and ran.

Like a flying white ribbon, it whooshed into the woods and disappeared.

While surprised, the Old Hundred-Household looked at the foot-long Venerable Soul Banner in his hand: "Immortal Master's Magic Treasure, it's this powerful."

Tu Shan Jun chuckled, he wasn't a Magic Treasure yet.

But this old man had good judgment.

It was a pity the old man wasn't a Qi Cultivator.

With the leading ghost creature gone, most of the remaining ghost creatures were tragically killed under the soldiers' blades.

With black dog blood and the military formation, these unranked ghost creatures had no power to resist at all.