Splitting the Heave

“Wait a minute. Why am I wasting time with these undead corpses?” Shang Xia recalled that the Vermillion Plaque had the miraculous effect of getting the undead corpses to ignore him.

Of course, he had to use the same type of qi they used in order to activate the plaque. If Shang Xia had the blood of the Zhu Family flowing in his veins, it would bring about even greater effects. Too bad it wasn’t possible.

Changing his Yin Yang Essence Qi to light and heavy qi, the Vermillion Plaque started to glow a strange red.

Shang Xia increased his speed once again and ran into another undead corpse.

Raising his guard, he slowed down as he approached. As the undead corpse heard his footsteps, it turned to stare at Shang Xia. However, it didn’t show any signs of aggression. 

Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia ran around the undead corpse before running towards the exit.

With the Vermillion Plaque in hand, he didn’t seem to run into any more trouble. However, the same couldn’t be said for Mu Qingyu.

She didn’t own a Vermillion Plaque, and she thought that following behind Shang Xia would ensure her safety, but she couldn’t be more wrong. 

She wasn’t as strong as Shang Xia, and she didn’t possess as many life-saving methods as him. With her cultivation base, there wasn't a need to talk about rank three undead corpses. Even rank two undead corpses would pose a massive problem.

The tunnel was extremely narrow, and she couldn’t avoid them completely. She couldn’t scream and shout either for fear of catching their attention. She was eventually stuck in the tunnel.

Shang Xia had long since tossed Mu Qingyu to the back of his mind. As he charged forward at full speed, it didn’t take long before he saw the light at the end.

He eventually slowed down to approach the exit cautiously. The inner qi in his body circulated endlessly as he got ready for any surprises that might happen.

…

Ji Wenlong could also feel that something was terribly off. 

He wasn’t the only one. Dongfang Daying could also tell that something was wrong. His gaze shifted constantly as he looked in every direction.

They had been fighting for some time, and the shockwaves should have swept through the lands. The huge commotion should have alerted Liu Jitang and Murong Tianlan no matter how occupied they were!

Even so, the two of them were nowhere to be seen! Were they hiding in some corner or were they actually held back by something?!

There were four extremely powerful Martial Extermination Realm experts in the Zhu Family. Other than the three undead corpses Ji Wenlong and the others were fighting, there was an even more terrifying Zhu Tong! Zhu Tong was the patriarch of the Zhu Family, and his cultivation was one step away from reaching the Martial Dipper Realm. It didn’t make sense that Zhu Tong would be missing after the other three showed up.

There had been rumors that Zhu Tong had entered the Martial Dipper Realm, but those were merely rumors. If that were true…

…

Shang Xia left the tunnel and arrived at a courtyard that had long since been leveled to the ground. There were burnt marks on the ground and a layer of frost close by. Even if Shang Xia used his buttocks to think, he knew that it was done by Zhu Ying.

There were several burnt herbs on the ground, and even though Shang Xia couldn’t recognize most of them, he could tell that they were once treasures.

Herbs grown in the Zhu Family Manor were naturally much more precious than those outside! After twenty years of growth and nurturing from the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding, they might have already reached the third or even fourth rank! Shang Xia made a conservative estimate and felt that he would at least be able to gather enough herbs for three advancement formulas at the third rank! 

“This bastard would rather destroy everything than let any power get their hands on it…” Shang Xia sneered. He thought that he would face Zhu Ying’s sneak attack when he emerged, but he was wrong. Not a soul could be seen!

Looking at the ruined herbs, Shang Xia felt his heart aching. 

There were several tablets placed around the courtyard, but most of the words on them had already been scraped off. Even though there were some remnant marks, it was nearly impossible for anyone to read what had been written on the tablets.

It seemed as though the information recorded on them were quite important! Could they be records of the Zhu Family’s inheritance?

However, Shang Xia thought about the advancement formula he saw on the wall back in the stone chamber and realized that it wasn’t really possible. The inheritance couldn’t possibly be recorded on the tablets as there was not enough space! An inheritance contained a lot of things! From advancement formulas to martial arts…There could also be secret arts that supplemented the inheritance!

Even so, it was highly possible that those tablets contained some sort of martial arts not related to the Zhu Family’s inheritance. With their long and powerful history, it wouldn’t be weird if those tablets recorded martial arts suitable for cultivators of different levels. There might even be manuals for weapon crafting, medicine refining, and talisman drawing!

Well, whatever. It was too late for him to do anything now. All that was left were empty tablets.

Shang Xia examined everything in the courtyard before coming to a conclusion about where Zhu Ying escaped to. He didn’t hesitate to give chase.

When he took his first step, Ji Wenlong’s voice rang through the Zhu Family Manor yet again. “There’s no need to hold back anymore! Finish the battle immediately! Something is wrong! We can’t drag things out any further.” As soon as he spoke, four pillars of light tore through the skies as he attacked Zhu Kuang, the strongest of the three.

Dongfang Daying no longer held back. He summoned his extermination origins as three colored light filled the air. They turned into a giant eagle in the skies and it swooped downwards at his opponent. The resulting shockwave filled the manor.

Even though Lang Xiaoyun didn’t know much about the Zhu Family, he could tell that something was up from the way the other two were acting. He no longer held back as a giant moon appeared above his head. It glowed with three different colors as it swallowed the undead corpse below.

Shang Xia’s expression changed when he heard Ji Wenlong’s voice.

He could tell that the voice came from inside the Zhu Family Manor, but it was extremely muffled. Could there be a separate space somewhere?!

If that were true, Shang Xia realized one extremely important fact. He might be the one in a separate space! In fact, he should be somewhere close to the bronze gate!

Even though he had already prepared himself, Shang Xia couldn’t shake the fear he felt. When he thought about how he might run into the rank five undead corpse… His legs threatened to give way.

It was too late to turn back now. He could only grit his teeth and proceed onward.

He realized that after he left the tunnel, he didn’t run into any undead corpses. A trace of unease filled his heart. Was it possible that the rank five undead corpse had the ability to rally all the other undead corpses? 

If that were true…

Shang Xia threw himself on the ground suddenly and he felt a gust of wind blowing against his face. Two rank three corpses threw themselves at him.

With the sudden change in situation, Shang Xia was unable to use his martial intent in time. He drew his swords in order to make a desperate counterattack.

His martial intent might be powerful, but at the end of the day, he was only a mere Martial Extremity Realm cultivator.

Like a ragged doll, he was thrown about by the undead corpses.

He managed to block off most of the critical attacks thrown his way, but he still felt a dull ache deep in his body.

“Hahaha…” Laughter rang through the air as a figure appeared several dozen feet behind the undead corpses. Zhu Ying had a haughty expression as he sneered at Shang Xia, “I knew you would follow me. It’s too late now.” 

After he spoke, a sinister glint flashed through his eyes and he pointed at Shang Xia, “Kill him!” 

The two rank three undead corpses weren’t the only ones present. Eight other undead corpses appeared to surround Shang Xia.

Zhu Ying actually had the ability to control the undead corpse! The situation just turned even worse!

Shang Xia tried to suppress his shock as he avoided the attacks of the two rank three corpses that appeared initially. However, he was completely surrounded.

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A cold smile could be seen on Zhu Ying’s face before he disappeared yet again.

Back in the stone chamber, Zhu Ying spat out a mouthful of blood on Shang Xia to attract the undead corpses. He already knew that he had the bloodline of the Zhu Family and could influence the behavior of the undead corpses.

Shang Xia managed to comprehend his martial extremity intent back in the stone chamber, but Zhu Ying also managed to run into some fortunate encounters. He learned the way to control the undead corpses! 

What in the world happened to the Zhu Family in the past? Were they already expecting their family members to turn into undead corpses?! Why in the world would they develop a way to control undead corpses otherwise?!

A thought flashed through Shang Xia’s mind but he was too occupied with dealing with those undead corpses. There were four rank three corpses among them and Shang Xia was instantly thrown into a dangerous situation.

The only reason he could hold out was because he reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! Otherwise, he would have died several times over!

Stabbing his Delicate Jade River Sword towards the group of undead corpses, he managed to push them back slightly. The other sword in his other hand crumbled after enduring Shang Xia’s Yin Yang Essence Qi.

As the shards fell to the ground, they were surrounded by Shang Xia’s sword intent as they rose into the air once again. Spinning around him, every single shard emitted a soft glow.

Rotating faster and faster, the sword qi that enveloped those shards started to expand. Eventually, a cage of sword qi surrounded the undead corpses that were attacking Shang Xia.