The Combined Strike Shatters the Body, Seemingly Succeeding; The False Head Calls a Friend, Shocking the Soul

Two figures sprang apart to either side.

This happened almost in the very next instant after Rui and Huo Chengping dodged.

The ground was smashed into a deep pit.

As the dust thinned, the attacker's true form emerged.

Even though they had made ample psychological preparations, seeing it with their own eyes still sent a wave of nausea surging straight to the tops of their heads.

Corpses of humans who had long since died had been forcibly bent and twisted, then kneaded together. Broken bones pierced flesh, catching against one another, joints were reversed, and the conglomeration formed a deformed, bloated "giant."

Atop this enormous body sat a child's head, forming an absurd contrast with the gigantic torso beneath it.

The entire monster, pieced together from chunks of corpses, was covered in a layer of black, viscous matter that slowly writhed without end, forming a "membrane."

This membrane tightly wrapped and joined the gaps in its body, granting this structure that violated all common sense a measure of stability and mobility.

"How dare a mere oddity profane the living! Die!"

Seeing this, Huo Chengping put away his usual kindly expression and struck first. Zhuo Rui followed close behind, and the two immediately battled the monster.

Palm Wind howled.

Fist force crashed like thunder.

The power of a fully accomplished Fifth Level erupted.

True Qi slammed viciously into the monster's body.

Yet what chilled the heart was that most of the attacks landed on the black membrane only to slide off or be dispersed and absorbed.

The sensation was much like a Martial Master's Protective True Qi, but different in certain ways. After all, this "membrane" was tangible, like living armor, and it clung tightly to Fulu Ginseng's body.

The corners of the child's mouth stretched all the way toward its ears, revealing a smile. Paired with those hollow whites of its eyes, it was eerie and terrifying to the extreme.

That smile seemed to mock the two men's incompetence, carrying both contempt and provocation.

Zhuo Rui and Huo Chengping had long possessed intelligence and psychological preparation, so they were not affected in the slightest by this mental interference.

They exchanged a glance and changed tactics.

Their movements suddenly grew thirty percent faster. They sandwiched Fulu Ginseng between them, one on the left and one on the right, and began beating it two-on-one.

The two coordinated with considerable tacit understanding. Relying on this style of combined assault, they had once defeated many formidable enemies and earned the title "Twin Heroes of Green Lotus."

For a time, Palm Shadows and fist winds poured down from both sides like a violent storm.

Although the power of each individual attack was slightly reduced because it was divided between them, the advantage lay in their rapid frequency and numerous strikes, targeting the places where the black membrane's flow slowed slightly.

At once, that "membrane" began to appear stretched thin.

Its defenses were strong, but it seemed to struggle greatly against the unceasing, high-frequency attacks arriving from multiple directions. Its flow could not keep up with the rhythm of the assault.

Fulu Ginseng's enormous body turned clumsily. Its twisted arms flailed and swept about in a frenzy, yet it could not even brush the corners of their clothes. Instead, its overly large movements exposed even more weaknesses.

"Waaah!"

The smile on the child's head vanished, replaced by a shrill wail.

Seeing this, Huo Chengping's heart settled somewhat, and he even felt a trace of contempt.

"Hmph. An oddity is an oddity in the end. How could it contend with a true Martial Master tempered through a thousand trials?"

Even so, the attacks in his hands did not slow in the slightest.

The two-on-one assault continued for roughly the time it took to burn a stick of incense. Several areas of the black membrane on Fulu Ginseng's body had visibly dimmed, and its crying had taken on a hint of exasperation.

Now!

Zhuo Rui, who had remained silent all this time, roared:

"Old Shen, strike!"

The two simultaneously withdrew, opening up some distance.

"Hahahaha! Old Shen has arrived!"

A bold laugh rang out. From a patch of shadow above the cavern, a bare-chested burly man emerged.

It was none other than the third Incense Master in this operation, Shen Xu.

His fists were clenched together into a single mass and raised high before he came crashing down with his body.

Blue patterns lit up across both his arms as True Qi surged into his clasped hands.

It was as though a falling star had descended from the heavens, or a divine general had swung down a hammer. He smashed toward Fulu Ginseng below with overwhelming ferocity.

It was as if the mountains were collapsing and the earth was splitting.

Countless fragments of human bodies shot in every direction. The giant body forcibly kneaded together from corpses came apart with a boom like a pile of building blocks struck by a hammer.

Having succeeded with one strike, Shen Xu did not linger in battle. Borrowing the force of the recoil, he performed a backward somersault and immediately withdrew.

"Now! Release!" Huo Chengping shouted when he saw this and issued the order without hesitation.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

One specially made long spike after another, black from end to end, flew out and plunged into the ground, forming a perfect circular array.

Once the spikes entered the earth, a ghostly light lit up at their upper ends. They sizzled as vast quantities of dense white smoke rapidly poured out.

Zhuo Rui, Huo Chengping, and Shen Xu simultaneously lowered their waists and planted their feet, circulated their techniques, and struck out a stream of "blue qi."

Three condensed pillars of blue qi plunged into the white fog barrier.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Like cold water dripping into boiling oil.

The instant the blue qi touched the white smoke, an intense reaction erupted. Countless tiny blue electric snakes darted about inside.

The electric snakes raced everywhere with snapping sounds, linking and intertwining into shape. In the blink of an eye, they formed a blue-white web of electricity inside the fog barrier, which then transformed into a cage and sealed Fulu Ginseng within.

Only then did all the Holy Cult personnel lying in ambush reveal themselves one after another. With blades and swords drawn, they began methodically clearing out the Living Corpses.

"Is that really the end?"

Zhuo Rui murmured unconsciously.

From Shen Xu's surprise attack to the successful capture, the entire process had been as swift as a hare darting up and a falcon diving down, lasting no more than a few breaths.

"Hahahaha! Old Shen, beautifully done! Close the net!"

"Got it!"

Huo Chengping shouted, then patted Zhuo Rui on the shoulder. His face carried a relaxed smile.

"See? I told you. What kind of waves could a mere 'oddity' stir up?

"You just think too much!

"According to the intelligence, Fulu Ginseng still had many characteristics it hadn't displayed."

"Hahaha, there was so much information in the report. It wasn't possible to keep an eye on everything."

"But..."

"All right, I know that's just your temperament, but there has to be a limit! Come on! I'm treating tonight. We'll order a dozen or twenty young ladies and put your mind at ease."

Zhuo Rui nodded reluctantly, but the faint unease in his heart never dispersed.

He always felt that things had gone too smoothly.

Just then, Huo Chengping noticed that Shen Xu's movements were also unusually slow, considering he was merely closing the net.

"Old Shen? Haven't you finished yet?"

Huo Chengping looked ahead. Blue-white lightning and mist intertwined there, making his view somewhat indistinct.

"Old Huo, something's not right. Come over and take a look."

"Huh? What could possibly be wrong? It couldn't have escaped right under our noses, could it?"

"No. Come over and you'll know."

Huo Chengping paid it no mind and lifted his foot to go forward for a closer look.

"Careful!"

The instant he took a step, Zhuo Rui seized Huo Chengping by the back of his collar and yanked him forcefully backward.

Something flew over.

The two focused their eyes on it, and their breathing stopped.

It was unmistakably a headless corpse, with a large hole torn open in its chest and its heart nowhere to be seen.

"Is this... Old Shen?"

Huo Chengping spoke instinctively, unable to believe it.

"Old Huo, come over quickly! Why aren't you coming over?"

Shen Xu's urging voice continued to ring out.

Zhuo Rui and Huo Chengping raised their heads and looked toward the voice.

From within the lightning and mist, a figure slowly sauntered out.

The figure had shrunk considerably compared to the gigantic corpse-built creature from before. It was about the height of an ordinary person, and its build could even be called upright. Its entire body was pitch-black.

Yet upon closer inspection, it was still possible to see that its limbs were asymmetrical. It was clearly also stitched together from different corpse fragments, only much more intricate than before.

Perched atop its neck was still that child's head.

But it was no longer crying.

Its right hand held a heart. It gnawed at it as though sampling a melon, chewed twice, then stretched its mouth into another smile at the two men.

Where its left hand should have been, Shen Xu's head had been stuck in place. Under its control, the mouth opened and closed, producing a voice:

"Old Huo, come over quickly!"