Thirteen Breaths

Silence. The black-green ghostly claw tore through the void; Qin Sang felt a stinging pain between his brows. Less than three inches away! Qin Sang's eyes went wide, staring fixedly at the ghostly claw right before him. He could even clearly see corpse poison vapor swirling across its pitch-black nails. He violently swung his arm! Swish! Swish! Swish! The Ten Directions Yanluo Banners flew from his palms in all directions. Growing as they met the wind, the ghost banners swelled to the height of a man, standing tall within the ice hall. A fierce Yin wind howled. A grim Yin chill surged, causing even the faint glimmer of light in the already gloomy ice hall to almost vanish. Coupled with the soaring corpse qi that surged when the Flying Yaksha appeared, the ice hall at this moment was just like the eighteenth level of hell. Yet, Qin Sang did not directly control the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners to trigger the power of the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, nor did he choose to activate the Heavenly Corpse Talisman. He sank his mind into his sea of qi. A secret talisman shaped like a jade gui tablet surfaced from his dantian. The Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman! A dragon's roar shook the heavens. The secret talisman shattered with a crack, and a dragon soul roared into existence. A flood dragon coiled around his body! At this moment, the ghostly claw was less than an inch from his forehead. Qin Sang, who had seemed sluggish before the Flying Yaksha, suddenly appeared to wake from a dream, becoming incomparably agile. In the nick of time, his figure shifted smoothly to the left. Whoosh! Corpse qi assaulted his nose. By the narrowest of margins, the ghostly claw brushed past his ear. One breath! Out of the corner of his eye, seeing the Flying Yaksha graze past his shoulder, Qin Sang suddenly twisted around, contorting his body at a bizarre angle. The next moment, another ghostly claw grazed his chest, tearing his protective robe to shreds. Cold sweat covered Qin Sang's brow as he continued dodging and leaping. The two figures crossed back and forth in midair, Qin Sang desperately evading. Suddenly, the ice hall trembled slightly. The Flying Yaksha paused sharply, turning its head to stare toward the side hall where Yunyouzi was. Qin Sang knew Yunyouzi had made his move and could not allow the Flying Yaksha's attention to be drawn away. Deciding instantly, he stopped evading, condensed his spiritual power into a sword, and took the offensive. Two breaths! The Flying Yaksha was indeed enraged. Three breaths! Four breaths! Relying on the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, and his familiarity with the Flying Yaksha's movement patterns from their earlier probing clashes, Qin Sang could anticipate its moves and struggled with everything he had, yet buying two more breaths had pushed him to his absolute limit. He couldn't push his luck any further, or he would die! Qin Sang sighed inwardly. Within his origin soul space, his spiritual sense surged forth without reservation, locking firmly onto the Heavenly Corpse Talisman in the Flying Yaksha's skull. Qin Sang's vision dimmed as the Flying Yaksha's grotesque face appeared right before him, freezing in place at that exact moment. An icy chill prickled his throat. The claws were about to pierce his skin, stalling for an instant along with the Flying Yaksha itself. Qin Sang shot backward! Five breaths! The flood dragon spirit soul whined and retreated into his sea of qi. At the same time, the Yin wind roared, and ghostly flames flared up, burning furiously. Yet the ice hall grew colder still, chilling to the bone! Ten Directions Yanluo Array. Array, activate! The Heavenly Corpse Talisman could only affect it for a split second, and the Flying Yaksha woke at once. Whoosh! Countless strands of Yin soul silk surged forth, pouncing wildly upon the Flying Yaksha. The Yin soul silk now was vastly different from what was formed with only six Ten Directions Yanluo Banners. Not only were the strands thicker, but the ghostly flames clinging to them had also darkened so deeply they were almost black, turning nearly tangible and merging into an ocean of fire. Though flame-like, they were jet black and eerily unnatural, like demonic flames bred in the Nine Nether depths, striking fear into the heart. In an instant, an overwhelming net of Yin soul silk swept forward to envelop and slaughter the Flying Yaksha. With an inhuman roar, the Flying Yaksha retreated explosively. Six breaths! Whoosh... For the first time, Qin Sang distinctly sensed intense emotion surging in the Flying Yaksha's pitch-black eyes. Rage, murderous intent, irritability... And a faint trace of fear. It was truly worthy of being a living corpse. Staring at the sea of black flames and myriad threads, injured by the Yin soul silk and black fire, it became wary and hesitated. Seven breaths! Eight breaths! The Flying Yaksha vanished abruptly, only to be forced back out by the black flames the next moment. Burned by the Yin soul silk, it felt pain and roared repeatedly, yet its momentum did not slow in the least; its eyes remained fixed entirely on Qin Sang. A black blade abruptly materialized before it, condensed from a spell incantation. Wielding the black blade, the Flying Yaksha shredded the Yin soul silk and cleaved through the black fire with crushing force. Nine breaths! At that same moment, two shadowy figures slipped in silently through the ice hall's entrance, one from the left and one from the right. Now was the time. Qin Sang split off a wisp of spiritual sense, ordering the two refined corpses to charge toward the side chamber. "Ghost Manifestation!" With his attention still focused entirely on the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, Qin Sang rapidly changed his hand seals. The Yin soul silk suddenly dissolved, and the main souls of the ghost banners roared as they fused together, transforming into a ferocious ghost that blocked Qin Sang's front, boldly charging at the menacing Flying Yaksha. Bang! Bang! Bang! Ten breaths! Eleven breaths! A barrage of heavy punches landed. Though the evil ghost tangled fearlessly with it, the creature was battered to pieces by the Flying Yaksha. The Yanluo Banners' main souls wailed, scattering into black smoke, impossible to recondense anytime soon. The Flying Yaksha charged straight at him. Though brief, the clash had severely overdrawn Qin Sang, leaving his face pale. Still, he had bought almost enough time. A satisfied smile touched his lips. His throat bobbed as he swallowed several spirit pills he had been holding in his mouth, restoring a bit of spiritual power. Waving his hand, he retrieved the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, summoned the flood dragon spirit soul once more, and turned to flee. Whoosh! The two figures crossed paths again. Qin Sang evaded the Flying Yaksha's ambush with all his might. The Flying Yaksha brushed past Qin Sang, but unexpectedly, the living corpse had just slipped in from the entrance and collided straight into the Flying Yaksha. The Flying Yaksha's movements were beyond Qin Sang's control; it was simply the living corpse's misfortune. However, between the living corpse and the baleful corpse, only one needed to survive and enter the side chamber. Qin Sang made a split-second decision, abandoning the living corpse and commanding it to attack the Flying Yaksha in a suicidal assault. Thud! A fist blurred like lightning. Just as the living corpse was about to be obliterated by the Flying Yaksha, something astonishing occurred before Qin Sang's eyes. For reasons unknown, the Flying Yaksha's fist froze right before the living corpse, and a human-like look of struggle surfaced on its face. The punch surprisingly failed to fall! Then, letting out a furious roar, the Flying Yaksha actually abandoned the living corpse and reappeared beside the baleful corpse not far away. Boom! The baleful corpse's head was blasted to pieces. Twelve breaths! What just happened? Why did the Flying Yaksha spare the living corpse, yet show no mercy to the baleful corpse? Qin Sang was utterly bewildered. The biggest difference between a baleful corpse and a living corpse was the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, yet the scripture made no mention of anything like this. A living corpse might be called 'living', but in essence it was no different from a baleful corpse—a mere instrument of slaughter. It was impossible for two living corpses to shed tears of mutual recognition. Qin Sang could not make head or tail of it, but the situation gave him no time to ponder the cause. Having annihilated the baleful corpse, the Flying Yaksha vanished again. Sensing an anomaly behind him immediately, Qin Sang felt a jolt of alarm. Sure enough, the Flying Yaksha once again ignored the living corpse and came straight for him. Without hesitation, Qin Sang immediately ordered the living corpse to rush into the side chamber while hurling himself backward. Only three breaths remained. It wouldn't be difficult.