Chapter 286: Guarding the Corpse
Long Jiaonan sneered coldly. Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang had only just entered the Six Harmonies realm, while she and the Red Snake were both experts at the Seven Stars realm.
Once one entered the Seven Stars realm, they could serve as a general in the Yan Kingdom.
One must know that before the Yulong Gate’s betrayal, she had also worn men’s attire and held a military post!
With their strength, Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang simply couldn’t contend with her and the Red Snake.
“You’re asking for death!”
Long Jiaonan flipped her palm, and her primordial qi transformed into a massive python coiling behind her. Its great maw opened, and the surrounding air instantly howled and surged, swallowing toward the two women in the sky.
Although the Yulong Gate wasn’t known for its spell techniques, the power of their spells couldn’t be underestimated. After the Imperial Preceptor’s reforms, the Yulong Gate had absorbed the strengths of other sects, elevating the power of their spells to a new level.
This technique, the Flood Dragon Python Swallowing the Heavens, had already grasped the true essence of it.
However, Ling Yuxiu gripped the Nine Dragons Weapon with both hands, raised it high, and smashed it down. In midair, bolts of lightning converged, crackling and striking the Nine Dragons Weapon.
This Nine Dragons Weapon had now transformed into the Nine Dragons Hammer. The enormous hammerhead collided with the giant python’s maw, unleashing the might of thunder and lightning. Long Jiaonan’s spell instantly shattered into pieces, and her primordial qi collapsed and dissipated.
Long Jiaonan was startled. On the other side, Si Yunxiang waved her hand, and a fine thread shot toward her left eye. Long Jiaonan flicked her fingers repeatedly, but the thread was unaffected and flew straight at her.
Si Yunxiang pressed her middle and index fingers together, pointing them at Long Jiaonan like a sword. Her fingers moved rapidly, and the tip of the Thousand Threads Spirit Weapon followed suit, shifting and changing, executing an incredibly exquisite sword technique.
“Fragrant Saintess’s swordsmanship isn’t bad!”
Long Jiaonan’s left sleeve rolled and coiled repeatedly. Her primordial qi transformed into a python coiling into a jade disc, disrupting the incoming sword threads. But at that moment, Long Jiaonan noticed that Si Yunxiang’s right hand was in front of her, while her left hand was behind her back, also forming sword seals and gesturing. Startled, she immediately leaped into the air.
The moment she rose, she saw her purple skirt flutter, riddled with holes and letting the wind through.
Above, Ling Yuxiu swung the massive hammer down. Long Jiaonan raised her hand to block, and with a thunderous boom, the hammer erupted with rolling flames, its power terrifying, sending Long Jiaonan flying with a single blow!
The Nine Dragons Emperor’s Art itself was the foremost cultivation technique in the world, with exceptional mastery in spell techniques and a sea-like accumulation of magical power. At the same realm, the Nine Dragons Emperor’s Art boasted the most abundant magical power—of course, aside from Qin Mu’s Overlord Body Three Dan Art.
Moreover, Emperor Yanfeng was the most brilliant emperor since the founding of the nation. He had long become a grandmaster, refining and improving the Nine Dragons Emperor’s Art, incorporating changes in combat techniques and swordsmanship, making this technique far more powerful than before.
Ling Yuxiu cultivated this very technique, following the path of merging combat and magic, simultaneously unleashing combat skills and spells to amplify her attack power. Although Long Jiaonan was at the Seven Stars realm, caught off guard by the two women’s siege, she was immediately blasted away.
As soon as Ling Yuxiu landed, she suddenly released the hammer. The Nine Dragons Hammer disassembled into nine dragon-shaped weapons, which snapped together. Countless dragon scales shifted, forming a mirror.
Ling Yuxiu stood behind the mirror. With a hum, a beam of light shot out. Within the light, golden dragons seemed to dance, shining upon Long Jiaonan as she flew backward.
Si Yunxiang immediately moved close to the ground, darting past the mirror. Her sword threads coiled, slicing toward Long Jiaonan, who was caught in the mirror’s light.
“Little Red!” Long Jiaonan shouted sharply, raising her hand. The ground trembled as hundreds of sharp stone spikes rose from beneath, blocking Si Yunxiang’s path and the mirror’s light.
Behind the two women, the massive Red Snake suddenly stretched its body. This giant serpent’s body was as thick as a pillar that several people could barely encircle, possessing immense strength as it swept directly toward them. If struck by such a colossal creature, even if not crushed to death, one would suffer severe injuries!
The Yulong Gate’s true trump card wasn’t their cultivation base or magical power, nor their divine abilities, but the “dragons” they spoke of!
The snakes they raised were all exotic breeds, containing the bloodline of flood dragons. Even if one’s cultivation wasn’t high or their strength wasn’t great, if the snake they raised was strong enough, it could kill their opponent.
Long Jiaonan’s Red Snake was an exotic among exotics, bred from the Dragon King’s celestial realm flood dragon. Its bloodline was extremely pure, making this snake alone enough to sweep through the Seven Stars realm.
Relying on this great serpent, Long Jiaonan had become a renowned expert.
The Red Snake unleashed its might, rolling and crushing toward them. Just as it was about to hit the two women, a blazing beam of light shot from behind it.
The Red Snake froze, watching as its body was severed by the light beam. The other half of its massive form rolled away, flattening a stretch of forest!
By the pool behind the snake, Qin Mu stood there, holding up a massive eyeball. A beam of light was shooting from the eyeball—it was this light that had cut the snake’s body in two.
The Red Snake screamed in agony, spewing a thick cloud of venomous mist. Its half-body actually bounced up, lunging to bite Qin Mu!
This venom was extremely toxic, and Qin Mu didn’t want to get any on him. With a step, he used the Heaven Stealing Divine Leg to dodge the snake’s attack.
He was incredibly fast. Before the Red Snake could react, he was already in midair. Looking down, he saw that the yellow essence city on the island had been completely destroyed, and the forest where the yellow essences lived had been flattened.
Clearly, after Long Jiaonan discovered this place, she had mercilessly killed and captured these yellow essences, razing their settlement!
Presumably, Long Jiaonan had learned of Qin Mu and the others’ whereabouts from these yellow essences, so she had waited here. After all, these yellow essences had no sense of loyalty and easily betrayed others.
Qin Mu’s expression darkened. Although these yellow essences were disloyal, they had still helped them. Since they had helped, they were benefactors.
Suddenly, the Red Snake’s massive head shot into the air. Its mouth opened wide, splitting almost into a straight line, and lunged upward to bite him.
“Die.”
Qin Mu aimed the jade eye, and a beam of light hummed as it shot out, piercing vertically down through the Red Snake’s mouth. Wherever it passed, all flesh and blood melted away.
Hum!
The intense light struck the ground, melting the earth and leaving a pit. Boiling magma inside evaporated into gas, which rose out of the pit, cooled, and solidified into small rock beads that fell like a minor rain of stones.
The Red Snake’s jumping power was astonishing. Its massive body swallowed Qin Mu and the jade eye whole, but unfortunately, its flesh had been pierced through, creating a tunnel. Its head was also pierced.
Qin Mu landed, and behind him, the Red Snake fell like a giant torn sack, emitting a smell of cooked meat.
“Little Red!”
Long Jiaonan’s shrill cry came from afar. The three women had already fought their way to the sea, engaging in a fierce battle on the water. Controlling water in the sea was extremely simple. Long Jiaonan’s primordial qi merged with the seawater, transforming into flood dragon pythons that surged in all directions with astonishing power.
Unfortunately, Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang’s spirit weapons were too good and too powerful. Ling Yuxiu faced Long Jiaonan’s attacks head-on. The Nine Dragons Weapon split into nine, becoming nine dragon-shaped blades that struck from all directions on the sea surface, breaking her spells. It could also transform into a defensive state at any time, becoming the Nine Dragons Shield to block Long Jiaonan’s attacks.
Si Yunxiang’s technique was the most bizarre, as elusive as her Thousand Threads Spirit Weapon. Sometimes she vanished into the water, sometimes she appeared above Long Jiaonan’s head, making her impossible to guard against.
Although the Thousand Threads Spirit Weapon was slender, it was deadly. It was this spirit weapon that posed the greatest danger to Long Jiaonan.
With the Red Snake dead, Long Jiaonan’s mind was in chaos. Si Yunxiang spotted the opening. The Thousand Threads Spirit Weapon pierced into Long Jiaonan’s back, entering her heart. With a hum, the weapon transformed into a thin blade, piercing through her heart, the tip emerging from her chest.
Just as Si Yunxiang succeeded, Ling Yuxiu reached out, and the nine dragons merged into one. The hammer struck Long Jiaonan’s body!
A series of crackling sounds came from within Long Jiaonan. Countless bones broke, splintering through her skin, with bone fragments exposed, bloody and horrifying.
Si Yunxiang pulled out the Thousand Threads Spirit Weapon. Long Jiaonan’s body swayed and began to sink into the seawater.
Ling Yuxiu quickly said, “Our spirit weapons are still on her!”
Si Yunxiang hurriedly supported Long Jiaonan’s corpse, nearly letting her fall into the sea. She complained, “I had already succeeded, and you had to give her another hammer. Look, now all her bones are shattered. She’s hard to hold.”
The two women dragged Long Jiaonan’s corpse to the island and began searching for treasures on her. They found only a Taotie pouch. Opening it, they saw that their spirit weapons and various treasures were all inside.
Si Yunxiang dumped the contents of the Taotie pouch. Apart from their belongings, there were countless yellow essence corpses, piled into a small mountain.
Nearly ten thousand yellow essence corpses were stacked together, only about ten feet high. But these yellow essences were human-shaped, and the pile of ten thousand corpses was extremely shocking, carrying an inexplicable sense of sorrow.
“Cult Leader, I finally understand. This isn’t the law of the jungle…”
Si Yunxiang’s peripheral vision caught Qin Mu approaching. The Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect showed a trace of barely perceptible sadness in her eyes and whispered, “This is absolutely not the law of the jungle. It’s… it’s dominating others’ lives to vent one’s own desires. When she killed these yellow essences, she must have thought she was a god or demon…”
Qin Mu walked to her side and said, “Pure naturalism—she doesn’t understand. These yellow essences were originally a kind of spiritual medicine. Although they’re dead, their roots are still there. If planted near that spiritual spring, they might come back to life. Let’s plant them.”
The two girls nodded. Planting nearly ten thousand yellow essences was quite laborious, but as cultivators, they spent several hours working until dark, finally finishing planting them all.
Si Yunxiang went to gather firewood, while Ling Yuxiu fetched water from the spiritual spring to irrigate the yellow essences.
Qin Mu tidied the Taotie pouch, putting the two jade eyes inside. He then placed over three thousand jade-like pearls on the island’s sandy beach, where they emitted all kinds of enchanting light.
Si Yunxiang gathered firewood and came to the beach to light a campfire. Then she took off her outer clothes, wearing only her undergarments as she jumped into the sea.
Her undergarment was a dress with shoulder straps, like a bellyband but larger, woven from pure white silk with no embroidery. Below, she wore white shorts, only three inches long, with thin straps tied to her snow-white thighs.
After a moment, Si Yunxiang emerged from the sea holding a fish over ten feet long. She threw it beside Qin Mu, then used her primordial qi to dry her undergarments before putting on her clothes.
Only then did she notice that Qin Mu had somehow dragged Long Jiaonan’s corpse over and placed it by the campfire. He had also dragged over the two halves of the Red Snake’s body. Puzzled, she asked, “Cult Leader, what are you doing?”
Qin Mu said, “Guarding the corpse, waiting for her to wake up.”
Si Yunxiang laughed, “If you wait two more days, she’ll rot. I pierced her heart, and Princess Xiu shattered all her bones. Can she still live?”
Ling Yuxiu walked over, saw Long Jiaonan’s corpse, frowned, and tentatively asked, “Cowherd, are there any strange customs in the Great Ruins?”
Qin Mu kicked Long Jiaonan’s corpse and sneered, “Sister Long, stop pretending. I’ve seen you shed your skin!”
The two girls laughed, “Better to bury her soon.”
Qin Mu sneered, “Before burying her, I need to cut off her head first! This knife of mine is just right for drinking blood!” He pulled out the butcher knife, looking menacing.
Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang were both startled. Ling Yuxiu whispered, “Fragrant Saintess, is there a custom in the Great Ruins of cutting off a corpse’s head?”
“I don’t know either. Maybe the Great Ruins really do have this strange habit…”
Si Yunxiang had just said this when they suddenly heard the sound of skin splitting from the top of Long Jiaonan’s head.