Chapter 608: Corpse Xiao

Seeing the expression on the young woman's face, Han Li's expression darkened. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and without a word, he raised his hand and threw the jade box directly at the young woman.

Although he didn't know why she feared a talisman, since the other party had ill intentions, he naturally wouldn't be polite anymore.

Seeing this, the black-clad young woman became even more panicked. Without thinking, she slapped the stone platform beneath her with one hand, intending to stand up and dodge.

However, this action clearly triggered some restriction. She had only just risen a zhang when a flash of red light enveloped her, and she was immediately pulled back to her original position, her face full of pain.

By this time, the jade box had shot in front of her, emitting a clear chime, changing direction, and flying automatically above the young woman's head.

Then, the golden talisman on the box shone brightly, and countless golden runes flew out from the talisman, falling lightly onto the young woman's body.

"No!"

The black-clad young woman let out a desperate cry, her beautiful face becoming incomparably twisted.

Afterward, she seemed unwilling to resign herself to death, quickly raising her single arm to cover her face while desperately lowering her head, looking as if she wished she could hide her face in her bosom.

The runes finally landed on the young woman's shoulders. As a result, with a flash of golden light, a stream of green smoke immediately rose.

The young woman's body trembled, and a shrill, strange cry issued from her mouth. The sound was sharp and piercing, not at all like a sound made by a human.

Han Li's expression changed drastically. He couldn't help but retreat several steps, his palms sweating slightly. He immediately grabbed the spirit beast bag filled with Gold-Eating Beetles with one hand and gripped the jade Jade Ruyi ancient treasure with the other, looking solemnly at the stone platform without saying a word.

More runes fell, and the black-clad young woman was engulfed in rolling green smoke. A moment later, the entire stone platform was surrounded by mist; aside from the occasional flash of golden light, the young woman's shadow could no longer be seen.

But the screams from within the green mist never stopped, changing from shrill and high-pitched to hoarse and violent, as if they were shifting between male and female, making one's hair stand on end.

Han Li watched with secret alarm, licked his lips, and held his breath.

Because with the appearance of this smoke, a foul, fishy stench permeated the entire room. He had only inhaled a mouthful or two before he felt dizzy and nauseated, which shocked him greatly.

These mists were actually highly poisonous.

Just then, a "crackling" sound came from the emerald green mist.

Han Li was stunned, and before he understood what the sound was, he heard a "whoosh."

An emerald green claw suddenly stretched out from the mist like lightning, wrapped in silver chains, and grabbed fiercely toward Han Li, who had retreated to a corner of the stone chamber. Its arm stretched and retracted like a python, extending several zhang in length, and was about to grab onto Han Li's protective light shield.

Han Li felt a chill. He tightened his grip on the jade Jade Ruyi and was about to cast a spell when the silver chains on the ghost claw suddenly contracted, followed by sparks and a pungent, burnt smell.

A painful, low roar came from the mist, and the claw retracted.

Han Li stared at the thick mist with tightly closed lips, his expression shifting. After pondering for a moment, he retreated two more small steps with a cold expression, pressing himself against the Green Gold Stone wall, and injected a significant amount of spiritual power into the jade Jade Ruyi.

Immediately, the red and yellow light shield on his body thickened by several layers.

Only then did his expression ease slightly, and he felt a bit more secure.

A full cup of tea's time later, the strange cries in the green mist subsided. The light from the golden talisman on the jade box also gradually dimmed, and the falling runes became very sparse, quite different from the beginning.

"It seems this golden talisman can indeed restrain this thing, which is neither ghost nor demon, but the spiritual energy it contains seems limited. I wonder if it can hold the opponent when the spiritual power is exhausted." Seeing this, Han Li pondered.

Fortunately, Han Li's worry did not come to pass.

When the screams finally disappeared and the mist became deathly still, the light from the golden talisman had not yet completely faded.

Han Li looked at the golden talisman in the air, not intending to approach immediately, but waited for a while longer. Only when the golden talisman's light faded completely and it fell into the green mist along with the jade box did he move.

He waved a hand, temporarily putting away the spirit beast bag, and with his free hand, he formed a spell, and a low chant sounded.

A red light ball the size of an egg appeared before him.

Looking at the light ball, Han Li didn't hesitate, pointing his finger lightly, and the light ball flew into the green mist as a red glow, disappearing from sight.

Afterward, Han Li raised his eyebrows and spat out the word "Explode."

A loud "bang" came from the green mist.

The mist was swept away as if by a violent wind, and at the same time, a scorching heat permeated the entire room.

Dealing with these evil mists, fire-attribute techniques were indeed the most effective.

As the hot wind blew, Han Li stood still, his eyes flashing with strange light, staring fixedly at the stone platform where the mist had dissipated.

As a result, his heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed dryly, feeling a chill.

On the stone platform lay a humanoid thing, lying there motionless, its life or death unknown.

The reason it was called a humanoid thing was that although it looked like a person, its body was covered in dense, coarse green hair, and a thick stench of decay emanated from it.

Although he hadn't seen the monster's face clearly, it definitely couldn't be human.

And like the black-clad young woman it had transformed into, it also had only one arm. The sharp claw with pitch-black nails was clearly the ghost claw that had attacked Han Li just moments ago.

What caught Han Li's attention was that the monster was now wrapped in one silver chain after another. These silver chains not only bound its hands and feet but also pierced through its chest and back, completely imprisoning it there.

Han Li didn't think much and pointed at the flying swords above his head. Immediately, over a dozen green glows shot over, hacking at the monster.

As a result, a low, dull sound of "clanging" emerged, and the green-haired monster remained unharmed.

Han Li curled his lips, showing a bitter smile, but he wasn't particularly surprised.

After all, seeing this demon being so solemnly imprisoned here, it must be an extraordinary character. If he had really chopped off the opponent's head in one go, he would have been surprised.

At this moment, Han Li beckoned to the flying swords, retracted the magic treasures, and stepped forward a few paces, flicking his sleeve lightly at the green-haired monster.

Immediately, a green glow flew out from Han Li's sleeve, gently rolling the monster's body, and then threw it down silently, revealing its true face.

A face of dead gray, skin and bones, resembling a skull, appeared before Han Li. Its half-open mouth revealed a pair of huge fangs protruding an inch, looking terrifying.

"This is?" Han Li looked at the green hair all over the monster's body and then at its face, feeling vaguely familiar, as if he had seen it in some classic book.

He immediately lowered his head and pondered.

"Corpse Xiao."

A moment later, Han Li suddenly raised his head, calling out the monster's name with a hint of fear in his eyes, while his brain rapidly recalled the terrifying rumors about this evil spirit that had been famous since the Primordial Era.

"Corpse Xiao," as the name suggests, is a type of zombie. However, it is vastly different from the walking corpses cultivated by cultivators and the ordinary zombies that gain spiritual intelligence after being buried deep underground.

The conditions for their formation are extremely harsh.

Although no one knows the complete method for the formation of this evil spirit, the corpses that can evolve into Corpse Xiao must have met two conditions during their lifetime.

First, the corpse must have been at least a Nascent Soul cultivator during their lifetime; mortals and cultivators with low cultivation cannot transform into Corpse Xiao after death. Second, the cultivator must have had wood-attribute or earth-attribute spiritual roots, and they must have been Heaven Spiritual Roots. Otherwise, there would be no opportunity to gain spiritual intelligence and resurrect through the power of stone and wood.

In addition to this, there is another necessary condition for the formation of Corpse Xiao: these cultivators must have died with great resentment. Only then would their souls be unwilling to return to reincarnation and remain on the corpse.

After a long time, plus other coincidental opportunities, the soul can fuse and refine with the corpse again, forming this monster known as Corpse Xiao.

This monster can be said to be half-human, half-corpse, or half-corpse, half-ghost.

Because it not only lacks the fatal weakness of ghost demons and zombies fearing sunlight, but it also possesses most of the memories from its lifetime and is born knowing how to cultivate the techniques it practiced while alive. And because it died with resentment, this evil spirit is naturally not a vegetarian; they are almost all addicted to killing. After killing cultivators, they especially love to imprison the cultivators' souls in their bellies, slowly torturing them for fun with corpse fire.

This monster can be said to be something that everyone in the cultivation world of long ago talked about with fear.

... ===== CHAPTER 609 =====

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