Chapter 280
Chapter 280
When the Corpse Fiend emerged from the Ancient Battlefield, the Three-Eyed Toad was still perched on its shoulder. That meant the Golden Scale in the burial pit had been the first thing they sensed.
During the battle against the major sects, the Three-Eyed Toad must have sensed the one in Liu Junyan’s possession as well.
And it was far more familiar with the aura of that Golden Scale.
That was why, when Mao Jingxuan arrived with his men and surrounded the Corpse Fiend, the Three-Eyed Toad decisively abandoned it and headed straight for Xiaoyingkou.
Just like that, we had successfully separated the Corpse Fiend from the Three-Eyed Toad. We had completed the task Liu Junyan had given us, and my top priority now was retrieving the Golden Scale.
Without further hesitation, I turned and sprinted toward the burial pit.
The burial pit had remained within my line of sight the entire time. I was the one who had buried the Golden Scale, so no one knew its exact location better than I did.
I found it without trouble and wiped it clean with my sleeve. I had just tucked the Golden Scale safely against my body when an earth-shaking roar erupted.
My brow furrowed. Was the Corpse Fiend unleashing its full strength again?
Could the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains withstand it?
I turned and raced back toward the far side of the mountain, where Hui Yumo was waiting for me.
Without needing to exchange a word, the two of us headed down the mountain.
We had to hold the rear and tie down as many Ghost Soldiers as possible. Only then could we ease the pressure on Xiaoyingkou.
But just as we reached the mountainside, a teeth-grating screech of metal against metal rang out.
We stopped dead and looked down.
The Corpse Fiend had hurled both Golden Maces from its hands.
The two Golden Maces shot through the Ghost Soldier Formation and hurtled straight toward the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains.
Acting on instinct, the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains snapped open the Vajra Umbrella to block them.
At a critical moment, the Vajra Umbrella could indeed serve as a Shield. But the instant the Golden Maces slammed into it, the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains was knocked to the ground along with the umbrella.
Hui Yumo gasped. “Are… are both his arms broken?”
The Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains had been using the Vajra Umbrella as a lifesaving Shield. With both hands gripping its handle, he must have braced himself with every ounce of strength he had.
Yet the pair of Golden Maces was far heavier than anyone had imagined, and the force behind them was terrifying. Not only did they smash a deep dent into the Vajra Umbrella, but the impact also snapped both arms of the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains.
His agonized howl echoed throughout the valley. Fang Chuanzong and the others fighting the Ghost Soldier Formation all froze.
Even after the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains fell, the Golden Maces did not stop. Their four-foot-long ridged edges scraped across the surface of the Vajra Umbrella, producing a piercing metallic shriek and a shower of sparks.
The sharp edge sliced straight through the rim of the Vajra Umbrella. One of the Golden Maces instantly punched through the head of the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains, pinning his body firmly to the ground.
His scream of agony burst out, only to end just as abruptly.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. By the time everyone came back to their senses, the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains was already dead.
He had been the trump card Fang Chuanzong brought in from the organization specifically to deal with the Ghost Soldier Formation.
No one had expected him to die just like that.
Could anyone say he lacked genuine skill or courage?
Of course not.
It was simply that the Corpse Fiend he faced tonight was far too powerful.
Only at that moment did I truly understand what Zhao Zixun had faced during the battle at Xiaoyingkou all those years ago.
Zhao Zixun had been defeated by the Corpse Fiend.
Afterward, he fought his way back to the Ancient Battlefield in Wufu Town alone, seized the Red Banner from the Red Banner Child, and then battled his way back again.
Only by using the Red Banner to command the Ghost Soldiers had he managed to turn defeat into victory.
It was that very battle that showed Chen Ping just how powerful the Ghost Soldiers were. His ambition began to grow without restraint, until he eventually went so far as to murder Zhao Zixun, drive a Coffin Nail into the center of his brow, and bring him completely under his control.
From beginning to end, Zhao Zixun had been nothing more than a tragic victim.
He had become a puppet in Chen Ping’s hands, manipulated into committing all those terrible deeds.
Sometimes, I couldn’t help wondering: Was Zhao Zixun guilty?
Should the crimes he committed while under another’s control be laid at his feet, or at Chen Ping’s?
I couldn’t come up with a definitive or reasonable answer.
But I did know one thing. Now that the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains was dead, the Corpse Fiend was about to launch a one-sided slaughter against Fang Chuanzong’s forces!
“That old bastard Mao Jingxuan deserves to die!” Hui Yumo cursed as she ran beside me.
She was right. If Mao Jingxuan hadn’t tampered with the pills, how could over a dozen sects have failed to hold back the Ghost Soldier Formation?
He had pulled the rug right out from under Fang Chuanzong.
The Corpse Fiend let out another roar. Answering its summons, the pair of Golden Mace weapons flew back into its hands.
Gripping its Golden Mace weapons, the Corpse Fiend advanced step by step toward the body of the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains.
Was it after the Mojin Talisman?
By then, Hui Yumo and I had already reached the foot of the mountain.
She immediately called in her people, while I tore the black cloth off the Soul-Guiding Lantern and sprinted toward the dead man.
I had to protect the Mojin Talisman. I couldn’t let it fall into the enemy’s hands.
As I closed in on the corpse, the Corpse Fiend and the Ghost Soldier Formation drew closer as well.
The golden glow of Merit within the Soul-Guiding Lantern had long since turned an eerie green, while the Ghost Face on the lantern’s housing bared its fangs and brandished its claws. That meant the baleful yin energy around us was already comparable to the Netherworld Realm.
Every step forward was harder than the last.
But I knew that the moment I appeared with the Soul-Guiding Lantern, Fang Chuanzong would see me as reinforcements sent from heaven. He wouldn’t stand by and watch me risk my life alone.
If anything happened to me, he would lose as well.
That was why I dared to charge straight in.
Sure enough, a command suddenly rang out behind me. “All disciples of the Tiantai Sect, heed my command! Form the formation!”
The moment the order fell, a jumble of footsteps erupted behind me, but they quickly settled into a steady rhythm.
A current of energy surged around me. An instant later, astral qi rose from beneath my feet and enveloped my entire body.
“All disciples of the White Cloud Temple, heed my command! Form the formation!”
“All disciples of Qiyun Mountain, heed my command! Form the formation!”
“All disciples of the Kundao Institute, heed my command! Form the formation!”
…
One command after another rang out, and wave after wave of astral qi converged beneath my feet.
At that moment, power flooded every inch of my body, and even my spine straightened.
Mao Jingxuan’s scheme had greatly weakened the major sects’ fighting strength, but that didn’t mean their morale had broken.
They had held this position all along.
And now, they were placing all their hopes on me!
Holding the Soul-Guiding Lantern steady, I strode forward.
Fang Chuanzong’s Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, along with Hui Yumo’s people, surrounded me on all sides, clearing and guarding my path.
The eerie green light of the Soul-Guiding Lantern grew ever brighter. It could perform Soul Ferrying and usher spirits into Yellow Springs. It could also summon an Underworld Emissary and open the Ghost Gate.
For Ghost Soldiers, however, the appearance of the Ghost Gate was fatal.
Not long ago, I had handed eighty-one miner zombies over to an Underworld Emissary.
This was why Fang Chuanzong had wanted to drag me into this mess from the very beginning…