Chapter 1304: Corpse Formation

"Huang Tian and the Boundless Sect Master were bought off by Khuyen Dan." True Daoist Master Yi recalled past events.

Bribing Nascent Soul cultivators was no easy feat; there were very few conditions that could tempt them. Qu Huan was an informant he had personally planted in the Sinister Abyss, but he had slipped from True Daoist Master Yi's control after reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Had it not been for the current chaos in the Sinister Abyss, he likely wouldn't have acted as an inside man.

After learning the truth, the fervent gaze with which everyone had looked at Khuyen Dan was replaced by a sense of apprehension. Qin Sang's interest also waned significantly. The consequence of consuming Khuyen Dan was a decline in essence, qi, and spirit. The Jade Buddha could only protect the soul. Once the hidden dangers manifested, one's cultivation level would drop, making it not worth the gain.

Qu Huan, without hesitation, handed the Khuyen Dan to True Daoist Master Yi.

After learning the inside story, everyone's morale greatly improved. According to the previous plan, trapping the Sinister Abyss in Yu City and maintaining a standoff was already the best outcome. Now that the situation had taken a new turn, they certainly wouldn't settle for that. As the saying goes, "Seize the opportunity to finish them off." The Sinister Abyss brought this fate upon itself.

"Fellow Daoists, you have heard! The Sinister Abyss is in internal turmoil and has suffered heavy losses. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I urge you all not to hold back and to fully commit to breaking through the city's protective formation!" True Daoist Master Yi exclaimed.

This time, the cultivators from the Minor Cold Domain did not object.

Grand Demon Lord Tongyou said, "Our main army is en route. Even if we can't completely break the grand formation, we can at least tie them down and prevent them from patching up their weaknesses. However, it is said that the inner city's grand formation was left by the ancestors of the Sinister Abyss and has never been breached. Breaking into the inner city might not be easy; we need to plan carefully..."

As he spoke, everyone worked together to break through more than a dozen layers of ancient restrictions. From outside the city's protective grand formation, it was visible that within the Lotus Grand Formation, one of the green lotus petals was murky and chaotic inside, as if a hurricane was raging within, with continuous roaring sounds.

Yu City shook, and the Lotus Grand Formation dimmed momentarily. Just then, Qin Sang and the others suddenly felt their bodies tighten, then noticed their surroundings dramatically change; they had been forcibly teleported elsewhere. Reinforcements arrived, assisting the cultivator surnamed Qi, and forcibly split Qin Sang and his group, slowing down their progress in breaking the formation.

*Whoosh!* The Ebony Sword transformed into a protective sword light around him. Qin Sang scanned his surroundings but saw no one else. It seemed he had been deliberately targeted. However, there was no trace of worry on Qin Sang's face. Qu Huan had already informed them of all the variations of the city's protective grand formation. The Sinister Abyss was merely putting up a desperate last stand.

Simultaneously, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Sinister Abyss entered the formation one after another to block the incoming enemies.

Blue sky and white clouds. A riot of colorful flowers bloomed, and a fragrant aroma filled the air. The scenery here was completely out of place compared to the outside. Qin Sang knew he had been drawn into a specific space within the grand formation. In just a few breaths, his Heavenly Eye Butterfly detected flaws in the illusory scenery, but Qin Sang did not act rashly.

"Hmm?" Qin Sang seemed to sense something, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he kicked off the ground, soaring high.

The next moment, earth and stones churned, and plumes of black mist surged from underground. Wherever the black mist touched, the flowers withered and died, instantly destroying the beautiful scenery.

*Whoosh, whoosh...* The black mist surged, and a chilling wind howled, as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing. Immediately after, shriveled hands clawed through the ground, and one by one, refined corpses emerged from beneath the earth.

*Groans!* These refined corpses emitted incomprehensible sounds from their mouths, then abruptly lifted their heads. Their pitch-black demonic eyes fixed on Qin Sang in unison, creating an eerie scene that sent shivers down his spine.

"I've long heard of Fellow Daoist Qin's extraordinary divine abilities. Today, I finally have the opportunity to experience them for myself." All the refined corpses spoke in unison, uttering identical words, clearly indicating someone was manipulating them from behind.

"Corpse Formation?" Qin Sang immediately thought of someone. "Are you the renowned Judge?"

During his search for the Heavenly Corpse Sect and Tan Hao, Qin Sang had thoroughly investigated cultivators in the Sinister Abyss who practiced the path of corpses and ghosts. He knew of a demonic cultivator known as 'The Judge', who specialized in corpse refining arts. However, his corpse refining method differed from that of the Heavenly Corpse Sect. Instead of specializing in strengthening a single refined corpse, he used multiple refined corpses to form a corpse formation, which was quite unique.

It was said that as long as he was within the corpse formation, The Judge would be invincible and extremely difficult to deal with. Qin Sang observed carefully and indeed found that the qi of each refined corpse was interconnected, subtly aligning with a certain formation.

"I wouldn't dare claim such a title! Such meager fame probably won't impress Fellow Daoist Qin..." The refined corpses burst into maniacal laughter.

Qin Sang's gaze swept over each refined corpse, yet he couldn't discern where The Judge's true body was hidden. Perhaps, every refined corpse was his true body.

"No need to search," Bai transmitted secretly. "None of these are his true body. He uses a soul-parasitic art to inhabit the refined corpses, allowing his soul to freely switch between them within the corpse formation. It's impossible to tell which corpse holds his main soul from the outside. Your Heavenly Eye divine ability is coincidentally countered, so it's clear he was deliberately sent to stop you." Being a refined corpse himself, Bai could discern the profound intricacies of the corpse formation.

"Brother Bai, can you find his main soul?" Qin Sang's expression remained unchanged as he secretly communicated with Bai.

"By observing the changes in the corpse formation, I should be able to find a clue. Engage him first, and I will seize an opportunity to strike," Bai replied.

Qin Sang's eyes gleamed. He stopped wasting words with his opponent, raised a hand, and pointed. The Ebony Sword whistled forth. In an instant, sword light rained down, covering the corpse formation and evolving into the Seven Souls Slaughtering Formation.

The laughter of the refined corpses abruptly ceased, replaced by piercing shrieks. All the refined corpses moved in unison, transforming into streaks of black shadow. Their movements appeared erratic, but as they moved, their speed rapidly increased. Eventually, they merged into a single entity, and corpse qi surged skyward, fully revealing the power of the corpse formation.

Qin Sang attempted to use the Seven Souls Slaughtering Formation's ability to influence souls and extract The Judge's main soul, but it was ineffective. As expected, his main soul could move freely. Seeing this, Qin Sang simply changed his formation. In an instant, the sword formation became chillingly lethal, its sword light stark and revealing an intent for utter annihilation!

*Whoosh!* In the clash of the two formations, Qin Sang gained the upper hand. He caught a flaw in the corpse formation, and thousands of sword lights simultaneously slashed towards one of the refined corpses. The Judge became alert. Within the corpse formation, the other refined corpses swiftly formed strange hand seals, striking them towards that particular refined corpse mid-air. The power of the corpse formation converged, the refined corpse's aura surged, and its entire body was spontaneously covered by a layer of black armor made of corpse qi.

*Boom!* But The Judge's action was a fraction of a second too slow. As soon as the armor on the refined corpse solidified, the sword light arrived, shattering the armor instantly, and the refined corpse's body was also annihilated by the sword formation.

*Thud!* The refined corpse fell backward, its entire body shattering into countless pieces. Unexpectedly, the next moment, a new refined corpse crawled out from underground, and the corpse formation remained intact. Qin Sang paused for a moment, then without hesitation, he controlled his sword to launch a swift attack.

As time passed, one refined corpse after another was annihilated by the sword formation, yet the corpse formation never collapsed. The Judge's refined corpses were seemingly inexhaustible; every time one was lost, a new one was immediately summoned to replace it. With the Three Domain War having lasted so long, there was no shortage of corpses. It was unknown how many refined corpses The Judge had actually created; they seemed endless.