Chapter 326 - Corpse Demons (2/2)

“This is a strange place. Don’t show blind trust in what we see and hear now because it might not be the truth. That includes the person next to you now. He or she might not be who you know,” Su Zimu suddenly said.

Su Zimu’s last line confused everyone but they nonetheless became alert. The little girl’s ghostly folksong was still resounding in the air. Qingyu and Liu Feiyan felt their scalp turn numb. Meanwhile, Xu Gu started reciting Mind-purifying Tathagata Incantation.

“Come on. Let’s leave this place first.” Xiao Chen thought it wouldn’t be wise to linger in this strange place any longer. He and Xiaoyue led the group to the other side.

Thanks to the many lakes nearby, everyone found the soil under their feet to be damp and clammy. Creaking and grunting sounds rang out every time their feet touched the ground. When they reached the expanse of strange and gorgeous flowers of Yellow Springs, Xiao Chen frowned. The flowers here covered every inch of the ground, forming a boundless sea of red that left no space for them to move around in. He lifted up the hem of his robe and said, “We can’t verify if these are the flowers of the Underworld at the moment but it’s best that we don’t touch any.”

Everyone cautiously treaded through the field of flowers as the ghostly folksong resounded next to their ears, sometimes sounding close and sometimes far. It was as if the little girl had been following after them all this while, insisting on haunting them.

“Don’t go any further. There are Corpse Demons up ahead.”

Suddenly, another voice rang out. It belonged to that little girl. Everyone immediately turned around but saw no one. Qingyu turned pale and said in a trembling voice, “It’s that girl. Is she warning us…?”

Xiaoyue frowned and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. She focused on her surroundings and said, “Little girl? Is that you speaking? Can you please show yourself?”

No one said anything for a long time. The only sound was the sound of the folksong again. “Amid the red flowers and red moon, I ride a horse across the bridge; Uncles and Older Brothers are all dead, I carry my Brother up the bridge…” The voice gradually sounded farther and farther away until it fell silent completely.

Relief washed over everyone as soon as the little girl’s voice vanished. But just as quickly, they plunged into a deathly stillness that made them feel even more panicked.

“Amitabha…” Xu Gu recited the name of Buddha. “The thoughts we birth in our minds are unreal, and it is all an illusion.”

“Senior Brother Xu Gu is right. Let’s go.” Xiao Chen didn’t say much. He once again turned around to lead the rest. Nearly an hour later, the group finally left the field of flowers. However, the empty space in front of them seemed to go on endlessly. The atmosphere here was indescribably eerie. Even the air here was permeated with the faint smell of decaying flesh; it was enough to make them feel sick.

Su Zimu gripped his Mystic Heaven Fan and said cautiously, “The stink of corpse here is strong. Looks like the little girl is right. We should be careful.”

While he was still speaking, the sound of rustling suddenly rang out all around them. The sound became denser and denser. In the darkness, no one could tell what was approaching them. The eighteen of them immediately got together, with each doubling the brightness of the orb of True Energy light in their hand. What they saw next was hair-raising.

The soil around them began to open up, revealing countless withered arms emerging from the ground. Then, a hoard of rotten corpses climbed out of the soil and filled the air with a horrible stench.

Qingyu and Liu Feiyan turned sheet-white. They hastily covered their nose with their sleeve but that didn’t stop them from retching. The rest also felt their stomach churn. Bai Yushu gripped his Immortal’s Sword and said seriously, “Watch out. They’re Corpse Demons.”

In just seconds, hundreds of Corpse Demons climbed out of the ground. The rotting of the demons was severe. Inside their eye sockets were two dark-green will-o’-the-wisps and a large part of their skin were illuminated green. From afar, it looked like a field of green. There were likely thousands of these Corpse Demons.

“M-meow! They’re not ordinary Corpse Demons! They’re giving off Devil Qi!” Zhiluan was so scared that he hid behind Xiao Chen. He put his claw near his mouth. His teeth were chattering nonstop.

Corpse Demons were originally a form of Corpse Insect inside bodies. They were born out of the Negative Qi and Tainted Qi in the world. With the bodies as a stove, the insects gradually cultivate to become evil creatures. Ordinary Corpse Demons would only emanate deep Negative Qi, but the ones in front of them even exuded unnatural Devil Qi.

“Watch out! Don’t let the Corpse Qi and Devil Qi infect you!” With that said, Su Zimu slew the dozen or so Corpse Demons charging at them with his Heavenly Thirteen Swords. Limbs immediately went flying all over.

Bai Yushu cast a spell. The Immortal’s Sword in his hand instantly turned into a ray of light and cut through the air. However, the hoard of Corpse Demons caused the white radiance of the sword to lose some of its lusters. Bai Yushu hastily retrieved his sword. When it flew back to his hand, he saw wisps of black Qi so thin that they were barely discernable winding around the blade.

“Be careful. The Devil Qi on these Corpse Demons is thick enough to taint our weapons.”

Naturally, this came to the attention of everyone else as well. Unless they were using legendary weapons like the Unsullied Sword, ordinary Immortal’s Swords would be tainted by the Devil Qi on these Corpse Demons as soon as they came close. Everyone began to cast their respective spells to attack with Sword Qi instead.

The sight of numerous Sword Qi weaving left and right in their attacks was dazzling but Xiao Chen remained frowning. He could feel another terrifying existence hiding in an unknown corner of the darkness.

“Who is it? Who dares to disturb this General’s eternal rest?”