Volume Two: A Season of Turmoil, A Series of Twists and Turns. Chapter 128: Excessive Blood Loss, The Infusion of Malice.

Daoist texts from Mount Mao record that a "Corpse Fiend" takes about a century to form. It develops blood-red eyes and long fangs, feeds on human blood, and resembles a human in shape but possesses vastly superior strength. They are usually found in places where corpses accumulate, exuding pure malevolent energy. Their cries sound like wolves, they can command a legion of ghosts, and they are impervious to ordinary talismans, heavenly lightning, and ritual artifacts. To slay them, one must use peach wood, potent yang blood, and a specialized grand formation.

Yang Chengzi was well aware of these facts. It was simply that he had not expected this thing to be a Corpse Fiend. Since he had already unleashed it, he had no choice but to stand his ground.

The Corpse Fiend caught his scent and located Yang Chengzi nearby. With a howl like a wolf, it leaped several yards into the air, raised its razor-sharp claws, and slashed down at him.

Seemingly jolted awake by the vine earlier, Yang Chengzi stepped back and kicked his Shangqing Sword into the air. Before the Corpse Fiend could land, the sword pierced the torn fabric of its armor and ran clean through its body.

Upon hitting the ground, the Corpse Fiend showed no sign of pain. With the Shangqing Sword still embedded in its chest, hissing with white smoke, it swung its claws and lunged at the retreating Yang Chengzi.

Yang Chengzi did not give it another chance. The grand formation had already manifested beneath his feet.

"Gen position is Mountain; hold firm at Kaiyang."

The formation shifted. With a thunderous boom, the Fiend’s claw struck Yang Chengzi’s arm like a falling bolt of lightning. The Gen position, capable of resisting an entire army, withstood the mountain-crushing blow. Though Yang Chengzi felt the agony, he remained firmly planted within the formation.

"Qian position is Heaven; exert force at Tianxuan."

With another boom, a palm strike sent the leaping creature flying. Yang Chengzi quickly formed hand seals to invoke the lightning spell. "Heavenly Lightning, descend!"

With the Shangqing Sword still lodged in the Fiend, the lightning strike was perfectly aimed. As his hands blurred, several bolts of lightning rained down—he didn't care if it was effective; he was going to strike it regardless.

True to the warning that ignoring the wisdom of elders leads to immediate misfortune, the lightning hit the target accurately, but the Corpse Fiend was as unaffected as if a breeze had passed through it. Aside from some smoke rising from its scattered hair, it remained completely unscathed.

The Fiend, sensing another person nearby, turned and lunged at Chen San.

Chen San, still deep in meditation, could not evade the attack. Yang Chengzi stepped forward and delivered a kick, but without the full power of the celestial formation, his strength was insufficient. He only managed to deflect the claws that were meant for Chen San.

The thwarted Fiend did not give up. It swept its arm toward Chen San’s head. As the long, sharp claws grazed past, Yang Chengzi grabbed the Fiend’s leg and dragged it away with all his might. Fortunately, by the time he pulled it away, Chen San had already begun forming seals to invite a deity.

However, the Fiend’s strength was enough to shatter mountains; one kick nearly killed Yang Chengzi. He was sent flying, coughing up blood, and slumped to the side, motionless.

Chen San opened his eyes, revealing a pair of ancient, weary orbs. He looked at the Corpse Fiend, closed his eyes to sense the situation, and chuckled. "Young man, your body’s yin and yang are seriously out of balance."

With that, he channeled his soul energy through his fingertips. Chen San’s entire body began to glow with golden light. He bit his finger, drawing blood, and charged at the Corpse Fiend.

The Fiend, having just kicked Yang Chengzi aside, rushed at Chen San. In the dark of night, under the moonlight, the disheveled, leaping Corpse Fiend looked particularly ghastly.

At the moment they met, Chen San concentrated almost all of his soul energy into his bitten fingertip. His blood spurted out like a fountain, and without hesitation, he plunged his finger into the Fiend.

Injured by Chen San’s yang blood and soul energy, the Fiend’s chest was nearly pierced through. But once a corpse becomes a Fiend, slaying it is no simple task.

Chen San dodged the Fiend’s claws, kicked it back, and drew the Shangqing Sword. He channeled his soul energy again, and his blood continued to spray onto the blade. As the Shangqing Sword touched the yang blood, it turned bright red, and the incantations of the Big Dipper Great Spell became clearly visible on its surface.

"A fine sword!"

The ancient voice echoed once more. The Shangqing Sword and the Fiend’s claws clashed like blades in close-quarters combat.

The Corpse Fiend had no intelligence, only a bloodthirsty nature; it knew nothing but crude hacking and slashing. But the divine consciousness of the Daoist ancestor was a different matter entirely.

The glowing red Shangqing Sword, coated in Chen San’s blood, hacked the Fiend until bones were exposed with every strike. Had Yang Chengzi’s Qian-position celestial formation been active to assist, that mountain-crushing strike could have severed the Fiend’s head instantly.

Unfortunately, Yang Chengzi lay motionless on the ground.

Just as Chen Wan’er thought the Fiend was finished, Chen San suddenly hurled the Shangqing Sword at it. The Fiend was pierced again, but it did not stop its advance.

"If this continues, we shall perish. It is up to your fate now."

Chen San concentrated his soul energy into his fingertip once more. At the moment of impact, he thrust his finger clean through the Fiend. The creature let out a spray of malevolent miasma, and Chen San kicked it, sending it flying backward with great force.

The moment it was sent flying, Chen San collapsed, and the divine consciousness dissipated into golden light.

The reason Chen San had been so fierce—piercing the Fiend with just his hand—was because the Daoist ancestor had forced the blood from his fingertips using soul energy, combining it with all his remaining strength. It was an unstoppable force. Although the Fiend was nearly dead, the repeated blood loss had brought Chen San to the brink of death. To preserve Chen San’s life, the ancestor’s consciousness had to vanish.

Chen San lost consciousness as he hit the ground. Normally, he would need days to recover, but this time, it would take weeks.

Chen Wan’er, however, remained conscious. The Fiend was not yet dead; if it rose again, both Chen San and Yang Chengzi would be meeting the King of Hell.

Ignoring the risk of malevolent energy entering Chen San’s body, she surged out of him, gathered all her spiritual energy, and poured it into Yang Chengzi’s body.

Yang Chengzi was a Daoist; his three fires of yang were usually enough to keep ghosts at bay. With no other choice, Chen Wan’er pushed her spiritual energy to the limit, momentarily suppressing his yang fires and forcing his body to stand up.

The first thing she did upon rising was to form the hand seals for the Qian-Heaven Eight Trigrams Celestial Formation. Although she wasn't as fast as Yang Chengzi, every seal was flawless. Aligning with the trigram positions, she shouted, "Open!" and the grand formation manifested beneath her feet.

The Corpse Fiend had also risen. Having been pierced through, it seemed enraged. It let out another wolf-like, eerie roar, its malevolent aura surging as it lunged toward Chen San.

"Xun position is Wind; Sparrow grasps the Pivot of Heaven."

Chen Wan’er’s voice, cold and detached, emanated from Yang Chengzi’s mouth. In an instant, she flashed in front of Chen San, blocking the Fiend’s path.

The Fiend felt no fear, rushing straight at her. Its sharp claws hung over her head like daggers, leaving no room for retreat.

"Qian position is Heaven; exert force at Tianxuan."

As she struck with her palm, she pulled the Shangqing Sword from the Fiend’s body. Hit by the power of the Qian position, the Fiend was sent flying once more.

Having retrieved the sword, she went through a flurry of hand seals.

"Kun position is Earth; Six Paths sever the Heavenly Pivot."

As she finished the incantation, the Qian-Heaven formation expanded, covering a radius of several miles.

"Zhen position is Thunder; energy shakes the Yaoguang."

The Zhen position shifted, locking onto the Fiend, who was still airborne from the previous palm strike. Imitating Yang Chengzi’s technique, Chen Wan’er swung the sword, pointing it at the Fiend.

White sparks began to appear within the Zhen position. A silver dragon tore through the sky, crashing directly into the Fiend.

"Awoo!" With a dragon’s roar, a blinding white light swallowed everything.

As Chen Wan’er expected, even the strongest lightning could not kill such a Fiend. As the light faded, the Fiend leaped high once more, claws descending.

"Li position is Fire; Vast Spirit burns the heavens and births all things."

The formation shifted according to her incantation. The Li position appeared beneath the Fiend’s feet, accompanied by a runic barrier that followed the creature no matter how high it jumped.

A dragon of fire surged from the ground, soaring into the sky. Its endless flames instantly engulfed the Fiend. In a heartbeat, the creature passed through the fire and fell from the sky.

But what hit the ground was no longer the vibrant Corpse Fiend. Red, charred bones rained down in front of Yang Chengzi, clattering as they scattered across the floor.

As the fire dragon vanished into the sky, the blood-red malevolent aura dissipated. Seeing the Fiend reduced to white bones, Chen Wan’er finally exhaled in relief.

Had she not remained conscious when Chen San invoked the Daoist ancestor, they would all have been dead today, given that Yang Chengzi only knew the first three formations before passing out.