Ye Qiu never could’ve imagined that the treasured Heavenly Master Sword of Dragon Tiger Mountain was just a wooden sword.
“After all that hardship, the old man nearly lost his life, and it was all for this lousy wooden sword?”
Ye Qiu felt like he’d been utterly screwed.
He wanted to tell Elder Longbrow, “If I’d known, I’d have found a carpenter to make you thousands of wooden swords instead.”
“Little brat, quick, kill him!” Elder Longbrow shouted again.
Ye Qiu had doubts about Elder Longbrow’s words. “Even the Emperor’s Sword couldn’t kill him—how’s a wooden sword supposed to do it?”
“Stop bloody talking nonsense and strike!”
Ye Qiu hesitated for a moment before charging at the ancient corpse, slashing its arm with the sword.
As he’d expected, the result was predictable.
The wooden sword left no mark on the corpse.
“I knew it—this broken wooden sword’s useless.” No sooner had Ye Qiu spoken than a wisp of black smoke suddenly rose from the corpse’s arm.
Three seconds later, the arm snapped off with a loud crack.
“Ahh…”
A piercing scream erupted from the corpse’s mouth.
“Huh? This lousy wooden sword actually works?” Surprised, Ye Qiu struck again.
This time, he slashed at the corpse’s neck.
Soon, black smoke billowed from the neck, and with another agonised scream, the corpse’s head detached from its body.
“Finally got rid of this guy.”
Ye Qiu had just breathed a sigh of relief when his face twisted in horror.
The headless corpse started walking toward Elder Longbrow with big strides. Despite losing its head, it seemed unaffected.
The sight was downright chilling.
Elder Longbrow yelled in a panic, “Little brat, what are you dawdling for? Strike again—finish him off!”
Whoosh!
Ye Qiu swiftly slashed twice at the corpse’s legs. More black smoke rose, and both legs broke off. With a thud, the corpse collapsed to the ground.
Its torso writhed for a moment before slowly crawling up again. Even without a head or legs, it kept inching toward Elder Longbrow.
Its speed was much slower now, and it couldn’t fly anymore, which only made it creepier.
“He… he can’t be killed!” Shuisheng cried out in terror.
At this point, even Ye Qiu felt his scalp tingling, let alone Shuisheng.
“Damn it, I’ll see if you really can’t die!” Gripping the Heavenly Master Sword, Ye Qiu strode up to the corpse and swung relentlessly.
One strike, two strikes, three strikes…
Thirty-six strikes in total!
All landed on the corpse’s body.
After a while, thick black smoke poured from the corpse.
Then came another horrifying twist.
The head, which had separated from the neck, suddenly let out a shrill scream.
“Ahh…”
Startled, Ye Qiu spun around to stare at the head.
At that moment, Elder Longbrow struggled to his feet, approached the head, and pulled the Heavenly Master Seal from his robe sleeve. Muttering an incantation, he pressed the seal onto the corpse’s forehead.
Instantly, the seal seemed to activate, bursting with brilliant white light.
“AHHH…”
The corpse screamed hysterically, its head thrashing violently, trying to break free from the seal.
Elder Longbrow held it down with all his strength.
After about two minutes, the screams faded into a low groan. Finally, the head melted into a puddle of thick, greenish ooze, reeking unbearably.
At the same time, the corpse’s body dissolved into a similar puddle.
“Worth its name as a thousand-year corpse king. Without the Heavenly Master Sword and Seal, we probably couldn’t have killed it.”
With that, Elder Longbrow collapsed onto the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
“Old man!” Ye Qiu exclaimed, grabbing Elder Longbrow’s wrist. His heart sank.
Elder Longbrow was done for!
“The life-extension talisman can only last four hours at most. I used the Secret Art of Heaven’s Will and the Five Thunder Orthodox Method. Now, I’m truly at the end of my rope.”
Elder Longbrow’s face was ashen, his voice weak and breathless.
“Martial Uncle.” Shuisheng crouched beside him, tears welling up.
“Birth, aging, sickness, death—it’s the way of all humans. No one escapes it. Finding the Heavenly Master Sword means I can die without regrets.”
Elder Longbrow managed a faint smile before giving his final instructions. “Shuisheng, from now on, the Heavenly Master Sword and Seal are yours to guard.”
“I’ve written down the secrets to cultivating the Five Thunder Orthodox Method. They’re under my bedroom pillow. Study them later and aim to master it soon.”
“Also, you’ll be the next leader of Dragon Tiger Mountain.”
“Martial Uncle, no, I can’t!” Shuisheng wiped his tears. “I lack talent and virtue—I can’t lead. I’m afraid I’ll mess it up.”
“Don’t be afraid. Before I left Dragon Tiger Mountain, I settled things with the elders.”
“They’ll support and assist you.”
“Shuisheng, I won’t get the chance to lead Dragon Tiger Mountain to glory in this lifetime. That hope rests on you now. Don’t let me down!”
“If you run into trouble you can’t handle, find Ye Qiu. He’ll help you.”
Elder Longbrow paused, then added, “Shuisheng, hand me the backpack.”
Shuisheng passed it over.
Elder Longbrow reached to open it, but his hands wouldn’t lift.
He was too weak.
Shuisheng quickly opened it for him. “Martial Uncle, what do you need? I’ll get it.”
“There’s a wine jug inside. Give it to me.”
Shuisheng pulled out the jug, removed the cork, and held it to Elder Longbrow’s lips, letting him sip.
Elder Longbrow raised his voice: “When there’s wine in life, one must get drunk—how could a single drop reach the underworld?”
“Ye Qiu, I entrust Shuisheng and Dragon Tiger Mountain to you.”
“And don’t forget what I asked of you.”
Ye Qiu nodded. “Don’t worry, I remember everything. Old man, anything else you need to say? I’ll handle it.”
“Nah, I’ve said all there is to say…”
Crack!
Before Elder Longbrow could finish, a large chunk of the stone wall in front of them shattered, startling all three.
They looked up at the wall together.
Etched into it were numerous characters, illuminated clearly by the ninety-nine eternal lamps.
“While wandering the world, I, a humble Daoist, stumbled upon Dalong Mountain, where corpse energy soared to the heavens, prompting me to investigate.”
“I discovered that Dalong Mountain was originally a land of true dragons, but it fell into the hands of someone with shallow fortune, turning it into a deadly place. The corpses buried here have undergone corpse transformation and gained considerable power.”
“I intended to slay it with one strike, but an unexpected event forced me to leave in haste.”
“To prevent the corpse from wreaking havoc in the world, I used my sword and a corpse-suppressing talisman to seal it before departing.”
“I foresaw that, a thousand years later, Longbrow, a descendant of Dragon Tiger Mountain, would come to retrieve the sword. I left an item to help him survive a life-or-death crisis.”
“Additionally, I prepared a meeting gift each for Ye Qiu and Shuisheng, hoping we might meet again in fate.”
“Dragon Tiger Mountain, Zhang Daoling!”
