Slaying the Corpse

Chapter 37: Slaying the Corpse

However, this situation didn't last long. When the Yin Corpse realized Chen Lin wasn't going to fight him head-on, ghostfire flickered in his pupils. He abruptly leaped into the air.

He abandoned Chen Lin and lunged straight at Han Shuitong, who was battling another Yin Corpse nearby!

Han Shuitong's expression shifted slightly. Before the Yin Corpse could reach her, she abandoned her opponent and tried to dodge. The Yin Corpse was so powerful that just a few hits could leave her gravely wounded, if not dead!

"Where do you think you're going? Get down here!"

Chen Lin snorted coldly and slapped his Storage Bag with one hand. Four small flags appeared in his palm, and he flung them into the sky!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The four small flags swirled with radiant light. They spun rapidly in midair before shooting off in four directions. The Yin Corpse felt his body suddenly grow heavy and, caught completely off guard, plummeted to the ground!

The Yin Corpse landed on his feet and leaped again, only to discover that he couldn't fly at all. He seemed to realize Chen Lin was behind it. With a ferocious roar, he glared murderously at Chen Lin!

"Grrr!"

His hideous face was twisted with rage, and the ghostfire in his pupils, once deep and still, had grown wildly turbulent. He was clearly on the verge of flying into a fury!

Chen Lin met that gaze, brimming with murderous intent, without the slightest fear. With a cold laugh, he charged at the Yin Corpse first!

As the battle went on, Chen Lin gradually grew more practiced with Thunder Flash Step and Six Prisons Mad Blade, which had initially felt awkward. He was beginning to master them completely, and naturally wouldn't let this chance to grow stronger slip by. Besides, he'd already figured out the Yin Corpse's moves. Apart from his powerful body and his ability to unleash black pillars of energy, there seemed to be nothing else to fear. And once they were fighting at close quarters, the Yin Corpse couldn't use those black pillars as he pleased.

Chen Lin's moves were swift and fluid. The veins in his arms bulged as his enormous, fan-like hands swung with the force of two small mountains. The Yin Corpse was no less formidable. The demon and the corpse, both possessed of incredibly powerful bodies, fought to a standstill. Every move crashed through the air like a flood bursting its banks, their raw physical blows drawing frequent glances from the others.

No one knew how long it had been. In the heat of battle, Chen Lin grew exhilarated, strange red light flickering in his eyes. His blood and qi surged, desperate for release. Suddenly, as he grappled with the Yin Corpse, two waves of thick Death Energy rushed into his body, adding nearly two thousand points out of nowhere!

Chen Lin immediately understood. Situ Kong and the others had finally taken care of the other two Yin Corpses.

"Hahaha, Brother Chen, nicely done! We're coming to help!"

With a long cry, Situ Kong strode through the air. He whipped his Jointed Whip, making it crack through the air, its length flashing with dazzling golden light as it lashed toward the Yin Corpse.

Chen Lin quickly retreated. The Yin Corpse was caught squarely by the whip. Then a strange figure appeared beside him, silently thrusting a dagger toward his throat. It was Liu Han!

Han Shuitong arrived right after him and refused to be outdone. Without a word, she breathed a stream of spiritual energy onto the jade sword in her hand. The sword blazed with a dim light and spun in midair, two formations flickering into view along its blade. With a piercing whistle, it slashed fiercely toward the Yin Corpse. Its blade flashed as it flew—a high-grade Dharma Artifact!

Chen Lin was slightly surprised. High-grade Dharma Artifacts were usually bestowed by the sect upon its direct disciples, while registered disciples generally used mid-grade ones.

Low-grade Dharma Artifacts had one formation carved inside and limited power. Mid-grade artifacts had two formations, while high-grade ones had three. Anything with more than three formations belonged to the category of supreme-grade artifacts.

The three demons opened with thunderous attacks, intent on killing the Yin Corpse!

But the Yin Corpse was, after all, at the Sea-Opening Realm. Though he was a ghostly being with an incomplete soul and couldn't come close to wielding the full power of an ordinary cultivator at that level, his body had been tempered and nourished by Yin energy until it was virtually indestructible. The whip, jade sword, and dagger couldn't inflict a fatal wound in such a short time.

"Food... You... will all die!"

The Yin Corpse roared again and again, but the four attackers pressed forward like death-bringing judges, closing in step by step. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before they broke through his defenses and killed him!

Suddenly, white light flashed in Situ Kong's eyes. His body swelled until his clothes burst apart, revealing his true form: a Jade-Faced Fox over two zhang tall, with three furry tails of different colors. White light blazed in his pupils as he spoke in human language: "Everyone, the spiritual energy here is thin. The longer we fight, the worse it is for us. We should finish this quickly and reveal our true forms to fight!"

"Agreed. Fighting in our true forms will drain our spiritual energy quickly, but the longer we delay, the greater the chance that powerful ghosts nearby will notice us. The longer we wait, the more likely things are to change!"

Liu Han called out coldly. Gray light flashed in his eyes, and his head transformed into an eagle's, complete with a sharp red horn. His body shifted and twisted, winding sinuously like a snake. He had become an Eagle-Headed Horned Viper!

Han Shuitong's expression turned solemn as she spun around, transforming into a monstrous giant spider with a pair of wings.

A glint flashed in Chen Lin's eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he, too, blurred and revealed his true form!

His body stood nearly a zhang tall, with a pair of sinister, blood-red fleshy wings on his back. Runes covered the wings as they spread. Two devilish horns curled from his head, and two scythes, symbols of the Grim Reaper, stood coldly across his chest, their blades ringed with red patterns and gleaming with an eerie chill.

"Starry Chessboard!"

White light flashed in the eyes of the fox that Situ Kong had become, and he instantly unleashed his innate ability!

The faint stars above the Yin Prison flickered almost imperceptibly. In the next instant, specks of starlight appeared, spreading into a vast starry formation with both illusory and solid points, impossible to make out clearly. A cage formed around the Yin Corpse, pinning him in place!

Situ Kong's demonic body trembled as he spoke in human language, his voice urgent. "Everyone, attack now! Aim for his head and destroy the soulfire. I can only hold him for three breaths!"

A ghost's fatal weakness lay in its head. Once the head was severed, its soulfire would go out.

Trapped in the Starlight Cage, the Yin Corpse couldn't move and began struggling at once, but he couldn't break free in time. Situ Kong was trembling all over, nearly convulsing, and clearly couldn't hold on for long. Everyone moved at once.

"Wandering Snake Ghoul Shadow!"

Liu Han unleashed his innate ability as well. His whole body twisted and wound like a dragon-snake, crafty and strange. For a moment, his serpentine form seemed to be everywhere, darting unpredictably. It was an innate ability that increased his speed. The two fangs in his mouth gleamed with lethal cold as he spat venom toward the Yin Corpse's neck, hoping to corrode his head.

The giant spider that Han Shuitong had become spat a strand of emerald-green webbing from its abdomen. It seemed to burn with ghostfire as it wrapped around the Yin Corpse's head and yanked, burning his neck with a sizzling sound. It seemed to be melting away!

Attack after attack crashed down like a howling storm, a surging torrent!

In those three breaths, everyone unleashed their most powerful abilities, determined to kill the Yin Corpse!

At last, Chen Lin stopped hiding his hand. He could see that three breaths would only gravely wound the Yin Corpse, not kill him. Without hesitation, he struck.

"Shattering Nirvana Finger!"

Over two hundred tons of force gathered in his scythe as he swung it viciously across the Yin Corpse's neck!

Epiphyllum Shadow! The strike was like a butterfly's dream, petals fluttering through the air, swift as lightning!

"Shhk!"

At last, the Yin Corpse's head shot into the sky. Black blood sprayed all over Chen Lin, and the severed head still howled in midair, though the ghostfire in its pupils gradually dimmed.

The Yin Corpse's blood seeped into Chen Lin's body.

"Gene Theft in progress... Theft successful... Stealing innate ability... Theft failed."

Chen Lin's sinews, skin, and marrow ravenously absorbed the Yin Corpse's blood. His body grew even sturdier, comparable to metal and stone, while his strength surged by nearly ten tons—to 210 tons!

At the same time, a thick stream of Death Energy quickly burrowed into Chen Lin's body.

20,798 points of Death Energy!

Chen Lin's expression froze for a moment, then delight flooded his heart. A ghost at the Sea-Opening Realm had actually brought him such a tremendous haul!

A full 20,000 points of Death Energy!

"Hahaha, excellent! Brother Chen is truly impressive!"

Seeing that they had finally killed the Yin Corpse, Situ Kong laughed. Suddenly, his body shuddered and reverted to human form, and he fell from the air. Evidently, using his innate ability had drained all his spiritual energy.

Liu Han and Han Shuitong also turned back into human form. Judging by their pale, exhausted faces, they had clearly expended a great deal of energy as well.

When Han Shuitong returned to human form, she was completely naked, her graceful figure alluring. Yet her expression remained unchanged as she took a robe from her Storage Bag and calmly put it on, showing not the slightest embarrassment.

Liu Han and Situ Kong did the same. Neither so much as glanced at Han Shuitong as they each put on their clothes, as if this sort of thing were perfectly normal among the Demon Race.

Chen Lin returned to human form as well. Watching them, he couldn't help feeling that it was strange. If a human woman acted like Han Shuitong, people would probably call her shameless and indecent.

"Hm? A Yin Corpse at the Sea-Opening Realm? Wonderful, wonderful! I can't believe we've come across such good fortune just after leaving the heart of the Demon Prison. Junior Sister Lan Xin, you're about to reach the Sea-Opening Realm. This Yin Corpse Fire Seed will be a great help in cultivating your immortal arts. Excellent, excellent!"

Suddenly, a man's voice came from the air, making Chen Lin and the others' expressions change.