Chapter 168: Invincible (1/2)

It was the Sugato Sword that was reining in the giant bloodcorpse, keeping it suppressed beneath the ground. Since the immortal ghost, Yueshen, had nine bloodcorpses at her command, that afforded Lu Yun a glimpse into their true nature.

They were a zombie variant that could transform themselves into streaks of crimson light and possessed a strange, cursed power. Their unique constitution allowed them to reform with just a small amount of fresh blood, even after being completely scattered.

In other words, bloodcorpses were close to invincible.

Radiating a blindingly sharp energy, the Sugato Sword firmly suppressed the crimson zombie, cutting into its flesh and leaving behind open wounds.

“It hasn’t finished its transformation into a bloodcorpse!” Lu Yun frowned when he noticed the creature’s condition. Though it struggled with all its might, the greater its efforts, the sharper the sword energy cutting into it became. The zombie’s crimson light surged and slammed into the ground, attempting to break it open.

“The Sugato Sword can’t keep it suppressed for long. The thing will break free sooner or later!” Lu Yun’s face darkened. So the sword was also preventing the bloodcorpse from completing its transformation. That meant it would be next to impossible for him to acquire the weapon.

This thing will be a harbinger of disaster if it’s allowed to escape. Let’s try the dispelling properties of the Thunder Palmstrike! Situated on the Path of Ingress, Lu Yun dodged a few crimson flashes and countered with a palm at the bloodcorpse’s head.

Crackle.

Dazzling lightning burst out of his palm, squarely hitting the bloodcorpse.

Snarl!

The bloodcorpse roared with pain and anger, redoubling its efforts against the Sugato Sword, which remained steady as ever, like a giant mountain. Lu Yun’s attack hadn’t been terribly effective.

“Oh?” Some new knowledge traveled back after his attack. “So if the inheritance pagoda is broken, the bloodcorpse will be able to break free of the Sugato Sword!”

What prevented the bloodcorpse’s final transformation wasn’t the weapon itself, but the sharpness of the sword energy. The pagoda was created from the sword’s edge and Lord Sugato’s power, denoting a close link between pagoda and sword. Smashing the pagoda would allow the bloodcorpse to break free.

“Of course! That explains it!” His expression shifted unsteadily. “No wonder the provincial seal is required to unearth the ancient lord’s heritage. No wonder knowledge about the Sword Pagoda and this bloodcorpse came to me!”

There’d originally been no inheritance pagoda underground in Dusk Province. The moment Lu Yun channeled the power of the land into the ancient lord’s tomb, the keenness of the sword activated the remnants of Lord Sugato’s power, which combined with the power of the land to hurtle out of the tomb as the inheritance pagoda.

Given that Lu Yun had long since refined the provincial seal and wielded the province’s power, that meant the pagoda was well within his grasp. In fact, he could collect the pagoda with a thought and slowly refine the ancient lord’s heritage, bypassing the nine hundred and ninety-nine floors altogether.

……

Berserk lightning continued to smite the bloodcorpse. The bloody figure’s flailing grew increasingly violent, with even the giant hand it’d extended gradually breaking free of Skybearer’s restraint.

“Again!!” Lu Yun raised his hand high.

Bam!

His attack pierced straight through the earth above his head. Endless lightning converged from all directions with a roar and fell into his grasp.

“Die!” he screamed. “Die, die, die!”

Crackling lightning flooded the tomb, an ocean of thunder that submerged the bloodcorpse, but didn’t drown out its struggles.