Corpse Jumper, Cripple
(Finally back! Please vote!)
In fact, Li Wei did not completely trust Qu Ling at first, not because he had any doubts about her personally, but because of the environment of Quyin Mountain that she described.
According to her description, she was only eleven or twelve years old at the time. Even with the best memory, it's difficult to guarantee that one won't forget some details over the years, and sometimes, details determine success or failure. Therefore, Li Wei was very cautious about the general map drawn by Qu Ling, but now it seems he was overthinking it. Just as Qu Ling herself said, her memory is indeed excellent; the location of the Demon-Transforming Grass was not much different from the area she described. As a result, Li Wei also felt that the truth of the hidden entrance was much more reliable.
Looking at the lush green expanse of Demon-Transforming Grass below, Li Wei composed himself. He didn't immediately pick it, because Qu Ling had said that there was another kind of monster in the place where the Demon-Transforming Grass grew.
The "Corpse Jumper" is a monster unlike any other demon. Almost everyone in Quyin Town knows about it because this monster would occasionally emerge from the Quyin Mountain. As a result, most people living nearby have seen it, and even those who haven't seen it have at least heard of it.
It can be said that these are perfect excuses for many elderly people to scare their grandchildren. No matter how naughty a child is, as long as they hear "Corpse Jumper," they will be well-behaved, which is enough to show that their fearsome reputation is widespread.
Soon, Li Wei saw the terrifying monster Corpse Jumper, that Qu Ling had described.
A dozen meters away, a figure staggered over. Li Wei recognized it immediately. It had a human appearance, but its body was covered in rotting flesh, and the stench of decay could be smelled from afar. Ragged clothes hung on its body, indicating that it had been human a few years ago, but its ugly appearance and sharp teeth told everyone that it was not human.
The monster was excited by the reflection of Li Wei in its murky eyes, and Li Wei finally realized why this 'Corpse Jumper' looked so familiar.
"This is clearly a zombie. Its whole body is filled with yin and filth. It should be a monster that was transformed from a corpse that died in an extremely yin place. But this thing is only good for scaring ordinary people..." Li Wei sneered, picked up a stone from the ground, slightly mobilized a bit of yin energy, and the muscles in his arm bulged. He flicked his finger, and the stone flew out of the air. With a "plop," it smashed the skull of the 'Corpse Jumper' that was rushing over.
With its head smashed open, the Corpse Jumper could no longer jump. The rotting body lay on the ground, and rotten egg-like semen oozed from its mangled skull. Several gleeful flies, as if catching the scent of a delicious meal, buzzed and swarmed towards it.
"The Yin energy in this Corpse Jumper body can be considered a kind of Yin energy, but it's too filthy. Even if you could absorb it, it would only do more harm than good!" Li Wei, who possessed the ability to extend his energy, easily detected the Yin energy within the Corpse Jumper body, but he shook his head repeatedly. He had hoped to absorb this Yin energy to improve his strength, but now it seemed impossible.
Around the Demon-Transforming Grass, there wasn't just one Corpse Jumper; soon, seven or eight more identical figures surrounded Li Wei from all directions. And from the nearby woods, low growls continued to emanate, clearly indicating that many more were approaching.
For Li Wei, who possesses divine essence, the number of monsters like the Corpse Jumper doesn't matter. This time, Li Wei didn't use stones, but instead used 'Yin Wind Fiend', condensing it into claws and grabbing at the Corpse Jumper.
Yin Wind Fiend is a superior technique in the Nine Yin Transformation Scripture. It uses divine essence to refine a wisp of Yin energy, turning it into an offensive magic weapon. It can be used freely simply by driving it with divine essence.
A Corpse Jumper, baring its sharp teeth, lunged at Li Wei, only to be met by a gigantic blue claw. Li Wei had previously tried using Yin Wind Fiend to bombard hard bluestone, and the result was that the hard bluestone was torn to shreds like tofu. The Corpse Jumper's body was far inferior to the bluestone, so this Corpse Jumper into several pieces by the gigantic blue claw in less than a second.
Driven by his divine energy, the Yin Wind Fiend darted back and forth among the Corpse Jumper, and within just a few breaths, more than a dozen Corpse Jumper fell to the ground. At that moment, Li Wei's divine energy keenly sensed a fluctuation coming from the zombie jumpers, and then, as if receiving a command, the remaining dozen or so Corpse Jumper retreated.
"Strange!" Li Wei stared wide-eyed at the fleeing Corpse Jumper, a question rising in his mind. Undoubtedly, Corpse Jumper creatures were monsters created when yin energy gathered within the corpses of those who died violent deaths, forming a zombie-like transformation. They had no souls and therefore no consciousness. But what was going on with these fleeing Corpse Jumper? They shouldn't be capable of assessing the situation; even knowing they were doomed, they wouldn't feel any fear, much less run away.
Recalling the previous fluctuations, Li Wei understood somewhat, but a cold smile appeared on his lips. He then used Ghost Step to catch up with the fleeing Corpse Jumper.
Through his divine essence, Li Wei constantly sensed the fluctuations. Each time a fluctuation came, the Corpse Jumper would change their course and seem to become even more energetic. These signs confirmed Li Wei's suspicions. The next second, Li Wei's divine essence locked onto the location from which the fluctuations came, and he suddenly abandoned the Corpse Jumper and rushed towards that location.
The source of the fluctuation was clearly startled, realizing that someone had discovered its presence. It hurriedly concealed its aura, but to Li Wei, it was like an airplane locked on by radar; no matter what methods it used, it couldn't escape.
A dozen seconds later, Li Wei found the thing in a large patch of Demon-Transforming Grass.
This was a seemingly ordinary Corpse Jumper, but when Li Wei saw its eyes, he understood that this Corpse Jumper was different from its kind. Its eyes reflected his own image, as well as a trace of fear.
To know fear is to demonstrate wisdom.
However, it was indeed a Corpse Jumper, so Li Wei was very curious.
Despite possessing intelligence and wit, the Corpse Jumper remains Corpse Jumper. Although it can use certain abilities to control other members of its kind, when faced with a master of the Divine Origin Realm, the clever creature immediately chooses the life-saving techniques from its memories.
That means kneeling down and begging for mercy.
Anyone who saw a ragged monster covered in rotting, stinking flesh, resembling a zombie, kneeling on the ground with a pleading expression and looking at them with pitiful eyes would feel strange, and Li Wei was no exception.
Undoubtedly, the Corpse Jumper's pleading had an effect. Li Wei dispelled the Yin Wind Fiend, and also learned some things from the Corpse Jumper, including its name and history.
"Cripple," that's the name it gave itself. Ever since it woke up in this godforsaken place one day, Cripple has forgotten its past life, but this life also leaves it bewildered. It's bewildered because it still remembers some memories of its past life, and "Cripple" is one of the few names in those memories. As for this life, which is accompanied by a stench, apart from bewilderment and loneliness, it's not so bad for the Cripple.
It discovered that it wasn't alone in this mountain range; it had many of its kind. What saddened the Cripple was that those who shared its appearance and aura didn't like to communicate with it. However, these creatures were very obedient; they would unconditionally obey any command it gave.
The Cripple was lonely here, but besides loneliness, it also had to evade attacks from powerful demons. Although sometimes it devoured weaker demons alongside its own kind, most of the time they spent their days in hiding. The Cripple had said to its mindless kind more than once, "You all have to thank me for being alive."
But in reality, it never heard any thanks. Its kind still bared their sharp teeth, drooled foully, and stared at it blankly. But the Cripple didn't blame them. These creatures couldn't speak, but to the Cripple, they were no different from family.
Time stands still in the mountains. This phrase is also a fragment of memory that the Cripple remembers. It was very lonely, so after discovering that there was another world outside the mountains, it chose to go out. However, it soon returned. No one knows what it encountered outside the mountains. In any case, it never went out again after that, but occasionally it would look out through the forest, its eyes revealing a trace of longing.
This time, it sensed that someone had killed one of its kind, so it angrily drove more of its kind to teach the killer a lesson. It wanted to let the killer know that this area was its territory, and that no one was allowed to harm its family here.
However, it clearly didn't know how powerful its opponent was. Only after more than a dozen of its kind had been killed did the panicked Cripple hurriedly give the order to retreat. Although those kind never spoke to it, they were its family, and at least with them around, the Cripple's loneliness was somewhat lessened. But the Cripple once again underestimated the strength of its opponent, so when it saw Li Wei, it immediately understood the gap between itself and its opponent.
Kneeling and begging for mercy was a fragment of his shattered memory; almost instinctively, the Cripple did it.
Seeing that the powerful figure opposite him hadn't killed him, the Cripple breathed a sigh of relief. He knew his life was spared, and that his kind around him wouldn't be torn apart either. This way, they could continue to stay with him; without them, he really didn't know how he would have survived here.
Regardless of the Cripple's thoughts, Li Wei was only astonished. He hadn't expected that this Corpse Jumper would retain some memories from his 'pre-death' days, and not only that, but also some fragmented soul within him. So, would this Corpse Jumper, who still retained self-awareness, have any value to him?