The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

The tide of black figures surged forward, closing to within fifty meters of Lii Yunge and her group in mere moments. The disciples finally got a clear look at them. They were Corpse People clad in uniform black armor. Though mottled with rust, the armor still emanated a brutal, bloodthirsty aura that made everyone’s blood run cold.

This new group of Corpse People was nothing like the ones they had faced before.

The Black Armored Corpse People shrieked, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. With no time to think, Lii Yunge and the others braced for impact. Two tides crashed into one another—one of mindless, bloodthirsty Corpse People, the other of elite disciples from two of the most powerful sects.

The instant the two forces collided, a violent pressure erupted, surging skyward.

Palm Force, Sword Qi, and the glint of blades filled the air. The earth trembled and trees shattered under the onslaught. Lii Yunge and the others quickly discovered that these Corpse People were far stronger than any they had faced before; each one possessed the combat strength of an Earth Element Realm cultivator.

Not even ten seconds into the battle, their side had already sustained casualties. Several disciples with weaker cultivation were torn to shreds, their throats ripped out—a level of carnage they had never witnessed in their previous fights.

What concerned Lii Yunge more was the drain on her True Essence. It was vanishing far faster than usual—nearly ten times the rate of a normal battle. This meant fighting these Corpse People was costing her ten times the normal amount of True Essence. The realization secretly horrified her. ’Damn it, what’s going on? Is this happening to everyone else?’

Just then, Chu Lingfeng blasted back several Black Armored Corpse People with a wave of his hand and moved to Lii Yunge’s side. "Junior Sister Lii, have you noticed? The drain on my True Essence is abnormally fast—over a dozen times the usual rate."

Lii Yunge’s expression turned grim as she nodded.

"It’s poison! There’s poison in the mist!"

Fang Yu exclaimed, his expression shifting. He specialized in the Poisonous Great Trend, so the drain on his True Essence was much slower than the others, but now he too had finally noticed the purple mist’s bizarre nature. "This mist contains a trace amount of toxin, it’s almost imperceptible. Even I didn’t detect it right away."

The poison had been accumulating in their bodies over time, and its effects finally flared up just as the Black Armored Corpse People arrived. Lii Yunge said, "That Third Elder of the Dragon Emperor Hall was truly insidious, setting up his residence in a place like this. No wonder Qin Ya said we weren’t ready to explore this area."

Chu Lingfeng bristled at her words. "So what if he was right?" he said coldly. "He’s not here to save us now. We should be thinking about how to retreat. Damn it, there are so many of these Corpse People."

He unleashed a cold palm strike, and a powerful wave of Palm Qi blasted several charging Black Armored Corpse People away. But the creatures merely writhed on the ground for a moment before shrieking and getting back to their feet. Chu Lingfeng’s attack hadn’t been enough to kill them in a single blow.

As time wore on, the battle grew more ferocious. Both the Vast Sea Divine Palace and Purple Cloud Heavenly Mountain sects suffered heavy losses. With no other choice, Lii Yunge and the others ordered a retreat, but the sheer number of Black Armored Corpse People bogged them down, slowing their escape to a crawl.

SWISH SWISH SWISH...

At that moment, several black shapes whipped out from the purple mist. A few Purple Cloud Disciples were struck and instantly snapped in half at the waist. The sudden turn of events shocked everyone. Fixing their gazes, they saw that the black shapes were actually thick, vine-like tentacles.

The tentacles were covered in sharp-toothed, drooling maws, a nauseating sight that made one’s skin crawl. Looking toward the source of the tentacles, they saw a colossal dark silhouette slowly approaching.

"What is that thing?"

"Damn it. Whatever it is, we’re in deep trouble."

The silhouette emerged from the mist. As everyone looked, their pupils contracted and their scalps tingled with dread. It was a monstrous creature, its body a giant sphere from which sprouted countless tentacles. They thrashed through the air, creating a constant, sharp sound as they sliced through it.

"Holy crap, that thing is hideous."

"It’s... a Giant Corpse Monster. Now we’re really in for it."

The Giant Corpse Monster’s tentacles whipped about like a passing hurricane. Everything in their path—Black Armored Corpse People, humans, and trees alike—was snapped in two. The battlefield instantly became the monster’s personal slaughterhouse. Everywhere one looked, there was only carnage.

Suddenly, a tentacle lashed toward Lii Yunge, the air humming as if being torn apart. Lii Yunge had just slain two Black Armored Corpse People and, for a split second, her guard was down. The tentacle was already within three meters of her.

In that critical moment, a sharp cry rang out. "Sister Lii, look out!"

It was followed by a brilliant flash of Sword Qi that instantly severed the nigh-indestructible tentacle. Foul-smelling green blood splattered everywhere. The Giant Corpse Monster let out an earth-shattering wail, its countless tentacles thrashing even more violently.

"Yue’er?!" Lii Yunge was both shocked and furious, her face a mask of cold anger. "What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to stay away? You are being completely reckless!"

The thought that Shangguan Yue had been following her this whole time, somehow surviving the onslaught of all those Corpse People, made a wave of terror wash over her.

"Alright, Sister Lii, let’s focus on the problem at hand," Shangguan Yue said with a grin, moving to stand back-to-back with Lii Yunge as they scanned their surroundings.

"Hmph. I’ll deal with you when we get back."

With the appearance of the Giant Corpse Monster, the tide of battle turned sharply against the disciples of the two sects. Lii Yunge and the other most powerful cultivators reached a silent consensus and launched their attacks at the beast. "Hah! Leaving the Air Slash!"

"Moon Shadow Over the Wilderness!"

"Origin Restoration Gale Palm!"

In an instant, Sword Qi sliced through the air and Palm Qi ravaged the ground.

The Giant Corpse Monster roared in fury. Its countless tentacles whipped around to form a defensive screen. Amidst the explosions of impact, sprays of green blood erupted, but the monster suffered no fatal injuries. The attacks only served to enrage it further.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Shangguan Yue cried out in pain. The cloth on her right shoulder was torn, revealing a bloody gash beneath. In a moment of carelessness, she had been struck by one of the Giant Corpse Monster’s tentacles.

"Yue’er!" Lii Yunge cried out. She immediately unleashed a wave of Sword Qi, instantly clearing away the Black Armored Corpse People that had started to swarm Shangguan Yue.

"Sister Lii, I’m alright!"

Shangguan Yue circulated her True Essence to staunch the bleeding, then gripped her longsword and threw herself back into the fray. Lii Yunge said, "This isn’t working! There are too many of these Corpse People, and with the unnatural drain on our True Essence, we’ll be ground down and killed if we stay. We have to break out."

"That Giant Corpse Monster is a problem," Chu Lingfeng said coldly. "The reach of its tentacles is too great. As long as it’s here, we can’t organize an effective retreat. We have to kill it first."

"Yue’er!!"

Just then, a deep voice called out from the distance. Everyone looked over to see a young man in white robes holding a black spear. Wreathed in purple flames, he looked like a great fireball as he streaked toward them at incredible speed.

The young man’s figure was perfectly clear; the purple mist seemed to recoil from him as if it had met its nemesis, unable to penetrate the three-meter halo of fire that surrounded him.