Gavin Haines was furious and about to give chase when a sharp pain suddenly shot through his shoulder. Quinn had used the sword scabbard to recall the Grand Guardian’s Sword. Though the strike itself wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful, the Grand Guardian’s Sword was so sharp that it pierced straight through Gavin’s scapula, leaving a gaping hole in his shoulder!
Gavin gritted his teeth against the pain, pulling out several jade bottles of various sizes. He first applied a hemostatic ointment to stop the bleeding, then smeared on a bone-regeneration salve, followed by a flesh-growth balm. Even so, the agony was nearly unbearable.
Meanwhile, behind him, a Flying Corpse was grabbing ointment from a medicine jar and smearing it on the neck of another Flying Corpse that Quinn had beheaded. Then, it picked up the severed head and placed it atop the newly treated neck.
The beheaded Flying Corpse’s head wobbled and made a cracking sound, but its head had been put on backwards, now facing its back.
The Flying Corpse doing the 'treatment' seemed utterly unfazed, moving on to another Flying Corpse that had been split in half, piecing its body back together and slathering on a foul-smelling ointment.
Even if these Flying Corpses were beheaded or split in two, they still wouldn’t truly 'die.' As long as they were smeared with the Cult of the Corpse Immortal’s ointment and had their severed limbs reattached, they could spring back to life as if nothing had happened. It was truly bizarre.
The Cult of the Corpse Immortal truly had their own unique expertise when it came to working with corpses.
Suddenly, the sound of something slicing through the air rang out, and several disciples of the Cult of the Corpse Immortal hurried over to Gavin. One of the female disciples exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Brother Gavin, you’re hurt? Was that kid really that strong?”
“Not that strong.”
Gavin’s face was ashen as he gritted his teeth and said, “He’s at most Five Luminaries level, but his cultivation is solid. His movement technique is bizarre, and he’s skilled in both sword control and spell arts. He’s got a treasure sword whose scabbard can automatically recall the flying blade, and that sword is incredibly sharp—my Flying Corpses couldn’t block it at all! He’s badly wounded too, so he can’t have gotten far!”
The other disciples of the Cult of the Corpse Immortal were startled. The female disciple said, “If he’s skilled at sword control and spell arts, then he probably isn’t much good at Battle Skills. Let’s catch up to him, capture him, and hand him over to the Cult Master!”
More than a dozen disciples of the Cult of the Corpse Immortal rushed off at top speed.
Gavin rose to his feet, about to follow, when another figure suddenly flew over. Gavin saw who it was and was startled, quickly bowing and saying, “Uncle Joel!”
Uncle Joel frowned and said, “The brat who killed the Cult Master’s son is still at large, and yet you’ve been wounded instead. Gavin, you’re getting more and more impressive.”
Gavin flushed with shame and said, “Uncle Joel, the Cult Master…”
“The Cult Master already knows, and he’s furious. But right now he’s busy stabilizing the situation and quelling the chaos in the city.”
Uncle Joel said, “The Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire has been gravely wounded, and heroes everywhere are seizing the chance to rise up, killing traitors and trying to set things right. Our Cult of the Corpse Immortal has a legitimate reason to act this time: first we cut off the Imperial Preceptor’s remaining forces, then we take Embankton County. Embankton must become our stronghold, the foundation must be secure, and we must wipe out the Imperial Preceptor’s supporters! The Cult Master may be grieving, but he’s putting the greater cause first.”
Gavin acknowledged, “Please, Uncle Joel, follow after those junior disciples. That young man may not be old, but he wields a sword that can turn into a fish-dragon…”
Uncle Joel was stunned. “A sword that turns into a fish-dragon? What does it look like exactly? Tell me in detail!”
Gavin described the Grand Guardian’s Sword and its strange scabbard. Uncle Joel’s heart trembled, and he exclaimed, “That’s the court sword of a first-rank imperial official—a top-tier treasure! Even our Cult of the Corpse Immortal doesn’t have anything that powerful! How could such a precious sword end up with that boy? Could he be the son of a first-rank official?”
His eyes gleamed, and he laughed, “That sword is extraordinary—it’s heaven’s will for our cult to prosper, gifting us a first-rank court sword! I’ll go and claim it for us!” With that, he flashed away.
Gavin frowned, thinking, “A first-rank official’s court sword? That’s a treasure symbolizing imperial status—why would a first-rank official hand such a sword to his own child? Uncle Joel isn’t thinking this through… I’d better hurry and report this to the Cult Master!”
He hurried toward Embankton County.
Uncle Joel followed the tracks left by Quinn and the Cult of the Corpse Immortal disciples. Suddenly, he frowned slightly—he’d come upon the first corpse, a disciple of the Cult of the Corpse Immortal.
This disciple had a thin line of blood at his throat and no other wounds; there was no blood on the ground either. Judging from the wound, the sword tip must have sliced across his throat, severing both major blood vessels.
From the angle of the attack, this disciple must have been flying on Yellow Talisman Paper when someone ambushed him from behind. Before he could react, the treasure sword had already swept across his throat.
But what was strange was that there was no blood nearby.
Uncle Joel frowned. It could only mean that this disciple hadn’t died here, but had flown some distance before being dropped.
His blood had already drained away while he was still in the air.
What did that imply?
It meant the boy who killed him was standing right behind him!
This disciple must have been stepping on Yellow Talisman Paper, hurrying ahead in search of Quinn’s trail, while the boy quietly appeared behind him, sliced his throat with a sword, then pressed close and manipulated his sword casket, sending out more Yellow Talisman Paper to pave the way forward.
At the same time, the boy controlled the corpse to keep walking forward, making it look alive and allowing it to follow the other disciples of the Cult of the Corpse Immortal.
“That’s corpse-control!”
Uncle Joel’s expression changed slightly. “That boy knows corpse-control too! My disciples are in danger! But come to think of it, there aren’t any first-rank officials in the Everpeace court who are expert at corpse-control. Who is this boy, and where did he learn such a technique?”
It was the dead of night, nearly the third watch. There was still moonlight, but visibility was poor and distance hard to judge.
Uncle Joel could imagine it: Quinn must have used the cover of darkness to control the corpses of the Cult of the Corpse Immortal disciples. As he approached the other disciples, they’d be caught off guard, and by the time they could see clearly, it’d be too late to dodge his sword!
Corpse-control techniques aren’t unique to the Cult of the Corpse Immortal; other demonic sects have them too, though everyone’s methods differ.
The Cult of the Corpse Immortal truly stands out in the arts of corpse-control and corpse-raising, though their reputation isn’t exactly stellar.
This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the rest!