Chapter 215 - 213: Corpse Refining Sect and Corpse Puppets
"Hmm?" Nan Chen Guang also noticed Song Changming sitting not far away, eating fish, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.
Although it was their first meeting, he immediately recognized Song Changming’s identity.
At this moment, another figure flew out of the fog and crashed heavily on the riverbank.
It was also a swordsman from Sword Cliff, and he seemed to be seriously injured. His arms were bent in a bizarre manner, as if someone had forcefully twisted them.
"Young Master, run!" The swordsman spat out blood, his face smeared, and shouted to Nan Chen Guang.
The next moment, an extremely burly figure fell from the thick fog in the air, bare feet stamping heavily on the swordsman’s back.
The swordsman was struck hard, his face contorted in pain, and he died howling.
Nan Chen Guang abruptly halted, the cold gleam in his eyes intensified, and he turned and swung his sword.
A fierce chain of sword qi swept through, hitting the burly figure.
The burly figure blocked with its curved arms, the sword qi exploded on its body, and it was forced back several steps.
At this moment, Song Changming finally saw the burly figure clearly.
With a body like an iron tower, it was more than three meters tall, wearing a layer of incredibly thick spiked iron armor, its hair disheveled, skin dark, cheekbones prominent, cheeks sunken, and eyes lifeless.
A layer of metal collar was also around its neck.
This person exuded an inexplicable eeriness, making one feel uneasy upon seeing it.
Amidst the eeriness, Song Changming vaguely felt that this person seemed somewhat familiar.
"Young Master, go quickly, don’t let that Black-eyed Corpse Puppet get close!" Seeing Nan Chen Guang stopped, the Sword Cliff swordsman immediately urged anxiously.
"Corpse Puppet?" Song Changming looked again at the three-meter-tall burly person, his face showing a look of realization.
"No wonder..."
He realized why it felt so out of place.
The one before him was merely a corpse puppet controlled by someone, not a regular living person!
Although he did not see the Wangyue Pavilion team, it was indeed as the old monk said, this was a place where Corpse Refining Sect members were active.
The Corpse Refining Sect, as the name suggests, prioritized corpse refining over individual cultivation itself.
And this corpse puppet was their ultimate product of refining, as well as their most crucial reliance for survival!
On the other side, Nan Chen Guang’s figure suddenly moved, turning into a wisp of cyan smoke, disappearing from the original spot, blending into the thick fog.
The corpse puppet shifted its head, looking to one side.
In the next moment, Nan Chen Guang rushed out from there, the Azure Blade in his hand stabbing with utmost precision, the azure sword qi bursting forth, striking straight at the crucial point of the corpse puppet’s face.
The corpse puppet’s mouth and nose were instantly a bloody mess.
However, the corpse puppet reacted quickly, grabbing with its big hand, and actually crushed the entirely sharp azure sword qi in its palm, along with Nan Chen Guang’s sword being smacked down together.
The longsword pierced through the corpse puppet’s iron armor, penetrated its chest, and finally stabbed into the heart.
Blood flowed freely, but the injured corpse puppet’s face remained unchanged, still wooden-faced, not retreating even half a step.
Its palm grasped the blade, not allowing it to advance even a bit further.
Seeing this, Nan Chen Guang exerted force, attempting to pull out the longsword.
However, the corpse puppet’s palm gripped tightly, making it impossible for Nan Chen Guang to pull it out.
This made Nan Chen Guang’s heart shiver; the physical strength of the corpse puppet far exceeded his expectations.
At this moment, a deep voice resounded with a trace of anger.
"A very sharp sword, unbelievable that it could pierce the fine iron armor I equipped and even injure my Black-eyed Corpse Puppet!"
In the white fog, a hint of unusual black smoke emerged.
A person walked out from it, the black smoke originating from his body.
Along with him, dozens of withered and emaciated corpses also came out!
Combining with what he just said, without a doubt, he was the Corpse Refining Sect member controlling these corpse puppets.
"Truly nauseating..." Song Changming looked at the dozens of decaying corpses and couldn’t help muttering.
In comparison, that iron tower-like Black-eyed Corpse Puppet was at least somewhat pleasant to the eyes and provided more of a sense of oppression.
These decaying corpses, aside from looking disgusting, didn’t give Song Changming too much of a sense of threat.
"This Black-eyed Corpse Puppet is my beloved treasure. If it’s damaged, I’ll use you as a replacement!" The Corpse Refining Sect member glared at Nan Chen Guang, saying angrily.
Never before threatened like this, Nan Chen Guang’s sword intent surged dramatically!
Buzz!
The Azure Blade seemed to be echoing its owner’s emotions, continuously emitting a buzzing sound!
Suddenly, a large expanse of azure light shone through the fingers of the Black-eyed Corpse Puppet.
The force loosened, Nan Chen Guang pulled the sword out, leaving a large hole in the corpse puppet’s chest, faintly revealing the partially shattered heart, which was actually still beating.
At the same time, the right hand of the corpse puppet that was gripping the sword blade was directly blown apart by the azure sword energy.
"What exquisite material! If I could refine you into a corpse puppet, I’d willingly squander all my resources!"
The Corpse Refining Sect member said this, a chilling look in his eyes as he glanced at Nan Chen Guang.
Suddenly, Nan Chen Guang maneuvered away from beside the black-eyed corpse puppet, appearing in front of the Corpse Refining Sect member with a brilliant flash of azure light!
Members of the Corpse Refining Sect usually focus on corpse refining and have lower cultivation levels themselves.
Therefore, the easiest way to deal with them is to kill the master directly, avoiding their puppet.
Once the master is killed, their puppets will also perish.
Yet the Corpse Refining Sect member before him remained unflustered and shouted,
"Now, take action!"
From the group of decayed corpses, a little girl wearing a gray hooded cloak suddenly appeared.
Previously, due to her small stature, hidden among the group of corpses, she was indeed hard to notice.
Even Song Changming hadn’t noticed her earlier.
The little girl, with eyebrows like paintings and a touch of natural baby fat, had a very pale complexion and wide, frightened eyes as she looked at Nan Chen Guang.
Just then, her originally dark eyes suddenly turned into an enchanting pink crystal color.
In the next moment,
Nan Chen Guang seemed to be hit by an Immobility Technique, standing motionless, unable to swing his longsword anymore, while the azure sword qi quickly dissipated.
"A spiritual attack?!" Song Changming realized the nature of the unusual attack faced by Nan Chen Guang.
He too had encountered a similar attack when he was attacked by the Griffin Fog Beast earlier, an invisible, silent, indefensible attack that directly struck the depths of the Nether Sea.
"Is it a secret technique, or something else?"
Instinctively, he felt that the ability the little girl displayed posed an even greater threat than the Griffin Fog Beast’s spiritual attack he had experienced before.
"Young Master!"
Seeing this, the swordsman’s face changed dramatically, and he rushed forward to try and save Nan Chen Guang.
But his strength was far inferior to Nan Chen Guang’s, and he was sent flying nearly a hundred meters, coughing up blood, by a punch from the black-eyed corpse puppet.
"Truly a treasure." The Corpse Refining Sect member admired Nan Chen Guang, who was fixed in place, and suddenly realized there seemed to be another person nearby.
He turned his head and his gaze landed by the campfire not far away.
There was still a fish roasting over the fire, generously seasoned, its aroma indeed mouth-watering.
Yet, the person who was supposed to be on that big rock was nowhere to be seen.
Instinctively, the Corpse Refining Sect member assumed they had fled upon seeing him.
But the next moment, he noticed something was amiss.
The figure of Nan Chen Guang before him suddenly regained mobility, the unstoppable azure sword energy reemerging.
The Corpse Refining Sect member quickly turned his head towards the rear, and there, outside the pile of corpses, stood Song Changming holding the little girl in the cloak.
The little girl dangled limply, her limbs swinging, her head drooping, clearly knocked unconscious.
Realizing the extraordinary threat posed by the little girl, Song Changming had decisively moved to subdue her, preventing himself from following in the footsteps of Nan Chen Guang.
The little girl herself was very weak, showing no signs of martial training; aside from her ability to transform her eyes to that pink hue, she was just an ordinary little girl.
She was so oblivious that she didn’t even know when Song Changming had approached and knocked her out, having no ability to resist whatsoever.
On the other side, due to his own oversight, the Corpse Refining Sect member paid with his life.
Nan Chen Guang had no intention of capturing anyone alive, swiftly executing the Corpse Refining Sect member with one sword stroke.
He didn’t even give the Corpse Refining Sect member a chance to command his puppet for defense.
As the Corpse Refining Sect member died, the pile of corpses before Song Changming could no longer withstand it, immediately collapsing into mere bones without any need for his intervention.
Then it was the turn of the black-eyed corpse puppet.
It didn’t die quite as quickly, but having lost the Corpse Refining Sect member, its power was rapidly dissipating, and its demise was inevitable.
It let out a wailing sound akin to a human cry.
Mingled with the wail was a hint of relief, for such a death, neither human nor ghost, was a liberation for it.
As the black-eyed corpse puppet was on the verge of death, it suddenly glanced at Song Changming.
Its vacant eyes briefly shone with an unusual light, becoming somewhat more lively.
The face that had always been expressionless now showed more emotion and sentiment.
The puppet, appearing different now, stared at Song Changming, moving its mouth as if to speak, and suddenly uttered a human word.
"Changming..."