Sha Jia and the others roared repeatedly, but their bows and blades could not truly injure these undead. They wanted to strike the ghostly flames in the undead's eyes, but that was far too difficult.
Just as they were about to buckle, a blue-green gleam seemed to flash past. All three undead toppled, their skeletons shattering across the ground.
Hou Niao clapped his hands. "You can go round up the sand camels now. There shouldn't be any other undead here..." Beside him, Sha Shi looked at him excitedly. "That was a Flying Sword! Uncle Niao, you're a Shanmen Sword Cultivator, a Qi Refiner!"
Though they knew nothing of cultivation, Loulan City was not large, and little could be kept secret there. In the eyes of these ordinary people, Qi Refiners had just two distinguishing traits: they could fly and unleash Flying Swords. Qi Ingestion Practitioners could do neither; they had to get close to the undead to kill them.
Hou Niao shook his head with a wry smile. This was nothing to be proud of. These were merely the weakest undead. He had not destroyed them immediately only because he wanted to learn more about their habits and characteristics. And why had he been unable to sense their presence accurately?
He walked over to the three undead's shattered bones and carefully studied their structure, their source of energy, the characteristics of their bones... For some time to come, he would probably be dealing with these things on a long-term basis.
The sand wolves had long since fled without a trace. An hour later, the caravan finished replenishing its fresh water and set off again. This time, however, they felt a rare sense of security, for a powerful Qi Refiner was traveling with them. Once this Master Niao reached Loulan City,