Chapter 1353: Driving People Away

After observing for a moment, Ying Wuji's expression grew serious. Although Lu Ye displayed immense power, securing a kill with every saber strike, the sheer number of Ghouls was overwhelming. Lu Ye alone could never finish them all. If he continued to be entangled, even Lu Ye would eventually succumb to exhaustion.

However, Ying Wuji looked and looked but saw no intention for Lu Ye to retreat. It was just one man and one saber, cutting in and out of the Ghoul horde. Feeling secretly anxious, he quickly swallowed spirit pills to begin healing himself.

On the battlefield, Lu Ye was slaying all around him, his powerful spiritual sense fully extended. After a long battle, he had already detected some unsettling irregularities. These Ghouls were undoubtedly devoid of any life force; in other words, they were dead. Yet, they could move as if alive, and under the shroud of the yellow, cloud-like corpse energy, they could even unleash power greater than when they were alive. This was clearly amiss.

Lu Ye vaguely felt that each Ghoul was like a puppet on a string, being manipulated by someone in the shadows. He was cutting in and out of the Ghoul horde with the sole purpose of tracking down that hidden individual. Finding them should resolve this Ghoul problem. He had initially thought the hidden operator was concealed in some secret corner or possessed methods of concealment similar to ghost cultivators, but it now appeared not to be the case. The person controlling these Ghouls was hidden *within* the Ghoul horde itself! That truly showed immense daring.

Strangely, he felt no life force from the controller and found no other clues. So, to find the hidden one, he could only resort to this "clumsy" method.

Then, at one moment, as his long saber lunged forward in a certain direction, his expression subtly shifted. After battling for so long, he had severed hundreds of Ghouls with his saber, but those Ghouls never dodged his attacks because they were inanimate, controlled by others, feeling no fear or pain. But with this particular strike, a Ghoul suddenly moved sideways, blocking in front of another Ghoul. What seemed like a coincidence was, in Lu Ye's prepared eyes, a clear flaw!

He immediately turned his attention to an inconspicuous Ghoul within the horde. That Ghoul looked no different from the others, utterly ordinary, with a gaunt figure and large patches of flesh missing from its body, enveloped in dense corpse energy. In such a large Ghoul horde, no one would give it a second glance.

But the moment Lu Ye fixed his gaze upon it, its murky eyes instantly gleamed with a vibrant light, and its body rapidly retreated.

"Trying to run?" Lu Ye's gaze was like a knife, his sharp energy clinging to the Ghoul like a leech. Spiritual power surged around him as he moved with his saber. Even with Ghouls constantly lunging forward, they could not hinder him in the slightest. One man, one saber, they defiantly carved a path through the Ghoul horde, and in just a few movements, he caught up to the Ghoul.

With its cover blown, the Ghoul could no longer hide. It opened its mouth and let out a bestial roar at Lu Ye, spewing out thick, visible corpse energy that billowed towards Lu Ye, enveloping him head-on.

Hidden in the shadows, Ying Wuji watched in alarm, hastily shouting a warning, "Lu Yiye, be careful!" He had suffered a similar fate before, getting infected with corpse poison, otherwise, with his strength, even if he couldn't defeat such a Ghoul horde, he wouldn't have been chased to a dead end. If he hadn't encountered Lu Ye in time, he might have become a member of this Ghoul horde.

But his warning came too late. The dense corpse energy covered Lu Ye's entire face and body, completely enveloping him. Ying Wuji's heart sank. He had never imagined that he would one day have to worry about Lu Yiye's safety; truly, life was full of uncertainties. Lu Yiye was probably going to fall! This thought flashed through Ying Wuji's mind, and he immediately considered retreating.

However, just as he thought that, a familiar figure burst out from the dense corpse energy. His fierce and wild aura had not diminished in the slightest. The violent saber slashed through the air, cutting off the Ghoul's arms, then its legs, and finally piercing its head with the third strike.

The tumultuous battlefield suddenly fell silent. The Ghoul horde, which had been dancing like demons, seemed to be under a paralysis spell at that instant, all freezing in place. Only the thick, yellow cloud of corpse energy continued to swirl. Ying Wuji looked up to see Lu Ye's long saber pointing directly forward, piercing into the Ghoul's skull, making it seem as if the Ghoul had been nailed into the sky by Lu Yiye.

A fierce wind howled past, making Lu Ye's clothes whip in the air. This sight filled Ying Wuji with awe and admiration, secretly sighing, "As expected of Lu Yiye, always capable of what ordinary people cannot." Such a formidable enemy, against whom a 16th-rank expert of the Cloud River Realm like himself was helpless, had been so easily subdued by Lu Yiye. The gap between them was truly immense. He felt even more fortunate that Lu Yiye was not far from him, and that he had coincidentally stumbled upon him; otherwise, he truly might have lost his life here.

The Panshancutter entered three inches into the Ghoul's flesh but did not penetrate its brain, so it didn't cause any immediate fatal damage. However, with its four limbs severed and its whereabouts exposed, this Ghoul could no longer cause any trouble. Its eyes struggled violently, staring at Lu Ye with disbelief, its mouth opening and closing, emitting a harsh, grating sound like metal scraping: "How could you find me?"

Its Ghoul horde numbered eight thousand, a force not to be underestimated across the entire Peerless Continent. For years, it had relied on its horde to sweep all before it, and no one had ever been able to locate it within the Ghoul horde. Yet, today, it had encountered one! And it had been subdued almost immediately upon discovery!

As it began to speak, Lu Ye couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Although he had confirmed earlier that the Ghoul horde was being controlled, Lu Ye had assumed the controller would be a cultivator. Much like the beast-taming sects in Kyushu, except here, the cultivators manipulated Ghouls instead of beasts. Or perhaps they were called "Corpse-Taming Sects" or "Corpse Drivers"? But regardless, in Lu Ye's existing understanding, this person should at least be alive! But now, it seemed the situation was a bit off.

The creature before him, with severed limbs, could speak and express strong emotions, yet Lu Ye felt no life force from it. Moreover, from its appearance alone, this creature was clearly a dead person, gone for an unknown duration. Had his spiritual sense not been strong enough to grasp that fleeting flaw, it would have been truly difficult to find this guy within such a massive Ghoul horde.

"How could you possibly find me?" the "Corpse Driver" roared again, its face filled with rotting flesh, but its eyes showing intense resentment. If not for Lu Ye pinning its head with his long saber, it certainly wouldn't have been so docile.

Lu Ye pushed the Panshancutter forward another inch and stated concisely, "I ask, you answer!"

The "Corpse Driver" seemed provoked, a chilling voice bursting from its cracked mouth: "Whatever you want to know, I won't give it to you. We, the Corpse Race, are spirits of the dead. Death means nothing to us. Only you humans fear death!" As its voice fell, the yellow cloud of corpse energy shrouding the countless Ghouls wriggled as if alive, and those Ghouls, previously as if under a paralysis spell, began to move again. They came from all directions, letting out eerie, chilling growls in unison, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged at Lu Ye.

As spiritual power surged, the Panshancutter ignited with flames. Lu Ye flicked his wrist. The Ghoul's head shattered with a bang, and its mutilated body plummeted to the ground. The Ghouls that had rushed close to him also dropped to the ground like severed puppets, falling like dumplings, hitting the ground with heavy thuds, shattering into pieces, creating horrifying puddles of corpse fluid. Without the "Corpse Driver" to control them, most Ghouls were incredibly fragile.

In just a moment, the Ghoul horde, numbering eight thousand, was entirely transformed into putrid flesh and shattered bones, filling the vast wilderness with a noxious stench. A strong wind howled past, dispersing the previously condensed yellow cloud, scattering it in all directions.

"It's resolved!" Ying Wuji stared blankly at the scene, a sense of unreality rising within him. Under the effect of various spirit pills, his injuries had recovered somewhat, and the corpse poison that had entered his body seemed to be showing signs of resolution, which made Ying Wuji secretly sigh in relief. Being from the Senluo Hall, the elixirs he carried were naturally not ordinary items, and he always kept antidote pills with him. However, this was Ying Wuji's first encounter with corpse poison, and while his antidote was effective, complete recovery would still take some time.

After some thought, he emerged from his hidden state and called out to Lu Ye from a distance, "Lu Yiye, this is a dangerous place, it's not advisable to stay long. Let's go!" If possible, he was reluctant to travel with Lu Ye. Only by personally witnessing and experiencing it could one truly understand Lu Ye's power. But in the current situation, if he didn't act with Lu Ye, and encountered something similar again, he would be powerless to resist. Between a completely strange and perilous alien world and the somewhat familiar, powerful Lu Yiye, Ying Wuji naturally chose the latter. Especially since he had just been saved by Lu Ye. He believed Lu Yiye was now aware of this and would not harm him.

In mid-air, Lu Ye snapped out of his contemplation. With a raise of his hand, a lifelike fire dragon soared through the sky, twisting its body as it descended. The fire dragon crashed into the ground, and flames surged skyward, emitting an even fouler smell. Under the blazing inferno, the fragmented Ghoul bodies were engulfed by the fire, quickly turning into charcoal.

Having completed this, Lu Ye turned and flew in one direction. Ying Wuji, seeing this, quickly followed.

The murky sun set, but no bright moon rose, and even the starry sky above had few stars twinkling. This was a dying world, a world on the brink of destruction. But today, nine outsiders had suddenly descended, bringing a faint spark of life to this world destined for ruin.