Chapter 1609: [Encountering the Double Corpses Again] (Part 2)

Hu Xiaotian's movement was fast, but before he could escape the cave mouth, he saw a black shadow blocking his path. He shook his hands, and a pair of black spiral spikes emitted a wailing ghostly howl, shooting straight at his chest.

Before the spiral spikes arrived, two frenziedly rotating spiral forces tore through the air and attacked first.

Hu Xiaotian startled, his vision exceptionally strong, able to see in darkness. He clearly saw that the one blocking his path was a Black Corpse. He clearly remembered having drained the Black Corpse's internal energy completely, thinking that even if he survived by luck afterward, he would surely become a cripple. He never expected the Black Corpse to reappear in the Central Plains, and its martial arts seemed even stronger than before.

Hu Xiaotian's body suddenly shot upward, his back pressing against the upper rock wall of the cave. Dodging the opponent's spiral spikes, he seized the moment to draw the rust‑stained great sword on his back, continuously diving down. He raised the great sword high and, from above, delivered a plain Mount Hua‑splitting strike toward the Black Corpse's head.

The Black Corpse crossed its hands, spiral spikes meeting the great sword. With a clanging 'Du!' the collision echoed through the cave, amplified many times, sounding especially shrill.

The Black Corpse clearly underestimated Hu Xiaotian's strength. Under his full‑force chop, its body lowered slightly, and the rock beneath its feet cracked from the unbearable force. The White Corpse, amid a shrill howl, raised its claws glowing with an orchid‑hued light. Swish! It turned toward Hu Xiaotian's back. She had trained her hands for dozens of cycles of cold and heat; her claws were sharp enough to tear apart tigers and wolves.

Hu Xiaotian made no attempt to dodge, letting the White Corpse's claws seize his back. Though the White Corpse exerted all its strength, its sharp claws tore his outer leather garment but could not harm his flesh, for beneath he wore an armor made of seven‑star sea‑snake skin. This armor was extremely tough, able to block blades and spears.

The instant the White Corpse's claw force reached Hu Xiaotian's body, he redirected it using borrowed force, effectively making him and the White Corpse jointly attack the Black Corpse, and the power of his great sword suddenly increased considerably.

Under such pressure, the Black Corpse's feet sank deep into the rock. Its body twisted and unexpectedly bent backward. A sword qi sparked from the great sword grazed its right side and struck the ground. With a boom, a hard rock layer split into a ditch half a zhang long; fragments flew and dust filled the air.

Hu Xiaotian did not necessarily intend to kill him. Seeing the Black Corpse dodge and leave an opening, he rested his great sword on the spiral spikes, used the Black Corpse's upward lift, and leapt forward over it like a large bird, soaring more than ten zhang. He flew straight out of the cave and landed in a snowy wilderness where snow fell everywhere.

Hu Xiaotian turned to look, only to see the Black and White Corpses relentlessly pursuing; one black, one white, two figures had already chased out of the cave.

From their recent exchange, Hu Xiaotian roughly grasped the martial skill of these two monsters. Compared to their fight at the Wild Goose Tower years ago, their progress was slight. Although the Black Corpse had recovered its martial arts, even stronger than before, the two's improvement was still far behind his own; even if he could not defeat them together, he would not lose to them, and escaping would be easy.

Hu Xiaotian gave a hearty laugh, tapped the snow with his toes, and his body suddenly rose about four zhang before swooping down. He did not go to the summit to meet Xia Zhangming directly, but headed downhill, believing his voice had already reached Xia Zhangming's ears.

Hu Xiaotian employed the Art of Soaring to leap and bound across the snow, while the Black and White Corpses doggedly pursued from behind. Their lightness skill was considerably inferior to his, and their internal energy could not compare; by mid‑mountain, he had already flung them far behind.

In the high sky, Xia Zhangming arrived on a Snow Eagle, accompanied by a Flying Eagle, to meet Hu Xiaotian. Although wind and snow swirled, Xia Zhangming could still see the blurred scene below, observing Hu Xiaotian tossing his opponents farther and farther away, and he gradually relaxed.

Just as Xia Zhangming was about to direct the Flying Eagle to land and take Hu Xiaotian away.

He discovered that the snow ahead of Hu Xiaotian was rolling like waves, spreading upward along the slope.

Hu Xiaotian almost simultaneously noticed the scene ahead: a snow wall about two zhang high was rolling toward him at astonishing speed.

Hu Xiaotian lifted his head, saw the blurry silhouettes of the Snow Eagle and Flying Eagle in the air, and shouted, 'Wait for me!' This was to remind Xia Zhangming not to rush down, since the situation below was unclear. He raised his great sword and swung it at the rolling snow waves ahead. Sword qi crisscrossed; a domineering invisible sword qi detached from the blade and flew out, cleaving the snow wall in half. Where the sword qi met the snow wave, it encountered an invisible force; the two forces collided, producing a boom, and a snow pillar ten zhang high shot upward.

The rolling snow waves gradually subsided, calming about three zhang ahead of Hu Xiaotian. Mist filled the air, and amid the haze a burly gray figure appeared: a gray‑clad monk, his gray‑white hair curled and attached to his scalp, his gray‑white beard likewise curled, high nose, deep‑set eyes, a pair of dark green eyes cold and lightless, silently gazing at Hu Xiaotian, utterly still, like a statue emerging from wind and snow.

Hu Xiaotian stared at the foreign monk, his heart chilled. The monk's appearance was sudden, yet it gave him an unprecedented sense of pressure, a feeling he rarely experienced. Even without moving, his current martial level allowed him to sense the opponent's strength from his aura. The pinnacle of martial arts should be a return to simplicity, great skill appearing clumsy; such a state suits most internal masters, but not necessarily all external masters. For some external practitioners, training is like sharpening a blade—the deeper the skill, the more the edge shows.

The foreign monk gave Hu Xiaotian the feeling of being inhuman. He looked ahead; besides the monk, there was no one else. Surely that rolling snow wave was his doing. He smiled at the monk and said, 'Venerable master, in this bitter cold, why are you not chanting sutras in the temple but coming up the mountain?'

The foreign monk's gaze locked onto Hu Xiaotian, and in halting Chinese he said, 'Slay Heaven Seven Swords!'

Hu Xiaotian startled; the foreign monk actually recognized the move—his sword strike that had split the snow wall was indeed one of the Slay Heaven Seven Swords.

At this moment the Black and White Corpses, together with several Black Hu men from the cave, had all caught up nearby. But seeing the foreign monk appear, they halted their steps and dared not advance without his permission, showing his exalted status among them.

Hu Xiaotian suddenly recalled his encounter outside Yongdu City at Peach Blossom Pool, where he had slain the Purple Lightning Giant Python, eaten the Wind and Cloud Fruit, obtained the Mysterious Iron Sword and Token, and found a monk's robe. He remembered Xiao Tianmu saying then that the robe should come from the Northern Void Secret Sect, belonging to the Black Hu State Preceptor of Fan Yin Si, Timoduo. Seeing that the foreign monk before him could instantly recognize the Slay Heaven Seven Swords, he wondered if he was related to Timoduo.

Hu Xiaotian guessed correctly; the foreign monk before him was indeed the Black Hu State Preceptor Gangbalala, who came from Fan Yin Si, not only profound in Buddhist doctrine but also the foremost expert of the Northern Void Secret Sect.

Gangbalala said in a deep voice, 'Hand over the Northern Void True Classic, and I will spare your life!'

Hu Xiaotian heard his halting Chinese and couldn't help chuckling, replying scornfully, 'A good dog doesn't block the road; as a monastic, don't you even have this awareness?'

Although Gangbalala spoke poor Chinese, communication posed no great obstacle; Hu Xiaotian's insults were certainly understood. Gangbalala said sternly, 'You are seeking your own death!' He slowly raised his fist; though his motion was slow, the flying snow in the air seemed to be stirred by his movement.

Hu Xiaotian also felt the surrounding air suddenly evacuated, wind and snow madly converging on Gangbalala, enveloping his burly frame.

Hu Xiaotian snorted coldly, 'Playing tricks!' He raised his great sword and struck forward. He had mastered the Slay Heaven Seven Swords, and recently made considerable progress in projecting sword qi, achieving an eighty percent success rate.

A fierce sword qi flew toward Gangbalala amidst the wind and snow; the snowflakes swirling around his body were torn open a crack. Hu Xiaotian seemed to already see the gruesome sight of Gangbalala being split in two by his sword, but the outcome far exceeded his expectations: when the sword qi struck Gangbalala's body, it sparked a golden light; Gangbalala stood unharmed, motionless. In an instant, flying snow coated his exterior with a thick layer of ice armor.

Gangbalala's body now looked much larger, resembling a snowball from afar, and this snowball continued to swell at astonishing speed, shooting up from the ground to crash into Hu Xiaotian.

Seeing the huge snowball rushing menacingly, Hu Xiaotian did not dare delay; he backhanded another sword, cutting upward from below toward the snowball.

Sword qi crisscrossed straight for the snowball; meanwhile the snowball had grown considerably, spinning nonstop as it shot forward. The sword qi striking the snowball had most of its force neutralized by the snowball's centrifugal spin, yet it still chopped off a small half. The remaining large half of the snowball, undiminished, rushed full speed at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian realized it was too late to release sword qi; he clenched his left fist, the God‑Demon Annihilation Fist erupting with terrifying power, his internal energy instantly peaking. He struck the snowball heavily—boom! —but the snowball was not soft as he imagined; it felt like solid frozen ice. The ice armor cracked under his heavy punch. He lifted his right foot and kicked the snowball hard, hoping to punt it away like a ball. Gangbalala's body lay hidden within the snowball; kicking the snowball flying was tantamount to kicking him away as well. (To be continued~^~)