The Corpse King spread his arms. His nails were curved like hawk talons. Ten streaks of black light shot off into the surroundings from the tips of his fingers, which happened to be his fingernails.
Li Qingshan felt like his heart was in his throat as he desperately turned and weaved. If he were struck, then no matter how powerful his life force was, all that awaited him would be death.
The fingernail turned with him like a flying sword. Right when he was unable to dodge it, a sudden gust of strong wind appeared from the side, pushing him along.
The fingernail the size of a stone beam whistled past him as a few strands of his scarlet hair drifted through the air.
Li Qingshan nodded at Gu Yanying. If it were not for Gu Yanying’s fan swing, becoming heavily injured would be unavoidable even if he managed to survive. Afterwards, if he took on another attack or two, he would be in danger.
Gu Yanying was not under attack. Clearly, the Corpse King’s attacks were selective. They targeted those who could not defend or dodge.
If it were not for the spirit turtle’s warning, Li Qingshan probably would have been heavily injured. Gazing down, another two Golden Core cultivators had fallen in battle. Li Qingshan even recognised one of them. They happened to be one of the four grandmasters.
Another three Golden Core cultivators sustained damage of varying degree. Light damage referred to shattered lifebound arcane artifacts and a severed arm, while heavy damage was having the lower half of their body completely crushed. That person had only managed to hold on with the life force of a Golden Core cultivator, but he was still on his last breath.
Before the Golden Core cultivators could even complete the encirclement, they had been frightened out of their wits.
This was the horror of a Corpse King. An entire realm of cultivation separated them. Even though he could not unleash his full strength, he was still not something a group of Golden Core cultivators could treat with scorn. If they wanted to stop him, then they better be prepared to die!
The Dark Queen’s Void-bellied Ghost King forcefully took on three fingernails and was on the cusp of collapsing. It would probably give way with one more attack.
The Dark Queen glanced behind before looking at the Corpse King again and taking in a deep breath.
Fierce wind whistled as rolling yin qi surged into the Void-bellied Ghost King’s cavernous mouth. Its body consolidated once more as its belly bulged high into the air.
“You still won’t give up!”
The Corpse King pressed his hands against the ground, and his body pulled a little further out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. His aura became even more powerful and intense. Rings of corpse qi coiled around his arm as he struck the Void-bellied Corpse King’s belly.
The Void-bellied Corpse King leaned forward and skid several kilometers, ploughing two huge trails in the ground. Yin qi gushed out of its mouth as it became extremely haggard.
During that, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts opened even wider. The Corpse King’s strength did not wane, instead growing greater and greater. Although he had lost countless subordinates, the entire Hungry Ghost realm was supporting him in expanding its territory.
The Corpse King said, “All of you will die here today!”
And that strange skeleton. While its white flames were terrifying, they were unable to breach his protective corpse qi. Its strength was only around the level of a Corpse Commander. He refused to believe something so weak could destroy the Hungry Ghost realm.
“As long as I can use my full strength, I can kill it in a single palm strike.”
The omen of warning in Li Qingshan’s heart was growing more intense!
An opponent as powerful as that was well beyond what he could handle with his current cultivation. He would already be fortunate if he were able to escape.
But there was nowhere to escape. He would not escape either!
When facing an undefeatable opponent, some would feel fear and despair, while others would rouse and get their blood pumping. He was the latter.
He glanced at Xiao An from afar. Xiao An had already helped out tremendously by destroying the corpse army and suppressing several dozen Corpse Commanders. It was up to him now.
His fighting spirit began to bubble, and there were no more unnecessary thoughts in his head. He only thought about how he could defeat the opponent.
“Send me off!”
“Alright!” Gu Yanying waved her folding fan, and a tornado-like gust of wind pushed Li Qingshan along with a great and gentle force.
Li Qingshan unfurled his wings, and his entire body blazed. He pushed his speed to the limit, leaving behind a long trail of flames like a burning meteor. He sailed across the sky and descended.
He’s just bringing about his own doom, like a moth to a flame! That was what everyone present thought at that moment.
The Corpse King raised his hand, about to crush this overconfident moth.
The fire made a turn, flying over the Corpse King’s head and landing five kilometers away.
The Marquis of Ruyi realised what he was doing. He widened his eyes and called out, “The golden cores!”
Li Qingshan would never launch a suicide attack. His target was not the Corpse King, but the golden cores left behind by the two Golden Core cultivators the Corpse King killed in a single strike.
Were there any Golden Core cultivators present that would stop him?
With a scoop, Li Qingshan obtained two golden cores, along with two hundred treasures pouches. He casually shoved the two golden cores into his mouth before turning around. However, he still did not charge toward the Corpse King.
In the battle earlier, a Golden Core cultivator had been killed before he could blow up his golden core, which had fallen to the ground, while another cultivator had been incinerated by the Samādhi Flames of White Bone.
Li Qingshan had locked onto the positions of the two golden cores a long time ago.
Everyone only saw a streak of firelight revolve around the Gate of Hungry Ghosts from afar a few times!
He had obtained another two golden cores.
Li Qingshan directly shoved them into his mouth before flying off into the distance. Four golden cores were in his belly.
Gu Yanying cried out, “Spit it out, quick!”
Every golden core contained the essence of several centuries of cultivation from a Golden Core cultivator. It was true that they contained great energy, but consuming them like that was not cultivation, but suicide.
He had consumed four golden cores together, and their elements were completely different. It was possible to imagine the outcome when four golden cores exploded in the body. No matter how tough his body was, no matter how great his life force was, it would all be torn to shreds. He would be more dead than dead.
Li Qingshan smiled at Gu Yanying, but the smile became vicious very soon. His handsome, flawless face was replaced by the fierce, hideous face of a daemon. His body stretched upwards, three meters, fifteen meters, thirty meters, sixty meters…
Having transformed into his original daemon form, his eyes shone like embers as his hair burned like fire. A huge pair of fire wings raged behind his body, no longer possessing the resplendence of the phoenix, but more unscrupulous and turbulent.
Li Qingshan dropped to his knees loudly. The powers in the four golden cores erupted in his body at the same time, rampaging around furiously.
He used the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression to suppress it desperately while bringing tranquility to his mind and allowing his thoughts to become intricate. He did everything he could to control and lead every portion of the power.
But even with that, his muscles bulged like they were tumours before exploding loudly and turning into balls of fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was as if countless bombs were buried in Li Qingshan’s body, and they were set off consecutively.
In the blink of an eye, there was no longer a single part of him that was complete. It had all turned into fire that blazed vigorously. If he had not reached the first layer of the Phoenix Transformation already, he probably would have been on the verge of death.
Through the flames, it was possible to clearly make out a hideous skeleton standing proudly.
Crack! Crack! Fractures appeared on the bones. Even the sturdy tiger bones were unable to withstand the power of four golden cores exploding simultaneously. They were like cracks that riddled a dam, basically on the cusp of collapsing.
The Marquis of Ruyi had also become dumbfounded by his maddening actions. “H- Has he lost his mind? This wretched daemon!”
The Corpse King laughed wildly. “Is this your ray of hope? I haven’t even done anything, and you’re already close to death.”
He was out of his mind if he thought he could breakthrough by simply swallowing a few golden cores on the spot!
……
In the sea of blood, the Skeleton Demon Formation was torn apart, returning to Xiao An’s wrist. Their colour had even become slightly dim. Only when the Samādhi Flames of White Bone drifted across them did they recover their lustre.
The Blood Sea Banner had finally reached its limit with suppressing several dozen Corpse Commanders. If she tried to continue, she would damage the Blood Sea Banner.
Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan in worry before settling down and shaking the Blood Sea Banner.
Several dozen Corpse Commanders of various strange shapes and sizes flew out.
The cultivators all changed drastically in expression. The moon demon had forcefully swallowed several golden cores and was on the brink of death. The Corpse King was so ferocious too, and now they also faced a pincer attack from so many Corpse Commanders. Death was basically certain.
These wretched daemons truly were not reliable!
Xiao An lifted the Buddha Slaying sword embryo silently.
The Corpse Commanders had broken free after all this, so they were utterly fuming. They immediately gathered their corpse qi for revenge, only to see there was not a single Corpse Soldiers remaining on the ground for them to command. They could not help but be taken aback.
They had only been suppressed in the Blood Sea Banner for a short moment, yet the situation outside had changed so drastically.
Xiao An did not care about what they thought either. She swung the Buddha Slaying sword embryo backwards and leapt up, shooting towards the group of Corpse Commanders like a bolt of lightning. She actually wanted to face off against several dozen Corpse Commanders alone.
Even Gu Yanying began to think her mental capacity was a little lacking. These two basically could not be understood with conventional thinking!
Why would the Corpse Commanders be afraid? They roared as they received her, but they did not lose their calm. Their auras linked together, weaving into a huge, flawless net. They wanted to trap her in the net before ripping her to shreds.
The one that lunged at her was the mourning-stick-wielding Corpse Commander who matched Han Anguo evenly earlier. He let out a sharp wail that could sway the minds of people like an invisible, sharp pick. The mourning stick in his hand turned into hundreds of blurs, yet every single blur was a real attack, raining down on her head like a storm.
The other Corpse Commanders used various attacks too as punches, teeth, claws, and corpse qi all rushed over.
Xiao An brought the Buddha Slaying sword embryo before her calmly and began swinging it skillfully. She was like a master of calligraphy unleashing a wild scribble, free and easy, taking great delight in the process.
She passed through the net the Corpse Commanders weaved. The Corpse Commanders who confronted her directly all became stunned in the air.
The Corpse Commander dressed in mourning attire gazed at the mourning stick in his hand. It suddenly broke into two pieces along the middle, falling to the ground. Then he lowered his head and gazed at himself. Slashes criss-crossed his body, first as black lines before expanding and separating.
His face was filled with disbelief. He used his hands to cover his wounds as black corpse qi flowed out between his fingers.
In that moment, he was carved into pieces, falling out of the sky.
In a single clash, five Corpse Commanders had been cut to pieces.
It was true that the Buddha Slaying sword embryo did not possess any powers yet. It was only especially tough and sharp, so sharp that whether it was the protective corpse qi or the Corpse Commanders’ indestructible bodies, none of them seemed to exist before it.
“What sword is that? Even my atmospheric winds aren’t that great.” Gu Yanying was stunned. Her atmospheric winds were powerful, but collecting and refining them was extremely troublesome. It was nowhere near as convenient as a sword.
Only now did Han Anguo remember his battle with the Corpse Commander in mourning attire earlier, which left him even more speechless. Originally, he thought it was about time to teach the daemons a lesson and clean up the matters of the Clear River prefecture, but he no longer possessed that confidence now.
When he looked over at the moon demon, something startling was happening there too!
