Corpse Infant

Xu Yuan lay on the ground, unmoving. He slowly gathered some strength, then stiffly opened his mouth, and a Gold Pellet flew out.

It quickly transformed into a short sword.

Xu Yuan controlled the short sword, carving at his own back, and with a twist!

The short sword sliced away all the flesh and skin near the wound!

The ghostly energy and flesh separated from his body, and the ghostly energy, freed from the flesh, swiftly lunged at Xu Yuan again.

Xu Yuan rolled over, opening his mouth and spewing out a torrent of fire. The ghostly energy, having thrown itself into a trap, was instantly burned to ashes.

Xu Yuan, however, was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat. He let out a few screams as his "Inner Fire" uncontrollably dissipated, scattering into flames all over the ground.

Suddenly, Xu Yuan felt something was wrong. He looked closely again and saw that the Corpse Infant had, at some point, crawled to his feet. In its pale, swollen little hand, it clutched the short sword that had been transformed from his Gold Pellet!

The short sword had two edges but no hilt. The Corpse Infant's hand grasped the blade, yet it was not injured by the sharp edge. A blackish-gray color was spreading from where it was held to the rest of the blade!

The Corpse Infant raised the short sword and thrust it at Xu Yuan!

Xu Yuan cried out in alarm and leaped backward, creating distance. The Corpse Infant's thrust missed, but it flickered and reappeared at Xu Yuan's feet, as if distance didn't exist.

Xu Yuan spewed out another mouthful of "Inner Fire," which burned the Corpse Infant's face head-on.

The Inner Fire, which was always effective against Malevolent Spirits, was useless against the Corpse Infant!

The Corpse Infant, wreathed in flames, took a step towards Xu Yuan.

That ability to ignore distance appeared again. Xu Yuan let out a strange cry and retreated, simultaneously spitting out another Gold Pellet.

This Gold Pellet was imbued with the characteristics of Cannon Powder and Inner Pill!

BOOM!

The Gold Pellet accurately hit the Corpse Infant, and a violent explosion erupted into a cloud of fire.

Xu Yuan cautiously waited for the fire cloud and smoke to dissipate before he could clearly see the Corpse Infant lying seven or eight zhang away, a wound blasted open on its belly.

There was no flesh and blood in the wound, only countless disgusting, pale maggots spilling out!

The Corpse Infant writhed on the ground, its two swollen, pale little hands slowly pushing the maggots back into its belly.

Xu Yuan's scalp tingled. He thought, "Run!" and waved his hand to recall the short sword that had fallen to the side. He turned and charged towards the lights.

The short sword had been contaminated by the Corpse Infant in a small area. Xu Yuan dared not recall it into his body and could only hold it with his fingers.

After running for several li, the sound of the small river gradually faded into the distance.

Xu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. The Corpse Infant was injured and couldn't maintain that "ghost hitting the wall" ability.

The lights were now visible in the distance. Xu Yuan mustered his last reserves of strength and sped up again.

Just as he was about to reach the town, the sound of rushing water suddenly rang in his ears again!

"Waaah, waaah, waaah..." The eerie, piercing cry of an infant sharply tore through the night sky, stinging Xu Yuan's eardrums.

"It's caught up again!"

A chilling aura, like a rising river, engulfed Xu Yuan's entire body. He rushed into the town, only to be shocked to find that the inn had been destroyed!

The doors and windows were in tatters. Saint Aunt, harboring resentment towards Master Qiao, had destroyed the place before leaving.

"Splash, splash..."

The river water rapidly surged into the town, overflowing through the streets.

Xu Yuan suddenly felt his legs become incredibly heavy. Even with the blessing of the calligraphy scrolls, which allowed him to walk three feet above the ground, he was still affected by the sinister power of the river water.

If his feet had touched the ground, he would likely have been firmly stuck by the water by now, unable to take another step.

The river water flowed along the street. It seemed as if countless monsters were hidden within the water, suddenly rising up to attack the houses lining the street.

On the doors, the Door Gods emitted a faint golden light. Some grand power descended from the unseen realms, as if an invisible hand in the void had raised a golden iron whip and struck at the monstrous river water.

Splash!

Splash!

Splash!

The muddy waves that surged towards the doors were scattered, one after another.

However, in the center of the town's main street, a larger wave rose, within which the Corpse Infant's form appeared.

Five balls of ghostly blue fire burned fiercely above its head, on its hands, and on its feet. The one above its head was the largest.

The wound on its belly had not fully healed, and from it, one could still see the disgusting maggots writhing incessantly.

The Corpse Infant looked down from the air and immediately found its enemy. Its pale eyes were filled with resentment and rage!

So you're here! Let's see where else you can run!

Your "home" has already been destroyed.

No one in this town will open their door for you in the middle of the night. Who would dare? No one dares. Opening the door means dying with you!

"Waaah—" it wailed, and the dark, viscous river water surged through the inn's broken back door and into the backyard.

Xu Yuan's mind raced. He had some confidence that if he went there, Granny Ying would open the door for him.

But could Huahua block the Corpse Infant? Xu Yuan wasn't sure.

That's why Xu Yuan didn't want to drag Granny Ying into this.

Suddenly, Xu Yuan's eyebrows shot up. He turned and rushed straight towards Zhao's Furs Shop.

Swish, swish... The river water chased closely behind, and soon clumps of waves were right on Xu Yuan's heels.

As the distance grew shorter, the black river water began to turn red. The entire river had become a river of blood!

Xu Yuan felt his legs growing heavier and heavier. What was once three feet off the ground, now uncontrollably lowered by one foot.

The massive wound on his back was constantly draining Xu Yuan's stamina, making him weaker.

From the waves of blood, infant hands stretched out, one after another, relentlessly trying to grab Xu Yuan's back.

From the inn to Zhao's Furs Shop was only fifty zhang, but Xu Yuan's journey was quite arduous.

A chilling, dark energy continuously seeped in through his pores and wounds.

Xu Yuan had to repeatedly unleash his Inner Fire to dispel the dark energy around him.

Furthermore, because of the river of blood beneath him, on some unseen, ethereal level, countless resentful spirits rose up and entangled Xu Yuan's legs, slowing him down considerably.

The slower he went, the heavier he felt, the harder it became.

The wooden building of Zhao's Furs Shop was right before his eyes, and an infant hand from behind him was about to touch his back.

Xu Yuan bit the tip of his tongue fiercely, then drew his short spear and, with a poof, spat out his Inner Fire, transforming the spear into a fire spear.

Hiss!

Xu Yuan threw the fire spear backward, accurately piercing the blood waves behind him.

"Waaah!" A loud cry erupted. The blood waves recoiled violently. Xu Yuan seized the opportunity and lunged towards the main door of Zhao's Furs Shop with all his might.

With a clang, the door burst open. Xu Yuan tumbled inside, stars dancing in his vision, utterly weak.

He forced himself to stand, lunged forward, and slammed his hands together, tightly shutting the door!

Zhao's Furs Shop was indeed empty. Saint Aunt had taken everyone into the mountains.

And after Zhao Yong's death, his former subordinates were in a panic and hadn't bothered to lock up the shop. Otherwise, Xu Yuan would have had to break down the doors and windows to get in, which would have created an opening for the Corpse Infant.

Waves of blood violently surged forward, hitting the door with a heavy clang.

On the door were pasted two large Door Gods.

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