Chapter 537: Corpse Monster

The sudden, thunderous sound from the mountain god temple's main gate left everyone at a loss. Even Old Liu, with all his extensive experience, did not know what to do at this moment, for he had never encountered anything so sinister.

One must know that this was the gate of the Mountain God Temple. Protected by the mountain god, even evil spirits and monsters usually dared not approach. He had stayed here for so many days without encountering a shred of danger, yet tonight, for some reason, he had encountered both a yellow weasel and a fierce ghost.

Had so many wild spirits and monsters set their sights on this place?

In truth, what Old Liu did not know was that the reason for so much danger tonight was that Li Yi's arrival had frightened the mountain god away.

Without the protection of the mountain god, this temple naturally lost all its deterrent power. Coupled with a group of people staying here overnight, the accumulation of human Qi inevitably attracted the attention of certain things.

Bang! Bang!

The heavy gate of the Mountain God Temple was being pounded until it rattled. The door frame shook, and cracks even appeared on the wood. It seemed that if the thing outside were allowed to continue like this, the door would not last long and would soon shatter completely. Yet, even so, no one dared to go and brace the gate.

Everyone was in a panic. At this moment, the Mountain God Temple seemed no longer a shelter, but a cage, trapping everyone inside. They wanted to run, but they dared not.

Because leaving this place might mean dying even faster.

"What do we do? What do we do now?"

They were utterly desperate, unable to do anything but watch as the gap in the gate grew wider with every strike.

Gusts of cold, sinister wind poured in through the windows, the cracks in the door, and the roof. The once-flourishing campfire, hit by this wind, immediately showed signs of extinguishing. Seeing this, Old Liu hurriedly added all the dry firewood with trembling hands, but it was to no avail; the flames flickered wildly in the wind and could not ignite the wood.

The two women were even more terrified, huddled together and sobbing.

In the face of such eerie circumstances, they, as ordinary people, were far too small and helpless.

"Help, help, kind soul, please open the door, save me, it's so dark outside, I'm so scared..."

The faint, ghostly voice of a woman echoed outside the temple, urging the people inside to open the door quickly and let her in.

But they were not stupid; what kind of person could knock on a door with such immense strength?

If they opened the door, there was no telling what terrifying thing they might let in.

Just as everyone was paralyzed with fear,

In the corner, Li Yi slowly stood up, his brow furrowed.

He was not in a good mood, as his cultivation had been interrupted time and again. The yellow weasel that stole human essence earlier was one thing, but he hadn't expected ghosts and evil spirits to show up in the middle of the night. Did these things have no eyes, daring to come to the Mountain God Temple to seek death? Could the yellow weasel skin hanging outside not serve as a warning?

"Stop knocking. Your knocking makes me feel scared too. I'll let you in right now." Li Yi walked over with long strides.

"Dao, Daoist priest, please don't open the door. It is definitely not a human knocking out there; it must be a ghost or monster from the wilds." Old Liu was pale with fright, trying to stop Li Yi's actions.

Li Yi said, "If there are any monsters, I will deal with them myself. We cannot just let the thing outside keep knocking, can we? Don't you find it noisy?"

As he spoke, he immediately removed the bolt and threw the door open.

A cold mountain wind blew in, sending a bone-chilling shiver through everyone. But what was truly horrifying was that after the door opened, the outside was pitch black, yet there was nothing there. Neither the monster that had been knocking nor the ghost that had been pleading for help could be seen. Only deep claw marks were visible on the wooden door.

The marks did not look like they could have been made by a human; they looked more like the scratches of some ferocious wild beast.

"No, nothing is there?" The scholar Lu Yue widened his eyes, feeling it was inconceivable.

How could this be?

Just a moment ago, something was clearly knocking—that was a fact everyone had heard. How could there be nothing once the door was opened? Was it just a false alarm?

Old Liu was also filled with doubt and fear, but the field mouse in his arms was jumping about in terror, urging him to leave this place quickly, or else he would meet with misfortune.

Yet he had his own bitter troubles.

Where could he run to at a time like this?

Leaving the Mountain God Temple, ahead lay the Three-Way Junction, which was even more dangerous; behind lay the mass grave, which was also not peaceful. Only this stretch of road in the middle was somewhat safe. If they couldn't even stay here, there was truly nowhere else to go. Therefore, no matter what, they had to endure the rest of the night together.

Li Yi looked outside, then stepped over the threshold and walked out. His expression was very calm; he felt not the slightest fear toward this eerie scene.

As an Evolver, what great storms and waves had he not seen? Even in World No. 36, he had roamed freely; no demon, ghost, or monster could shake his inner resolve.

"Come out, stop hiding. I don't have the patience to play games with you." Li Yi spoke, his eyes looking to one side.

Suddenly.

Accompanied by a cold mountain chill drifting over, a woman appeared, wearing a gauze skirt, with a graceful figure, pale skin, and a stiff body. This woman was expressionless, walking slowly toward them like a marionette. Only when she drew closer did Li Yi see that the woman's fingernails were very long, coated with a layer of black lacquer. The lacquer smelled like the raw lacquer used for coffins, emitting a pungent odor.

"Save, save me, it's dark outside, I'm so scared." The faint voice sounded again, but the woman herself did not speak; the sound came from behind her.

Seeing this, Old Liu inside the temple was so scared his body nearly went limp. He hurriedly shouted, "Daoist priest, run! She is not a living person; she is a female corpse, a female corpse that has become a monster!"

Li Yi did not respond, merely walking forward to meet her. He clenched his fist and said, "What is there to be afraid of in the dark? After you taste my fist, you will know that it counts for nothing. Not sleeping in the middle of the night and coming here to disturb my cultivation—besides looking for a beating, I can't think of any other possibility."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and threw a punch through the air.

The air exploded, a thunderclap resounded between heaven and earth, and streaks of silver lightning intertwined, instantly obliterating everything before his eyes.

A trace of shock appeared on the female corpse's stiff face; at this moment, she felt an inexplicable terror.

But it was too late for fear now.

Struck by the silver lightning, her body instantly turned into powder, blasted until not even a scrap remained, as if she had been vaporized in an instant, disappearing completely.

Gone?

Seeing such a scene, Old Liu, the scholar Lu Yue, and the others were all stunned.

The female corpse that was there just a moment ago—how could she suddenly be gone after being struck by lightning?

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Was she dead?

Yet, before they could recover from their shock, a figure in the darkness suddenly screamed in terror, turned, and ran, quickly diving into the nearby grass and moving away from here at top speed.

Cold wind whistled nearby.

The woman's terrified voice drifted: "Don't kill me, don't kill me, spare my life, Daoist priest, spare my life..."

"Since you've come, why run?" Li Yi's gaze flickered, and he waved his hand.

A silver Qi, wrapped in lightning, instantly struck toward the dense forest.

No matter how that figure tried to escape, there was no way to shake off the pursuit of this Qi.

In an instant, the dense forest was ripped open by a hideous gash; the silver lightning lit up the pitch-black mountain forest, illuminating half the sky.

As the silver lightning Qi disappeared into the distance, the fleeing figure suddenly let out a shrill scream, but then the sound came to an abrupt halt.

Rumble.

A huge tremor came from afar, as if the mountain itself were collapsing.

"The power seems to have been a bit too much. These ghostly things are too weak; they aren't worth using such great power." Li Yi looked into the distance, feeling he had gone a bit overboard. He shook his head and returned to the Mountain God Temple.

"It's fine now. Those ghostly things, one by one, were like monsters—terrifying and scary. I've helped solve them. Tonight should be fine; you all rest easy."

Everyone looked at each other.

Compared to the monsters outside, Daoist priest, you are the real monster.

Was that really something a human could do?

With a casual wave, silver lightning struck down, illuminating half the sky, even lighting up the pitch-black night.

"High, high person." The scholar Lu Yue's legs went soft, and he knelt down: "Thank you, high person, for saving our lives."

"Thank you, high person, for saving our lives." The others also hurriedly knelt and kowtowed.

Old Liu also knelt, filled with gratitude.

"No need for this; it was just a small effort, nothing worth mentioning." Li Yi helped them up: "You all should get some good rest; we have to continue our journey tomorrow."

But his persuasion seemed useless; they continued to kowtow to him.

Li Yi had no choice but to accept their way of showing gratitude.

Moreover, after this commotion, he clearly felt that some things in the surrounding mountain forest were quickly moving away, because those things had felt the terror of the silver lightning and dared not linger here any longer.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 538 =====