Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Painted Skin Corpse

Qin Feng lunged toward Hua Ruoyan with explosive speed. As a body cultivator, he far surpassed the spellcaster Hua Ruoyan in both strength and quickness. By the time Hua Ruoyan regained her senses, Qin Feng had already brushed past her, racing straight for something behind her.

If Qin Feng’s target had been Hua Ruoyan, with a body cultivator so close, she would have been dead already. But behind Hua Ruoyan lay another body—a corpse.

“Taoist Sun!”

Qin Feng was actually heading for the corpse!

Missing Hua Ruoyan, Qin Feng’s right arm was instantly sheathed in his Shattering Force Gauntlet. As he closed the distance, his right fist shot forward with a thunderous roar, a massive shadowy fist detaching from his arm, crackling through the air toward the prone form of Taoist Sun.

The suddenness of this attack startled everyone present, and even the Faceless Man’s eyes flashed with surprise.

A split second before the explosive fist landed, the supposedly dead Taoist Sun abruptly lifted her head. In a panic, she barely managed to spit out a small black shield from her mouth. The shield instantly expanded before her, just as Qin Feng’s fist crashed into it.

Boom!

The tremendous force caved the shield inward, and though its power was blunted, the strike still sent Taoist Sun flying.

All this had happened in the span of a heartbeat—no one could have anticipated such a turn. And it was all Qin Feng’s doing.

Hua Ruoyan felt a chill of fear. She realized that, just moments ago, she’d had her back to Taoist Sun—had the corpse attacked her by surprise, the consequences would have been dire. She glanced at Qin Feng with a hint of gratitude in her eyes.

By now, if anyone still didn’t understand Qin Feng’s actions, they were hopelessly dense. Perhaps only Shi Yuan, with her keen mind, had guessed Qin Feng’s true intent from the start.

Though the defensive artifact had absorbed most of the blow, Taoist Sun had been unprepared and suffered for it. Her clothes disintegrated to dust, and her skin split open, inch by inch.

But Qin Feng knew she was only lightly injured.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

“Well done—you saw through us all,” the Faceless Man applauded, eyes on Qin Feng. “Your cultivation may be far inferior to Qin Hu’s, but your mind is first-rate.”

Meanwhile, the impersonator who’d posed as Taoist Sun staggered to her feet, immediately tearing off her ruined human skin to reveal a body of mottled yellow and red flesh beneath. Unlike the Faceless Man, this creature had a face, but no skin—muscles writhed and morphed, constantly shifting her features. Heavy Yin energy emanated from her; her aura was distinctly different from the Faceless Man’s.

Qin Feng glanced coolly at the skinless impostor, then sneered at the Faceless Man. “So that’s why she was so devoid of desire. Just as I suspected, this body is nothing but a skinless corpse—feeding on skins, it becomes insatiable; but with a human skin to wear, it feels nothing at all.”

“You’re from the Sect of Earthly Corpses, aren’t you?”

At these words, the Faceless Man’s pupils shrank.

“You little wretch, I should have killed you when I had the chance. I underestimated you. But it doesn’t matter—once you survive the Soul-Devouring Yin Fiend, your usefulness ends.”

“Earthly Corpses Sect—you deserve death!” Zhan Bai’s eyes blazed. He had crossed blades with the Sect many times and knew their ways well. Every initiate of the Sect of Earthly Corpses was cast into the Pit of Ten Thousand Corpses to choose a life-bound cadaver; hence, their hallmark was always one person, one corpse. Their minds and fates were inseparably linked.

Each life-bound corpse possessed unique powers. This one, able to wear another’s skin and imitate them perfectly, had clearly been flayed alive in life and now sought skins in death—a Skin-Painter Corpse.

Its power was to don any skin and become anyone.

Such beings were born spies; as long as skins existed, they could become anyone.

In Yunqi Kingdom, the three most formidable sects were the Sword of Shu, the Sect of Earthly Corpses, and Skywind City. The Sword of Shu, upholding justice, had been at odds with the Sect of Earthly Corpses for generations. Encounters always ended in life-or-death struggle.

Zhan Bai, whose hatred for evil was legendary, acted without hesitation upon confirming the Faceless Man’s identity. His hands flashed through incantations, and he shouted, “Cloudcutter—unsheath!”

“Kill!”

The flying sword, spiritual and supreme, shot from its scabbard like lightning. In a heartbeat, it split into two, then four, then eight, until the sky was filled with sword shadows.

“Thousand Phantasms Strike—slash!”

Countless sword images rained down upon the Faceless Man and the Skin-Painter Corpse.

Zhan Bai’s attack was thunderous and awe-inspiring. Tu Zheng, his longtime companion, responded in perfect harmony.

Just as Zhan Bai struck, Tu Zheng’s body exploded into a torrent of mud and water, sweeping across the ground toward the Faceless Man and the Skin-Painter Corpse.

One attacked from above, one from below—their cooperation flawless.

The Faceless Man’s eyes brimmed with wariness. Among all present, only the combined might of Zhan Bai and Tu Zheng truly concerned him. He wasted no time—slapping his storage pouch, he summoned a pitch-black coffin that hovered in the air, a large white character for “mourning” painted boldly on its lid.

The coffin opened, unleashing a tremendous suction that drew the Skin-Painter Corpse inside, leaving Tu Zheng’s muddy grasp clutching at nothing.

The Faceless Man began to chant, his body turning ethereal as demonic energy billowed forth, cloaking him in swirling black mist.

The flying swords howled through the air, cleaving the darkness in two.

As the mist dispersed, the Faceless Man was gone.

A black shadow streaked through the air, dove into the coffin, and with a sharp crack, the lid slammed shut. The coffin then shot down the passage at breakneck speed.

“He’s escaping! After him!” Zhan Bai glanced at Shi Yuan, who nodded in understanding. Zhan Bai transformed into a beam of light and shot after the fleeing coffin, with Tu Zheng surging forward in a wave along the ground.

Qin Feng and Hua Ruoyan exchanged glances and joined the pursuit.

Shi Yuan, meanwhile, released a massive blue python from her beast pouch. Its jaws gaped wide and swallowed the unconscious Fang Xinyi whole, then she stowed the serpent back in her pouch and hurried after the others.

When it came to a chase, Qin Feng lagged behind. Body cultivators excelled at explosive bursts, but were not suited to sustained pursuit. At first, he kept up, but before long, he fell behind—even Shi Yuan caught up and passed him.

Qin Feng pinched his nose in embarrassment.

Shi Yuan only smiled knowingly and slowed her pace, falling in step beside him.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the passage ahead suddenly opened into a wider chamber. Qin Feng and Shi Yuan came to a halt, gathered their senses, and peered into the space before them…