Free Web NovelChapter 31: Chapter 26: Demon Corpse
Demon Corpses are an extremely wicked and malevolent killing tool refined by Demonic Cultivators.
They are called tools because Demon Corpses have no independent consciousness, no soul, and not even a Soul Fire burning within their bodies like Zombies.
Demon Corpses have neither blood nor Soul Fire, but under the control of a Demon Dao master, they slaughter humans or beasts and then absorb their blood and vital essence to strengthen themselves.
The longer they are refined and the more flesh and blood they consume, the more powerful these Demon Corpses become.
They grow so powerful that they become impervious to blades, water, and fire, making them a major headache for any Martial Artist who encounters them.
Furthermore, many Demon Martial Artists soak these Demon Corpses in poison for long periods or place them in toxic, mist-filled canyons. They allow the poisonous fog to seep into the corpses until they become incredibly venomous, killing ordinary people on contact!
Because the practice of refining Demon Corpses is so vicious and an affront to nature, these Demon Martial Artists are despised everywhere, hunted down like rats in the street.
Even many other Demonic Cultivators look down on them and refuse to associate with them.
Shen Lang stood halfway up the mountain, looking down. Just as he expected, he saw numerous bodies scattered about. Not only had their blood been completely drained, but their entire bodies were rotten, presenting a truly terrifying and ghastly sight.
’Celestial Phoenix City is the closest city to the Purple Chu Imperial Capital. Not to mention the other powerful Sect influences in the area, this whole region is under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Copper Level Sect, the Imperial Dragon Sect. For Demonic Cultivators to dare run wild here, and with over a hundred Demon Corpses in tow... something about this is strange.’
Shen Lang’s eyes darted around. He took out an Evil Ghost Mask he used to use for fun and put it on. Then, he leaped down from the rock and began to sneak toward the group below, using the cover of the forest.
The Imperial Dragon Sect was the guardian sect of the Purple Chu Country, a Spirit Copper Level influence. Along with the Flower Sect and the Li Hen Sect, it was known as one of the three major sects of the Purple Chu Country.
Normally, even if Demonic Sects wanted to operate in the Purple Chu Country, they would stay far away from the territories of these three major sects.
’Because if something like this happened, it wouldn’t be long before powerful experts from various factions, and even the Imperial Dragon Sect itself, were drawn to the scene. To come so close to the Imperial Dragon Sect’s sphere of influence is practically a death wish.’
’The distance is so short that even someone like me, who can’t even afford a Spirit Beast for travel, could cover it in two or three days with a few Divine Movement Talismans.’
’That’s why a blatant display of Demon Corpses so close to the Purple Chu Imperial Capital has almost never happened before.’
By the time Shen Lang had crept close, the trapped group was already locked in a fierce battle with the horde of Demon Corpses.
Furious shouts and the clang of metal rang out continuously, punctuated by the occasional scream of a woman.
Shen Lang held his breath, concealed his aura, and scanned the scene. His gaze was immediately captured by a woman in a long blue robe.
The woman looked to be no more than eighteen or nineteen. She was as beautiful as a celestial maiden from a painting. Her black hair danced lightly, her eyes shone like stars, and her red lips and pearly teeth glistened with a crystalline luster. With her slender neck and flawless skin, her beauty was otherworldly, one in a million.
At this moment, the woman wielded a longsword, its movements trailing a wisp of blue light. She moved like an elf dancing among flowers, so captivating that one would completely forget the nauseating Demon Corpses nearby, their gaze utterly drawn to her.
Shen Lang wasn’t a lecherous person, but even he felt a sense of awe at the sight.
After a moment, he tore his gaze away and slowly swept it over the others on the field, sighing inwardly.
’This stunningly beautiful woman’s cultivation is around the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, on par with Xue Dangdang. In a place like this, she’s considered a powerful figure.’
’She cultivates a Water Element Technique, and the longsword in her hand is of a high grade. With a single round of attacks, she forced the Demon Corpses into a steady retreat.’
In the short time Shen Lang had been watching, she had already slain two Demon Corpses.
To the woman’s right was a clean-shaven, pale-faced middle-aged man. He had the highest cultivation among the group. He wielded a giant axe with a casual, fluid grace, yet each swing was powerful enough to split a Demon Corpse in two.
His cultivation was so strong that Shen Lang didn’t dare probe him with his Divine Thought. Based on the man’s aura alone, Shen Lang guessed he was at the Peak of Qi Martial Realm.
’That level of cultivation is almost comparable to the Celestial Phoenix City Lord’s.’
’Judging by his attire and actions, he’s likely the blue-robed woman’s guard. It seems the woman has a significant background.’
Aside from these two, the other two men and one woman seemed much weaker.
The weakest of them, a woman who appeared to be a maid, had the lowest cultivation, estimated to be at the Sixth or Seventh Heaven of the Martial Power Realm. Most of the screams on the battlefield came from her, but since she was in the center of the group, she was actually the safest.
The other two men’s cultivation levels weren’t low; based on their movements, they were likely at the Second or Third Heaven of the Qi Martial Realm, about the same as Shen Jianfeng.
However, although their cultivation wasn’t weak, the Demon Corpses’ defense was simply too strong. Their sharp swords only sent sparks flying when they struck the corpses, making it extremely difficult to kill them.
Many of the Demon Corpses they managed to kill were taken down only with the help of High Tier Talismans they carried.
But there were simply too many Demon Corpses—over a hundred of them. The group’s supply of Talismans was clearly not enough.
Moreover, many of the Demon Corpses were highly poisonous. As the saying goes, even an elephant can be killed by enough ants. After fighting for a long time, the group had been forced back by the Demon Corpses and were now huddled in a small circle.
On the surface, the group still seemed to have the situation under control. The barrier of light from their Defensive Spiritual Artifacts protected them well, and the number of Demon Corpses was steadily decreasing. It looked like it was only a matter of time before they broke through the encirclement.
However, that was not the case. Just outside the fray, two other Demon Corpses stood perfectly still.
From their appearance, these two Demon Corpses looked much the same as the ones attacking the group.
Their eyes were empty sockets, devoid of eyeballs, and their bodies were withered skin and bone.
One of them even had a fractured thigh, with the broken bone piercing through the flesh—a truly gruesome sight.
But the middle-aged man with the highest cultivation, while still fighting, was focusing most of his attention on these two Demon Corpses, glancing over at them from time to time.
His eyes were filled with apprehension!
Just as Shen Lang was observing those two Demon Corpses...
The one with the broken thigh suddenly tilted its head and "looked" directly toward Shen Lang’s position!
’A Spirit Corpse!’ Shen Lang was startled. He hadn’t expected a Spirit Corpse, one that had already developed Spiritual Wisdom, to appear!
’A Demon Corpse of this level... even if that middle-aged man is at the Peak of Qi Martial Realm, he probably couldn’t handle it without some powerful Magical Treasure or something that specifically counters Demon Corpses!’
’And the deadliest part is, there isn’t just one, but two of them!’
But what shocked Shen Lang even more than the two Spirit Corpses were two faint auras emanating from the pile of bodies behind them!
’There’s something even stronger!’
SHRIEK!
Just as Shen Lang’s gaze sharpened, the Demon Corpse with the broken thigh let out a sharp cry. It shot up high as if propelled by springs under its feet, lunging with incredible speed toward the tree where Shen Lang was hiding!
"Huh!?" The middle-aged man’s eyes flashed as he, too, looked over at the tree.
’’Hmph, so it’s targeting me?’’ Shen Lang spun around, swinging his right leg skyward in a high kick that landed squarely on the chest of the leaping Demon Corpse.
With a deafening BOOM, the rock beneath Shen Lang’s left foot cracked. The Demon Corpse, however, simply somersaulted in mid-air and landed back in its original spot.
’This Demon Corpse is really tough. Its strength is immense.’ Shen Lang walked out, rubbing his tingling thigh with his left hand while holding the Celestial Water Blade in his right. With a casual flick, he lopped off the head of another Demon Corpse that pounced on him.
The middle-aged man’s expression shifted several times before he called out in a clear voice, "Friend, we are from the Shui Family of the Purple Chu Imperial Capital. We saw these Demon Corpses harming people and intervened out of anger, but we didn’t expect to get trapped here. We ask for your assistance, and we will reward you handsomely afterward."
"You overestimate me. Even with my help, escaping this horde of Demon Corpses is next to impossible," Shen Lang said, kicking one Demon Corpse away and slicing into the neck of another.
He truly wasn’t worried about these weaker Demon Corpses. The real problem was their sheer numbers and the fact that each one was incredibly poisonous. One careless mistake could lead to disaster.
Most importantly, there were those figures behind the two Spirit Corpses!
’No one here is a match for them!’
"Hmph, where did this bumpkin come from, spouting nonsense that raises the Demon Corpses’ morale and dampens our own! If you don’t want to help, then get lost and stop hindering us!" a young man in brocade robes to the stunning woman’s left said hostilely.
Another young man in black robes chimed in, "That’s right! Our Uncle Zhou is an expert at the Qi Martial Realm Ninth Heaven. What are these mere Demon Corpses? It’s only a matter of time before he slaughters them all!"
"Alright then. My apologies for disturbing you," Shen Lang said with a laugh. After slaying another Demon Corpse with his blade, his figure flickered strangely a few times, and he was already out of the battle!
He was already on the periphery to begin with, and his Body Technique was both bizarre and swift. Leaving was naturally a simple matter for him.
The people on the battlefield were all dumbfounded. They hadn’t expected this ghost-faced man to be so straightforward, leaving the moment he said he would!
The stunning woman grew anxious and hurriedly said, "Sir, please don’t mind my two friends’ words. They didn’t mean it. I hope you can help us escape this predicament... We’ve already sent for help. We just need to stall for a while, and experts from Celestial Phoenix City will arrive. Everything will be resolved then."
However, Shen Lang seemed to have made up his mind. He acted as if he hadn’t heard her, simply walking past the battlefield with his blade in hand.
"Young Miss, these Demon Corpses are endless, and the ground is now covered in poison! I’m afraid the others won’t last much longer. To catch the thief, we must first catch the king! Let’s each take on one of the Spirit Corpses!" Uncle Zhou said anxiously. "You don’t need to be a hero. Just hold one of them off for a while. I’ll risk it... I’ll sacrifice a Spiritual Artifact to kill one, then come help you!"
The woman’s face was flushed. She glanced toward the two young men who had just spoken and was shocked. She saw that their faces, along with her maid Cai Ying’s, were shrouded in a black aura. Their expressions were dazed, and their steps had become unsteady!
And beneath their feet, a disgusting green liquid had begun to pool everywhere, though no one knew when it started!
"Alright! Uncle Zhou, let’s go all out! We can’t drag this on any longer!" she shouted. "Cai Ying, Uncle Zhou and I will clear a path for you. The three of you, run up the mountain! These Demon Corpses are slow; they won’t be able to catch you."
"No, Young Miss! We can’t just leave you two behind!" the maid Cai Ying cried out.
"You run first! We’ll be right behind you. If you don’t go now, none of us will be able to escape!" the stunning woman shouted again.
Shen Lang, who had been walking slowly forward with his blade, suddenly turned his head and said, "It won’t be ’a while.’ You can’t escape even now." freewebnσvel.cѳm
"You!" The stunning woman was furious. Not only did this man refuse to help, but he was also making such cynical remarks. How outrageous!
She turned around and raised her voice, roaring, "The three of you, go now! That’s an order!" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Having said that, she let out a fierce cry, "Uncle Zhou, now!"
The Spiritual Artifacts in their hands flared with brilliant light as they carved a bloody path through the horde of Demon Corpses. Then, with a leap into the air, they charged toward the two Spirit Corpses...
"First, we take the king!"
