"So now even if a common person returns the Soul-Attracting Bell, it won't be of any use. Corpse refinement of the living, Zuyou Sect cannot cross this threshold of the Imperial Court, let alone the sects that once took part in the annihilation of the Corpse Refining Lineage."
Han Yu pondered for a moment, looking at the two of them.
"So while they reclaim the Soul-Attracting Bell and transfer the corpse, they will certainly silence the common folk," said Cousin gravely.
At this moment, a common person suddenly said, "Didn't Bao Ruijie go to bring reinforcements! Let's leave now! Quickly get your Iron Kite out."
Cousin gave him a glance, grumbling, "My Iron Kite scatters easily, and there's a bunch of cultivators outside. We'd only be scattered in the sky. The pharmacist won't die, but we definitely would crash to death. It's better to fight our way out."
"I can't handle that Corpse King outside, fighting…"
The common person's words suddenly stopped, then he glanced at Han Yu, muttering, "Seems like I can fight the Corpse King!"
Thirty miles outside Shuzhou City, at the base of a long slope.
Pian Stone Ridge.
It's just a sparse, ordinary little village within Shuzhou Prefecture, with few people and a network of small paths between fields, occasionally farmers working in the fields.
Outside a small melon field, there is a small pavilion where Ran Shiqing, nearly fifty, with graying hair and a face full of wrinkles indistinguishable from other farmers, reclines with a straw hat covering half his face.
Bao Ruijie entered the village with a heart full of unease.
"Ran Shiqing? Never heard of this person."
A young man shook his head at Bao Ruijie's inquiries.
Bao Ruijie thought for a moment, then changed his approach and asked again, "The old man who moved here not long ago."
The young man suddenly realized, laughing repeatedly, "You mean the old man who grows melons? He's in the east side of the village, probably asleep in the melon field's pavilion right now!"
After leaving the young man, Bao Ruijie hurriedly walked east.
Moments later, he found the pavilion but hesitated, feeling uneasy.
He stood for a long time, with an uncertain expression, finally gritting his teeth and stepping forward, respectfully calling out, "Elder Ran!"
The old man seemed not to hear, so Bao Ruijie called again several times.
Then, the straw hat was removed, and the old man sat up straight, his turbid eyes suddenly becoming bright, seemingly piercing as he looked at the visitor.
"Why have you come? Didn't I tell you to stay in the shadows and return quickly after completing your task, not to come here if there's nothing urgent?"
Ran Shiqing's face showed annoyance, scaring Bao Ruijie into a stagger, almost kneeling.
"Speak, what exactly is the matter."
Ran Shiqing looked at Bao Ruijie's hesitant demeanor, feeling a sense of unease, and frowned as he asked.
Bao Ruijie, with a fearful expression, whispered, "The Soul-Attracting Bell for the newly refined corpse has been snatched."
Upon hearing this, Ran Shiqing suddenly stood, exuding a fierce aura, his eyes filled with murderous intent, "Say it again."
Bao Ruijie dared not hide anything, relaying the incidents of the corpse refinement being discovered and the subsequent theft of the Soul-Attracting Bell, detail by detail.
Ran Shiqing's face turned icy, and had it not been inappropriate to act there, Bao Ruijie might have received a direct slap if they were in the sect.
"Useless thing, unable to accomplish even minor tasks."
After a bout of cursing, Ran Shiqing gritted his teeth, "Go back and receive your punishment!"
"Then…"
Bao Ruijie timidly raised his head, seeking instruction.
"I'll go with you to deal with that little mudfish first."
Ran Shiqing waved his hand while speaking, intending to walk out.
But after a few steps, he stopped abruptly.
"You go wait for me at the village entrance."
Bao Ruijie dared not ask further, simply nodding before leaving.
Once Bao Ruijie had gone far, Ran Shiqing coughed lightly, bowing as he called, "Venerate!"
A voice, ethereal and indistinct, responded, its tone somewhat severe, "Did the people on Hidden Moon Peak get exposed?"
With just one sentence, cold sweat began to pour from Ran Shiqing's body.
"Yes… Yes."
But he didn't dare deceive, and could only respond hesitantly.
The master of that voice was silent for a long time, eventually commanding coldly, "Shelve Shuzhou Prefecture for now, quickly handle the loose ends, and abandon the Corpse Puppet if necessary; since Bao Ruijie is exposed, don't leave it behind."
Ran Shiqing repeatedly bowed, affirming the instructions, sweat soaking his back.
"Since no need for the Shuzhou Prefecture line, clean up and ensure everything is tidy."
After these words, the voice remained still for a long while, and Ran Shiqing waited bowed until he was sure no one was present, then gradually straightened and exhaled deeply.
By now, night had fallen, and the three discussed their strategy, deciding that Han Yu, with the strongest physical body, would distract the Corpse King, while the other two handled the remaining cultivators.
If the plan went well, after defeating the cultivators, the three could together deal with the Corpse King.
Having settled the details, the trio quietly moved towards the valley entrance.
Soon they saw a group of cultivators waiting at the exit, watching alertly, the common person pointing at the tallest, immobile figure saying, "That's the Corpse King, so in a bit, it's all on you."
Han Yu nodded in understanding.
Once they were ready, Han Yu started running, accelerating to catch the attention of the cultivators at the valley entrance.
"Who goes there? Stand still!"
The cultivators brandished their swords defensively, but Han Yu lightly smiled and sprinted forward, knocking several of the nearest cultivators aside.
Cousin and the common person nodded at each other and quickly charged forward, joining Han Yu in the battle.
A few clueless cultivators tried to attack from the air using their Flying Swords by relying on their Divine Bridge cultivation, but after Han Yu hurled several balls of flame onto their faces, they fell screaming one after another.
The Corpse King seemed to catch the scent of a common man's presence and moved instantly. Han Yu had been wary of it all along, and as soon as the Corpse King moved, he dodged to the side and struck with a punch, followed by a flame splattering onto its face.
"Why is there no effect?"
Seeing the Corpse King unscathed, Han Yu was first shocked.
The fire that once frightened even the Asura had no effect on the Corpse King. Moreover, the Corpse King's body was indeed, as common folk said, particularly hard.
"Fool, both Asura and Hungry Ghost are products of the Nether Path, naturally afraid of Yang Fire. The Corpse King is artificially refined; you can imagine someone refining it as one would an Artifact, naturally leaving no defects."
Glass's voice resounded in his mind.
In Han Yu's heart, he shivered at the cruelty of treating people like objects to refine.
The Corpse King seemed angered by Han Yu and no longer chose the common folk, instead charging straight at Han Yu.
Good timing!
Han Yu aimed a punch; the Corpse King responded with a punch of its own, creating a massive shockwave upon collision.
Immediately, both man and corpse stepped back a few paces.
"The strength is substantial too."
Han Yu commented with a frown, noticing the Copper Skin and Iron Bones, coupled with significant strength.
On his end, there was no harm. Observing the Corpse King's continuously trembling arm, Han Yu realized his flesh surpassed its, but the Corpse King prevailed by lacking pain and fearlessly risking everything.
This is really tricky!
Thinking it over, Han Yu couldn't help but try connecting to his Sea of Consciousness, intending to release the Hungry Ghost Path.
"No way, everyone in the Hungry Ghost Path does not discern enemy from ally. Your two unlucky friends would also be attacked by the Hungry Ghost."
Glass reminded him in his mind.
Hastily relaxing his Sea of Consciousness, Han Yu had no choice but to brace himself for another round of visceral combat with the Corpse King.
Elsewhere, the common folk skillfully maneuvered their body technique within the battlefield, taking down cultivators with ease.
The cousin assembled three Iron Bone Flying Swords together, flinging them like a windmill. As the swords spun, they hovered over many cultivators' heads, occasionally catching them off guard, knocking them down on the spot.
Those a bit lucky merely had their wrists slashed, while those less fortunate suffered slashes to their throats, dying tragically on the scene.
Only on Han Yu's battlefield did the Corpse King, oblivious to pain, keep rushing forth undeterred, even with its chest repeatedly pummeled in. Before long, it recovered and charged again, howling.
"Looks like I'll have to wait for those two to help."
Han Yu sighed and muttered to himself.
Yet, things in life often don't go as planned.
At that moment, a furious roar rang out from mid-air.
"You're all worthy of death!"
As the words fell, two silhouettes dropped one after another.
Ran Shiqing watched the Corpse King oppressed under Han Yu, seeing its chest occasionally caved in, his eyes instantly reddened with anger. Such was an Artifact refined with decades of effort and tremendous expense by the Sect, now beaten to this state.
Upon landing, Bao Ruijie immediately noticed the common folk among the disciples, harboring deep hatred upon seeing his enemy, he ground his teeth and shouted, "It's you, scoundrel."
"You should deal with these two little characters."
Ran Shiqing turned and commanded, then fixed his eyes on Han Yu.
True Essence surged, his figure vanished instantly, as Han Yu deflected the Corpse King's attack, a gale from the left struck before he could react, sending him crashing down heavily.
Damn it, another bout of a high-tier cultivator bullying a junior cultivator.
Han Yu lay on the ground, his shoulder numb, gritting his teeth.
"Half-Step Divine Gaze!"
The common folk, dodging Bao Ruijie's attack, exclaimed aloud upon seeing this.
"Your body is quite impressive, seemingly akin to the Corpse King, no, even better than the Corpse King, ha!"
Ran Shiqing's initially murderous intent subsided. There stood someone with a flesh body so formidable, capturing him alive for refinement could provide another Corpse King for the Sect.
"Han Yu, he's coveting your body." Glass reminded in his mind.
Han Yu's face darkened, setting aside the coveting matter, being targeted by this group meant they intended to refine a corpse.
"Just stay with our Sect as a guardian Corpse King!"
Ran Shiqing's expression turned sinister, closing in.
Han Yu felt composed yet chill run through his heart, withdrawing continuously.
On the other side, having failed several times to deal with the common folk, Bao Ruijie shifted his gaze to the cousin, secretly manipulating True Essence to control the two knives on the ground, then thundering them out.
Puff! Puff!
The cousin, immersed in maneuvering among the remaining disciples and oblivious, found upon realizing that two knives were already embedded in his chest.
"Bastard!"
The common folk witnessed this, eyes red with fury, breaking away from a few disciples and rushing forth.
Bao Ruijie, having plotted, ascended into the air at that moment, first and foremost striking from behind the common folk, waving his hand to send a short knife shooting forth from his sleeve like a thunderclap.
Puff!
The short knife pierced the common folk's left leg, splattering a burst of blood.
"Weren't you quite fast? I'll break your leg first."
As the common folk landed, Bao Ruijie approached with a cold smile.