Chapter 9 The Fragrance Disperses in the Thousand Corpses Forest (Part 3)

Weng Li, who had been channeling Spirit Energy to help Feng Yi regulate his breathing, saw her master Weng Mu in dire straits and immediately raised her hand. A sleeve arrow wrapped with a Talisman shot straight toward the Ghoul Corpse’s back. With a mournful howl, the sleeve arrow embedded itself in the Ghoul Corpse’s back. The Talisman instantly ignited and exploded, tearing a chunk of flesh from her back and scattering shredded meat in all directions. Though clearly injured by Weng Li’s Talisman, the Ghoul Corpse only shuddered slightly, retreating several yards before landing steadily again. She shook her shoulders, seemingly discomforted by the wound, but did not abandon her assault on Weng Mu. Turning, she charged straight at him once more, completely ignoring Weng Li’s actions.

Seeing the Ghoul Corpse disregard her entirely, Weng Li sprang up and pursued with her sword. Soaring through the air, she thrust her blade fiercely from behind, but the Ghoul Corpse nimbly sidestepped the strike and retaliated with a palm thrust. Weng Li bent low, evading it gracefully. The Ghoul Corpse’s palm swept empty through the air, brushing past Weng Li like a gust of wind before landing far ahead. Swiftly turning to face Weng Li, she prepared to strike again, but Weng Li raised her hand and launched another sleeve arrow. The Ghoul Corpse sidestepped narrowly to avoid it, then adjusted her stance and stubbornly ignored Weng Li, charging toward Weng Mu once more. By now, Weng Li seemed to grasp the Ghoul Corpse’s intent: “Master is injured, his Spirit Energy unstable and immobilized. Another blow would likely be fatal. This Ghoul Corpse must be trying to eliminate him first before turning her full attention to me.”

Realizing this, Weng Li quickly drew the illusionary flute from her waist and brought it to her lips, blowing into the holes. The flute’s melody soared forth once more. The small Ghoul Corpse, previously left by its mother on the altar’s offering table, heard the tune and marched toward Weng Li as if entranced. Hearing the flute, the Ghoul Corpse turned to look at her child and, finding it under Weng Li’s control again, abandoned her attack on Weng Mu. Instead, she swiftly darted back, desperate to reclaim her offspring.

Seeing the female ghoul corpse return, Weng Li immediately gripped the crimson cloud and thrust it backward toward the creature. The female ghoul corpse swiftly dodged aside. Unwilling to let her escape, Weng Li followed with a series of consecutive strikes slashing, hacking, lifting, and thrusting, forcing the ghoul corpse to dodge left and right while its eyes remained fixed on its child. As Weng Li’s sword grew increasingly fierce, the ghoul corpse, after several evasions, suddenly charged toward Weng Mu. Spotting this, Weng Li hurriedly gave chase. Unexpectedly, the ghoul corpse flashed back to the child’s side, scooping the little one into its arms with a swift motion. Weng Li immediately turned back and lunged with her sword, but the ghoul corpse vanished again, evading the attack, and darted once more toward Weng Mu. Realizing that the ghoul corpse had not only taken the small ghoul corpse but was also closing in on her master, Weng Mu, Weng Li grew frantic after being feinted twice. She swung the crimson cloud and pursued with all her might, channeling spirit energy into the blade and thrusting with every ounce of her power. The ghoul corpse, as if sensing the attack from the side, tilted its head and sidestepped to avoid it. Then, with a light tap of its foot, it instantly appeared beside Weng Mu. Holding the child in its left arm, the ghoul corpse gently swayed its right hand, gathering all its power and baleful energy into its palm before striking Weng Mu with a full force blow. Meanwhile, Weng Li’s thrust missed its mark, causing her to stumble forward two steps before she spun around to see the ghoul corpse’s thunderous palm strike aimed at her master. Her heart sank as she thought, “This is bad!” In a flash, Weng Li teleported to her master’s side and shoved the meditating Weng Mu out of harm’s way. But with a loud “thud,” the palm strike landed squarely on Weng Li’s chest, sending her flying four or five zhang away.

Instantly, Weng Li felt heavy pressure in her chest, a surge of heat in her heart, and a sweet taste in her throat. “Pfft ” A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from her lips. At that moment, it felt as if her internal organs had been shattered. After a dizzying spin, she crashed heavily to the ground.

Pushed aside by Weng Li, Weng Mu steadied himself with a backward step and rose to his feet. Seeing Weng Li flung far away, her condition unknown, he could no longer afford to tend to his own injuries. Struggling upright, he drew a talisman from his robe and affixed it to his sword. Channeling all his spirit energy, he swung with full force at the ghoul corpse’s flank, the blade slicing deeply into its body.
A dull “thud” echoed as the sword cut horizontally into the ghoul corpse, green corpse blood oozing slowly along the blade and dripping to the ground. Weng Mu withdrew the sword with a sideways motion. The ghoul corpse clutched its wound with one hand, staggered twice, and dropped to one knee. The small ghoul corpse in its arms seemed to sense its mother’s injury, reaching out to touch the female ghoul corpse’s face. The ghoul corpse grinned at the child, a trickle of green corpse blood streaming from the corner of its mouth. Clearly, the strike had inflicted severe damage. Realizing it was outmatched, the female ghoul corpse hugged the small ghoul corpse tightly and turned to flee.

Weng Mu would never let her escape. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he caught up in two strides and swung his horsetail whisk, tightly entangling the little ghoul corpse. With a forceful pull, he ripped the little ghoul corpse from the female ghoul corpse’s embrace. Then, with another powerful throw, he hurled the little ghoul corpse toward the runic light beam emitted by the Witch Gu Token. With a “whoosh,” the little ghoul corpse was flung straight into the beam. The moment it entered, faint white smoke began to rise from its entire body. Weng Mu quickly formed hand seals to activate the talisman, and the little ghoul corpse immediately burst into flames. In moments, it was reduced to a pile of white ash.

Watching her child burn to ashes, the female ghoul corpse threw her head back and let out a heart wrenching, piercing shriek that tore through the night sky. The sound was dizzying and chilled down one’s spine. An ordinary person hearing it would likely die of terror on the spot.

At this moment, the female ghoul corpse’s face was extraordinarily ferocious and terrifying. Her body trembled incessantly, the burnt and rotting flesh on her face shaking along with it. Her cold, orange eyes were filled with murderous intent. Just as she prepared to viciously lunge at Weng Mu again, her body suddenly convulsed. A large amount of corpse fluid gushed from the wound Weng Mu had inflicted earlier. The female ghoul corpse hurriedly covered the injury with her hand, her eyes glaring venomously at Weng Mu. The dark energy around her slowly dissipated. Knowing that continuing the fight would be disadvantageous, she turned and leaped away, vanishing into the darkness in an instant.

Moments later, her furious curse echoed through the night sky: “You old fool, may you die a wretched death!” The voice reverberated over the Thousand Corpse Forest several times, as if someone were echoing her curse.

Meanwhile, Weng Li lay rigid on the ground, blood continuously bubbling from her mouth. Weng Mu quickly cradled her head in his arms, tapped several acupoints on her body with his palm, and used his true energy to protect her heart pulse while incessantly channeling Spirit Energy into her. The teleportation had already drained a significant amount of Weng Li’s Spirit Energy, so when the female ghoul corpse struck her, she had barely endured the blow with her physical body alone.

Now, Weng Li could no longer speak. Her body twitched with each weak breath. She felt unbearably cold, and her body grew lighter, as if she were a wisp of cotton slowly floating upward. Drifting higher, she reached midair and saw herself half reclining in her master Weng Mu’s embrace. Her master was still tirelessly infusing Spirit Energy into her body. Feng Yi knelt beside her, sobbing softly. The surrounding cultivators cried out, “Young mistress!” Weng Li wanted to say, “I’m here,” but her voice dissipated into the air. Suddenly, her mind grew hazy, her consciousness blurred, and everything seemed to fade away.

At that moment, Weng Mu felt the head in his arms suddenly go limp. He hastily checked Weng Li’s breathing, and his face instantly paled. Placing his fingers on her spiritual pulse and life pulse, he retrieved a Talisman from his robe, bit his middle finger, and drew a soul fixing talisman seal on it with his blood. Then, channeling his Spirit Energy, he chanted: “Soul chasing across a thousand miles, spirit capturing swift as the wind, chief star swiftly turning, obey if life remains.” As he finished the incantation, he flicked his fingers, and the Talisman glowed with a flash of spiritual light before adhering to Weng Li’s forehead.
Weng Mu turned to the cultivators and said, “Take the young master back to the Sacrificial Hall immediately. Not a moment’s delay is permitted.” The group acknowledged in unison, lifted Weng Li, and flew toward the Gu medicine department using Sword Kinesis.

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