Chapter 102: The Psychic

"It truly is the Corpse Immortal Cult Master's son..." Qin Mu's expression darkened. "What an unbelievable coincidence! Of all people, the Cult Master's son attacked me, and he's so weak he couldn't even withstand a single sword strike."

This time, the Corpse Immortal Cult definitely wouldn't let him go!

Before the flying zombies even got close, he smelled a foul, fishy odor. The zombies' nails were dark green, clearly indicating poison!

"It's corpse poison!"Qin Mu immediately recognized the toxicity from the smell. The Herbalist had taught him pharmacology, including how to distinguish various poisons and medicinal properties from different scents. Qin Mu had practically been raised on medicine by the Herbalist, giving him an exceptional ability to identify medicinal and toxic substances.

If the corpse poison on these dozen or so fingernails pierced the skin, blood would first coagulate, then muscles would stiffen to the hardness of rock, becoming impervious to blades and spears. Eventually, consciousness would vanish, and the soul would disintegrate!

Qin Mu sprinted, but the flying zombies behind him were faster, and the distance between them rapidly closed.

Sheets of yellow paper continuously spread forward. The flying zombies in the air leaped repeatedly, about to catch up to them!

Behind him, He Yin waved his hand, and firebirds with flapping wings flew through the air. Even before they got close, a wave of intense heat rolled forth, generating a hot wind that instantly withered the green grass on the ground, leaving no moisture.

This person seemed to be proficient in both spellcasting and sword control, cultivating both styles simultaneously. This used to be rare. However, the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace had boldly reformed and innovated, uniting all sects under the imperial court's command. This broke down many established barriers, reducing the divide between different styles and leading to their convergence.

Even unorthodox sects like the Corpse Immortal Cult took advantage of this great upheaval to improve their cultivation techniques and divine arts, developing many new spells and abilities.

"No, it must be three styles! The moves these flying zombies are using belong to the combat techniques style!"

Qin Mu frowned, suddenly putting more power into his steps. His body weaved and darted like a dragon, dodging the fiery great bird attacking from behind.

Unexpectedly, the fiery great bird exploded with a thunderous roar. The blazing explosion rapidly expanded into a massive fireball, six to seven zhang in radius. The powerful air blast and intense flames violently hurled Qin Mu away!

Before Qin Mu landed, he saw sheets of yellow paper fluttering towards him. Eight or nine flying zombies, stepping on the yellow paper, passed through the exploding flames and charged at him!

These flying zombies were all martial arts experts at the Five Luminaries realm. Their bodies had been refined to be as hard as spirit weapons. Their moves were simple—shovel, slice, snip, thrust—but if he were surrounded, he would have no chance of escaping.

Flying zombies pursued him on the ground, while more attacked from the air. Furthermore, He Yin was launching divine art attacks, making the situation extremely unfavorable for Qin Mu.

Sheets of yellow paper flapped and rustled, cutting through the air with sharp whistling sounds. He Yin appeared to be controlling the yellow paper, but he was actually employing sword techniques. These techniques were exceedingly refined, hardly inferior to those of the Li River Sword Sect.

Most critically, the talismans drawn on the yellow paper with cinnabar and fresh blood gave him a very bad feeling.

If it were ordinary paper, it certainly wouldn't match the power of a sword. However, drawing talismans on them indicated that the talismans held hidden power!

While still in mid-air, Qin Mu sealed his own soul using the Creation Heavenly Devil Cultivation Art without hesitation. Then, with a surge of vital qi, he shook the little fox out of his satchel and quickly tapped with his fingers, sealing her soul within her body as well.

Fox Spirit R'er, poked and prodded by him, was both embarrassed and annoyed, squeaking as she scurried back into the satchel, refusing to come out.

Sealing a soul required touching sensitive parts of the body, and since she was a female fox, she was still a bit shy.

Qin Mu had no time for such concerns. Yellow paper was paper money burned for the dead, and drawing talismans on it suggested their power was likely directed at souls. If he collided with these sheets of yellow paper, and the talismans on them exploded with power, his soul would likely be harmed. So, he sealed his soul beforehand to avoid being caught off guard and suffering their harmful effects.

Whoosh—The yellow papers descended from the air. Along with them came eight flying zombies. The yellow papers flew past Qin Mu's sides, and the eight flying zombies converged, surrounding him from all directions.

Qin Mu was still in mid-air and began to fall. Below him, five ragged flying zombies leaped up, attacking him from below.

Simultaneously, sheets of yellow paper darted through the group of zombies.

"Still!" He Yin roared.

A sheet of yellow paper suddenly ignited, but the runes written with cinnabar and fresh blood didn't vanish. Instead, they floated in the air, growing larger in the flames, and shone directly onto Qin Mu.

Qin Mu seemed unaffected. A fish-dragon leaped up behind him, opening its mouth to spit out a sword. The youth from Disabled Elderly Village's vital qi surged, an arm-thick strand of vital qi coiled around the Young Protector Sword, and with fingers held together, he executed a horizontal slash.

Decapitating Sword Form!

Sword qi tore through the air, and a flying zombie's head fell to the ground.

He Yin, who was rapidly approaching, was startled. Sheets of yellow paper unleashed their power, attempting to immobilize Qin Mu.

His immobilizing talisman's purpose was to fix a person's three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls. If the souls were fixed, the body would also be unable to move. However, the previous immobilizing talisman hadn't worked, which puzzled him.

The runes on the other yellow papers erupted with power. Strange runes appeared all around Qin Mu, but he remained completely unfixed. With a flick of his fingers, the Young Protector Sword transitioned from the Decapitating Sword Form to the Lifting Sword Form, slicing another flying zombie in half from bottom to top. Immediately, it changed to the Sweeping Sword Form, and the Young Protector Sword swept around the neck of a third flying zombie.

The tip of the Young Protector Sword pointed outwards, forming a circle like cloud-weaving swordplay, completing a full sweep. All around, the heads of the flying zombies fell to the ground!

In the blink of an eye, eight flying zombies were instantly beheaded and fell to the ground.

Cloud Sword Form.

Qin Mu's swordplay was incredibly fast. The simpler the move, the faster the sword strike. With the Young Protector Sword's sharpness, he slew all eight flying zombies before they could even attack him!

He Yin's face showed pain. Flying zombies, when they surrounded an opponent, were usually a sure-fire way to deal with powerful combat technique or spell practitioners. But against a sword cultivator like Qin Mu, it was difficult.

Especially when the sword cultivator's blade was incredibly sharp, it practically countered his flying zombies.

He used a corpse-raising ground to refine his flying zombies. Their physical strength was extremely high; ordinary spirit weapons couldn't harm them. Moreover, flying zombies had no souls, making soul-targeting spells ineffective against them.

Qin Mu's horizontal slash seemed unremarkable, but it cleanly severed a head. Clearly, this sword was a treasure that surpassed most spirit weapons!

He Yin quickly stopped, recalled the five flying zombies below, and from the sword pouch on his back, more sheets of yellow paper flew towards Qin Mu, slicing through the air!

Qin Mu seized the opportunity to land, facing He Yin but retreating. He used the Heaven-Stealing Legwork taught by the Cripple, sprinting even while moving backward, maintaining his speed without any hindrance.

Whoosh—Sword light flashed. Qin Mu controlled his sword with vital qi, stabbing at the incoming yellow paper.

Boom—A violent explosion erupted. His Young Protector Sword had just intercepted the first sheet of yellow paper when the talisman on it exploded with a roar. The bursting power of this talisman instantly detonated the runes on the other papers, creating a chain of explosions. Qin Mu was hit by the air blast, his chest suffered a massive shock, the air in his lungs was almost completely squeezed out, and he was uncontrollably sent flying backward!

He flew over ten zhang away. Inside his satchel, Fox Spirit R'er quickly activated a spell, conjuring a strong gust of wind that counteracted the terrifying impact, finally stopping Qin Mu.

However, the vital qi strands connected to the Young Protector Sword were also shattered by the terrifying explosion. The Young Protector Sword whistled away, disappearing into the darkness.

Qin Mu landed, taking a deep breath, then coughed violently twice. Although he had been prepared, his internal organs were still injured by the explosion. This was despite wearing clothes made of Hundred Poisons Golden Silkworm Silk; without them, this single explosion would likely have killed him.

"He's still not dead?"He Yin pulled out a jar of foul-smelling ointment, threw it to one of the flying zombies, and immediately flew towards Qin Mu, intent on killing him. His yellow papers contained fire divine arts; they could slice and kill opponents, or they could explode. The physical damage from the explosion was secondary; the greatest harm came from the thunderous sound it generated!

If one directly faced the thunderous impact of the explosion, the three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls, even if not shattered, would be shaken out of the body and destroyed in the explosion!

It truly exceeded his expectations that Qin Mu managed to withstand the explosion and the soul-shattering thunder.

However, blocking that one attack was nothing. Qin Mu's extremely sharp treasure sword had been blasted away, its whereabouts unknown, and he was also injured by the runes. Now, only death awaited Qin Mu!

Qin Mu, instead of retreating, advanced. He unfastened his sword sheath from his back and, surprisingly, used his vital qi to control it as if it were a sword, thrusting it towards He Yin. At the same time, his footsteps moved like a phantom, shifting erratically, rapidly closing in on He Yin!

He Yin sneered. His vital qi erupted, transforming into fiery birds that swooped towards Qin Mu. Simultaneously, yellow papers fluttered from the sword pouch on his back, and runes flew out, slashing at Qin Mu!

Qin Mu's steps became even more erratic. He suddenly shouted and thrust with his fingers held together!

Piercing Sword Form!

The sword sheath whistled as it thrust towards He Yin. He Yin sneered, and a sheet of yellow paper flew out from his sword box, meeting the sheath.

Although Qin Mu's thrust had considerable power, the sword sheath's opening was facing him, not the sharper sheath tip. Even if it hit him, the damage wouldn't be significant.

He only needed to detonate one rune to block Qin Mu's attack and blast the sheath away!

Just then, the sword sheath suddenly transformed. Its opening became a fish-dragon with an open maw, rushing towards him.

He Yin's heart jolted. Then, he heard a whooshing sound from behind: the Young Protector Sword, which had been blasted away by the explosion, was whistling back, aiming for his back!

He Yin dodged with a flash, just about to evade both the Young Protector Sword and the fish-dragon formed by the sword sheath. Suddenly, a small, furry head popped out from Qin Mu's satchel, opening its mouth to spew a whirlwind that momentarily immobilized He Yin.

He Yin broke free from the whirlwind, felt a chill on his back, as the Young Protector Sword impaled his shoulder blade, piercing through it and sending a jet of blood spurting into the fish-dragon's mouth!

Qin Mu, having succeeded with one strike, was about to pursue when he was suddenly engulfed by the fierce flames of the firebirds. Then, sheets of yellow paper were thrown into the inferno.

Boom—A violent tremor struck. Qin Mu spat blood and was sent flying backward. His vital qi coiled around the Young Protector Sword, which smashed into the forest with a resounding thud. Then, he leaped back up, bounded away, and vanished into the night with a whoosh.