Chapter 135: Exterminating the Red Corpse, A New Clue

Qin Feng would naturally not allow him to be smug.

"Heavenly Demon, is refining him into a corpse truly the only way to slow down the dissipation of Zhan Bai's residual soul?"

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes blinked out from the head of the coffin and replied, "Given your current situation, I am afraid so. Zhan Bai is already dead; if you do not think of a way quickly, the soul fragments I have gathered will slowly dissipate. Even I cannot preserve a soul for long. The only method is to refine him into a corpse as soon as possible and bury the remaining soul into the newly birthed consciousness. In this way, not only can this portion of Zhan Bai's residual soul be preserved, but as his cultivation level gradually rises, there is still hope for him to recover some memories, though the chances are slim..."

Nodding, Qin Feng looked at Zhan Bai again. After a moment of contemplation, he finally made up his mind.

"Zhan Bai, you and I will fight side by side once again. In the future, I will do everything in my power to resurrect you. Believe in me!"

Having said that, Qin Feng bit his finger and used the method taught in the *Classic of the Earth Corpse Yin* to draw a mysterious blood talisman in the air. As the blood talisman vanished, the space before them twisted eerily, and a bloody ghost head holding a black, mysterious scroll in its mouth emerged. The ghost head let out a roar, and the scroll unfurled in the air. On a densely packed corner of the scroll, Qin Feng wrote his name in blood. The black scroll immediately retracted, and a strange curse seal shot forth from it, imprinting itself onto the center of Zhan Bai’s forehead. At that moment, Zhan Bai’s eyes suddenly widened, showing signs of a nascent consciousness, but at the same instant, an anomaly occurred.

A ray of blood-colored light erupted from the sword mark on Zhan Bai’s forehead, attempting to burrow into the seal, but it was shattered by another ray of blood-colored light emitted from the Heavenly Demon’s Blood-Qi Coffin.

Immediately after, five thin, white, ghostly soul fragments flew rapidly out of the Heavenly Demon’s Blood-Qi Coffin and merged into the seal.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The Life-Bound Corpse Pact was complete. At the moment of completion, the fierce ghost, with its hideous, death-god-like visage, swallowed the contract and vanished into thin air. The power of the pact took effect immediately, allowing Qin Feng to suddenly perceive the bloodthirst and irritability within Zhan Bai’s heart.

This was likely the nature of a corpse. After all, the new corpse had just been formed, and Zhan Bai’s soul was still in a dormant stage, not yet in control of its own body.

The five thin white soul fragments that had just flown into the seal were two of Zhan Bai’s souls and three of his spirits. Although far from a complete set of three souls and seven spirits, this was already quite remarkable, achieved only through the utmost assistance of the Heavenly Demon in gathering them at the first opportunity. Anyone else would have been unable to do what the Heavenly Demon did—collecting so many residual soul fragments all at once.

"It is done!"

After soothing Zhan Bai through a psychic link, Qin Feng’s gaze sharpened. He directly controlled Zhan Bai to stand up from the Blood-Qi Coffin. The sword mark on his forehead flashed, and the Taixuan Eight-Extreme Sword suddenly appeared before Qin Feng.

Qin Feng reached out and grabbed the sword.

"Red Corpse, come out, or do not blame me for being discourteous!"

As soon as Qin Feng spoke these words, the Taixuan Eight-Extreme Sword glowed with an intense blood-red light, and the shadow of a human face emerged upon the blade.

This person was none other than the Red Corpse Ancestor, whom Qin Feng had seen in the Blood-Qi Temple!

"Kid, let me go! I haven't had it easy, either; I’m just looking for a way to survive." Qin Feng had thwarted the Red Corpse’s plans repeatedly. Although the Red Corpse hated him to the bone, he was currently at the mercy of others. Displaying the true nature of a ruthless overlord, he began to plead bitterly.

"Let you go? Hmph! Don't even think about it!"

As he spoke, the Blood-Burning Purifying Fire flared up in Qin Feng’s palm. Upon the appearance of this flame, the Red Corpse’s face instantly drained of color. This fire was the bane of all demons and evil paths; even the slightest touch would inevitably result in the soul being scattered into nothingness.

"Don't, don't kill me! I know a great secret of the Earth Corpse Sect. Through it, you can find a way to save Fang Xinyi!" The Red Corpse was truly desperate. He had experienced Qin Feng’s ruthlessness and decisiveness; this kid was definitely not someone easily fooled. Thus, the Red Corpse had no choice but to play his trump card—a tactic he had once used against Zhan Bai, which had proven effective every time.

"A secret? To save Fang Xinyi?"

Qin Feng was stunned, then immediately understood why Zhan Bai had spared the Red Corpse’s life in the past.

It turned out he had been held hostage by this secret.

"Speak, what secret?"

Qin Feng’s brows knitted together, his eyes flashing with colder light. He brought the flame closer to the Taixuan Eight-Extreme Sword and demanded.

"I can tell you, but you must agree to one condition and swear an oath by your inner demon that you will not kill me!" The Red Corpse was indeed cunning; seeing that Qin Feng had taken the bait, he immediately raised his demands.

Qin Feng laughed.

The laugh made the Red Corpse feel very uneasy.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that Qin Feng might not be quite like Zhan Bai.

With the Taixuan Eight-Extreme Sword in hand, Qin Feng pressed with the flames. A ray of blood-colored light immediately escaped from the sword and flew toward the door.

Qin Feng sneered and did not give chase.

A mere moment later, the blood-colored light struck the door and was enveloped by a ball of blood-red fire. Heart-wrenching screams continuously emanated from within the fire.

With a wave of his hand, the fireball flew back into Qin Feng’s grasp.

After restraining it, Qin Feng withdrew most of the fire, revealing the dying Red Corpse. Now, he was nothing more than a dim, red, ghostly shadow.

Having lost the Taixuan Eight-Extreme Sword as a vessel, he was on the verge of extinction at any moment.

"Speak, or die!"

The Red Corpse kept his eyes closed, lying in his palm, refusing to answer. A flash of anger crossed Qin Feng’s face, and the flames surged again. After the Red Corpse let out a series of wails, he screamed, "I’ll say it, I’ll say it! Stop, quickly!"

Once the flames were withdrawn again, the Red Corpse had completely lost his spirit.

In his eyes, Qin Feng was nothing but a wicked man!

Trying to negotiate with him was simply asking for death.

Lying there, he begged, "As long as you promise not to kill me, I will tell you!"

Qin Feng nodded and replied, "Very well!"

The Red Corpse accepted his fate. Having obtained Qin Feng’s verbal promise, he began: "This secret dates back a thousand years. By chance, a deacon in charge of the corpse mines reported something to me. In one area, more than a dozen grave diggers died suddenly within a single day. All of them had strange moon-eye-shaped patterns on their bodies. I didn't pay much attention at the time, because grave digging is inherently dangerous, and one often encounters unexplainable things, such as witchcraft or corpse curses. It wouldn't be unusual for ten or eight people to die every day. So, I ignored it and just instructed them to be careful. However, not long after, the deacon reported that hundreds more had died successively. They all died in accidents, and every single one of them had the moon-eye pattern. Finally, I felt this matter was likely extraordinary, so I went to inspect the area myself."

"However, I was cautious and did not get too close."

"I only scouted the perimeter but unexpectedly discovered a mysterious place."

"It was a terrifying, cursed land."

"Later, I issued a sealing decree, killed everyone who knew about it, and used a powerful restriction technique to hide the area. Therefore, I am the only person in the Earth Corpse Sect who knows of this today."

"But what does this have to do with saving Fang Xinyi?"

The Red Corpse’s words shocked Qin Feng, because the location of the four ancient corpse-suppressing talismans he had retrieved from Xing Bing’s memory seemed to match the mysterious area described by the Red Corpse exactly.

"But why would Xing Bing stumble into that place? Could it be that one of the seals has loosened?"

Though his heart was in turmoil, Qin Feng remained calm on the surface.

The Red Corpse continued his explanation: "That place is shrouded in a very powerful sealing force. I spent a great price to enter it, and inside that mysterious land, I saw a Nine-Heart Profound Soul Ant. Unfortunately, just as I was preparing to tame it, I triggered a strange formation composed of sixteen bizarre corpses. I fought with all my might, killing four of them, but was forced to retreat, suffering heavy injuries. Otherwise, I would not have been ambushed by that old ghost Tianxuan, who killed me and sealed my corpse in the Blood-Qi Temple. If you promise not to kill me and help me find a suitable physical vessel so that I can possess it and be reborn, I will tell you the specific method to enter that place and assist you in obtaining that Nine-Heart Profound Soul Ant."

"Nine-Heart Profound Soul Ant?"

Upon hearing this name, Qin Feng’s eyes erupted with brilliance, and he fell into deep thought.

Qin Feng had heard of the Nine-Heart Profound Soul Ant. The creature was precious because of a mysterious substance bred within its ninth heart: Nine-Heart Profound Soul Saliva! This saliva could nourish the soul and make it incredibly powerful; it had miraculous effects, especially for those whose souls had suffered fatal damage.

Qin Feng slowly mulled over the implications of the Red Corpse’s words.

What the Red Corpse said was about sixty percent believable.

Because the four strange corpse-suppressing talismans were already in Qin Feng’s hands—a fact corroborated by the fragmented memories of Xing Bing—the Red Corpse was indeed not lying.

Having understood the general situation, Qin Feng’s gaze toward the Red Corpse turned cold once more.

The Blood-Burning Purifying Fire in his hand suddenly surged, and the Red Corpse began to howl again.

He struck to kill!

But this time, Qin Feng did not stop.

"Qin Feng, you little bastard! You promised not to kill me!" The Red Corpse was now in despair. Under the calcination of the flames, his last shred of residual soul was on the verge of annihilation, and he began to curse wildly.

Qin Feng snorted coldly and replied, "When dealing with villains, I, Qin Feng, have never kept my word! Because I am Qin Feng, not Zhan Bai!" Having said this, he closed his palm, and the Red Corpse was completely enveloped in flames.

"You will meet a miserable end, ah!~" Immediately after, the Red Corpse’s residual soul turned into a wisp of blue smoke and completely perished from this world.

Qin Feng opened his palm and blew away the ashes.

He clapped his hands and sat down at the table once more.

Rubbing his chin, Qin Feng fell into deep thought again.

The appearance of the Nine-Heart Profound Soul Saliva made Qin Feng’s eyes brighten. Zhan Bai must have chosen to cooperate with the Red Corpse to obtain this item, but Qin Feng knew it would not be easy to acquire.

The reason was simple: setting aside the mysterious and treacherous nature of the land itself, the Nine-Heart Profound Soul Ant alone gave Qin Feng a headache.

In a word: one thousand years!

What was the concept of one thousand years?

A thousand years could change everything!

A thousand years ago, he might have been able to easily capture the Nine-Heart Profound Soul Ant, but what about today, a thousand years later? A thousand years was enough for a beast in the Demon-Life stage to advance to the Demon-Core stage, or even, with a small chance, to the Demon-Infant stage!

Expecting himself to deal with a beast at the Demon-Infant stage?

That was highly unrealistic!

As for the clues provided by the Red Corpse, although he did not explicitly state the direction or area, this did not stump Qin Feng, for he could find it within Xing Bing’s memories.

As for the Red Corpse, he was merely a wisp of residual soul, a lingering wretch. Keeping him alive would only be a deeply hidden disaster. As for his promise to help, only a fool would believe it—and Qin Feng certainly did not. What help could the Red Corpse provide? He would more likely cause trouble, and at a critical moment, he would surely kick them while they were down. Therefore, when dealing with a devil of such an overlord level, Qin Feng had to kill him!

For Zhan Bai’s sake, and for his own!

Cut the weeds and dig up the roots to eliminate future trouble!

As for that mysterious land... he would plan it carefully; first, he had to find a way to obtain the grave-digging rights for that corpse mining area.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Feng had settled on a plan.