Chapter 273
Chapter 273
One, two, three…
I controlled seven sheets of talisman paper with streams of qi, suspending them before me!
They stood upright in a row, each touching the next from end to end.
“Roundy!”
I drew breath and shouted,
“Household-spirit empowerment: Talisman-Fire Break!”
I borrowed a wisp of Roundy’s power and fused it with my qi.
Whoosh…
All seven talismans ignited at once, joining end to end to form a long, narrow column of talisman fire.
“By the command of my qi: go!”
The column of talisman fire immediately shot forward like a nimble fire serpent, moving with incredible speed.
Boom!
The slender column of talisman fire struck the head of the nearest approaching corpse-fiend and blew it apart. Sparks spread downward, enveloping and igniting the remains.
Then the fiery column veered aside and blasted apart the heads of three more corpse-fiends in rapid succession, setting their remains aflame.
Like a nimble fire serpent dancing through the air, it wove back and forth among the oncoming horde of corpse-fiends, attacking with tremendous power while gradually consuming its own flames.
Several seconds later, the talisman paper burned away. The talisman fire died and became drifting ash.
It had killed a full nine corpse-fiends!
“Huff… huff…”
I was still somewhat out of breath and wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead.
Although borrowing some of Roundy’s power made the fused column of talisman fire faster and more agile to control, I had essentially cast talisman fire seven times at once. It still taxed my mind.
At the same time, Old Cao beside me swung his carrying-pole ritual implement and destroyed several corpse-fiends.
Roundy used its talons and beak, as sharp as blades and swords, to rip apart several corpse-fiends’ heads and tear off their limbs!
The three of us had barely managed to stop this wave of attacking corpse-fiends.
During the brief lull, Old Cao looked at me in astonishment.
“Xiao Wu, that talisman art you used just now… did you create it yourself? You can create new magical arts already? That’s incredible.”
Old Cao’s eyes widened, his face filled with shock.
Wiping away my sweat, I laughed.
“You must be joking. How could that be possible? Do you think my current cultivation is enough to invent a new talisman art? It was only a talisman-casting technique.”
“Because my mental strength and explosive power are relatively strong, I can ignite seven talismans in an instant, forcibly link them, and launch them together!”
“Then, by borrowing Roundy’s power, I can make the talisman fire faster and more agile when I control its attacks. At its core, it’s still only the simplest technique of igniting talismans.”
“I also borrowed part of the idea from your spirit-paper art, Flame Blade. I named this move Talisman-Fire Break.”
So that was it!
Old Cao nodded and praised me.
“Xiao Wu’s talent in cultivation truly is exceptional.”
Roundy’s obnoxious voice rang out then.
“Exceptional, my ass! Didn’t he mainly rely on borrowing this magnificent bird’s demonic power? Otherwise, those burning talismans would have flown at a snail’s pace. How could they possibly have moved that fast? I’m the core of this move.”
It flapped its wings and circled above our heads.
Not far away, Yuan Fei breathlessly parried a corpse-fiend’s sharp claws while turning to shout at us,
“Hey! If you’re finished over there, hurry up and help! What are you standing around chatting for?”
Ni Yang could no longer kill the corpse-fiends in direct combat. He could only run in circles around Yuan Fei with a corpse-fiend chasing him.
Every so often, he turned and launched a magical art, slowly wearing it down until it died.
“All right, Uncle Yuan. We’re coming!”
Old Cao and I hurried over.
Roundy flew straight toward them and beat its wings powerfully in midair, launching two wind blades.
Slash!
They severed both legs of the corpse-fiend chasing Ni Yang right where they joined its body, sending it crashing to the ground and finally giving the constantly fleeing Ni Yang a chance to breathe.
“Little Ni, this magnificent bird just helped you out. Aren’t you going to thank me? Once we get out, remember to give me an extra five thousand yuan from the reward. Oh, and add a fish…”
Ni Yang: “…All right.”
After a fierce battle, we finally cleared the corpse-fiends from this side as well.
By a rough count, the fungal tree had “released” more than thirty corpse-fiends in total, and we had destroyed every one.
Ni Yang glanced fearfully at the fungal tree nearby. At least several dozen corpse-fiends remained embedded in its trunk, still dormant.
He asked cautiously,
“It should be over now, right?”
Yuan Fei nodded.
“It should be. We were fairly lucky… The strange tree wasn’t insane enough to release every corpse-fiend, or things would have been much more troublesome. To be safe, let’s retreat first! We can make fuller preparations, bring more weapons and evil-repelling objects, and return another time.”
He rolled up the sleeves of his hemp Daoist robe and pumped a fist.
Old Cao and I agreed.
Daling Village, these corpse-fiends, and the fungal tree all lay deep underground. They could hardly grow legs and run away!
There was no need to uncover the whole truth in a single visit.
We had already gained an enormous amount this time!
Far more than all the clues uncovered over the previous five years.
Besides, Wang Wenguang had waited five years. He would not mind waiting a little longer.
I glanced behind us and saw points of light rapidly moving toward the exit. Big Bull, Zhao Xu, and the others must have nearly reached the village entrance.
“Let’s go, everyone! We should retreat too and catch up with them.”
Ni Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead, plainly wishing he could grow several more legs and run faster to rejoin the main group.
I took out several talismans.
“These are speed talismans. Stick one on each of you, and you’ll run faster.”
I waved my hand.
The speed talismans flew out and attached themselves to everyone. I even stuck one to the round belly of that fat wretch Roundy.
“Oh! Kid Wu still has a conscience and didn’t forget me. This magnificent bird already flies fast, but another talisman will make me even faster. I’ll wait for you over there.”
The fat wretch cried out and beat its wings powerfully. It became a streak of white light and raced toward Big Bull and the others…
But the instant we took our first step!
Pop…
A soft explosive sound came from behind us.
“What happened?”
I instinctively looked back.
The sight made my blood run cold!
The fungal tree had actually “exploded,” releasing a vast cloud of gray smoke. Those were probably active spores ejected by the fungus, gathering in such quantities that they resembled smoke.
They looked poisonous at a glance!
But even that was nothing. The most terrifying part was that all sixty or seventy corpse-fiends remaining inside the fungal tree had been “sprayed” out.
That was right!
As though some force inside the strange tree had flung them all outward, they landed on the ground, limbs writhing and throats emitting monstrous hrrrghs, then began chasing us.
“What the hell? Are these damned things really all coming after us? What’s going on?!”
Ni Yang cursed aloud in misery.
He normally indulged in drink and pleasure without caring for his health, so he had the poorest stamina among the four of us, worse even than an ordinary healthy adult man.
He was therefore the most worried when he saw the corpse-fiends pursuing us.
Fortunately, my speed talisman had greatly increased his running speed. Otherwise, he would have been even more anxious.
Yuan Fei comforted him as they ran.
“Don’t worry, Brother Ni. These damned things can’t fly. Even if they run fast, they still shouldn’t catch us. Relax.”
The instant Yuan Fei finished speaking, more wet tearing sounds came from behind, as if something were piercing skin.
I looked back.
From the shoulder blades of the dozen or so corpse-fiends in the front row, two thin, winglike structures suddenly emerged!
Their main frames consisted of long, slender bones covered in a thin layer of human skin and masses of gray fungal threads. Fully spread, each pair measured over two meters across.
Clearly, the fungal tree had given these corpse-fiends a completely unexpected mutation!
The enormous wings beat powerfully. The corpse-fiends rose into the air and flew swiftly toward us and Big Bull’s group farther ahead…
“Dear heavens! Corpse-fiends that really can fly?!”
Yuan Fei stared dumbfounded.
Even Old Cao could not help giving a wry smile.
“Brother Yuan, you truly are a jinx. Every time you mention something bad, it comes true.”