Chapter 194 (2/2)

Murong Xian’er was completely obedient to him now. She instantly nodded without saying a word of protest. Under the moonlight, they saw a thick layer of dried branches and withered leaves on the ground. If they walked over there on foot, they would surely make noise. But if he unleashed the Phoenix’s Wings, he would surely expose his whereabouts.

He swiftly carried Xian’er and unleashed his family’s lightness skill, the Heaven-scaling Steps. The tip of his toe touched every dead flower and leaf as it landed on the ground but his movements were so lithe and gentle that he put zero pressure on the flowers and leaves. He was stepping on the branches as he walked, allowing him to move forward without making a single noise.

In a flash, they were several hundred feet away. Xiao Chen landed on the back of a boulder. It was only after he ensured that they were far from that unknown existence that he gently put Murong Xian’er down. He placed a finger to his lips to remind her to be quiet and then poked his head out to look in the direction of their previous location.

Under the moonlight, a human silhouette gradually appeared in front of the cave they were previously in. This person was none other than Zuoqiu Ze. He was now wearing a gloomy expression. He had been walking back and forth in the forest but it was now nightfall and there was still no sign of Xiao Chen. It wasn’t until Murong Xian’er lifted the formation that he could detect the breath that Xiao Chen left behind.

“B*stard! Did you hide in a shell somewhere?!” Zuoqiu Ze bellowed in anger. He aimed a sword attack at the cave, sending rocks flying everywhere.

“I’ll flatten this place today and see where you can hide.” He hacked the forest mindlessly, causing sword radiance to flare up messily and the withered branches and leaves in the forest to toss in the air.

Zuoqiu Ze ended up in the middle of the forest after his bout of mindless hacking. In the first place, the forest already stunk due to the withered flora piled up all year round. After his hacking, however, the smell in the air became even more pungent.

Unfortunately, his Divine Sense was significantly less sensitive than Xiao Chen’s, so he couldn’t determine Xiao Chen’s exact location. Perhaps he was also traumatized by Xiao Chen’s frequent ambushes. Whenever he saw a suspicious spot, he would hack in that direction without fail.

In the distance, Xiao Chen repeatedly sneered deep inside. Zuoqiu Ze would still act so ostentatiously when the enemy was hidden in the dark. It was as if he didn’t know how to conceal himself. Xiao Chen didn’t know if Zuoqiu Ze was too stupid or too confident in his ability to kill him.

“Hehe! Wanna play, don’t you, b*stard? I’ll play along until you’re satisfied! Come out here, b*stard!” Zuoqiu Ze screamed, once again slashing a massive dead tree nearby.

The longer he failed to find Xiao Chen, the angrier he became. With his level four Core Forming Realm cultivation and his set of seal talismans, he was rightfully superior to a Foundation Building Realm cultivator. However, Xiao Chen had remained dreadfully crafty the whole time, putting him in an unprecedentedly pathetic condition. His resentment of Xiao Chen was now ingrained deep into his bones.

Right then, he finally sensed a faint wisp of breath somewhere up ahead. He sneered and slowed his pace to make a quiet approach. Then, he abruptly activated the True Energy in his body and viciously slashed in that direction.

The attack was imbued with his greatest strength. A massive shadow of a sword instantly obscured the moon in the sky as majestic Nascent Soul Realm power exploded. The entire mountain shook with its force as a loud explosion resounded. A crack appeared on the ground, so deep that one couldn’t even see its bottom. The withered forest had essentially perished in an instant.

However, the slash of the sword received no response in return. Zuoqiu Ze narrowed his eyes. “Did my attack disintegrate that b*stard’s body?”

It was at that moment that a shadow emerged from the crack on the ground. Under the moonlight, one could clearly see that it was a terribly putrefied corpse.

Its head had decayed completely, leaving only two eyeballs hanging out of its socket. There was a large, gaping hole at the center of its chest.

Stunningly, the decayed corpse was able to stand upright and glare at Zuoqiu Ze. Even the faraway Xiao Chen could feel a chill creeping up his back. He was very sure that the terrifying breath he sensed earlier originated from this decayed corpse. Judging from the large, gaping hole in the corpse’s chest, he could tell that it was in the Nascent Soul Realm. Moreover, its Nascent Soul was forcefully taken from him while he was still alive.

Zuoqiu Ze gasped in shock. He instantly retreated by more than 30 meters. His previous attack, capable of killing any Core Forming Realm expert, surprisingly didn’t harm this decayed corpse in the slightest. At that moment, he could finally understand the horribleness of this corpse.

“You! What the heck are you?!”

Suddenly, the decayed corpse spoke. “What’s this… Had the Corpse Refinery Sect lost all of its skilled members after several hundred years? To think they actually sent a Core Forming Realm cultivator here…”

Zuoqiu Ze trembled all over. Even though he didn’t know what the corpse was talking about, a deep-rooted sense of fear was rapidly spreading all over his body. Only one word was on his mind now—Run!

He couldn’t be bothered with killing Xiao Chen anymore. Right now, all he wanted to do was run back to the Zuoqiu Manor and to his great-grandfather and grandfather. But the moment he turned around, the decayed corpse suddenly said, “Steal—spirit—claim—soul!”

Zuoqiu Ze had just taken a step forward when he lost control of himself and began floating. Then, his face began contorting until he couldn’t even speak.

He was now suffering unspeakable pain. He felt as if his soul was being forcefully taken out of him. Taking advantage of the moment before he lost consciousness, he used the final sliver of his strength to tear off the gem hanging in front of his chest and spit out, with much difficulty, “Great-grandfather… save me…” With a loud thump, he crushed the jade letter in his hand.