Chapter 32
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“……”
The scene seemed to freeze, with only the dust splattered by the corpse slowly drifting back to the ground beneath Gong Wei’s feet.
“Hoo.” He breathed a sigh of relief, casually flicking the blood from the Gouchen Sword’s groove. “Quite tricky, huh?” Then he turned to Yuchi Xiao, smiling as he asked, “Did you get scared?”
His tone and demeanor were just like usual, open and friendly.
But the head of Law Flower Immortal hadn’t rolled far, just in front of him. A few drops of blood splattered from the severed neck slowly trickled down the young man’s cheek, glaringly red, contrasting even more with his already unusual complexion, as if emitting a faint cold light from the texture of his skin.
Yuchi Xiao looked at him, a chill running down his spine.
He didn’t answer, and Gong Wei didn’t mind, looking down at the corpse at his feet. “This startled corpse seems a bit off. It even knew to summon someone else’s sword to defend itself. Are all startled corpses this smart? Aren’t they supposed to only attack living beings with biting?”
“…Xiang Xiaoyuan,” Yuchi Xiao said hoarsely, forcing his expression to remain calm and steady as he took a step closer. “Give me the Gouchen Sword.”
Gong Wei squatted on the ground, looked up at him, and with a playful smile, hid the Gouchen Sword behind him. “Nope.”
There was something strangely attractive about him, making people both fearful of the unknown and unable to look away.
He was like a dream, illusory and sweet, drawing everyone who approached deeper into it. But one didn’t know if the dream would suddenly turn, revealing its terrifying true face, and then become the most dangerous nightmare.
Yuchi Xiao took a deep breath, as if afraid of waking up from something, and softened his voice even more. “Give me the Gouchen Sword, stop fooling around.”
“Nope, you’ll cut me,” Gong Wei teased, shifting back a bit as he squatted. “Be careful, this startled corpse seems off. If you’ve got nothing to do, just dig out the left eye on its head for me first.”
“What did you say?”
Perhaps Yuchi Xiao’s sharp tone couldn’t be suppressed, and Gong Wei changed his mind. “Never mind, just stand aside and don’t come over. Wait for me for a while. I’ll deal with this corpse first before dealing with you.”
As he said this, he could still smile playfully. Yuchi Xiao didn’t have time to think about what “dealing with” meant, as shock and disbelief reached their peak in the next moment—Gong Wei lifted the headless corpse with his left hand, touched its spine, as if suddenly discovering something pleasant, and exclaimed, “Huh?”
His right hand traced the spine twice, then sharp light flashed from his fingertips, as if intending to pierce the skin and bones directly, and went down.
“What are you doing?”
This scene directly broke through the psychological limit of what one could bear. Yuchi Xiao stepped forward and grabbed Gong Wei’s arm, his voice trembling, “Xiang Xiaoyuan! What are you—”
Gong Wei raised his head, his gaze just past him, seeing Law Flower Immortal’s skull suddenly turning over, the lifeless left eye staring faintly at them.
Gong Wei’s expression changed instantly, pushing Yuchi Xiao away, “Be careful!”
Several almost imperceptible transparent threads shot out from the corpse’s severed neck, swiftly and sharply piercing through the space where Yuchi Xiao had just stood, grazing Gong Wei’s shoulder and neck, leaving several bloodstains.
Those threads, whatever they were made of, at the moment of drawing blood, made Gong Wei’s knees go weak, and Yuchi Xiao instinctively pushed him behind him. At the same time, a round object flew past them—it was the severed head.
With a click, the neck bone made a crisp sound as the fine threads accurately reattached the head to the body, flawlessly.
The corpse stood up, grabbed Gong Wei from Yuchi Xiao’s hand, and somehow the transparent threads wound around Gong Wei’s throat, directly piercing through the wound on his neck!
“Ah!”
Gong Wei didn’t even have time to struggle. His entire body convulsed violently, a half-hearted cry abruptly silenced, and his entire body began to spasm uncontrollably.
Yuchi Xiao had never seen Gong Wei like this. That half-hearted cry felt like a blade cutting through his eardrums, and his complexion changed drastically. “Let him go!”
But the corpse of Law Flower Immortal was extremely agile, darting like lightning, dodging close to the edge of the Gouchen Sword several times. Yuchi Xiao pursued closely, unable to even send out a warning signal in time, only able to use deadly force all the way, swinging the sword fiercely every time it brushed past the corpse, causing the bronze walls along the way to collapse in a chain reaction!
With thunderous roars, the entire underground palace shook, indeed attracting other cultivators in the palace. Soon, the sound of flying swords came from behind, and someone exclaimed one after another, “What’s going on?” “It’s Young Master Yuchi!”
A Foundation Establishment cultivator recognized the startled corpse at a glance and exclaimed in horror, “La, Law Flower Immortal?!”
The corpse brushed past and flew up along the bronze steps. But Yuchi Xiao’s eruption was even faster. In an instant, the Gouchen Sword was close to the corpse’s face. “Come back—”
If this life-and-death chase scene were frozen, one could see Yuchi Xiao reaching out towards the corpse’s chest, his fingertips almost touching Gong Wei’s pale neck.
But at this critical moment, several imperceptible threads shot out from the corpse’s fingers, winding around Gong Wei’s throat!
Yuchi Xiao’s heart and mind trembled, unable to retract his hand in time. A figure came from behind, grabbing his arm firmly. It was Changsun Chengfeng from the Iron Sect.
“Nephew, don’t force it. Those are Puppet Threads!” Changsun Chengfeng said urgently.
Yuchi Xiao abruptly stopped in his tracks as he landed. “What?!”
At this moment, footsteps came from the far end of the bronze steps. Bai Xian, accompanied by several disciples from the Iron Sect, arrived, blocking Law Flower Immortal’s path. The corpse holding Gong Wei abruptly stopped, and in an instant, they were surrounded from both sides.
Changsun Chengfeng had clearly just fought with many startled corpses, and his current state was slightly sorry, but his composure remained stable. “What’s going on with you guys? What happened to Nephew? Where did these Puppet Threads come from?”
“……” Yuchi Xiao felt his blood pounding against his temples, hoarsely saying, “He… he pushed me away…”
At that critical moment, Gong Wei risked his life to push him away, avoiding the fatal threads; but he didn’t react in time, allowing the startled corpse to effortlessly snatch the wounded and bleeding young man from his arms.
Yuchi Xiao felt like his internal organs were being twisted, his breath tinged with blood. The bizarre behavior of the startled corpse, summoning a sword and using retreat as an advance during the intense battle, now replayed before his eyes.
“…It’s Puppet Threads,” he gritted his teeth, “This corpse of Law Flower Immortal has been controlled by someone.”
Changsun Chengfeng exclaimed, “What are you saying?”
“The Alliance Leader and Sword Sect Master thought Law Flower Immortal was just a startled corpse, so they hesitated to kill him. But in fact, the corpse had already been implanted with Puppet Threads before crawling out of the coffin, so the Alliance Leader’s injury was from being pierced from the front abdomen—he never expected a startled corpse to have the intelligence for a surprise attack. Normal startled corpses move stiffly, with no instinct other than attacking living beings, but Law Flower Immortal had clear objectives, rushing out since earlier, even knowing to take hostages.”
“We’re not stopping the startled corpse; we’re stopping the person who remotely controlled the corpse.” Yuchi Xiao’s Adam’s apple slid up and down, his tone slightly unstable, “His real purpose is to take Law Flower Immortal’s bones from this tomb… from Ding Xian Ling.”
“Yuchi Yuanju!” Changsun Chengfeng, usually very easygoing, had completely darkened his expression, even showing a hint of severity, “Do you know what you’re saying? That’s the ninth level of Ding Xian Ling! Who do you think did this?”
Yes, the ninth level of Ding Xian Ling, with a golden water-sealed coffin and a golden cast gate. The number of people qualified to enter was rare in the world. Who brought Puppet Threads in there?
Among the few grandmasters who could enter, who was the mastermind behind this disaster?
Yuchi Xiao was furious, “I saw with my own eyes how the Puppet Threads connected Law Flower Immortal’s head and body, and Xiang Xiaoyuan was also implanted with those threads! What do we do now? I don’t care about the ninth level or not; I must get Xiang Xiaoyuan back!”
“…” Changsun Chengfeng’s complexion changed slightly, “You said Nephew Xiang was implanted with Puppet Threads?”
His tone was unusually different, and Yuchi Xiao’s heart tightened, “Yes, what’s wrong? What will happen to him?”
Changsun Chengfeng turned his head, and with his gaze, Gong Wei, under the restraint of the corpse, was breathing rapidly. It was unclear if he still had consciousness, as he convulsed slightly from extreme pain.
“…He’ll die,” Changsun Chengfeng said with difficulty.
Gong Wei’s vision blurred with pain, feeling as if every inch of his bones was being scraped by sharp blades, which were actually the Puppet Threads.
The hand of the corpse was still gripping his throat—a very strange sensation because it was once his own hand, with joints and strengths very familiar to him, but now that familiar force was acting on his own lifeblood.
Even breathing became a burden. He gathered his strength reluctantly, finally managing to spit out three words from between his clenched teeth:
“…Is it you?”
The corpse didn’t react.
It shouldn’t have any reaction, after all, it was already a corpse.
Gong Wei’s entire spiritual power was struggling against the constantly extending Puppet Threads inside his body, like a fierce battle to the death. But his body was too weak to withstand such rapid spiritual power consumption. He slowly turned his head, this slight movement consuming almost all his strength, his slightly reddened eyes staring closely at the face of the corpse.
His gaze was extremely cold, as if seeing through this face to another shadow thousands of miles away—the one that once appeared above the Linjiang Manor, headless and faceless, wrapped in a gray robe, holding the Bai Tai Shou Sword.
“Is it you?” he asked again, word by word.
The corpse finally moved slightly, slightly lowering its head, meeting his gaze.
Then, on the face controlled by the Puppet Threads, a faint smile slowly appeared.
Amidst the noise of the surrounding crowd, the cultivators continued to approach with their swords, but they still didn’t dare to get too close. Yuchi Xiao seemed to be shouting at someone in anger, but Gong Wei didn’t pay attention. He just stared at his own controlled bones, as if staring at the distant shadow of countless Puppet Threads. Suddenly, he smiled, breathing heavily:
“…You’re holding my Bai Tai Shou…”
“It doesn’t feel too comfortable, does it?”
The opponent still hadn’t reacted. He suddenly turned around with full force, swift and relentless, reaching out to the spine of the corpse!
No one expected him to gather such an explosive force in this situation. As cries of astonishment and alarm erupted, Gong Wei’s fingertips had already reached the vertebrae of the corpse!
In that split second, Yuchi Xiao flew towards them like a released arrow.
But before the tip of his sword, Gou Chen, could reach, the mastermind behind the scenes had already reacted. The corpse lifted its hand and hooked the threads, and in an instant, the resilient Puppet Threads cut into Gong Wei’s neck like steel wires. As blood sprayed out, he collapsed to his knees; the corpse grabbed his neck from behind with one hand and made a summoning motion with the other.
This familiar action made Yuchi Xiao shout in horror, “Hold the sword tightly!”
—It was futile. Even though the combat power of this Puppet Law Flower Immortal’s corpse was not comparable to when it was alive, it was still beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.
Several recent Golden core cultivators couldn’t resist at all; their immortal swords flew out of their hands. Then, with a wave of the corpse’s sleeve, a hurricane erupted, and more than ten immortal swords were lifted into the air, smashing down heavily on the sturdy bronze brick ceiling of the tomb passage!
Large chunks of the dome fell, the ground shook incessantly, and everyone was caught off guard, stumbling backward. Yuchi Xiao and Changsun Chengfeng both dashed forward, but they saw the corpse disappear with Gong Wei in an instant, vanishing into the upper level of the underground palace, leaving only the hem of a shroud swaying in the flickering light of the collapsed candles.
Changsun Chengfeng exclaimed in horror, “No, it’s going to leave the tomb!”
***
The collapse and tremors of the huge nine-level underground palace affected the entire mountain.
Outside the tomb, disciples of the Medical Sect looked up in astonishment at the nearby Ding Xian Ling.
“Alliance Leader?” “Don’t move, Alliance Leader!”
The unconscious Ying Kai suddenly opened his eyes, his face still pale from blood loss. He raised his hand to stop the Medical Sect disciples who were rushing to help him, his movements polite but firm. He gritted his teeth and got up to meditate for a moment. Faint traces of pale golden light flowed through the bloodstains on his abdomen, and the damaged muscles and skin gradually healed.
“It’s… it’s embracing the yuan and guarding the one!” Exclamations of amazement and admiration sounded from behind the crowd. “Truly worthy of being the Alliance Leader, to be able to recover from such severe injuries so quickly!” “Truly worthy of being a Wuyuan Venerable!”
Before the murmurs of the disciples subsided, there was another massive quake underfoot!
Countless cracks extended forward along the ground, like a giant spider web splitting open under the canopy of the sky, and at the center of the web gathered the majestic halls of Ding Xian Ling’s ground buildings. Everyone retreated several steps in fear, except for Ying Kai, who suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils shining with light as he said in a deep voice, “Mountain Ocean Order.”
A bronze sword stuck in the ground flew over like a shooting star, with dazzling divine light, grasped by Ying Kai, resounding as it was unsheathed.
At the same time, the tremors from deep underground finally broke through the surface, and the main hall of Ding Xian Ling collapsed under the eyes of everyone.
“What… what’s coming out?” “La… Law Flower Immortal!”
Shouts of alarm echoed from all sides as a figure dressed in snow-white funeral attire rushed out of Ding Xian Ling. With a pale and stiff face, the right eye damaged, it was indeed the corpse of Law Flower Immortal!
Following closely, two sword shadows dashed out from the collapsed hall. They were Changsun Chengfeng and Yuchi Xiao, swiftly wielding their swords. Iron Sect Master’s face turned extremely ugly. With a wave of his sleeves, several dazzling golden talismans flew out like blades. Immediately, he chanted a spell, and the talismans burst in mid-air, transforming into several human-like figures. “Bang! Bang!” Several swords fell to the ground, blocking the path of the Law Flower Immortal in the blink of an eye.
Those figures transformed from talismans were clad in golden armor, featureless, and extraordinarily swift and fierce. Yet, everyone could recognize them at a glance—
The renowned secret technique of the Iron Sect, they were none other than the legendary mechanical soldiers capable of taking on a hundred foes single-handedly.
Changsun Chengfeng landed and sheathed his sword, holding the “Buqi” in his hand. He shouted sternly, stopping Ying Kai who was about to step forward, “Leader, hold your step! The reanimated corpse has been controlled by the puppet threads; it holds a hostage!”
“Puppet Threads?”
Ying Kai’s reaction was the same as Changsun Chengfeng’s at the time: “What did you say?!”
Then he couldn’t say a word because, after the corpse fell to the ground, layer by layer of shroud fell to the ground, and suddenly everyone saw the youth tightly gripped by the corpse—
Gong Wei hung his head, life and death uncertain, blood streaming from his throat, the deadly Puppet Threads just half an inch away from completely severing his windpipe.
“Don’t… don’t move!” Ying Kai’s voice was unusually sharp, and the cultivators who were about to draw their swords forward were all stopped by him. He gritted his teeth and said, “That’s a disciple of the Cangyang Sect, and we must not harm him!”
Someone trembled and said, “What… what do we do now?”
The corpse of Law Flower Immortal had been turned into a puppet, fearless of pain or death, and the hostage in its hands was a severely injured and dying youth.
The startled corpse must not be allowed to leave Dai Mountain; once it appeared in the mortal world, it would bring endless calamity.
What could be done now?
The corpse made a gesture, and another cultivator’s sword was taken into the air. Holding the sword handle in its palm, it took a step forward, and then another.
It was a scene that was unimaginable, causing all the cultivators to continuously retreat as it advanced. Some were so frightened that they couldn’t even hold onto their swords, dropping them to the ground with a clang.
“…Who are you?” Ying Kai stared at the stiff face of Law Flower Immortal, his voice trembling as he said, “What do you want to do? Where do you want to take Gong Zhiyu’s remains?”
The corpse remained indifferent, continuing to walk towards the cliff. When everyone had retreated as far as they could, it suddenly turned its head and smiled at Ying Kai.
Law Flower Immortal was a very cheerful and sociable person during his lifetime, and everyone was very familiar with his smiling expression—completely unlike what it looked like now, with raised eyebrows, a chilling smile, and an indescribable sense of evil.
That wasn’t his expression; it was the one behind the scenes controlling the Puppet Threads.
Ying Kai clenched his teeth, but he only saw the corpse, after revealing this smile, suddenly raise a sword with one hand and rush straight towards the sky, flying over everyone’s heads. At the same time, its other arm clamped down on Gong Wei, its icy sharp fingers reaching for his tightly closed right eye.
It was about to dig out the youth’s right eyeball on the spot!
Ying Kai immediately erupted in anger, knowing that he couldn’t hesitate anymore at this moment. He charged towards the corpse with lightning speed, brandishing his sword, “Stop!”
—Just at this moment.
Another torrential and majestic stream of fire descended from the high sky, akin to a collapsing mountain, it was actually a raging torrent of spiritual power burning to the extreme. The puppet threads immediately tightened around Gong Wei’s neck, but at the critical moment, they were forcefully melted into flying ashes by the overwhelming spiritual power of the newcomer!
A cry of astonishment rose from the ground: “Xu—”
As the puppet threads snapped, Gong Wei, freed from his restraints, plummeted from the high sky to the ground. The intense pain left him in a daze, and amidst the raging wind, he only saw the sleeves of a white-gold robe extend before him. Then, like a falling bird, he crashed into the newcomer’s arms, and a refreshing scent of sandalwood enveloped him.
“Sect Master Xu!”
Xu Shuangce landed gracefully, his face as cold as ice. Without a word, he gathered Gong Wei into his embrace, his slender and powerful hands firmly pressing against the bleeding wound on his neck.
“…” Gong Wei’s gaze had already begun to blur, his cold lips moved slightly, but he swallowed the words “Xu Bai” back down gently, and softly uttered: “Master…”
Xu Shuangce calmly said, “Don’t be afraid. It’s alright now
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