Chapter 33 - 28: A Matter of Life and Death

Shen Lang rolled his eyes and said through gritted teeth, "What do we do? What else can we do! You all are going to get me killed—hey, you, get over here!"

He beckoned to the brocade-robed young man.

"No, no, no, I can’t do it! My cultivation is only at the Initial Tier of the Qi Martial Realm. Even if you make me drink a Giant Potion, I still can’t beat an Iron Corpse!" The brocade-robed young man was on the verge of tears.

’This bastard must be getting revenge, revenge for my earlier disrespect!’

’Damn it, he wants me to drink a Giant Potion and then go all-out against an Iron Corpse. That’s like a three-year-old facing a giant. At best, I’ll just turn into a four-year-old. Still just a little brat, aren’t I? He might as well just cut me down and be done with it!’

’Besides, a Giant Potion is an incredibly precious item! How could some random person have one? The potion in this guy’s hand is such a weird color, who knows if it’s even a real Giant Potion. What if I drink it and just drop dead? Who would I even complain to then?’

"Still in a daze? We’re out of time!" Shen Lang beckoned, but the brocade-robed youth frantically waved his hands and backed away.

"Please, just let me go! I admit I was wrong, can’t you just drop it? I really can’t do it!" The brocade-robed youth, Deng Jianchen, was filled with bitter regret. ’If I’d known this would happen, why did I have to mock him? Now he’s got his sights on me. The other two ran off, and I’m stuck here to fight an Iron Corpse!’

’That’s an Iron Corpse! Even if it’s a little weaker in some ways, it’s still equivalent to a Spirit Martial Realm expert! I just broke through to the Qi Martial Realm Third Heaven. Even after drinking a Giant Potion, I wouldn’t be enough to get stuck in its teeth! This joke has gone way too far!’

’Just look at it! That Iron Corpse has a long tail! It just sent you flying and coughing up blood with one lash of that thing, and now you want me to fight it hand-to-hand? That’s a little too intense, don’t you think?’

’Wait a minute... I’ve never heard of Iron Corpses having tails.’

"A man can’t say he’s not up to the task!" Shen Lang said, his brow furrowed. "Besides, who told you to fight an Iron Corpse? You just need to hold off one of the Spirit Corpses. This gentleman and I will handle the Iron Corpses. Don’t worry. Are you this pretty lady’s friend or her guard? Even if that Spirit Corpse tears off your arms, your legs, and your head, she’ll be sure to remember you forever!"

"..." Deng Jianchen’s hands trembled so much he almost dropped his longsword. ’Losing my arms and legs is one thing, but my head too, for crying out loud? What good would Qingwu remembering me forever do then? I just wanted to get a little closer to her, that’s the only reason I shamelessly tagged along. I never planned on making a declaration of love like this.’

"You’re impossible..." Shui Qingwu protested, her face flushing red.

At this moment, the Iron Corpse trapped in the Illusion Array grew increasingly violent. It was going berserk inside the array, its huge tail constantly lashing the surrounding rocks. A fierce wind kicked up, sending boulders flying in a terrifying scene.

In that short time, Uncle Zhou, who had moved away to slay the Demon Corpses to cover his embarrassment, returned, breathing heavily. While the Demon Corpses were numerous, they had no Spiritual Wisdom and weren’t being controlled by a Spirit Corpse, so they were little more than walking piles of scrap metal. He had cut them all down in a matter of moments.

’My hands are a little numb from all that chopping...’ Uncle Zhou thought to himself.

"Alright, the Illusion Array is about to break. If we keep dithering, we’re all going to die here. You might want to die, but I don’t." Shen Lang impatiently took two steps forward, grabbed Deng Jianchen by the collar, and prepared to force the potion down his throat.

"I’ll drink it! I’ll drink it... Please, can’t you be less rough? Let me keep a little dignity, my family is quite renowned in the Imperial Capital... GULP GULP..." Deng Jianchen muttered the last part, but didn’t even get to finish his sentence.

Seeing him down the Giant Potion, Shen Lang let out a breath of relief. He grinned at Shui Qingwu and Uncle Zhou, who were staring wide-eyed. "My problem is I’m just too polite, otherwise this wouldn’t have dragged on for so long... I just realized that, which is why I might have been a little forceful just now. Okay, our brother here has taken the Giant Potion. Look, his aura is skyrocketing. He’s ready to go. The effect only lasts for fifteen minutes. Pretty lady, you and he will each stall a Spirit Corpse. Uncle Zhou, I’ll trouble you to tie up one of the Iron Corpses. Leave the other one to me. We have to take down one of the Iron Corpses within fifteen minutes. Whether we live or die depends on all of us."

Before anyone could speak, he suddenly thought of something and added, "Martial Souls can only be used for a short time, but this is the final moment. Don’t hold back."

"Hey..." Deng Jianchen jumped. ’When the hell was I ready?! My hands are still shaking!’

The expressions of the other two weren’t much better than his.

Shui Qingwu’s face was as red as an apple; Shen Lang had called her "pretty lady" a few times now.

As for Uncle Zhou, he stared at Shen Lang in utter disbelief, rendered speechless... He was stunned. With his cultivation at the Peak of Qi Martial Realm, he could only hope to briefly stall an Iron Corpse, and that was with the help of his Flying Spiritual Artifact. A direct confrontation was out of the question. Yet this Ghost-faced Person, who sounded so young, just declared he was going to *kill* an Iron Corpse!

’Then again, the cultivation he revealed earlier was truly formidable,’ Uncle Zhou thought. ’If he also drinks a Giant Potion like Deng Jianchen, then with his Thunder Element Technique and that powerful Spiritual Artifact... maybe it’s not impossible. I’ll bet on it!’ Uncle Zhou nodded grimly, then spun around and launched himself into the air.

At the same time, a giant axe appeared behind him. It was an extremely rare Divine Axe Martial Soul!

However, if he knew that Shen Lang didn’t have a second Giant Potion on him, one wonders if he would still be charging so bravely toward the Iron Corpse.

Shui Qingwu flicked her hand, and a Talisman ignited, which she slapped onto her body. Immediately, a faint barrier of light enveloped her.

Then, a giant immortal crane materialized behind her. Its cry echoed through the sky.

She gave Shen Lang a charming smile and charged toward one of the Spirit Corpses.

"..." Unfortunately, Deng Jianchen had wanted to say a few impressive words, but before he could even get them out, he felt a push from behind. Caught off guard, he stumbled and went staggering toward the other Spirit Corpse.

’Alright, if I’m going to die, so be it. At least I’ll die by Qingwu’s side...’ With that thought, Deng Jianchen felt the power surge through him, and a wave of heroic bravado washed over him. He released his Leopard Martial Soul and bellowed, "You sons of bitches, I’m here! Time to die!"

Shen Lang watched the three of them charge with a cold gaze. His Divine Thought immediately locked onto one of the Iron Corpses. With a flick of his left wrist, he produced a handful of powder.

He hadn’t told Shui Qingwu and the others the truth. The two more powerful creatures at the back were not Iron Corpses, but Gu Corpses—which possessed higher Spiritual Wisdom and were much harder to deal with!

Iron Corpses don’t grow tails. Uncle Zhou and the others actually knew this, but in the heat of the crisis, none of them had stopped to think about it.

So-called Gu Corpses were created when Demonic Cultivators fed a type of Poisonous Insect that would burrow into a corpse, take control of it, and use the body to strengthen itself.

The physical body of this kind of Gu Corpse wasn’t very strong, as many were made from recently deceased bodies, unlike Demon Corpses.

The most formidable part of a Gu Corpse wasn’t the corpse, but the Poisonous Insect within!

This Gu Corpse before him was able to send Shen Lang flying and coughing up blood with a single lash of its tail, despite his speed. Such speed and power were already horrifying.

Facing such a Gu Corpse, he happened to have some materials among his collection that could slightly restrain it, which was why Shen Lang was preparing to fight with everything he had!

But it would be a desperate fight, and nothing more.

As for the outcome, it was truly impossible to predict.

Because even if he used Burst, his cultivation wouldn’t rise to a level where he could contend with such a Gu Corpse, not even with the Celestial Water Blade, a Second Grade Profound Artifact, in hand.

He didn’t dare use the Lover’s Arrow that Hong Yu gave him. The Murong Family was powerful. If someone discovered it and tracked him here, he, Hong Yu, and the Shen Family would all face annihilation.

Although the Thunder Control Divine Technique was powerful, the small amount of Spiritual Power in his body, when converted to Thunder Power, was just a drop in the bucket. It would be difficult to deal with the Gu Corpse, and High Tier Killing Techniques were out of the question.

Of the many cultivation techniques in his mind, the only one he could use at his current level of cultivation and physical strength was the Divine Blade Prison Guardian Technique, which Hong Yu had once forced him to use.

’Forget it. Whether I get flayed alive or end up paralyzed, there’s no other choice... So unlucky...’ Shen Lang shook his head violently to clear the stray thoughts, his eyes narrowing as a sharp glint flashed within them.

"End this quickly. Burst!"

Shen Lang’s foot slammed onto the ground, and the sound of a violent thunderstorm rang out. The next second, he had turned into a blurry black shadow, shooting toward the Gu Corpse like a phantom!

At that very moment, the Illusion Array was finally torn to shreds by the Gu Corpse and Spirit Corpses.

The last Gu Corpse turned its head. Gazing at the black shadow that was as fast as a thunderbolt, it let out a tyrannical roar. A continuous stream of Corpse Qi flowed rapidly from its body, surging like a storm.

Although Shen Lang’s cultivation was vastly inferior to the Gu Corpse’s, when he activated the Thunder Control Divine Technique, the Thunder Power swirling around his body was not to be underestimated.

This Thunder Power was the power of Supreme Yang and Firmness, the absolute nemesis of Dark Attribute Energy like Corpse Qi and Demonic Qi. Because of this, the Gu Corpse showed a hint of wariness.

The Celestial Water Blade was a Profound Artifact, a Divine Weapon capable of sealing an Artifact Spirit. Furthermore, it contained a Thunder Spirit Array Map that Shen Lang himself had inscribed. Combined with his Thunder Control Divine Technique, its power was astonishing.

The blade’s light, saturated with Thunder Power, burst forth from the Celestial Water Blade and instantly clashed with the Gu Corpse. The fierce collision of the two forces immediately drew the gazes of the other three.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of metal striking metal resounded through the area as countless sparks and arcs of electricity erupted from the point of impact between the Celestial Water Blade and the Gu Corpse.