CHAPTER 492

"These Corpse Fiends... they can actually grow stronger?"

Sensing the surging aura of the Corpse Fiends, Mu Tian and his companions' expressions darkened further.

At the same time, they became even more certain—the demonic cultivator hiding in the shadows must be a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Otherwise, even a demonic cultivator at the Peak Innate Stage would find it nearly impossible to set up such a formidable Corpse Refining Formation.

Seeing that the Corpse Fiends' aura was still growing stronger, Mu Tian knew they couldn't afford to wait any longer.

He decided to seize the initiative, unleashing a powerful sword qi, slashing toward the head of one of the Corpse Fiends.

Yet, in the next moment, the crisp sound of impact made his expression turn grim.

His sword qi had struck the Corpse Fiend’s skull, but instead of slicing through, it produced a sound like metal colliding.

Although it managed to cut through the creature’s flesh, the skull itself remained completely unharmed and even shattered his sword qi in return.

"Their bones... have become harder than thousand-fold refined iron!"

Seeing Mu Tian’s sword qi shatter upon impact, the others were equally shocked.

Mu Tian was already the strongest among them—if even his sword qi was ineffective, then the rest of them would stand no chance.

"Everyone, there's no other way. Prepare to fight with your lives. We have to engage in close combat!"

Forcing himself to remain calm, Mu Tian spoke in a deep voice.

At the same time, he retrieved a pill from his robe, ready to consume it.

This was a pill he had specially exchanged from his sect before embarking on his journey.

Once consumed, it would send his spiritual power into a berserk state, granting him a temporary surge in strength.

However, the side effects were severe—once the effects wore off, his body would enter an extremely weakened state, rendering him even weaker than a Postnatal Realm martial artist.

It would take at least ten days of rest to fully recover.

Unless it was an absolute crisis, this pill was never to be used lightly.

Hearing Mu Tian’s words, the others also took out their pills.

Previously, they had fought using only sword qi, avoiding close combat for fear of the Corpse Fiends' poison.

But now, their sword qi was useless, and their escape route had been sealed by the formation. They had no choice but to go all out.

They refused to believe that even with their spirit-infused swords, these Corpse Fiends' skulls would remain unbreakable!

Mu Tian swallowed the pill in one gulp, immediately activating his spiritual power.

In an instant, he felt a surge of uncontrollable energy, his strength swelling dramatically.

Knowing that the pill’s effects wouldn’t last long, he wasted no time. With a tremor of his sword, he shot forward, charging at the Corpse Fiends who were still absorbing the black mist. ȒàΝóBĘṤ

Seeing this, the others followed suit, consuming their pills before rushing into battle.

At this moment, Mu Tian, the first to take action, had already reached one of the Corpse Fiends.

With a single thrust of his sword, now infused with rampaging spiritual power, its sword light was sharper than ever, its speed reaching an extreme.

With just one strike, he pierced through the skull of a Corpse Fiend—something that had seemed impossible before.

As the impaled Corpse Fiend trembled violently, the black mist around it dissipated, and it fell lifelessly to the ground.

"It works!"

The others, seeing this, were overjoyed.

They immediately followed suit, striking down the Corpse Fiends one by one.

However, at this moment, the Corpse Fiends also launched their counterattack.

One by one, they swung their clawed hands, surrounding Mu Tian and his group.

Judging by the gusts of wind generated by their strikes, both their strength and speed had greatly increased, reaching the level of a Mid Precelestial Realm cultivator.

This village, Qiu Family Village, had a large population.

The number of Corpse Fiends in the village was at least in the dozens.

Dozens of Innate Stage Corpse Fiends attacking together—despite Mu Tian and his companions being strong cultivators, they were feeling the immense pressure.

Fortunately, these creatures were ultimately dead things. While their speed and strength had improved to the Innate Stage, their techniques remained crude.

Because of this, Mu Tian and his companions could still hold on, managing to strike down one Corpse Fiend after another.

Yet, as the surrounding black mist thickened, the Corpse Fiends grew even stronger.

They even began to coordinate their attacks, making the battle increasingly difficult.

Amidst the intense battle, Lu Qing’s side remained oddly peaceful.

Though he did not emit any aura, strangely, not a single Corpse Fiend dared to approach him.

Unfortunately, Mu Tian and his group were too preoccupied to notice this.

"Brother."

Xiao Yan, standing beside Lu Qing, also refrained from joining Zhao Feng and the others. Instead, she turned to look at Lu Qing.

"Go ahead. Do whatever it is you want to do."

Lu Qing, seeing through her intentions, encouraged her.

"I understand, Brother!"

With her brother’s approval, Xiao Yan felt reassured. She drew her sword, flickering forward, and stabbed a Corpse Fiend straight through the skull.

"Xiao Yan, be careful! These Corpse Fiends aren’t easy to handle!"

Seeing her arrival, Mu Tian and the others instinctively made room for her, allowing her to integrate into their formation.

"That little girl is still hiding her strength."

Lu Qing, watching from a distance, smiled slightly.

However, as he observed Mu Tian and his group's battle, he nodded slightly in approval.

Though these sect disciples lacked mental resilience, their character wasn’t bad.

At the very least, when faced with an enemy stronger than themselves, they still chose to fight, rather than cower or surrender.

"However... that guy wouldn’t just sit back and watch Xiao Yan and the others kill all his Corpse Fiends, would he?"

Lu Qing’s gaze subtly shifted toward a certain direction.

With his level of cultivation, the demonic cultivator was already within his divine sense perception.

He had long since pinpointed the enemy’s hiding place.

But this was Xiao Yan’s trial. Unless an uncontrollable situation arose, he would not intervene.

Sure enough, seeing his freshly refined Corpse Fiends being slaughtered like mere vegetables, the demonic cultivator lurking in the shadows could no longer sit still.

Originally, he had been active in Linzhou, only planning to raid villages, harvesting their blood essence for his cultivation.

Before the righteous sects could react, he intended to move to another province, never intending to make a big scene.

However, some time ago, he had abducted several villagers from Qiu Family Village.

By chance, he discovered that the villagers carried a unique bloodline.

After absorbing their blood essence, his cultivation surged, and the corpses left behind became extremely suitable for Corpse Refining.

As a demonic cultivator, such an opportunity to increase his strength was something he could never pass up.

Thus, he set up a Corpse Refining Formation in Qiu Family Village.

Not only did he drain the entire village of their blood essence, but he also transformed all the corpses into Corpse Fiends.

However, before he could properly utilize his creations, a group of righteous sect disciples had arrived.

Unfortunately, he was at a critical juncture of breaking through after absorbing the blood essence, making it inconvenient for him to take direct action.

He could only rely on his newly refined Corpse Fiends to hold off the intruders.

Yet, these righteous sect disciples were more troublesome than expected—even with the formation's support, the Corpse Fiends still couldn’t defeat them.

Watching his precious Corpse Fiends being cut down one by one, the demonic cultivator grew anxious.

These creatures, with their special bloodline, had immense potential. If they continued to be slaughtered, his losses would be immeasurable.

"You little brats, enough arrogance!"

In a fit of rage, the demonic cultivator formed a hand seal.

In the next moment, the ground trembled as three black coffins burst from the earth, landing heavily on the battlefield.