The stone chamber rumbled. Cracks spread across the surrounding walls, which shook without cease, as though they might collapse at any moment.
Rather than use the hole the Corpse Puppet had smashed open, Hong Yuan leaped up and struck with his palm. With a booming blast, great chunks of stone flew in every direction.
Hong Yuan had punched through the stone chamber's roof. He shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow and landed in the clearing outside.
The bell kept ringing crisply.
At the sound of the bell, the Corpse Puppet seemed violently stimulated, launching attack after attack at Hong Yuan.
Hong Yuan dodged with ease, his movements as light as a soaring swan. Every so often, he sent out a kick that knocked the Corpse Puppet flying.
"Its strength and speed have improved considerably compared to when it was alive, and its bodily defenses have multiplied too!"
"But without circulating qi and blood, it naturally can't condense force. It really is dead. So how does a corpse 'hear' the bell?"
Hong Yuan spread his Net over the Corpse Puppet's entire body, then raised an eyebrow. When it attacked again, he knocked it away, followed through, and planted a foot on its back.
The Corpse Puppet roared repeatedly and struggled with all its might, sending slabs of bluestone and clumps of earth flying. But Hong Yuan pulsed his force, and with a bang, the Corpse Puppet sank into the ground.
Hong Yuan's gaze fell on the back of the Corpse Puppet's head. Extensive stitching formed a bulge the size of a quail's egg. As he shook the bell, strange fluctuations faintly emanated from within, seemingly responding.
Through his spiritual perception, Hong Yuan sensed a piece of jade covered in strange runes sewn into the back of the Corpse