Chapter 479: The Tribe Priestess

Her legs turned to jelly, and she plopped down onto the ground. She stared blankly at the vast, endless army of corpses. Her face turned pale. From the human perspective, she felt a profound sense of despair.

How could they possibly fight this? Was there even the slightest hope of winning?

Jiang Fan recovered from his shock. Without another word, he immediately took out three black banners and cast a spell on them. Three puppets, which had been following beneath the snow, instantly leaped out. Under Jiang Fan's command, the three puppets quietly headed towards the tide of corpses.

"What are you doing?" Wu Manyue was startled.

Jiang Fan replied, "I'm going to capture one and take it back to convince the entire Jièshān line to retreat."

Such a massive army of corpses was something the small number of people on Jièshān couldn't resist. They could only retreat to Sunset City.

"Are you looking for death?" Wu Manyue exclaimed. "What if you alert the army of corpses?"

Jiang Fan blinked and said, "Run, of course. Should we stay here and wait to die?"

Wu Manyue was both surprised and frightened, complaining, "Why didn't you say so earlier? If I had known it was this dangerous, you couldn't have dragged me here!"

Jiang Fan chuckled, "If I recall correctly, you insisted on coming along, didn't you?"

Uh—

Only then did Wu Manyue remember. Jiang Fan had warned her about the danger, but she hadn't taken it seriously.

"But... but you didn't say it would be *this* dangerous!" Wu Manyue was filled with intense regret. Heaven knew this little rascal was actually here to capture a corpse! What if they were discovered? Wu Manyue simply dared not imagine the consequences. Not to mention being chased by an overwhelming army of corpses, just consider the strength of the demonic priest who manipulated such a vast army of corpses. How could their power be weak? If that priest were to pursue them, even with extraordinary abilities, they might not be able to escape.

The three puppets had already quietly reached the edge of the corpse army. Under Jiang Fan's control, the three puppets suddenly launched an attack. They targeted a small demonic beast that appeared to have been in the Foundation Establishment realm when alive. Each of them grabbed one of the small demonic beast's legs and ran back quickly, holding it upside down like slaughtering a pig for the New Year.

Wu Manyue intently watched the movements of the corpse army. Her heart was in her throat. She silently prayed that the army of corpses wouldn't notice. Otherwise...

Fortunately, these corpse soldiers had no intelligence. When a companion was snatched away, they showed no reaction whatsoever.

Soon after, the three puppets returned. Although the small demonic beast was in the Foundation Establishment realm, its "small" size was only relative to the mountain-like adult demonic beasts; it was still as large as a woodshed. Pinioned to the ground by the three puppets, it continuously kicked its legs. Its decaying body, reduced to bones and a few rotting organs, struggled violently. Its mouth was wide open, trying to roar, but fortunately, its throat had long since rotted away. Otherwise, it would have already attracted the attention of the corpse army.

"Let's go!" Jiang Fan said decisively. The best outcome was that they hadn't been discovered by the corpse army.

So, he grabbed Wu Manyue. The three puppets carried the dead demonic beast. Both parties immediately rushed back the way they came.

Just as they started moving, Jiang Fan suddenly noticed an extremely subtle soul fluctuation radiating from the center of the corpse army. He was startled. Without a doubt, their actions had been discovered. His mind felt a slight disturbance. The worst outcome had occurred!

The radiating soul fluctuation seemed more like a scan. After sweeping over Jiang Fan and the others, it immediately locked onto them. Immediately afterwards, a soul power that made Jiang Fan's hair stand on end suddenly attacked from a distant sky.

"Soul attack?" Jiang Fan gasped. Could the demonic priest actually use soul secret arts like him? He knew how powerful this art was. He wouldn't dare to take it head-on. Without hesitation, he commanded one of the puppets to shield himself and Wu Manyue.

The next moment! The puppet's eyes rolled back; it didn't even groan but was instantly obliterated, its soul completely destroyed. It died on the spot! One of the black banners exploded in response! Fortunately, Jiang Fan was prepared; he swept his sleeve to dissolve the explosion's shockwave. Even so, the blast left shallow cuts all over his arm.

Jiang Fan's eyes showed annoyance. "So, it's a soul attack, is it? Then you can taste mine too!"

A solidified spike suddenly shot from his forehead, piercing forcefully towards the source of the opponent's soul attack.

"Ah!!" Faintly, the pained scream of a young girl was heard. The marching corpse army suddenly fell into chaos. Some trampled those in front, while others turned their heads and fought with those behind them.

It was clear. Jiang Fan had successfully wounded the opponent's soul. Unfortunately, the opponent's soul was incredibly strong, and it seemed he had only managed to wound them. He hadn't been able to obliterate the suspected priest.

"What happened? Why did one of the puppets die?" Wu Manyue looked at the dead puppet with a pained expression, full of complaints. She still didn't know that a soul battle had just occurred from afar.

Jiang Fan's eyes darted around. He handed her the two remaining small black banners and said, "Senior Sister Wu, thank you for your puppets' help this time. Since we've successfully captured one, I'll return them to their original owner." He had just used a puppet to block an attack. The opponent must have sensed the puppet's aura. If they were to pursue, they would likely follow the puppet's aura. So, it was better to return this hot potato to its original owner.

Wu Manyue was greatly surprised. She could hardly believe that such a good thing existed in the world. "Are you really giving them back to me?" Wu Manyue's face showed disbelief.

Jiang Fan directly tucked the two small black banners into her arms and said, "My master taught me from a young age to act as a gentleman and shun the desires of a petty person. Today, for the greater good of humanity, I was forced to take Senior Sister's formation banners, which already goes against my master's teachings. How could I dare to continue holding onto them? Please forgive any offenses committed earlier."

Wu Manyue opened her mouth. She was somewhat surprised. Was this Nine Sects disciple truly raised with such an upbringing? She actually felt some admiration for Jiang Fan's character. To find such a gentlemanly demeanor in the martial arts world of today was truly rare. He was truly a breath of fresh air. Her gaze towards Jiang Fan couldn't help but soften slightly. But that was all it was.

She thought to herself, "It would be great if there were more gentlemen like you. Otherwise, if everyone were as smart and resourceful as me, how would I ever gain an advantage?"

She accepted the two black banners and said, "Alright, Senior Sister forgives you. We're both contributing to the safety of humanity; even though one was destroyed, it was worth it." Her gaze shifted, and she said, "You can continue carrying Senior Sister for a while longer. When your spiritual energy is depleted, then Senior Sister will carry you!"

The journey back would take two hours. She needed to save her spiritual energy for the last crucial moment. As for Jiang Fan running out of spiritual energy, he could just wait to die. Wu Manyue wouldn't care.

But at this very moment! The corpse army began to fall into disarray. An incomparably powerful aura emanated from the center of the corpse army. Along with it came a sharp scream.

"You're looking for death!" The injured priest was enraged. A streak of afterimages shot out from the corpse army, charging towards them to kill!

"Ninth-level Core Formation?" Wu Manyue was terrified out of her wits. The demonic expert controlling the corpse army was actually at this level of power!

Jiang Fan's expression changed, and he said, "Senior Sister Wu, let's split up and run! I'll take the corpse. Don't worry about me, run by yourself!"

What? Such a good deal? The opponent would clearly target the corpse's aura for pursuit. She agreed without hesitation: "Alright! Then we'll meet at Jièshān."

No longer concealing it, she conjured a magical artifact. It was a small boat-like vessel. She jumped onto it, infused it with spiritual energy, and the small boat immediately glided swiftly across the snow. Its speed was surprisingly no slower than Jiang Fan's movement technique!

She turned her head, revealing a trace of cunning, and said, "Senior Sister forgot, I actually have this kind of magical artifact. Please don't blame me for hiding it from you. I didn't hide it on purpose."

He knew this woman was not simple. He also performed his movement technique, catching up to her and running parallel. He said meaningfully, "I don't blame Senior Sister. I just hope Senior Sister doesn't blame me either."