Han Li was deep in thought when his expression abruptly changed. He and Qu Hun halted their flight light.
Up ahead, where there had been nothing but empty space, the air suddenly warped and twisted. With a sharp whoosh, a humanoid creature crawled out from within.
"What is that?" Han Li held his breath at the sight.
The monster's entire body was a deep green. It wore pitch-black, gleaming iron armor, was unarmed, and its inch-long nails were razor-sharp. A mouthful of yellowed fangs lined its jaws, and it turned a hideous grin toward the two of them.
"A refined corpse?" The thick, putrid stench of death carried on the wind reached Han Li, and he instantly recognized the creature's true identity. His heart sank with alarm.
Judging by its appearance, this was no low-level refined corpse like an "iron-armored corpse." It had most likely been forged by that Grand Elder Ji Yin through some special method.
Thinking this, Han Li raised his hand. The Green Radiance Sword transformed into a green serpent several zhang long and shot toward the creature with vicious force. At the same time, Qu Hun silently flicked a finger, and a thin beam of blood-red light streaked out and vanished in an instant — the Blood Spirit Drill that Qu Hun had painstakingly cultivated.
With a muffled thud.
The Blood Spirit Drill arrived first and bored a tiny hole in the corpse's chest. The creature looked down at it in apparent confusion.
Han Li was overjoyed. Under his command, the green serpent slammed into the enemy a moment later.
Green light exploded in all directions, and the monster was sent flying back several zhang. But it let out a low growl, immediately steadied itself, and fixed Han Li with a vicious glare.
"Not good! This creature isn't vulnerable to ordinary spirit treasures?" Han Li hastily recalled the Green Radiance Sword, his heart sinking.
The corpse had taken his strike head-on and remained completely unharmed. Even the tiny hole was healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Han Li's expression darkened. He suddenly grabbed Qu Hun and merged with him into a streak of rainbow light, banking to the side in an attempt to slip past the corpse and escape from a different angle.
It wasn't that Han Li was afraid he couldn't handle this refined corpse — he was terrified that if he delayed his escape, Grand Elder Ji Yin would finish what he was doing and come after them. Better to avoid the fight when possible.
And when he stole a glance at the distance, he saw cultivators fleeing in every other direction, all cut off by swarms of identical refined corpses. He had no idea how many Grand Elder Ji Yin had forged.
A chill ran through him. Driven by Han Li and Qu Hun's full effort, the rainbow light accelerated by another thirty percent. He was about to shoot past the corpse's side — But the monster's eyes flashed green, and its body blurred. In the blink of an eye, it vanished from where it stood.
Seeing this eerily familiar scene, Han Li reacted almost on instinct and yanked his sword light to the side. Sure enough, five claw-shaped beams of black light screamed through the space where he had just been, shooting a dozen zhang before dispersing.
Han Li sucked in a sharp breath. He spun the sword light around, and sure enough, the refined corpse was standing not far behind him, the inch-long black gleam on its two claws flickering in and out.
Incredible speed! The creature had crossed dozens of zhang from its original position — it had arrived almost instantaneously!
This was almost as bizarre as Han Li's Gauze Mist Footwork on the ground. But this corpse could do it in midair too? That was beyond reason!
Han Li's face turned an iron-gray.
He knew that if he didn't deal with this refined corpse, there was no escaping. This was probably why Grand Elder Ji Yin could afford to let them flee without a care — the corpses would do the hunting for him.
Having made up his mind, Han Li slapped his storage pouch. Instantly, over a hundred beams of blue light and two beams of crimson light shot out, filling the air around him in a dense cloud.
When the glow faded, two Blood Jade Spiders and over a hundred giant blue apes stood revealed. Each ape had a gaping maw lined with fangs and stood two zhang tall. The moment they materialized, they raised their hands, and ten finger-thick beams of blue light erupted from their ten digits, blanketing the corpse in an overwhelming barrage.
Faced with such a dense, inescapable attack, the creature's eyes blazed with ferocity. A cloud of black gas erupted from its mouth, rising to meet the thin blue beams. Meanwhile, it crossed its arms before its body and charged straight through the black gas.
The black gas neutralized most of the blue beams before the remaining ones struck the corpse, sending green smoke billowing and light scattering in every direction. But the creature merely bared its teeth for a moment before rushing into the ape formation with a few savage, thundering strides.