Chapter 329: His Strongest Asset Is His Body

After a brief rest, the group set out again from the mountain ridge, colliding with the thick tide of corpses.

By the time they reached the frontier of Feng, the sky had already darkened.

But they did not stop; they pressed forward.

Deep within the border between Zhongzhou and Liangzhou lay a large ruin, opened by the Chen Shixian Clan. Amidst shadowy figures, they could already see the corpse tide surging endlessly, a dense, suffocating mass that made their scalps tighten.

Yet somewhat reassuring was the fact that, though the corpse tide had drained them heavily along the way, no one had been killed.

"The Immortal Sects—truly, only the Immortal Sects. With their leadership, even this raging tide of corpses doesn't seem so terrifying."

"It's too smooth. I fear something will go wrong."

He Long of the He family and another Elder, He Xing, exchanged words as they fought, their voices rising amid the slashing and killing.

Hearing He Long's concern, He Xing couldn't help frowning: "Those people won't just sit and wait—they must have a backup plan. But there's no need to worry too much."

"Why?"

"The Six Immortal Sects have surrounded us like a cage. Even if something happens, they can't make a big splash."

As they spoke, they saw He Ye wave ahead, ordering the He family to merge with the Zuoqiu clan's youths.

The two clan leaders thought much the same as He Xing—they were close to their destination, and the other Immortal Sects would soon converge. Even if they met resistance, no major chaos would arise.

But out of caution, it was safer to stay close to the surrounding forces.

Ji You also crossed the ridge, leading Lu Jie and Cao Jingsong and others as they advanced southwestward, carving an arc through the corpse tide, repeatedly reaching out to pull back that fearless figure, her form brushing against him—*slap, slap*—and he'd already sensed a slight difference in texture.

One was slightly rounder; the other, though less rounded, had even greater elasticity.

This made him wonder—was he even hitting the same pair of buttocks?

Zhum—

Ji You swung the ordinary Dao Sword Xiao Chongshan upward, yanking the woman too far ahead into his arms, retreating swiftly amid the surging corpse tide, and instinctively lowering his gaze.

Lu Qingqiu now sat obediently in his arms, head bowed as if playing the role of a younger sister.

Miss Lu had always presented herself as elegant and rational, far more mature than the lively Lu Hanyan.

Ji You had once marveled that though they were sisters, their personalities were utterly different.

Now he realized—of course they were sisters. No wonder the feel was different.

But just three breaths ago, he'd struck another—one that wasn't like Lu Qingqiu's at all; larger, like a ripe peach.

Ji You's gaze flickered slightly backward.

Wen Zhengxin was holding the rear with Ban Yangshu, slashing through the tide with his sword, his expression grave and focused.

"Why did you suddenly dash forward just now?"

Ban Yangshu had been holding the rear alone and nearly got clawed by those sharp talons; now catching his breath, he asked, still shaken.

"I saw Ru Long charging ahead too fast—I feared for him, so I went to lend a sword and came right back."

Wen Zhengxin answered Ban Yangshu's question, her hand unconsciously rubbing the tip of her own buttock, her face serious and composed.

Hitting someone's ass could also be… accidental contact.

Worrying about Ru Long's safety was merely Zhengxin's lie.

Ji You clicked his tongue, then abruptly released Lu Qingqiu from his arms, lunging forward to grab the truly endangered Bai Ru, and hurled him backward with all his strength.

This one couldn't be hugged carelessly—after all, there was a difference between men and women.

In that same instant of the throw, he unleashed his sword in fury; the rising sword qi surged downward with crushing force, shattering the front row of demonic seeds and cleaving a narrow gap straight through the corpse tide.

The group surged through, and as they passed with the main force through a narrow gorge, Ji You's brow twitched slightly.

"Don't rush ahead—stop for now. Use spirit stones to replenish."

"What's wrong?"

"I just felt the demonic corpses' movements have changed."

"Changed?"

Ji You scanned the surroundings, golden light surging in his eyes.

The Shen hour had passed; the daylight was nearly gone, and the dense corpse tide, combined with swirling dust clouds rising into the sky, blurred everything around them.

But one thing was clear: the direction the demonic corpses were charging.

He had crossed from Qingzhou through two other provinces back to the Heavenly Book Academy, stopping at the Du and Bai families along the way, facing countless corpse tides.

As he'd told Bai Ru, the method of controlling these demonic seeds was simple—just push them back and forth along the cardinal directions: east, west, south, north.

But just now, he sensed their movement had changed—as if they were tightening in a circular pattern.

This wasn't the old method. Someone was manipulating them with flexibility.

His mind buzzed—he immediately planned to halt the surrounding squads—but found they had already surged into the gorge.

Yet soon after, they too slowed down, sensing the oddity in the demonic corpses' movement.

He Lingxiu, Shi Junhao, and Chai Ze exchanged glances, silently crushing spirit stones to absorb their essence, their gazes growing more cautious.

Their earlier suspicion was correct—resistance would indeed come as they neared the ruin.

In the next instant, they saw the corpse tide rising into walls dozens of zhang high on all sides of the gorge.

Before the surging tide of black lines, dozens of imposing figures surged forward, their overwhelming aura making the gorge's cliffs groan under pressure.

Their eyes were crimson—but they were not demonic seeds. They were humans, summoning the tide, as if intending to bury everyone here.

Feeling the crushing pressure ahead, the group suddenly paled—they realized this wasn't resistance. It was an ambush.

"Faster. Even faster."

"We're already at top speed…"

At the Liangzhou border, three overseers rode a massive flying sword, slashing through demonic corpses leaping into the air, their eyes filled with suppressed shock.

Yu's squad had not returned, and they grew uneasy. But fearing panic among the others, they quietly returned to search.

Then they saw a mountain of corpses, the blood-soaked Heavenly Book Academy robes piled together, glaringly bright against the black tide.

All disciples in the squad were dead. The six elders holding the rear had not survived—one and all, their chests pierced with countless holes.

Especially Elder Yu—half his body had been crushed into pulp.

Only then did they learn that this squad hadn't traveled far after splitting up.

The corpse tide wasn't just made of demonic seeds—they'd been followed since the moment they left the capital.

Most crucially, the enemy hiding in the shadows had killed six elders. Their strength far exceeded their original estimates.

The three overseers pushed themselves to their limits, riding the flying sword across the Liangzhou border, terrified they'd underestimated the enemy's power.

But then they saw a massive, unprecedented corpse tide crashing down not far ahead—their faces instantly changed.

Beyond that gorge lay their planned next rest point, meant to replenish spiritual energy.

That meant the people now surrounded by the corpse tide had exhausted their spiritual energy in the fierce fighting—they were now in a weakened state.

Puh—

Amid the frenzied slaughter, the Liu family from Zhongzhou, who had come with the Heavenly Book Academy, was instantly annihilated; the bursting blood mist dyed the front row of demonic seeds a deep crimson.

Almost simultaneously, the Wu family from Yunzhou was torn into bloody shreds.

The He family, protected by several Wuxiang elders, retreated swiftly—but still suffered heavy losses.

Everyone's scalp prickled as they realized the attacking demonic seeds were no longer ordinary ones—their oppressive aura made breathing nearly impossible.

Thick blood pooled into rivers, dripping steadily down the cliffs; the phrase "blood and storm" was no longer metaphor—it was what they now witnessed firsthand.

The Heavenly Book Academy's rear-guard elder reacted swiftly, using immense magic power to suppress the tide; a thunderous spell blocked the corpse surge.

The aura of the Shenyou realm swept the battlefield, instantly calming the hearts of the Immortal Sect and aristocratic youths.

But just as they prepared to charge through the tide, the dozens of men who had summoned the corpse tide suddenly erupted—their auras shot skyward, even causing the Shenyou elders to turn pale with shock.

Boom!

A pair of massive palms, wreathed in boundless immortal light, crashed down, shattering a section of the gorge's right wall into bloody ruin.

They had indeed anticipated an ambush, so they'd held back their spirit stones, never daring to use them lightly—but they never expected the ambush to be so precise, so powerful, so utterly disruptive.

In the end, the Immortal Sect nobles, who had reigned supreme for years, had grown too arrogant, believing themselves lords of the world and all others mere ants.

So even when they realized the hidden masterminds wouldn't sit idle, they hadn't taken them seriously enough.

Only now did they realize the enemy's strength had completely surpassed their expectations.

Only now did they understand: this was no ordinary foe. These were opponents who had secretly usurped immortal destinies for years.

"Liu Tianhe…"

"Master Ge, long time no see."

Elder Ge hovered in midair, staring at the man who had shattered countless disciples with a single palm, his eyes trembling.

Over thirty years ago, he had taught in the Inner Academy, once having many students.

Ding Jiaoxi of the Outer Academy had been one of his pupils—one with notable talent.

But where there were gifted students, there were also the dull-witted—and Liu Tianhe was the prime example.

The lower three realms were internal realms; the upper five were realms of the Dao. The difference was vast. Liu Tianhe had been utterly clumsy in Dao comprehension; after reaching Tongxuan, he struggled in the Academy for five years before leaving in disgrace.

Elder Ge remembered him because he was among the last batch of students he taught. After that, he entered the Elder Hall and never taught again.

Now, seeing him again, his once-stupid pupil radiated overwhelming power.

"You bastard!"

"We've waited for this day a long time. Look at my cultivation now—am I still the fool you mocked? I served you like a beast for years, endured endless humiliation—now I demand your life in repayment!"