The Mastermind

The "Guo Mountain Corpse Refining Method" is easy to learn but difficult to master, which gave Kang Dabao the misconception that he had considerable talent in the Zombie Refining lineage.

Despite nurturing Zhao Gu's refined corpse for so many years and even using many expensive spiritual materials to nourish it, it has not yet recovered to its peak strength of seven-tenths and is hardly of any use.

However, it's quite useful for dealing with these Purple Fire Jackal right now.

The corpse-refining creature waved its hands wildly, sending dozens of sharp, black claw beams hurtling towards the two leaders of the Purple Fire Jackal. Fortunately, the latter were agile and nimble, narrowly dodging the attacks and then leaping forward to counterattack.

The two Purple Fire Jackal leaders performed this action with great skill, one biting the corpse's neck and the other biting its crotch with their sharp beaks.

The purple flames from the jackal's mouth ignited a layer of dark, shiny fat on the surface of the corpse, sending up a plume of black, foul-smelling smoke into the mine tunnel.

The two leaders of the Purple Fire Jackal were misled by their rich hunting experience. The vital point of the corpse refinement was not where they bit, but rather that they themselves swallowed a mouthful of corpse poison.

The refining corpse, engulfed in demonic flames, was completely unaffected. Kang Dabao simply pulled out a black bell with his left hand and shook it gently. The refining corpse then unceremoniously stretched out its hands, its ten sharp, black fingers tearing through the purple fur and leaving five holes oozing black blood on each of the two Purple Fire Jackal leaders.

In pain, the leader of the Purple Fire Jackal howled and leaped off the corpse. Sect Leader Kang Da seized the opportunity and his short blade arrived in an instant.

Despite the danger, the leader of the Purple Fire Jackal remained calm. Small whirlwinds rose from beneath his four fleshy feet, just as he dodged the black short blade. However, he felt a scorching heat coming from the back of his head. He tried to turn around, but it was too late. He was blasted into pieces by two golden rays.

Having landed a successful blow, Sect Leader Kang Da did not stop his offensive.

With his right hand, he continued to wield the Garrison Earth Azure Origin Shield to deal with the current leader of the Purple Fire Jackal, while his left hand tightly gripped the Soul-Capturing Bell, a mysterious symbol appearing in his palm, and the bell immediately began to ring rapidly.

The previously sluggish corpse suddenly became swift, swatting aside the current leader of the Purple Fire Jackal with a single paw. It then opened its mouth wide, spewing out a stream of white corpse fire through its mouthful of rotten teeth from its belly.

The leader of the Purple Fire Jackal let out a sharp cry, showing no weakness. Several other Purple Fire Jackal that had been fighting nearby also came to help, spewing out purple flames together and surging towards the white corpse fire of the refining corpse.

The temperature in the mine tunnel suddenly rose again. After seeing that several Purple Fire Jackal had been lured away by the corpses in front of him, the array master also took the opportunity to exert his strength.

His eyes swept rapidly across the entire mine tunnel, his hands moved with lightning speed, and he muttered incessantly as he shouted, "Fellow Daoists, please protect me for a moment!"

The three people beside him were slightly dazed by the shout, only to see that the array master had withdrawn from the main array position and thrown out several array plates, scattering them throughout the mine tunnel.

The calculations of a formation master are always incredibly complicated, let alone in such a complex situation.

This array master was not well-known; even cultivators like Kuai En, who had practiced in Tanggu County for many years, did not know his name beforehand, but he was indeed quite skilled.

The seven array plates took root on the ground, forming seven nodes, each emitting a light screen that enveloped the several Purple Fire Jackal that were locked in a stalemate with the corpse-refining beast.

The two-colored fireworks were also extinguished by the light barrier due to the interference of the array master.

Not only were the Purple Fire Jackal trapped in the formation unable to escape despite their fiery fangs and frantic rampages, but they also cried out in panic. Even the Sect Leader Kang Da, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but marvel.

"Burn!" The array master's gaze was firm as he stood tall, his hands forming the Yin-Yang seal, and his feet stepping in the Tai Chi stance.

Suddenly, a ball of crimson flame appeared out of thin air within the formation. The Purple Fire Jackal, which was born knowing how to play with fire, could not get close to this flame. It continued to futilely use its sharp teeth and claws to ram against the light barrier that formed the formation, but to no avail.

The crimson flames quickly filled the entire formation, and the Purple Fire Jackal's shrill screams soon subsided, leaving only a pile of charred remains.

It wasn't just the Purple Fire Jackal that suffered losses. After the array master withdrew from the Four Symbols Origin-Guarding Formation, Kuai En and the other two were in trouble. With their limited understanding of array principles, they couldn't maintain the array for even a moment before being surrounded and attacked by the Purple Fire Jackal.

One of the burly men faced three Purple Fire Jackal head-on, and in an instant, he was bitten in three vital spots: his throat, groin, and anus.

In his agony, he cried and cursed, but couldn't even cast a spell. The three Purple Fire Jackal tore at him, each biting off a piece of flesh. Showing no pity for the pot-bellied man's cries, they disemboweled him on the spot.

Kuai En trembled at the sight, feeling incredibly clumsy with his fingers, repeatedly making the wrong Method Formula. He was so anxious that fine sweat broke out on his body, his mouth agape, completely flustered and at a loss for what to do.

Fortunately, the corpse-refining technique freed up its hands at this moment. With a single ring of the bell in Kang Dabao's hand, the corpse-refining technique leaped to Kuai En's front in a few leaps and bit the neck of the Purple Fire Jackal that pounced first.

Not satisfied with sucking the pungent, bloody beast blood, the corpse grabbed the Purple Fire Jackal tightly with both hands, ripped off a large chunk of flesh and fur with a flick of its head, and then swallowed it, chewing it greedily.

Seeing their companions being caught and eaten alive by the deathly corpse before them, the Purple Fire Jackal were filled with anger and also felt a surge of shock and rage.

After smelling the fragrance, their minds seemed to clear again, and fear arose in their hearts. Facing the refining corpse, they only dared to let out a low growl in a defiant manner, but dared not make any further moves and hesitated to approach.

At this moment, the array master's eyes gleamed, and with a wave of his hand, the array plates fell back into his grasp.

The saying goes, "One trick is all you need to succeed." Just as he refilled the Spirit Stone and was about to use the same method to deal with the group of Purple Fire Jackal in front of the corpse, he...

"Beep." A sharp bone whistle rang out again in the mine tunnel, and the listless Purple Fire Jackal seemed to have taken a potent drug, instantly perking up.

Upon hearing the bone whistle, Kang Dabao was not angry but laughed. He felt a small thing stick its head out from his sleeve, turn its head, and point in a direction.

The former, with a single probe of his Divine Sense in the direction Little Qi pointed, had already locked onto the lurking villain.

With a carefree smile, the White Sect Leader Kang Da White Bear Fang Banner shot into the air from his Storage Bag once more. The "Forge Courage" and "Strengthen Heart" restrictions bestowed a layer of warmth upon the cultivators in the arena, temporarily halting the ferocious jackal pack's attack.

At this moment, Kang Dabao withdrew the Garrison Earth Azure Origin Shield. The leader of the Purple Fire Jackal, who was fighting against him, was stunned for a moment and seemed at a loss. However, he still spat out a ball of purple flame to repel the enemy.

The former showed no fear. With a flick of its sleeve, Little Qi revealed an expression of effort. A golden tortoise shell phantom appeared on its uneven carapace and projected out, blocking the purple flames.

Although Little Qi's bloodline rank is high, it is still young. It has only been a few years since it was born and has just reached the First-Tier Lower-Grade. Its innate Law Technique cannot withstand the purple flames of the Purple Fire Jackal leader for long.

Just a moment later, Little Qi's tortoise shell phantom was shattered by the purple flames. The little guy was not injured, but a hint of dissatisfaction appeared on his face, and he sullenly returned to his sleeve.

Kang Dabao only wanted to test Little Qi's Daoist skills, so the purple flames arrived.

The short blade in Sect Leader Kang Da's hand shot out with great force, cleaving the purple flames in two. Its momentum did not diminish, and it pierced directly into the open mouth of the Purple Fire Jackal leader, blasting a round hole in the back of its head before returning to Kang Dabao's hand.

If it weren't for luring out that cowardly fellow, a mere First-Tier Superior-Grade Purple Fire Jackal, why would Sect Leader Kang Da waste so much effort?

"Not good!" The scoundrel, whose Divine Sense had been locked in place, realized something was wrong. This fat man's strength was far greater than what he had shown earlier; he had been acting all along to lure him in!

He put away the bone whistle and tried to run, but Kang Dabao had already caught up. Even as he pursued, Kang Dabao couldn't resist saying something to distract him, "Haha, you little rascal! Your father has found you!"

This short, thin cultivator, who had been lurking in the shadows, had also reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and was a disciple of the Three Incense Cult, a major Foundation Establishment sect.

However, nine-tenths of his skills lie in beast taming. If he were to rely solely on his own abilities to fight against others of the same level, he might only be able to contend with some powerful figures among the Rogue Cultivator, and he would certainly not be able to stand up to the Sect Leader Kang Da.

So when Kang Dabao discovered his whereabouts, he didn't think twice and only Yixin to summon the Purple Fire Jackal to save him and cover his escape.

While the Purple Fire Jackal was indeed agile, it was still not as fast as Sect Leader Kang Da. As the latter moved, the spiritual light in his eyes kept gathering, and in just a moment, his pupils turned golden again.

Knowing the power of the fat man's pupil technique, the short, thin cultivator continued his footwork, summoning a small beast-shaped cauldron to conceal himself behind him.

The Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes struck the small cauldron; the former melted away, while the latter buzzed, as if emitting a mournful cry.

The short, thin cultivator was not faring any better; he was so shaken that he spat out a mouthful of blood that defied his will, and his footwork became disordered, his expression extremely solemn.

"This burly man's pupil technique is far more powerful than I expected!"

This small cauldron was First-Tier Supreme-Grade defensive magic Law Artifact that he had painstakingly tricked from that burly senior sister.

Although there wasn't enough time to refine it into a natal magic Law Artifact, its defensive power was not to be underestimated. Even through the small cauldron, he had still suffered such serious injuries from this attack!

"Damn it, which bastard told me that this guy surnamed Kang is a doughy person who only knows how to bully women?!" The short, thin cultivator cursed inwardly, but he had no time to think about it. At this moment, the most important thing was to save his life.

But saving your life isn't that easy!

After several attempts to probe, Kang Dabao had roughly gauged the short, thin cultivator's abilities.

Another Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes struck, and the beast-shaped cauldron could no longer withstand it. It severed its connection with the short, thin cultivator and was sent flying.

Sect Leader Kang Da, being frugal by nature, naturally wanted to keep this valuable item. With a wave of his hand, he put the small cauldron into his bag.

The short, thin cultivator, however, was prepared. After taking the blow, he swallowed the blood in his mouth and, using the force, quickly stepped forward and leaped into a dark pit.

Kang Dabao was a beat slow in collecting the small cauldron. Just as his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes was about to be activated again, he saw a short, thin cultivator appear in front of him. The cultivator had a half-plum blossom mark on his forehead and was exceptionally handsome.

"Slap." Gun Shide looked refined and gentle, but unexpectedly he possessed such a fierce and powerful palm technique.

He didn't even glance at the short, thin monk approaching him. He opened his left hand and clenched his five fingers into a fist.

The latter felt as if he had been captured by an invisible hand, but he couldn't even cry out in pain. A look of sorrow appeared on his ugly face, and after a series of cracking sounds, all that was left on the spot was a pile of bloody, rotten flesh.

The Sect Leader Kang Da watched from the sidelines with a sigh. He had only seen the half-bloom on Gun Shide's face, but he hadn't seen the panic on the latter's face.

Just as he was about to step forward to pay his respects, Gun Shide had already swept past him swiftly, not wanting to utter another word, only shouting, "Run!"

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