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-Xiao Chen and Murong Xian"er immediately made their way outside the place to where the edge of the formation was. They were able to get a clear view from the inside, but outsiders looking in would only see a piece of wildland.
It should be noon now, but it was dusky thanks to the dark clouds overhead. Xiao Chen looked in the direction of where the breath earlier came from. He could see two men dressed in black cloaks in the distance.
Both men emanated a peculiar breath, similar to that of the two Soul Wardens of that organization that dealt with souls, the Administration of Heaven. However, they weren"t exactly the same. He thought theirs reeked strongly of blood.
One of them said, "Search carefully. He should be in the area. There"s no place for him to hide."
The other one sneered. "Don"t worry. He can"t run this time."
Mid-conversation, a formidable force erupted from the ground and surged upward. This force caused the earth to quake, mountains to shake, and vegetation to reduce into powder. Surprised, they leaped backward. Their cloaks were crushed into pieces in an instant.
When they finally saw their appearances, Murong Xian"er was so frightened that she screamed. Xiao Chen immediately clasped his hand over her mouth.
The men were dripping with blood from head to toe, looking like living beings who had their skin stripped off. They were like evil spirits that had crawled out of h.e.l.l. Even Xiao Chen was shocked to see them. No wonder Murong Xian"er turned so pale.
Even though the two men had reacted swiftly to that overwhelming force earlier, they would have lost their bodies and souls if not for the magic treasure that flew out of one of their cloaks. Then, out of the blue, Yu Yangzi appeared near them. He was even more horrifying to look at. There was not even a single piece of complete flesh all over his body.
"What? Did my dear disciple send only two fresh Blood Corpses to fetch me home?"
The Blood Corpses were unusually calm. One of them said, "Grandmaster, your vital soul is in our hands. Please return with us!"
Yu Yangzi chortled. "I"ll be returning, but not now!" His arms suddenly shook violently, giving rise to winds. A devastating force jetted at the two Blood Corpses with enough strength to level the entire forest.
After a quick exchange of looks, the two Blood Corpses immediately propped a strange magic treasure up together. A loud explosion reverberated, the aftershock nearly causing the collapse of heaven itself. Even Xiao Chen, tucked away inside the formation, could feel how strong this force was. He couldn"t help getting worried if the formation would collapse if these three continued to battle. What if Yu Yangzi forced his way in and stole Su Xiaomei"s soul out of desperation?
The gale around them gradually calmed. The Blood Corpses took several steps in retreat, both having suffered light injuries. Yu Yangzi"s cultivation was far above theirs, but he looked even more badly harmed as he kept coughing up blood.
He wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth. Gasping, he said, "Hehe!" "Disloyal traitors! Do you only know how to use my vital soul against me?"
One of them replied, "Grandmaster, you have long become a Fiend Corpse. Your grievances span more than 500 years. How can we stand a chance if we don"t use your vital soul?"
Xiao Chen was secretly astonished. These people must be a part of the Corpse Refinery Sect. Judging from the words "Blood Corpse" and "Fiend Corpse" being thrown around, could it be that they not only refine corpses but also refined themselves into corpses? Moreover, they could evolve as well. This was a hair-raising piece of news.
Yu Yangzi sneered. "Why isn"t my dear disciple here this time? Is he planning to evolve into a Spirit Corpse?"
One of the Blood Corpses said icily, "Grandmaster, I advise you not to put up any futile resistance. Last time, you destroyed your Nascent Soul to escape. You"re not going to ruin the body that Great-Grandmaster refined for you, are you? Once you become a soul body and get yourself captured by people from that place, you"ll end up in a situation one thousand times worse."
The other Blood Corpse added, "Even the Great-Grandmaster who had evolved into a Spirit Corpse could sacrifice himself. Can"t you sacrifice a little for the sect, Grandmaster? Remember: once we resurrect the Divine Corpse from the Archean Eon, our sect won"t have to suffer that place"s restrictions anymore."
Xiao Chen was mystified. He wasn"t sure what place they were referring to, but he knew that Yu Yangzi had evolved into a Field Corpse. It was said that a Fiend Corpse could kill a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator with just a swipe of his hand. Their conversation suggested that there was a Spirit Corpse above the Fiend Corpse. Wouldn"t that mean that a Spirit Corpse could fight a Nirvana Realm, or even an Apotheosis Realm cultivator?
More importantly, wouldn"t the so-called Divine Corpse from the Archean Eon be on par with an Immortal King in the heaven"s realm? The Corpse Refinery Sect was indeed terrifying. If they were allowed to resurrect the Divine Corpse, wouldn"t they be invincible in the Human World? Wouldn"t they be able to turn all humans into corpse puppets?
Subconsciously, cold sweat began gathering on Xiao Chen"s back.
Yu Yangzi raised his head and laughed. "What a bunch of dreamers! If the resurrection of the Divine Corpse is possible, it would have happened one thousand years ago and not now!"
"Stop the excuses, Grandmaster. The Divine Corpse from the Archean Eon has always been an Immortal King. Even though the Divine Corpse fell into slumber after the war, its body remained intact to this day. Souls like yours are its best nourishment. So please return with us, Grandmaster. We don"t want to use ways that will end in a lose-lose situation."
Xiao Chen"s heart dropped. Why would he keep thinking of his Master whenever he heard something about Immortal Kings of the Archean Eon? Moreover, to think that the Corpse Refinery Corpse possessed the intact body of an Immortal King…
Yu Yangzi"s gaze turned ice-cold. "You dare!"
One of the Blood Corpses shook his head, sighing. "Why? When I first entered the sect, you promised you"d make our sect prosper and remove the restrictions that the place puts on us. But why do you now…"
His companion sighed. "Forget it, Junior Brother. There"s no need to mention this anymore. Let"s make our move."
The other Blood Corpse shook his head and sighed again, not wanting to say more. He began reciting a spell with his companion. The magic treasure that they had used to deflect Yu Yangzi"s attack earlier started floating. Inside the treasure was Yu Yangzi"s vital soul. It looked rather strange and curious now as it emanated a faint black light.
Yu Yangzi"s expression transformed drastically. He bellowed, "Stop!" He instantly struck them with a palm attack. Even though the palm attack was fierce enough to injure them both, it ended up hitting his own vital soul. The injuries that he received weren"t light either.
"Stop right now! You won"t be able to evolve any more after using the Forbidden Soul Curse! You"ll only end up being dragged to that place. Stop immediately!"
The two Blood Corpses didn"t react to his words and continued reciting the spell. A wisp of cyan smoke emerged from their midbrows and seeped into their magic treasure.
Yu Yangzi could no longer move now. He yelled, "I"ll go back with you! But give me a few days! I need to…"
Without waiting for him to finish, the two Blood Corpses completed the spell. A black fog abruptly filled the air and enveloped Yu Yangzi in it. The fog became smaller and smaller until it became an orb of black light. The black light then entered the strange magic treasure.
Xiao Chen watched in alarm. That was a late-stage Nascent Soul Realm expert, and yet he was subdued by those two"s strange spell. It seemed that it was a dangerous thing to have one"s vital soul in another person"s hands.
One of the Blood Corpses sighed. "Grandmaster must be waiting to ingest an incredibly powerful soul body. If we allow him to succeed, he"ll surely evolve into a Spirit Corpse. When that happens, I fear that not even the Forbidden Soul Curse will be effective against him."
His companion replied, "Forget it and let"s go. Now that we have used the Forbidden Soul Curse, we won"t be able to live after we return."
"Hehe. Live? So what if we live? Junior Brother, we"re neither humans nor ghosts now. So what if we turn into a Spirit Corpse, or a Devil Corpse, or even a Divine Corpse who can kill an immortal with a wave of our hand? So what if we can now kill any Core Forming Realm cultivator and seek revenge? I"d rather be a foolish village kid again. If Xiaofang sees the way I am now, hehe…"
"Sigh. Let"s go…"
Subconsciously, their words seemed to carry a touch of melancholy.
Xiao Chen waited until he could no longer feel the two men"s breath before heaving a sigh of relief. He turned around and saw a pale-faced Murong Xian"er. He smiled gently and said, "Don"t be scared, Xian"er. They"re gone now."
"I don"t understand why they"d turn themselves into such terrifying creatures just for power."
"Hehe. If I somehow turn into one of them one day, will you still stay with me?"
Murong Xian"er subconsciously raised her head, the rim of her eyes reddening. Two streams of tears began flowing from her eyes. She sobbed, "No! I don"t want you to look like that!"
Xiao Chen was stunned. He didn"t expect that his little joke would make the little girl cry. He pulled her close so that her head fell gently against his shoulder. He said softly, "That"s enough, Xian"er. I"ll never turn into one of them."
"Sob… But I dreamed of it. I dreamed of you becoming one of them, and there were also many people like them worshiping you…"