The Immortal’s Poison

Xiaowu exerted her full force in urging her life vitality. She cruised around in the spacious and enormous mountain valley. The Weeping Staff in her hand knocked onto the ground without a moment’s pause. The open space in the mountain did not react like how when she usually cast her magic, where some corpses or ghosts would scurry out of the ground. Other than the empty echoes that were produced from the repeated knocking, there was no other movement on the ground.

Qin Zhui listened to the thundering footsteps that were approaching closer and closer. The expression on his face grew more and more anxious. Before his eyes, Xiaowu was already so swift he could not see her shadow, yet there was still not an unusual sign that was seen on Hanba’s mountain valley. Fifth Brother Hanba seemed to have no intention of appearing at all. The expression of uncertainty also slowly arose in Nineteen’s eyes. She stretched out her delicate hand quietly and held Qin Zhui’s hand.

Qin Zhui could only feel as a stretch of warm gentleness touched on his hand. His ugly face was beaming with joy, he was about to puff up his chest and speak a few heroic words when the surroundings turned quiet all of a sudden! The sound of Landhoppers’ footsteps was still roaring and thundering as before. The sudden silence did not mean that there was no sound but there was a gush of gloominess that suddenly befell without a sign. That turned every other sensation into gloomy numbness all at once!

At that moment, Nineteen and Qin Zhui shivered in unison. It was baffling cold! Based on their cultivation base, they would not feel any difference even if they were to suddenly fall from the equator onto the Jianggendiru Glacier, yet the cold that they felt was unrelated to temperature.

Which one would be colder? A dead man’s finger or a thousand-year-old glacier?

The entire mountain valley was suddenly spreading with the gloomy cold that was unseen and untouchable, yet it made one’s heart and soul felt like dying!

Xiaowu had since stopped jumping about. Her lethargic gaze was shimmering with the excitement and eagerness to try. There was also the fear of causing a big trouble in her eyes. She leaped back to the crowd as she pulled them along and ran quickly into the depth of the mountain valley. Then, they stopped moving. Her two hands were fiddling through her backpack, looking for something.

In addition to her exerting her full force to urge life vitality into launching some peculiar magic spell earlier and the continuous running, Xiaowu had almost exhausted all her strength. Her little face was a stretch of ghastly pale, her breathing sounded apparently heavier. She stood for a moment before she forthrightly sat onto the ground.

Nineteen gathered her life vitality in order to protect her own primordial spirit from the Yin energy. She inhaled a deep breath then asked Xiaowu, “Are you going to summon the zombies to deal with the barbaric Landhoppers?”

It was only then Qin Zhui was suddenly enlightened. He scolded himself in his heart for being confused. In the corpse-forming land, of course, the reinforcement Xiaowu found were the zombies…

Qinling Mountain was also known as the South Mountain. It had been recognized as the hometown of the heaven’s deity and land’s deity since the ancient times. It was also where the dragon vein of the world was at. It was where the so-called ‘dragon veins of Junshan Island were formed!’

Generally, in most spiritual mountains and rolling hills, there would always be a spot that was known as the Yin’s mountain eye, while the other spot was known as the Yang’s mountain eye. The prior one would condense the malevolent energy in the Yin part of the mountain, while the latter would gather the gale fire of the mountain rock.

This stretch of mountain valley was situated right on Yin’s mountain eye of the Qinling Mountains’ dragon vein. The dragon vein separated the Yin and Yang’s mountain eyes. Amongst them, the Yin’s eye was situated below while the Yang’s eye was above. There was only one such arrangement where the tail of the heaven’s dragon was suppressing the Yin energy, while the horn of the heaven’s dragon was lifting Yang energy here in the entire world. The Grand Master Mi Xu personally picked this mountain that gathered the utmost Yin energy in the world and used it as the land to refine corpse figurines. After Fifth Brother Hanba was severely injured, he also came to this spot to recuperate. This was also the birthplace of Darling Xiaowu.

Nineteen and Qin Zhui did not understand this Art of Geomancy Fengshui but the telegnosis ability in their bodies was very sensitive in detecting the changes in Yin and Yang energy. Especially after Xiaowu used the Weeping Staff to wave about for a long while, the gloomy and deathly energy started enshrouding rhythmically from the mountain’s Yin eye. It was apparent that something incisive was about to bore out of there.

Xiaowu was engrossed in looking for something. She did not even raise her head as she answered, “It is not the zombies but the corpse figurines, the thirty thousand heaven-killing corpse figurines that were formed under the Yin’s eye of the dragon vein in two thousand years!”

Grand Master Mi Xu was helping the Han dynasty’s noblemen to run some errands back then. He was tasked to forge figurines that would help to guard the noblemen’s tombs. This place was the biggest achievement in his entire lifetime. He spent forty years and finally planted thirty thousand corpse figurines in this Yin’s eye of the dragon vein! The corpse figurines were forged from living humans. They were mostly warriors and brave soldiers in life. They were people who were courageous and ruthless. When they died, they suffered from all sorts of agony that prevented their malevolent energy from spreading away. In the end, they were nourished by the Yin’s coldness of the heaven and earth for two thousand years. Other than Fifth Brother Hanba and Xiaowu, there was no one else in the world that knew how terrifying these corpse figurines were.

Qin Zhui sniggered softly, “I did not expect that Fifth Brother Hanba possessed such a great force …”

Before he could finish his sentence, Chang Li laughed and interrupted him, “All of your skulls are made of wood! These corpse figurines’ spiritual intelligence is not activated yet. They only know how to kill. Let alone Hanba, even the Yamaraja is incapable of controlling them!”

Cone Nail laughed and continued, “Based on my judgment, Hanba was only borrowing the figurines’ corpse energy to cultivate and recuperate. The corpse figurines absorbed the malevolent energy, yet they were sealed and would not budge at all, while Mi Xu and Hanba could extract their Yin’s primordial energy to cultivate the Art of Corpse at any time.”

Orange, candies, jewelry, digital watch… Xiaowu fiddled in the backpack that she carried along with her for a long while. She finally procured black-colored scale-like items from the base of the bag. It was only then she exhaled a long breath. She looked towards the others, her little face was in all seriousness, “The two sisters are right…”

Cone Nail and Chang Li were at a loss of whether to cry or laugh as they gazed into one another. They did not know since when did they just become Xiaowu’s sisters. At this rate, the next time they met Fifth Brother Hanba, should they be calling him the great uncle?

Xiaowu continued, “As compared to ordinary zombies, the power of the corpse figurines exceeded by a thousand times. However, ultimately, they are still deadly creatures with no intelligence and are bloodthirsty. They will kill the moment they see a living human, there is no one that is capable of controlling them at all…”

Qin Zhui could not help but mutter to himself softly, “Then, what is the point of growing them?”

Nineteen gave a forced laugh as she emphasized to him once again, “For cultivation! Fifth Brother Hanba depended on these corpse figurines to cultivate!”

Darling Xiaowu straightforwardly ignored Qin Zhui, she spoke faster now, “Grand Master Mi Xu was afraid that they would escape and cause harm in the mortal world back then. So, he applied a seal and also invited Grand Master Lue Luo to help him to use the Art of Witchcraft to wipe away the corpse’s muscles.”

No one other than Xiaowu understood what the corpse’s muscles were. Xiaowu also did not bother to explain but continued on her own accord, “Without the corpse’s muscles, even if these corpse figurines were to be awakened, they would never wander everywhere, they would remain on the same spot unmoved. Only if the living humans were to enter, then they will kill the living humans!”

Everyone’s eyes brightened. They had already understood Xiaowu’s intention. The corpse figurines would never leave this place but any trespassers in the Yin’s mountain eye of the Qinling Mountains would be torn apart by the corpses. The Landhoppers advanced forward with an indomitable will. As long as the three enemies who killed the big-mustached man were still hiding in the mountain valley, they would still dash towards them continuously.

This was a pair of innate opposing sides. They could only judge if the Landhoppers were more savage or the corpse figurines were crueler.

As Darling Xiaowu noticed that the crowd had understood her intention, she nodded and laughed, “After the corpse figurines are done cleaning up the Landhoppers, they will stop moving. As for how can they be placed back into their original spot, the father will think of a way hereafter!” Ever since Fifth Brother Hanba broke an arm and was severely injured in the Miao stockade village, he returned to this place and recuperated. However, when he was cultivating his power to heal his injuries, he would need to meditate in his corpse form, he was utterly unaware of the situation that took place on the outside.

Qin Zhui was joyous initially, yet when he suddenly remembered that he was a living human as well and that the corpse figurines were about to be awakened soon, he was afraid that the corpse figurines would kill them first before they dealt with the Landhoppers. His mouth was agape as he was about to say something. Nineteen shook her head and gave a forced laugh helplessly, “Of course Darling has a way to stop the corpse figurines from bothering us.”

Xiaowu opened up her palm. She revealed the black-colored scales that she procured from her backpack earlier, “All of you shall use this to cover up the soles of your feet, the pulse points on your wrists and your belly buttons. The corpse figurines will not identify all of you as living humans then!”

Red Pot croaked. It started pondering on the locations of the pulse points on its wrists and its belly button.

Xiaowu also did not waste time talking nonsense anymore. Within Cone Nail and Chang Li’s heartless chuckle, she used the peculiar scales to help everyone including the golden monkey to seal the soles of their feet, the pulse points on their wrists and their belly buttons. When she was done bustling about, she held Red Pot and the fainted ‘You’ve Got Me’ in her arms.

The striations on the black-colored scales appeared ordinary. There were no ancient scripts on it and it appeared unappealing. Other than feeling slightly cold for a moment after it was pasted onto the body, there was no other special sensation. Qin Zhui had a kind heart, he watched as Darling Xiaowu was bustling about helping the crowd to stick the scales, he asked affectionately, “How about you then?”

Xiaowu exhaled a long breath. She peeled an orange strenuously, “I am the embodiment of primordial Yang but I was born out of the figurine pit. The corpse figurines will never hurt me, Red Pot and ‘You’ve Got Me’ are very safe in my arms.” As she was saying that, Darling frowned a little. Then, she cracked into a smile and spoke, “The corpse figurines are already awake. We will only have to wait until the Landhoppers arrive, they will immediately surge forward to kill the moment they pick up the scent of Yang energy!”

As she was saying that, Xiaowu remembered something else, “When the corpse figurines are killing, the black scale-skin will be aroused by the corpse energy and seal all of your Yang’s living meridians. By then, all of you will not be able to move. However, after the fierce battle, the effect will be diminished, there is nothing to be worried of.”

Nineteen frowned a little in a manner that was difficult to be detected.

“What is this scale? How is it capable of possessing such great magic power?” Qin Zhui did not pay attention to Nineteen but his face was filled with defiance. He possessed the ultimate wood element foundation establishment, he was considered unbelievably strong and powerful. He truly could not believe that he could just depend on these few pieces of black scales without any magic power to seal himself.

“It is not the magic power but it is the power of Yin’s corpse. We call it the mourning power.” Xiaowu stuffed a piece of orange into her mouth. She chewed the orange and savored the taste. There was a delight in the misfortunes of others revealed on the corners of her eyes and charming brows that could not be concealed, “This is not a scale as well but it is a piece of skin in the form of a scale! It is the demonic primordial energy that was grown in the father’s cradle over a thousand years ago when it turned from a witless zombie into Fifth Brother Hanba. This was the scaled skin that fell off from his body.”

A chain of goosebumps erupted on the foreheads of both Chang Li and Cone Nail in an apparent manner.

Xiaowu complemented as if she had not given full expression to her views, “The father turned from a corpse king into the Fifth Brother Hanba. Even though his spiritual intelligence was awakened, his actual power deteriorated by a little. In order to struggle free from these few pieces of black scale-skin, your strength must be stronger than the corpse king back then!”

Qin Zhui gave out a ‘heh’, he seized the opportunity when he could still move to hastily inch his body closer to Nineteen.

Cone Nail and Chang Li leaned side by side on a giant cauldron’s side. They laughed as they asked Xiaowu, “There are a total of thirty thousand corpse figurines here. How many corpse figurines did you summon?”

Xiaowu calculated, “About five thousand. They should be slightly more than the Landhoppers but the amount is not too far apart from one another.”

Qin Zhui widened his eyes suddenly upon hearing that, “How can you ensure our safety in case the corpse figurines are no match for the Landhoppers?!”

Xiaowu sneered, “If our number exceeds the other party too much then how can we reveal the corpse figurines’ trick! The corpse figurines are nourished and grown for two thousand years. Facing the enemies on the Yin’s eye of the dragon vein, if they still failed to triumph over the other party when they are fighting one on one, then our Mourn family’s disciples ought to straightforwardly cut our throats and kill ourselves!”

Qin Zhui was stunned for a moment. He felt that her explanation was unreliable but he was too shy to speak anymore. He only inhaled a cold breath as he shook his head, “This is not right, this is not right. If the corpse figurines were to fail to stop the Landhoppers and all of us cannot budge at all, then it will be very troublesome.”

There was no other expression on Nineteen’s face. She closed her mouth and did not speak.

On the other hand, Cone Nail and Chang Li burst out laughing. Their charming eyes were peering at Xiaowu strenuously, Darling was feeling confused from the two persons’ laughter. Her little face blushed in the end. She laughed shyly, “I…am out of strength, I can only awaken five thousand corpse figurines at most…”

Red Pot was a little reluctant to feel lonely. It struggled for a few attempts in Xiaowu’s chest pocket and revealed its toad head out of Xiaowu’s collar. It looked far to the outside of the mountain valley. A moment later, it burst out laughing suddenly, “Here they are! That gang of barbarians is here!”

The sound of footsteps startled the heaven and moved the earth, the gigantic trees in the depth of Qinling Mountains were trembling while the hills were shaking. There was only a stretch of a mountain valley that seemed to be completely unaffected by the outside force. It did not tremble for even just a little.

Thousands of Landhoppers finally arrived at the place where Chang Li and the rest were hiding.

Even when faced with the Kunlun Sword Formation with forceful power, the monks’ Buddhism magic art with majestic mannerism, One Word Palace’s great formation with murderous intent and the World Sect’s slaughter that was ghastly and sinister, the Landhoppers had never once stopped their footsteps. Yet, when they dashed to the edge of the mountain valley, they suddenly stopped moving! Under every gaze that appeared dull and slow, a sense of seemingly instinctive vigilance was shimmering in their eyes. This mountain valley was not the dragon’s pool or the tiger’s den but it was the dead land that was tainted and drenched in Yin malevolence since the ancient times.

The Landhoppers stood on the edge of the mountain valley in a disordered manner. The muscles on their faces twitched occasionally. They turned their heads slowly in an attempt to look around the surroundings… in the Yin’s mountain eye of the Qinling Mountains’, the scene remained deadly still as before. There was not a sound that could be heard. There was only the ghastly cold that enshrouded the air that had already turned heavy since some time ago.

Qin Zhui and the rest were at the depth of the mountain valley. They could only see with great effort with their eyesight that a large batch of human figures appeared on the edge of their line of sight. The thundering sound of footsteps that had already become a habit suddenly stopped. Qin Zhui could only feel as his chest suddenly felt suffocated. He could not help but hold his breath. It only took a few seconds and the sound of footsteps echoed aloud again. The enemies’ temptation finally suppressed their instinct to avoid danger. Thousands of Landhoppers did not even shout once. They heavily rammed their entire strong and vigorous mannerism into the depth of the ground!

Just as the Landhoppers dashed in, countless gigantic bronze cauldrons suddenly shook in the mountain valley. A streak of pale blue-colored raging flame shot out of every cauldron without a sign, akin to countless greedy snakes that were stretching their necks with great effort as if they were all trying to get a taste of that blue sky!

The uncountable flames did not burn with the sound of muffled bangs. The flames did not burn with the explosive sound of crackling but it was the sound of evil laugh that made one wish to cover his ears, cover his throat and cover his chest!

When the sound of laughter echoed, the ground in the mountain valley suddenly cracked open. A stretch of pitch black corpse figurines, which were dressed in heavy armors and possessed the same dull gaze as the Landhoppers, suddenly appeared with a loud bang.

Even though they were mentally prepared, when thousands of corpse figurines suddenly squeezed into the vision before his eyes, Qin Zhui still felt pain in his eyes.

In comparison to the layered pupils in the Landhopper’s eyes, there was utterly no pupil in the corpse figurines’ eyes at all. There were only pitch black eye sockets. They did not have eyes, yet they had a gaze!

The Yin’s flames were burning ferociously in the giant cauldrons. Every laughter that came from the flames appeared beyond abrupt. The first laughter sounded sharp and loud, the second laughter sounded low and hoarse, the third laughter turned pleasant and crisp, the fourth laughter turned into unpleasant and terrifying again…

The moment they witnessed the appearance of the corpse figurines, the Landhoppers’ footsteps grew even more courageous and heavier. The murderous intent that arose with rhythm annihilated Qin Zhui’s heroic bearing that was recently ignited into nothingness!

Perhaps the enemies were unexpectedly strong, the corpse figurines did not react the way as mentioned by Xiaowu. They did not dash forward to kill the moment they saw the living humans but they waited until the Landhoppers scattered and gradually dashed forward. The corpse figurines that were standing at the frontline, whose bodies were apparently stronger and taller and sturdier than the other companions, stretched out their hands slowly and reached towards their waists and made the gesture of pulling out a knife… yet the corpse figurines were only dressed in heavy armors, there was utterly nothing on their waists.

The leader corpse figurine’s movements were strong and focused as if it was truly pulling out its favorite treasured knife that had won hundreds of battles. Following its movement, a gush of crunching and hissing sound that made one wished that he could grind his teeth flat echoed in the air surprisingly! It was until the leader raised that invisible battle knife, the thousands of corpse figurines finally moved!

The Landhoppers’ formation was akin to a stretch of scattered sand, while the corpse figurines’ formation was straight and tidy. The Landhoppers displayed different movements. Some were dashing while some were jumping. On the other hand, the corpse figurines’ movements were unified. They bent over their bodies, their right hands were fisted and blocked before their foreheads, while their left hands were crossed behind their backs and pressed tightly to the back of their waists!

The sound of footsteps that shook the heaven and moved the earth was the Landhopper’s yell, the sound of footsteps were the Landhopper’s war cry, while the corpse figurines’ evil laughter that was capable of tearing the Yamaraja’s Palace into pieces and burned the netherworld was the corpse figurines’ battle drum. These two troops would never belong to the human path. Finally, in the mountain valley that was located deep in the Qinling Mountains, the army troops that were absolutely not allowed to appear in the world collided together with a loud bang.

The moment the power of savageness that originated from the ancient times and the mourning power that was drenched and tainted by the Yin’s corpses for two thousand years collided into one another, the thundering laughter suddenly turned into violent lamentations! The laughter earlier was completely voided of joy, while the violent lamentation was filled with ghostly surprise!

The loud bang only gave Qin Zhui a sensation. Shattered!

The shattered bones, blood and flesh turned into an exploding hot spring in a flash. The cold mountain peak was still rippling with a slight sense of warmth that washed over the sky into the color of blood red all at once! What was even more startling to Qin Zhui was the blood of the barbarians and the corpse figurines were surprisingly all red, reddest to the greatest extent. It became very pure, without flaws.

The corpse figurines’ charging postures appeared peculiar and amusing. Yet, only the barbarians who were colliding with them would know that underneath the movement, a terrifying force was rippling, akin to broken speak and ruined sword. Even though they were damaged, they still remained sharp as ever. There was even the addition of savage laceration. In the final collision, the corpse figurines charged through the barbarians that were taller or stronger. The barbarians raised their heads and spat out mouthfuls of thick blood mist. They could only manage to look far towards the enemies that were watching the battle with their dull and layered pupils before crashing onto the ground with a loud bang… the corpses rolled down and broke into pieces…

The corpse figurines on the front line were akin to sharp scythes that cut through rows upon rows of barbaric Landhoppers in the blink of an eye. Almost every barbarian that collided face first into the corpse figurines were crushed into the mud.

While the Landhoppers, who leaped, crawled or rolled as they dashed into the corpse figurines’ battle, revealed their battle instinct that originated from the ancient times generously! Every corpse figurine that was entangled by the Landhopper from his side was akin to a prey that was wrapped by the spider web. In the midst of a desperate struggle, the corpse figurine’s fingers were snapped off one by one, followed by its arms, its hips, its spine until its neck…

They did not understand pain, they were cold-blooded and merciless, they were all witless yet persistent! The corpse figurines were as sharp as fire and knife, while the Landhoppers were as agile as ape and vine! There was not a complete corpse. In only a few short minutes, fresh blood had already turned the ground into a hideous mess of mud. The dark red-colored mud somersaulted in an ugly manner and splattered everywhere in the midst of wild running and jumping footsteps!

There was no cross strike of the soldier’s weapons, there was no yelling to boost the battle morale, there was no sound of heavy panting. Every slaughter was penetrating with primitive violence and ruthlessness. It was so quiet there was not a sense of lively sound was heard, other than the joyous lamentations!

Chang Li had thousand years’ worth of cultivation base. She had witnessed countless tragedies in the mortal world, the fierce battle that involved thousands of people, the deluge and fire that massacred the inhabitants and burned the city… Her demon’s heart had since become unaffected by the life and death in the mortal world but the tragic battle before her eyes still managed to cause her to raise her brows in hatred! These two wild soldiers that should not belong in the mortal world were feeling joyous from killing the enemies or be killed by the enemies. Within their dull gaze, the joy that could not be suppressed had already rippled.

Not only the corpse figurines felt excited about the slaughter, the barbaric Landhoppers’ fierce temperament was also triggered by the fresh blood and death. They were no longer attempting to dash past the corpse figurines’ blockage to kill the enemies but they were entangled and battling the corpse figurines ferociously. They utterly did not even take a glance towards Chang Li and the rest.

Qin Zhui was feeling excited as he waited for the violent battle between the two armies but he could not watch anymore right now. Ever since the corpse figurines started fighting together with the Landhoppers, as mentioned by Fifth Brother Hanba (Translator’s note: Should be Xiaowu), a gloomy and cold tremendous force was suddenly released from the five pieces of black scale-skin, making him unable to move even for a little.

The fierce battle continued. The tangled warfare that involved almost a hundred thousand people made everyone’s breath trembled.

Everyone including the Darling refused to watch the battle anymore. Only Red Pot that was enjoying the scene. Occasionally, it would comment, “The ability to grow the corpse figurines to this extent, hehe, I would really like to meet the imitator of all evil from the beginning! However… the Landhoppers were still the most incisive barbarians since the ancient times. After a long battle, I am afraid that the corpse figurines’ chance of success is not too high!”

The fierce battle had already continued for a while. The two parties had already lost almost half of their manpower but the barbarians seemed to have already gradually gained the upper hand.

The strength of the entire body of Chang Li and the rest were sealed by the black scales. Other than Darling and Red Pot, no one could open his mouth and speak. Darling shook her head, “That is not true, this is the Yin’s mountain eye. Even though the barbarians are slightly more incisive than the corpse figurines, they will still lose in the end!”

As Darling was speaking, the situation in the battlefield suddenly changed. The corpse figurines that were already at a disadvantage and had already shrunk its formation into defensive could no longer withstand the barbarians’ storm-like surging. Under the repeated urgings, they finally scattered about with a loud bang. The corpse figurines were not fighting the enemies separately but they were running everywhere in a disorderly manner!

The Landhoppers’ initially dull and layered pupils had since been aroused by the demonic red and were heightened by the stench of blood. They immediately started killing the enemies madly.

The corpse figurines’ faces were always expressionless. After their formation was scattered, they were running everywhere in the open space, their postures were rigid yet mechanical. The corpse figurines formed into groups of threes and fours, they were no longer behaving as before, they were no longer using their own corpse power to crash and cut the enemies into pieces, but… they were swinging their arms and legs as they grabbed onto the Landhoppers that were left behind and raised them up.

It was true that the corpse figurines managed to capture some barbaric Landhoppers, but even more corpse figurines that were torn into pieces by the large troop of enemies!

Qin Zhui widened his eyes in bewilderment. He did not understand why were the corpse figurines not behaving themselves and fight but they played the trick that only a young child would play when the child was making a joke.

Xiaowu’s slightly anxious expression finally relaxed at this moment… every single Landhopper that was captured by the corpse figurines was tossed into the burning giant cauldron by the corpse figurines!

Following that one after another living body of flesh and blood was tossed into the giant cauldron. The Yin’s fire that was burning with loud lamentations suddenly gave out a joyous, comfortable moan and whisper!