Inside Hermit Baiyun's Mustard Seed Pouch, Qin Sang found an unexpected item—half of the corpse of a middle-stage Demonic Spirit Realm tiger!

Before entering the underground chamber, they had split into two groups. Senior Sister Qingting, leading Hermit Baiyun and the others, took a different route and encountered a Demonic Spirit Realm black tiger, which they killed together. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a middle-stage Demonic Spirit Realm tiger.

No wonder it took them so long.

There were also various miscellaneous items, all of which Qin Sang collected.

By now, Qin Sang had nearly figured out the barrier on the black iron door. He summoned his Five-Elemental Breaking Sword to break the barrier and pushed the door open.

Unexpectedly, beyond the door was only a stone passageway. Unlike the winding paths before, this one stretched straight downward at an angle, with a bend ahead, making it impossible to see the end.

The spiritual power within the passageway was denser than outside, only slightly inferior to that of Qin Sang's cave dwelling.

It was worth noting that his cave dwelling was merely a small stone chamber.

It was unclear how deep he would need to go to reach the core of the Heavenly Corpse Sect's branch. Given the scale of the area, the spiritual power at the core was bound to be even more astonishing, likely an excellent top-grade cave dwelling, and it might even contain a spiritual spring.

The passage was eerie and deep, but Qin Sang moved quickly. Now that he had the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, he felt less afraid of living corpses. Along the way, he encountered a few bends but found only one stone chamber, which was empty.

After traveling for a while, Qin Sang suddenly paused, his expression tensing as he looked ahead, listening intently. Faint sounds of vibrations and roars echoed from up ahead.

Someone's battling a malevolent corpse!

Qin Sang immediately quickened his pace, and as he approached, the sounds grew clearer. The roars were indeed coming from a malevolent corpse, and the fight sounded intense, though it was hard to tell how many people were involved since he couldn’t hear any voices.

After progressing a little further, Qin Sang stopped abruptly, emerging from the shadows with a frown, staring at a tightly closed stone door ahead.

No wonder the sounds had been so muffled before.

He had planned to quietly observe the situation, but with the stone door blocking his way, it seemed the battle was happening just beyond it. The moment he opened the door, he would also be exposed.

However, Qin Sang didn’t hesitate for long. He promptly activated his Five-Elemental Breaking Sword and blasted the door open, revealing another grand hall behind it, even more majestic than the one before, though similarly furnished.

Qin Sang quickly scanned the hall and fixed his gaze on the two battling figures. As expected, one was indeed a malevolent corpse, and it was a living corpse. Opposing it was Senior Sister Qingting, fighting alone.

Senior Sister Qingting was seated on the ground, her expression tense as she controlled a jade ruyi[1] that emitted an azure light, sending illusory attacks toward the living corpse in rapid succession. Surprisingly, the jade ruyi was a talisman astra. 𝙍Åɴ∅ＢЕ𝐬

Behind Senior Sister Qingting lay a corpse, corroded by corpse poison, which Qin Sang recognized as Liu Shan, one of the Liu brothers, leaving him shocked.

Qin Sang’s sudden appearance and forceful entrance startled Qingting.

When she saw it was Qin Sang, her expression turned urgent, and in a weak voice, she called out, "Junior Brother Qin, the malevolent corpse is ruthless—I can’t hold out much longer. You must break the barrier and leave quickly!"

Hearing this, Qin Sang focused his gaze on her and took in her condition, his heart sinking at once.

Her robes around her chest and abdomen were soaked with blood, bearing several claw marks from ghostly talons. Deep gashes, slashed down to the bone, revealed internal organs already ravaged by the talons, leaving her insides in disarray.

The torn flesh around her wounds pulsed, indicating she had already taken healing pills. However, they were ineffective, as her injuries were laced with lingering Earth Malevolent Qi and corpse poison, preventing her wounds from healing. The corpse poison, like a festering infection, was now spreading through her body.

Qingting’s aura had weakened considerably from her severe injuries. She could barely sustain her talisman astra to fend off the malevolent corpse, having no strength left to suppress the corpse poison in her body. Her internal organs had been tainted a ghastly dark green by the corpse poison, a sight that would terrify anyone.

Seeing this, Qin Sang didn’t hesitate to summon his ebony sword, which whistled forward, charged with sword qi, and struck at the malevolent corpse, relieving much of the pressure on Qingting.

"Senior Sister, focus all your strength on suppressing the corpse poison and treating your wounds!" Qin Sang shouted, launching an all-out assault on the malevolent corpse. Drawn to Qin Sang’s attack, the malevolent corpse immediately turned and lunged toward him.

At that moment, the jade ruyi suddenly radiated a strong azure light, binding the malevolent corpse firmly in place.

Qingting’s face grew even paler as she began to cough violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood. With a bitter tone, she urged, "Junior Brother Qin, forget about me. The corpse poison has invaded my heart meridian—I’m beyond saving. While I still have the strength to control the talisman astra to restrain this malevolent corpse, quickly break the barrier on the door and leave. I’ll help seal the iron door’s barrier behind you. This malevolent corpse is not only powerful, comparable to a middle-stage Foundation Building cultivator, but it can also use spells. Junior Brother Qin, you won’t be able to withstand it alone. Go now!"

During their brief skirmish, Qin Sang had already assessed the living corpse’s abilities. It was even stronger than the one they had encountered before and could cast spells, though not the

Xuanhuang Armor

but rather a spell that condensed qi into blades. Its other technique was a similar evasion technique, eerie and unpredictable, making defense nearly impossible. No wonder Qingting was so severely injured.

Due to the unique refinement methods of the living corpse, it retained the spell it was most adept with in life. Additionally, the corpse refiner could infuse the corpse with a spell they themselves mastered through the Heavenly Corpse Talisman.

This strange evasion technique likely stemmed from a secret technique passed down in the Heavenly Corpse Sect.

Yet, to Qin Sang, this living corpse was actually easier to deal with than the previous one.

The prior living corpse had worn a suit of Xuanhuang Armor, which protected it like a tortoise shell. It had taken the combined efforts of three of them a long time to break most of its armor before Qin Sang could finally finish it off.

Without personally witnessing the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art

, Hermit Baiyun hadn’t fully understood the true power of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, making him unwilling to confront the living corpse at its peak. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to act out his ruse, waiting until the last moment to strike.

This living corpse was more aggressive but much weaker in defense. As long as he kept his distance, killing it wouldn’t be difficult. It was likely Qingting had been ambushed by the malevolent corpse, preventing her from countering in time, leading to her severe injuries and the current desperate situation.

Qin Sang chose not to open the iron door. To him, the living corpse posed no true threat. Qingting, willingly trapping the malevolent corpse and offering him a way to escape, was no schemer harboring malicious intentions; it would be best if he could save her.

"Senior Sister, don’t dwell on it. Let’s kill this beast first!" Qin Sang called firmly.

Whoosh!

The ebony sword unleashed a powerful burst of sword qi, attacking the living corpse in tandem with the jade ruyi. Meanwhile, Qin Sang subtly activated the secret art of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, affecting the living corpse, which suddenly began to slow, taking multiple hits from the sword. The Earth Malevolent Qi within its body churned uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Qingting took a deep breath, her spirits lifted. She shouted, "Good! If I can avenge myself before death, I’ll die content. Thank you, Junior Brother Qin!"

1. A ruyi is a Chinese curved decorative object that serves as either a ceremonial scepter in Chinese Buddhism or a talisman symbolizing power and good fortune in Chinese folklore. ☜