Chapter 8 The Fragrance Disperses Among Thousands of Corpses in the Forest (Part 2)

“Hahaha ” The female ghoul corpse burst into another fit of maniacal laughter. “Killing karma? What is killing karma? Hasn’t your Venom Gu Office slaughtered countless people? By that logic, you all should have died a hundred times over!”

Weng Li retorted, “Our Venom Gu Office enforces the king’s laws. Those who defy the laws of Yelang naturally face punishment.”

The female ghoul corpse sneered, “Indeed! Your killings are all sanctioned by the king. Well, my killings are born of necessity because my child is too weak. I must let him feed on the blood of the living to strengthen him, so that if anything happens to me, he won’t be bullied. I’m not harming others; I’m merely protecting myself. Tell me, what have I done wrong? What wrong have I committed to make you risk your lives to besiege this Thousand Corpse Forest?”

Weng Mu, who had been silent until now, barked, “Sophistry! You claim self-preservation, yet you demand the deaths of so many?”

The female ghoul corpse widened her orange pupils, snarling viciously, “The strong prey on the weak. This is an eternal truth. How can you, old fools, have lived so long without understanding this?”

Hearing this, Weng Mu waved a hand to the cultivators and declared, “Unrepentant. Since that’s the case, I’ll scatter your soul and burn your corpse, leaving you forever trapped in this Thousand Corpse Forest.”

At the elder’s command, dozens of cultivators instantly drew their swords, swiftly surrounding the mother and child ghoul corpses. The tips of dozens of spirit swords pointed uniformly at the female ghoul corpse, yet she remained unruffled. Gently placing the small ghoul corpse behind her, she slowly rose to her feet, her eyes brimming with killing intent as she glared at the crowd. A surge of baleful energy erupted from her body. Her hands twisted and churned, channeling the baleful energy until black mist coiled around her arms. With a forceful outward thrust of her arms, a powerful shockwave of baleful energy exploded from her, scattering in all directions. A loud “boom” echoed as the encircling cultivators were sent flying, crashing to the ground and vomiting blood. Several cultivators had their swords knocked straight out of their hands. Those who still held their blades raised them to charge again, but upon mobilizing their Spirit Energy, they immediately coughed up blood and collapsed, their bodies pierced by baleful energy and suffering internal injuries, temporarily unable to channel Spirit Energy. They had no choice but to sit in meditation, stabilizing their breath and protecting their heart meridians.

Witnessing this, Weng Mu was inwardly shocked he hadn’t expected the female ghoul corpse’s power and cultivation to be so formidable. He urgently said to Weng Li, “Li’er, quickly enter the formation!” As he spoke, he formed hand seals to set up the formation, chanting, “Qian; Dui; Li; Zhen; Xun; Kan; Gen; Kun; arise!” An Eight Trigrams Formation materialized beneath Weng Li’s feet.

The female ghoul corpse placed her child on the altar’s offering table, then abruptly leaped into the air, her hands clawing fiercely toward Weng Mu’s heart. Weng Mu swiftly dodged, barely avoiding the vicious strike, and swung his horsetail whisk in response. He then instructed, “Li’er, remember do not leave the formation. Just focus on controlling the small one.”

Weng Li nodded at Weng Mu, promptly bringing the long flute Wu Huan to her lips. She blew into the holes, and the flute’s melody soared clear and serene, like a bird gliding over the corpse forest.

As Weng Mu turned to evade the ferocious female ghoul corpse’s steel like claws, his horsetail whisks swiftly danced in his hand. He then shook the Soul Guiding Bell in his left hand, and the long sword on his back responded with a sharp “clang,” flying out of its sheath and darting straight toward the female ghoul corpse. The female ghoul corpse hurriedly blocked with her hand. With a “clang,” the sword struck her palm, producing a crisp sound evidently, her palm was as hard as iron, hence the metallic ring upon impact. Wherever the sword moved, it left behind a series of “clinking and clattering” sounds, akin to splitting mountains and cleaving rocks. In an instant, Weng Mu was locked in a fierce struggle with the female corpse.

On the other hand, Weng Li did not dare to slack off. She had already channeled her Spirit Energy, playing her flute with melodies that shifted from gentle and melodious to urgent and rapid. The small ghoul corpse, as if bewitched, slowly rose from the offering table. Then, facing Weng Li’s direction, it moved with dull, heavy steps, guided by the flute’s notes, and slowly advanced toward the pre-arranged Eight Trigrams Formation.

Weng Mu’s long sword danced up and down, weaving like a dragon and serpent. His horsetail whisk lashed out with “thudding” sounds, striking the female ghoul corpse repeatedly. However, these attacks seemed to inflict little damage. She merely staggered backward, retreating several steps to avoid the blows. Once she steadied herself, the female ghoul corpse immediately gathered strength in her palms and lunged fiercely at Weng Mu once more.

Seeing the small ghoul corpse drawing closer, Weng Li swiftly threw out the Witch Gu Token, forming hand seals and chanting an incantation: “Five stars array in color, light shines upon the profound darkness. A thousand gods and ten thousand sages, protect my true spirit. Go!” With a pointed finger toward the small ghoul corpse, the Witch Gu Token followed her command, hovering above the small ghoul corpse’s head. Instantly, it projected a pillar of runic light downward, enveloping the small ghoul corpse from head to toe. In a flash, the light pillar began to rotate, casting a circle of intense red light upon the small ghoul corpse. Faint green smoke immediately rose from its body, and it appeared on the verge of igniting.

The female ghoul corpse turned and saw her child trapped in the formation, nearly burning. She let out a piercing, mournful shriek. Then, using her razor-sharp nails, she slashed her own wrist, from which a green fluid immediately flowed.

Weng Mu exclaimed in alarm, “Corpse blood!”

Corpses typically have no blood, but if a mutated corpse consumes human blood and frequently absorbs the essence of moonlight in a corpse nurturing ground, it can gradually develop corpse fluid. This corpse fluid, much like the blood of the living, serves as a potent tool to enhance the ferocious corpse’s magical power and strength. Hence, it is referred to as corpse blood, and the Thousand Corpse Forest is the ideal place for nurturing corpses. This female ghoul corpse had cultivated here for ten years, indicating she had attained considerable prowess. For her, this corpse blood was undoubtedly a divine aid.

The female ghoul corpse used the corpse blood to draw a talisman on her forehead. The talisman instantly transformed into a faint green light, embedding itself into her brow. Within moments, her entire body emanated a significantly darker aura. She turned toward the small ghoul corpse and shouted, “Return!” The small ghoul corpse immediately flew out of the formation and swiftly returned to the female ghoul corpse’s embrace. Looking down at the small ghoul corpse in her arms, its skin burned and clearly in agony, her heart ached with pain. Without delay, she placed her wounded wrist near the small corpse’s mouth, apparently intending to feed it the corpse blood.

Seeing this, Weng Mu swiftly twisted his wrist. His body soared into the air, his long sword thrusting directly toward the female Ghoul Corpse. He shouted: “We must not let the little Ghoul Corpse drink the corpse blood, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with the two of them working together.”

As the female Ghoul Corpse saw Weng Mu’s long sword thrusting toward her, she hugged the little Ghoul Corpse and sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the strike. Immediately, she channeled the malevolent energy around her and retaliated with a heavy palm strike aimed at Weng Mu’s chest. At that moment, Weng Mu’s attention was entirely focused on the little Ghoul Corpse in the female Ghoul Corpse’s embrace. He completely failed to notice her counterattack. With a loud “thud,” Weng Mu was struck heavily in the back and was sent flying several yards away. He landed heavily on the ground, and immediately, a mouthful of fresh blood gushed from his lips.
The shockwave from the female Ghoul Corpse’s attack, however, did not seem to have severely injured Feng Yi. After being sent flying, she quickly channeled her Spirit Energy and stabilized her posture. She had also been sitting cross legged earlier, gathering Spirit Energy. Now, seeing that Elder Weng Mu was injured, Feng Yi raised her sword and thrust it straight at the female Ghoul Corpse. The female Ghoul Corpse, still holding the child, lightly dodged the tip of Feng Yi’s sword and then pushed out a palm strike, knocking her to the ground. A trickle of blood instantly flowed from the corner of Feng Yi’s mouth. She spat out the remaining blood in her mouth and was about to rise and fight again.

But Weng Li stopped her, saying: “Don’t move. If you don’t want to be more severely injured, stay put. If you channel Spirit Energy now, you will damage your spiritual pulse.”

Hearing this, Feng Yi had no choice but to sit cross legged again and regulate her breathing. Weng Li quickly crouched beside her and transferred some Spirit Energy to her to speed up her recovery. Although Feng Yi’s injury seemed minor, her meridians had been shaken and damaged. Weng Li could tell from the color of the blood she had just spat out. Meanwhile, Weng Mu also sat cross legged and began circulating the true energy within his body to heal his injuries.

The female Ghoul Corpse cast a disdainful glance at Feng Yi and Weng Li, ignoring them. She then placed the child back on the altar and walked toward the group of cultivators who had lost the ability to fight. She casually grabbed one of the severely injured cultivators from the ground, firmly gripping his neck and lifting him effortlessly. The cultivator, now suspended in midair, struggled and kicked his legs but had no strength left to resist. Just as Weng Li was about to rise and rescue him, the female Ghoul Corpse suddenly tightened her grip. With a “crack,” the cultivator’s head tilted to the side, blood gushing from his mouth as he died on the spot. His neck had likely been snapped. Weng Li, witnessing this, felt a pang of sorrow and closed her eyes in grief. Feng Yi struggled to rise and fight desperately but was held back by Weng Li, who said: “Don’t move recklessly for now. Focus on regulating your breathing. Leave the rest to me.”

Though she said this, Weng Li glanced around and realized she was the only one left uninjured. She had to find a way to protect all the survivors and hoped to bring them back safely and intact. Therefore, Weng Li could only wait and observe, not daring to act rashly again.

The female Ghoul Corpse swung her hand and threw the corpse she was holding onto the ground. Her eyes swept over the crowd with a sinister gaze, causing everyone to retreat in fear. They covered their chests, staring intently at the Ghoul Corpse’s next move. Unexpectedly, the Ghoul Corpse paid no further attention to the cultivators who had already lost the ability to fight. Instead, she glanced at Weng Mu, who was meditating in the distance to regulate his breathing and was unable to move. The corner of her lips curled slightly, revealing an almost imperceptible eerie smile. Then, she drifted directly toward Weng Mu’s location.

At this moment, the baleful aura and dark energy around the Ghoul Corpse surged violently, and in an instant, she floated right in front of Weng Mu. Suddenly, she channeled all the baleful energy in her body and struck out with a fierce palm strike aimed directly at him. The Ghoul Corpse was inherently immensely powerful a single strike could instantly kill an ordinary cultivator. Although Weng Mu’s cultivation was quite advanced, he had been severely injured by the previous blow. His Spirit Energy was already damaged, and he had been sitting on the ground regulating his breath without recovering. If he were to endure this full force attack, he would likely perish on the spot.

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