Chapter 100: The Corpse Duel (One Hundred Chapters! Kindly recommend, subscribe, and bookmark! Much appreciated!)

“If you know what’s good for you, obediently swallow this Corpse Heart Pill and willingly become one of my trained corpses. That way, you’ll save your own life. When you later master the corpse cultivation techniques, I won’t treat you unfairly,” Murong Xuewei said sternly.

Liang Yan chuckled softly, folding his hands behind his back with a calm demeanor. “That depends on whether you have the ability, miss.”

When he was only at the fifth stage of Qi Refinement, his divine abilities made him fearless even against cultivators at the seventh stage of Qi Refinement. The only ones who could threaten him were exceptional prodigies like Zhuo Bufan, the renowned sword disciple from a prestigious sect.

Now, with his cultivation greatly advanced to the seventh stage of Qi Refinement, Liang Yan was confident he could hold his own against formidable opponents such as the Red-faced Ghost or Zhuo Bufan. How could he possibly take this corpse herder in front of him seriously?

Seeing his composed expression and utter disregard, Murong Xuewei scolded him angrily. She quickly formed a hand seal with her right hand while ringing the black bell in her left.

At her command, four zombies suddenly charged at Liang Yan. Initially, their movements were stiff and awkward, as if their limbs were rigid. But after a few steps, they gradually became agile and swift, moving with surprising speed.

Liang Yan immediately reached into his storage pouch and drew out a silver-white sword—the “Dingguang Sword” once belonging to Zhuo Bufan.

Over the past month, while traveling with Yun Xuzi, he had been secretly refining this treasured sword. Only a few days ago did he finally erase Zhuo Bufan’s mark from it.

Though he had yet to fully imprint his own spiritual energy into it, its power was still far greater than that of an ordinary spiritual weapon.

The nearest zombie lunged forward, reaching out with a palm toward Liang Yan’s chest. Liang Yan held the sword and deflected the attack, striking the zombie’s palm with the Dingguang Sword.

Unexpectedly, the zombie did not dodge. Instead, it grasped the sword with both fleshly palms, from which black mist swirled rapidly, wrapping around the sword’s blade in an attempt to defile the treasured weapon.

Frowning, Liang Yan channeled his spiritual power through his palm. Moonlight suddenly surged on the Dingguang Sword, instantly slicing through the black mist enveloping it.

The zombie’s palm was cut with seven deep wounds, and it let out a shrill scream before leaping back.

But Liang Yan showed no mercy. He raised his sword and thrust a brilliant beam straight into the zombie’s lower abdomen, targeting its dantian.

Though he knew little about the necromantic arts, he reasoned that the dantian—the vital energy center—would be just as crucial for a corpse.

To his surprise, the sword pierced three inches deep but could not penetrate further.

The zombie moved without hesitation, swiping at Liang Yan with a clawed hand as if unaffected by the wound.

Black mist coiled around its claws, clearly laced with corpse poison. Liang Yan, though unafraid, did not want to be caught by it. He swiftly pulled back the Dingguang Sword and dodged the swipe.

At the same time, the other three zombies closed in, encircling him for a joint attack.

Although their necromantic skills were not especially refined, their immense strength and near-invulnerability made them formidable. A normal person could strike ten times without effect, but getting caught by one claw might mean death.

After fighting the four zombies for a while, Liang Yan’s eyes suddenly flickered as he noticed the talismans on their faces.

“Could it be that corpse herders control these trained corpses through these talismans?” he thought.

Acting on this insight, he changed tactics. Moonlight flared strongly on his sword as he swiftly slashed across the zombies’ faces, cutting off all the talismans in one stroke.

“Brother Liang, don’t!” Ji Lai, lying inside a nearby coffin, suddenly shouted.

Liang Yan was startled and looked toward Murong Xuewei, who wore a mocking and disdainful expression. She swiftly retreated with a tap of her toe.

A chilling sound emanated—a guttural, saliva-swallowing noise like a ravenous beast’s thirst.

Turning his head, Liang Yan saw the zombies’ auras suddenly surge. They lifted their heads and howled fiercely, as though long-suppressed malevolent spirits had been unleashed.

Murong Xuewei had already retreated ten yards away, no longer forming corpse-control seals nor ringing the black bell. She calmly observed the battle unfolding before her.

The four zombies roared again, locking their targets on Liang Yan as they charged once more.

The battle resumed: four corpses against one man. This time, the zombies moved at more than twice their previous speed.

After Liang Yan repelled one reckless zombie with a sword strike, another silently crept up from the side and swiped its claw toward his chest.

Liang Yan narrowed his eyes and countered with his sword.

When blade met claw, a wave of black mist spiraled up the sword’s tip and swiftly invaded his arm.

He felt a sour numbness in his right arm; a rotting aura emanated from it, gradually disrupting the flow of his spiritual energy.

Alarmed, Liang Yan realized that since he severed the talismans, the zombies’ speed and strength had more than doubled, and their movements had become frenzied and irrational.

That was not the worst. Their corpse qi had surged so greatly it could not be suppressed by the Dingguang Sword’s moonlight. Instead, it crawled along the blade, attacking Liang Yan.

Caught off guard, Liang Yan suffered a heavy blow. His spiritual energy became difficult to circulate in his right arm, forcing him to reverse his sword and leap backward through the air to escape the zombies’ encirclement.

When he landed, the four zombies had already formed a peculiar formation. Suddenly, each opened their mouths and expelled thick black mist.

The stench was overwhelming, so foul that even Ji Lai, leaning against a coffin nearby, felt nauseous.

The four jet-black mists, each as thick as a water bucket, converged on Liang Yan’s landing spot, engulfing him entirely. The swirling black mist extinguished all signs of life within.

“Hmph! I thought you had some extraordinary skill, but you’re just a clown courting your own ruin!” Murong Xuewei sneered disdainfully.

“Brother Liang!” Ji Lai wept aloud at the sight. “It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have chased after pleasures and dragged you into this mess. Now you’ve lost your life and cultivation—this is all because of my greed!”

Though he spoke with a sorrowful tone, no tears fell from his eyes. His face bore a strange, exaggerated expression.

“Hmph! So you finally admit you’re a freeloading scoundrel?” a cold voice suddenly emerged from within the black mist.

Murong Xuewei’s expression changed drastically, but before she could react, a solemn Buddhist chant echoed through the courtyard—majestic and pure, cleansing the soul like a wrathful Vajra glaring down upon demons.

Then, golden light surged within the black mist. Murong Xuewei saw a golden fist appear, which lightly swept through the air, shattering one of the zombies to pieces.

Her heart trembled violently. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her face pale as disbelief filled her eyes.

The golden fist made no sign of stopping. It paused briefly before striking toward the second zombie.

“Hold your blows!” an elderly voice called out from beyond the courtyard.