Chapter 687 - 687: In for a Penny, in for a Pound

In the valley, all the Blood Corpses had disappeared. Only the final five Earth King Realm Blood Corpses remained, still standing around the Array Platform.

The five Earth King Realm Blood Corpses had, of course, noticed the steady decline in their numbers.

However, with their extremely limited intelligence, they didn't sense that anything was amiss.

The five Blood Corpses remained motionless beside the Array Platform, basking in the dense Heaven and Earth Primordial Power.

Meanwhile, Chu Qingyun, relying on his Hidden Qi Technique and Shadow Martial Soul, had stealthily crept to a spot only about seven or eight hundred meters away from them.

He couldn't afford to be anything but cautious when facing Earth King Realm Blood Corpses.

Even in a one-on-one fight, he might not be a match for a Blood Corpse at the sixth-level Martial King Level, to say nothing of the fact that there were five of them!

"Iron Thread Ten-Star Vine!"

Chu Qingyun silently summoned his Martial Soul Illusion.

This time, however, he only made a single vine sprout from the Martial Soul Illusion. It hugged the ground, cautiously extending toward the Earth King Realm Blood Corpse with the weakest aura.

He couldn't tell their specific Earth King Realm levels yet, but he could still distinguish their relative strength by their auras.

After all, Blood Corpses had no idea how to restrain or hide their auras.

The vine soon reached the back of the Earth King Realm Blood Corpse. As he had done before, Chu Qingyun used the vine to give the creature a light lash.

The Earth King Realm Blood Corpse reacted with incredible speed.

It instantly spun around and lunged, snatching at the vine.

Fortunately, Chu Qingyun had retracted the vine the moment he struck, so the creature failed to grab it.

After attracting the Blood Corpse's attention, Chu Qingyun immediately dispelled his Iron Wire Ten-Star Vine Martial Soul. Then, his figure flickered and shot like a black shadow into the mountains behind him.

The Earth King Realm Blood Corpse's attention was now fixed. It let out a muffled roar, its form blurring into a Blood Shadow as it shot after Chu Qingyun.

The Earth King Realm Blood Corpse's speed was extremely fast. In just a few moments, it had already closed in on Chu Qingyun.

They were still not far from the valley, so Chu Qingyun didn't dare use his Martial Soul or any Sword Techniques to slow its pursuit, fearing he would attract the attention of the other Earth King Realm Blood Corpses.

Chu Qingyun was confident he could escape from a single Earth King Realm Blood Corpse and lead it away.

But if he attracted too many, he would surely be dragged into a vicious battle. He would have no choice but to flee, and all his efforts would have been for nothing.

"Blood Flame!"

The Earth King Realm Blood Corpse was too fast.

Left with no choice, Chu Qingyun had to use his Ten Thousand Spirits Saint Body Secret Technique. Primordial Power surged into a special Qi and Blood Meridian, activating his Blood Flame Power.

Empowered by the Blood Flame, Chu Qingyun's speed instantly skyrocketed. He soon vanished into the night, the Blood Corpse still in hot pursuit.

The amount of Blood Flame Power stored in his meridians was limited.

That was why Chu Qingyun always avoided using the Ten Thousand Spirits Saint Body Secret Technique unless it was absolutely critical.

Earth King Realm Blood Corpses were far stronger than those at the Human King Realm.

Their intelligence, however, was about the same.

Chu Qingyun led it over a high mountain. From a rocky outcrop, he threw out six destabilized Top-Grade Primordial Stones. The ruse worked; the creature was tricked into chasing them down the mountain, and it wouldn't be back anytime soon.

Aided by the boost from his Ten Thousand Spirits Saint Body Secret Technique and his own cautious nature, Chu Qingyun successfully lured the second, third, and fourth Earth King Realm Blood Corpses out of the valley.

At last, only a single, lone Blood Corpse remained in the valley—the Earth King Realm creature with the strongest aura.

The Blood Corpse remained motionless in front of the Array Platform, completely oblivious to its disappearing companions, as if it hadn't noticed them at all.

Although there was only one Blood Corpse left, Chu Qingyun still had no intention of fighting it.

Luring away more than twenty Blood Corpses had taken a lot of his time.

Chu Qingyun had been keeping track of the time and estimated that dawn was about to break.

Once dawn broke, the effectiveness of his Shadow Martial Soul would be cut by more than half. If he encountered any unexpected trouble then, it would be disastrous.

So, just to be safe, he used the same old trick to lure away the final Blood Corpse.

All the Blood Corpses were successfully lured away.

Chu Qingyun returned to the valley at his fastest speed.

By now, the distant horizon was beginning to whiten as the sky slowly brightened.

'This Array Platform is mine!'

Looking at the Array Platform, ten meters in diameter and nearly three meters high, a trace of excitement glinted in Chu Qingyun's eyes.

He had worked for a whole day and night, all for this very moment.

Chu Qingyun reached out his hand, preparing to test it first.

However, just as he was about to touch the Array Platform, a milky-white light flashed around it. Chu Qingyun immediately felt an immense force travel up his arm and through his body.

Even though he had already advanced to the Martial King Realm, he was still knocked back a few steps, his fingers faintly aching.

'The power... it hasn't weakened at all.'

The power guarding the Array Platform seemed just as strong as the last time he had attacked it.

However, Chu Qingyun's own strength was on a completely different level now.

"Break!"

Chu Qingyun let out a low shout. A stream of pure Martial King Realm Primordial Power shot from his palm, blasting straight toward the Array Platform.

But, just as the Primordial Power was about to touch the Array Platform, the milky-white light flashed around it again, immediately blocking the Primordial Power.

Then, the milky-white light swirled and quickly absorbed the blast of Primordial Power into the Array Platform.

"Lightning Sword!"

His Primordial Power had no effect, but Chu Qingyun didn't give up. The Thunder Shock Sword left its sheath. A brilliant purple Sword Light slashed through the pre-dawn darkness as he brought the blade down fiercely upon the Array Platform.

Yet even a strike like this failed to shake the milky-white light.

Furthermore, the two successive attacks caused the Primordial Power fluctuations on the Array Platform to become extremely violent. Light even began to surge from it, illuminating the entire valley.

'If this keeps up, it might attract the Blood Corpses back.'

'And the sky is already getting bright. Time's almost up. The first Blood Corpses I lured away should be on their way back by now...'

Chu Qingyun gripped his Thunder Shock Sword, looking at the tall Array Platform before him, his eyes flickering.

Immediately, he grit his teeth, a ruthless look appearing on his face.

'In for a penny, in for a pound!'

'These half-hearted attacks have no effect on the Array Platform. It just absorbs the Primordial Power.'

'If that's the case, I might as well hit it with my strongest move!'

'If I succeed, I'll take the Array Platform.'

'If I fail, I'll just retreat for now and think of another plan.'

'There's a time to be cautious, but when it's time to act, I can't be indecisive!'