Chapter 174 – Shooting Game (1/2)

The large corpses that floated on the surface of the water suddenly released poisonous gas and began moving at startling speeds. They sprang up from the surface of the water and flew towards the boat in the darkness.

He Yishi’s mouth hung agape as his Thousand Mechanism crossbow drooped down. Terrifying corpses filled every single inch around him. He felt like he had been thrown into a terrifying nightmare, unable to wake up. Even for prodigies of the Academy of the Hundred Schools like them, the fate that awaited them after being pulled into the water was as clear as day.

Hao Pingyang roared out as he swung his Yellow Dragon’s Cannon of Devouring Light around, smashing it into the floating corpses, but he failed to send them flying away. The corpses all exploded and released large amounts of poisonous gas. The black, murky fluids they sprayed out landed on the boat with a hiss and smoke rose up. It landed on Hao Pingyang’s face as well. While it was stopped by his true qi, it did make him seem rather miserable.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The floating corpses exploded on the boat, and dense, poisonous gas enveloped the entire vessel. Their visibility was reduced to less than an inch away. All they could hear was the moans and groans of the corpses resounding through the cave.

Having lost his sense of sight, Jin Bao panicked inside. He yelled out, “Brother! Brother!” He felt like only he was left in this terrifying hell. He yelled out as he shot at the water. He also released his true qi instinctively, blocking out the gas and attacks from all directions. The boat was simply too small, so he was unable to use his puppets.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! He ran out of Fire Crow bolts in a single instant from how quickly he fired them, vanishing into the thick gas. Most of them landed in the water and produced even more violent waves. It made it seem like the tiny boat was traversing through stormy seas, yet it was unable to advance even an inch forward. Countless corpses jammed the oars as they climbed up, pulling the boat into the water.

“Oh no! The boat is going to sink!” Jin Bao called out frantically. At this moment, a moist yet shrivelled hand suddenly grabbed his hand through the gas!

“Argh!” Jin Bao screamed as he staggered back and ran into someone. Although he managed to knock the hand away with a spurt of true qi, he was still shaken up.

Jin Yuan heard his brother’s scream in the gas and also called out, “Jin Bao, what’s wrong?”

“I- I-” Jin Bao heaved. He crouched down with everything that he had. The Yellow Dragon’s Cannon of Devouring Light whistled above his head, yet the fierce gale it kicked up failed to make the poisonous gas disperse. Instead, the gas only grew denser.

The four others all fell quiet. Zhao Lanqing was dumbfounded, while Hao Pingyang wielded the Yellow Dragon’s Cannon of Devouring Light swiftly, attempting to repel all the zombies that climbed aboard.

Li QIngshan knitted a net of blades with his Wind-entwining blade, cutting all of the shriveled corpses that fell down from above to shreds. He felt helpless over how his companions responded. The water corpses were terrifying, but they were nowhere near as powerful as the zombies in the morgue. Even prepared masters of the jianghu could deal with them.

The Zombie Daoist had successfully made use of the geography available to him, unleashing his powers to his full ability to overwhelm them psychologically and waste away their true qi. Even though he was not exactly a strategist, he was a tactician. It was possible to imagine just how deadly it would be if the Submerged Shadow sword was present as well, launching sneak attacks from within the thick gas.

Li Qingshan reached towards his talisman pouch, but he smiled again and pulled his hand back. He said to Zhang Lanqing, “Prepare to set off!”

Zhang Lanqing answered with a question, “What?”

Xiao An seemed no different from before, but she moved with the agility of a monkey. She grabbed the Thousand Mechanism crossbow from Jin Bao’s hand, and with two clicks, she reloaded them. She spread her hands, and the crossbows sprayed out with bolts. She began to turn around on the spot. The Fire Crow bolts sprayed out violently in a circular fashion, brushing past everyone and landing on the water corpses climbing up the boat with great accuracy.

Boom! Boom! Boom! There were a string of explosions that occurred so closely to one another that it seemed like a single explosion. The waves of air and water it kicked up blasted the boat from the surface of the water.

Zhang Lanqing cried out as he channeled all of his true qi into the boat. A stream of air spurted out from the back, and it began to fly, rushing out of the poisonous gas. It left behind a layer of remains and countless hands that suddenly extended from the water.

As his vision cleared up, He Yishi could not help but celebrate. Looking at everyone else, he discovered that they were the same as him. Only Li Qingshan and Hao Pingyang remained calm.

The howl rose up once more as the huge, floating mass of corpses slammed towards the boat as they sprayed with poisonous gas.

Unknowingly, Xiao An had already arrived at the nose of the boat. Her clothes ruffled violently as the fierce wind blew her seaweed-like hair behind her, brushing against Zhang Lanqing’s face. His eyes widened. All he felt was that this quiet child seemed to be shining with blinding light.

Her expression remained the same as before. She held the two crossbows with her pure, small hands, standing firmly among the unrest. The floating corpses exploded in the air. None of them managed to get closer than ten steps from the boat.

Bang! The boat landed in the water once again and kicked up countless waves. It shot forward at full speed, throwing behind the dangerous region of water. A series of cheers rang out from the boat. Hao Pingyang could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

Li Qingshan placed his hand on Xiao An’s shoulder and smiled in approval. Even he would not have been able to do all of that so flawlessly even if he managed to control his power. At the end of day, someone from his side would still be more reliable. My Xiao An is unlike your people who drag you down!