Chapter 152 Silver Corpse

The young scholar looked at the familiar back of his wife and said, "Qingqing, you have been frightened. I can pretend that nothing ever happened, and we can live our lives together properly. Shall we?"

The young woman turned around, her face stained with tears like pear blossoms in the rain, and said, "My husband, I was forced by circumstance to commit such a filthy and scandalous deed. If I hadn't done it, he would have killed you!"

"Qingqing, my wife, I have made you suffer!" With these words, the scholar wrapped his arms around Qingqing's slender waist and pulled her into his embrace.

Qingqing leaned into his arms smoothly, her pale red, sensuous lips pressing tightly against the scholar's mouth in a wild, passionate kiss, her fragrant tongue probing deep into his mouth.

The scholar's blood rushed upward instantly. Clumsily, he tore off the young woman's garments, stripped off his own trousers, found the right place, and drove himself inside.

The scholar let out a howl of ecstasy, throwing his head back, but suddenly uttered a miserable shriek of "Ah!" as he dissolved into a wisp of fresh, crimson blood Qi that sank straight into the young woman's body.

The young woman gently dressed herself, licked her lips, and murmured, "A man whose blood is surging with passion is the ultimate nourishment. After playing with you for so long, it is finally time for you to repay me! This story is over. I shall return to recuperate for a moment before entering the life of the next person."

Having spoken, she transformed into a wisp of black deathly Qi, vanished into the room, and drifted away into the distance.

Geqian stepped upon his flying sword, soared out of Yancheng City, and came to a halt in a desolate region.

Yushan, enveloped in a red mist, stabilized his figure not far from Geqian and said, "Geqian, this place shall be your grave. To be able to witness the supreme seductive treasure, the Red Dust Scroll of Ten Thousand Charms, before your death, you can hardly say you died unjustly."

Geqian smiled faintly and said, "Yushan, you are far too confident, and that is to your detriment. You do not even realize disaster is upon your head. Even if I do not kill you today, you will not live much longer."

"Nonsense! Death is at your doorstep and you are still babbling to rattle my state of mind? Watch me tear you to shreds!" With that, Yushan opened his mouth and spat out an ambiguously radiant scroll. Made of an unknown material, it expanded against the wind until it reached ten zhang in length.

In truth, Yushan had not yet advanced to the Condensation Pill stage; he was merely relying on the Red Dust Scroll of Ten Thousand Charms to traverse the void. Geqian had already perceived this flaw long ago.

The scroll trembled, and flowers fluttered all across the sky. Over a dozen stunning beauties of distinct temperaments and unique charms stepped out from the blossoms. Some were gorgeously attired, while others possessed a natural allure that could capture souls, yet all of them emanated extremely formidable auras.

Some of the women were completely nude, displaying boundless spring scenery, and they lunged toward Geqian with giggles and laughter.

Geqian possessed a powerful divine sense; how could he be deceived by such illusionary arts? With a cold snort, a small black bell covered in eerie demonic runes appeared in his hand.

Forming a hand seal and pointing, he tossed it into the air, where it swelled to twenty zhang in size. A wave of profound sorrow swept outward, accompanied by a resounding clang.

An aura of utter grief and heart-wrenching anguish enveloped all the beauties, along with Geqian and Yushan.

Immediately, the beauties were filled with despair, heartbreak, and utter hopelessness; one after another, they committed suicide, and the illusion shattered.

The Red Dust Scroll of Ten Thousand Charms hovering above Yushan's head emitted a red beam of light that repelled the sorrowful intent.

Evidently, Yushan's cultivation realm was insufficient to unleash the full might of the scroll. His face turned pale, and he nearly lost his composure, silently cursing his misfortune. Why did Geqian possess a magical treasure, and one that he could actually command? Could it be another supreme seductive treasure?

As the aura of sorrow surged toward Geqian, it was instantly and completely absorbed by the Sword Qi of Sorrow, which seemed exceptionally joyful.

Puzhan had gifted the Bell of Sorrow to Geqian precisely because once this treasure was deployed, it recognized no family ties, and even its master would descend into madness and commit suicide—effectively killing Geqian by proxy.

He had tried numerous methods without managing to alter the fatal flaw of the Bell of Sorrow, yet he was too reluctant to discard it. He never expected it to come in handy upon encountering Geqian.

Geqian did not press his advantage. Instead, he changed his hand seal, recalled the Bell of Sorrow, and said, "Both of us possess treasures; if we continue to fight, it will be difficult to determine a victor. I told you the truth, but you refused to believe it. Now you can carefully examine your lower body to see if a black thread of death is creeping toward your heart meridian. Soon enough, your body will burst apart from within, and you will die."

Yushan was no longer so arrogant. Although he doubted Geqian's words, when it concerned his own life, he had to be cautious. Moreover, he had already undergone奪舍 (soul possession) once; if this physical body were destroyed, he would be forced to switch to practicing ghost cultivation arts.

Yushan directed his divine sense to inspect his lower body, and he was struck with terror, cold sweat pouring down his back. Amidst all the endless pleasure and indulgence, he had completely failed to notice that he had been poisoned by death Qi.

"That damned old hag! I must kill her! How dare she plot against me?" he snarled.

Geqian smiled faintly and said, "The old witch's strength is no small matter. She tamed the Qi of the Phoenix and Luan in such a way that I cannot refine it at all. Why don't you and I cooperate once to slay the old witch? I will obtain the method to dispel the Qi of the Phoenix and Luan, and you will purge the poison from your body. It is a win-win situation where each gets what they need. Isn't that wonderful?"

Yushan rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: My poison takes precedence; he merely covets the Qi of the Phoenix and Luan. When the time comes, I'll seize the opportunity to kill him, and both the Qi of the Phoenix and Luan and that formidable little bell will be mine.

With a hearty laugh, he replied, "Let it be as you say. However, neither of us shall hold anything back when the time comes. After we slay the old witch, I must have first pick of her other treasures!"

"No problem. I possess a secret technique that can sense her location through her Qi of the Phoenix and Luan. Let me sense it now," Geqian said.

Forming hand seals and casting spells, he employed the "Predestined Fate Across Three Lifetimes" technique to lock onto the young woman's aura.

After sensing for a moment, he said, "She is at the Imperial Mausoleum. Let us go right now and not let her escape again!"

With that, Geqian stepped onto his sword and sped away. Yushan swallowed the Red Dust Scroll of Ten Thousand Charms into his abdomen, whipped up a red mist, and followed closely behind.

The Imperial Mausoleum was built a thousand Li away from Yancheng City, winding for over three hundred Li from east to west. Its architectural characteristic was "using the mountains as tombs." The main tomb was situated on the plains, while the rest utilized natural hills, constructed upon the peaks of mountain ranges, overlooking the terrain to form a layout where the south faced forward and the north faced the court. A substantial Yin vein ran through this place, emitting a faint ghostly chill.

Geqian hovered in a circle above the mausoleum to steady his posture, sweeping his divine sense across the complex of tombs. His expression instantly changed: inside hundreds of coffins, large and small, lay individual corpses.

Yushan also stopped to investigate and said, "It seems you and I have trouble on our hands. So many corpses are hidden here. Fortunately, there is only one silver corpse. Which of us shall deal with it?"

Geqian smiled slightly and said, "You should deal with it. My Bell of Sorrow's effectiveness against emotionless corpses is greatly diminished."

Yushan retorted, "You wish! Don't forget that the opponent is a silver corpse equivalent to a Condensation Pill realm cultivator—possessing boundless strength and invulnerability to blades and spears. I think you and I should cooperate and eliminate it with thunderous speed; the remaining copper and iron corpses will be easy to handle then."

Geqian agreed, "Very well. As soon as dawn breaks, we will make our move."

Yushan nodded as well and said, "The Yang Qi is strongest during the day, and the corpses' strength will drop accordingly! It's settled, then."

In the morning, the sun was bright, and its crimson rays spilled across the mausoleum cluster.

Geqian and Yushan successively walked to the edge of the mausoleum. Geqian cast a spell known as "Stealing Across the Sea Under Camouflage" and vanished on the spot.

Yushan swept his divine sense outward and was secretly startled to find that he could no longer perceive Geqian's whereabouts. However, he had no time to dwell on it. He produced a concealment talisman, slapped it onto his body, and vanished amidst a flash of spiritual light.