Chapter 96: Smashing Xie Yu
Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Smashing Xie Yu
A moment ago, the Corpse Puppet had burst from the nearby snow, sending the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s Defensive Magical Artifact flying with a single punch. It then spewed a mouthful of black, mist-like Corpse Evil, leaving its opponent dizzy and disoriented.
It followed up with a relentless flurry of attacks, beating the Foundation Establishment Cultivator until he was severely injured, vomiting blood, and on the brink of death.
The Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s hair was a mess, and his Magic Robe was torn to shreds. Alarming wounds covered his body, each one seething with the dense black qi of Celestial Corpse Evil.
The cultivator had tried to fight back, but Zhang Chi had already taken the extravagant step of outfitting the Corpse Puppet in Song Xinghai’s Upper Grade Magic Robe. Paired with the puppet’s own incredible toughness, any injuries it sustained were minor.
At this rate, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator would be utterly defeated and violently killed within moments.
The cultivator was smart, however. He immediately fled, shouting for help. But Corpse Puppet No.1 stuck to him like a shadow, in relentless pursuit.
"Vile beast, you court death!"
"Don’t worry, we’re here!"
Fortunately, Xie Yu and two other Foundation Establishment Cultivators heard the commotion. Horrified, they abandoned their efforts to put out the fires and instantly transformed into streaks of light, charging over in a fury.
Seeing his reinforcements, the heavily injured cultivator stopped fleeing. He swallowed a Healing Elixir and joined Xie Yu and the others in surrounding Corpse Puppet No.1.
"Hm? Why isn’t Second Uncle here?"
’Oh no. Could something have happened to him?’
But Xie Yu and the others had no time to celebrate; their faces soon fell, overcome by a terrible premonition.
DONG!
Just then, a tremendous bell toll suddenly rang out, and powerful Sound Waves swept across the battlefield.
Despite having Magical Artifacts for protection, the Sound Waves still caused Xie Yu and the others’ vision to go black as they succumbed to a momentary daze.
This was, in fact, a sneak attack from the rapidly approaching Zhang Chi, who had unleashed his Top Grade Magical Artifact, the Small Bell, before he was even in sight.
Now, when he wielded this Top Grade Magical Artifact, not only was the spiritual energy drain manageable, but its Mighty Power had also increased severalfold.
SWISH!
Almost simultaneously, a black Sword Light shot forth like a bolt of lightning, piercing the defenses of the cultivator already wounded by Corpse Puppet No.1 and cleanly severing his head.
The Sword Light’s momentum carried it forward, shattering the defenses of the second and third cultivators in succession and beheading them as well before its power was finally spent.
It had all gone so smoothly because the Sword Light was immensely powerful and because the cultivators, stunned by the Small Bell, were effectively defenseless. Even their passive, automatic defenses had been severely weakened.
Furthermore, Zhang Chi had swallowed a Violent Qi Pill before attacking, boosting his Combat Power even higher.
Now, only Xie Yu remained, untouched by the Sword Light.
But before Xie Yu could even regain his senses, Zhang Chi had already used the Blood Escape Technique to close the distance in an instant. He viciously lashed out with the Demon Snake Spine in hand. The air boomed, and the defenses around Xie Yu were instantly shattered.
The Demon Snake Spine was saturated with Demonic Qi, making it extremely dangerous for ordinary Cultivators to even touch, let alone wield as a melee weapon.
For Zhang Chi, however, it was the perfect complement to his Celestial Net Evil Body, creating a combination that was virtually unstoppable.
"No!"
The next instant, Xie Yu finally came to his senses, only to see the spine rapidly filling his vision.
BANG!
With no time to dodge or block, Xie Yu’s head was instantly smashed to a pulp by the spine.
"How satisfying!"
Zhang Chi felt invigorated by the death of another foe, but he didn’t delay for a second. He immediately used his Exorcism Technique to telekinetically grab and collect all the loot.
He even used the Long Banner to capture the Divine Souls of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators, feeding them to his Beast Souls.
"Xie Yu, do you know who I am? When you were the Song Family’s lapdog, plotting against me, you never imagined this day would come, did you? Haha!"
Zhang Chi even deliberately sent this message to Xie Yu’s soul.
Inside the Beast Soul Banner, Xie Yu’s Divine Soul heard Zhang Chi’s true voice and finally realized who his killer was. His spirit seethed with such rage it felt as if it would tear itself apart.
If he had known then what he knew now, he never would have followed Song Youdao’s orders. Or if he had, he would have killed Zhang Chi directly, no matter the cost.
But his realization came far too late.
Before he could even make a sound, the Beast Souls tore him to shreds and devoured him.
After devouring the Divine Souls of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, all the Beast Souls grew noticeably stronger, especially the three at Tier One Peak.
As the most ferocious, they had snatched the most soul fragments. They now fell into a deep slumber, and upon awakening, they were certain to have reached the Tier Two Early Stage.
Zhang Chi didn’t let the cultivators’ corpses go to waste either. He extracted the Blood Spirit Pill from each one and fed them to his six Four-legged Spirit Snakes on the spot.
With the Blood Spirit Pills consumed and digested, he no longer had to worry about being tracked via some Secret Technique.
The Four-legged Spirit Snakes were ecstatic. After scrambling to devour the Blood Spirit Pills, they too fell into a deep slumber, clearly on the verge of advancing to Tier Two.
"Excellent!"
Zhang Chi couldn’t help but look forward to it with great anticipation.
Normally, even after killing an enemy cultivator, he wouldn’t immediately extract the Blood Spirit Pill to feed his Spirit Snakes.
When he had killed Song Xinghai, for instance, he hadn’t done so.
But this time was different.
For one, the Blood Spirit Pill of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was far more valuable.
For another, his grudge against Xie Yu and Xie Huaiyuan was deeper and more personal.
And third, he was about to head to the Demon Abyss and needed to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
"Oh no, run for it!"
"The Elders are all dead! It’s the end of the world!"
In the distance, some Xie Family members at the Qi Cultivation stage witnessed the scene. Scared out of their wits, they immediately scattered and fled for their lives.
SWISH!
But Zhang Chi showed no mercy. He sent Corpse Puppet No.1 and his Flying Sword after them, slaughtering every last witness.
Afterward, he collected all of their spoils, not even leaving behind a single Storage Bag.
Then, with a flicker, Zhang Chi transformed into a streak of crimson light and swiftly departed.
The entire sequence, from his sneak attack on Xie Huaiyuan to his final departure, seemed complex, but in reality, it all happened in an incredibly short amount of time.
——
"No, how can their Life Tokens all be shattered? Impossible! What happened? Who... who killed them? Damn it all! Just you wait, whoever you are!"
「In Red Leaf Inner City.」
Patriarch Xie had been concerned but not overly anxious. But at a certain moment, his face contorted in horror. With a furious palm strike, he shattered the table before him, his entire body trembling with rage.
All Xie Family cultivators possessed a Life Token, but while those of ordinary clan members were kept in the ancestral hall, the tokens of the all-important Foundation Establishment Cultivators were carried personally by the Patriarch.
And so, moments after Xie Yu and the others perished, when they still hadn’t returned, Patriarch Xie had subconsciously checked the Life Tokens in his Storage Bag. He knew instantly that something disastrous had occurred.
Then, under the terrified gazes of his servants, Patriarch Xie transformed into a dazzling Escape Light and shot out of Red Leaf City like a bolt of lightning.
’That’s not right,’ he thought. ’They were all at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and there were five of them. Even I couldn’t have killed them all so quickly, much less without giving them a chance to call for help.’
’So, the attacker is either a top-tier expert at the Same Tier as me—someone even stronger than Chen Bufan—or they’re a High Tier Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage or above.’
’The former, I can handle. But if it’s the latter, my going there would be pointless; I might just be throwing my own life away. It’s even possible they killed Xie Yu and the others just to lure me into a trap!’
Patriarch Xie had started out seething with rage, but halfway to his destination, the biting wind cooled his head, and he began to hesitate.
DONG!
But at that very moment, a tremendous bell toll echoed once more. The snow on the ground below erupted violently, and from the blast, a tall, imposing cultivator shot into the sky. It was Zhang Chi.