Bai Yuqing retreated, suppressing the raging cloud qi in her body, controlling three nails to shoot toward Lu Zheng.
However…
Her vision blurred, and Lu Zheng’s figure vanished.
Where was he? Another illusion?
Despite Bai Yuqing’s wide-eyed search, she couldn’t find a trace of him.
The next moment, she felt her ankles tighten. Looking down, she saw a pair of hands emerging from the ground, gripping her ankles.
“Earth Travel Technique!”
Lu Zheng, from beneath the ground, yanked Bai Yuqing downward, pulling her into the earth.
Before she could resist, he released her, using the Earth Travel Technique to depart, leaving Bai Yuqing buried in the soil.
“Swish!”
Lu Zheng emerged halfway beside her.
“Supreme Primordial, Three Pure Ones’ decree, freeze!”
Gazing at Bai Yuqing, with only her head exposed, he swung his blade again.
“Roar!”
The faint tiger roar echoed, the blade’s wind fierce.
“Break!!!”
Bai Yuqing’s cultivation surpassed Lu Zheng’s. Having been hit by the binding spell once and now prepared, Lu Zheng’s second casting could only freeze her for an instant.
“Ah—”
Bai Yuqing opened her mouth, spewing endless corpse qi to shield her head. Though the blade qi entered her body, she avoided decapitation.
Simultaneously, her form twisted, the ground exploded, and she burst free.
“Supreme decree, flying cloud to break evil, strike!”
“Hmph!”
Injured by the blade and cloud qi, Bai Yuqing waved both hands, using her three detached nails to fend off attacks while retreating from Lu Zheng, heading straight for Liu Qingyan and Hu Zhou.
She saw clearly that Liu Qingyan and Hu Zhou’s cultivation was low. Her goal was Hu Zhou’s essence blood, no need to fight Lu Zheng to the death.
This was the Netherworld. If she killed Hu Zhou and escaped, could Lu Zheng chase her to the Chaos Corpse Pool?
However…
In Bai Yuqing’s senses, Lu Zheng sank into the ground again. The next moment, the earth softened before her, and her legs were bound by the soil.
The binding spell consumed too much mana, so Lu Zheng abandoned it, using the Earth Travel Technique to ambush Bai Yuqing, followed by True Cloud Spell, Flying Cloud Evil-Breaking Technique, and Tiger Roar Blade in relentless succession.
The hundred-meter distance to Hu Zhou seemed an insurmountable chasm.
“Filthy Taoist! I’ll have your life!”
Bai Yuqing shrieked in rage, her remaining seven nails detaching.
Ten nails, though draining her mind and mana, multiplied her power severalfold. Under her control, they plunged into the ground, shooting back and forth.
Protected by these ten sword-like nails, Bai Yuqing, face twisted in ferocity, charged at Hu Zhou.
Liu Qingyan gathered her demonic power, two hazy white shadows appearing behind her.
Hu Zhou roared, unleashing the “Mountain-Bearing Eighteen Forms,” channeling all his strength into his right fist, ready to strike.
Then, Lu Zheng suddenly emerged from the ground beside Bai Yuqing.
“Break!”
Seizing the moment as Bai Yuqing focused on her ten nails, he cast the “Nine Heavens Golden Palace True Transformation Method,” his spirit piercing her consciousness like a sharp sword.
“Ah—”
Bai Yuqing shrieked, her body halting abruptly, her seven orifices contorted, black corpse qi pouring out.
Her true spirit was gravely wounded!
The next moment, enduring her chaotic mind, Bai Yuqing saw Lu Zheng approaching with his blade. She spun, fleeing rapidly into the distance.
Bai Yuqing was truly afraid. Lu Zheng’s cultivation was inferior, but his dual mastery of martial and Taoist arts, with myriad techniques, overwhelmed her.
Blade techniques, cloud and mist spells, binding spells, earth travel, and now a mental secret technique!
If she lingered, she might die before reaching Hu Zhou.
“Think you can escape?”
Having fought this far, how could Lu Zheng let this opportunity for fortune slip away?
With Bai Yuqing’s true spirit already crippled, Lu Zheng used illusions to disrupt her, followed by mental secret attacks, alternating with the Xiuchun blade and True Cloud Spell, trapping her in place.
Bai Yuqing screeched, “Filthy Taoist, let me go, or the Giant Corpse and Stone Corpse will raze Night Mountain and flatten Tonglin County!”
“Supreme Primordial, Three Pure Ones’ decree, freeze!”
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
“Crack!”
This strike, fueled by Lu Zheng’s surging blood qi, unleashed full force. The roaring tiger phantom soared, shattering Bai Yuqing’s maze array.
“Ah—”
Her glamorous corpse head flew skyward, a wisp of black corpse qi smoke escaping her neck, attempting to flee underground.
“Supreme decree, gather qi to summon clouds, strike!”
“Aaah! Spare me, Taoist!”
Lu Zheng cast three evil-dispelling spells into the black smoke, shattering Bai Yuqing’s already weakened true spirit, sending her soul back to the heavens.
“Pfft!”
The black smoke dissipated completely.
“Thud!”
Bai Yuqing’s head fell, rolling to Lu Zheng’s feet.
“Buzz!”
The jade seal in his mind quivered, absorbing seventy-five strands of fortune light.
“Not bad, decent!”
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. A glamorous corpse with over two hundred years of cultivation, a leader of the Chaos Corpse Pool, beaten down by him.
It felt good. In terms of pure cultivation, he was probably just over a hundred fifty years… right?
Sigh, without clear realms, comparisons were vague.
…
“Lu Lang!” Liu Qingyan rushed to him.
Lu Zheng tossed the Xiuchun blade to Hu Zhou, then took Liu Qingyan’s hand. “It’s fine now.”
His earlier strike had broken Bai Yuqing’s maze array, her aura spilling out, alerting the Yin Division soldiers in the distance, who hurried over.
“Young Master Lu!”
“Mm.” Lu Zheng nodded, nudging Bai Yuqing’s head with his toe. “Take this corpse back to General Xin. Tell him it’s Bai Yuqing, the glamorous corpse of the Chaos Corpse Pool.”
“Glamorous Corpse Bai Yuqing!” The Yin soldiers gasped, staring at the head.
Her black hair parted, revealing a charming face, though her pitch-black pupils were now lifeless.
“Hiss—”
Lu Zheng glanced at them, wondering if ghosts could still gasp.
“See the dangers of the Netherworld now?”
“Got it!” Hu Zhou nodded repeatedly. “I’ll train my blade at the City God Temple.”
“Mm.”
“Lu Lang, look at this.”
Liu Qingyan approached, opening her palm to reveal ten red nails.
“Bai Yuqing’s nails?”
Liu Qingyan nodded, picking up a nail, channeling demonic power into it.
The nail extended with a whoosh, transforming into a three-foot rapier.
“Whoa!” Lu Zheng exclaimed, picking up a nail and infusing it with true qi.
“Swish!” It too became a three-foot rapier.
Lu Zheng blinked. “How can any power activate these?”
“It’s likely a sword cultivation technique. After becoming a corpse ghost, Bai Yuqing altered the refinement method, removing the need for specific power. So, after her death, other forces can activate and wield them.”
