Baleful Corpse (Please Keep Reading)

"Brother Wang, what tremendous strength. Your raw power is exceptional; this little sister admires you beyond measure!"

Chen Linger's beautiful eyes widened, and astonishment rose in her heart. Though she had not sensed Wang Xuance displaying the strength of his blood and qi,

he had dragged both of them across the waterfall alone with that golden thread. Such force was likely no less than the Three-Knock Blood Pass!

At this thought, Chen Linger's mind raced, utterly failing to notice that her robes were soaked through. Her white robe clung tightly to her skin, making her graceful figure all the more distinct.

Especially her pair of bare jade feet—none of her ten toes bore the calluses earned by martial artists. Her skin was like creamy jade, tender and pink.

Wang Xuance took only one glance before his mind wavered, heat surging unbearably through his lower abdomen and leaving him utterly unsettled. He quickly turned his eyes aside toward the stone gate!

Noticing the oddness in Wang Xuance's gaze, Chen Linger's cheeks instantly flushed crimson. Her delicate face seemed about to drip with color, lending her an even softer, more pitiable charm.

She reached behind her with one hand, took a white cloak from her sleeve pouch, and draped it over herself, swiftly concealing the expanse of springtime splendor.

"Ahem... Miss Chen, you flatter me. How should we proceed from here?"

Wang Xuance pointed at the towering stone gate, asking with the air of an upright gentleman.

Chen Linger shot him a fierce glare, then signaled to the white-browed old man beside her with her eyes.

The latter took an exquisitely sewn cloth bag from within his robes and shook out ten pink beads the size of walnuts.

He arranged them in a particular pattern!

Then, calm and composed, he closed his eyes and sat cross-legged. His lips moved faintly as he formed a sword-finger gesture and pointed. The ten pink beads seemed to be drawn by some force, rising one after another into the air.

Whoosh!

A wisp of flame sprang from one bead, followed by the other nine. The flames were golden, radiating an incomparably tyrannical aura.

Yet what felt strange was that although they were flames, Wang Xuance could not feel the slightest warmth from them. Instead, they carried a bone-piercing chill.

It gave him the same feeling as when he had first faced the cold air within the pool!

"Old Bai is the Chen Clan's sole master of formations. Though he cannot compare with those formation grandmasters who can topple mountains and sever seas, in terms of understanding formations, he is the foremost person beneath the Fetal Breath Realm in the Chen Clan!"

"You praise me too highly, Miss. This old man merely knows a little of the art!"

Though the white-browed old man spoke humbly, his brows and expression were full of pride.

Wang Xuance knew a little about formations himself. Formation arts, artifacts, pills, and talismans were the four arts of the martial world; mastering any one of them would earn the support of forces from all sides!

"Tut, no wonder you brought along such an unremarkable old fellow. He really does have a few tricks up his sleeve!"

The contempt in Wang Xuance's gaze toward the old man faded somewhat.

"Brother Wang, Old Bai will remain behind to hold the formation. The two of us will explore the cave dwelling, while Old Bai will naturally deal with the Earth Vein Baleful Intent pouring out!"

Hearing this, Wang Xuance said nothing and merely nodded.

"Brother Wang, I'll take the lead. You cover my rear!"

Swish!

The girl tore off her cloak in one pull. The heat emitted by her blood and qi had long since dried her soaked robes, and her brows now brimmed with heroic vigor.

With a shake of her sleeve, a green flexible sword slipped into her grasp. As its blade quivered, Chen Linger tapped off the ground and leaped several zhang like a dragonfly skimming the water!

Wang Xuance narrowed his eyes as the blood and qi within him stirred. A towering aura flowed from his body, gathered and ready to erupt.

Clang—

A string of dazzling sparks burst through the air.

"What!"

Chen Linger felt her arm go numb and weak. The rebounding force from the sword blade was more than she could control, and the flexible sword flew from her hand!

Whoosh!

A figure darted out from the side and seized the flexible sword. With a casual sweep of his arm, he swung it like an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, without the slightest ripple.

There was neither sword aura nor sword qi—merely the arbitrary slash of someone who knew nothing of swordsmanship.

Crack!

Several sword marks tore across the stone gate before them, cutting several feet deep and nearly shattering it.

"Hmph!"

Chen Linger then saw a streak of green shadow whirl away with overwhelming force, moving as swiftly as an arrow loosed from the bowstring.

The flexible sword was hurled forth by that figure's force, like an arrow fired from a bed crossbow or a mighty bow. It nailed itself into the stone gate, letting out waves of trembling hums!

Crack!

Crack!

A series of stone walls breaking rang out, followed by a thunderous collapse. A cold, sinister aura began drifting from within the cave dwelling.

The entire chain of events had taken no more than a few breaths!

"Miss! Beware the Earth Vein Baleful Intent!"

Old Bai's voice behind her pulled Chen Linger from her stunned daze.

But as she looked at Wang Xuance, her eyes were filled with shock, and her body could not stop trembling in fear.

"He... in only two months, his strength has actually soared to such a degree!"

"This is no Three-Knock Blood Pass. He has likely already condensed his first strand of Essence of Blood and Qi!"

"But how... how did he obtain a martial art capable of cultivating Martial Apertures?"

Before she could think further, Wang Xuance's wary voice echoed by her ear.

"Miss Chen, this is no time to stand around in a daze. Careful—something is coming out of the cave dwelling!"

"Cough—"

"Hah—"

"Hah—"

"Cough—"

"Miss Chen, this is not as simple as an assault of Earth Vein Baleful Intent!"

The rotten, fishy, pungent stench struck first, making Wang Xuance frown deeply. He clenched his hands into fists, focused his mind, and assumed a stance.

His surging blood and qi swiftly circulated through his entire body. Fist force permeated his flesh, shielding the vital acupoints around him. Power followed the movement of his arms as a towering aura spread outward!

As the stone gate had been broken open by his flexible sword, rolling clouds of blue-violet dust surged toward the three of them like a tide.

An exceedingly tyrannical chill spread rapidly from the depths of the cave dwelling, about to close in on Chen Linger and the other.

Buzz—

A clear, ringing sound resounded!

A blaze of red light burst forth behind them, and an even more chilling aura instantly suppressed the cold air spilling from the cave dwelling!

"You two focus on the enemy. Leave the Earth Vein Baleful Intent to me!"

Ten-Fire Wheel Rotation!

The white-browed old man suddenly struck his chest and sprayed a mouthful of blood over the beads.

The flames leaped up with a whoosh, rings of golden vortices materializing as overwhelming devouring force surged wildly.

The Earth Vein Baleful Intent, capable of killing martial artists without a trace, seemed drawn to the vortices. It turned into strands of purple-black vapor and drilled into them one after another.

As the dust settled, shadowy figures with savage faces, too ghastly to behold, revealed their true forms!

"Huff~~"

Wang Xuance shook his arm, shattering the ice that had formed over his battle garb. His eyes narrowed, and tangible killing intent deepened in his gaze toward the black figures!

"Miss Chen, could these be the legendary Baleful Corpses, impervious to blades and spears?"

Baleful Corpses were a type of zombie formed when resentment accumulated in a dead person's throat and the corpse was buried in a place of extreme yin energy, then nurtured over a hundred years!

Their flesh was like gold and iron, their bones like mountain rock!

Though they possessed no intelligence, their bodies were immensely powerful, far surpassing martial artists of the same realm!

Some unusual Baleful Corpses could even spray corpse poison from their abdominal cavities. Those struck by it had no path to survival but to carve away the flesh and scrape out the bone. They were truly difficult to deal with and difficult to destroy!

Their one obvious weakness was that Baleful Corpses moved slowly—but only relatively speaking. They were by no means as slow as snails!

When Chen Linger saw the black figures' faces clearly, a trace of fear and confusion appeared in her eyes. Suppressing the violent pounding in her chest, she nodded.

"Brother Wang is correct. These are indeed the legendary Baleful Corpses!"

"What I cannot understand is that the conditions for a Baleful Corpse to form are exceedingly harsh. That there are so many here is truly beyond belief!"

"Judging by the aura these Baleful Corpses emit, they are enough to rival martial artists at the Two-Knock Blood Pass. In some respects, they may even be stronger!"

"Hehe, the Earth Vein Baleful Intent erupting from this cave dwelling is so dense that it shows just how heavy the yin energy is. It would certainly be enough to cause corpses to transform!"

"As for these people..."

"They were most likely martial artists casually slaughtered by the master of this cave dwelling!"

Wang Xuance pointed at one corpse and spoke with a faint smile.