“We can only use it now!” said Cute Little Baby but it was too late.
Although the Herb Soul Seed that he cultivated was very powerful, it was not possible to kill the Flying Corpse in its strongest state. It would attack only when the Flying Corpse was at its weakest.
“Then can you release the Flying Corpse first? Don’t let the Herb Soul Seed acknowledge me in front of so many people!” said Yun Jiuge. “I’ll give it a try,” replied Cute Little Baby. He closed his eyes and began to chant again. But he stopped after a while, and apologized, “I ‘m sorry, I can’t do it.”
“Why?” Yun Jiuge frowned. If the Herb Soul Seed acknowledges its master, then it should listen and obey.
“Because the Herb Soul Seed has failed to devour it, the Flying Corpse is about to explode,” said Cute Little Baby. His round face was grave.
“Oh my god!” cried Yun Jiuge.
Yun Jiuge looked at the Flying Corpse with wide eyes. She saw that its four colors of gold, silver, copper, and iron beaming around randomly across the sky. A red light that resembled a small red sun started to glow from its chest. After a while, a terrifying shot of light was emitted.
There was a look of horror on Qiu Sen’s face. He immediately ordered the Monkey Demon Yin Corpses to retreat together with the disciples of the five sects.
Zi Shang rushed over at lightning speed and grab hold of Yun Jiuge. Instead of joining the retreating group, they fled in the opposite direction. Yu Sha was desperately tried to follow the duo.
The two of them traveled at great speed. After a while, they managed to travel a few miles away from the Flying Corpse.
The Flying Corpse let out a roar of pure pain and anger before it flew straight towards Yun Jiuge.
With a loud bang, the Qi from the Flying Corpse exploded. That caused all the Golden Corpses nearby to explode as well.
Lang Ya and others, who were several miles away, were blown out by the explosions. When they finally picked themselves up, they saw a big hole in the distance.
“Senior Yunjiu, Senior Yunjiu!” Lang Ya shouted for Yun Jiuge hoarsely. There was no reply.
Jin Chuan and the others carried grim, heavy faces. Without saying it out loud, they thought that Yun Jiuge must have been blown to pieces and perished.
Qiu Sen went and stood next to the big hole. His face was pale, his eyes were bloodshot. He was clenching his fists tightly.
He didn’t care whether Yun Jiuge was dead or alive. He was just very disappointed that he failed to acquire the Bloody Fiendish Pearls of the Flying Corpse despite his careful planning.
“Elder, the Flying Corpse exploded unexpectedly. Let us go back and think about the countermeasures. We can come again next time!” said Si Youyue, trying to console the visibly upset Qiu Sen.
“Let us return to the safety zone,” said Qiu Sen. He exhaled heavily and turned away.
At least he had accumulated more experience in dealing with the Flying Corpse/ The next time the Fiendish Corpse Secret Realm re-opens, he must succeed in getting the Bloody Fiendish Pearls.
As Si Youyue turned to leave, she took a lingering look at the big hole. She couldn’t help but feel regret for Yun Jiuge’s premature death.
…
Yun Jiuge woke up from her muddled state. She found herself lying on the ground in a small forest.
She looked up at the sky. A cold light was shining down, just above her head. Tall, green grass was all around. There was a green forest to her left and a stream to her right.
Instead of the disgusting smell of the Fiendish Corpse Secret Realm, it was the earthy scent of fresh grass she detected.
Did she leave the Fiendish Corpse Secret Realm?
It cannot be. She recalled the Flying Corpse exploding in front of them while they were still in the Fiendish Corpse Secret Realm.
It was Zi Shang who shielded her and took the blows before they fell in here.
“Zi Shang, Zi Shang!” shouted Yun Jiuge. She was feeling lost and in a state of panic.
“Don’t shout so loudly, I am all right,” answered Zi Shang weakly.
Yun Jiuge quickly rolled up her sleeves to check on the purple mark on her wrist. It was still there but the color had faded. As long as Zi Shang was still alive, it didn’t matter.
“Why did the Flying Corpse explode so suddenly?” asked Zi Shang. He remembered how the Flying Corpse was still fighting fiercely. Was someone trying to get Yun Jiuge killed?
“If I were to suspect anyone, it would Cute Little Baby! That liar was so confident that the Herb Soul Seed he cultivated could consume the Flying Corpse!” answered Yun Jiuge. Now, she just wanted to beat him up!
“Cute Little Baby probably did his work correctly. Perhaps it was something else that caused it,” suggested Zi Shang.
“I’ll call him out to ask,” replied Yun Jiuge. When she reached out to contact the Magic Cauldron, she found to her horror that the Meridians in her body were in a mess. The poison of the Nine Stages of Fractured Bones had spread throughout her whole body. Her spiritual energy had completely stopped flowing.
Not only did she lose her contact with the Magic Cauldron, but she also could not retrieve her Magic Bottomless Bag either. And, worst of all, her disguise was gone! She had turned back into her female self.
“I guess this is all due to the explosion just now. Give yourself some time for recovery.
Your injury is only temporary, don’t worry too much. So what if you changed back to your female body, let it be. Males turning into females in the Yin Corpse Sect is already a precedent,” Zi Shang said to Yun Jiuge.
The effect of the Form Illusion Herb that he gave her had its limit. Yun Jiuge could not stay as a man for the rest of her life. He was always trying to find an opportunity to change her gender back anyway. Being part of the Black Magic Sec, such gender change was not unusual.
“Alright,” replied Yun Jiuge. She did not know what else to say.
She felt pain all over her body. The pain was especially bad in her left leg.
“Have you broken a bone?” asked Zi Shang, reacting to Yun Jiuge’s grimace.
“I think so,” Yun Jiuge said. Her breathing was labored as she carefully pulled up her pants. As she checked her broken leg, she found that there were multiple fractures.
Zi Shang was badly hurt, her cultivation was now useless and she had a broken leg. She could not be in a worse off situation.
“No worries, once I recover, everything will be better,” Zi Shang reassured her. His voice was firm, nothing could shake him.
Yun Jiuge quickly calmed down after her short bout of panic.
She groped around for some thick branches on the ground. Then she tore off the hem of her long sleeve, clenched her teeth, and pushed her broken bones back in place. Now she felt sturdier.
When she was done, she was sweating profusely.
“We shall leave near dawn. We need to know what’s the situation like as soon as possible,” Zi Shang said.
“It is almost dawn, I will start moving out now,” Yun Jiuge said. She was using two thick, long branches as crutches to get up. Then she walked up to the stream.
After about half an hour, with the sun high up in the sky, Yun Jiuge saw a small village in the distance.
For a moment, she was glad. As long as they meet someone, they can figure out where they are.
If only she could find some Spiritual Herbs to suppress the poison in her body, she could then use the content of her Magic Bottomless Bag.
Zi Shang cautioned, “Don’t rush in, let’s check out the situation first.” He stopped Yun Jiuge in her excited rush forward.
“Alright.” Yun Jiuge calmed down and sneaked towards the village along the remote path.
It was already daytime, yet there was not a single living soul around the village.
It was too quiet.
When Yun Jiuge arrived at the middle of the village, she heard a grievous voice coming from somewhere, “Master Envoy, please let my daughter live, she is still young, she is still young!”
“Shut up, how dare you block me! I’ll exterminate your entire village!” said someone in an arrogant tone.
Yun Jiuge hid herself so that she would not be seen. Then she poked her head out to spy on what was going. She was instantly surprised.
