Chapter 63: Corpse

Yan Buji naturally couldn't possibly grasp the general outline from these few murals, but obtaining such useful information truly made the trip worthwhile.

This also counts as leaving himself a retreat; since he truly can't sense any spiritual energy, he can still think of ways to inquire about this martial dao path of refining the spirit, perhaps even allowing him to enter the cultivation world thereby.

In this palace there was nothing else worth Yan Buji's attention; after scanning the area with his spiritual sense, aside from those few immovable copper pillars, there was nothing else.

These copper pillars were extremely mysterious, seemingly blocking Yan Buji's investigation; he thought they might perhaps be some treasure, but he lacked the ability to take them away.

"Let's go check other places first."

Yan Buji walked through the main hall, entered a corridor from the rear, heard the sound of flowing water all around, and upon glancing over, he actually saw a rear garden.

What a grand undertaking!

The magnificent scenery of this garden is breathtaking; even compared to the splendid, imposing imperial palace, it would hardly be inferior. What's more astonishing is that this garden lies deep underground, having endured countless ages yet remained as solid as rock, showing no sign of collapse or damage; its architectural craftsmanship is exquisite enough to be called supernatural.

Yan Buji walked along the corridor walkway, feeling as if he had ascended a mountain; in an open clearing, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a scene not far away—a corpse sat quietly before a dilapidated small tile house. The corpse appeared to have been there for a long time, yet strangely it emitted no odor of decay or foul smell. Instead, the surroundings were suffused with an eerie tranquility, as if time had frozen here.

The corpse's sitting posture was extremely stiff, as if it had endured some pain or torment in life. It wore a tattered garment, the weathered fabric fluttering in the wind, revealing the vicissitudes of time.

The small tile house itself also exuded a mysterious aura; its walls were mottled and peeling, the roof overgrown with weeds, doors and windows shut tight, sealing its secrets from the outside world.

Whooo—!

A gust of subterranean yin wind blew, and Yan Buji's hairs instantly stood on end!

The corpse crackled a few times, its desiccated, skin-and-bones frame suddenly bolted upright, and from the eye sockets where the eyeballs had long since fallen out, a wisp of golden flame flashed forth!

This...

Yan Buji's pupils constricted—was that a ghost or something?

Before Yan Buji could react, the corpse suddenly assumed a stance and charged at him!

Yan Buji took a deep breath, having no time to think further, he could only respond.

In an instant, the corpse threw a straight punch; Yan Buji instantly felt a chill run through his body, as if stared down by an ancient ferocious beast, and his whole body stiffened for a moment!

It was precisely in that moment that the corpse's fist struck Yan Buji's chest, erupting with an astonishing sound.

Boom!

"Cough!!!"

Even though Yan Buji had mastered external training to perfection, he was nearly struck so that his qi and blood surged upward in reverse, a massive amount of qi and blood being forcibly squeezed into his heart, nearly causing it to burst!

He spat out a mouthful of blood, flew backward ten-some meters, then gritted his teeth and managed a difficult aerial flip twice before planting his feet, his steps already at the edge of the cliff!

"The Exploding Heart Fist of the Blood Essence Skill?!"

How could Yan Buji not understand? This is the evil martial technique that can only be unleashed after mastering the Blood Essence Skill to perfection, where one gathers their own qi and blood onto both fists, and upon contact with the opponent uses their vast qi and blood to disrupt the opponent's qi and blood circulation—a fist method utterly evil!

But he never imagined that this corpse had long since lost any trace of qi and blood; even if the Exploding Heart Fist is a martial technique specialized in breaking external defenses, it shouldn't be able to reverse his qi and blood flow to the point of nearly squeezing his heart to bursting, should it?

This can only mean one thing!

This corpse's Blood Essence Skill surpasses his!

At that moment, Yan Buji dared not be careless; he rallied his utmost spirit and set in motion the Demonic Ascension Internal Energy within his body!

In an instant, Yan Buji forcibly suppressed the rampaging qi and blood, his aura rose another level, actually becoming more proficient and stronger than before.

Seeing this, the corpse staggered for a moment, then suddenly erupted with terrifying internal energy...

Hmm?!

Yan Buji widened his eyes, sensing that within the corpse's dantian there seemed to appear a barely perceptible wondrous blood fragrance; this scent... was like those legendary elixirs of lore, so that even a whiff made Yan Buji feel an insane craving, an instinctive urge!

And the greatest change, naturally, was Yan Buji's Blood Essence Skill.

The rampaging qi and blood he had just suppressed now showed signs of flaring up again.

Under these circumstances Yan Buji's complexion grew ever uglier; fortunately he had made ample preparations beforehand, most of which were intended for dealing with people, now applied to a useless corpse, yet the marvelous applications of the patterned profound skill he had comprehended were immense.

Even if the qi and blood showed signs of flaring up, it did not hinder Yan Buji from activating the Guān Tiān Dēng Mó Zhuàng!

In an instant, both sides launched an attack!

Yan Buji didn't understand why he was fighting this strange corpse, nor could it be ruled out that the corpse was merely guarding a mechanism of that tile house.

But for Yan Buji, being able to witness the marvels of ancient martial arts on what seemed to be an ancient warrior made this battle worthwhile even if he ended up gravely injured.

As for losing?

When have I, Yan Buji, ever fought a battle without confidence?

Clang!

Bang bang bang!

As the two exchanged blows, one was a later-generation martial arts prodigy, the other an ancient warrior.

The ancient warrior remained only as a corpse, fighting with but a thread of strength; the later-generation warrior, though young, had also endured a hundred battles to reach this point.

After a brief exchange, they traded blows back and forth; regardless of whether the internal energy and martial techniques they used basically sprang from the same source, they could naturally sense which moves to dodge, seize, or avoid.

"It's a pity you're dead while I'm still alive."

Yan Buji glanced at his caved-in chest, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, cracked a smile, and looked at the corpse.

The corpse couldn't speak; it merely held its stance and continued the assault.

One battle, fought straight through the night!

In the end, Yan Buji relied solely on the medicine he had brought, exhausting the ancient warrior corpse's strength.

Watching the corpse's final punch come to within an inch of his face, the fierce gust from the fist snapped the band holding Yan Buji's tied-up hair, a gust swept through, and his hair immediately fell down.

"Pfft!!!"

A mouthful of old blood spurted out; Yan Buji panted heavily, kneeling before the fallen corpse, his hands barely propping himself up, his eyes bloodshot and wide open.

He had almost... almost died!!

Merely a corpse, devoid of consciousness and qi and blood, its very strength was a mere tenth of its former self, possibly even less than one-tenth of its peak power!

All I could do was rely on the medicine I brought to barely survive the night, draining his strength?

Yan Buji gritted his teeth, sat down, and hurriedly closed his eyes to regulate his breath.

No time to feel wistful; regaining some strength is what's real.