Chapter 478: Dead Corpses Army

Despite their limited interactions, Wu Manyue had already recognized Jiang Fan's shrewdness. It wasn't like Jiang Fan to kindly take a burden with him through the demon lands.

Jiang Fan offered a friendly smile: "Sister Wu, you're overthinking it. Since I promised to let you come along, I will naturally protect you. I have no other intentions."

Both were ancient, cunning foxes; what was the point of playing games? Wu Manyue stared intently at him and asked, "Can you tell me how you learned my puppetry?" This matter. She cared deeply! She cared immensely! To this day, she couldn't for the life of her figure it out. How Jiang Fan managed to cultivate a genuine technique from a fake cultivation method. It was simply illogical.

Jiang Fan's smile remained amiable, like a youth his age, sunny and innocent: "Didn't I just say? It was because Sister Wu wrote it in such detail that your junior brother could succeed." Wu Manyue gritted her teeth. Didn't Jiang Fan know full well what that cultivation method actually was? He was still pretending!

She had completely confirmed her suspicions. This young man was extremely slick. Trying to extract his secret so directly was wishful thinking. However, her insistence on following Jiang Fan was not without purpose.

"Hmph! You brat, good thing I kept a trick up my sleeve! You can manipulate the Black Banner, but my essence blood is within it. I am the true master! If we both try to control it simultaneously, the Black Banner will only obey my commands, not yours! When I find a chance, I'll let you taste the feeling of being backstabbed by a puppet!" Wu Manyue sneered inwardly. Were Wu Manyue's possessions so easy to take? Later, if they encountered any danger and Jiang Fan needed the three puppets' assistance, she would suddenly command the puppets to turn against him. At that point, caught in a pincer attack, Jiang Fan would surely be so enraged he'd spit blood, wouldn't he?

Just thinking about that scene made her body tremble with excitement.

"Having a seizure?" Jiang Fan glanced at her.

Wu Manyue's peach-blossom eyes widened. "You're the one having a seizure! I'm... I'm just excited. It's my first time entering the demon lands."

Jiang Fan smiled, saying meaningfully, "Then you'd better be prepared. Don't get scared stiff when you see some strange and bizarre things."

Wu Manyue was amused. As a disciple of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, she had experienced far more trials and tribulations than the disciples of the Nine Sects. It wasn't her first time in the demon lands. In fact, she had almost entered the demon heartland once. Unless she encountered the Demon Emperor itself, she couldn't imagine anything else that could scare her into convulsions.

"Well, if I do get convulsions, you'll have to hold me tight," Wu Manyue chuckled. Her two snow-white arms, like lotus roots, wrapped around Jiang Fan's neck. Her soft, voluptuous body snuggled deep into his embrace. A subtle, fragrant scent wafted towards him. As their movement swayed, she deliberately brushed against Jiang Fan's body. A mischievous glint occasionally crossed her face.

Jiang Fan's face flushed slightly. This vixen! Don't you dare cry later!

They flew for a full two hours. They had already penetrated a good distance into demon territory. Along the way, they had encountered five or six scattered demonic beasts. Whether they were at the Foundation Establishment or Core Formation stage, Jiang Fan killed them one by one and took their demon cores.

Jiang Fan exhaled softly. Sitting cross-legged on the corpse of a demonic beast, he circulated his cultivation method to replenish his spiritual energy. A glint flickered in Wu Manyue's eyes.

"Junior Brother, your spiritual energy doesn't seem to be very abundant. If we encounter danger later, will you still be able to whisk me away?" She had finally discovered Jiang Fan's fatal flaw! His cultivation level! No matter how endless Jiang Fan's methods were, his shortcoming was deadly: his cultivation level was too low. This meant his spiritual energy lagged far behind Wu Manyue's. If they encountered a slightly challenging opponent, Jiang Fan's spiritual energy would quickly deplete. At that point, if she turned against him, Jiang Fan would be lucky to escape with his life.

"Don't worry, it's fine," Jiang Fan said casually. He could take a spiritual replenishment pill anytime he wanted to restore his energy. The reason he circulated his cultivation method to absorb spiritual energy was actually to secretly communicate with the Evil Spirit while cultivating. At his speed, they had covered hundreds of miles in two hours. Yet, he still hadn't encountered the army of corpses. Could he have been searching in the wrong direction?

"Hey, Evil Spirit.""Senior!""Venerable Nascent Soul!"

But no matter how he called, the Evil Spirit remained silent. Jiang Fan couldn't help but mutter, "For a Nascent Soul Venerable, that's quite petty. Sulking already?"

Only then did the Evil Spirit's exasperated voice come from within the black mirror: "It's easy for you to say! Would you be willing to trade your Five-Magnet Elemental Mountain for some junk materials?"

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes. "Then keep sulking. Consider it unasked." He was joking. Even if his brain was kicked to mush by a donkey, he wouldn't trade.

"Hmph!" The Evil Spirit snapped, "Someone with such overwhelming luck like you should only leave in the middle of the day!"

Why are you cursing now? Is it bothering you that I obtained this supreme spiritual artifact through my own skill?

"Also..." The Evil Spirit seemed to sense something, growing even more irritable: "I told you to stay away from the army of corpses, and what do you do? You run right under their noses! Quickly, hang me somewhere conspicuous. I don't want to be buried with you in this ice and snow."

The army of corpses was nearby? Jiang Fan's heart pounded.

He quickly pulled Wu Manyue up and flew to a towering ice pillar.

"What are you doing?" Wu Manyue had been sitting comfortably, eating dried provisions. Suddenly yanked up by Jiang Fan, she nearly choked.

However, when she looked down from above and noticed the scene in the basin ahead, she trembled with fright. The dried provisions in her mouth slipped out, fell onto her prominent chest, and then bounced away.

"Wha... what is that?" Wu Manyue asked in disbelief.

She saw a vast, dark mass of demonic beasts in the basin. They were densely packed, stretching as far as the eye could see to the horizon. Their numbers were countless! Conservatively estimated, there were at least over a thousand of them!

And that wasn't all. These demonic beasts were rotting all over, and the foul, putrid stench they emitted drifted towards them on the wind. It made Wu Manyue gag. Her stomach, having just received some dried provisions, churned violently.

But even that wasn't the worst. Some of the demonic beasts had decayed so much that only their skeletons remained! Eerily, they were still moving. They were slowly but steadily approaching them.

Wu Manyue considered herself well-traveled and knowledgeable. Yet, the bizarre sight before her left her utterly stunned.

"They're corpses," Jiang Fan said. "An army of corpses commanded by a demon shaman!" Gazing at the vast, endless army of corpses, Jiang Fan couldn't help but gasp. Hearing the Evil Spirit talk about it was one thing. Seeing it with his own eyes was another! Such a terrifying divine ability truly existed in the world, one that could manipulate the deceased to fight. They feared no pain and were not afraid to die. Moreover, because they weren't living beings, they had no vital points. Killing them would be extremely difficult. Their numbers were also countless. How could one fight against this? A deep sense of dread weighed heavily on his heart.

Upon hearing they were corpses, Wu Manyue's entire body trembled uncontrollably, her pupils constricting to their limit. Her voice was laced with uncontrollable fear: "Don't tell me... this is the legendary army of corpses that appeared in ancient times, is it?"