Though baleful corpses were stronger than ordinary zombies, they were dead things just the same, devoid of sentience. Every baleful corpse they had encountered before was grotesque and rigid, driven by nothing more than an instinct for slaughter and blood.
Could this baleful corpse have spent endless years in this dwelling absorbing spiritual power until it actually birthed intelligence?
Even after activating the Heavenly Star Tear in advance to protect himself, Qin Sang still felt uneasy. He withdrew a thick stack of talismans from his mustard seed bag and inconspicuously gripped both the Essence-Devouring Awl and the Profound Yin Thunder in his hand.
Both magic tools were single-use and extraordinarily precious, but compared to his life, they were worth every bit.
***
The vast hall before them was far grander than the previous two Qin Sang had seen. Its two heavy darksteel doors towered high, their carvings of ancient corpses looking all the more menacing. Their ferocious eyes seemed to glare down at the path of approach, striking terror into the soul.
Upon stepping inside, a suffocating sense of pressure settled over all three of them. They surveyed the hall with wary suspicion. It was just as wrecked as the others, littered with shattered stone pillars, rubble, and deep gouges crisscrossing the floor and walls—clear signs of a fierce battle. Yet there were far fewer broken bones here, and not a single other baleful corpse in sight.
In the corner on the left side of the hall rested a strange skeleton. It leaned against the wall, its sternum marred by an obvious blade mark. At the position of the heart, the ribs had been cleaved entirely through; that was almost certainly the fatal wound.
Driven into the ground before the skeleton was a black iron stake coated in dust. Faint carvings of soaring dragons and drifting clouds were visible beneath the grime, alongside fine, dense cracks. It looked like a magic tool, though damaged to such an extent that it was hard to tell if it could still be used.
Surrounding the iron stake were dozens of densely arranged, pale shattered stones—spirit stones that had cracked after exhausting their spiritual power. Their positions followed a distinct pattern, resembling some manner of array.
In the entire hall, only this skeleton remained intact, making it the most conspicuous sight.
Qin Sang swept his gaze across the skeleton and noticed a palm-sized black pouch beneath its pelvis. The mouth of the pouch hung wide open, and he could easily see inside: it was completely empty, and not a mustard seed bag.
Clutched tightly in the skeleton’s left hand was an ancient medallion. Like the darksteel medallion Baiyun Shanren had found, its back faced upward, inscribed with the three characters for "Heavenly Corpse Sect" in the exact same handwriting.
However, this medallion was silver-white, its lustrous silver surface gleaming even through the thick layer of dust.
Back at Shaohua Mountain, waist tokens for Foundation Establishment disciples were different from those of Qi Refinement disciples, serving as markers of status. In life, this skeleton had undoubtedly held a rank far above those outside, so carrying a different medallion was only natural. Qin Sang glanced at it, then paid it no further heed.
Baiyun Shanren and Wu Yuesheng did the same, for they quickly spotted Liu Jiang.
"Fellow Daoist Liu!" Baiyun Shanren cried out in anguish, glaring toward a corner of the hall.
Qin Sang followed his gaze and froze.
The baleful corpse stood in the shadows behind a fractured pillar. It had thrust a hand straight into Liu Jiang's chest, clutching his heart and hoisting his entire body into the air. Its fangs were buried deep in Liu Jiang's neck as it gulped down his blood and essence, scarlet drops dripping from the corners of its mouth.
*Drip... drip...*
The stench of blood struck their noses, making for a truly chilling scene.
Liu Jiang's eyes still held lingering shock and terror, wide open in death. In that brief span of time, his essence had been drained dry by the baleful corpse. His body withered at a visible pace, shriveling into a mummified husk.
From the two wounds on his chest and neck, dark green corpse poison rapidly spread throughout his body, corroding his flesh and bone and giving off a foul stench.
A living man only moments before had met such a grim end in the blink of an eye.
*Smack!*
With a sharp crack, the baleful corpse finished draining Liu Jiang's essence and flung his corpse far away. It extended a crimson tongue to lick its lips, staring hungrily at the three of them as if sizing up three delectable portions of blood food.
Finally catching a clear view of the creature's appearance, Qin Sang felt his heart sink. His earlier impression had not been wrong—this one was markedly different from the other baleful corpses.
It was similarly enveloped in dense earth fiend qi, yet looking past that haze revealed that, aside from its sharp claws, fangs, and blood-red eyes, it looked nothing like a baleful corpse.
Other baleful corpses were refined through earth fiend qi, their flesh condensed to rival metal and their defenses drastically heightened, but at the cost of being warped beyond recognition into monstrous apparitions.
Yet this baleful corpse retained the appearance it had possessed in life. Though deathly pale, with sunken features and a twisted expression, one could still tell it had been a handsome young man.
After gorging on Liu Jiang's blood and essence, a flush of ruddy color spread across its skin. Its sunken flesh slowly filled out, and as its face smoothed, it looked almost indistinguishable from a living person.
This eerie spectacle astonished Qin Sang. He could not help but wonder if this thing could even be called a baleful corpse. Had some refined corpse developed intelligence over countless years, or was this a unique refining technique of the Heavenly Corpse Sect?
"Heh... heh..."
The baleful corpse licked the blood clean from both hands and let out strange cackles, its blood-colored pupils fixed on the three of them with mounting greed.
Seeing Liu Jiang's gruesome remains, Baiyun Shanren's face twisted with grief. He immediately drew his wooden staff, glared fiercely at the baleful corpse, and roared, "Kill it!"
Baiyun Shanren raised the staff, pouring spiritual power madly into the magic tool. As the tip pointed sharply toward the baleful corpse, a vast expanse of lush flowers and green trees sprang from thin air.
*Whoosh!*
Blades of grass and leaves withered in an instant, transforming into countless flying daggers and sharp swords that shot toward the baleful corpse in an overwhelming barrage. Had a cultivator with weaker cultivation failed to evade in time, they would have been turned into a hornet's nest in a single breath.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
A series of crisp cracks rang out as the grass and leaves shattered into scattering green light. Yet once the chaos settled, the baleful corpse had vanished.
Qin Sang's eyes narrowed, and he shouted a warning, "Fellow Daoist Baiyun, watch out!"
Before his voice had even faded, a violent boom echoed. Baiyun Shanren shot backward, holding his wooden staff horizontally to block the creature's sharp claws. Though the staff held, the immense force still drove him back several steps.
The baleful corpse had taken Baiyun Shanren's strike without suffering a scratch.
Its claws were coated in corpse poison that gleamed with a dark green light as it pressed its pursuit. Before the three could even blink, one of its hands bypassed the wooden staff and nearly drove into Baiyun Shanren's chest.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Baiyun Shanren hastily swung his staff to parry the claws and retreated in a blur.
Yet this sudden shift turned the tactical layout in their favor.
Qin Sang and Wu Yuesheng exchanged a glance. Rather than rushing blindly to Baiyun Shanren's aid, they immediately split to either side, bypassing him. In a flash, their positions shifted into the Three Talents Formation, surrounding the baleful corpse in their midst.
Chapter 164