**Chapter 102: The Divine Ability Master**
"So it really is the Corpse Immortal Sect master's son..."
Qin Mu's face darkened. This was far too coincidental—the sect master's son had targeted him specifically, and happened to be so weak he couldn't even withstand a single sword strike.
The Corpse Immortal Sect would absolutely not let him go this time.
Before the airborne corpses could close in, he caught a whiff of putrid stench. Their fingernails were tinged dark green—obviously coated in poison!
"Corpse poison!"
Qin Mu identified the toxin instantly from its scent. The Herbalist had taught him pharmacology, including how to identify different poisons and medicinal properties from their odors. Having been force-fed medicines since childhood, Qin Mu's ability to discern toxins was exceptionally acute.
These dozen corpses bore corpse poison on their nails. If the skin were broken, the victim's blood would first coagulate, then muscles would harden until rock-solid and impervious to blades. Eventually, consciousness would vanish and the soul would disintegrate!
Qin Mu sprinted, but the pursuing corpses were faster. The gap between them shrank with each step.
Yellow memorial papers continued streaming forward. The airborne corpses leaped ever closer, nearly upon them!
Behind him, He Yin waved his hand, and another firebird with blazing wings soared toward them. Even before it arrived, waves of heat rolled forth, whipping up a scorching wind that instantly withered the grass on the ground, draining all moisture!
This opponent practiced both spell-casting and sword-controlling—a dual path. Such combinations were rare in the past, but the Grand Tutor of Yankang had dramatically reformed traditions, gathering all sects under imperial service and breaking down old barriers between schools. This had led to the emergence of syncretic techniques.
Even evil sects like the Corpse Immortal Cult had seized this period of transformation to improve their techniques and develop new divine abilities.
"No—it's three paths! The flying corpses are using combat technique styles!"
Qin Mu frowned, suddenly accelerating with dragon-like movements to evade the fireball bird behind him.
Unexpectedly, the firebird detonated with a thunderous boom, its flames expanding into a massive fireball six or seven yards in diameter. The explosive shockwave and blazing fire struck Qin Mu like a hammer, sending him flying.
Before he could land, yellow memorial papers swept down with a flutter. Eight or nine flying corpses rode the papers through the lingering flames, converging on him.
These corpses were Five Luminaries Realm martial experts at minimum, their bodies tempered to be as hard as spiritual weapons. Their techniques were simple—scooping, slicing, snipping, stabbing—but if surrounded, escape would be impossible.
Corpses attacked from the ground while others struck from the air, and He Yin assaulted with divine abilities. The situation was extremely dire.
Yellow memorial papers cut through the air with shrill whistles. Though He Yin appeared to be commanding the papers, he was actually employing sword techniques—masterful sword arts no less refined than those of the Li River Sect.
Most critically, the talismans drawn on the papers in cinnabar and blood gave Qin Mu an extremely bad feeling.
Ordinary paper couldn't match a sword's power, but with talismans inscribed upon it, the papers harbored hidden destructive potential!
Qin Mu, still airborne, used the Celestial Demon Creation Art to seal his own soul. Then he shook vital energy through his bundle, dislodging the little fox. His fingers moved swiftly, sealing her soul within her body as well.
Hu Ling'er squirmed under his touch, equal parts embarrassed and annoyed. She dove back into the bundle and refused to emerge.
Sealing the soul required pressing specific hidden points on the body. As a female fox, she still possessed a sense of modesty.
Qin Mu had no time for such concerns. Yellow memorial paper was burned as offerings for the dead. Inscribing talismans on such paper meant the talismans' power was specifically designed to target the soul. If he collided with these papers and the talismans activated, his soul could be severely damaged. He'd preemptively sealed his soul to avoid being caught off guard.
Whoosh—
The airborne yellow papers descended. With them came eight flying corpses. The papers shot past on either side of Qin Mu as the eight corpses surrounded him, closing in from all directions.
Qin Mu began falling. Below, five mangled corpses leaped upward, attacking from beneath!
Simultaneously, yellow memorial papers shot through the gaps between the corpses.
"Bind!" He Yin shouted.
A paper suddenly ignited. The talisman drawn in cinnabar and blood didn't vanish with the flames but grew larger in the firelight, casting itself toward Qin Mu in midair!
Qin Mu seemed unaffected. The fish dragon behind his back leaped up, spitting out the sword. The youth from the Village of Broken Elders erupted with vital energy, his arm-thick energy threads coiling around the Shao Bao Sword as he leveled a flat horizontal slash.
Sword-Slashing Form!
Sword qi tore through the air, and a flying corpse's head tumbled free.
He Yin, hurrying toward them, was startled. He triggered the talismanic power of his remaining papers, attempting to bind Qin Mu.
His binding talisman functioned to fix the three souls and seven spirits in place—once bound, the body couldn't move. Yet the earlier binding talisman had failed to take effect, puzzling him.
Other papers' talismans activated, surrounding Qin Mu with strange glowing symbols. Yet Qin Mu remained entirely unaffected. His fingers flicked, transforming the Shao Bao Sword from the Slashing Form into the Rising Form, slicing a second flying corpse from bottom to top. The sword then shifted into the Drawing Form, circling the third corpse's neck.
The Shao Bao Sword's tip pointed outward in a circular Cloud Form, tracing a complete arc as all surrounding corpses' heads fell to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, eight flying corpses were decapitated, crashing to earth.
Cloud Form.
Qin Mu's swordwork was incredibly fast—the simpler the technique, the faster the execution. With the Shao Bao Sword's razor sharpness, all eight flying corpses fell before they could even reach him.
He Yin's face twisted in pain. His flying corpse encirclement against opponents who cultivated combat techniques or spells was typically effortless, but against a sword cultivator like Qin Mu was another matter entirely.
Especially when the sword cultivator wielded such a devastatingly sharp blade—this was the perfect counter to his flying corpses.
He had used corpse-nurturing grounds to refine these flying corpses, giving their bodies extreme durability. Ordinary spiritual weapons couldn't harm them, and since they possessed neither soul nor spirit, soul-targeting techniques were ineffective.
Qin Mu's flat slash had appeared unremarkable, yet it took heads with a single stroke. This sword was undoubtedly a treasure surpassing most spiritual weapons!
He Yin hastily halted, recalling the five corpses below. From his sword casket, more yellow memorial papers shot toward Qin Mu.
Qin Mu seized the chance to land, facing He Yin while retreating. He employed the Heaven-Thieving Leg Arts taught by the Cripple, moving at full speed even while walking backward.
Shing—
Sword light flashed as Qin Mu controlled the blade through vital energy, thrusting at the incoming papers.
Boom—
A violent explosion erupted. His Shao Bao Sword had barely intercepted the first paper when the talisman upon it detonated. The paper's detonation triggered a chain reaction among the others, producing a series of explosions. The blast wave struck Qin Mu's chest with tremendous force, nearly expelling all air from his lungs as he was hurled backward involuntarily.
He flew over ten yards. Hu Ling'er quickly cast her magic, summoning a gale to counteract the devastating shockwave, finally bringing Qin Mu to a halt.
However, the vital energy threads connecting him to the Shao Bao Sword were obliterated by the explosion. The sword screamed into the darkness.
Qin Mu landed, drawing a long breath before coughing violently twice. Though he'd anticipated the attack, his internal organs had still been damaged. Had it not been for his Hundred-Venom Golden Silkworm silk garments, that explosion would have killed him.
"You're still alive?"
He Yin produced a jar of foul-smelling ointment, tossing it to one of the flying corpses, then lunged toward Qin Mu. His yellow memorial papers concealed flame techniques—they could cut and slash, but also explode. The physical damage was secondary; the true threat was the thunderous sound produced by the detonation!
Those who faced the explosion's thunder directly would have their three souls and seven spirits shattered or torn from their bodies, destroyed in the blast!
That Qin Mu had survived both the explosion and its soul-destroying thunder exceeded all expectations.
But surviving this attack meant nothing. Qin Mu's devastatingly sharp sword had been blown away, its location unknown. Moreover, he'd been injured by the talismanic explosions. All that awaited him now was death!
Qin Mu advanced instead of retreating. He unslung his sword scabbard, employing vital energy to wield it as if it were a blade itself, thrusting at He Yin while his feet shifted in ghostly, unpredictable patterns as he closed the distance with frightening speed!
He Yin sneered, vital energy erupting as flame birds converged on Qin Mu. Simultaneously, his sword casket released more talismanic papers, slashing toward Qin Mu!
Qin Mu's footwork grew even more erratic. With a sharp cry, he thrust with extended fingers!
Thrusting Sword Form!
The scabbard whistled toward He Yin. The opponent sneered, a paper flying from his casket to intercept.
Qin Mu's thrust carried considerable power, but the scabbard's throat was angled toward himself rather than using the sharper tip. Even if it struck, the damage would be minimal.
One talismanic detonation would deflect this attack and blow the scabbard away.
But then the scabbard transformed. Its throat became the gaping maw of a fish dragon, lunging at He Yin's face!
He Yin's heart lurched. Then he heard the whistle of something approaching from behind—the Shao Bao Sword, blasted away by the earlier explosion, had returned and was now stabbing toward his back!
He Yin dodged, about to evade both the sword and the scabbard-turned-fish-dragon, when a furry little head emerged from Qin Mu's bundle. Hu Ling'er spat a whirlwind that pinned him in place for a heartbeat.
He Yin shattered the whirlwind, but felt a chill pierce his left shoulder. The Shao Bao Sword had driven through his shoulder blade, punching clean through and carrying a spray of blood as it plunged into the fish dragon's maw!
Qin Mu pressed his advantage, about to follow up, when raging flames engulfed him. Yellow memorial papers flew into the inferno.
Boom—
The violent tremors struck. Qin Mu coughed blood, tumbling backward. He gathered vital energy around the Shao Bao Sword, hurling it into the forest, then twisted and fled, vanishing into the night.