However, no matter how powerful it was, it couldn't withstand the slow, relentless grinding of water like a river wearing away stone. In the end, it finally gained control of the demon corpse's primordial spirit after eighteen days.
The communication with the spirit was successful, and control over everything related to the demon corpse was achieved.
As for the corpse refining process before the spiritual connection, Wu Hua had cultivated for thousands of years and already possessed the strength of a Golden Armored Corpse King, thus saving Jiang Liu the long corpse refining time.
With this helper, their strength has risen to another level.
Having cultivated for thousands of years, Wu Hua's zombie body had reached its peak. His body, inside and out, was as solid as an iron ingot, impervious to ordinary flying swords, and could serve as a mobile shield. In his lifetime, he was the ruler of the ancient mountain people, skilled in archery and also formidable in close combat, capable of both offense and defense.
Jiang Liu wanted to fully arm him, but after searching through the storage space, he couldn't find any suitable equipment.
In the end, they equipped themselves with bronze halberds and forged some arrows.
Jiang Liu then spent several more days cultivating the "Mysterious Female True Explanation," consuming all of the "Gathering Soul and Refining Form Pill." He originally intended to save one for Xie Hong to help him recover from the damage to his heroic spirit.
However, since the second primordial spirit was destroyed by the white-haired dragon girl, the only way to quickly condense the primordial spirit is to use the "Soul Gathering and Form Refining Pill".
By the time he restored his second primordial spirit to its pre-damage state, it was around the Dragon Boat Festival in May.
Chapter 113 Battle Against the Demon Corpse
Jiang Liu calculated the time; with the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, the extermination of the eight demons in Qingluoyu should be drawing to a close.
"The eccentric beggar Ling Hun probably already knows the Heavenly Book Jade Box is missing, but he might not know it was me. Green-robed Ancestor, you'll have to take the blame for me again! However, Ling Hun's attempt to establish his sect has failed, so he'll definitely come looking for the White-haired Dragon Girl. I can't stay here... If he finds out I killed his wife, the consequences will be unimaginable! That old madman will definitely seek revenge, it looks like another bloodbath is coming! Demons and heretics, hold your nerve!"
He recalculated the plot he knew, and concluded that Wen Zhu would surely be killed, and the Qian Tian Fire Spirit Pearl would inevitably fall into the hands of Emei. As for which third-generation disciple would have it, he did not know yet.
As for the raging flames that trapped Emei's Ningbi Cliff, the Green-Robed Ancestor, who was crucial in absorbing the fire, is already dead; it's uncertain whether that will happen again. The theft of the Wen Jade, however, is definitely not going to happen again.
The rest involves obtaining the purifying water from Ziyun Palace, exterminating the demon corpse at Baiyang Mountain, and acquiring treasures from Yuanjiang. After that, it will be the events following the establishment of the Emei Palace.
Jiang Liu stretched his muscles and bones, then with a burst of energy, his body emitted a dense and rhythmic series of explosive sounds. Starting from his neck, his spine vibrated, followed by his hip bones, thighs, knees, shins, toes, arms, and fingers—every muscle and bone in his body throbbed and pulsated.
"Let's go check out Wuhua Tomb! Right now, the most important thing is the treasures of the Holy Mausoleum. Once we get these two treasures, we can retire gracefully."
After reviewing the plan, the man and the corpse headed towards the Wuhua Ancient Tomb.
The demon corpse Wu Hua was refined into a golden-armored corpse king, losing all its intelligence but retaining its fighting spirit. Its strength not only did not diminish, but because it was no longer restrained by emotions, it was even slightly stronger than before.
By successfully refining the Wuhua Clan, Jiang Liu also gained some information unknown to outsiders. Among the most important were the plan to steal the treasures of the Sacred Tomb, the strength of the Three Corpses, and information about the Wuhua Ancient Tomb.
According to Wu Hua's memories, the strongest was the Corpse Demon Qiongqi. This monster was an ancient great demon whose physical body sank into the Netherworld Palace of the Earth Veins after its death. After thousands of years of cultivation, it became a demon corpse.
Qiongqi was originally one of the four ancient ferocious beasts. Although it is dead, its body has become a zombie, which is much more powerful than an ordinary old zombie. It has also obtained a bit of the ferocious energy of the beast in life, making it extremely powerful.
Back then, when the Wu Hua father and son joined forces to fight Qiongqi, they were evenly matched.
The second strongest was Rong Dun, the son of Wu Hua. He was born with the malevolent energy of heaven and earth, and possessed divine strength from a young age. He could fight flying dragons with his bare hands and tear apart rhinoceroses and elephants. After death, he became a zombie, and the malevolent energy in his heart became even stronger. His strength was only slightly weaker than Qiongqi.
As for Wu Hua, he was merely an ancient mountain dweller and ruler, nothing particularly special. His zombie form was simply an ordinary demon corpse. It was only through long enough cultivation that he became an old zombie.
Although he had always been one step ahead of Rong Dun, it was only because Rong Dun, as his father, had always held back.
Back when he fought against Master Baiyang, Rong Dun was the first to charge into battle, but in the end, Wu Hua was the one who was most seriously injured, almost losing his soul. He has not recovered even after decades of cultivation.
Jiang Liu read this memory, but secretly wiped away a cold sweat. If it had been Rong Dun he had encountered before, he definitely wouldn't have been able to successfully ambush him with just a "Vajra Divine Rocket." Even if he had succeeded, it would have been difficult to refine him into a Golden Armored Corpse King.
Given that the Wuhua Ancient Tomb is guarded by two powerful deities, forcing one's way in would be the least effective approach, especially when the enemy is stronger than oneself.
With a little trickery, he got the old zombie Wu Hua to grab him and head towards the tomb.
"Father, you're finally back!"
Rong Dun was a big, burly man, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, like a small mountain. His fists were bigger than Jiang Liu's head, and they were dark and heavy, as if they were made of fine steel.
His eyes were also a deep blue, exuding a fierce aura. If an ordinary person were to be glared at by him, they would be terrified.
Although he was born with the fickle energy of heaven and earth and had countless conflicts with the Wuhua clan over the past few thousand years, they were still father and son and had feelings for each other. For the past month, he had wanted to go out and search for his father every time, but Qiongqi had dissuaded him. He was waiting for the forty-nine days to pass, for the heavenly tribulation to pass, and for the heavenly demons to disperse, so that he could go out and avenge his father.
Now that Wu Huashi has returned, he is naturally overjoyed.
Only the corpse demon Qiongqi stood in the darkness, staring coldly at Jiang Liu and Wu Hua with its large, dark green eyes.
"Father……"
"Whoosh..."
The bronze halberd thrust forward suddenly, piercing Rong Dun's abdomen in the blink of an eye. Even the body of a Corpse King could not withstand such an attack.
With a cold look, Wu Hua thrust and dragged the bronze halberd, disemboweling his own son Rong Dun.
"Roar... You're not my father anymore!"
With this roar, a pair of fists slammed down with tremendous force, sending rocks flying and creating a huge crater in the ground, as if it had been hit by a cannonball and exploded.
Wu Hua wielded the bronze halberd with impenetrable force, like a sudden storm, relentlessly pounding on Rong Dun's body.
Fortunately, he was a zombie, so such external injuries were not fatal. If it were a human cultivator, their body would have already decayed and they would be dead.
In an instant, he took out an identical bronze halberd from behind him and engaged in battle with Wu Hua.
As for the ferocious beast Qiongqi, it also spewed out a cloud of black mist the moment Wuhua made his move, which immediately enveloped the area. Anything covered by the black mist, whether stone or metal, corroded and melted at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This is Qiongqi's innate divine power, the "black aura" cultivated for three thousand years.
"眚" means disaster or misfortune. The ancients said that when the moon encroaches on the sun, it is considered a "眚".
Qiongqi is one of the four ferocious beasts. In its lifetime, its "black aura" blotted out the sky and could corrode the sun and moon. Although most of it dissipated after death, a trace of ferocity still lingered within its corpse. Transformed into a demonic corpse, it no longer possessed the great magical power it once had, nor could it remember anything from its past life, relying solely on instinct to cultivate.
But relying on this "black aura," he has never been defeated!
Any flying sword or magical artifact that comes into contact with this "black aura" will lose all its spiritual energy, making it the most filthy thing in the world!
Jiang Liu suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils flashing with a sharp light, like a sudden burst of thunder.
The palm lightning then blasted towards the black mist.
Lightning is extremely yang and powerful, not only possessing formidable offensive capabilities but also having a strong amplifying effect on demons and evil spirits.
But when the lightning struck the black mist, it flashed for a second, like an incandescent light bulb with insufficient voltage, and was extinguished.
Jiang Liu frowned. It was difficult to summon heavenly thunder within this tomb, and the palm thunder he unleashed was insufficient to break through this extremely evil black mist. In an instant, he summoned the "Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Ruler," nine golden flowers of pure Yang protecting him. As the black mist enveloped him, the golden flowers flickered and faded, barely managing to block the black mist's erosion.
Moreover, the gold flower was dim, and it seemed that it could be broken at any time.
Author's Note on Launch
The novel "Journey to the West: All Realms" will be available for purchase tomorrow at 12 noon.
Having come this far, I have many feelings!
In any case, I would like to first thank all the readers who have supported and encouraged Qiu Hong, thank the Yuewen platform, and my editor Beihe. Thank you!
Enough with the chit-chat, the purpose of this separate chapter is to ask for subscriptions! Please subscribe!!! Please subscribe!!! (I'm saying it three times because it's important!)
Bonus chapters for subscribers, monthly pass holders, and those who donate!
I guarantee at least three chapters every day starting from when it goes on sale!
One extra chapter for every 100 subscribers!
The monthly pass has increased by 100, so I'll add an extra chapter!
An extra chapter will be added for the appearance of a new hall master!
Two extra chapters will be added for the appearance of a Dharma Protector!
Three extra chapters will be added for the appearance of a sect leader!
...
Please feel free to torture me!
In conclusion, please continue to support Qiu Hong, and let's look forward to new and exciting developments in "Journey to the West"!
Chapter 114 Subduing Qiongqi (First Update)
It's better to break one finger than to injure all ten. Jiang Liu blocked the black mist and then attacked Rong Dun.
Wu Hua launched a sneak attack that severely injured Rong Dun, but in just a few breaths, Rong Dun actually turned the tables and suppressed Wu Hua. In an instant, Rong Dun thrust out nine bronze halberds, creating nine holes in Wu Hua's chest.
As expected of an ancient demon corpse born from the perverse energy of heaven and earth, it recovered from the sneak attack and instantly crushed Wu Hua.
Jiang Liu's face was as still as water. He released the "Vajra Divine Rocket" and at the same time, two electric snakes struck Rong Dun, burrowing into the body of the demon corpse along the bronze halberd.
At the same time, the "Golden Rocket" was nailed to Rong Dun's forehead.
Rong Dun roared in agony, pulling the arrow out with his left hand to reveal a pair of bloodshot eyes. Pain, rage, bloodlust, and killing intent mingled together, and a fierce aura surged into the sky as he raised his bronze halberd and swung it.
Jiang Liu could clearly feel that his speed and strength had been greatly reduced, indicating that his primordial spirit had been injured.
Jiang Liu dodged the attack of the bronze halberd by sidestepping, and then rushed up to the body of the demon corpse Rong Dun.
Rong Dun swung his spear, his eyes bloodshot as if dripping blood, but he could only watch helplessly as Jiang Liu approached.
"Bang!"
With a single punch, a muffled thud resounded, as if it had struck a large iron ingot... no, even a large iron ingot would have been smashed to pieces by Jiang Liu's fist, yet his body remained completely unharmed.
This is the defensive power of the flying zombie; it can withstand the attack of flying swords with its bare body. Only a sharp weapon like the Purple and Green Twin Swords could possibly break through its defenses.
Of course, if someone also possessed the immense strength of Wu Hua, they could also engage in close combat with weapons.
Jiang Liu withdrew his fist, sat cross-legged with his arms crossed, and gathered his vital energy into his dantian, whereupon the illusion of a tortoise and snake suddenly appeared.
The tortoise and snake coil together, their life force is strong, yet they can grow golden lotuses even in fire.
With a surge of vital energy within his body, an illusion suddenly appeared behind him, materializing into the true form of the True Martial Emperor, a tortoise and a snake intertwined. The tortoise and the snake, one in motion and one still, majestically suppressed Jiang Liu behind him, standing tall and firm.
The power of true martial arts, the "Boom" technique.
In close combat, no one in the Shu Mountain world is more skilled than Jiang Liu. As his body swayed, even the surrounding air seemed to gather, and when he threw a punch, not a single gust of wind was produced.
There was no wind, but Rong Dun's crimson fur seemed to be blown by a strong wind, drifting backward on its own without any wind.
It's not about "the strength of one state"; such a trump card isn't suitable for group battles, and using it would render the opponent ineffective.
The fist landed on the demon corpse, embedding itself an inch deep. As the fist was withdrawn and struck again, an extremely rapid hissing sound, along with a series of air explosions, came from within the tomb.
The sound of air exploding was a sonic boom produced when speed exceeds the speed of sound. Vibrating ripples of air vibration could be clearly seen in the center of the fist.