This mysterious figure, who had arrived with a companion upon the wind, was clearly the “Honored Lord” the Golden-Armored Warrior had spoken of, yet at this moment he appeared to be a mere mortal.

It was obvious1 that this absurd impression couldn’t be true. Either his concealment was supernatural, or the difference in cultivation and Taoism was too large to see through.

Compared to the golden-armored general’s “arrogance,” the white-robed2 figure’s gaze was intensely purposeful, fixed on the giant corpse’s hiding place.

The giant corpse, having retreated underground and concealed all his aura, couldn’t see what was happening on the surface, but he had a feeling — a strong one — that he was being watched.

At this moment, Ji Yuan stood in front of the well outside the abandoned house, wearing a white robe. The Golden-Armored Warrior followed his movements, standing just two steps behind him.

The former seemed small, and the latter massive, but after experiencing this crisis, Huang Zhixian and the rest all felt that the former’s stature was inexplicably more imposing.

Ji Yuan had slain a considerable number of demonic corpses tonight. On Ai Nan Mountain, the peak where the Southern Great Stronghold once stood had been shattered by the Green Vine Sword’s wielded energy, causing a significant portion of the mountainside to collapse. In total, he had eliminated nine demonic corpses, bringing the total killed up to ten, including the one still stored in his sleeve.

These creatures were bloodthirsty, possessed immense strength and tough skin, as well as some intelligence and the ability to burrow into the ground. They were definitely far more formidable than the zombies of Ji Yuan’s imagination.

Moreover, these demonic corpses were practically the natural enemies of all living creatures, devouring their vital essence, blood, and souls. There were no recorded instances of them being kind, and they were one of the few evil creatures Ji Yuan deeply detested.

At this moment, even though the giant corpse was restraining its presence, the distant stench of corpses was still overwhelming to Ji Yuan’s senses. This odor could be traced back both to the corpses, and to the countless victims.

“You must be the source of these demonic corpses?”

Ji Yuan spoke. His voice was rich and calm, echoing far and wide. To the ears of the people in the abandoned house behind him, it was only quite clear, not loud; but to the giant corpse underground outside the village, it sounded like rolling thunder.

The giant corpse no longer held any hope of survival. Its deathly aura surged, intending to immediately escape underground, but a strong sense of crisis in his intuition told it not to.

Ji Yuan looked in the direction of the giant corpse, slightly surprised that it hadn’t fled immediately. After a moment’s pondering, he concluded that there were two possible reasons for this.

The first was that the giant corpse had some powerful backup plan and was completely unafraid, while the second was that it simply did not dare to flee.

For now, the second possibility was more likely. In that case, Ji Yuan didn’t bother to waste any more time on the other party. His next words were extremely direct.

“Come out and face me within three breaths.”

His voice was still very calm, but it carried an air of absolute authority. He didn’t specify whether those breaths were long or short, nor did he specify the consequences of defying him.

But with just these words, the giant corpse hiding underground knew that if it didn’t follow Mr. Ji’s instructions, what happened next would definitely never be peaceful. Not only was this clear to the corpse, but even Huang Zhixian, Han Ming and others in the abandoned house also understood.

With the Golden-Armored Warrior standing quietly behind Ji Yuan, his persuasion was even more powerful.

These three breaths were just Ji Yuan’s arbitrary measurement; he didn’t even bother to calculate it. Not long after the words left his mouth, he had already raised his left hand.

The Green Vine Sword appeared in Ji Yuan’s hand, gleaming with a brilliant light.

At the moment the immortal sword emerged, the giant corpse underground outside the village felt as if it had been plunged into extreme cold, its heart aching as if it had been stabbed by countless needles.

Without even a moment to think, it hurriedly pushed aside the earth and headed towards the surface.

With a bang, the giant corpse burst from the earth, spraying broken soil and mud.

“I’m coming out! I’m coming out!”

This was the first time that the giant corpse had truly seen Ji Yuan. He was dressed in a white robe, standing in the rain and holding the sword in his left hand. The Warrior stood behind him.

Ji Yuan was also slightly startled by the size of the demonic corpse. He subconsciously turned his head to look at the Golden-Armored Warrior behind him. He was somewhat prepared for the evil corpse to speak. After all, although those previous ones could only roar, this one was clearly different.

Since it was cooperating, it was fine for now.

“Come over.”

Hearing Ji Yuan’s words, the giant corpse hesitated for a moment, then quickly returned to outskirts of the village. Soon, it was standing on the village path, a little over ten zhang away from Ji Yuan.

The body of the giant corpse was withered and brown. Its skin had keratinized, as if covered in scales. Its eyes shone with a malevolent aura. Even the heavy raindrops no its body scattered into a couple droplets, demonstrating how tough its skin was.

Even though it looked at Ji Yuan with fear, its appearance alone was extremely intimidating.

“I will ask you a few questions. Answer, them, and I will allow you to choose between taking a blow of my sword, or being burned with fire, and then you can leave. If you don’t answer, I will immediately destroy your body and soul. Do you understand?”

Ji Yuan’s words were calm, as if he were simply stating something that was a matter of course.

The giant corpse looked at the white-robed man not too far away. The man’s eyes were pale, without any luster, ripples, or emotion. He looked at the corpse indifferently, as if he were observing a piece of grass by the side of the road.

The rainwater was not redirected elsewhere: when it fell on the man in the white robe, it naturally slid down, leaving his clothes and hair dry.

“I understand. Please ask!”

“You are quite intelligent…”

After saying this, Ji Yuan continued with his questions.

“What kind of demonic corpse are you? You are a kind of living dead, how many slave corpses do you have?

The term “demonic corpse” was quite offensive, but it depended on the person saying it. It was natural for ordinary people to call it that, but when it came out of Ji Yuan’s mouth, the giant corpse didn’t even dare to react,3 and could only answer honestly.

“If I use the orthodox term, I would be called a corpse demon.4 As you said, it could also be considered a kind of living dead. As for the slave corpses…”

The giant corpse glanced at the headless corpse not too far away.

“The slave corpses require me to shed my own blood. There are thirteen in total. There should be one left alive, but I don’t know where it is…”

Ji Yuan glanced at his left sleeve, looked back at the giant corpse and asked.

“If they are your slaves, why don’t you know where they are? You can’t control them?”

The giant corpse answered carefully after much consideration.

“That… I don’t know either. I’m not lying, Sir. Previously, I would have been able to know where they were. Now, I can only tell that it is still alive…”

“Ah.”

Ji Yuan nodded. After learning about the particulars of these slave corpses, another thought flashed through his mind. Under these circumstances, the other party would most likely not dare to tell a lie, but Ji Yuan still wanted to deceive the giant corpse.

So after a brief silence, Ji Yuan suddenly opened his eyes a little wider, staring at the giant corpse with a cold gaze. His voice was no longer asking ordinary questions, but had turned into a commanding tone that intimidated all such evil creatures.

“Where is your master, and why did he send you here?”

The sound was like spring thunder cracking, like the pounding of gongs and drums bombarding the giant corpse’s mind.

“I… have no master!”

The giant corpse’s words paused noticeably, making Ji Yuan narrow his eyes. His supernatural eyes scrutinized the corpse before he asked again.

“One last question: what is your name? Why, though your Yin soul remains intact, is your Yang soul incomplete?”

The giant corpse hurriedly responded.

“My name is Wu Chu. As a corpse demon, I am despised by the world. Many of us, long after death, begin to accumulate deathly Qi. It’s normal for our body and soul to be damaged.”

Ji Yuan let out a long “Oh…,” and nodded with a smile.

“The world of cultivation is full of strange people and strange things. Some beings, for example, are particularly fond of meddling in other people’s affairs. Unfortunately, although I have my own principles, outsiders do perceive me as a meddler.”

As Ji Yuan spoke, the giant corpse began to grow increasingly nervous, but his following words eased his tension somewhat.

“However, I, Ji, am a cultivator of immortality, and I never break my word. Take one strike of my sword, or take one burn of my fire, it’s your choice. You have three breaths to consider.”

After Ji Yuan said this sentence, he stood there, waiting. Although seemingly calm, he was actually concentrating his mind, channeling his energy between his body and his mental world, brewing a surge of True Fire of Samadhi.

The Green Vine Sword was in his hand. Although it did not reveal any sharp aura at this moment, the inscription on the scabbard was plain to see, especially when Ji Yuan grasped the sword just now. He truly intended to draw it and slay the corpse. This sense of crisis would probably have stimulated the giant corpse enough to appear before him.

It might have even guessed that it was an immortal sword.

As long as it wasn’t stupid, any corpse would definitely choose to suffer a single burn, and this corpse demon was no different. After all, while there were many divine fires in this world, its own deathly Qi was extremely dense, and extremely cold. As long as it wasn’t continuously incinerated by a supernatural technique, it was highly likely that it could withstand the burning. Furthermore, it was currently raining heavily.

Ji Yuan had precisely calculated the corpse demon’s mindset and prepared a surprise.

“I choose to be burned by fire. I hope, Sir, that you will keep your promise and let me go after I am burned!”

To avoid provoking Ji Yuan, the giant corpse suppressed the strong deathly aura within its body. It even bowed, imitating a human figure and putting on a show of formality.

“Haha, don’t worry. I, Ji, keep my word. Stand still. It’s just a burst of fire!”

After he had finished speaking, Ji Yuan held his breath for a moment, and opened his mouth again.

This time, it was no longer merely the aura of True Fire, but a reddish-gray flame that erupted from Ji Yuan’s mouth. The surrounding area barely fluctuated in temperature, yet it seemed as though the night had been distorted in the wake of the twisting flames.

The giant corpse, having just raised its head from the bow, looked up, only to see the fire right in front of it. Resisting the urge to dodge, it stood where it was.

Swish–

Although it had barely touched the giant corpse’s chest, the reddish-gray flames instantly ignited its entire body.

“Aaah–“

In the blink of an eye, the corpse demon’s original color vanished, its entire body turning a fiery red hue. A grayish-white blaze emanated from its mouth, eyes, nose, ears, and other orifices.5

“Bang… Bang… Bang…”

It lost control of its body, barely managing to stagger outwards for three steps. In the span of three breaths, all screams and movements ceased.

“Boom…”

The corpse fell down and directly shattered into charcoal powder.

1. Lit. “even if you think with your toes” LOL

2. Note that raws say “green” but then it later contradicts itself by saying white. Either he changed clothes, which is unlikely, or it was a mistake, so I’m going with white.

3. Lit. “didn’t even dare to fart”

4. I’ve been using “demonic corpse” a lot, and now we have “corpse demon.” The former is more along the lines of “nebulous evil corpse thingy” while the latter is “hey I’m a demon corpse. Specifically a demon corpse.” Hope that clarifies a bit

5. T/n: okay call me childish but who else was envisioning flames coming out of his rear end like a rocket booster