Editor: Sahloknir
“…”
Everything was at a standstill except for the waft of dust from the corpse, which slowly settled back onto the ground at Gong Wei’s feet.
“Phew.” He heaved a sigh of relief and casually flung the blood from the groove of Gou Chen to the side. “That was pretty tough.” Then, he turned to Yuchi Xiao and asked with a smile, “Were you frightened?”
AD
He spoke in his usual tone and manner, blunt and with a friendly intimacy.
But the head of the Lotus Immortal had not rolled far from him. The drops of blood that had splattered from the severed neck now trickled slowly down the young man’s cheeks. They were bright red and blinding, accentuating the maniacal look of his already unearthly complexion, it was as if his flesh was coldly glowing.
A chill went down Yuchi Xiao’s spine as he looked at him.
He didn’t answer, and Gong Wei didn’t mind it either, as he stared at the corpse at his feet, “This awakened corpse doesn’t seem right, and he even knew how to summon someone else’s sword to defend himself. I thought they would only bite and attack the living?”
“…Xiang Xiaoyuan,” Yuchi Xiao called out hoarsely, forcing himself to look as coolly and as nonchalant as possible as he took a step closer, “Return Gou Chen to me.”
There was a strange allure surrounding Gong Wei, much like the fear of the unknown, which was frightful, but almost impossible to look away.
He was like a sweet, dream-like illusion that drew people close and made them fall deeper. Yet, there was no telling when the dream would suddenly morph and reveal its hideous and true nature—turning into the most sinister nightmare.
Yuchi Xiao drew a deep, silent breath as if he was afraid of waking something up, and his voice softened, “Give me Gou Chen back, don’t play with it.”
“Nope, you’ll cut me with it.” Gong Wei said as he crouched and slowly retreated, “Be careful, this awakened corpse doesn’t seem right. If you have nothing better to do, go ahead and gouge the left eye out of that head for me.”
“What did you say?”
This time, Yuchi Xiao’s voice did not reflect his suppressed trepidation, making Gong Wei change his mind, “Forget it, you’d better stand by the side and don’t come over. Give me a while, I’ll deal with you when I’m done with this corpse.”
He was still grinning as he spoke. Yuchi Xiao could not even fully comprehend what he meant by ‘deal with you’. But the level of his shock and dismay reached its peak at the very next scene—Gong Wei lifted the headless corpse with his left hand and touched its spine, as if he had suddenly found something, he exclaimed “Huh?” in surprise.
Using his four right fingers, he traced along the spine twice and a harsh flash of light appeared at his fingertips, seemingly in preparation to retrieve something from underneath the flesh.
“What are you doing?”
This scene had exceeded the psychological limits of any human, and Yuchi Xiao stepped forward and pressed down Gong Wei’s arm, saying in a trembling voice, “Xiang Xiaoyuan! What the hell are you—”
Gong Wei looked up at him, but from behind his shoulders, he saw the severed head of the Lotus Immortal turned upside down, staring at them with his lifeless left eye.
Gong Wei suddenly paled and pushed Yuchi Xiao out of the way, “Watch out!”
Several thin, almost imperceptible transparent threads flew out from the head’s severed neck, piercing sharply through where Yuchi Xiao stood earlier and grazed Gong Wei’s shoulder, back and the side of his neck, sending blood splashing everywhere.
There was no telling what the threads were made of, but at this moment, Gong Wei felt his knees go weak. Yuchi Xiao instinctively pushed him behind himself right as a round object flew over his shoulder—the severed head.
Ka cha! The crunching sound of bone could be heard as the threads tugged and grafted the head back onto the body with seamless precision.
The corpse now stood up and grabbed Gong Wei from the hands of Yuchi Xiao, using the thin transparent threads from its fingertips that had somehow attached to the wound on the side of his neck!
“Ah!”
Gong Wei had no time to break free, and his screams ended abruptly right as he felt all his spiritual veins twitch, followed by an unstoppable spasm that ran through his whole body.
Yuchi Xiao had never seen the little mei demon like this before, and to him, that scream was amplified like a sharp blade stabbing his eardrums. Immediately, his expression changed dramatically as he hollered, “Let go of him!”
The corpse of the Lotus Immortal was extremely nimble, and darted away like a bolt of lightning. It dodged Gou Chen several times and continued its escape as if it was familiar with the layout of the Mausoleum, and the intricate network of the underground palace. Yuchi Xiao was in such hot pursuit that he could not signal to Gong Wei each time he struck at the corpse and collapsed the bronze walls along the way!
Ktf Fcvfgugbecv Ujijmf rtbbx klat atf ibev mgjrtlcu cblrfr jcv vgfk atf jaafcalbc bo batfg meialnjabgr qgfrfca. Vbbc, atf rbecvr bo mijrtlcu rkbgvr mjwf cfjgfg yfobgf rbwfbcf fzmijlwfv, “Qtja’r ublcu bc?” “Pa’r Tbecu Zjrafg Temtl!”
C meialnjabg gfmbuclrfv atf rajgailcu mbgqrf ja olgra uijcmf jcv lwwfvljafis eaafgfv lc tbggbg, “Ob-Obaer Pwwbgaji?!”
With a wave of his sleeves, the corpse flew straight up the bronze steps. But Yuchi Xiao’s explosive speed was even faster, in a flash, Gou Chen was swung close to its face, “Give back—”
This was such a crucial scene that it was as though their movements were frozen in time, as Yuchi Xiao reached for Gong Wei, who was in the corpse’s embrace, his fingertips barely brushing his fair neck.
Yet, in a split second, a few imperceptible threads shot out from the corpse’s fingers and coiled around Gong Wei’s throat!
Yuchi Xiao was taken aback, but before he could retract his hand, a figure came from behind on a sword and grabbed him by the arm. It was Changsun Chengfeng who cried, “You mustn’t face it head on, that’s Puppet Silk!”
Yuchi Xiao landed abruptly and stopped in his tracks, “What?!”
At that moment, footsteps came from the far end of the bronze steps. Bai Xian had arrived with other cultivators of the Artefact Sect, blocking the way of the Lotus Immortal. The corpse tightened its hold on Gong Wei and suddenly stopped as it noticed that it had been surrounded.
The fight with the other awakened corpses had clearly taken a toll on Changsun Chengfeng, for at this moment, he was in a slightly wretched state but maintained his steady temperament, saying, “What happened to you? What happened to Xiang Xiaoyuan? Where did the Puppet Silk come from?”
“…” Yuchi Xiao’s temples throbbed and he hissed, “He-he helped me get out of the way, and was…”
In that pivotal moment, Gong Wei risked his life to push him out of the way to avoid the deadly silk threads. While Yuchi Xiao failed to react in time himself, allowing that corpse to easily snatch the wounded Gong Wei from his arms.
Yuchi Xiao felt his internal organs tighten and churn, while every breath he drew had a stench of blood. The bizarre scene of the awakened corpse summoning a sword and putting up a fierce but skillful battle all replayed before him.
“…It’s Puppet Silk.” He gritted his teeth and stated, “This corpse of the Lotus Immortal is being controlled by someone.”
Changsun Chengfeng almost lost his voice, “What did you say?”
“Lord Ying and the Sword Sect Master thought that the Lotus Immortal was just an awakened corpse, so they couldn’t bear to subdue him. In actual fact, the corpse had already been planted with Puppet Silk before it crawled out of the coffin.”
“Lord Ying’s wound was a penetration from the front of his abdomen because he didn’t expect an awakened corpse to have the mental capacity to sneak up on him at all. Normally, awakened corpses move stiffly and have no instincts other than to attack the living. Yet, the Lotus Immortal had a clear purpose and has been charging outwards and was even aware that taking a hostage will give it an advantage.”
“We shouldn’t be subduing the awakened corpses, we should be stopping the one who is remotely controlling them.” The knot in Yuchi Xiao’s throat slid up and down, his voice trailed off unsteadily, “His real purpose is to lead the corpse of the Lotus Immortal away from the Ding Xian Mausoleum…”
“Young Master Yuchi!” Changsun Chengfeng’s usual easy-going expression had sunk completely, looking a little stern, “Do you know what you’re talking about? The body was on the ninth level of the Ding Xian Mausoleum! What are you implying?”
Yes, the ninth level of the Ding Xian Mausoleum, with coffins sealed with liquid gold and an entire gate cast out of pure gold. There were only a few people in the world worthy to enter, so who could have planted the Puppet Silk?
Among the few great masters who have access, who could be the mastermind?
Yuchi Xiao was furious, “I saw with my own eyes that is was Puppet Silk which grafted the severed head and body of the Lotus Immortal together. The same silk threads were attached to Xiang Xiaoyuan’s body! What should we do now? I don’t care if it has got anything to do with the ninth level or not, I have to get Xiang Xiaoyuan back right now!”
“…” Changsun Chengfeng’s face was grim, “You said that Nephew Xiang was planted with Puppet Silk as well?”
Sensing this unusual tone, Yuchi Xiao’s heart tensed up, “ Yes, why? What will happen to him?”
Changsun Chengfeng turned back and saw Gong Wei gasping painfully in the vise of the corpse. He could not tell if Gong Wei was still conscious except that he was twitching in agony.
“…he will die.” Changsun Chengfeng uttered with great difficulty.
Gong Wei’s vision was blurred due to the pain, and every inch of his body felt like it was viciously scraped by sharp blades. That was actually the sensation of Puppet Silk at work.
The corpse’s hand was clamped onto his throat—it was a very eerie feeling because it had once been his own hand, even the curvature and strength of the joints were familiar to him, only now it was acting on his own life.
Every breath he took was a struggle and he barely gathered his strength to finally ask, “…Is that you?”
The corpse did not respond, and rightfully so. It was a corpse after all.
Gong Wei’s spiritual energy was fiercely resisting the Puppet Silk that kept extending inside his body. He gritted his teeth and turned his head back a little, the slightest movement required all of his strength, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at the corpse’s face.
The corpse’s eyes were extremely icy. Looking at them was as if he was staring at a shadow from before—the ghostly shadow that had once descended upon Linjiang City, headless and faceless, wrapped in grey fog and wielding his Bai Tai Shou.
“Is that you?” He asked for the second time.
The corpse finally moved, lowering its head to meet his gaze.
Immediately afterward, a smile slowly emerged on its face, controlled by the Puppet Silk.
There was a clamour around him, the crowd of cultivators inching nearer with swords raised, but none dared to come forward. Yuchi Xiao seemed to be losing his temper and roaring at someone, but Gong Wei didn’t pay attention, he just stared at the ghostly shadow through his own corpse and suddenly gasped and laughed,”…You’re holding my Bai Tai Shou…”
“Not very handy, is it?”
Before his opponent could respond, Gong Wei suddenly turned and lashed out with swift precision, directly at the corpse’s spine!
No one expected him to garner such explosive power in his situation, and as the crowd exclaimed in horror, Gong Wei’s fingertips had already reached the corpse’s vertebrae!
In that split second, Yuchi Xiao flew in like an arrow.
But before the tip of Gou Chen arrived, the mastermind reacted. The corpse raised its hand and tightened the steel-like threads which instantly sliced into Gong Wei’s neck. Blood spurted out and Gong Wei went limp, falling onto his knees. The corpse then grabbed onto Gong Wei’s neck with one hand and the other was preparing to strike down on him.
This familiar movement caused Yuchi Xiao to break into a shout, “Hold your sword tight!”
—There was no use at all in saying this; the battle prowess of this puppet of the Lotus Immortal was a fraction of when he was alive, yet it was by no means less of a match for any ordinary cultivator.
A few mid-level cultivators who were nearest to them could not resist at all. Their immortal swords flew out of their grip right away. Next, the corpse swung its sleeves, and a gust of wind whirled more than a dozen immortal swords in unison, smashing the solid bronze roof of the tomb passage!
Chunks of wall fell and the ground shook violently, forcing the crowd to stumble backward. Both Yuchi Xiao and Changsun Chengfeng gave chase, as the corpse, with Gong Wei in tow, disappeared in an instant into the upper levels of the Underground Palace.
Changsun Chengfeng was alarmed, “Stop him, it’s escaping the Mausoleum!”
…
The gigantic Underground Palace was crumbling and shook the entire mountain with it.
Not far from the Ding Xian Mausoleum, the disciples of the Medical Sect looked up and were stunned.
“Alliance Master?” “Lord Ying, don’t move!”
The unconscious Ying Kai suddenly opened his eyes, his face still pale due to his blood loss, and with a raised hand, he politely stopped the Medical Sect disciples who were scrambling to help him up. Firmly gritting his teeth, he rose and meditated for a moment. A pale titanium glow flowed through the gash at his abdomen, and the damaged muscles and skin gradually healed.
“It’s, it’s the technique of ‘maintaining the elements and guarding them as one’!” Murmurs with awe and envy sounded from the crowd, “This is indeed the great Lord Ying, his damaged spiritual veins recovered so quickly!” “Worthy of being our Martial Sovereign!…”
In the midst of the whispers, there was suddenly another huge tremor that rocked the mountain and trembled the ground underneath their feet!
Countless cracks stretched along the earth as if a huge spider web was formeding under the canopy of the sky, and at the centre of the web converged at the lofty Ding Xian Mausoleum. Everyone retreated several steps back in fear, except for Ying Kai, whose eyes suddenly widened and a light flickered in his pupils as he summoned, “Ding Shan Hai.”
A bronze sword that was originally stabbed into the ground, broke through the skies like a dazzling shooting star and slipped into the Ying Kai’s palm with a resounding clang.
At the same time, tremors from the depths of the earth finally broke through, and the great Ding Xian Mausoleum collapsed with a roar, right in front of the crowd.
“What, what’s coming out?” “Lo-Lotus Immortal!”
A figure dressed in snow-white burial robes leaped out, its face was stiff and pale, its right eye grossly damaged—it was the corpse of the Lotus Immortal!
Then figures on swords whizzed out from the building. They were Changsun Chengfeng and Yuchi Xiao on their swords. The Artefact Sect Master was looking dismal and with a wave of his sleeves, numerous talismans appeared, like golden light rays, which shot out like blades. With a snap of his fingers, he activated a spell and the talismans burst in mid-air as they transformed into several human-like figures. Boom! Boom! In the blink of an eye, these figures surrounded the Lotus Immortal.
The figures summoned from the talismans were in golden armour, they had no facial features, and were swift and sharp, but anyone could recognise them at a glance—This was the renowned secret art of the Artefact Sect; The legendary mechanical soldiers, who can take on a hundred men at a time.
Changsun Chengfeng landed on the ground and withdrew his sword, he activated his mechanical weapon arm once again and sternly stopped Ying Kai, who was about to step forward, “Alliance Master, don’t move! The awakened corpse is being controlled by Puppet Silk, it has a hostage!”
Puppet Silk?
Ying Kai’s reaction was exactly the same as Changsun Chengfeng’s, “What did you say?!”
Then he couldn’t utter another word, because when the corpse landed, its burial robes no longer fluttered in the wind, and all of a sudden everyone saw the young man it was holding tightly in its grip…
Gong Wei’s head hung down, with blood streaking down his neck, the deadly Puppet Silk only needed to be tightened by half an inch to sever it completely from his body.
“Don’t…even move!” Ying Kai’s voice was harsh and sharp. The cultivators behind him, who had drawn their swords and stepped forward, were all stopped. Then, he gritted his teeth and continued, “That’s Cang Yang Sect’s disciple, he is not to be harmed!”
Someone trembled and asked, “Wha-what can we do now?”
The corpse of the Lotus Immortal had been made into a puppet that did not have any fear toward pain nor death. In contrast, its hostage was a living and seriously injured young man.
The awakened corpse must not leave Dai Mountain, for once it was exposed to the mortal world, there would be no end to the troubles it would cause.
What else could they do now?
The corpse miasma had not completely dissipated, appearing like a gloomy black cauldron under the sky. Raising its arm once again, an immortal sword was snatched from the grip of another cultivator.
The sword flew into its palm and it took a step forward, then another.
This was a scene worse than any nightmare, as all the cultivators kept backing up as it advanced. Some were in such extreme panic that their swords slipped out of their trembling hands with a clang.
“…Who the hell are you?” Ying Kai stared at the Lotus Immortal and asked in a trembling voice, “What the hell do you want? Where do you want to take Gong Zhiyu to?”
The corpse ignored him and walked towards the cliff until the crowd could no longer retreat. Then, they saw it suddenly turn and smile at Ying Kai.
The Lotus Immortal had been a very cheerful and amiable person in his lifetime, and everyone was very familiar with his smiling expression—it was nothing like the one he had now, with his eyebrows raised, his smile carried an indescribable chill, filled with a sinister aura.
That was not Gong Zhiyu’s expression, it clearly belonged to the mastermind hiding deviously somewhere and manipulating the puppet silk.
Ying Kai clenched his teeth in reaction. After revealing the smile, the corpse moved again, this time, it stepped onto the sword and rose into the sky. At the same time, it clamped down on ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ and reached its cold, sharp fingers towards his closed right eye.
It wanted to gouge out the young man’s right eye on the spot!
Ying Kai was furious, knowing that he could no longer hesitate and rushed towards the corpse with his sword like a bolt of lightning, “Stop it!”
—Just then.
At that very moment, another even more majestic stream of fire descended from the sky. It was a beam of pure, explosive spiritual energy. The puppet silk which tightened around Gong Wei’s neck was burned to dust by the overwhelming power of this visitor!
A cry of shock sounded from the crowd, “Xu…”
As soon as the puppet silk was severed, Gong Wei lost any form of support and fell from a great height. The pain he was in was so intense that he was in a trance, and in the gust of wind he saw the sleeves of a white-gold robe fluttering before him. Then, he crashed like a falling bird into the arms of the person, and the fresh scent of white sandalwood hit him.
“Lord Xu!”
Xu Shuangtze stopped in the air, his face as cold as ice, and without a word, he held Gong Wei steadily in his arms. Using his strong hands, he pressed tightly on the side of Gong Wei’s neck to stop the bleeding.
“…” Gong Wei’s vision was still a blur. His lips moved but held back the words ‘Xu Bai’ and called out softly instead, “Shizun…”
Xu Shuangtze replied, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Editor: Sahloknir
“…”
Everything was at a standstill except for the waft of dust from the corpse, which slowly settled back onto the ground at Gong Wei’s feet.
“Phew.” He heaved a sigh of relief and casually flung the blood from the groove of Gou Chen to the side. “That was pretty tough.” Then, he turned to Yuchi Xiao and asked with a smile, “Were you frightened?”
AD
He spoke in his usual tone and manner, blunt and with a friendly intimacy.
But the head of the Lotus Immortal had not rolled far from him. The drops of blood that had splattered from the severed neck now trickled slowly down the young man’s cheeks. They were bright red and blinding, accentuating the maniacal look of his already unearthly complexion, it was as if his flesh was coldly glowing.
A chill went down Yuchi Xiao’s spine as he looked at him.
He didn’t answer, and Gong Wei didn’t mind it either, as he stared at the corpse at his feet, “This awakened corpse doesn’t seem right, and he even knew how to summon someone else’s sword to defend himself. I thought they would only bite and attack the living?”
“…Xiang Xiaoyuan,” Yuchi Xiao called out hoarsely, forcing himself to look as coolly and as nonchalant as possible as he took a step closer, “Return Gou Chen to me.”
There was a strange allure surrounding Gong Wei, much like the fear of the unknown, which was frightful, but almost impossible to look away.
He was like a sweet, dream-like illusion that drew people close and made them fall deeper. Yet, there was no telling when the dream would suddenly morph and reveal its hideous and true nature—turning into the most sinister nightmare.
Yuchi Xiao drew a deep, silent breath as if he was afraid of waking something up, and his voice softened, “Give me Gou Chen back, don’t play with it.”
“Nope, you’ll cut me with it.” Gong Wei said as he crouched and slowly retreated, “Be careful, this awakened corpse doesn’t seem right. If you have nothing better to do, go ahead and gouge the left eye out of that head for me.”
“What did you say?”
This time, Yuchi Xiao’s voice did not reflect his suppressed trepidation, making Gong Wei change his mind, “Forget it, you’d better stand by the side and don’t come over. Give me a while, I’ll deal with you when I’m done with this corpse.”
He was still grinning as he spoke. Yuchi Xiao could not even fully comprehend what he meant by ‘deal with you’. But the level of his shock and dismay reached its peak at the very next scene—Gong Wei lifted the headless corpse with his left hand and touched its spine, as if he had suddenly found something, he exclaimed “Huh?” in surprise.
Using his four right fingers, he traced along the spine twice and a harsh flash of light appeared at his fingertips, seemingly in preparation to retrieve something from underneath the flesh.
“What are you doing?”
This scene had exceeded the psychological limits of any human, and Yuchi Xiao stepped forward and pressed down Gong Wei’s arm, saying in a trembling voice, “Xiang Xiaoyuan! What the hell are you—”
Gong Wei looked up at him, but from behind his shoulders, he saw the severed head of the Lotus Immortal turned upside down, staring at them with his lifeless left eye.
Gong Wei suddenly paled and pushed Yuchi Xiao out of the way, “Watch out!”
Several thin, almost imperceptible transparent threads flew out from the head’s severed neck, piercing sharply through where Yuchi Xiao stood earlier and grazed Gong Wei’s shoulder, back and the side of his neck, sending blood splashing everywhere.
There was no telling what the threads were made of, but at this moment, Gong Wei felt his knees go weak. Yuchi Xiao instinctively pushed him behind himself right as a round object flew over his shoulder—the severed head.
Ka cha! The crunching sound of bone could be heard as the threads tugged and grafted the head back onto the body with seamless precision.
The corpse now stood up and grabbed Gong Wei from the hands of Yuchi Xiao, using the thin transparent threads from its fingertips that had somehow attached to the wound on the side of his neck!
“Ah!”
Gong Wei had no time to break free, and his screams ended abruptly right as he felt all his spiritual veins twitch, followed by an unstoppable spasm that ran through his whole body.
Yuchi Xiao had never seen the little mei demon like this before, and to him, that scream was amplified like a sharp blade stabbing his eardrums. Immediately, his expression changed dramatically as he hollered, “Let go of him!”
The corpse of the Lotus Immortal was extremely nimble, and darted away like a bolt of lightning. It dodged Gou Chen several times and continued its escape as if it was familiar with the layout of the Mausoleum, and the intricate network of the underground palace. Yuchi Xiao was in such hot pursuit that he could not signal to Gong Wei each time he struck at the corpse and collapsed the bronze walls along the way!
Ktf Fcvfgugbecv Ujijmf rtbbx klat atf ibev mgjrtlcu cblrfr jcv vgfk atf jaafcalbc bo batfg meialnjabgr qgfrfca. Vbbc, atf rbecvr bo mijrtlcu rkbgvr mjwf cfjgfg yfobgf rbwfbcf fzmijlwfv, “Qtja’r ublcu bc?” “Pa’r Tbecu Zjrafg Temtl!”
C meialnjabg gfmbuclrfv atf rajgailcu mbgqrf ja olgra uijcmf jcv lwwfvljafis eaafgfv lc tbggbg, “Ob-Obaer Pwwbgaji?!”
With a wave of his sleeves, the corpse flew straight up the bronze steps. But Yuchi Xiao’s explosive speed was even faster, in a flash, Gou Chen was swung close to its face, “Give back—”
This was such a crucial scene that it was as though their movements were frozen in time, as Yuchi Xiao reached for Gong Wei, who was in the corpse’s embrace, his fingertips barely brushing his fair neck.
Yet, in a split second, a few imperceptible threads shot out from the corpse’s fingers and coiled around Gong Wei’s throat!
Yuchi Xiao was taken aback, but before he could retract his hand, a figure came from behind on a sword and grabbed him by the arm. It was Changsun Chengfeng who cried, “You mustn’t face it head on, that’s Puppet Silk!”
Yuchi Xiao landed abruptly and stopped in his tracks, “What?!”
At that moment, footsteps came from the far end of the bronze steps. Bai Xian had arrived with other cultivators of the Artefact Sect, blocking the way of the Lotus Immortal. The corpse tightened its hold on Gong Wei and suddenly stopped as it noticed that it had been surrounded.
The fight with the other awakened corpses had clearly taken a toll on Changsun Chengfeng, for at this moment, he was in a slightly wretched state but maintained his steady temperament, saying, “What happened to you? What happened to Xiang Xiaoyuan? Where did the Puppet Silk come from?”
“…” Yuchi Xiao’s temples throbbed and he hissed, “He-he helped me get out of the way, and was…”
In that pivotal moment, Gong Wei risked his life to push him out of the way to avoid the deadly silk threads. While Yuchi Xiao failed to react in time himself, allowing that corpse to easily snatch the wounded Gong Wei from his arms.
Yuchi Xiao felt his internal organs tighten and churn, while every breath he drew had a stench of blood. The bizarre scene of the awakened corpse summoning a sword and putting up a fierce but skillful battle all replayed before him.
“…It’s Puppet Silk.” He gritted his teeth and stated, “This corpse of the Lotus Immortal is being controlled by someone.”
Changsun Chengfeng almost lost his voice, “What did you say?”
“Lord Ying and the Sword Sect Master thought that the Lotus Immortal was just an awakened corpse, so they couldn’t bear to subdue him. In actual fact, the corpse had already been planted with Puppet Silk before it crawled out of the coffin.”
“Lord Ying’s wound was a penetration from the front of his abdomen because he didn’t expect an awakened corpse to have the mental capacity to sneak up on him at all. Normally, awakened corpses move stiffly and have no instincts other than to attack the living. Yet, the Lotus Immortal had a clear purpose and has been charging outwards and was even aware that taking a hostage will give it an advantage.”
“We shouldn’t be subduing the awakened corpses, we should be stopping the one who is remotely controlling them.” The knot in Yuchi Xiao’s throat slid up and down, his voice trailed off unsteadily, “His real purpose is to lead the corpse of the Lotus Immortal away from the Ding Xian Mausoleum…”
“Young Master Yuchi!” Changsun Chengfeng’s usual easy-going expression had sunk completely, looking a little stern, “Do you know what you’re talking about? The body was on the ninth level of the Ding Xian Mausoleum! What are you implying?”
Yes, the ninth level of the Ding Xian Mausoleum, with coffins sealed with liquid gold and an entire gate cast out of pure gold. There were only a few people in the world worthy to enter, so who could have planted the Puppet Silk?
Among the few great masters who have access, who could be the mastermind?
Yuchi Xiao was furious, “I saw with my own eyes that is was Puppet Silk which grafted the severed head and body of the Lotus Immortal together. The same silk threads were attached to Xiang Xiaoyuan’s body! What should we do now? I don’t care if it has got anything to do with the ninth level or not, I have to get Xiang Xiaoyuan back right now!”
“…” Changsun Chengfeng’s face was grim, “You said that Nephew Xiang was planted with Puppet Silk as well?”
Sensing this unusual tone, Yuchi Xiao’s heart tensed up, “ Yes, why? What will happen to him?”
Changsun Chengfeng turned back and saw Gong Wei gasping painfully in the vise of the corpse. He could not tell if Gong Wei was still conscious except that he was twitching in agony.
“…he will die.” Changsun Chengfeng uttered with great difficulty.
Gong Wei’s vision was blurred due to the pain, and every inch of his body felt like it was viciously scraped by sharp blades. That was actually the sensation of Puppet Silk at work.
The corpse’s hand was clamped onto his throat—it was a very eerie feeling because it had once been his own hand, even the curvature and strength of the joints were familiar to him, only now it was acting on his own life.
Every breath he took was a struggle and he barely gathered his strength to finally ask, “…Is that you?”
The corpse did not respond, and rightfully so. It was a corpse after all.
Gong Wei’s spiritual energy was fiercely resisting the Puppet Silk that kept extending inside his body. He gritted his teeth and turned his head back a little, the slightest movement required all of his strength, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at the corpse’s face.
The corpse’s eyes were extremely icy. Looking at them was as if he was staring at a shadow from before—the ghostly shadow that had once descended upon Linjiang City, headless and faceless, wrapped in grey fog and wielding his Bai Tai Shou.
“Is that you?” He asked for the second time.
The corpse finally moved, lowering its head to meet his gaze.
Immediately afterward, a smile slowly emerged on its face, controlled by the Puppet Silk.
There was a clamour around him, the crowd of cultivators inching nearer with swords raised, but none dared to come forward. Yuchi Xiao seemed to be losing his temper and roaring at someone, but Gong Wei didn’t pay attention, he just stared at the ghostly shadow through his own corpse and suddenly gasped and laughed,”…You’re holding my Bai Tai Shou…”
“Not very handy, is it?”
Before his opponent could respond, Gong Wei suddenly turned and lashed out with swift precision, directly at the corpse’s spine!
No one expected him to garner such explosive power in his situation, and as the crowd exclaimed in horror, Gong Wei’s fingertips had already reached the corpse’s vertebrae!
In that split second, Yuchi Xiao flew in like an arrow.
But before the tip of Gou Chen arrived, the mastermind reacted. The corpse raised its hand and tightened the steel-like threads which instantly sliced into Gong Wei’s neck. Blood spurted out and Gong Wei went limp, falling onto his knees. The corpse then grabbed onto Gong Wei’s neck with one hand and the other was preparing to strike down on him.
This familiar movement caused Yuchi Xiao to break into a shout, “Hold your sword tight!”
—There was no use at all in saying this; the battle prowess of this puppet of the Lotus Immortal was a fraction of when he was alive, yet it was by no means less of a match for any ordinary cultivator.
A few mid-level cultivators who were nearest to them could not resist at all. Their immortal swords flew out of their grip right away. Next, the corpse swung its sleeves, and a gust of wind whirled more than a dozen immortal swords in unison, smashing the solid bronze roof of the tomb passage!
Chunks of wall fell and the ground shook violently, forcing the crowd to stumble backward. Both Yuchi Xiao and Changsun Chengfeng gave chase, as the corpse, with Gong Wei in tow, disappeared in an instant into the upper levels of the Underground Palace.
Changsun Chengfeng was alarmed, “Stop him, it’s escaping the Mausoleum!”
…
The gigantic Underground Palace was crumbling and shook the entire mountain with it.
Not far from the Ding Xian Mausoleum, the disciples of the Medical Sect looked up and were stunned.
“Alliance Master?” “Lord Ying, don’t move!”
The unconscious Ying Kai suddenly opened his eyes, his face still pale due to his blood loss, and with a raised hand, he politely stopped the Medical Sect disciples who were scrambling to help him up. Firmly gritting his teeth, he rose and meditated for a moment. A pale titanium glow flowed through the gash at his abdomen, and the damaged muscles and skin gradually healed.
“It’s, it’s the technique of ‘maintaining the elements and guarding them as one’!” Murmurs with awe and envy sounded from the crowd, “This is indeed the great Lord Ying, his damaged spiritual veins recovered so quickly!” “Worthy of being our Martial Sovereign!…”
In the midst of the whispers, there was suddenly another huge tremor that rocked the mountain and trembled the ground underneath their feet!
Countless cracks stretched along the earth as if a huge spider web was formeding under the canopy of the sky, and at the centre of the web converged at the lofty Ding Xian Mausoleum. Everyone retreated several steps back in fear, except for Ying Kai, whose eyes suddenly widened and a light flickered in his pupils as he summoned, “Ding Shan Hai.”
A bronze sword that was originally stabbed into the ground, broke through the skies like a dazzling shooting star and slipped into the Ying Kai’s palm with a resounding clang.
At the same time, tremors from the depths of the earth finally broke through, and the great Ding Xian Mausoleum collapsed with a roar, right in front of the crowd.
“What, what’s coming out?” “Lo-Lotus Immortal!”
A figure dressed in snow-white burial robes leaped out, its face was stiff and pale, its right eye grossly damaged—it was the corpse of the Lotus Immortal!
Then figures on swords whizzed out from the building. They were Changsun Chengfeng and Yuchi Xiao on their swords. The Artefact Sect Master was looking dismal and with a wave of his sleeves, numerous talismans appeared, like golden light rays, which shot out like blades. With a snap of his fingers, he activated a spell and the talismans burst in mid-air as they transformed into several human-like figures. Boom! Boom! In the blink of an eye, these figures surrounded the Lotus Immortal.
The figures summoned from the talismans were in golden armour, they had no facial features, and were swift and sharp, but anyone could recognise them at a glance—This was the renowned secret art of the Artefact Sect; The legendary mechanical soldiers, who can take on a hundred men at a time.
Changsun Chengfeng landed on the ground and withdrew his sword, he activated his mechanical weapon arm once again and sternly stopped Ying Kai, who was about to step forward, “Alliance Master, don’t move! The awakened corpse is being controlled by Puppet Silk, it has a hostage!”
Puppet Silk?
Ying Kai’s reaction was exactly the same as Changsun Chengfeng’s, “What did you say?!”
Then he couldn’t utter another word, because when the corpse landed, its burial robes no longer fluttered in the wind, and all of a sudden everyone saw the young man it was holding tightly in its grip…
Gong Wei’s head hung down, with blood streaking down his neck, the deadly Puppet Silk only needed to be tightened by half an inch to sever it completely from his body.
“Don’t…even move!” Ying Kai’s voice was harsh and sharp. The cultivators behind him, who had drawn their swords and stepped forward, were all stopped. Then, he gritted his teeth and continued, “That’s Cang Yang Sect’s disciple, he is not to be harmed!”
Someone trembled and asked, “Wha-what can we do now?”
The corpse of the Lotus Immortal had been made into a puppet that did not have any fear toward pain nor death. In contrast, its hostage was a living and seriously injured young man.
The awakened corpse must not leave Dai Mountain, for once it was exposed to the mortal world, there would be no end to the troubles it would cause.
What else could they do now?
The corpse miasma had not completely dissipated, appearing like a gloomy black cauldron under the sky. Raising its arm once again, an immortal sword was snatched from the grip of another cultivator.
The sword flew into its palm and it took a step forward, then another.
This was a scene worse than any nightmare, as all the cultivators kept backing up as it advanced. Some were in such extreme panic that their swords slipped out of their trembling hands with a clang.
“…Who the hell are you?” Ying Kai stared at the Lotus Immortal and asked in a trembling voice, “What the hell do you want? Where do you want to take Gong Zhiyu to?”
The corpse ignored him and walked towards the cliff until the crowd could no longer retreat. Then, they saw it suddenly turn and smile at Ying Kai.
The Lotus Immortal had been a very cheerful and amiable person in his lifetime, and everyone was very familiar with his smiling expression—it was nothing like the one he had now, with his eyebrows raised, his smile carried an indescribable chill, filled with a sinister aura.
That was not Gong Zhiyu’s expression, it clearly belonged to the mastermind hiding deviously somewhere and manipulating the puppet silk.
Ying Kai clenched his teeth in reaction. After revealing the smile, the corpse moved again, this time, it stepped onto the sword and rose into the sky. At the same time, it clamped down on ‘Xiang Xiaoyuan’ and reached its cold, sharp fingers towards his closed right eye.
It wanted to gouge out the young man’s right eye on the spot!
Ying Kai was furious, knowing that he could no longer hesitate and rushed towards the corpse with his sword like a bolt of lightning, “Stop it!”
—Just then.
At that very moment, another even more majestic stream of fire descended from the sky. It was a beam of pure, explosive spiritual energy. The puppet silk which tightened around Gong Wei’s neck was burned to dust by the overwhelming power of this visitor!
A cry of shock sounded from the crowd, “Xu…”
As soon as the puppet silk was severed, Gong Wei lost any form of support and fell from a great height. The pain he was in was so intense that he was in a trance, and in the gust of wind he saw the sleeves of a white-gold robe fluttering before him. Then, he crashed like a falling bird into the arms of the person, and the fresh scent of white sandalwood hit him.
“Lord Xu!”
Xu Shuangtze stopped in the air, his face as cold as ice, and without a word, he held Gong Wei steadily in his arms. Using his strong hands, he pressed tightly on the side of Gong Wei’s neck to stop the bleeding.
“…” Gong Wei’s vision was still a blur. His lips moved but held back the words ‘Xu Bai’ and called out softly instead, “Shizun…”
Xu Shuangtze replied, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
