Chapter 1340: Ice-Fiend Silver Corpse

Chapter 1339: Ice-Fiend Silver Corpse

An ice-cold, silver corpse claw tore toward Mo Hua’s chest, as if to rip him open and spill his guts.

With the toughness of Mo Hua’s physical body, if that corpse claw pierced his chest, he would undoubtedly die.

Mo Hua’s gaze sharpened slightly. Before the claw arrived, he lightly tapped the ground with his foot. His body flowed with supple grace like water, drifting like a startled swan, skimming low to the ground as he narrowly evaded the killing strike.

The Silver Corpse Elder’s expression tightened. Shaking the silver-patterned bronze bell in his hand, he continued driving the Ice-Fiend Silver Corpse to pounce and kill Mo Hua.

But Mo Hua was like a fish in water, like an eel in mud, slick and impossible to catch.

The ferocious silver corpse, its claws flashing with cold light, carved claw marks like a web. It lunged and attacked for over twenty exchanges. Three disciples of Yin Corpse Valley were accidentally killed in the chaos, blood flowing across the ground, yet it still failed to touch Mo Hua even once.

One touch, and Mo Hua would die.

But if it couldn’t touch him even once, there was nothing to be done.

Young Master Shi frowned, recalling the scene when he had fought Mo Hua before. His eyes darkened.

The Silver Corpse Elder’s face looked ugly, yet his heart trembled faintly.

This boy’s movement technique… its agility, the mystery of his footwork, the ever-changing fluidity of water, the precision of his control, truly carried a divine charm like antelope horns hanging in the air, leaving no trace to follow.

And the most mysterious part wasn’t even his movement technique.

After all, he was only at peak-stage Foundation Establishment. No matter how good his movement, he shouldn’t possibly be a match for a late–stage Golden Core Ice-Fiend Silver Corpse.

But the strange thing was precisely this: the boy wasn’t merely agile… he seemed almost able to “foresee” the future, avoiding the Ice-Fiend Silver Corpse an instant before it even attacked.

Though his cultivation was low and his movement slower than the corpse, he somehow sensed the killing intent in advance every time, evading each lethal strike.

The Silver Corpse Elder had lived his whole life and had never seen such a bizarre Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After dozens more exchanges of pursuit, the vicious Ice-Fiend Silver Corpse still failed to capture Mo Hua.

The Silver Corpse Elder shook the bell and ordered the corpse to stop. Then he looked at Mo Hua and asked, “Boy, just who are you? Righteous path or demonic path? Where are you from? Which mountain sect do you serve?”

Mo Hua said nothing.

He wasn’t stupid, how could he casually reveal his background?

The Silver Corpse Elder’s gaze flickered. “Hand over the Exotic Corpse Compendium, and I won’t make things difficult for you.”

Mo Hua said, “What’s the Exotic Corpse Compendium?”

Young Master Shi sneered. “That day Elder Xu went to kill you. For some reason he died, and the Exotic Corpse Compendium disappeared. If you didn’t kill him and seize the treasure, then who did?”

“Elder Xu died?” Mo Hua frowned. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about… That day he chased me but couldn’t catch me. I escaped and never saw him again. Whether he’s dead or alive, what does it have to do with me?”

Young Master Shi’s eyes sharpened. “Still trying to argue?”

Mo Hua sneered. “Then teach me, how does a Foundation Establishment cultivator kill a Golden Core and take his treasure?”

Young Master Shi faltered.

Suddenly as if struck by inspiration, Mo Hua looked at him.

“I didn’t know Elder Xu died, but you say I killed him. I don’t know any Exotic Corpse Compendium, yet you insist it’s on me. Could it be… you killed Elder Xu, took the compendium, and are trying to pin the blame on me?”

The Silver Corpse Elder’s pupils narrowed, and he glanced at Young Master Shi.

A vein twitched on Young Master Shi’s forehead. “This brat has a silver tongue and a ghost’s slippery mouth. Not a word he says can be trusted.”

The Silver Corpse Elder frowned but did not comment.

Young Master Shi said gravely, “I am the Saint Son of Yin Corpse Valley. The rule of One corpse, one Dao… I understand it well. I would never touch the compendium.”

The Silver Corpse Elder’s gaze flickered, and he nodded.

But when Mo Hua heard “one corpse, one dao,” his mind stirred with thought.

At that moment, the Silver Corpse Elder looked at Mo Hua again and said slowly, “Young friend, if the Exotic Corpse Compendium is on you, hand it over. I won’t make trouble for you.”

Mo Hua said helplessly, “I truly don’t know what that compendium is.”

The Silver Corpse Elder frowned. “Truly?”

Mo Hua nodded and swore, “If I’m lying, then let the three thousand barbarian gods of the Great Wilderness enter my dreams and devour me…”

The Silver Corpse Elder froze, then frowned.

Whether or not this boy was from the Great Wilderness, daring to swear such a vicious oath upon himself meant he was unlikely to be lying.

Could it be the compendium truly wasn’t on him?

Young Master Shi grew anxious. “Elder, this boy has too many secrets. He… he saw me with Tuoba—”

The Silver Corpse Elder’s gaze turned icy. He gave a slight nod and looked at Mo Hua, his voice colder now.

“Young friend, come here and let me search your storage pouch. If there’s no Exotic Corpse Compendium, I won’t trouble you.

“Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to capture you by force, skin you, tear out your tendons, and search for the compendium’s whereabouts. This compendium is a secret inheritance of our lineage. It must not be spread, and it must not be lost. I hope you understand.”

Mo Hua sneered inwardly.

Did they think that this young master was new to the world? He had been using lines like that to fool people since he was ten.

Mo Hua pretended to hesitate, but under his feet he was already circulating his technique.

“Trying to run?” Young Master Shi’s eyes flashed. A layer of white corpse-transformation instantly surfaced over his body, his form swelling as he charged at Mo Hua.

The Ice-Fiend Silver Corpse, under the Silver Corpse Elder’s bell, also lunged straight at Mo Hua.

This time, the Silver Corpse Elder clearly held nothing back.

Icy killing qi rose from the silver corpse, making the blood of those nearby stagnate, their movements sluggish.

Even Mo Hua’s movement technique was affected.

The Ice-Fiend Silver Corpse was ferocious and powerful, and Young Master Shi, though not yet Golden Core, was still the Saint Son of Yin Corpse Valley, his methods not to be underestimated.

One man and one corpse completely sealed off Mo Hua’s escape routes.

Just as Mo Hua seemed to have no space left to flee, a sudden dragon’s roar rang out, shaking the soul.

The Silver Corpse Elder and Young Master Shi were startled. Turning their heads, they saw a figure and spear descending from the sky.

A fierce white figure, spear in hand like a charging dragon, thrust straight toward Young Master Shi’s chest.

Young Master Shi’s face changed drastically. He switched from offense to evasion, trying to avoid the spear, but Bai Zisheng’s strike still pierced his shoulder, the remaining force knocking him back several zhang.

With one thrust driving back Young Master Shi, Bai Zisheng instantly reversed the spear and stabbed toward the Ice-Fiend corpse.

But the Ice-Fiend corpse possessed late–stage Golden Core power and did not fear this hastily delivered strike.

The spear pierced its body only to the tip, failing to break its defenses.

And the Ice-Fiend corpse, relying on its explosively enhanced speed, had already closed in on Mo Hua. With a savage tear of both hands, it instantly ripped Mo Hua’s body into four pieces.

Mo Hua’s body was mangled beyond recognition.

The Silver Corpse Elder couldn’t help but sneer. “A mere Foundation Establishment brat dares act arrogant…”

But as he laughed, the smile suddenly froze on his face.

Because not a drop of blood flowed from the torn body. Instead, Mo Hua’s body directly transformed into a mist of water, spreading through the air.

The Silver Corpse Elder was stunned. In that brief moment of distraction, the water mist dissipated, and everything vanished.

Mo Hua was gone. The white-clad youth who had descended from the sky was also gone.

The Silver Corpse Elder’s face turned cold. Moments later, dark killing qi filled his gloomy expression. “What the hell… was that just now? Water mist… a movement technique?”

Young Master Shi slowly stood up. The spear wound on his shoulder was slowly healing, but the anger in his heart was hard to quell. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Elder, keep chasing. Tear those two into ten thousand pieces.”

The Silver Corpse Elder was just about to shake the bell when his hand paused. He then shook his head. “The main goal is more important.”

“Elder…”

“The corpse isn’t finished refining, the transaction isn’t complete, and Saint Son… you haven’t formed your core yet.”

Young Master Shi frowned.

The Silver Corpse Elder steadied his emotions and said slowly, “You are the Saint Son. The core you form will not be ordinary… Right now, nothing is more important than your core formation. Once you form it, you can shed the corpse and transform into a holy embryo. From then on, like a fish turning into a dragon, your Great Dao will be limitless…”

“You endured in silence for so many years, hiding your strength, deliberately suppressing the corpse energy in your body—wasn’t it all for this very moment of corpse-shedding Core Formation?”

Young Master Shi’s gaze gradually firmed, immense ambition hidden in his chest. “Elder… you are right.”

Silver Corpse Elder gave a slight nod, his tone easing a little.

“These two brats have entered the Royal Court now. They’re probably here to form their cores as well. If that’s the case, we’ll run into them again sooner or later. There will be plenty of chances to kill them…”

Next time they met, he would make sure they died without a burial place.

The matter of the Exotic Corpse Compendium also had to be investigated thoroughly…

A cold light flashed in Silver Corpse Elder’s eyes.

Young Master Shi nodded, feeling much more at ease.

Silver Corpse Elder then turned to the surviving disciples of Yin Corpse Valley at the scene and coldly ordered, “Get back to work…”

“The dead disciples can just be used to refine more corpses.”

“Yes, Elder.” The Yin Corpse Valley disciples cupped their fists.

…

On the rooftop of a certain great hall.

Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng revealed their figures and both let out slight sighs of relief.

Bai Zisheng put away his spear and asked Mo Hua, “Junior Brother, do you know those two?”

Mo Hua said lightly, “From Yin Corpse Valley. We’ve got a bit of history.”

Bai Zisheng glanced at him in surprise. “Even the Saint Son of Yin Corpse Valley has history with you? Your ‘connections’ are really something…”

Mo Hua sighed. “Can’t be helped. When you walk the jianghu, grudges are inevitable.”

“The Saint Son of Yin Corpse Valley…” Bai Zisheng pondered. “He’s also going to the Dragon Pool for Core Formation?”

Mo Hua nodded. “Most likely…”

But then Mo Hua grew thoughtful.

If he remembered correctly, he had met this Young Master Shi several times before.

Aside from that massacre at Little Relay City, later in Desert City, in the underground demon-fighting arena where Big Tiger was imprisoned, Mo Hua had personally seen that young master surnamed Tuoba specially host a banquet for this Young Master Shi.

And at that banquet, the Huá Clan’s so-called “flower vase” eldest miss had also been present.

Young Master Tuoba was the young lord of the Great Wilderness Sect.

Young Master Shi was the Saint Son of Yin Corpse Valley.

That “Huá Pīng” who liked kicking open his door in the middle of the night was the noble eldest miss of the Huá Clan.

Great Wilderness Sect, Yin Corpse Valley, the Huá clan… Had they already been colluding in secret?

Had they started planning this Great Wilderness scheme long ago?

But why would Great Wilderness Sect collude with Yin Corpse Valley? And what did the Huá Clan want to gain from Yin Corpse Valley?

Could it be…

The dark prison of the Huá Clan, those bandaged people, dissection knives, and all kinds of cruel instruments of torture flashed through Mo Hua’s mind.

His expression turned ugly.

Bai Zisheng glanced at him. “What are you overthinking now?”

Mo Hua rubbed his forehead. “Nothing…” Then he sighed and couldn’t help saying, “The great clans are filthy. The waters truly run deep…”

Bai Zisheng sneered. “Didn’t I tell you when we were kids? Not a single person from those clans is good.”

Mo Hua looked curious. “Aren’t you from a clan too?”

“That’s different.”

Mo Hua didn’t really know what he meant by “different.”

But people in this world were complicated. In any place, there were bound to be good people and bad people. Nothing could be judged with a single brush.

“Alright,” Bai Zisheng said, “enough of this meaningless talk. Let’s hurry and find that demoness. Getting to the Dragon Pool for Core Formation is the real business.”

Mo Hua nodded. “Mm.”

The two got up to leave, but as he rose, Mo Hua suddenly paused and looked around.

Bai Zisheng asked, puzzled, “What is it?”

Mo Hua frowned slightly and scanned the surroundings again. Something felt off, but time was tight, so he didn’t think too much about it. He just said, “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

After speaking, Mo Hua activated his concealment technique, and his figure vanished into the air.

Bai Zisheng also donned his concealment robe, his body gradually disappearing.

After the two left, the area fell silent and empty.

Suddenly, in a corner of the great hall, soil and stone wriggled, and a head popped out, earth-gray, covered in dense red patterns.

It was that Dizang Corpse.

The Dizang Corpse stared wide-eyed at the place where Mo Hua had disappeared, lost in thought.

Moments later, shouts of battle suddenly rang out as a squad of Dao soldiers and barbarian soldiers fought their way nearby.

Only then did the Dizang Corpse withdraw its gaze and, somewhat unhappily, burrow back underground.

…

Elsewhere, Mo Hua continued sensing the aura of the Divine Dao, searching shrine after shrine, hoping to find Dan Ling and clues to entering the Dragon Pool.

Dan Ling was Dan Zhu’s older sister.

Now that the Royal Court was in chaos and facing a calamity of destruction, even aside from the matter of entering the Dragon Pool, just for Dan-Zhu’s sake he had to first confirm Dan Ling’s safety.

If Dan Ling had truly died in the Royal Court’s turmoil, Dan-Zhu would likely be heartbroken.

Mo Hua himself would also find it hard to bear.

However, in the next several shrines, there was still no trace of Dan Ling.

Instead, various demonic cultivators, aristocratic clans, sect cultivators, barbarian soldiers of the Great Wilderness Royal Court, and shamans of different Divine Dao systems were all tangled together in nonstop fighting. The situation was utter chaos.

Shamans counted as important figures within the Great Wilderness Royal Court.

The Dao Court, the great clans, and even some demonic factions all undoubtedly wanted to capture or slaughter these Shamans who controlled the faith of the barbarian tribes.

And in such a perilous and chaotic environment filled with killing intent, it was nearly impossible to remain hidden while investigating.

Before long, Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng, who were scouting in stealth, were discovered again.

This time, however, the one exposed was not Mo Hua, but Bai Zisheng.

Mo Hua’s concealment skills were extraordinarily profound. If not for that strange Dizang Corpse earlier, it would have been impossible for the Yin Corpse Valley elder to detect him.

Bai Zisheng’s stealth abilities were far inferior to Mo Hua’s.

Thus, as the two of them lay on a roof beam peeking at the battle inside the shaman hall, Bai Zisheng slipped up for a moment. His aura wavered slightly, and he was noticed.

The ones who discovered him were members of a great clan from Dao Province.

Leading them was someone both Mo Hua and Bai Zisheng recognized, one of Dao Province’s heavenly prodigies, Yuwen Hua, who had previously been defeated by Bai Zisheng during the campaign to encircle him.

A Guardian Elder of the Yuwen clan struck, knocking Bai Zisheng down from the beam.

The instant Yuwen Hua saw Bai Zisheng, rage surged through him, and he ground his teeth.

“Bai Zisheng… it’s you?!”

Bai Zisheng ignored him.

Yuwen Hua said coldly, “Weren’t you captured by that Mo Hua? How are you here?”

Bai Zisheng replied icily, “That mere Mo Hua—what worth does he have to keep me?”

Yuwen Hua’s gaze sharpened.

He had originally intended to personally attack Bai Zisheng, but his previous defeat still left lingering fear in his heart.

Then he quickly realized… this was the Royal Court, a fourth-grade Royal Court territory, not a second-grade mountain realm.

And by his side stood a Guardian Elder.

Yuwen Hua immediately pointed and ordered, “Elder, seize him!” Then he added, “This Bai Zisheng had an affair with that Great Wilderness demoness. He must know the secret of the Dragon Pool!”

Bai Zisheng, who had been preparing to leave, finally couldn’t hold back anymore.

His supposed involvement with the Great Wilderness demoness had only ever been a rumor. He hadn’t cared much about it.

With his proud temperament, he couldn’t even be bothered to explain such baseless, vulgar gossip.

But no matter how little he cared, he couldn’t stand these people constantly saying he “had an affair,” over and over again.

Bai Zisheng was finally fed up.

Perhaps after spending too long around Mo Hua, his tongue had grown sharper too.

His temper flared, and he pointed back at Yuwen Hua and cursed:

“I had an affair with your mother!”