Chapter 538: Evil Corpse
Standing Monk seemed not to feel the hostile gazes of the crowd and continued, "This is a road of no return. If we go further, we will enter hell. Even the Black Tortoise died there. What difference is there between us charging in and seeking death? If one out of ten can survive, it must be by the Buddha's blessing."
Hearing this, everyone gritted their teeth and clenched their fists, ready to walk over and teach Standing Monk a harsh lesson.
Huang Yanchen frowned deeply as she walked to Zhang Ruochen's side and said in a low voice, "Zhang Ruochen, where did this monk come from? Did he really sense something, or is he just cursing us? If you know him, tell him to shut up. If he keeps talking nonsense, he might get beaten up by the Void Realm warriors on the ship."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head gently and said, "This monk's background is not simple. Let him continue."
Ahead, a rocky island appeared. From a distance, they could see cliffs surrounding it on all sides.
The island was barren, with only red rocks and sand.
Standing Monk's eyes narrowed, and he gasped, pointing at the island. "That is a sea tomb that buried a Half-Saint. Moreover, the Half-Saint's corpse seems to have been affected by some evil force. Its eyes have opened, and it is about to crawl out of the tomb..."
"Bang!"
Before he could finish, a figure rushed over and kicked him to the ground.
It was Huo Guang, the grandson of Huo Wuji. Though over fifty years old, he didn't look that old, appearing only in his thirties.
Huo Guang stepped on Standing Monk's chest, his eyes flashing cold light, and said in a deep voice, "Baldy, if you keep talking nonsense, do you believe I'll cut out your tongue?"
Standing Monk remained remarkably calm, lying on the ground with his hands clasped together, and said solemnly, "Amitabha! How could a monk talk nonsense? I swear to the Buddha that I have not spoken a single false word."
Huo Guang's anger flared even more. He clenched his fists, and flame-like true qi surged out, wrapping around his fists.
But before Huo Guang's fist could land, the Half-Saint-level warship shook violently, as if struck by a heavy blow, nearly sending Huo Guang flying.
The ship-protecting grand formation emitted ripples of white light, glowing even brighter.
From a distance, the light of the formation looked like a blazing sun floating on the sea surface, enveloping the warship at its center.
"What's happening?"
"Who is attacking the ship?"
...
Some of the Void Realm warriors panicked, searching everywhere for the enemy.
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned serious. He quietly circulated his true qi and remained on high alert.
Being able to shake a Half-Saint-level warship was no ordinary enemy.
A Void Realm warrior gasped, pointing at the distant rocky island. "Look! How is there a person on that island?"
Zhang Ruochen immediately looked toward the rocky island. Though it was far away, he could see at a glance that there was indeed a person standing on a cliff on the northwest side.
The island was small and barren, completely exposed.
There had been no one there before.
How did someone suddenly appear?
Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed sharply. "That person... seems to have no head."
Not only Zhang Ruochen noticed this, but the other Void Realm warriors also saw it clearly. The person on the island indeed had no head.
Huo Guang sneered, "It's just a headless corpse. Someone is probably playing tricks to scare us and stop us from heading to the Blood Spring Trench for the Black Tortoise inheritance."
He took out a six-foot-long Silver Bone Star Bow, pulled the string, and formed a full moon. A wisp of true qi flowed from his fingertip, condensing into a flaming arrow.
The arrowhead pointed at the headless corpse on the island.
Standing Monk immediately stopped him, "Benefactor, stay calm. Don't disturb it. It just crawled out of the sea tomb and is absorbing the death qi between heaven and earth."
Zhang Ruochen also felt a sense of foreboding from the headless corpse. He could indeed sense faint spiritual energy fluctuations on the sea surface, and the source was that headless corpse.
He was about to stop Huo Guang, but Huo Guang's fingers had already released.
The flaming arrow shot out like a beam of light.
Huo Guang's cultivation had reached the third transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
With the Silver Bone Star Bow being a powerful treasure, his full-strength arrow naturally had immense power, enough to sink the small island.
The flaming arrow moved at incredible speed, pushing the air into an arc and producing a deafening sonic boom.
Just as everyone thought the island would sink, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The headless corpse standing on the cliff suddenly turned around, reached out a hand, and pressed it against the void.
"Bang!"
The flaming arrow exploded mid-air, turning into fist-sized droplets of fire that fell into the sea.
The seawater hissed and boiled.
From the headless corpse's abdomen came a strange cry, forming a powerful soundwave that erupted from the rocky island.
"Boom!"
The seawater was lifted, forming a circular wave dozens of feet high that surged outward.
As the wave rose, the underwater part of the rocky island was exposed.
Only then did everyone see that the island's shape really did resemble a tomb.
In front of the tomb stood a massive stone tablet, but it had been submerged earlier and no one had noticed.
Huo Guang was stunned by what he saw. Cold sweat ran down his back, and he involuntarily stepped back.
The other Void Realm warriors looked at each other in dismay. Many turned to Standing Monk, thinking, Could that monk really be a jinx? Was everything he said true?
"It... it's gone!" someone exclaimed in shock.
Zhang Ruochen pointed upward and said, "It didn't disappear. It's above us."
Indeed, the headless corpse had somehow appeared above the Half-Saint-level warship.
It wore tattered robes, and much of its flesh had rotted away, exposing some bones.
"Boom!"
The headless corpse dropped down and punched.
The force of the punch had barely erupted before it landed. The Void Realm warriors on the ship felt as if struck by lightning. More than half collapsed to the ground, bleeding from seven orifices and convulsing.
Even the Fish-Dragon Realm experts felt immense pressure, their legs trembling as if they were about to kneel.
Could it really be the corpse of a Half-Saint?
"Bang!"
Fortunately, the headless corpse's fist was blocked by the ship-protecting grand formation and didn't land directly.
Even so, the Half-Saint-level warship sank sharply, nearly submerging into the sea.
"That is an evil corpse of a Half-Saint buried here in ancient times. One ship-protecting grand formation can't stop it. Activate the second formation immediately."
Sitong Fenglan, having experienced many storms, remained calm even in the face of a Half-Saint evil corpse. He calmly ordered the formation masters on the ship to activate the second formation.
At the same time, the ship's most powerful attack formation, the Fire God Formation, was powered by nine million spirit crystals and began to counterattack the Half-Saint evil corpse.
Seeing the Half-Saint-level warship's formidable defense and attack power, the Void Realm warriors finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ao Xinyan said, "What a terrifying monster. Thank goodness the Half-Saint-level warship is strong enough to hold it off. Otherwise, we would all be dead."
Zhang Ruochen stared at the evil corpse, which kept attacking, but his mood didn't relax. Instead, his expression grew more solemn.
Ao Xinyan noticed his unusual expression and asked, "Captain, do you think the Half-Saint-level warship can't stop that Half-Saint evil corpse?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Half-Saint-level warship is powerful because it has over a hundred formations arranged on it, each working together to provide strong defense and attack."
"But to activate these formations, a huge amount of spirit crystals is needed."
"Once the spirit crystals on the ship run out, the Half-Saint-level warship will just be an ordinary boat."
Ao Xinyan said, "Captain, are you worried that the spirit crystals will run out before we can repel the Half-Saint evil corpse?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "The Half-Saint evil corpse can 'live' until now because after the Half-Saint died, his saint soul transformed into Half-Saint light."
"The Half-Saint light was then affected by the death qi of the Blood Spring Trench, undergoing some evil changes. That's why the evil corpse can use the Half-Saint light to absorb heaven and earth spiritual energy and turn it into a continuous stream of attack power."
"If the Half-Saint-level warship can't kill the evil corpse before the spirit crystals run out, our situation will become very dangerous."
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's explanation, not only Ao Xinyan, Huang Yanchen, and Orange Moon Star Envoy became nervous, but even the evil path martial artists from the Black Market turned pale.
If they lost the protection of the Half-Saint-level warship, who could stop that Half-Saint evil corpse?
"Slap!"
Green Robe Star Envoy glared coldly at Huo Guang and slapped him across the face, cursing, "Reckless fool! If you hadn't provoked that Half-Saint evil corpse, how would we be in this desperate situation? If the Half-Saint-level warship is breached, I'll throw you out to feed it first."
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