Corpse Rot

Bang!

The gate facing the courtyard flew open, and a figure rushed out.

"Brother Zheng, don't hurt my mother!"

Zhao the Second hurried toward Old Lady Zhao, his face panicked, and shouted at Zheng Que.

Zheng Que's expression changed. He hurriedly yelled at Zhao the Second, "Don't go near her! They're not human!"

But in the instant his attention wavered, Sun Cui'er suddenly threw back her head and let out a piercing shriek.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

The shriek was sharp and grating, as if some invisible force were striking straight at the soul.

Before the sound had even died away, Sun Cui'er's appearance underwent a complete transformation. Her fair, delicate face rapidly lost all signs of life, and corpse spots of every size surfaced across it. The moisture drained from her eyes, leaving them sunken into black, hollow pits. Her hands spasmed like chicken claws, curling unnaturally inward. The vegetables she had been holding quickly rotted and turned into a clump of dead weeds. Her fingernails shot out, blue-black and sharp as blades.

The wooden hairpin in her bun crumbled to dust and fell away in an instant. Her pinned-up hair cascaded down, spilling across her face. Stains and smears of blood appeared across her neat skirt, and a thick, earthy stench rose from her, as if she had been buried in the ground for a long time.

In the blink of an eye, the pretty, demure young woman had become a long-rotted corpse. Murky yellow corpse water dripped from her collar and cuffs.

Zheng Que stood rooted in place, his eardrums throbbing and his vision swimming from the shock. But his soul was far steadier than that of an ordinary cultivator. After only a moment of discomfort, he steadied the surging mist of spiritual blood and kept it in its encircling formation, preventing Sun Cui'er from escaping.

"Le... let go..."

"Let go of my daughter-in-law!"

Suspended in midair, Old Lady Zhao flailed and roared furiously.

As if deeply worried about her daughter-in-law's plight, Old Lady Zhao kept shouting as both her arms suddenly stretched out, like snakes darting from their holes. One hand reached for Zheng Que, the other for the trapped Sun Cui'er.

Her arms shot out at incredible speed, reaching Zheng Que and Sun Cui'er in an instant.

Just then, Qing Li appeared beside Zheng Que and reached out with both hands. Tap!

Qing Li's slender, fair hands clamped firmly around Old Lady Zhao's arms.

Crack, crack, crack...

Without the slightest hesitation, Qing Li tightened her grip. A string of sharp pops rang out as Old Lady Zhao's arms twisted into grotesque angles. Her bones shattered and pierced through her skin, jutting out in plain sight—a horrifying sight to behold.

Seeing Qing Li clearly gaining the upper hand, Zheng Que felt reassured and began casting the Ghost Controlling Technique with all his strength.

Once he turned Sun Cui'er into his Ghost Servant, the coming battle would be three against one!

They would finish the fight in no time!

Zheng Que's hand seals moved faster and faster. The mist of spiritual blood turned into one rune after another, which imprinted themselves into Sun Cui'er's body in sequence.

Sun Cui'er struggled desperately. Her withered body twisted and contorted, her blue-black skin cracking open to reveal the pale bones within. As her bones scraped against one another, corpse water dripped down, spreading a foul stench.

Watching this, Zheng Que began to sense something was wrong. Sun Cui'er's reaction to the Ghost Controlling Technique was completely different from Qing Li's.

As his thoughts raced, Zheng Que accelerated the Ghost Controlling Technique. More and more runes struck Sun Cui'er's body.

At the same time, seeing that her daughter-in-law was close to death, Old Lady Zhao's face twisted with fury. She roared at the top of her lungs, "Die! Die! You're all going to die!!!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the dense yin energy around her erupted.

Hum!

A tremendous boom seemed to ring out from the depths of the unseen. Black smoke burst from Old Lady Zhao and surged in every direction. A violent chill swept through the surroundings, and a layer of frost quickly formed on the ground. The light dimmed in an instant. It was as if a lid had been placed over the entire Zhao household, sealing it off as a separate space.

The sun had not yet fully set, but not a glimmer of light penetrated the old Zhao household. It was as if they had been locked inside a box.

Boom!

In the next instant, Qing Li, who had just gained the upper hand, was blasted away by Old Lady Zhao.

Almost at the exact same moment, Zheng Que finally completed the Ghost Controlling Technique.

As the final rune imprinted itself into Sun Cui'er, Zheng Que spread his fingers and pointed the Command Character in his palm at her. "Subdue!"

But the three-against-one scene he had envisioned never came to pass. Sun Cui'er stood motionless, completely unresponsive to his command.

Boom!!!

Old Lady Zhao's arm slammed down. The spot where Zheng Que had been standing was instantly smashed into a smoking crater.

At that moment, Zheng Que was suspended in midair. At the crucial moment, a coarse hemp rope had cinched tight around his neck and hoisted him up, letting him evade Old Lady Zhao's fatal blow.

"You Human Race brat, you're a fool!"

"That's just a useless corpse!"

Qing Li suddenly appeared beside Zheng Que, her icy voice reaching his ears in an instant.

At her words, Zheng Que came to his senses and looked at Sun Cui'er again. She had toppled straight over, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Murky corpse water was seeping from the hem of Sun Cui'er's skirt into the ground. The yin energy that had once clung to her body had turned into billowing black smoke, flowing toward Old Lady Zhao like a great river emptying into the sea.

In an instant, Old Lady Zhao's yin energy surged. Black smoke roiled around her, its intensity swiftly surpassing Qing Li's.

Old Lady Zhao slowly raised her head. Her gray-white hair whipped in the yin wind, and her face was as vicious as a demon's. Her crimson eyes fixed on Zheng Que and Qing Li.

"My daughter-in-law is dead!"

"You killed my daughter-in-law!"

"I'm going to kill you!!!"

As she spoke, Old Lady Zhao charged straight at Zheng Que and Qing Li in midair.

Zheng Que hurriedly grabbed the loop of rope and shouted, "Quick, get me down!"

Before he could finish, the rope around his neck loosened, and he dropped toward the ground.

At the same time, Qing Li drifted forward like a ghost and clashed with Old Lady Zhao.

Boom, boom, boom...

The two fought at blinding speed. Black smoke churned and spread, quickly swallowing their figures.

Zheng Que didn't hesitate. The moment he landed, he cast a rapid string of hand seals. He was going to use the Yin Gathering Technique to strengthen Qing Li!

But then...

Bang!!

Qing Li's figure flew out of the black smoke and crashed heavily into the ground. A great spray of dirt burst from the packed earth, scattering down like rain.

Within the black smoke, Old Lady Zhao's crimson gaze immediately locked onto Zheng Que.

Zheng Que's pupils widened slightly. A bone-deep chill poured down over him, enveloping his body and soul in an instant. That familiar scent of death rushed toward him!

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