The Shocked Chou Li

Chou Li wanted to leave, but someone was intent on keeping her there.

The Iron-winged Eagle, having suffered under her hands, circled once in the sky before diving down again.

Its massive frame, combined with its lightning-fast speed, made it resemble a high-speed diving projectile.

Its razor-sharp beak, honed like a deadly blade, pecked straight down at Chou Li's head.

The phantom of the wild boar behind Chou Li grew increasingly solid, as if it might stir to life at any moment.

Countless veins bulged across her form, twisting beneath her skin like writhing worms.

"Die!"

Chou Li roared furiously, throwing out a heavy, thunderous punch.

Her fist slammed directly against the eagle's beak.

A powerful shockwave erupted between them, shredding the surrounding trees to pieces and reducing everything within ten meters to fine powder.

The Iron-winged Eagle was battered until its head bled profusely. Drenched in gore, it hurriedly turned and took flight into the upper reaches of the sky, gradually vanishing into the horizon.

Chou Li's garments were almost entirely shredded by the blast, exposing a bloated physique covered in coarse, black, pig-like bristles.

Her left arm hung limply at her side. That single clash had fractured the bone in multiple places.

Knit-browed, she endured the excruciating pain in her arm, activated her Blood Evasion Art, and spun around to flee.

With Chou Li in retreat, Wu Sui naturally had no intention of lingering.

More and more cultivators were converging on the area. Intimidated by the formidable strength of the Bronze Corpse and the corpse puppet, none dared to step forward.

Many observed from a distance that the two Jade Marrow Mushrooms in Wu Sui's possession had already rotted. Disappointed, they turned and departed. However, a small portion of cultivators failed to notice this detail and remained hovering on the periphery, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

The battle between the Bronze Corpse and the corpse puppet was brutal, an unadorned contest of physical might where every blow struck flesh.

Yet, the corpse puppet was slightly inferior in terms of physical durability, and it steadily fell into a disadvantage.

Boom!

The two corpses exchanged a mutual blow.

The Bronze Corpse staggered back several paces, each step gouging a deep pit into the earth.

The corpse puppet, meanwhile, was sent flying backward. Rotten flesh sprayed from its chest where the punch had landed, leaking a large amount of ink-black fluid.

Right then, a chain manifested from mid-air, winding around the corpse puppet's body, hoisting it up to flee.

At some point, Wu Sui had already deployed his flying boat into the sky. This corpse puppet, refined from the remains of a Foundation Establishment expert, was his greatest source of strength. He naturally could not allow it to be lightly destroyed.

"Roar!"

Seeing its enemy suddenly flee, the Bronze Corpse threw its head back and unleashed a furious roar.

Exerting explosive force through both knees, it shattered the ground beneath it. The Bronze Corpse shot upward like an arrow loosed from a bow string, heading straight for the mid-air flying boat.

With a flick of the chain, Wu Sui flung the corpse puppet onto the vessel.

Then, like a striking venomous serpent, the chain lashed out.

Watching the chain dart toward its chest, the Bronze Corpse clenched its fists and hammered down directly upon it.

The seemingly indestructible chain, which had served Wu Sui well in numerous battles, snapped with a sharp crack.

The destruction of his Magical Artifact triggered a magical backlash. On the flying boat, Wu Sui suddenly spat a mouthful of blood. His body swayed violently, nearly tumbling from the deck.

Gritting his teeth to steady himself, he forced the flying boat to accelerate, fleeing into the distance.

Delayed by the chain, the Bronze Corpse's momentum slowed. Incapable of flight, it had no choice but to drop back to the ground.

The moment it landed, it saw two Jade Marrow Mushrooms descending from the sky, tossed to a spot several hundred meters behind it.

Lacking a sharp wit, the Bronze Corpse abandoned its pursuit of Wu Sui and turned to rush toward the two Jade Marrow Mushrooms.

Upon discovering that the mushrooms had already rotted and their spiritual essence had entirely vanished, the Bronze Corpse threw its head back and roared in fury once more. The immense corpse energy rolling off its form surged continuously, making it resemble a demon descended upon the mortal realm.

Yet, this brief delay allowed the cunning human to vanish beyond the edge of the sky.

With nowhere to vent its rage, the Bronze Corpse began obliterating everything around it.

Massive trees and mountain boulders crumbled under its wrath, filled with deafening, continuous explosions.

The cultivators hiding on the periphery cowered like frightened quails at the sight. Tucking in their necks, they turned and fled.

As she fled, Chou Li's brow remained furrowed. Her broken left arm severely impeded her, as she was a cultivator who relied heavily on close-quarters combat.

Right now, she urgently needed to find a secure hiding place to treat her arm. She did not expect an immediate recovery, but she needed to at least preserve the limb.

If her left arm became permanently crippled, her future path of cultivation would grow exceptionally bleak.

Suddenly, her Divine Sense detected a cold gleam flashing toward the back of her head. It moved with blinding, lightning-like speed.

In this moment of crisis, Chou Li maintained her absolute composure. Twisting her torso, she conjured the massive phantom of the wild boar behind her once more. She clenched her right fist and punched out with everything she had.

Pfft.

The sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh echoed.

The Cold Moon Blade ultimately became wedged within Chou Li's dense knuckles. However, the blade continuously erupted with razor-sharp sword Qi, nearly shredding the flesh of her entire palm to pieces, leaving it mangled and exposing white bone.

"Who is it? Who dares ambush me? You cowardly rat who only dares strike from the shadows, do you have the courage to show yourself and fight?"

Chou Li's gaze was piercing as she swept her surroundings with deep vigilance.

Song Wen's figure slowly emerged from behind the brush. The recalled Cold Moon Blade hovered, dancing above his palm.

A cold smile touched Song Wen's lips.

"Senior Sister Chou, we have not seen each other for two days, yet you look quite disheveled."

Chou Li's eyes filled with a mixture of shock and animosity. After a brief moment of astonishment, she gritted her teeth.

"Ji Yin, it is you! I never expected you to hide yourself so deeply, to actually be an expert at the Peak Qi Refining stage."

"There is no deep hatred between us. Let us act as though today's matter never occurred. We shall each go our separate ways, how about it? At worst, I promise never to trouble you again in the future."

Faced with Chou Li's proposition, Song Wen shook his head.

"That will not do. Now that you know my secret, you must die."

The moment the words left his mouth, the Cold Moon Blade flew out again, swift as a gale.

Chou Li's face darkened. The pressure the Cold Moon Blade exerted on her was immense, and she lacked the confidence to repeatedly block its strikes.

"Ji Yin, you forced my hand!"

Blood energy erupted from Chou Li's body, and the black wild boar phantom behind her was instantly dyed a sanguine red.

She was executing the Blood Sacrifice Technique, a blood-burning secret art of the Corpse Demon Sect.

In the span of a breath, the bloated fat across her body dissolved, converting into surging blood energy.

Her figure withered rapidly.

In an instant, her thick, stout frame transformed into a lean, slender silhouette.

However, her skin now resembled a massive, thick hide of a wild boar, hanging loose and sagging over her form like an oversized, draped coat.

Sensing the explosive spiritual power brought about by the rapid consumption of her blood energy, killing intent flooded Chou Li's eyes.

She clenched her right fist and drove a heavy punch toward the approaching Cold Moon Blade.

Right at that moment, she suddenly perceived two tiny insects hurtling through the air from her left and right flanks, charging toward her temples with extreme velocity.

Though the two insects were small, they possessed the terrifying strength of the ninth layer of Qi Refining.

Gu insects!

Chou Li's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

This Ji Yin's hidden depths were far too terrifying.

With her left arm crippled and her right hand occupied with blocking the frontal assault of the Cold Moon Blade, Chou Li had no limbs free to fend off the Black-armored Gu. She did not even have the time required to retrieve a defensive Magical Artifact from her Storage Bag.

A protective barrier of spiritual energy flared around her body. She could only rely on this shield to absorb the impact of the Gu insects.

Immediately after, under Chou Li's astonished gaze, the Cold Moon Blade that was about to collide with her fist suddenly veered off course, swerving around her punch.

A wave of shock struck her mind.

'How is this possible!'

How could a Magical Artifact controlled by a Qi Refining cultivator's mental power alter its trajectory so fluidly mid-flight? This was an intricate manipulation that only Foundation Establishment cultivators possessing Divine Sense could achieve.

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