Inside Baiyun Shanren's mustard seed bag, Qin Sang found an unexpected item: half of a mid-Demon Spirit stage tiger corpse!
Before entering the cavern, they had split into two groups. Senior Sister Qingting had led Baiyun Shanren and the others down the other path and encountered a Demon Spirit stage black tiger. They had joined forces to slay it, never expecting it to be a mid-Demon Spirit stage demonic tiger.
No wonder they had been delayed for so long.
Aside from that, there was a miscellaneous assortment of odds and ends, all of which he collected.
By this time, Qin Sang had nearly unraveled the restrictions on the heavy darksteel doors. Summoning the Five Elements Dharma-Breaking Sword to dispel the restrictions, he pushed the heavy darksteel doors open with effort.
Unexpectedly, beyond the heavy darksteel doors lay only a single stone corridor. Unlike the winding paths before, it sloped straight downward, with a bend further ahead that hid the corridor's end from sight.
The spiritual power within the stone corridor was even denser than outside, only slightly inferior to Qin Sang's own cave abode.
One had to remember that his cave abode was merely a modest stone chamber.
He had no idea how much deeper he had to go to reach the core of the Heavenly Corpse Sect's sub-altar. If such a vast area was already like this, the spiritual power at the core would inevitably be even more astonishing. It was definitely a rare, top-grade cave abode, and there might even be a spirit spring.
The stone corridor was dark and deep, but Qin Sang moved at no slow pace. Having grasped the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, he no longer feared living corpses so much. There were several bends along the way, but Qin Sang found only one stone chamber, and it too was empty.
After traveling some distance like this, Qin Sang suddenly paused. His expression grew taut as he looked ahead and strained his ears to listen. Faintly, vibrations and roars echoed from up ahead.
Someone was fighting a baleful corpse!
Qin Sang immediately quickened his pace. As he moved forward, the sounds grew clearer. The roars indeed came from a baleful corpse, and the battle sounded exceedingly fierce, though he could not determine how many people were involved since no voices could be heard.
After traveling a bit further, Qin Sang came to an abrupt halt. His figure emerged from the shadows as he frowned at the tightly shut stone door ahead.
No wonder the sounds had been so muffled just now.
He had initially intended to sneak over quietly to survey the situation, not expecting a stone door to block his path. Judging by the commotion, the fighting was happening right behind it. Once he opened the door, he would be exposed as well.
However, Qin Sang did not hesitate for long. He directly drove the Five Elements Dharma-Breaking Sword to blast the stone door open. Sure enough, behind it lay another grand hall, even more magnificent than the one before, though its furnishings were largely similar.
Qin Sang's gaze swiftly swept across the hall, landing on the two sides locked in fierce combat. Unsurprisingly, one was indeed a baleful corpse—a living corpse, in fact—while opposite it stood only Senior Sister Qingting.
At this moment, Senior Sister Qingting was sitting on the ground, solemn-faced as she commanded a green jade ruyi. Trailing green light, the jade ruyi unleashed phantom after phantom, launching continuous strikes at the living corpse. To Qin Sang's astonishment, the jade ruyi was actually a talisman treasure.
Behind Senior Sister Qingting lay a corpse corroded by corpse poison. It could be recognized as Liu Jiang of the Liu brothers, leaving Qin Sang deeply stunned.
Qin Sang's sudden appearance and the blasting open of the stone door gave Qingting a fright.
Seeing Qin Sang enter, Qingting's expression grew frantic. In an exceptionally weak voice, she cried repeatedly, "Junior Brother Qin, the baleful corpse is ferocious! I can't hold out much longer—quickly dispel the restrictions and escape!"
Hearing this, Qin Sang narrowed his eyes to look closely. When he saw Senior Sister Qingting's condition, his heart sank at once.
The robe over her chest and abdomen was soaked through with blood, clearly bearing several claw marks left by ghostly talons, alongside several crisscrossing blade wounds that cut deep to the bone. Her internal organs had even been damaged by the ghostly talons, mangled into a wretched mess.
The flesh at her wounds was twitching and writhing; Qingting had clearly taken healing pills, but they were entirely useless. The lingering earth fiend qi and corpse poison clinging to the wounds prevented them from healing, and the corpse poison, like maggots gnawing into bone, was eroding deeper into her body.
Gravely wounded, Qingting's breath was already exceedingly faint. She could only pour all her strength into directing the talisman treasure to fend off the baleful corpse, powerless to suppress the corpse poison within her. Her internal organs had already been dyed a dark, ink-like green by the poison—a terrifying sight to behold.
Witnessing this, Qin Sang did not hesitate to drive the ebony sword. Howling forth with sword qi, the ebony sword stabbed viciously at the baleful corpse, shouldering most of the pressure for Qingting.
"Senior Sister, focus all your efforts on suppressing the corpse poison and treating your wounds!" Qin Sang shouted, then launched an all-out assault against the baleful corpse. Drawn by Qin Sang, the baleful corpse instantly turned and charged toward him.
Right at that moment, the jade ruyi talisman treasure burst with brilliant green light, firmly pinning the baleful corpse in place.
Qingting's face turned even paler. She coughed violently, spitting up several mouthfuls of blood in succession, and urged him in a bitter tone, "Junior Brother Qin, don't worry about me! The corpse poison has already invaded my heart meridian; I'm beyond saving. While I still have the strength to drive the talisman treasure and hold back the baleful corpse, quickly dispel the restrictions on the door and get out of here! I'll help you seal the iron door's restrictions again behind you! This baleful corpse is not only as powerful as a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, but it can also cast spells. You won't be able to withstand it alone, Junior Brother Qin—hurry, go!"
During their brief exchange, Qin Sang had already sounded out the living corpse's capabilities. It was somewhat stronger than the one they had encountered before. It could also use spells—not the one from before, but a spell that condensed qi into blades—while its other ability was the very same evasion technique: erratic, unpredictable, and exceedingly difficult to guard against. No wonder Senior Sister Qingting had been wounded so severely.
Due to the special refining method of living corpses, after being refined into a corpse, it could retain the single spell it had been most skilled in during life. At the same time, the corpse refiner could also use the Heavenly Corpse Talisman to imbue the living corpse with a spell the refiner had mastered.
Evidently, this bizarre evasion technique was very likely a secret technique passed down within the Heavenly Corpse Sect.
However, for Qin Sang, this living corpse was actually easier to deal with than the previous one.
The previous living corpse had worn the Black-Yellow Armor like a turtle shell. The three of them had besieged it for a long time, shattering most of its Black-Yellow Armor, which was why Qin Sang had been able to finish it off so easily in the end.
Without seeing it with his own eyes and without knowing the true effect of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, Baiyun Shanren hadn't dared to face a living corpse at its peak alone either; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept putting on an act and delaying until the very end to strike.
This living corpse had greater offensive power, but its defenses were much weaker. As long as he did not let it get close, killing it would not be difficult. Qingting had likely suffered a sudden ambush from the baleful corpse and failed to react in time, leaving her critically injured and rendering the situation unsalvageable.
Qin Sang did not choose to open the heavy darksteel doors; to him, the living corpse posed no real threat. This woman Qingting harbored no ill intentions, so it was best if he could save her.
"Senior Sister, don't think too much—let's slay this monster first!" Qin Sang barked softly.
Whoosh!
The ebony sword unleashed formidable sword qi, attacking the living corpse in tandem with the jade ruyi. At the same time, Qin Sang silently channeled the Heavenly Corpse Talisman secret art to influence the living corpse. Sure enough, the living corpse's movements grew sluggish. Struck by several consecutive sword strikes, the earth fiend qi around its body roiled violently.
Seeing this, Qingting took a deep breath, her spirits greatly lifted. She called out clearly, "Good! If I can avenge myself before I die, I'll be able to close my eyes in peace. Thank you for fulfilling my wish, Junior Brother Qin!"
Chapter 172