"I once encountered a masterless Flying Yaksha. Driven by obsession and instinct, it wouldn't attack a refined corpse that possessed the fluctuations of a Heavenly Corpse Talisman. If this corpse king is the same, it will be much easier to deal with..."
Qin Sang recalled the scene when he had encountered Wu Shang in Wuya Valley.
Wu Shang had suffered a backlash of corpse qi in the ice cavern and transformed into a Flying Yaksha.
If nothing had changed, he was likely still trapped in that frigid cave day after day, unable to find release.
Wu Shang was different from Yagu.
Ever since the Heavenly Corpse Talisman had entered Yagu's body, her physical form and soul had constantly been nourished by all sorts of treasures. Wu Shang, on the other hand, had fallen long ago, beyond any hope of salvation.
*My ability to reach Core Formation was thanks to the final words Wu Shang left behind, which pointed out a path for me. If the opportunity arises in the future, I should take a trip to Wuya Valley and let Wu Shang rest in eternal peace,*
Qin Sang thought to himself.
As they drew close to the corpse king's lair, Qin Sang halted.
Before long, Bai materialized beside Qin Sang and sent a voice transmission: "There are no ghost kings nearby. The top ghosts in the Immortal Graves each seem to possess their own territory. I've already wiped out most of the lesser ghosts on the periphery. When we make our move, focus on eliminating the ghosts near the corpse king's lair first. It shouldn't alert the other ghost kings in the short term, which will give us enough time to gauge the corpse king's depth."
"Let this fellow keep watch on the periphery to intercept any ghosts while you and I join hands against the corpse king."
Qin Sang released the white crane.
Sensing the sinister aura of the Immortal Graves, the white crane abruptly jerked its long neck back, its feathers bristling slightly.
Bai glanced at the crane.
He knew this creature was exceedingly cunning and reasonably powerful.
"All right!"
After a brief discussion, Qin Sang ordered the white crane to provide perimeter support while he followed Bai toward the corpse king's lair.
Bai conjured ghost mist to conceal their movements.
The terrain of the Immortal Graves was jagged and uneven, strewn everywhere with broken steles and shattered bones.
After walking briskly for a time, the ground began to slope downward. Soon, a deep pit came into view.
The ghostly qi inside the pit was extraordinarily dense, pitch-black to the point where one could not see one's own hand before one's face.
The moment he laid eyes on the pit, Qin Sang's nerves involuntarily tightened. This was a place of extreme peril!
Right then, his Heavenly Eye divine ability caught sight of a dark figure flashing past the pit at astonishing speed. That fleeting glimpse sent an inexplicable wave of pressure washing over Qin Sang.
To give him such a feeling, it had to be the corpse king!
"Here it comes!"
With a low roar, Qin Sang snapped the ebony sword from within, conjuring a sword wheel that slashed down toward the pit!
The sword radiance blazed brilliantly, instantly illuminating the surrounding space.
A wailing chorus of ghost cries erupted around the pit as the ghosts roaming nearby were alerted. Turning vicious and menacing, they surged forward in a frantic scramble.
At the same time, Bai struck.
The bone-chilling ghostly qi became remarkably docile before him, bending entirely to his command.
*Whoosh!*
As though possessed of infinite suction, Bai drew the ghostly qi surging in, forming a vortex around him.
The ghostly qi condensed into ribbon-like swathes, answering Bai's will as smoothly as his own limbs.
*Swish, swish...*
Like a sprawling spiderweb, the ghostly qi swept forward, blotting out the surroundings.
*Boom!*
*Crack!*
Two thunderous crashes sounded in quick succession.
The sword wheel abruptly dimmed, and the ebony sword rebounded.
Then, a dusky black ghost claw appeared within their sight. With tearing sounds, the claw shredded through the swathes of ghostly qi layer after layer, hurtling toward them.
Qin Sang's face paled slightly, inwardly shocked.
The ebony sword had just traded a head-on blow with the corpse king, producing a clang like striking tempered metal. Not only had it failed to force the corpse king into the open, but the sword wheel had nearly collapsed.
Qin Sang was somewhat prepared for this outcome.
His hand seals shifted rapidly as he cast another sword incantation, though this time it was not aimed at the corpse king.
The sword wheel shot straight into the sky before countless strands of sword qi burst outward like a peacock fanning its tail, raining down from above.
The remaining ghosts were engulfed by the sword rain, shrieking in terror as they scattered in all directions.
The white crane seized the chance to reap their lives.
On the other side, Bai struck again.
By endlessly channeling the ghostly qi, he finally forced the corpse king into plain view!
The corpse king's true appearance was gruesome in the extreme. Its flesh was withered and shriveled, its face bluish-green with jutting fangs, and its eyes burned a blood-red glare of savage brutality.
It stood exceptionally tall, shrouded in towering corpse qi. Its skin had a dusky greenish-black sheen, bristling with inches-long black hair that stood straight as needles and was incredibly tough.
Its claws were pitch-black, the nails on its ten fingers sharper than spiritual swords, radiating a suffocating shroud of corpse poison.
There was no longer any semblance of a normal human left in the creature.
Had this been a corpse king formed through its own cultivation, reaching this realm would have granted it the art of transformation. As long as it did not reveal its true form, aside from an aura of corpse qi, it would hardly differ from an ordinary person.
With sufficient intellect, it could disguise itself as a regular person and walk the outside world, making it nearly impossible for ordinary cultivators to discern its origins.
This corpse king, however, was likely a refined corpse belonging to a disciple of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, somehow left behind here. Even now, it had failed to break free from the shackles of corpse-refining arts and the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, lacking the intellect commensurate with its cultivation realm and completely ignorant of transformation.
For Qin Sang and Bai, this was a blessing that made dealing with the creature far easier.
Even so, after seeing the corpse king's physical body clearly, both felt a knot of dread in their hearts.
The corpse king's flesh was truly akin to steel and iron. Just now, that ghost claw had forcefully repelled the ebony sword and torn apart the ribbons of ghostly qi, yet it seemed completely unscathed.
*Roar!*
The corpse king bared its fangs and let out a roar like rolling thunder.
Fixing its gaze on Qin Sang and Bai, the bloodlust and greed in its scarlet eyes grew even heavier. Crossing its arms, it ripped open the ghostly qi by brute force, producing a sound like tearing silk.
Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately pulled back on an escape light.
By now, some of the other ghosts had fallen to his sword, while the rest, terrified by the corpse king's aura, fled in panic, only to be intercepted and slaughtered by the white crane.
The area around the deep pit was now deserted.
Bai stood motionless, staring intently into the corpse king's blood-red eyes. His lips moved slightly as he cast some unknown secret art, his expression tense to the extreme.
*Whoosh!*
A foul gust of wind swept forward, carrying a nauseating stench.
The corpse qi around the corpse king suddenly detonated. Disappearing from where it stood, it materialized in front of Bai in the blink of an eye.
Caught mid-incantation, Bai took fright and hurriedly dodged, shifting several yards sideways to evade the blow by a hair's breadth.
Even so, three claw marks were carved into his arm, deep enough to expose bone.
In an instant, the wound turned pitch-black as corpse poison seeped into his body and spread rapidly.
Bai held the Nine-Life Black Tortoise shell Qin Sang had given him.
Refined by the Nine-Life Black Tortoise over countless years, the shell was no less tough than a defensive magic treasure and could serve perfectly as a shield.
Yet against the corpse king, Bai had not even had time to raise the shell in defense.
Had this been an ordinary cultivator, the corpse poison would likely have already struck the heart, killing them on the spot.
Fortunately, Bai was a refined corpse himself, far less vulnerable to the corpse king's poison.
Qin Sang was appalled, landing far along the pit's outer edge to avoid drawing the corpse king's attention.
He was no refined corpse. Even his third-layer physical body of the Heavenly Demon Transformation could never withstand a claw from the corpse king. If the creature set its sights on him and delivered such a strike, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Bai retreated repeatedly, straining with all his might to contend with the corpse king, danger looming at every step.
Just then, an unexpected scene unfolded: though the corpse king's ferocious flames blazed to the heavens, its body inexplicably swayed, and its corpse qi churned with violent instability.
Chapter 1098