Chapter 1112: Corpse Emperor Blood
Yin Xuanji’s heart tightened, forcing him to reassess Zhang Ruochen’s strength.
If it came to a one-on-one fight, he might very well lose.
“I have to admit, your strength is indeed formidable, and you have the capital to be arrogant. But do you really think you can sweep everything away with just your own power?”
Yin Xuanji’s pupils glowed with a cyan light as he took out a bell, pinched it between his fingers, and gently shook it.
“Ding, ding.”
The sound of wind breaking followed one after another.
In an instant, six War Corpse Kings flew out from the city lord’s mansion, standing in six directions around Yin Xuanji.
The strength of a War Corpse King was comparable to a Beast King.
With the six War Corpse Kings gathered together, an astonishing Yin Sha aura erupted, condensing into rings of pitch-black corpse mist beneath Yin Xuanji’s feet.
Beyond that, the other cultivators of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan each controlled their war corpses, surrounding Zhang Ruochen.
Within the entire ancient city, aside from the six War Corpse Kings, there were also over a dozen Silver Armor War Corpses, each comparable to a First Tribulation Quasi-Saint.
As for Half-Saint-level Black Armor War Corpses, there were nearly a thousand of them.
It was worth noting that the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan had extremely deep foundations, with lineages even more ancient than the Tai Chi Dao, Buddhist Dao, and Confucian Dao, tracing back to the Primordial Witch Dao period.
In a sense, the traditions of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan were actually two branches of the Primordial Witch Dao.
The glorious and flourishing Primordial Witch Dao had long vanished into the river of history, yet these two ancient clans had survived to this day.
During their most brilliant and prosperous periods, the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan were comparable to the Undying Blood Clan.
On the surface, the two ancient clans no longer seemed as powerful as they once were, but few truly knew how much strength they had hidden. In short, they could be described as unfathomably deep.
“Just six War Corpse Kings, and you think they can stop a top-tier powerhouse?”
A smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s face. From the center of his palm, strands of Saint Qi surged, pouring into the Realm Son Seal, causing it to emit faint rings of light once more.
“There’s no need for Zhang Ruochen to act. This humble monk can send them back to dust, returning them to the earth.”
Grand Minister of Works chuckled darkly, slamming his golden Zen staff heavily into the ground. Sparks flew everywhere.
With a thunderous crash, the entire ancient city shook. Taking the wide street as its central axis, a crack several zhang wide split open, cleaving the city in two.
The cultivators of both ancient clans were all stunned, and a wave of sharp intakes of breath spread through the crowd.
“Another world-shaking fiend.”
Their gazes fell on Grand Minister of Works, all filled with extreme caution.
From afar, the vast and boundless sound of Buddhist chanting came, as a monk recited scriptures.
All eyes turned toward the direction of the chanting. There, another monk sat cross-legged in the void, radiating Buddhist light, reciting the *Earth Treasury Sutra* to liberate the souls of the dead in the city.
The ghost clouds that had shrouded the ancient city were gradually purified, revealing the blue sky and white clouds once more.
That monk was, naturally, Second Minister of Works.
The sound of Buddhist chanting spread throughout the city.
The recitation manifested as golden Buddhist characters, flying between heaven and earth.
The ghostly spirits and evil entities raised by the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan all wailed in agony. Some of the weaker spirits, struck by the Buddhist characters, directly turned into black mist and dissipated into nothingness.
Feng Yinchang’s expression turned extremely grave. “The *Earth Treasury Sutra* can liberate souls and is specifically designed to counter the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan. Second Minister of Works’ mastery of the *Earth Treasury Sutra* has reached an extremely profound level. I must lead the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan cultivators to retreat immediately, or we will suffer heavy losses.”
Yin Xuanji also found this troublesome. If it were just Zhang Ruochen alone, dealing with him wouldn’t be too difficult.
But the cultivators who had come with Zhang Ruochen were all top-tier experts. Once battle commenced, even if the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan could win, they would suffer countless casualties.
Was he supposed to just slink away in defeat?
Yin Xuanji was extremely unwilling, but in the end, reason triumphed over impulse. He said to Feng Yinchang, “You lead the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan cultivators and leave first. I’ll lead the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan cultivators to cover the retreat. If I can take advantage of the chaos to kill Second Minister of Works, the situation might turn around. Then, you can return from outside the city and coordinate with me to wipe out Zhang Ruochen’s forces in one fell swoop.”
Without any hesitation, Feng Yinchang led the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan cultivators, transforming into a pitch-black ghost cloud, and broke through toward Sun Dadi’s position.
She had judged that Sun Dadi’s direction was the weakest point, allowing them to escape the ancient city at the fastest speed.
“You think you can leave without leaving behind some heavenly treasures and earthly rarities?”
Blazing flames surged from Sun Dadi’s body, resisting the impact of the ghost mist.
At the same time, he swung his iron staff violently, sending over a dozen Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan cultivators flying backward. They crashed to the ground, turning into bloody pulp.
As the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan broke through, the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan cultivators unleashed their attacks, primarily targeting Zhang Ruochen and Second Minister of Works.
Some of the war corpses formed large-scale corpse formations, trapping Grand Minister of Works, Huang Yanchen, Xiao Hei, and Zhao Shiqi within the formation, launching a fierce assault.
Nearly a thousand Half-Saint-level war corpses attacked simultaneously, creating an extremely shocking scene. In an instant, an entire district of the city collapsed into a pit.
“Zhang Ruochen, your time of death has come!”
Yin Xuanji tossed the bell upward, letting it hover in midair as it gently swayed.
Hearing the bell’s sound, the six War Corpse Kings each grabbed a black spear and attacked Zhang Ruochen.
Their bodies radiated dazzling golden light, as if cast from gold. They possessed immense strength, and a single spear strike could shatter mountains.
War Corpse Kings were refined from the corpses of Saints. By adding certain mysterious metals and absorbing corpse Qi, they could continuously evolve, with the potential to become Saint Corpse Kings.
Zhang Ruochen launched the Realm Son Seal, drawing out the Emperor’s Qi, and slammed it into two War Corpse Kings.
However, the bodies of the War Corpse Kings were extremely tough and didn’t shatter. The spots struck by the Realm Son Seal merely caved inward slightly.
Soon, they crawled out of the ruins, letting out roars, grabbing their icy spears, and attacking Zhang Ruochen again.
“Their physical strength is even tougher than the Saint bodies of some Lower Realm Saints,” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
The attack power of a War Corpse King might only be on par with a Beast King, but their defense was terrifying, making them very difficult to completely destroy.
Yin Xuanji let out a deep laugh. “Zhang Ruochen, this young master will first go kill Second Minister of Works, then come back to kill you. You think you’ve come to seize heavenly treasures and earthly rarities, but in reality, you’ve only come to die.”
“Is that so?”
Zhang Ruochen drew the Abyssal Ancient Sword and swung it in a single slash, sending out a crescent-shaped sword Qi that cut into the waist of a War Corpse King.
With a tearing sound, the War Corpse King’s body was severed in two.
Even after being cut in half, the War Corpse King still tried to attack.
Zhang Ruochen struck again, his sword Qi spreading out like a net, shattering the War Corpse King’s body into hundreds of pieces.
Seeing this, Yin Xuanji was greatly shocked. “How is that possible? The War Corpse King’s body is refined from a Saint’s corpse, with Deep Sea Gold Mother added. How can it be so easily cut through?”
Zhang Ruochen said nothing, striking again with a Sacred Art-level sword technique, cleaving another War Corpse King in two, its body flying in opposite directions.
It was too terrifying. In an instant, two War Corpse Kings had been destroyed.
Such a loss nearly made Yin Xuanji spit blood.
In the end, he didn’t go after Second Minister of Works. Instead, he raised the Cyan Eye Green Blood Pearl, holding it above both palms.
Given the current situation, he had to kill Zhang Ruochen first.
“Corpse Emperor Blood,” Yin Xuanji murmured softly.
The Cyan Eye Green Blood Pearl emitted a bright cyan light, illuminating the entire ancient city in a green hue.
A drop of cyan blood flowed out from the Cyan Eye Green Blood Pearl, dripping onto Yin Xuanji’s forehead, seeping into the burial cloth, and merging with his physical body.
“Rustle.”
An extremely terrifying corpse Qi erupted from Yin Xuanji’s body. His frame doubled in size, and cyan corpse fur grew on the burial cloth.
At this moment, the aura radiating from Yin Xuanji was even more formidable than the combined power of the six War Corpse Kings.
“Die!”
Yin Xuanji’s speed reached its peak. In an instant, he crashed into Zhang Ruochen.
Both of them flew forward, smashing through the walls of the city lord’s mansion.
Then, Yin Xuanji’s five fingers grew sharp claws, slashing toward Zhang Ruochen’s neck.
“Boom.”
A cyan dragon shadow flashed briefly on Zhang Ruochen’s arm as he struck out with a palm, hitting Yin Xuanji’s chest and sending him flying.
Yin Xuanji flew back about twenty zhang, dispersing Zhang Ruochen’s palm force, then landed with a crash, cracking the ground into a spiderweb of fissures.
Zhang Ruochen stood up again from the ruins, brushing the dust off his clothes.
Suddenly, he felt a bit dizzy, his vision turning dark. A chilling force spread from his neck, corroding his physical body.
Earlier, Yin Xuanji’s claws had grazed Zhang Ruochen’s neck, leaving three shallow bloody marks.
The wounds had turned cyan-black, with strands of corpse fur growing out. The area covered by the corpse fur was still expanding, spreading toward his face and shoulders.
“Such potent corpse poison.”
Zhang Ruochen was secretly alarmed. He immediately activated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, circulating Saint Qi through his body in a full cycle, finally refining the corpse poison.
At his neck, the corpse fur fell off, and even the three bloody marks healed completely. (To be continued...)