"Your sword array appears to have some pedigree, but if you hope to break my corpse array with it here, it still lacks the heat! Why not unleash your demonic banner? Let us see if that magic treasure, hailed as the finest in this world, actually lives up to its reputation!"
The Judge sneered coldly.
Qin Sang remained unmoved, merely tangling with him using the sword array while secretly conferring with Bai.
Seeing Qin Sang's response, the Judge, hidden in the shadows, felt an inexplicable twinge of unease.
His primary soul resided within one of the refined corpses. He stared fixedly at Qin Sang, unable to discern where this unease came from.
The Sin Abyss held Qin Sang in high regard and had studied his divine abilities meticulously. During the battle of Mount Shuangjing in particular, Fairy Qiuzhi had forced out nearly every measure Qin Sang possessed, including the Seven Po Killing Array.
In less than a year, Qin Sang's strength should not have increased noticeably.
"Here it comes!"
Seeing the demonic banner spiral out from Qin Sang's sleeve, the Judge's heart tightened. Without hesitation, he instantly unleashed a secret technique he had long prepared.
Shrill shrieks echoed through the corpse array.
Immediately afterward, cluster upon cluster of azure-blue light floated out from the corpse array.
The blue glow came from fireballs—a form of yin fire that drifted upward, light and ethereal.
*Whoosh!*
Upon touching the corpse qi, the yin fire burst into a raging blaze, turning into an ocean of fire. The refined corpses in the array furiously spewed out corpse qi to feed the yin fire. The yin fire's momentum surged ever higher, appearing not the least bit inferior to the Nine Nether Demonic Fire.
The next instant, the demonic fire struck!
The two spiritual fires clashed with a deafening roar. Sparks and embers flew everywhere as tidal waves of flame surged toward Heaven, throwing themselves at each other with astonishing ferocity.
Though the corpse array's yin fire was formidable, it still fell short when compared to the Nine Nether Demonic Fire.
However, the Judge had an advantage: he had complete command over both the corpse array and the yin fire.
He did not clash head-on against the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. Under his manipulation, the yin fire shifted unpredictably, blending substance and illusion, using these tactics to entangle the demonic fire.
The yin fire burned the corpse qi within the refined corpses, and soon several of them were exhausted, the fierce glow in their ghostly eyes dimming as they collapsed limp to the ground. The Judge felt not the slightest remorse. Such sacrifices were necessary to hold back Qin Sang, and fresh corpses immediately stepped up to replenish the ranks.
Having experienced the true might of the demonic fire firsthand, the Judge finally understood why so many of his peers had fallen to Qin Sang one after another.
*Boom!*
The demonic fire rolled onward like a majestic torrent, impossible to withstand.
At such an all-out cost, the Judge's refined corpses were being consumed at a startling rate.
Suddenly, a figure materialized quietly within the corpse array, eyes crimson as blood, coldly glaring at one of the refined corpses.
"Who is there?!"
The Judge was utterly shocked. A third person had actually been lurking here, infiltrating the corpse array soundlessly and pinpointing the exact location of his primary soul!
This person was none other than Bai.
The Judge had been battling Qin Sang with no reservations. Bai had observed from the sidelines, fathomed the corpse array's inner workings, located the Judge's primary soul, and used the shell of a refined corpse to blend secretly into the array while the Judge was distracted.
In his terror, the Judge sought to shift his primary soul into another refined corpse.
Sensing his movement, Bai let out a cold snort and suddenly thrust out a palm. His hand was rather gaunt and his fingernails slender and long, resembling a ghostly claw as it lunged with lightning speed straight for the corpse's spine.
*Pfft!*
His five fingers sank deep into the refined corpse.
Corpse qi immediately erupted from Bai. Threads of black spread out from his fingertips like a spiderweb, crawling across the corpse's entire body in an instant.
At the same time, Qin Sang seized the opening and urged the demonic banner with full force. The demonic fire surged fiercely, brazenly shattering the yin fire's blockade, and an ocean of black fire swallowed the corpse array.
*Whoosh...*
Wherever the rolling waves of fire passed, the refined corpses were reduced to ashes on the spot.
With the corpse array broken, the refined corpse housing the Judge's primary soul shuddered violently. He could no longer care about the corpse array and fought back desperately. A beam of gloomy light shot from between his eyebrows, lunging straight for Bai's face.
*Thud!*
To the Judge's despair, the gloomy light struck a shield squarely—the turtle shell shield Bai had requested from Qin Sang beforehand.
*Tear!*
The refined corpse's physical body was torn in half by Bai. A cluster of yellow light leapt out from the corpse's head and shot into the distance without hesitation, only to be caught in Bai's grip.
A pale face surfaced within the yellow light—the Judge himself—staring at Bai with terror written all over his face.
Having actually captured him alive, Qin Sang felt a surge of joy, stowed the demonic banner, and flashed over. The Judge was a master of corpse refinement; perhaps they could extract some useful intelligence from him.
Then, an unexpected scene occurred.
The yellow light flickered, and the Judge's face shattered like a mirror.
Bai let out a soft exclamation of surprise and plunged his hand into the yellow light, but he was still a step too late. The Judge glared at Bai with venomous malice before dissipating completely.
"This fellow had more than one primary soul," Bai said with a frown.
He clenched his hand, compressing the near-dissipated yellow light into a ball. Together with a jade pendant carved with the character for "Death," it dropped into Bai's palm.
...
Inside Yucheng.
The cultivator surnamed Qi was issuing orders when he suddenly heard a shrill scream.
Beside him, a black-robed cultivator abruptly collapsed to the ground, spitting a mouthful of black blood that gave off a nauseating stench.
"Fellow Daoist, you..."
The cultivator surnamed Qi remembered that the Judge had been tasked with intercepting Qin Sang.
The Judge struggled to sit up, his voice raspy beyond belief. "I can no longer sense my second primary soul."
"What? Your corpse array is profoundly ingenious, and your refined corpses could not have been exhausted so quickly. Did he use some technique to sever your perception?" someone nearby exclaimed in shock.
The Judge's expression darkened, and he said furiously, "It wasn't severed! The primary soul was destroyed, and before it died, it couldn't send back any information. Even I don't know how it fell so quickly. The death jade that controls the corpse array has also fallen into his hands! It will take this old man several decades just to recover!"
Hearing this, everyone grew even more terrified, overcome by a sense of helplessness. "Unless he is also well-versed in secret corpse dao arts... But how many years has it been since he formed his nascent soul?"
In their eyes, Qin Sang seemed increasingly unfathomable.
Every time they thought they had gauged the depths of his abilities, Qin Sang always managed to give them another surprise.
"Fellow Daoist Qi, the secret has definitely been leaked by that wretched Qu Huan, and the comrades intercepting Daoist Zhenyi and the others are gradually faltering. The Daoist Master has yet to return, so we can only abandon the outer city to avoid greater losses. Most of the resources have already been moved to the inner city. It is time to make a decision," an attractive female cultivator urged.
The cultivator surnamed Qi felt reluctant, but taking a deep breath and glancing outside the city, he slowly nodded.
...
Qin Sang fiddled with the death jade, guessing it was likely a treasure used to control the corpse array. Not only had the Judge lost a primary soul this time, but he had also lost the death jade—a catastrophic loss.
Unfortunately, they hadn't captured a live prisoner.
Qin Sang looked toward Bai. Bai held the sphere formed from the yellow light, pouring corpse qi into it until it radiated a peculiar vibration. Then, with a flash, the sphere sank into Bai's body.
The corpse qi around Bai grew noticeably denser.
Qin Sang was rather surprised. "I forgot to ask—Brother Bai, how will you cultivate from now on?"
Bai rolled his neck, wearing a look of pure comfort. "Like other Corpse Kings, I'll find a place of gathered yin and absorb yin qi. But there's an even faster way—directly refining extreme-yin earth fiend qi."
Chapter 1305