Chapter 57: The Wu Xiu Who Was Poisoned

Again proving Gu Du Qingli's judgment correct... they need not even touch these corpses; the living aura alone is the trigger for their reanimation!

"Swoosh!" A purple-glowing divine sword hovered before Shen Tang—she had never wielded it since Lu Xingzhou first met her.

"Boom—!" A tidal wave of sword light crushed forward; the corpses, still moving sluggishly, had barely begun to rise when they were obliterated in an instant—limbs severed, torsos torn apart, brutally so.

Emperor's Supreme Shock, Gods and Ghosts Flee.

Yet despite Shen Tang's sword striking true, her expression grew even more grave.

The corpses began to writhe, reassembling themselves.

"Clang!" Gu Du Qingli drew her ice sword, a shadow flashed, and a blade gleam appeared.

The white-haired girl stood cross-legged amid the corpses, the writhing bodies around her gradually freezing, then shattering into icy shards.

Lu Xingzhou thought that regardless of their actual strength, these two had certainly mastered aesthetics—truly beautiful…

"Not as strong as imagined," Gu Du Qingli assessed: "These were likely attendants brought by the guests, caught off-guard by this place's array and slain instantly… they were third-grade in life, but after so long dead, their power vanished entirely; the residual soul-fire is extremely weak, easy to handle."

Third-grade as attendants, and so many—others here would surely be terrified, yet all three present showed no sign of surprise.

All three possessed profound lineages, coincidentally the very top three of present-day Da Gan… though each was still young and held only fragments of their heritage, even that was enough to claim the title of new-generation knowledge pinnacle.

They all knew true Immortals never used the current nine-grade system—that was invented by today's cultivators. What is now called "upper three-grade" might barely qualify as entry-level in the eyes of Immortals; specifics remain uncertain.

"The array…" Lu Xingzhou wheeled himself in a circle: "This place indeed hides a soul-siphoning array—they were instantly killed by having their souls ripped out; the array was quickly destroyed… hmm, step back ten zhang."

Both retreated ten zhang as Lu Xingzhou pulled out a set of array flags, planting them left and right, then swiftly tracing runes with his fingers: "I've modified this array—it's now a soul-stabilizing array. If a tough opponent appears later, lure them here; the flickering soul-fire of the dead is severely suppressed by this array."

Gu Du Qingli watched his overzealous display and couldn't help but feel he was saying, "See? You still say I'm useless?"—a faint smile tugged at her lips.

She always felt Lu Xingzhou was deep and inscrutable, but in truth, he was still just a young man…

Yet she didn't know that this smile, seen by Shen Tang, felt like witnessing a ghost.

This was the first time Shen Tang had ever seen her smile in all the time they'd known each other! But the smile vanished instantly, leaving Shen Tang momentarily doubting whether she'd imagined it.

Forget it—this wasn't the time to dwell on such things.

Gu Du Qingli continued pushing Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair, Shen Tang still led the way ahead. Ahead, the corridor split into sections—alchemical chambers, artifact-forging rooms, and the like.

Shen Tang pushed open each door briefly: the artifact-forging room held no finished items, only a few good materials, which she collected; the alchemical chamber contained only expired herbs, no finished pills, no furnace.

Normal—the furnaces and pills were outside... this place was merely a storage area for herbs, but unfortunately, too much time had passed for anything to remain useful.

Overall, the cave dwelling was small and crude—a temporary residence. Not far ahead lay the core chamber, where a standing corpse came into view.

The corpse's body was intact, tall and imposing, muscles knotted and sharply defined, clearly a formidable body-cultivator in life; even in death, he stood with eyes wide open in fury, unmistakably a mighty Wu Xiu.

Carefully circling to the front, they saw his condition was horrific. From behind, his body appeared whole; from the front, his abdomen was gutted and corroded, leaving a gaping hollow—his internal organs entirely gone.

Lu Xingzhou's heart stirred: "The tea in the front hall was poisoned… he realized he'd been poisoned, flew into a rage chasing the original owner, but ultimately succumbed to the poison."

"Then… where is the original owner?" Shen Tang scanned the room, seeing nothing—until the corpse's eyes flared with phosphorescent fire.

Gu Du Qingli, prepared, thrust her sword straight into the puppet's third eye; frost instantly spread from the point, freezing the soul-fire.

"Frost Heaven, Frozen Moon?" The puppet spoke: "How pathetically weak…"

Gu Du Qingli: "…"

A steel-like arm shot like lightning toward Gu Du Qingli's abdomen; Shen Tang lunged and slashed, "Clang!"—the arm bore no scratch, yet Shen Tang's overwhelming force still slightly deflected the puppet's attack.

But only slightly.

Gu Du Qingli dodged aside, her ice sword now at the puppet's nape.

The puppet took the blade without flinching, swatted away Shen Tang's sword: "Emperor's Supreme Shock… Tian Xing Sword Art? Hmph."

This familiar tone proved nothing beyond the antiquity of their lineages—it didn't even confirm past enmity or alliance. In truth, whether enemy or ally, good or evil, none of it mattered now; the puppet retained only the hatred of its dying moment, equally murderous toward all the living.

The two women said nothing, circling the puppet like spinning lanterns, striking relentlessly—yet not a single scratch marred them.

This couldn't be fought—couldn't break his defense, yet his punches caused injury on contact.

Even after so long, his power had decayed immensely, yet this puppet was still solidly third-grade or higher! Fortunately, this wasn't a deliberately crafted corpse puppet—if it retained its full life power, none of them could have stood against it.

Lu Xingzhou observed for a moment, slapped his wheelchair, and retreated: "Come."

Both instantly recalled the modified array and swiftly withdrew.

Though the puppet could speak and possessed flickering spirit, that spirit was chaotic, the soul-fire unstable, reactions sluggish. Seeing the two opponents who had been fighting him suddenly flee, he froze for several breaths, then stomped forward in pursuit: "Coward… clearly disciples of Mo He… all cowards…"

Mo He? Who was that…

He recognized Frost Heaven, Frozen Moon Sword, and Emperor's Supreme Shock Scripture—were both of them Mo He lineages? But no records mention this person…

Or perhaps another explanation: Mo He was the original owner of this place; this corpse, his mind addled, believed he was still battling Mo He, and assumed they were all Mo He disciples. As for why Mo He disciples knew these arts—he simply couldn't think that far.

The second explanation was more likely.

As this thought flashed through them, the three had already retreated to the front of the array.

"Boom!" The puppet slammed his foot, launching like a cannonball straight at Lu Xingzhou—the one who seemed least mobile.

Lu Xingzhou slapped his wheelchair; it shot away with uncanny agility, several zhang distant. The puppet, having never seen such "high-tech" machinery, hesitated for a moment—then landed fully within the array.

The next instant, he clutched his head, screaming in agony, his eye-fires flickering wildly.

Soul-Stabilizing Array!

Shen Tang and Gu Du Qingli waited for this moment—two piercing sword beams struck his temples from either side.

Lu Xingzhou held a talisman, ignited it swiftly—a thunderclap split the air and slammed down onto the puppet's forehead.

Five Thunder Orthodox Method—the absolute antithesis of corpse puppets!

"Roar!" The puppet erupted with violent spiritual energy, blasting Shen Tang and Gu Du Qingli backward.

Shen Tang, with higher cultivation, fared better; Gu Du Qingli clearly suffered internal injury, spitting a jet of dark blood mid-air.

Lu Xingzhou, precisely in her flight path, immediately adjusted his wheelchair to catch her.

"Thud!" Gu Du Qingli crashed into him—his hands couldn't hold her, and she tumbled fully into his lap, jolting his organs as if displaced.

The wheelchair, struck with full force, skidded violently backward, slamming into a wall corner.

Unbeknownst to them, it was a rotating secret door—this impact spun it open, and the door instantly sealed behind them.

"Damn!" Lu Xingzhou, unable to check his momentum, swiftly flung a talisman at the very moment the secret door closed.

Over there, Shen Tang halted her backward fall and hurriedly flew over to try opening the door, but this time, no matter how she pushed, it would not budge.

Shen Tang stared at the sealed wall, dumbfounded.

You two hid in the secret room in such an embracing posture?

Should I play a flute outside to add to the festivities?

The corpse puppet was still there; the situation did not permit Shen Tang to slowly search for a switch. She quickly picked up the talisman Lu Xingzhou had specifically thrown out earlier, turned around with her sword, and watched the corpse puppet in the formation tensely.

The corpse puppet stood there blankly, its soul fire flickering in its eyes: "I... am dead?"

Stabilizing the soul naturally produces such an effect; once his soul sea is at peace, he naturally distinguishes the current situation. Just now, their swords and Lu Xingzhou's lightning were also achieving related effects.

Shen Tang dared not be careless and said cautiously, "Yes. We are juniors here to explore, not enemies of the senior. Just now, the senior's soul fire was chaotic, so we had to offend you."

The corpse puppet fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Where is Mohe?"

Indeed, Mohe was the original owner... Shen Tang said, "We have not seen him."

"That is right, he fled far away with severe injuries... but he will definitely return..." The corpse puppet slowly said, "He borrowed the power of Shanhe to refine the Dragon-Tiger Pill, attempting to ascend to immortality in one step... This pill was not completed at that time. On the day the pill is completed, he will certainly return to take it..."

Shen Tang said nothing.

So the original owner fled with severe injuries at that time, and for some reason never returned, even missing the day the pill was completed... There is a certain probability he actually died outside or was captured and trapped. But as long as he is not dead, he could return at any time.

The corpse puppet added, "Mohe fled in such haste that he did not take many things. Since you are here to explore, come over, and I will tell you where Mohe's things are..."

Shen Tang slowly walked forward, stepping into the formation, then suddenly gasped, "Not good!"

"Greedy fool!" The corpse puppet laughed wildly: "Taste the effect of your own Soul-Stabilizing Formation!"

As the words fell, the soul fire flared suddenly, and a chillingly cold aura shot straight at Shen Tang's spiritual platform: "This body is broken and cannot wait for Mohe's return... Although you are a woman, your cultivation of the Imperial Extreme Shocking World Sutra is quite excellent; you are indeed qualified for me to temporarily inhabit..."

Soul snatching!

A mocking smile appeared in Shen Tang's eyes; suddenly a talisman appeared in her hand, which she slapped onto her forehead with a "pa!"

The corpse puppet: "?"

A simple Ghost-Driving Talisman!

Shen Tang sneered, "If you really wanted to tell me where Mohe's things are, why did you need me to come close? Do you really think I'm stupid?"

The corpse puppet's soul spirit seemed to crash into a wall; its already broken soul fire nearly shattered into nothingness. The corpse puppet let out a wailing cry, its soul returned to its body, and it actually broke free from the constraints of the Soul-Stabilizing Formation, retreating toward the core of the cave dwelling.

Shen Tang glanced back at the secret door: "There is treasure here; I cannot let him out of my sight. If he recovers or obtains some powerful magical treasure, we will all die here... I will go tie him up; you guys get out sooner... And don't end up with a baby!"

(End of this chapter)