The gale swept away the thick mist, clearing everyone's vision in an instant.
Only now did they see the monster's true appearance. Two meters tall and emaciated as a dried stalk, it was entirely a reanimated dried corpse.
Its two eyeballs were larger than a normal human's, crisscrossed with blood vessels and bulging horribly out of their sockets.
Having failed his sneak attack, A-Yi fluttered his gossamer wings, just about to pull away, when the monster abruptly raised a hand and seized the bone sword atop its head.
Crack!
The hard bone sword was snapped clean in two.
A muffled grunt escaped A-Yi's mouth. He rapidly climbed higher, trying to open up distance. He knew full well how terrifying a Bewitcher's close-combat prowess was; at the Transcendent stage, no class could match a Bewitcher in hand-to-hand combat.
At the Saint stage, only a Swordsman with lethal, cutting offense or a Fire Master possessing the Rager skill could stand toe-to-toe with a Mist Lord; none of the rest could.
The dried corpse's two bulging eyeballs rolled upward, locking onto A-Yi as he flew higher and higher. The hand gripping the broken half of the bone spike flicked lightly.
A piercing shriek of displaced air rang out.
The next second, the bone spike punched through A-Yi's abdomen and burst out his back, tearing through his elytra and thin wings, bringing forth a large spurt of dark green fluid.
Immediately after, the dried corpse bent its knees and rocketed into the sky, intending to slaughter this Transcendent-stage Witch Doctor in midair.
With his wings damaged, A-Yi teetered and plummeted. Suspended in midair, he had nowhere to dodge.
At this critical juncture, Treading the Firmament—a fellow Witch Doctor—pulled out a filthy, foul-smelling robe, draped it over his shoulders, fell to his knees with a thud, and kowtowed toward the airborne corpse.
Fortune Diminishment!
Not far away, Zhang Yuanqing raised an eyebrow at the sight.
He recognized that prop; its previous owner had been Li Xianzong.
Back in Yin-Yang Town, before Li Xianzong died, he had recalled all his props into his inventory, and those props had returned to the Spirit Realm upon his demise.
To think someone else had obtained it so quickly.
Props at the Transcendent stage sure change hands fast... That also indirectly shows that the number of props for each class is actually limited, which is why the turnover rate is so high...
Whoosh!
A spear of flame shot over, striking the dried corpse square on. The massive explosion actually blasted this Level 4 Saint backward.
The Fire Master who had hurled the spear looked stunned.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the distance, Crossing-River Pawn held a heavy-caliber handgun. Aiming at the airborne corpse, he pulled the trigger. Spinning bullets peppered the corpse's head, chest, and eye sockets... Under the enhancement of his Insight Specialization, his marksmanship was uncanny.
As the dried corpse drifted downward, its single hand blurred across the air like an afterimage, "plucking" twelve bullets right out of the sky.
Then, it fixed its gaze upon Crossing-River Pawn, who had fired the shots.
Raising its hand, it viciously hurled the slugs held in its palm toward the Scout.
Traveling faster than they had arrived and screeching sharply through the air, the bullets sprayed over Crossing-River Pawn in a smothering barrage.
Crossing-River Pawn remained unhurried. While swapping magazines, he took three steps diagonally backward and tilted his head.
Thud, thud, thud... The dense bullets slammed into the ground ahead of him, behind him, and to his left and right, with one even grazing his neck. They gouged a tight cluster of craters into the earth, yet not a single one hit him.
Under his Insight Specialization, the trajectory of every bullet was laid bare before his eyes.
"Watch out!"
Suddenly, he heard World Returns to Fire's warning shout from afar.
Crossing-River Pawn's vision blurred. His gaze caught the dried corpse's tall, withered frame, its two bulging eyeballs, and the twisted, bizarre runes swimming within them.
His brain buzzed, his consciousness falling into chaos. Deep in his mind, a majestic voice whispered:
"They are all enemies. Slay all enemies... They are all enemies. Slay all enemies..."
Crossing-River Pawn's expression gradually contorted. Without hesitation, he swung his muzzle around and pulled the trigger on his nearby comrades, as though confronting the murderers of his father.
The crowd took fright, rolling and ducking as they scattered in all directions. Even so, one Bewitcher was unfortunate enough to take a bullet to the lower abdomen, collapsing wounded to the ground.
Meanwhile, the dried corpse had already arrived before the Fire Master who had thrown the spear, bewitching him with the same method to turn him into an "ally."
In a split second, two Spirit Realm walkers had defected to the enemy, wildly attacking their teammates.
Seeing this, the walkers of both factions felt their hearts sink.
They had still underestimated the terror of a Saint-stage enemy. A Mist Lord's bewitching power was beyond anything a Transcendent-stage Bewitcher could muster; it could turn teammates against one another with ease.
If this went on, more and more people would "rebel." Once everyone tore each other apart, the dried corpse would only need to clean up the mess.
World Returns to Fire saw through the crux of the matter at a glance and shouted:
"Is there any way to lower its intelligence?"
As he spoke, he conjured a fireball in his hand, ready to use Fire Flight the instant the dried corpse targeted him.
In just the span of those few words, another person was manipulated by the boss, frantically attacking his allies and successfully killing one companion. Chaos erupted across the battlefield.
"Cover us!"
The chubby youth stepped forward. Deep within his eye sockets, a vortex appeared that threatened to drag souls into its depths.
In his vision, numerous colors appeared on the dried corpse. Different colors represented different emotions, among which the red signifying anger and violence was the most prominent.
Immediately, he extinguished the colors one by one, sparing only the "deep red." Hongwei and the other Illusionists followed suit, helping him snuff out the dried corpse's various emotions.
Emotions were extensions of mental power. Extinguishing emotions could effectively strangle the soul.
A master Illusionist could silently turn a normal human into a soulless living dead.
During this process, the Earth Monsters pressed their palms against the ground, causing the earth to swell. Soil and bricks fused into gigantic hands, clasping the dried corpse in their palms.
At the same time, tender green vines sprouted from the giant earthen hands, growing rapidly to wrap around it in tight coils.
While everyone joined forces to attack the dried corpse, Zhang Yuanqing activated Night Roam. He struck the three "rebel" teammates from behind, using the Demon-Subduing Pestle to purify the bewitching power and restore their sanity.
By now, the Illusionists had combined their efforts to pinch out the dried corpse's emotions, leaving only the deep red of rage. Just as they were about to combine their strength to snip away this strongest thread of mental power, scarlet, blood-colored runes simultaneously surfaced in their vortex-filled eyes.
"Aargh!"
Wails broke out in all directions. Even the strongest, the chubby youth and Hongwei, suffered splitting headaches, while several other Illusionists bled tears of blood from their eyes, some fainting on the spot and others clutching their heads in agony.
Using the mental bridge they had connected, the dried corpse had counter-polluted them.
Although Bewitchers specialized in close combat, the spiritual realm was by no means their weakness. On the contrary, the Eye of Bewitchment was an extremely dreadful mental manipulation tool.
Good Ministers Slay Their Masters clutched his forehead, enduring the agony as he called out:
"It worked, but be careful! It's going to turn completely berserk now. Whoever attacks it, it'll lock onto!"
Boom!
The hands formed of sand, stone, and bricks shattered to pieces, and the vines snapped inch by inch. A black shadow tore through the air with a shrill whistle, hurtling like a high-speed fighter jet toward the incapacitated Illusionists.
The dried corpse's protruding eyeballs brimmed with fury. In its eyes, only these ants who dared harm it remained.
Though the Illusionists had failed to extinguish its soul, they had successfully diminished its intellect, robbing it of its composure and leaving it with nothing but rage.
Bang!
Amid a crisp gunshot, the rushing corpse's head was knocked violently to the side. Its steps stumbled, and its charge was broken.
Guan Ya had made her move.
This group of Illusionists could not be allowed to die just yet.
Seizing the opening, Zhang Yuanqing, who was using Night Roam, closed in silently on the dried corpse. Launching a strike from behind, he drove the Demon-Subduing Pestle toward its heart with ruthless decisiveness.
Just as the prop was about to pierce the enemy, Zhang Yuanqing's legs spun uncontrollably. As his vision whirled, he saw the dried corpse deliver a backward kick into empty air.
Crack! The air popped with an explosive snap.
If the Red Dancing Shoes had not acted on their own initiative to drag him out of harm's way, that kick would have punched a gaping hole straight through his lower abdomen.
A Bewitcher's combat instinct? Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help recalling his sneak attack on Ou Xiangrong in the Songhai underground parking garage.
Back then, that Bewitcher had also sensed danger in advance, causing his sneak attack to fail.
Bewitchers seemed to possess an uncanny intuition for impending danger.
In the distance, Taboo-Free grabbed a large red bow. Aiming at the dried corpse, he drew the string back with unwavering resolve.
Wisps of bloody mist flowed from his fingertips, condensing into a blood-colored arrow.
Twang!
A beam of blood-red light howled into motion, streaking toward the corpse's chest in a manner that guaranteed a hit.
This bow had the ability to mark targets. Anyone marked could never evade its arrows. Moreover, the arrows were condensed from the wielder's own essence blood, boasting extreme armor-piercing and corrosive properties. Aside from Earth Monsters of the same level who might barely resist, any class struck by one would suffer grievous wounds.
The price of using it was paid the moment the bow was drawn.
—The arrows had to be formed from one's own essence blood.
This was a double-edged weapon that harmed the user almost as much as the enemy.
Twang! Twang! Twang! Taboo-Free loosed seven arrows in succession. Every single arrow struck the dried corpse in the chest, driving it back step after step.
After seven arrows, Taboo-Free's face was as white as paper, his vigor utterly depleted.
Yet the dried corpse was not injured as he had expected. Even though its chest was stained with blood, and the blood seemed highly corrosive—causing its invulnerable flesh to sizzle with wisps of blue smoke—that was all.
Having shot away his essence, Taboo-Free froze, his face changing drastically as he shouted:
"This monster has bronze skin and iron bones! In life, it must have been a Level 5 Saint! We can barely break its defense!"
From the damage feedback of his bow and arrows, he deduced that this evil cultivator had been at least Level 5 in life. The skill controlled by a Level 5 Mist Lord was called 'Body of the God of War (Primary),' and its greatest feature was invulnerability to blades and spears.
Although the monster was no longer at its former level and all its attributes had declined, the foundation of its physical body remained unchanged.
The defense of the Body of the God of War was not something they at the Transcendent stage could breach. The dried corpse held an innate advantage of invulnerability.
Can't break its defense... The expressions of everyone present darkened.
How were they supposed to fight this?
"Then we can only destroy its spirit. It was formed from the lingering resentment of a dead evil cultivator, so its weakness must be its soul." Hongwei produced a bronze mirror engraved with dragons and phoenixes, saying, "Hold it off. Give me one minute. Also, wear it down as much as possible."
With that, she set the bronze mirror before her and took out various materials one by one, making the necessary preparations to execute the mirror's skill: the Soul-Reaping Array.
She had two signature props: one was the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Xun, and the other was this bronze mirror. The mirror possessed two major functions: Spirit Freezing and Soul Reaping.
The former targeted spirit bodies; as long as a spirit body was illuminated, it could be immobilized.
The latter targeted physical bodies, but casting it required an auxiliary ritual and could not be used directly against an enemy.
"Everyone, focus on sealing and weakening it!" Zhang Yuanqing called out loudly.
With that, he took out the Silencer Mask returned by World Returns to Fire and tossed it to the Ghost Bride. Carrying the mask embroidered with a white skull, she drifted toward the dried corpse and successfully possessed it.
Facing the same enemy and the same attack, bewitching runes once again surfaced deep within the dried corpse's eyeballs.
Bang!
Cover fire came from Guan Ya in the distance. The slender bullet struck the rigid dried corpse accurately, hitting it dead center in the forehead.
The corpse's head tilted slightly back, a white mark appearing on its brow.
The rifle, an unstoppable force among Transcendents, failed to harm it, but it did interrupt its skill.
Seizing the chance, the Ghost Bride took control of the dried corpse, forcing its withered hands to grab the Silencer Mask and put it over its face.
The corpse's tall frame abruptly froze.
On the other side, having received Yuanshi Tianzun's instruction, the members of both factions took action one after another.
Thud!
The Witch Doctor Treading the Firmament fell to his knees, kowtowing toward the dried corpse from afar. Dark light flashed across the filthy, foul-smelling robe on his back.
He diminished the dried corpse's "fortune" to ensure his allies' subsequent attacks would land.
Peony Fairy and Long Live the White Tiger lashed out with vine whips and iron chains, coiling them around the dried corpse. Both possessed the function of restricting movement.
Meanwhile, Niulanshan Little Fairy carried a heavy wooden cangue, nimbly dashing behind the dried corpse. Snap! The two wooden halves closed together, locking around its neck.
The cangue had no sealing ability, but it could weaken the target, placing it into an enfeebled state.
Peeping at Bao Through a Tube dropped into a half-squat and slammed both palms onto the ground. The earth cracked open beneath the dried corpse's feet, swallowing it until only its head remained above ground.
Seizing the opening, Zhang Yuanqing used Night Roam to sneak behind the corpse. Gripping the Demon-Subduing Pestle with both hands, he brought it smashing down with all his might against this Mist Lord's crown.
Clang!
As though striking an iron plate, sparks flew. The recoil nearly jarred the pestle from his grip.
It was awkward—the Demon-Subduing Pestle lacked armor-piercing capabilities.
Its demon-breaking function had no way to take effect.
Worse yet, this strike ended up "waking" the dried corpse. Bewitching runes surfaced in its eyes once more, plunging the possessing Ghost Bride into chaos. Immediately after, it leaped up from underground, sending sand, dust, and chunks of earth flying everywhere.
The chains and vines snapped in succession.
Finally, it snatched off the mask and ripped it to shreds in a fit of rage.
The gap in their levels was simply too vast. A Transcendent-grade prop could only trap it for a brief moment.
At that exact moment, the Maoshan Daoist, who had been watching from the sidelines for a long time, finally saw his chance. Using Night Roam to sneak behind the corpse, he seized the interval where it burst out of the ground, tore through the chains and vines, and shredded the mask, whipping out a rag-wrapped, ghost-qi-laden mourning staff.
By this point, the Fortune Diminishment effect had not yet worn off, so the corpse failed to notice the Night Walker ambushing it from behind.
Smack!
Amid a chorus of wailing ghostly cries, the mourning staff struck the dried corpse across the back. The blow made its body stiffen, the spiritual light in its bulging eyeballs scattering.
The mourning staff struck not the flesh, but the soul.
At the same time, Sun Miaomiao spat out a succession of wraiths from her mouth. These wraiths intertwined with one another, weaving into an illusory whip.
Crack!
The whip promptly lashed across the rigid corpse, whipping its soul and deepening the injury.
These two attacks dealt more damage than all the previous strikes combined.
One minute had passed.
In the distance, Hongwei finished her ritual. Picking up the bronze mirror carved with dragons and phoenixes, she shone it upon the dull, stiff corpse.
The mirror surface rippled with ethereal light, quickly displaying the image of the dried corpse—ferocious in appearance, but dull-eyed.
Hongwei thrust her right palm forward. Her long, fair fingers actually "pierced" straight into the mirror surface, jabbing toward the eyes of the reflection.
The eyeballs of the reflection exploded, followed by its body shattering, turning to ash.
In the distance, the spiritual light in the dried corpse's eyeballs was instantly extinguished. Its two-meter-tall body fell straight backward, crashing down and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Did it work?
The Spirit Realm walkers of both factions rejoiced inwardly.
This monster was extraordinarily ferocious. If not for everyone joining forces to disperse the thick mist, strip its rationality, and ultimately wipe out its soul, killing it would have been nearly impossible.
Just as everyone let their guard down, Hongwei's face suddenly changed. She shouted:
"There's no quest notification! It's still alive—"
Before her voice could fade, the dried corpse stood straight up, intellect reigniting within its dimmed eyeballs.
The next instant, it shot forward like a supersonic fighter jet, leaving behind a trail of afterimages.
Taboo-Free roared:
"Scatter! Scatter! It wants to drink blood—"
Before he could finish, the dried corpse had already charged into the crowd. Grabbing a Wood Demon by the throat, it snapped it with a crack, lowered its head, bit open the carotid artery, and began gulping down blood.
Within a few breaths, that Wood Demon had been reduced to a withered husk.
The crowd scattered like startled birds and beasts.
The dried corpse casually tossed aside the Wood Demon's body. In a flash, it appeared behind an isolated Witch Doctor, snapping his neck in the same manner to suck dry his essence blood.
A Bewitcher: bloodthirsty and berserk!
Nourished by essence blood, its soul, which had been on the verge of fading, was greatly replenished.
"We can't beat it! It slaughters us like dogs! Every single one of us is its blood bank!"
"It's over, it's over! This boss is stronger than an ordinary Level 4!"
"Fuck, we're dead..."
The ordinary members were the first to break down mentally. A wave of despair washed over them. Stripped of all will to fight, they fled in sheer panic in every direction.
Zhang Yuanqing, Zhao Chenghuang, A-Yi, the chubby youth, and the other top experts quickly racked their brains for a way to break the deadlock, heavy hearts weighing them down.
They still had quite a few trump cards left, which was their confidence in standing their ground to face the boss—those without trump cards had already run. But those methods weren't enough to finish off this terrifying dried corpse. Once their trump cards were exhausted, their fate was easy to imagine.
I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Given the combined strength of both factions, an ordinary Level 4 Saint wouldn't stand a chance. As a common enemy to both sides, this corpse's combat capability is naturally far beyond that of a Level 4 Orthodox Saint...
Most of our sealing and weakening props have been lost, making it hard to recreate the situation from earlier. The Demon-Subduing Pestle can't pierce armor. Are we really going to have to pile up human lives?
Zhang Yuanqing pondered a way to kill the enemy.
Bang!
Guan Ya fired from the distance. The bullet struck the dried corpse square in the chest, though predictably, it dealt no substantial damage.
The dried corpse leaned over, picked up the slug, and looked toward the distant high-rise.
That shot was completely pointless. It didn't provide cover, nor did it damage the enemy... Just as Zhang Yuanqing was internally criticizing Guan Ya's useless effort, his gaze instinctively fell upon the corpse's chest.
The festering ulcer caused by Taboo-Free's corrosive arrows still remained there.
His pupils shrank slightly. Suddenly, he understood what Guan Ya meant.
Zhang Yuanqing yelled:
"This is just an empty husk that's been dead for years! It has no regenerative abilities, and its wounds won't heal! It's different from a real Level 5 Mist Lord! Keep attacking its chest!"
A-Yi, Dropout Fish, I Alone Am Supreme, Zhao Chenghuang, and the others were taken aback at first. They looked toward the dried corpse's chest, and their eyes suddenly lit up.
Jiang Jingwei took the lead. Blazing flames erupted from her body, her red hair fanning out strand by strand, wrapped in dark red fire elements.
She activated her innate skill, 'Rager.' Her aura surged violently, approaching that of the Saint stage. Like a cannonball fired from its barrel, trailing a winding streak of fire, she crossed dozens of meters in the blink of an eye. Arriving before the dried corpse, she threw her small fist at its chest.
The Ghost Bride surfaced behind the dried corpse once more, possessing it to disrupt its movements and ensure Jiang Jingwei's attack would land.
Boom!
Fire raged and embers scattered. Jiang Jingwei was sent flying backward, while the invulnerable corpse took several staggered steps back, its chest slightly caved in.
Jiang Jingwei crashed heavily onto the ground, rolling repeatedly. She quickly stabilized herself, and without even standing up, kicked forcefully off the ground to transform into a streak of fire once more, charging at the corpse with blinding speed.
A Fire Master's offensive: aggressive as fire.
Right then, she saw those bulging eyeballs light up with those signature twisted runes. This time, however, the runes of the Eye of Bewitchment were noticeably faint.
The Ghost Bride still inevitably fell into disarray, and Jiang Jingwei's thoughts suddenly jammed, her brain plunged into confusion. Carried by momentum, her body crashed blindly toward the dried corpse.
The dried corpse stepped forward, its right arm thrusting out like a spear toward Jiang Jingwei's face. That punch had enough force to shatter the young girl's head.
Suddenly, the flames burning across Jiang Jingwei's body gathered toward her head, solidifying into a helmet of fire.
At the same time, a heavy, thick yellow light flared up, enveloping her.
Boom!
The helmet and the yellow light shattered simultaneously.
Both defensive props were destroyed in a single punch, but they had fulfilled their mission, deflecting the straight punch's thrust.
The dried corpse withdrew its fist, its follow-up attack seamlessly transitioning into place. Taking another stride forward, the withered muscles of its right leg abruptly bulged, driving its knee up into the girl's lower abdomen.
Jiang Jingwei collapsed to her knees, clutching her stomach. She threw up a mass of undigested roasted meat and sour fluid, her small face twisted in agony.
Feeling a fierce wind surging overhead, she knew the third attack was already descending. But the pain paralyzed her body, preventing her from mounting an effective response.
Zhang Yuanqing appeared silently behind Jiang Jingwei. Grabbing the back of her collar, he yanked her backward.
Thud!
The dried corpse's stomping foot hit the ground, carving out an exaggerated crater.
Having missed its attack, it did not pursue, but suddenly spun around and threw a punch behind it.
A figure tumbled out of empty space—Zhao Chenghuang in his Ghost Transformation state. His arms, laced with blue veins, hung limply as he stumbled backward.
He had intended to ambush the corpse just now, only for the opponent to detect him in advance. In his haste, he had brought his arms up to block, suffering comminuted fractures in both.
Backing away, Zhao Chenghuang controlled his Level 4 yin corpse to attack from an angle. A high kick interrupted the dried corpse's attempt to press its advantage, followed by two steps closing in, a twist of the waist, and a side elbow strike.
The dried corpse threw a punch even faster, driving it upward into the yin corpse's armpit, inevitably deflecting the elbow strike upward.
Still, it was a Level 4 yin corpse after all; its speed and strength far exceeded those of a Level 3 walker. It swiftly clashed with the dried corpse, fists and kicks blurring as both sides poured raw violence into each other's frames.
Bang!
The yin corpse soon fell into a disadvantage, blasted away by a punch from the dried corpse and rolling across the ground like a ball.
However, it had successfully deepened the depression Jiang Jingwei had punched into the chest.
The dried corpse's sternum was broken. Only its skin, hard as iron plating and tough as ox hide, kept it from tearing open.
Seeing Zhao Chenghuang and the Level 4 yin corpse defeated, World Returns to Fire in the distance immediately took out a bright yellow gourd from his inventory. Tipping his head back, he took a swig, holding the unknown liquid in his mouth. Then, he ignited a patch of withered grass at his feet and flung a fireball that exploded right in front of the dried corpse.
Crimson flames rose around his body. Using Fire Flight, he reappeared directly in front of the dried corpse.
Whoosh!
He spat the liquid from his mouth at the dried corpse and ignited it with flame, producing the effect of a military flamethrower.
The burning liquid splashed across the dried corpse, clinging to its flesh and burning like white phosphorus, erupting into roaring fire.
The corpse's hair burned away in an instant, and its tattered clothes turned to ash. Its withered frame took on the red glow of a branding iron, shining incandescently.
Having landed his sneak attack, World Returns to Fire retreated immediately. Wrapped in crimson flame once more, he used Fire Flight to return to the blazing patch of withered grass.
He was crafty; once his strike landed, he pulled back, never tangling in a melee.
Spurt...
The moment World Returns to Fire returned and before the flames around him had even died out, blood erupted from his lower abdomen.
A bullet had punched straight through his belly.
It was the bullet Guan Ya had fired earlier—the very one the dried corpse had picked up.
Clutching his lower abdomen, he stumbled back and cursed, "Fuck..."
Whoosh, splash!
A rushing torrent of river water materialized out of thin air. White waves surged to the heavens, sweeping over the scorched, glowing corpse in a smothering wave. Sizzling sounds hissed repeatedly as white steam billowed into the air.
I Alone Am Supreme had understood World Returns to Fire's intent and coordinated with him in seamless synergy.
The dried corpse's pitch-black skin took on a metallic sheen. Stimulated by thermal expansion and contraction, it showed a taut strain, as though its skin had lost its flexibility.
Bang!
Guan Ya's bullet struck the boss's chest, leaving a shallow, indented pit.
She always managed to seize the best timing to deliver the most fitting damage.
At this moment, Zhao Chenghuang, having mended his broken bones, took a gray stone sphere from his inventory and hurled it fiercely at the dried corpse.
The surrounding stones quickly congregated toward the sphere like iron filings to a magnet. Amid clattering collisions, they assembled around the stone core into a three-meter-tall stone giant.
This was the reward Zhao Chenghuang had obtained from clearing the Stone Giant trial.
Thud, thud, thud...
The stone giant took heavy strides, its pounding run shaking the earth like a tremor. Charging at the dried corpse, it swung a fist the size of a washbasin.
Having just undergone thermal expansion and contraction, the dried corpse's skin hugged its bones tightly. With its joints stiff and movements hindered, it could hardly make an effective dodge; it could only tense its right arm and throw a straight punch to meet the stone giant's blow.
Boom!
The collision of the two monsters' fists was like a terrifying explosion, blowing away all the dust in the vicinity and laying bare the tamped earth below.
The stone giant's body shattered into pieces, boulders flying and rubble scattering everywhere.
The dried corpse staggered backward.
Amid the flying debris, a figure leaped high into the air, dual blades in hand, spinning at high speed in midair like a bladed top.
It was none other than Dropout Fish, evaluated by the authorities as possessing transcendent swordsmanship.
Clang! Squelch!
The spinning blades struck the dried corpse's chest. The first produced a sharp ring, but the second brought the sound of flesh being sliced open.
The onlookers focused their eyes, their expressions turning ecstatic.
A shallow blade slash appeared on the dried corpse's chest—its armor had finally been breached.
At this point, Dropout Fish's strength was spent. He landed before the dried corpse. As a Scout, the corpse's skeletal structure and the nuances of its muscle exertion were clearly reflected in his vision.
He leaped backward to evade the corpse's sweeping kick, then quickly dodged sideways upon landing, dodging the thrust of a cannon-punch once more. Immediately after, he "saw" the dried muscles of the boss's right leg swell, knowing its next move would be a knee strike.
However, the opponent's attacks were too fast, the transitions too seamless. Even if his eyes could predict the moves ahead of time, his body couldn't keep up. In his rush, he could only cross his twin blades before his chest.
Bang!
The twin blades blocked the knee strike, but their flexible blades could not withstand such a savage impact. The metal bent, crashing into his chest. Dropout Fish flew backward, his ribs snapping and internal organs bleeding. He curled up on the ground, unable to stand.
"The frequency of its Eye of Bewitchment has dropped!"
Hongwei, observing closely, shouted a reminder.
Earlier, the dried corpse had used its bewitching abilities with extreme frequency, making it troublesome and tenacious. Yet since "reviving," it had only used it once against Jiang Jingwei and hadn't used it again since.
Furthermore, the potency of the bewitchment had dropped drastically.
Her attack had been effective; the boss's soul strength had weakened.
The dried corpse kicked off the ground, rushing at high speed toward Dropout Fish, intending to drink his blood to replenish itself.
Its power was not infinite; it also consumed stamina. Although the passive Bloodthirsty Berserk could not heal wounds, it could offset stamina consumption and mend the soul's weakness.
Crash!
A massive wave surged in, sweeping up Dropout Fish and carrying him far away.
From the side, a black shadow tore through the air with a buzzing hum like a low-flying fighter jet. Sharp claws hooked into the dried corpse's shoulders, lifting it up and flinging it into the distance.
Crash!
The dried corpse slammed into the exterior wall of a dilapidated apartment building, shaking the flimsy structure until it teetered on the verge of collapse.
Its knees sank, and it shot into the sky like a cannonball, pouncing toward A-Yi in the air.
However, the ground beneath it bulged with mounds of earth. Lush green roots grew rapidly, nimbly wrapping around the dried corpse's ankles. The seemingly slender yet exceptionally tough roots instantly pulled taut.
With nowhere to leverage force in midair, the dried corpse was forced to plunge downward.
In the distance, Sun Miaomiao pressed both palms against the ground. Her exposed arms were covered in scaly tree bark, and roots seemed to extend from her palms into the earth.
This was the reward prop she had obtained from clearing the Tree Demon Forest.
For five minutes, it allowed her to wield the abilities of a Tree Demon, extending vines and roots to attack enemies.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More roots burst from the soil, coiling around the airborne corpse and binding it fast.
Spotting his chance from above, A-Yi suddenly went into a dive. During the descent, his arm morphed into a sharp bone spike, its tip tinged with a dark purple hue.
The dried corpse's bewitching skill has weakened. If I find a chance to release the ghost doll and Ghost Bride to possess it, then try using the Demon-Subduing Pestle on its chest, we might just be able to finish it in one go... Zhang Yuanqing quietly activated Night Roam, closing in on the dried corpse.
By this point, the Orthodox and Evil walkers who had initially fled, seeing the fighting drag on without their top fighters falling, had returned one after another to watch from afar.
They arrived just in time to see the top experts working in seamless coordination with tightly linked offensives. Though people kept getting injured, they had forced the dried corpse into a steady retreat, leaving it barely able to defend itself.
"The defense is breached! Its defense is actually broken!"
The evil class members looked at A-Yi diving from the sky, their spirits lifting as they cheered excitedly:
"As long as the defense is broken, that's enough! With A-Yi's toxins and attack power, he can kill it as long as he pierces its armor!"
Their extinguished confidence flared to life once more.
The Mountain God faction was equally excited, though worried beneath the surface, fearing that if A-Yi killed the boss, their side would lose the Heart of the Forest reward.
A-Yi dove at high speed, roaring downward as he thrust the dark-purple bone spike toward the dried corpse's chest.
Right at that moment, faint bewitching runes surfaced once again in the dried corpse's bulging eyeballs.
The power it had hoarded for so long could finally be used again.
A-Yi's amber pupils instantly lost focus. His mind froze, and his gossamer wings stopped flapping. Like a plane that had lost control, he ceased flying and, carried by inertia, grazed past the dried corpse to crash diagonally into the apartment building's outer wall.
Snap!
The dried corpse immediately swelled its muscles, exerting force to tear apart the vines and roots. Floating lightly to the ground, it dashed toward the distant Spirit Realm walkers.
It wanted to devour the essence blood of these weak creatures to restore its strength.
Along the way, roots continuously burst forth to block its advance, but the dried corpse nimbly dodged them all. This was also why it hadn't chosen to devour the essence blood of the Witch Doctor right beside it—doing so would surely invite interference and encirclement from the enemies behind it.
Hunting down the distant ants, on the other hand, left them out of reach, powerless to mount a rescue. Moreover, weak ants were far easier to kill.
"Oh no!"
Controlling the vines and roots, Sun Miaomiao failed to bind the dried corpse, her expression shifting slightly.
Zhao Chenghuang, All Under Heaven Is White, I Alone Am Supreme, and the Maoshan Daoist—those who remained uninjured—felt their hearts sink. They rushed after the dried corpse, trying to stop it.
Yet the distance was too great; how could they possibly outrun the dried corpse?
On the other side, the Spirit Realm walkers who had been waiting expectantly for the boss's demise were struck dumb, like ducks seized by the throat.
Watching the dried corpse charge toward them at terrifying speed, everyone felt a chill down their spines, scattering in sheer panic like frightened beasts.
"A-A-Yi, save us! If we become nourishment, you won't survive either!"
"Zhao Chenghuang, stop it quickly!"
"Where's Yuanshi Tianzun? Where is Yuanshi Tianzun?!"
Screams rose on all sides. The Mountain Ghost faction fled in disarray, scrambling blindly. The Mountain God faction's walkers were hardly doing any better, though their pleas were somewhat more reserved, still harboring hope for Zhao Chenghuang, Yuanshi Tianzun, and the others.
Unlike the evil classes, who cursed and vented their fury.
Seeing the dried corpse about to plunge into the crowd and begin its slaughter, the crowd's terror tipped into despair.
Suddenly, a crisp, childish voice rang in everyone's ears:
"Hehehe, let's play a game~"
The charging corpse's footsteps hitched. It froze stiff on the spot.
Behind it, the shadow of a little girl climbed onto its back, wrenching the dried corpse's waist inch by inch, forcing it to bend backward.
The dried corpse's frame trembled violently, its backward-bent body slowly straightening itself out inch by inch.
A silent tug-of-war ensued.
At that moment, the ghostly figure in the bridal gown surfaced behind the dried corpse once again, possessing it. Instantly, the struggle turned into a three-way contest.
The two-meter-tall, withered, emaciated frame fell into complete chaos, locked in place, unable to move.
Zhang Yuanqing's figure materialized directly in front of the dried corpse. He drove the heavy bronze pestle in his hands straight into the wound on its withered chest.
Squish!
The Demon-Subduing Pestle sank in all the way to the hilt.
A dazzling wheel of golden light burst forth. Golden radiance imbued with demon-shattering power rapidly incinerated the dried corpse's body, melting its flesh and scorching its bones.
When the golden light faded, only a scattered skeleton remained on the ground.
Along with Yuanshi Tianzun, bronze pestle in hand.
Chapter 271