Chapter 368: In a Life of Hesitation, In a Future of Frustration
The dao child Zhang Siyun from the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society had a secret transposition technique that could be used to switch positions with an opponent. The first time it was used, it was virtually impossible to counter.
Xu Qing heard Zhang Siyun chuckle, and committed the sound to memory. However, now was not the time to think about such things, as the immolated zombie was right on top of him.
Xu Qing knew that if this zombie had caused problems for Zhang Siyun, it was obviously very strong. Not being careless at all, he backed up, performed a double-handed incantation gesture, and sent tsunami waves crashing into the fierce zombie. His shadow formed a coffin, and Xu Qing ducked inside.
Rumbling sounds echoed out as the magical tsunami waves swept the zombie backward.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing finished fusing with his shadow, causing him to turn pitch black. Eyes glittering with incisive light, he chose not to attack. Instead, he backed away again. He was much faster than before considering his fleshly body was now comparable to the peak of the five-palace level. As he backed up, he launched a fist strike.
At almost the exact same instant that the fist landed, the magically-formed tsunami waters exploded, and the burning zombie shot out. It moved so quickly Xu Qing had a hard time tracking its motion. It was a blur that sped through the spray of water to arrive right in front of him.
A piercing shriek reached Xu Qing’s ears as the zombie met his fist strike with its own fist. A tremor passed through Xu Qing as immense force hit him. Even with his current fleshly body power, he couldn’t match up to this level of strength.
Rumbling sounds filled him as he staggered backward until he slammed into the muddy wall.
That’s definitely six-palace battle prowess! Yet this thing didn’t chase Zhang Siyun, so it’s obviously not very intelligent. It has instincts like an animal. But actually, as long as it has instincts, that makes this whole thing easier! It’s watching me closely, and it only sped up when I sped up. And the fact it met my fist with its own fist proves that it’s not very intelligent.
He could sense how terrifying the zombie was. Its magical techniques were so-so, with its most astonishing aspect being its fleshly body. Its fleshly body power was at the six-palace level.
When Xu Qing fused with his shadow, he could reach the peak of the five-palace level in terms of fleshly body power, but not even that was enough to fight back. He couldn’t track his opponent’s movements, and wasn’t as strong as it. However, the surroundings limited the advantages of speed, as they were confined by the walls of the tunnel. As long as he kept his opponent attacking him straight on, Xu Qing had ways to negate the speed advantage.
That was why he wasn’t trying to dodge out of the way. That would open him up to attacks from all sides.
Instead, he backed straight up until he slammed into the wall. That meant that behind him was nothing but the wall. The wall was also to his left and right, and the only open space was right in front of him. Meanwhile, the taboo poison core in his third palace was vibrating rapidly as poison emerged from it to gather in front of him.
As Xu Qing slammed into the wall, the zombie howled. Red flames erupted around it, turning into a host of mouths that lunged toward Xu Qing.
Xu Qing couldn’t evade, as he was stuck in the wall. Therefore, he just shrank in on himself like a hedgehog.
Flames went wild, and the zombie’s aura swept everywhere. It became a streak of afterimage as it shot forward, launching another fist strike right at Xu Qing in the wall.
A boom rang out, and Xu Qing’s face went ashen. The wall behind him crumbled as he was shoved deeper in. However, the zombie also backed up, and instead of pure madness in its eyes, there was, for the first time, a trace of dread. And that was because its right arm was rotting!
Then a bolt of red lightning erupted out from inside it, provoking another howl. Red lightning crackled inside its body, crystallizing its flesh and blood and causing it to emanate frigid energy. After, the red lightning shot back toward the wall, revealing a black iron skewer within it, which came to hover in front of Xu Qing.
Xu Qing coughed up blood as the darkness that covered his body converged on his forehead in the shape of an eye. The shadow in eye form glared at the zombie. Beneath that eye was Xu Qing’s calm face, his eyes cold as he stared at the zombie. He knew that his fleshly body couldn’t compare to his opponent. He also couldn’t match up in terms of magical techniques. Nor was he an equal in speed. But by embedding himself in the wall, he forced the battleground to be right in front of him.
He was limiting the spots where his opponent could attack from. That was because he could tell that this immolated zombie didn’t have the same level of intelligence as a cultivator. In other words, it had no way to create complicated battle strategies.
What was more, Xu Qing’s taboo poison core vastly surpassed his fleshly body in terms of being a trump card. It ensured that every time his opponent attacked him, they would get poisoned. Then all he had to do was buy time and wait for the poison to take effect.
The tunnel went silent as the zombie glared at Xu Qing, its expression a mix of irritation and fear as its right arm continued to rot away. Finally, it howled, violently suppressed its fear, and raced toward Xu Qing again, bursting with six-palace battle prowess.
A huge boom rang out, mixed into which was a howl. A moment later, the immolated zombie shot backward with astonishing speed.
Its right arm had melted into nothing, and the taboo poison was spreading into its torso, which was now rotting dramatically. The zombie’s expression was one of madness, but the fear was now even more obvious. In fact, it seemed to border on terror.
In front of it, Xu Qing was stuck in the wall, blood oozing out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Thankfully, the violet crystal within him was constantly at work healing him, allowing him to endure. The area in front of Xu Qing was full of strong poison, which corroded everything and even exuded mutagen. Xu Qing wasn’t looking at that, though. His eyes were fixed on the zombie, and they burned with killing intent. However, he didn’t make a move. Instead, he extended his hand toward the zombie and then made a beckoning gesture.
“Come. Let’s keep fighting.”
The zombie erupted with a furious howl, and yet its expression contained more hesitation and dread than ever. Seeing that, Xu Qing placed his hands down into the wall on either side and pulled himself out. As he stood, taboo poison power swirled around him.
Xu Qing wasn’t sure why Zhang Siyun got wrapped up in such a long fight with this zombie considering the dao child had six-palace power. But Xu Qing knew how wild animals behaved, and he knew that there was no better time than this moment to scare his opponent into fleeing.
That was even more the case when you got an animal to react instinctively. Therefore, rather than getting involved in a drawn-out fight, Xu Qing hoped to get his opponent to simply leave.
And that was exactly what happened. As Xu Qing sent taboo poison power swirling around him as if he were preparing for a huge attack, the fear in the zombie’s eyes grew so intense that it started backing up.
Then, it let loose a few more howls before shooting up into the tunnel, leaving Xu Qing alone.
Xu Qing coughed up some blood as he looked up into the tunnel. Then he looked down, and his eyes grew colder than ever. He knew that Zhang Siyun was strong. Before, when he had come to the conclusion Zhang Siyun was connected to that red moon, he had known he was dangerous. However, he couldn’t let the matter stand as it was.
We’re under the Supreme Beginning Netherflight Pillar, which is controlled by the Swordsage Court. Zhang Siyun might have some bizarre abilities, but if he tries something underhanded, someone should step in. It will be dangerous to go after him, but… if I’m not willing to at least go check it out and see if there are some good opportunities, then I might as well just go back to South Phoenix!
The time limit for this phase was rapidly approaching, therefore, Xu Qing’s eyes shone with determination as he sped down through the tunnel as fast as he could. Along the way, he tapped into his taboo poison core and surrounded himself with poison. If nothing else, it might keep away things like that immolated zombie.
As he descended, he once again caught sight of some paper money. There were numerous pieces floating about.
Upon spotting them, Xu Qing decided to climb down the wall itself.
Time passed. It was now only about an hour until time was up. At this point, most disciples chose to activate their jade slips and teleport away.
There were few cultivators left. And when it came to the depths of the tunnel, there were only two: Zhang Siyun and Xu Qing.
There was more and more paper money, and the noxious stench grew stronger. It was cold, and the mutagen was more abundant. The singing was clearer than ever.
After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Xu Qing lurched to a halt. Remaining motionless on the wall, he narrowed his eyes, concealed his presence, and looked to a spot about 300 meters down.
There he saw a very strange building; it was a log cabin. It looked very dilapidated, as if it had existed for countless years of time, to the point where the wood was starting to decay. The structure was pentagonal, and each corner had a gray iron chain attached to it that stretched out to the wall of the tunnel.
Actually, the chains were suspending the cabin in midair.
There was a faint red light shining out from the cabin window, seemingly cast by a lamp. Through the window of the cabin, and also through the various decayed parts of the walls, Xu could see a person inside. It was a woman wearing a red opera costume. She sat at the window, her fair hand extended as she tossed out paper money. The paper money scattered, caught up in a cold wind as it flowed outward and upward. In addition to the paper money and the hand with skin as fair as jade, Xu Qing saw a red lamp inside the window. [1]
Obviously, this was the source of the paper money he’d seen. As for that hand, the moment he laid eyes on it, his heart filled with dread.
Then he looked more closely at the lamp, and his heart flip-flopped. That oil lamp… was none other than a life lamp!
The singing that he had been hearing this whole time came from within that log cabin, and it echoed out into the claustrophobic darkness more clearly than ever.
“In a life of hesitation, in a future of frustration, who is it that waits for me in reincarnation…?”
The voice was beautiful, sinister, and as cold as ice. It was impossible to say who the song was being sung for. Perhaps it was Xu Qing. Perhaps it was Zhang Siyun. Or perhaps it was for some other entity that lurked deeper in the darkness of the tunnel.
1. There are obviously a variety of costumes associated with Chinese opera. But there is something distinctive about an opera costume. If you watched the opera video from a few chapters ago, you probably saw some. Here’s a picture example. ☜