Resurrection

Xia Qi'an followed the trail of turbid qi deep into a dense forest.

Suddenly, Xia Qi'an seemed to sense something, his ears twitching slightly as if discerning a sound behind him.

As expected, upon listening closely, the sound of a struggle seemed to come from ahead.

Adhering to the principle of caution, Xia Qi'an lowered his body and crept closer.

Soon, he saw two Wei Dao warriors locked in a fierce battle with a zombie.

Xia Qi'an took a closer look, his pupils contracting sharply.

It was because this zombie was wearing the official uniform of the Wei Dao Si, and its abdomen bore a gaping wound, like a deep chasm that sent chills down one's spine.

Its flesh and blood had long since rotted, like withered wood weathered by the passage of time, crumbling to dust at the slightest touch.

Its features were blurred and indistinct, as if erased by the hand of time, leaving only vague outlines.

It had no lips, its teeth exposed, a mouthful of fangs glinting menacingly in the darkness, the very bone of its gums visible, as eerie and terrifying as a skeleton.

In this pitch-black dense forest, the zombie appeared abruptly like a ghost, exuding a stench of decay that was particularly unsettling, making one's hair stand on end.

Xia Qi'an widened his crimson pupils, barely managing to recognize that the zombie in the Wei Dao Si uniform before him was none other than Su Mu, who had been dead for over a month!

Why had he come back to life, and why had he turned into a zombie?

A flood of questions surged through Xia Qi'an's mind.

His heart pounded like a drum, and a sense of foreboding washed over him, as if heralding a momentous event.

At this moment, Su Mu, the resurrected blood corpse in the midst of the battle, was ferociously aggressive.

Having transformed into a blood corpse, Su Mu's body was as hard as steel, impervious to blades and spears; his movements were swift as the wind, no different from an ordinary person, and he possessed monstrous strength.

Even two Hound Guards in the Bone Forging Realm were unable to subdue him for the time being.

The blood corpse Su Mu seemed to retain memories from his life, his voice hoarse and low, growling like a beast, "Kill... kill... kill all the lackeys of the Wei Dao Si! Chu Shiqing... I'll kill you..."

The Hound Guard Jiang Feng's expression was grave, as if facing a formidable enemy. "The dead should rest in peace!"

This person was none other than Jiang Feng, the training camp instructor who had taught Xia Qi'an the Great Strength Vajra Fist.

The other Hound Guard was the mustachioed Lin Beihai, the head instructor of the Wei Dao Si newcomer training camp.

It was thanks to these two being present that Xia Qi'an dared to approach stealthily.

However, even with their formidable strength, Jiang Feng being in the Mid Bone Forging Realm and Lin Beihai having reached the Late Bone Forging Realm, they were still struggling to deal with the blood corpse Su Mu.

This demonstrated the terrifying transformation Su Mu had undergone upon becoming a blood corpse.

Fortunately, Xia Qi'an had the enhancement of his crimson pupils, allowing him to clearly see the flow of turbid qi within the blood corpse.

In his eyes, there was a dense mass of turbid qi at the blood corpse Su Mu's heart, swirling and converging madly.

Thus, he boldly guessed that this might be the blood corpse's fatal weakness.

"The heart, its weakness is in the heart!" Xia Qi'an, observing from the shadows, suddenly called out.

Jiang Feng and Lin Beihai were startled and shouted in unison, "Who?"

"It's me, Xia Qi'an!" Xia Qi'an quickly responded.

"Don't come any closer! You're only at the Early Blood Refining Realm. Who ordered you to undertake this mission?" Lin Beihai said with a look of disdain.

Xia Qi'an knew he was gruff but kind-hearted, and his words were well-intentioned.

"I was ordered by Lord Si Nanyue to come and assess the situation!" Xia Qi'an replied truthfully.

After exchanging a glance, Lin Beihai and Jiang Feng asked doubtfully, "You said just now that the blood corpse's weakness is in its heart. What evidence do you have?"

Xia Qi'an hesitated for a moment before saying, "No evidence for now! If you two trust me, perhaps you could try it!"

Jiang Feng had always had a good impression of Xia Qi'an. "Alright... we'll trust you this time!"

With that, he and Lin Beihai exchanged a tacit glance, their minds in sync.

The two grabbed their weapons and launched a fierce assault on the blood corpse Su Mu like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.

This time, their coordination was seamless.

Lin Beihai wielded two bronze hammers, attacking the blood corpse like Mount Tai pressing down, each blow carrying immense force, responsible for close-quarters combat and pinning down Su Mu's movements.

Jiang Feng, on the other hand, moved like a phantom, wielding twin maces, waiting for an opportunity, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, seeking a fatal blow.

Finally, after dozens of rounds of intense struggle, the scales of victory began to tip in favor of Jiang Feng and Lin Beihai.

Suddenly, Jiang Feng seized an opportunity and smashed his twin maces fiercely into the blood corpse Su Mu's chest.

"Dong!"

With a muffled thud.

The blood corpse Su Mu staggered back as if struck by lightning, his normally impervious body twisting unnaturally.

Xia Qi'an clearly saw.

The dense mass of turbid qi at Su Mu's heart had dispersed significantly from that blow.

This was what caused the strange phenomenon in the blood corpse Su Mu's body.

"It's effective..."

Seeing this, Lin Beihai and Jiang Feng's spirits lifted.

They continued to launch a more fierce offensive against the Blood Corpse Su Mu.

After another intense battle, Su Mu's rotting body began to lose its balance, and his limbs stiffened.

"Roar..."

Suddenly, the Blood Corpse Su Mu, who had been repeatedly thwarted, let out a strange roar.

He broke free from Lin Beihai and Jiang Feng's encirclement.

And lunged towards Xia Qi'an, who was not far away.

Seeing this, Xia Qi'an remained unfazed.

"At your last gasp...! I'm no pushover!"

Xia Qi'an didn't choose to retreat. Instead, he moved like a fierce tiger, leaping down from the tree.

He went straight to meet Su Mu.

"Vajra's Fury!"

This time, Xia Qi'an unleashed both fists, striking directly at Su Mu's heart.

"Boom!"

The Blood Corpse Su Mu was sent flying with a punch.

He could feel something exploding inside Su Mu.

His heart!

And Xia Qi'an could see the turbid qi in Su Mu's heart being scattered by the punch.

Finally, Su Mu staggered and fell, turning into a pile of dry bones.

After dealing with the reanimated Su Mu.

The three of them sat around a large tree, with a bonfire lit in the middle.

The bearded Lin Beihai sat with his eyes closed, meditating and practicing his breathing techniques.

Jiang Feng was in charge of roasting a wild rabbit, while Xia Qi'an added firewood to the fire.

"Instructor Jiang! What exactly happened to Su Mu? How did he turn into a Blood Corpse?" As they rested, Xia Qi'an voiced the question in his heart.

"It must be related to the Demonic Ancient Path!" Jiang Feng said, his voice heavy as he turned the wild rabbit roasting over the fire.

"Demonic Ancient Path...? What is that?" Xia Qi'an was confused, his doubts growing.

"The Demonic Ancient Path is an evil organization composed of demons, heretical martial artists, and demonic cultivators. Its origins are mysterious and ancient, impossible to verify. It's hard to explain in a few words!"

"But what I can tell you is... the Wei Dao Si was established precisely to counter the Demonic Ancient Path!"

Hearing this, Xia Qi'an was shocked.

This Demonic Ancient Path was actually so terrifying!

"If you're interested! You can go to the branch in Jinling City to check the information on the Demonic Ancient Path after we return!"

"However, I still have to warn you. People from the Demonic Ancient Path are extremely dangerous! With your current strength, it's best not to get involved too early." Jiang Feng, worried that Xia Qi'an would continue to pester him about the Demonic Ancient Path, began to dissuade him.

"Understood!" Xia Qi'an nodded.

From his conversation with the two, he learned that the fire at Liu Family Village was set by Lin Beihai.

When Lin and Jiang were previously tracking the Blood Corpse, they discovered that the villagers of Liu Family Village had been corrupted by turbid qi and had attacked them.

In a moment of desperation, Lin Beihai set the entire Liu Family Village ablaze.

After the three of them finished sharing the wild rabbit and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Xia Qi'an bid farewell to the two and rode back to Jinling City alone to report.

He needed to return to Jinling to quickly deliver the investigation intelligence from Lin Beihai and Jiang Feng to Si Nanyue.

As for Lin and Jiang, their mission was not yet over.

They still had to continue investigating the traces of the demons and monsters of the Demonic Ancient Path.

What they didn't know was.

Xia Qi'an had absorbed all the turbid qi from the Blood Corpse he had finally killed.

His own blood essence had increased significantly, and his martial arts realm had advanced to the Mid Blood Refining Realm.

He was only a sliver away from breaking through to the Late Blood Refining Realm.

Not only that, but the blood essence he gained this time had also provided him with the equivalent of three blood exchanges.

Thus, Xia Qi'an in the Blood Refining Realm was now equivalent to having undergone seven blood exchanges.

With only two more to go, he would achieve the legendary nine blood exchanges.

Furthermore, he still had a Vital Energy Pill, which could also allow him to undergo one blood exchange.

It could be said that he was only one step away from achieving the feat of nine blood exchanges.