Chapter 834: The King's Dignity

A rapid series of *clang clang clang* sounds erupted, like rain beating on banana leaves. The Iron Corpse Commander’s body shook violently from the onslaught of slashes, leaving wounds that ranged from shallow to deep, with flesh peeled back.Even as he had just taken flight, the Iron Corpse Commander was forced to move ten feet sideways, still unable to escape the furious, storm-like barrage of attacks.

"Roar!" he bellowed, his body rippling with corpse energy. He thrust a punch forward, piercing through layers of blade shadows and striking directly at Lan Ziyi.*Clang!*Another sound echoed. Lan Ziyi crossed her two blades in front of her, precisely blocking the attack, but a burst of violent force still pushed her back.

Just then, a powerful alarm blared in the Iron Corpse Commander's mind. A strong sense of crisis surged within him like boiling water. He turned his head to look, seeing Lu Ye standing not far away, imposing and ready. Lu Ye, who had previously ambushed him and repelled him with a single strike, now held his long blade in one hand. His sharp gaze pierced the Commander like a sword, and all his strength was being poured frantically into the blade. This caused the artifact-grade Mountain Crag Blade to glow with rolling fire, as if it were ablaze.The Iron Corpse Commander immediately recognized that Lu Ye was charging up an attack. The next strike he unleashed was bound to be world-shattering in power.

The Iron Corpse Commander remained unperturbed. No matter how powerful this impending strike was, it still needed to hit him. Lu Ye was currently charging, and Lan Ziyi had been pushed back. The remaining human cultivators were no threat at all. Thus, he leapt, soaring skyward, intending to escape this dangerous place.

But just as he ascended three feet high, a large, iron-like hand suddenly extended from an unknown location, gripping his ankle. To the Iron Corpse Commander's astonishment, the hand exerted tremendous force, directly pulling him down from mid-air.The next moment, the Iron Corpse Commander felt his vision flip and distort. His body was uncontrollable as he was slammed heavily onto the ground.It was clearly the owner of the large hand that had seized him, tossing him around like a rag doll.

*Boom!*A crater instantly appeared on the ground. A powerful tremor spread in all directions, making the eyelids of the previously besieged cultivators from the Nine Provinces twitch.*Boom, boom, boom!*Ju Jia swung his arms in wide arcs, slamming the ground with thudding impacts.

The Iron Corpse Commander was furious. With his powerful physique, such an encounter wouldn't inflict serious injuries, but he had never been treated like this before.While being tossed about, his body moved like a boneless viper, clinging to Ju Jia's arm. With a twist, he mounted Ju Jia's neck.

"Die!" he roared, one hand gripping Ju Jia's neck, aiming straight for Ju Jia's skull.Everyone watching this scene paled.

*Clink!* A crisp sound rang out. The Iron Corpse Commander's pupils contracted slightly, and an expression of disbelief welled up in his eyes.His seemingly assured strike had caused no damage to his opponent.He saw clearly that just as his attack landed, spiritual power converged above the opponent's head, suddenly forming a dense, layered shield that looked like countless miniature turtle shells.Its solid nature actually blocked his attack.

Before he could react with surprise, an unprecedented sense of crisis suddenly descended, enveloping him.He snapped his head up. In his vision, Lu Ye was already lunging forward. The brief charge had caused Lu Ye's aura to rise to a degree that made even the Iron Corpse Commander's face change. The blade, poised to strike, evoked a long-forgotten fear in the Iron Corpse Commander.

With a *snap*, Ju Jia extended his other hand and seized the Iron Corpse Commander's hand that was clamped on his neck.With one hand and one foot restrained, there was nowhere to escape. The Iron Corpse Commander finally panicked.

Lu Ye's body moved in a slight blur. The long blade, wreathed in fire, slashed out, passing by Ju Jia and the Iron Corpse Commander who was mounted on him. Lu Ye glided over ten feet before finally stabilizing his posture.The fiery glow receded, and the Mountain Crag Blade returned to its original unadorned appearance, its dark blade completely lusterless.

Behind him, the Iron Corpse Commander, still mounted on Ju Jia and simultaneously restrained by him, stared blankly ahead. His mouth opened and closed, as if trying to speak, but no sound emerged.Ju Jia's body twitched, shaking the Commander off. Before the Iron Corpse Commander even hit the ground, his body was severed, and copious amounts of foul-smelling corpse blood erupted.

Lan Ziyi slowly walked over from the side, glancing at Lu Ye's retreating figure, then at the Iron Corpse Commander on the ground, her expression unreadable.She knew Lu Ye's charged strike would be extremely powerful, but she hadn't expected it to be *this* strong. Such terrifying lethal force was beyond her reach.Of course, she also noticed that the long blade was an artifact-grade weapon. And when Lu Ye unleashed that move, he seemed to have activated the power of spirit patterns to imbue the blade. It was the combination of these various powers that resulted in such a formidable strike.

The battlefield mark on the back of Lan Ziyi's hand suddenly warmed slightly. She focused her mind to investigate and joy appeared on her brows.She saw a contribution!This was clearly a benefit from slaying the Iron Corpse Commander. This wasn't just battle merit from killing an enemy. No matter how strong the Iron Corpse Commander was, he was still equivalent to a cultivator in the Cloud River Realm. Killing him would yield the same battle merit as killing a ninth-level Cloud River Realm cultivator.However, battle merit wasn't solely acquired through killing enemies. Contributing and playing a role in such battles also earned battle merit.

This was likely a reward bestowed by Heavenly Secrets, an acknowledgment of her contribution.In any case, the Iron Corpse Commander was one of the few top powerhouses among the Corpse Race. His death held immense significance in clearing the corpse plague.It was similar to their previous battle in the Myriad Beast Domain secret realm, where she and Lu Ye had collaborated to kill Niu Meng. After that battle, she had also gained a substantial amount of battle merit.

This was also why she had sensed Lu Ye's intention earlier and insisted on following him—who wouldn't want to participate in something beneficial?She had gained considerable battle merit, but Lu Ye should have received even more. Although all three had contributed to this battle, Lu Ye was the one who delivered the killing blow to the Iron Corpse Commander and exerted the most effort.

The sight of such a powerful Iron Corpse Commander being slain by the combined efforts of three individuals in less than ten breaths utterly stunned the nearby cultivators from the Nine Provinces.Only then did they deeply realize the immense gap between them.Their dozen or so people had been powerless against the Iron Corpse Commander's assault, capable only of waiting for death. Yet, Lu Ye and the others had eliminated him as easily as autumn winds sweep away fallen leaves.The top two ranks on the Cloud River Hegemony List truly lived up to their reputation! With the Iron Corpse Commander dead, the surrounding Corpse Race members could no longer cause any trouble. The group quickly joined forces to eliminate all Corpse Race members in their sight.

Lu Ye's mind was set on finding the Golden Corpse King's trail. He didn't linger. After resolving the immediate troubles, he quickly departed.The trio roamed around, making significant gains, but the Golden Corpse King seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.Lu Ye couldn't help but suspect that he might have already escaped the Heavenly Mischief Sanctuary.

Given the current situation, the Corpse Race here could no longer cause significant trouble and would sooner or later be purged by the enthusiastic cultivators from the Nine Provinces. Even Corpse Race members scattered across various corners of the Peerless Continent would become targets for Nine Provinces cultivators in the future.After all, such direct and simple opportunities to earn battle merit were rare.For the Nine Provinces cultivators, every one of these hideous-looking, foul-smelling Corpse Race members was a lucrative target.The Golden Corpse King was not foolish. With the tide turned against him, he was unlikely to remain.He himself looked no different from an ordinary Corpse Race member. If he intended to hide among the horde, it was likely no one would be able to find him.

They had, however, seen the body of the Silver Corpse Commander... The battlefield where his corpse lay was utterly gruesome. Although Lu Ye hadn't witnessed it personally, he could still imagine the scene.Numerous Nine Provinces cultivators had besieged the Silver Corpse Commander. The Silver Corpse Commander had rampaged, slaughtering many, but ultimately he was overwhelmed and fell there. Judging solely from the remnants of the battlefield, the Nine Provinces had paid a considerable price to slay the Silver Corpse Commander.

"Follow me. I think I know where the Golden Corpse King is," Lan Ziyi suddenly said, just as Lu Ye was about to give up searching for the Golden Corpse King's tracks.Lu Ye turned to look at her.

Lan Ziyi said, "We were overthinking it before, assuming the Golden Corpse King would hide among the corpse hordes to ambush Nine Provinces cultivators, or that he had already escaped this place. But in reality, he hasn't left at all, nor has he gone to ambush any cultivators.""Where is he?" Lu Ye asked.Lan Ziyi's gaze shifted upward, towards the tallest spiritual peak in the distance.Lu Ye frowned.

"He is the first Corpse Race member on the Peerless Continent, and he is the Golden Corpse King. He possesses the pride and dignity of a king. Now that the Corpse Race's momentum is gone, why would he act like a stray dog? There's a grand hall over there, and he's inside it."As she spoke, Lan Ziyi waved her fair, jade-like hand. "The information I've gathered from various sources indicates that many Nine Provinces cultivators who trespassed there have met gruesome ends. For now, no one dares to go near it. Couldn't you have asked around if you couldn't find him yourself? Or... do you not have any friends?"

As she spoke the last sentence, Lan Ziyi's lips curled into a mocking smile, her expression playful, as if to say, "Someone like you is destined to be a lone star, living out your life in solitude."Lu Ye merely raised the Mountain Crag Blade in his hand."Alright, I'll lead the way!" Lan Ziyi instantly straightened her face and led the way.

The name of the spiritual peak was long forgotten. The Corpse Race had occupied this place for a millennium, eradicating all traces of the old Heavenly Mischief Sanctuary.However, this was likely the tallest and a critically important spiritual peak of the former Heavenly Mischief Sanctuary.A grand hall stood atop the spiritual peak.

Throughout the entire Heavenly Mischief Secret Realm, figures of Nine Provinces cultivators and Corpse Race members clashed everywhere. Yet, this particular spiritual peak was utterly empty, devoid of a single Corpse Race member.Lu Ye couldn't help but believe Lan Ziyi's words somewhat.This abnormal situation alone spoke volumes.

A short while later, the three figures, as light as a breeze, drifted to the front of the grand hall on the spiritual peak. As they suddenly landed, Lu Ye's gaze sharpened, for he had already sensed the distinct aura he had specifically committed to memory within the hall.The aura of the Golden Corpse King, the Corpse Fiend!Inside the grand hall, there was a faint scent of blood, a lingering trace from the Nine Provinces cultivators who had previously stumbled in and been slain.A powerful aura, so potent it made no attempt to conceal itself, lingered within, like an evil dragon entrenched in its lair. Even knowing it would attract dragon-slayers, it made no effort to hide. This was his way of declaring his end with a world-shattering battle!This was the dignity of a king!