Chapter 164: Instant Kill

“I wouldn't claim to understand it fully, but I did see the three characters 'Heavenly Corpse Sect' in an ancient text. That book was vague about the sect, only providing a rough outline.”

Baiyun Mountain Man briefly recounted the text, explaining, "The Heavenly Corpse Sect was a demonic sect from a long time ago. It wasn't a major demonic power, only moderately famous in its time. Its disciples specialized in corpse refinement, and their methods were very unique. Instead of using Yin energy, they harnessed the earth-fiend Qi. The refined corpses they produced had stronger physical bodies than those created by other corpse refinement techniques. This is why the Heavenly Corpse Sect established many branch altars in places with dense earth-fiend Qi for their disciples to refine corpses. Later, for reasons unknown, they vanished without a trace, and their corpse refinement methods were lost. Initially, I was skeptical, treating it as just a story. But now, seeing this Black Iron Token and these unique Fiend Corpses, I realize the ancient text was true. It seems the Heavenly Corpse Sect must have provoked a powerful enemy, leading to their lineage being severed and their bases sealed off."

Hearing the story of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, Qin Sang understood. He lowered his gaze to the ashes on the ground, thinking to himself that this explained the strange Fiend Corpses. He then pressed on, "Fellow Daoist Baiyun, do you know if this is a branch altar or the main altar of the Heavenly Corpse Sect? There won't be any refined corpses comparable to a Flying Yaksha inside, will there?"

Baiyun Mountain Man shook his head. "It shouldn't be the main altar; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many weak zombies in the outer area. The book states that the sect master of the Heavenly Corpse Sect at that time was merely a Golden Core Venerable. Branch altars were always managed by Foundation Establishment cultivators, so at most, there might be stronger Fiend Corpses further in, but a Flying Yaksha is impossible."

Hearing this, everyone's tension eased considerably.

After all, refined corpses are inanimate objects. Even the strongest Fiend Corpses, without a cultivator controlling them, have limited power. With so many of them gathered, even if they couldn't defeat them, escaping wouldn't be difficult.

However, a Flying Yaksha was different. It was a powerful refined corpse comparable to a Golden Core Venerable, with potent corpse poison, mastery of Five Elements Evasion techniques, and unpredictable movements. No number of Foundation Establishment cultivators could withstand even a single blow from it.

Wu Yuesheng frowned, saying with some disappointment, "Just a branch altar? There probably aren't many treasures inside. It looks like we've made this trip for nothing."

Qin Sang glanced at Wu Yuesheng.

Baiyun Mountain Man advised, "Even if there were a treasure vault, it would surely have been emptied long ago. We were almost engulfed by the earth-fiend Qi; it's already fortunate that we've avoided any real danger. At worst, it's just a wasted trip. Fellow Daoist Qingting and Fellow Daoist Yu spent years preparing, even meticulously crafting array-breaking artifacts; their efforts would be more wasted than ours."

After Baiyun Mountain Man's words, everyone seemed less disappointed.

As they spoke, the restrictions on the heavy black iron door were broken, opening a crack. The four of them confirmed there was no ambush behind it and entered one by one.

Upon entering, all four were somewhat surprised. The spiritual energy here was several times denser than before, comparable to the cultivation caves allocated to Foundation Establishment disciples on Mount Shaohua.

Baiyun Mountain Man and the Liu brothers were relatively well-known among rogue cultivators, yet their own cultivation caves were inferior to this place.

"It seems we're approaching the core of the branch altar. Everyone, please be careful," Baiyun Mountain Man warned, then added, "Liu Jiang and I will lead the way to guard against any surprise attacks from Fiend Corpses."

Before Wu Yuesheng could speak, Qin Sang quickly interjected, "I'll take the rear. Senior Brother Wu, please help Fellow Daoist Baiyun look after Fellow Daoist Liu. Any cultivator who could have a cultivation cave here must be quite strong, and their refined corpses shouldn't be underestimated. Two people together will be safer."

He didn't feel comfortable entrusting his back to Wu Yuesheng, preferring to face the dangers from behind on his own.

Wu Yuesheng suspected nothing and agreed.

After deciding on their formation, the four set off. The stone path was narrow. Baiyun Mountain Man and Liu Jiang walked at the very front, with Wu Yuesheng slightly behind them. The two of them protected Liu Jiang, one in front and one behind, while Qin Sang brought up the rear.

At Wu Yuesheng's insistence, they slowed down and carefully examined every stone chamber they encountered. It seemed the number of cultivators qualified to establish cultivation caves here was limited, as there weren't many chambers, and they didn't waste too much time.

To their surprise, they didn't encounter a single Fiend Corpse along the way.

The stone path slanted increasingly downwards. Having found nothing along the way, Wu Yuesheng grew impatient and questioned, "Fellow Daoist Liu, why haven't we found anyone else yet? Can you actually sense their location?"

Liu Jiang didn't dare to refute him and could only explain in a low voice.

Baiyun Mountain Man interceded, "Fellow Daoist Wu, rest assured, I can vouch that the brothers indeed have a psychic connection, and this link will only grow stronger with their cultivation. It's likely due to the complex terrain here that we haven't yet..."

Mid-sentence, Baiyun Mountain Man paused, abruptly lifted his head, and looked into the depths of the stone path, his brows furrowed tightly. Just as the others were privately wondering, Baiyun Mountain Man's expression drastically changed, and he suddenly let out a furious shout.

"Be careful!"

Before his words had fully faded, a black shadow appeared without warning in front of them, flashing past with astonishing speed. They couldn't even make out what it looked like, only vaguely seeing a shadowy figure pounce like lightning towards Baiyun Mountain Man.

In that critical moment, Baiyun Mountain Man hurriedly activated his cloth pouch artifact called the Heaven-Trapping Pouch, blocking it in front of him. The next instant, a ghostly claw appeared out of thin air and slammed heavily onto the pouch.

*Bang!*

The Heaven-Trapping Pouch protected him in time, so Baiyun Mountain Man wasn't injured, but the immense force easily knocked him back, sending him crashing into the stone wall with a muffled grunt.

Seeing this, Qin Sang was greatly alarmed. He quickly activated his Five Elements Law-Breaking Sword to return, and then heard Liu Jiang's pained cry from the front. Liu Jiang bizarrely floated up and, with a *whoosh*, vanished into the depths of the stone path.

In a fleeting glimpse, Qin Sang saw a ghostly face emerge from Liu Jiang's shoulder, watching them with what seemed to be a strange smile. The black shadow was tightly pressed against Liu Jiang's body, carrying him away as they both disappeared.

"A Fiend Corpse! Quick, save Fellow Daoist Liu!"

Baiyun Mountain Man, being at the front, saw it most clearly.

The sudden turn of events meant he only had time to activate the Heaven-Trapping Pouch to protect himself, which resulted in Liu Jiang falling into the Fiend Corpse's grasp. Filled with regret, he immediately cried out in sorrow and pursued it closely.

Qin Sang and Wu Yuesheng exchanged glances. Without hesitation, they too unleashed their full movement techniques and followed closely.

Although this Fiend Corpse was incredibly eerie and unbelievably fast, abducting Liu Jiang in an instant, they had no choice. The earth-fiend Qi was relentlessly pursuing them, making retreat impossible. They had to either work together to kill the Fiend Corpse or find an exit ahead.

Liu Jiang's fate was unknown, and if something happened to Baiyun Mountain Man as well, leaving only the two of them, the situation would become even more perilous.

As Qin Sang pursued, he recalled the harrowing scene, deeply shocked by the Fiend Corpse's strength.

The Fiend Corpses they had encountered before, though strong, weren't this outrageous. Liu Jiang's Iron Lotus had remained deployed, and he had been protected both front and back by Baiyun Mountain Man and Wu Yuesheng, yet he was dragged away by the Fiend Corpse without any power to resist.

What unsettled Qin Sang even more was the strange smile he saw on the ghostly face just as the Fiend Corpse vanished.

He had seen it clearly; it was definitely not an illusion.