Chapter 1979: Corpse Walking Without Boundaries

Ancestor Minghu was struck by a sword and plunged into the earth.

Qin Sang's Dharma Body drifted gracefully, appearing above the magma, sensing the situation beneath the ground.

As expected, Ancestor Minghu could not be so easily slain by a single sword strike. The Gray Oriole Sword had advanced to a Spirit Treasure, and wielded by a Void Refinement cultivator, its power was self-evident. It was unclear if Ancestor Minghu had used some treasure, but to an outsider, it appeared he had simply gripped the sword blade with his bare hands, directly countering the attack. Even though the Ever-burning Lamp had weakened the sword's momentum somewhat, it was still astounding.

It was certain that Ancestor Minghu was also at the early Void Refinement stage, similar to Qin Sang's own cultivation level. However, Ancestor Minghu must have achieved Void Refinement much earlier than him, possessing deeper cultivation. Ancestor Minghu's cultivation path differed from the Heavenly Fiend Body Refining; he didn't cultivate a Dharma Aspect but instead purely honed his physical body to this extreme level. This was the might of an Undecomposable Bone, a powerful practitioner of the Corpse Dao!

Qin Sang narrowed his eyes. Without hesitation, he immediately conjured a sword art, and the very heavens and earth seemed to shift. Universal spiritual energy churned violently, forming a visible hurricane of spiritual tides. Throughout the void, streaks of gray energy wildly danced and swept across the land, sharp as swords, creating a terrifying spectacle.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…*

These energies were indeed very similar to sword qi. The spiritual energy of this entire realm was drawn into Qin Sang's grasp, transforming out of thin air into countless sharp swords that roamed the sky with astonishing momentum. The void itself seemed to be fragmented and shattered by the sword rain. The "sharp swords" swept across the ground, causing the earth to crack and crumble, and the magma lake expanded further. As for the magma within the lake, it had already surged into towering waves.

Fortunately, the Three Corpse Demons of Falling Soul Abyss were quick-witted and decisively fled the battlefield. If they had fallen into the sword rain, their physical bodies would likely have shattered like the earth.

A sharp glint flashed in Qin Sang's eyes. The sword rain collectively pointed towards the ground. Countless sword shadows stood erect in the void, forming a forest of swords. With a command from the Sword Master, all ten thousand swords moved in unison. Qin Sang, positioned amidst these myriad swords, was the Sword Master!

*Swish! Swish! Swish!*

Swords poured down like rain. The sword shadows were almost invisible to the naked eye; only a black torrent was seen cascading from the sky, its immensely sharp aura sweeping forth, as if determined to pierce through the earth. Even solid rock could not resist it, let alone sparse magma.

At this moment, Ancestor Minghu, who had been driven deep into the ground by the Gray Oriole Sword, had not yet stopped his descent. His body was literally boring a hole through the earth. A trace of abnormal scarlet appeared in Ancestor Minghu's eyes, exuding a ferocious and oppressive aura. All his joints felt the sword's momentum begin to weaken, and just as he prepared to counterattack, a sudden sense of danger arose.

*Boom!*

Dozens of sword shadows pierced through the earth's crust, arriving in an instant. These sword shadows seemed to have merged with the Gray Oriole Sword, or perhaps they were absorbed by it, empowering its already formidable momentum. Ancestor Minghu had no time to discern. He immediately felt a ferocious impact, his arms aching severely, and his entire body convulsed. His previously unsettled aura violently fluctuated again. His body plummeted at an even faster rate than before, carving a bottomless pit into the earth.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The sword shadows struck Ancestor Minghu continuously, like bolts of lightning. And these sword shadows were even more dangerous than lightning, possessing not only terrifying power but also an extremely sharp vibration, attempting to pierce through his physical body. Ancestor Minghu fell further and further, unable to halt his descent no matter how he tried. Having misjudged and lost the initiative, he faced an extremely passive situation.

Ancestor Minghu's body stiffened. He was forced to maintain his posture, gripping the sword blade, desperately resisting the Gray Oriole Sword. The universal spiritual energy was inexhaustible, and the sword shadows seemed endless. His arms began to tremble. The tremors grew increasingly violent.

*Boom!*

*Bang!*

A loud explosion, like tearing leather, erupted from Ancestor Minghu's fingers, sending splashes of blood flying. The skin there ripped open, exposing raw, red flesh, completely flayed. Ancestor Minghu's physical body, indistinguishable from an ordinary person's, bore no resemblance to a corpse.

One patch of skin tearing immediately triggered a series of popping sounds. Pieces of skin peeled off his hands. Ancestor Minghu's fingers quickly became a bloody mess, their skin stripped off layer by layer. His expression was grim. Every part of his body had been meticulously refined, his skin and membranes tough, no less so than any armor. But this armor was now breached, first his fingers, then his hands, wrists, and forearms—a horrific sight. After the skin was peeled away, it was the turn of his flesh. Layer upon layer of flesh and fascia were torn apart, and sections of blood vessels flew in all directions.

Despite such gruesome injuries, Ancestor Minghu showed no sign of pain, his hands still gripping the Gray Oriole Sword tightly. Finally, the last vestiges of flesh were stripped from his fingers, revealing bone. Surprisingly, Ancestor Minghu's finger bones were a dark gold, unlike human bones, resembling incredibly hard metal. Subsequently, the bone structures of Ancestor Minghu's hands were completely exposed, emitting the same distinct color. This proved that his bones were indeed harder than his skin and flesh, as they did not continue to shatter.

Just then, Ancestor Minghu suddenly let out a furious roar. Having endured humiliation, the secret art he had secretly prepared was finally, agonizingly, activated. His roar vented the rage and brutality in his heart.

*Bang!*

The flesh on his arms suddenly exploded, shedding like scattered flower petals. From his wrists to his shoulders, both arms were reduced to bare bone.

*Crack! Crack!*

His ten finger bones tightly clutched the Gray Oriole Sword, their joints popping. The flying pieces of flesh, mixed together, formed a clump of blood-red matter, writhing and twisting, utterly repulsive. This mass of flesh violently slammed into the Gray Oriole Sword, like the most defiled substance in the world, smearing its blade. The Gray Oriole Sword's spiritual light dimmed slightly.

At the cost of his arms, Ancestor Minghu finally gained a brief moment of opportunity from the surging attack. His eyes, slightly open, suddenly widened, and he let out a great roar. The roar emanating from his mouth transformed into a piercing shriek, utterly bizarre, capable of penetrating the earth, invading minds, and shattering souls.

Qin Sang, located above ground, clearly heard Ancestor Minghu's shriek, his expression grave. At the same time, Qin Sang noticed a subtle anomaly. His gaze sharpened, and he swiftly scanned the ground. An ordinary person would see nothing amiss, but in Qin Sang's eyes, a strange change had occurred in this realm. The boiling magma and turbulent universal spiritual energy should have presented a vibrant scene, yet Qin Sang felt an inexplicable chill. The magma seemed less intensely red and radiant, and its flow no longer possessed the all-consuming power.

This sensation was difficult to describe. Although there were no living beings nearby, Qin Sang felt as if everything had been drained of "vitality," turning into "walking dead." He glanced at the edge of the magma. Sand dunes were constantly being swallowed by the magma. He noticed that the sand grains on the dunes were subtly covered with a faint grayish-white hue.

*Whoosh!*

A hot wind blew, and a puff of smoke suddenly rose from a sand dune. The sand grains had, at some unknown point, pulverized into dust. The smoke immediately dissipated into the void, and the entire sand dune simply vanished, as if it had never existed. The magma and sand, even the ground fire floating on the magma's surface, were "fading"!

Deep underground, Ancestor Minghu emanated a strange fluctuation, silently seeping into the earth, magma, and even the universal spiritual energy in the void. Then, this fluctuation, carrying streams of energy, returned and was swallowed into his body. The Corpse Demon's body devoured the spiritual energy of this entire realm! If there were any other living beings on the battlefield, their life force would be instantly stripped away. Although sand and magma were inanimate, they were creations of heaven and earth. Ancestor Minghu would not let go of a single drop of essence, devouring all things!

The blazing red flames flickered with increasingly weaker fluctuations, leaving only afterimages in the world. The wind swept across the land, scattering layers of magma and sand. The earth's crust, riddled with holes from Qin Sang's ten thousand swords, finally could not hold together and completely collapsed. The collapse of the earth was silent, as it had already lost all weight, having been devoured by Ancestor Minghu.

After this battle, if no Void Refinement cultivator were to move mountains and fill the land to restore it, an unfathomable sinkhole would remain in the desert. The sinkhole, centered around the magma lake, covered the entire fissure. Many years later, the sinkhole would become a legend in the cultivation world, a topic of endless discussion.

Qin Sang even felt that the universal spiritual energy, which he had already controlled and transformed into swords, also showed faint signs of being devoured by Ancestor Minghu. The Corpse Dao divine abilities at the Void Refinement level were indeed formidable! Qin Sang marveled as he watched Ancestor Minghu, sensing his aura surge dramatically.

Ancestor Minghu also looked up, his gaze passing over the Gray Oriole Sword to meet Qin Sang's. His eyes were no longer murky; his jet-black pupils emitted a terrifying gaze, filled with boundless killing intent.

*Clang!*

A thunderous sound erupted from underground, actually the violent crackle of bones. Ancestor Minghu suddenly changed his grip from claws to fists and slammed them forward.

*Boom!*

This punch was aimed directly at the Gray Oriole Sword. The fist was bare bone, without flesh, its luster deep and contained, yet Qin Sang felt an immense threat. Just as the punch's momentum was about to erupt, Qin Sang's heart involuntarily clenched, as if this very punch would drain the void, and the fist's edge was the entire world. One could imagine how powerful this punch was.

The bone fist fiercely slammed into the sword blade. In an instant, the Gray Oriole Sword also shot out brilliant light, and countless sword shadows converged onto its body.

*Bang!*

Fist met sword. The resulting shockwave possessed earth-shattering power, causing turbulent waves to surge and wreak havoc within the sinkhole, easily expanding it by a large margin. At this moment, attempting to strike down Ancestor Minghu in one swift motion was clearly impossible.

Qin Sang would, of course, not allow Ancestor Minghu to counterattack and reverse the excellent situation he had created by using the copper pillar as bait. He immediately changed his sword art.

*Omm!*

Within the incredibly chaotic sinkhole, the clear sound of sword cries could be heard. Darkness, spreading from an unknown source, completely obscured the sun in the sky, swallowing the sinkhole. This was not complete darkness; within the darkness, there was starlight. The stars hung high, seemingly distant in the heavens, yet also seemingly close at hand. Qin Sang was concealed within the sea of stars, elusive.

At the same time, Ancestor Minghu also lost his perception of the Gray Oriole Sword. After the first punch, Ancestor Minghu immediately threw a second punch, but it struck nothing. Ancestor Minghu's expression subtly changed as he found himself enveloped in a sea of stars. Although his punches were powerful, in this vast and boundless sea of stars, he felt a sense of being unable to grasp anything.

"A sword array!" Ancestor Minghu saw through the essence of the star sea. The enemy was a sword cultivator, definitely not that old fogey, Old Man Guyun! The situation had changed too rapidly. Ancestor Minghu hadn't had time to think; only a few breaths had passed since he was ambushed until now, yet they had already turned this place upside down.

A sword array? One punch to shatter it! Ancestor Minghu was eager to change the situation, to turn passive into active. If he remained entangled in the sword array, he would only be at the enemy's mercy. Losing his target, Ancestor Minghu had no intention of withdrawing his heavy punch, nor did he observe the changes in the stars or try to decipher the sword array. Instead, he fiercely slammed his fist into the void. He knew that the so-called boundless expanse was merely an illusion created by the sword array. If one's cultivation was insufficient, an illusion could become reality, but as long as his punch was strong enough, the sword array would eventually reveal a flaw.

Brute force overcomes all techniques!

The master of the sword array would not remain indifferent. The starlight in the sky flickered, and immediately several sword stars plummeted, transforming into gigantic starlight swords that slashed towards Ancestor Minghu.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

He unleashed continuous heavy punches, shattering the colossal starlight swords into dust. Ancestor Minghu stood beneath the starry sky like a god of war, confronting the enemies from the heavens. His eyes, like lightning, revealed a cold sneer. As expected, when the enemy was eager to attack him and operate the sword array, he would be able to discern some clues. He couldn't instantly break the sword array, but it would greatly help him resolve the current situation.

"Boundless Corpse Movement!" Ancestor Minghu roared. His body suddenly transformed into a wisp of shadowy wind, ethereal and elusive, causing the starlight greatswords to strike empty air. The shadowy wind was formless and intangible, and the sword array seemed unable to bind him. It swept through every corner of the star sea before re-materializing.

However, the re-formed Ancestor Minghu was not alone. Beneath the starry sky, a Ancestor Minghu appeared beneath every sword star, all looking up at the sky in unison, throwing a heavy punch. There was no need to specifically search for the main star; as long as all the sword stars were destroyed, the sword array would naturally collapse.

Seeing this bizarre sight, Qin Sang's eyebrow twitched. A true Undecomposable Bone was indeed not to be underestimated! He had deployed the Seven Mansions Constellation Sword Array countless times against opponents, but this was the first time he encountered such a direct counter-array method. Qin Sang could tell that Ancestor Minghu was not merely bluffing; this divine ability was exceptionally formidable.

Without hesitation, Qin Sang immediately unleashed the final move of the Seven Mansions Constellation Sword Array.

Stars Converge, White Tiger Roars to the Heavens!

A fierce tiger dove, heading directly for one of the countless figures—Ancestor Minghu's true body. Overwhelming divine might rushed towards him. He could clearly see the White Tiger's sharp claws and teeth, poised to tear him apart. Ancestor Minghu snorted coldly, utterly fearless. He stepped forward, transforming his fist into a palm, his movements eerie, ghost-like, and struck the White Tiger's forehead.

*Bang!*

Ancestor Minghu trembled. All over his body, skin and flesh ruptured, bleeding profusely, yet he remained unfazed. He had believed that the transformation of malevolent energy into a tiger was the final evolution of the sword array. But after clashing fiercely with the White Tiger's malevolent aura, and just as he was about to regroup, he suddenly found himself enveloped by an even more brilliant starry sky. The enemy's offensive was like a surging tide, giving him no time to breathe.

To the south of the original star sea, another expanse of stars appeared, expanding the array's range by more than two times. The starlight from the south was slightly hazy. Faintly, there seemed to be a dim fiery glow.