Chapter 933: Ghost Claws Galore

“I didn't expect that upon our reunion, you would not only be able to see my true form but also possess several times the strength you had before.”

The dark shadow was forced back. It shimmered slightly, revealing its true form.

The face, once very familiar to Qin Sang, revealed its identity: it was the missing Flying Yaksha.

From its mouth, however, came an unfamiliar voice, hoarse and deep, speaking with great difficulty, as if it hadn't spoken in a very long time.

Previously, the Flying Yaksha had no independent consciousness; its expression was blank, and it only obeyed its master's commands. Every action was accompanied by bloodshed and slaughter.

Now it was different.

Although its body was still permeated with corpse qi, making its identity as a refined corpse immediately apparent, its expression was far more lively than before. Its black eyes subtly shifted, staring at Qin Sang with an eerie gaze.

It looked like a living person.

Qin Sang's pupils contracted. He knew this ghost creature must have developed sentience, but he hadn't expected its intelligence to be so high, identical to that of a normal person.

Was it originally like this, or had the Flying Yaksha's memories not completely disappeared and been absorbed by the ghost creature?

What shocked Qin Sang even more was that before it was taken, the Flying Yaksha's cultivation was only equivalent to that of an early Core Formation cultivator. Yet the strength it had displayed in their brief clash just now was not inferior to his own!

“Who are you?”

Qin Sang coldly demanded, but his hands moved without hesitation. He reached out and recalled the Ebony Sword, flicking it gently with his finger.

The Ebony Sword spun rapidly in the air, countless sword qi and light bursting forth, forming a dazzling sword wheel that instantly annihilated the bone dust fluttering everywhere.

The sword wheel descended from the sky, covering all directions, intending to suppress the Flying Yaksha.

He would show no mercy to the ghost creature that had taken the Flying Yaksha. He decided to eliminate it as quickly as possible to prevent it from making preparations or causing further complications.

A trace of confusion appeared on the Flying Yaksha's face. It murmured faintly, “Yes…who am I…I don’t remember! My previous name…seemed to have the character ‘Bai’ in it…How about you just call me Bai.”

As it responded to Qin Sang, the sword wheel, like a strange flower, blossomed with dazzling brilliance to its fullest extent.

There was no fear in Bai’s eyes. He slightly raised his head, looking at the sword wheel, and extended his ghostly hand forward. It seemed slow but was actually fast, suddenly transforming into countless ghostly claw shadows.

Instantly, the bone dust between them was swept away, and the space was divided into two halves.

One half was the majestic, indestructible sword wheel.

The other half was a hazy black expanse, permeated with corpse qi, where the outlines of the ghostly claws were almost imperceptible, yet it also seemed as if ghostly claws filled the sky. Their momentum was no less than that of the sword wheel.

“My flesh and bones have rotted away, turning to dust at some unknown time… My memories, like my primordial spirit, have withered and decayed, leaving only this solitary soul trapped in this world… Lost, yet persistent… for an almost impossible obsession. Perhaps, in another thousand or ten thousand years, this soul will also completely vanish. I must also thank you for bringing me this body, which finally allowed me to see a glimmer of hope.”

Bai seemed to have grown accustomed to speaking; his speech quickened, and his words became clearer and smoother. He seemed very willing to talk, as if communicating with Qin Sang, yet also as if talking to himself. The content was profound and baffling.

The ghostly hand stirred the wind and clouds, transforming into thousands of manifestations, and, with an extremely resolute stance, forcefully met the sword wheel’s attack.

Within the sword wheel, sword qi emerged and dissipated, some torn apart by the ghostly claws, while other ghostly claws were shattered by the sword qi.

However, the true sword light that manifested from the sword's essence was not only unaffected by the ghostly claws but became even more dazzling and brilliant, supporting the sword wheel’s framework, and, exceptionally sharp, it shredded the claw shadows.

A continuous rumbling sound filled the air.

Thousands of claw shadows were instantly shattered by three tenths of the sword wheel. Seeing this, Bai let out a cold snort from his throat.

‘Whoosh!’

In an instant, the claw shadows abruptly retracted inward, merging into Bai’s arm.

At the same time, all corpse qi was withdrawn, revealing the arm, which was black as profound iron. As his fingers moved, his knuckles emitted sounds like metal clashing, as if truly forged from iron and stone.

The sword wheel was rapidly approaching him.

Bai’s eyes moved. He made a grasping motion with his hand and suddenly struck towards the center of the sword wheel. A giant ghostly claw shadow easily tore through the sword qi and extended into the sword wheel.

‘Boom!’

The power of this ghostly claw shadow was far beyond that of the previous illusions. Not only was it not cut off by the sword wheel, but it also stirred violently within it. The sword wheel fell into a brief stagnation, showing signs of instability.

Qin Sang’s expression darkened. He formed a hand seal, and the sword wheel burst forth with a roar. Its dazzling sword light transformed into a thick pillar of light, shaking off the ghostly claw and piercing towards Bai’s true form with astonishing speed.

Seeing this, Bai’s gaze narrowed. His figure rapidly retreated, but it was still not as fast as the pillar of light, and he was ultimately engulfed by it.

The pillar of light, carrying the might of the sword wheel, continued its surge far into the distance before dissipating. Several bone mountains behind Bai were pierced through by the light pillar, leaving a row of large holes.

‘Clang!’

As the pillar of light dispersed, an unexpected sight appeared.

Bai was completely unharmed. His arm was still raised high, blocking in front of him, with corpse qi surging from his palm, forming a solid barrier that actually forcibly resisted the Ebony Sword itself.

The Ebony Sword trembled, its sword light flickering, unable to penetrate the corpse qi. Seeing this, Qin Sang had no choice but to recall the Ebony Sword, and his gaze towards Bai became more solemn.

This time, it was a true confrontation; neither side suffered a loss, but it seemed difficult to defeat the other.

“Your strength is decent, but it’s not enough to suppress me,” Bai said calmly.

“Is that so?”

Qin Sang snorted coldly. His wings vibrated, and the Heavenly Corpse Coffin flew out from his body, rapidly transforming in mid-air. With a series of crisp clicks, the coffin lid turned into individual armor plates, which adhered tightly to the avatar’s body, forming a suit of armor.

The next moment, the avatar’s eyelids twitched, and its eyes opened. They were blood-red, with a hint of madness and bloodlust deep within its pupils—a terrifying sight to behold.

At the same time, Qin Sang looked directly into the avatar’s eyes, secretly activating a secret technique to forcibly suppress the demonic thoughts that were trying to backlash from the avatar.

The blood-red color in the avatar’s eyes gradually receded, and it stood silently behind Qin Sang.

Perceiving the avatar’s aura, a strange glint flashed in Bai’s black eyes, and his expression became solemn. “Your methods are truly endless,” he said. “You even have an external avatar whose strength is no less than your main body.”

Hearing this, Qin Sang gave Bai a deep look. He had, remarkably, recognized the avatar's identity at a glance.

“What about with him?”

Qin Sang snorted coldly and commanded the avatar to attack.

He and his external avatar approached Bai from left and right, attacking in unison.

Qin Sang once again activated the Ebony Sword, transforming it into a sword wheel with momentum a third stronger than before.

The external avatar was not to be outdone. It wore its armor and held a blood sword.

This blood sword surprisingly suited the external avatar perfectly.

When Qin Sang helped the avatar refine the blood sword, he had carefully examined it and found no hidden marks left by others.

During soul-searching, he also learned the origin of the blood sword: it was accidentally obtained by the young man named Fang, not a gift from the Black Snake Mountain Ancestor, so he left it to the avatar as a weapon.

The avatar's cultivation had reached the peak of the Core Formation stage, but it could only display its true strength by wielding a top-tier magic treasure.