Chapter Fifty-Four: Three Sandbags

“What the hell?” With a sudden frown, Qi Xiu instinctively unleashed a fierce Crimson Sand Palm. The blazing force stirred the air, instantly shattering the shriveled, blackened claw into dust.

Stunned, Qi Xiu stood up, his pupils shrinking in shock. Before him, within a hundred-meter radius, the ground was littered with withered, blackened limbs and torsos; sticky, foul-smelling ichor pooled into rivulets between them. At the heart of this mountain of corpses stood Nie Xun, battered and bloody, his tattered clothes clinging to him as he faced away from Qi Xiu, gun in hand. His upright silhouette stood like a solitary mountain, blocking every danger from reaching those behind him.

Noticing how the earth at Nie Xun’s feet was stained deep red, Qi Xiu’s expression shifted. Such staggering blood loss—he could scarcely imagine the wounds that could cause it.

Wading through the muck of blood and mud, Qi Xiu quickly approached, brush in hand, inscribing Healing Talismans as he walked. Nie Xun’s eyes were bloodshot, his body covered in wounds. Sensing someone approach, the barely conscious Nie Xun, driven by instinct alone, struggled to raise his rifle, his cracked lips rasping, “Kill…”

“It’s me, Qi Xiu.” Qi Xiu pressed down on Nie Xun’s wrist, swiftly inscribing several life-preserving talismans and channeling their power into him. Whether it was the familiar voice or the talisman’s effect, a flicker of clarity returned to Nie Xun’s gaze.

“Qi… Master Qi… You’re awake. The Commander, he—”

“He’s fine,” Qi Xiu replied softly. “The Tranquility Talisman now has the power to anchor the mind. It will help Yuan Baiyi escape the illusion.”

“That’s good…” A faint smile of relief appeared on Nie Xun’s face as his eyes closed and he collapsed backward, spent. He had held back the tide of corpses alone for nearly two hours, draining every ounce of his strength, spirit, and will. If not for his iron resolve, he would have fallen long before.

Supporting Nie Xun, Qi Xiu carried him to a cleaner spot. Using the man’s own blood, he drew one Healing Talisman after another on his body. Yet as the eighteenth talisman’s power sank in, Nie Xun’s breath only grew fainter.

“His life force and spirit are too depleted. His body can no longer anchor his soul. No matter how much I heal his wounds, it will do no good.”

The sudden voice behind him startled Qi Xiu so much he nearly struck out with his staff. “You’re awake?”

Seeing it was Yuan Baiyi, Qi Xiu got to his feet. “Yes. That fox demon’s illusion is clever, but it cannot trap me.” As he spoke, Yuan Baiyi cast Qi Xiu a few thoughtful glances. A mere mortal cultivator, not even fully initiated, and yet he awoke sooner than Yuan Baiyi himself—clearly, he had some skill.

“If his body cannot hold his soul, how can he be saved?” Qi Xiu asked.

“There is nothing you or I can do. It depends on his own will.” Standing with hands clasped behind his back beside the weakening Nie Xun, Yuan Baiyi’s expression was calm, but the fists clenched behind him betrayed his inner turmoil.

As Nie Xun’s breath grew ever fainter and his body grew cold, Qi Xiu suddenly shouted, “Nie Xun, someone wants to kill your Commander!”

“Outrageous! Who dares harm my Commander!” With a burst of rage, Nie Xun’s eyes flew open, the dormant blood and qi in his body surging once more, color flooding back into his ashen cheeks. With that single utterance, Nie Xun’s eyes rolled back and he fainted again, but this time, his breathing was steady.

“Brother Qi, you always have a trick up your sleeve. Seems I owe you another favor,” Yuan Baiyi said with a smile—then his eyes abruptly hardened and he stepped forward, shielding Qi Xiu. His flawless true energy barrier erupted into being.

Clang! Clang!

The sound rang out like a smith’s hammer, sparks flying as three towering figures struck the barrier dozens of times, each blow strong enough to pulverize stone.

“Ants shaking a tree,” Yuan Baiyi sneered. The barrier suddenly pulsed, sending a massive counterforce that shattered the three figures in an instant.

Yet at that moment, a crisp bell sounded from a hidden corner. The shattered corpses on the ground immediately reformed, merging once more into three expressionless, towering men.

“Corpse Children?” Recognizing them, Qi Xiu turned to Yuan Baiyi. “Things have changed. That fox demon was swallowed by a demon artifact called the Jade Bodhisattva. It was that stone demon who ambushed you before. I saw it in the illusion—the fox demon is now one of its handmaidens. These three Corpse Children are its servants. As long as the Jade Bodhisattva endures, they cannot be destroyed.”

“No wonder. I thought it strange the fox demon could cast such an illusion, wounded as she was. It seems the Jade Bodhisattva took advantage of her weakness to consume her, healing itself and gaining part of her powers. An artifact of such power is truly remarkable.”

He turned toward the spot where the bell had sounded and, with a flash, Yuan Baiyi launched himself in that direction. “These three are yours.”

“What?” Qi Xiu stared blankly after the vanishing Yuan Baiyi. The resurrected Corpse Children stood shoulder to shoulder, their cold, emotionless eyes slowly swiveling to Qi Xiu, who wore a look of utter confusion.

“I knew those five secret arts wouldn’t be so easy to claim…”

With a sigh, Qi Xiu felt their chilling gazes and raised an eyebrow. “What are you looking at? Never been beaten before?”

After being hunted like a dog through the illusion all day, Qi Xiu had more than enough pent-up frustration. Rolling up his sleeves, crimson-black fissures began to crawl beneath his skin.

“Well, I was planning to advance the Crimson Sand Palm to the third stage anyway. Sorry, but you three will have to serve as my training dummies.”

Before the final word left his lips, Qi Xiu’s gaze sharpened, killing intent blazing in his once-calm eyes.

Boom! He stomped down, shaking the ground. Stones tumbled, dust flew.

Like a darting bird, Qi Xiu’s movement was swift and agile; in a blink, he was behind the three Corpse Children, his palm striking out.

Crimson Sand Seal!

His five fingers formed an odd mudra—a lethal move within the Crimson Sand Palm, gathering explosive fire and venom into a single strike. This palm’s fire poison was ten times greater than any ordinary technique.

Sizzle—

The searing poison turned Qi Xiu’s entire right hand black and red, like a demon dragon’s claw plunging into one Corpse Child’s body.

Boom!

The fire poison erupted, fracturing the Corpse Child with countless cracks, flames spurting from its seven orifices. Like a human torch, it crashed to the ground.

Ding-ling—

No sooner had it died than the corpse-controlling bell chimed once more. The charred Corpse Child revived in an instant, flesh and bone reforming before Qi Xiu’s eyes.

Stepping back to gain distance, Qi Xiu flexed his hands, still wreathed in fire poison, and glanced at his skill panel with a raised brow. Giving his all in a life-and-death struggle, his proficiency rose faster than endless practice.

Diligence brings reward, he mused. Does attitude count for something too?

…