Chapter 875: Illustrious Military Merits
It turned out that while the skinny old man was distracted, the Superior Grade Martial Sage being held back by the three Underworld Fire Demonic Corpses finally managed to get free. His sword strike, which descended from the sky, contained surging Heavenly Sage Laws as it hacked down on the old man.
This attack startled the skinny old man, prompting him to leap back. The sword light landed on the water and kicked up huge waves. Some Demonic Corpses struck by the shock wave immediately crumbled to dust.
When the waves dispersed, the old man checked the battlefield situation. The arrival of the group of juniors had suddenly turned the tables. The Corpse Race was now at a disadvantage.
“Retreat!”
The skinny old man did not seem to mind. He chuckled and waved his hand, calling back all the remaining Corpse Race cultivators. The many Demonic Corpses scattered and headed for the water. Soon, the group of Corpse Race cultivators had disappeared.
The human Superior Grade Martial Sage stopped some people who wanted to chase after the Corpse Race. Then, he walked over to the somewhat weak Jin Lin, Xiao Xian, and Liu Ke. He smiled and said, “You must be the reinforcements from the Supreme Sky Sect. You are rather bold. That skinny old man earlier is actually a famous expert of the Corpse Race—the Black Stone Old Revenant. Even our group of old folks do not dare to fight a solo battle with him.”
Jin Lin and the others felt somewhat embarrassed. Suppressing the pain from the injuries of his body, he performed a cupped-fist salute and said, “Many thanks to Senior for saving us.”
That old man who used the sword seemed rather outspoken and straightforward. He smiled and said, “This is the battlefield. There is nothing much to saving your lives. If not for the three of you, I would not have been able to get free of the three Underworld Fire Demonic Corpses. Oh, right. Why do I not see your leader?”
This question stunned the three. They found it strange and started looking around. They said, “He was just following us earlier. How come we do not see him anymore?”
The old man could not help but frown slightly. He turned around and looked in the direction that the Black Stone Old Revenant had led his group when retreating.
As the Black Stone Old Revenant led his group away, he looked at the new skulls on his military merit medallion. His skinny face broke out in a broad smile. In this sudden attack, he killed at least a hundred human cultivators, all of them at least half-Sage.
There were even five Inferior Grade Martial Sages. Those were plenty of military merits. The only unfortunate thing was that the old man let the three juniors escape.
The other Corpse Race cultivators were all in high spirits as well. While they lost many Demonic Corpses, none of the Corpse Race cultivators died. This outcome could be considered a great success.
“Hehe, these military merits are really easy to obtain. Following Wei Hua and Long Fei, the descendants of two Sovereign Martial Emperors, is great.”
“Soon, this Dragon Wood Star will be our Corpse Race’s. At that time, we will definitely gain plenty of benefits.”
The Corpse Race cultivators were all excited. They did not worry about the reinforcements at all. They simply chatted about what would happen after they conquered Dragon Wood Star.
Suddenly, the Black Stone Old Revenant stopped. Sunlight illuminated a white figure in front. This white figure stood upright with his hands behind his back, having waited calmly for some time already.
The Black Stone Old Revenant demanded coldly, “Who are you? Are you tired of living, daring to block our way?”
“The person who will kill you all.”
The white figure flashed, and the sound of a treasured saber being drawn rang out above the sea. Pillars of water shot into the sky; splashes blossomed gorgeously.
“Kill him!”
This was just an Inferior Grade Martial Sage, and yet his tone was so arrogant and frightening. The Black Stone Old Revenant waved his hand, and three Corpse Race Inferior Grade Martial Sages jumped forward. They gestured casually, and a few Astral Beast Demonic Corpses leaped out of the water, ruthlessly launching themselves at Xiao Chen.
These fish-shaped Demonic Corpses were once Rank 1 Astral Beasts. After modification by the Corpse Race, they could rival ordinary Inferior Grade Martial Sages. The most important thing was that there were many of them. Furthermore, they did not feel pain. Ordinary cultivators had problems dealing with these Demonic Corpses.
The three Corpse Race Inferior Grade Martial Sages laughed sinisterly. Normally, they relied on these Astral Beast Demonic Corpses; the Martial Sages of the same grade were no match for them. In their minds, they could already see these Astral Beast Demonic Corpses dragging Xiao Chen away.
After that, the Astral Beast Demonic Corpses would continue dragging him until he died. If Xiao Chen’s body was of good quality, they would refine him into a Demonic Corpse, and they would become stronger.
“Ka ca!”
Before the Corpse Race Inferior Grade Martial Sages could register surprise, they saw Xiao Chen flying over like a strand of saber Qi. These Astral Beast Demonic Corpses, which had never failed them, did not even last a moment. He had immediately crushed the Demonic Corpses into pieces, rendering them completely useless.
Shock appeared in the Black Stone Old Revenant’s eyes. Stepping forward, he called out loudly, “Retreat! Hurry up and scatter!”
Since they wanted to leave only now, how could Xiao Chen give them this chance? His figure flashed, and he sent out a kick. A resplendent saber light appeared, and the head of the Corpse Race Inferior Grade Martial Sage on the right immediately separated from his body; he died without an intact corpse.
This sudden development alarmed the remaining two attackers. They quickly fled backwards. However, they saw a white figure pass between them.
The saber Qi behind him split into two. “Pu ci!” A purple electric light flashed. The saber Qi immediately bisected the two Corpse Race cultivators at the midriff; blood spurted out.
Xiao Chen raised his head and saw the Black Stone Old Revenant coming over to provide support. At the shocked look on the Black Stone Old Revenant’s face, he smiled faintly. Then, he clenched his right fist and punched.
“Return of the Azure Dragon!”
Pillars of water shot up into the sky. Boundless saber Qi flew everywhere. Xiao Chen leaped out of the sea. In the eyes of the Black Stone Old Revenant, Xiao Chen’s appearance flickered between a dragon, a saber, and that white-robed cultivator with the delicate face.
Xiao Chen seemed to undergo many changes, looking very mysterious. However, despite all the changes, a few things remained constant: his sharpness, his intensity, his unblockable aura advancing without pause.
Death Qi accumulated in the body of the Black Stone Old Revenant. He moved his ten fingers. Then, he thrust out both his palms to face Xiao Chen’s somewhat strange fist light.
“Ancient Underworld River Wave Palm!”
In that instant, the sky changed color, and a huge, spinning, black ball turned into a flowing underworld river. Waves surged heavily and rushed towards Xiao Chen.
Both the Ghost Race and Corpse Race cultivated the Dao of death. Their seniors comprehended many of their Martial Techniques and Cultivation Techniques while observing the underworld river.
This Ancient Underworld River Wave Palm was clearly a superior Palm Technique. The two palm strikes sent out were the underworld river heading towards Xiao Chen. It contained a surging and boundless Death Qi.
Illusions appeared in all directions. Vengeful spirits, white bones, graves, and evil ghosts all came together to form an image of hell, eating away at one’s will.
Xiao Chen’s heart was as firm as a rock. The illusions could not shake his mind in the slightest. His fist light was unparalleled, flickering with electricity. An Azure Dragon that appeared intermittently, the forty-percent-comprehended will of thunder, and the vague form of his saber soul all circulated quickly.
I walk an unconventional path, blazing a new trail. No one came before me, and none will follow after me. I blend many schools of thought, carving out my own saber Dao. Even if the true underworld river descends to protect you, I will pierce through it and smash it, not letting even a drop of water enter me.
What more an underworld river that you materialize? My sharpness changes continuously. No one can block me. Break for me!
“Bang!” A loud explosion resounded, and the illusions all around suddenly vanished. The punch blasted the surging underworld river up into the sky.
This astonished the Black Stone Old Revenant. He formed hand seals and tossed out three Underworld Fire Demonic Corpses before quickly retreating. As he did that, he called out, “Attack together. Use Demonic Corpses to surround him. I want to refine him into a Demonic Corpse. It will definitely be able to rival a grandmaster-level Martial Sage.”
Close to a hundred Corpse Race cultivators behind him quickly formed hand seals. Light flickered on the surface of the sea. All sorts of Demonic Corpses with horrifying auras leaped out of the water, launching themselves at Xiao Chen.
The Death Qi on their bodies gathered together, turning the sea as black as ink. The white clouds in the sky slowly gave way to black clouds—showing how dreadful this aura was.
“It’s good that you are charging over!”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and tapped his forehead with two fingers. Instantly, four beams of light shot out. The forty-percent-comprehended immortal will of thunder turned into four tiny golden sabers. The vague form of the saber soul contained within had a boundless and unparalleled saber intent.
Howling sounds rang out as four small golden sabers danced in the air, forming a screen of electricity made up of countless saber Qi.
Within this screen of electricity, Xiao Chen charged over. The Demonic Corpses blocking him shattered on contact. Then, electric light exploded again, and the fragments turned into dust.
The higher-ranked Demonic Corpses lasted slightly longer—but only one second at best. The electric sabers immediately knocked the three Underworld Fire Demonic Corpses away, preventing them from doing anything to Xiao Chen.
The Demonic Corpses on the surface of the sea were like fallen leaves blown away by the autumn wind.
The sky turned blue, and the sea cleared. The Corpse Race cultivators all showed stunned expressions. They had never seen anyone sweep away their Demonic Corpses like so much trash before.
The Black Stone Old Revenant looked around and shouted, “Why are you all stunned? If you lose your Demonic Corpses, just refine new ones. Refining this brat would be equal to having a thousand Monarch Grade Demonic Corpses.”
The many Corpse Race cultivators hesitated. However, they did not dare to disobey the Black Stone Old Revenant’s orders. Furthermore, Xiao Chen was alone. Hence, they all charged over.
Watching this scene, the Black Stone Old Revenant quietly put away the three severely injured Underworld Fire Demonic Corpses. Then he turned around and fled.
Xiao Chen smiled coldly to himself. How could he let the Black Stone Old Revenant escape that easily? The hundred or so Corpse Race cultivators before him were at best Inferior Grade Martial Sages. How could they catch his interest? To get a lot of military merits, one had to kill the major characters. There is no point in killing the small fries.
“Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations! Transform! Transform! Transform!”
Xiao Chen’s figure split into nine. Then he transformed into nine strands of saber wind that moved in a flash, and everywhere they passed, the Corpse Race cultivators turned into sparks of scarlet light. The scarlet light turned into skulls that appeared on his military merit medallion.
The nine figures merged back into one, and Xiao Chen pushed off the air. In the time it took for a spark to fly, he caught up with the fleeing Black Stone Old Revenant.
“I won’t let you go!”
Xiao Chen stretched out his fingers and grabbed at the Black Stone Old Revenant’s head. He gathered countless flickering arcs of electricity in his palm. Each of his fingers became as hard as a saber, glinting with sharpness.
His fingers were like meteors chasing the moon. Applying the strength of his powerful body, the five sharp blade-like fingers tore off the Black Stone Old Revenant’s arm right away. The electric light in his palm exploded forth and flung the limb high in the air.
Xiao Chen turned his body around. Using it as a saber with his shoulder as the tip, he slammed into the Superior Grade Martial Sage. The Black Stone Old Revenant’s barrier made of Death Qi immediately shattered into pieces.
This move was extremely tyrannical—one thousand five hundred tons of force, ninety-percent-comprehended saber intent, and the immortal will of thunder, using his body as a blade, forging it into a treasured saber. A cold light flickered, emanating unparalleled might.
The Black Stone Old Revenant absorbed the full force of this blow. No Secret Treasure, Cultivation Technique, or defensive Martial Technique would be of any use. His mangled body no longer resembled his previous self. In that instant, his aura vanished in death.
A bright purple skull immediately appeared on Xiao Chen’s military merit medallion; he easily gained ten thousand military merits.
Xiao Chen took a look at the Black Stone Old Revenant’s military merit medallion. There were dense rows of skulls. He wondered how many human cultivators had died at this crafty Black Stone Old Revenant’s hands.