Chapter 50: Goddess (1/2)

“Why is she here? How did she know which path we’d take?!” Miao cried out in shock. The titanic undead was obviously lying in wait.

Cornered, Qing Hongchen and Formation Thirteenth trembled together in a fearful bundle. Using the young man as a shield, the formation master seemed to be etching formation lines into the floor with a spirit stone.

“This is her corpse coffin!” Lu Yun explained gravely. “Her consciousness has been incorporated into the coffin, which makes her omnipresent in this space. We can’t escape her senses, no matter where we go.”

He hauled his feet out of the water and stared straight at the undead hag. Fleeing wasn’t an option. The monster suddenly sprang into motion and an enormous palm the size of a small mountain grabbed ferociously at Lu Yun.

Hum.

Yuying swiftly unfolded the Panorama of Clarity, manifesting a landscape that blocked the giant hand.

Thud!

Face spontaneously paling, she threw up a mouthful of blood as a tremendous force knocked her back.

“You, you blasted thing! I’m the prefect of Duskwater Prefecture. I’m not going to lose to a woman!” Li Youcai made a move as well, not because of a command from Yueshen, but of his own accord. The enormous Seal of Mountains and Rivers scattered beams of golden light all around as it summoned vast amounts of mighty energy from the earth.

Bam!

The seal slammed ruthlessly into the undead hag’s palm. A shrill scream rang out as she stumbled backward, jelly-like flesh splattering away from its hand.

Li Youcai flew into the pond behind him, his face likewise drained of color. It was difficult to tell if he was still alive.

The undead hag shrieked again and again in quick succession, thoroughly enraged by the fatty’s attack. Mouth gaping open and emanating an undefinable odor, she charged at Lu Yun.

The monster’s head was enormous, even bigger than the empty clearing they were standing in. Yet strangely enough, she was still able to occupy the space, thoroughly unconcerned by the limited space. Nevertheless, there was no time for Lu Yun to dwell on this.

Muscles tense with concentration, he made a series of peculiar steps, imitating the form of a leopard. The movement took him out of the immediate area, avoiding the undead hag’s bite by a hair.

This was a technique of Feinie’s that had surfaced in Lu Yun’s mind. Although he had yet to master it, his initial attempt was still enough to evade a fatal attack.

“Qing Hongchen, Formation Thirteenth!” Lu Yun yelled at the two men hiding in the corner. “If you refuse to step in, you’ll die after I do!”

Qing Hongchen blanched and shuddered, his mind too shot with fear to say anything. Formation Thirteenth, on the other hand, was unusually calm. “Alright, you draw the monster’s attention and I’ll set up a formation to kill it!” he called out as he continued drawing lines onto the floor.

“You’re etching a fecking single-use transportation formation!!” Lu Yun roared furiously. He rushed toward the formation master with Qing Han on his back. The formation master’s face clouded over as he saw Lu Yun grasp his plan and lead the undead hag his way.

“He’s not Formation Thirteenth,” Qing Han said weakly.

“I know,” Lu Yun whispered as he ran. The man was obviously either possessed, or another soul had replaced the original.

“It’s someone from the Exalted Immortal Sect.” Qing Han had recovered some of his strength. He assessed the formation master with a critical eye and murmured, “It’s weird, though. Why would someone from the Exalted Immortal Sect be here, and why would they take over Formation Thirteenth’s body?”

“What?!” Lu Yun shuddered. “The Exalted Immortal Sect?” He remembered their people back in Yuying’s tomb.

The sect had set Yuying up to die under her heavenly tribulation in order to acquire the Panorama of Clarity, but Wayfarer had collected the treasure and buried it with his love. Those from the sect refused to give up, though, and had plotted for another seven hundred years in Yuying’s tomb.

And now, here they were again.

Formation Thirteenth’s disappearance must have had something to do with the sect! His soul had most likely been replaced by another!

Yuying launched a series of attacks at the undead hag with her painting. She hadn’t paid much attention to the formation master, and therefore hadn’t recognized him as someone from the Exalted Immortal Sect. Her continuous attacks kept the hag down, preventing Lu Yun’s demise.

Why does she keep following me? So when she chased after Qing Hongchen… that was on purpose! She couldn’t get to me when I was behind the dragonseal stone. I was only accessible after I left the annex room. Comprehension dawned on Lu Yun. That’s it! She’s after the layout of resurrection!

The layout had kept the undead hag in the bottomless abyss. Naturally, she’d witnessed Lu Yun collect the floating summit, which was why she was doggedly chasing after the Dusk governor.

The layout of resurrection was composed of a pole of life and a pole of death. The latter sealed the undead hag, while the former had a chance of resurrecting it.