"Ha..."
The corpse's chest slowly rose and fell. Each heavy breath carried a stench of decay from its mouth.
Its pitch-black pupils opened. Looking down at the White Bone Artifact embedded in its chest, it grabbed it with both hands and yanked it out, then turned to look at the deep cave behind it.
The rock layers cracked. The corpse pulled its legs free, gripped the White Bone Artifact in a sword-wielding stance as if by instinct, then shot out like a cannonball and sped toward the depths of the cave abode.
After the Foundation Establishment corpse had left, Bai Yi waited several minutes before entering the cave abode as well.
The dim passage sloped down for thirty to fifty meters. White bones jutted out all around the surrounding rock walls, like a mass grave, with countless resentments seeming to echo within.
Bai Yi furrowed his brow slightly, keeping his Divine Sense and Spiritual Power taut as he hurried downward.
The rock walls on either side gradually widened, and their rough surfaces were slowly replaced by black stone slabs. A strange, faint fragrance drifted from the depths.
The passage widened further. In the slight tremors, cries of anguish rang out, and surging waves of Spiritual Power spilled everywhere.
When Bai Yi reached the depths, he saw that the great door made of white bone and jade had already collapsed. Outside it, two gray-robed evil cultivators lay on the ground, their Essence Blood completely drained, like two scraps of painted skin.
He used Sword Light to sweep up the Demonic Artifacts in their hands. Only when the sounds of the battle inside the cave abode grew more intense did Bai Yi step inside.
Beyond the White Bone Jade Gate, the cave abode was as spacious as a great hall, but it had already been left in ruins.
Tables and chairs lay shattered and scattered. Sword marks cut deep into the rock walls, and numerous gray-robed evil cultivators' corpses lay strewn across the floor. Their sword-cut wounds had not spilled a drop of blood.
Bai Yi used Sword Light to sweep up the Demonic Artifacts belonging to the evil cultivators. Though every one was a crudely made First-Tier Inferior-Grade Artifact,
even these Demonic Artifacts alone made this risky trip worthwhile.
"A horse doesn't grow fat without night grass. The ancients didn't deceive me."
After packing the Demonic Artifacts into his travel bag, Bai Yi quietly hid at the edge of the rock wall. His gaze gradually settled on the densely packed sword marks covering it.
Though the rock wall looked covered in sword marks, aside from a few shallow ones that were somewhat clumsy, the rest had cut deep into the rock. They were smooth and coated in dust, clearly accumulated over an unknown number of years.
Even after countless years, Bai Yi, a Sword Cultivator, could still sense a trace of sharpness within them.
"A Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator..."
"Even the Sword Light carries a hint of Dao Resonance."
Bai Yi's expression was solemn. When Sword Light gave birth to meaning, one approached the Sword Intent Realm. Even after all this time, he could still sense Dao Resonance within these sword marks.
The Sword Cultivator who had struck this sword back then had already begun to step into the Sword Intent Realm.
Just as Bai Yi was marveling at this, a violent tremor suddenly burst from the depths of the residence. A dense mist, almost condensed into blood, spread out from within.
A zombie covered in white fur, its abdomen torn open, crashed through the rock wall and flew backward into the great hall.
Right after it, a streak of blood-light swept out from the depths of the residence, carrying the old man from Yinshan Sect. Behind the blood-light, the Foundation Establishment corpse followed close behind, gripping the White Bone Artifact. Wisps of blood-red Sword Qi surged from its body.
"Cough, cough..."
The blood-light scattered. The old man from Blood Demon Sect had sunken cheeks and a blood-red face. His gaze swept over Bai Yi, standing to one side in a gray robe, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
The old man from Yinshan Sect who had fled with him stretched out a shriveled hand. Black mist became a sucking force and swept toward Bai Yi, trying to draw him over to replenish their blood.
To them, what was the bond between fellow sect members compared to their own lives?
The wind howled with Yin Qi. Feeling the powerful suction of the black mist, Bai Yi's expression changed slightly. Beneath his gray robe, the Heart-Questioning Sword rang out, shot from its sheath, and condensed into Sword Light.
Bai Yi formed a Sword Seal with his hand. Swordlight Transforms into a Rainbow, and Dao Resonance surged to its limit as he cleaved through the black mist with one strike.
Under the astonished gazes of the two old men from Yinshan Sect and Blood Demon Sect, he mounted Sword Light and sped toward the exit of the cave abode.
"Sword Light?!"
"What?!"
Seeing the gray-robed Yinshan Sect disciple before them unleash such Sword Light, rage surged in both their eyes.
Earlier, they had been furious and alarmed over the Foundation Establishment corpse they had spent so much effort restraining and sealing.
Why had it broken through the seal and charged in so soon after they entered the cave abode? Now it seemed this Sword Cultivator was to blame.
"Good, good, good!"
"A mere Qi Refining Fifth Layer ant dares to act like this?!"
The old man from Blood Demon Sect gritted his teeth. Forcing down the injuries churning inside him, he spread his hand, and blood-light transformed into a massive blood-red bone claw that grabbed at Bai Yi as he tried to escape.
Feeling the Yin Qi behind him, Bai Yi unsheathed the Azure Edge Sword behind him and set it beneath his feet in a swift exchange. The rainbow light condensed once more.
The spreading Sword Qi kicked up a fierce wind. Dao Resonance patterns bloomed along the sword's path, and, wrapped in the meaning of Clearwind, it transformed into rainbow light and slashed straight into the blood claw without dodging.
"Hmph, a light as tiny as a grain of rice..."
The old man from Blood Demon Sect wore a ferocious grin. A mere Qi Refining Fifth Layer Sword Cultivator-though he had only five or six tenths of his strength left, he could still crush him with a wave of his hand.
Just as the old man from Blood Demon Sect's ferocious grin appeared, cracks began to spread across the blood claw where the sword edge struck. Then it shattered into pieces.
The impact also sent the Heart-Questioning Sword flying back, its Sword Light dim.
"Cough..."
Bai Yi spat out a mouthful of blood. His body caught the impact of the Heart-Questioning Sword's return, and he fled outward at an even greater speed.
"What?!"
Seeing his Blood-Seizing Claw shattered, the old man from Blood Demon Sect's heart jolted, and he could hardly believe it.
He came to his senses and was about to strike again when the Foundation Establishment corpse leaped out from the depths of the residence, its chest split open to reveal a shattered heart.
With a roar, it swung the White Bone Artifact down, severing the White-Haired Stiff Corpse's arm with a streak of corrosive Sword Qi.
Just as it was about to behead the zombie with another strike, the old man from Yinshan Sect hurriedly spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood. Mixed with black mist and Yin Qi, it poured into the White-Haired Stiff Corpse's body.
Roar!
Empowered, the White-Haired Stiff Corpse's eyes blazed with ferocity. It clamped its fangs around the White Bone Artifact and smashed its one remaining arm into the Foundation Establishment corpse's chest.
The Foundation Establishment corpse withstood the attack. Its left hand formed a blade, and a palm brimming with sharpness struck the White-Haired Stiff Corpse's head directly, sending it flying.
Pulling out the White Bone Artifact, the Foundation Establishment corpse struck again. Sword Light tore open the White-Haired Stiff Corpse's chest and sent it flying.
"Old Blood, hurry and help me!"
The White-Haired Stiff Corpse, linked to him heart and blood, had been gravely wounded again. The old man from Yinshan Sect grew even paler and hurriedly shouted.
Seeing this, the old man from Blood Demon Sect could only watch Bai Yi escape in bitter resentment. He turned around, blood-light flickering around him, and a White Bone Mirror flew from his sleeve. It sank into the blood-light and conjured dozens of ghostly figures, which tangled with the Foundation Establishment corpse.
That bottle of blood had originally been intended to strengthen the White Bone Artifact's binding power. Yet now it had become the reason the two men were suffering so badly.
Nourished by the blood, and with that strange Sword Qi, the Foundation Establishment corpse before them could still firmly suppress the two of them, despite having rotted for countless years.
"Old Man Li, stop holding back. If we deal with this Foundation Establishment corpse soon, the blood pool in the seclusion chamber can still make up for our losses."
"Otherwise, both of us will die here."
After his blood cloud was scattered once more, the old man from Blood Demon Sect growled. This Foundation Establishment corpse was certainly powerful, but if the two of them paid a heavy enough price, they could still kill it.
"Good. Neither of us will hold back."