Forge a path to success.

Chapter 137 A coincidence
"So heavy." "I can't get up." "What's that?" "A heartless person?"

Each of the sixteen heads emitted a sound of doubt, and the hideous demon struggled fiercely. Its grip was strong enough to easily crush bricks and stones, and its wildly flailing limbs smashed the ground into fine sand. But the black threads carried a terrifying weight, and no matter how hard it struggled, it could not stand up, but only sank deeper and deeper into the sand, as if digging its own grave.

Super-Heavy Sin Net, a new technique independently improved by Qingye based on the original, simplifies the shuriken array into threads of shadow element, reducing the lethality of weight but enhancing its binding ability. She cautiously maintained her distance, not advancing rashly even if the enemy fell for her trap. The power of shadow gathered and swirled in her hands, forming sharp, cross-shaped hidden weapons.

"A corpse gu controlled by a talisman..." Qingye calmly assessed, "There's no saving him. Kill him."

Qingye swung her arm like a whip, hurling shadow shurikens at the multi-headed corpse gu! Ten, thirty, fifty! The hidden weapons rained down, and the corpse gu cried out in agony under the brutal onslaught!
"Pain!" "It hurts so much!" "Boss!" "Help!" "Boss!"

"Disperse," the man coldly ordered.

Bang! Under the relentless onslaught, the blood-soaked flesh sac exploded, scattering organs and blood everywhere. The flesh and blood that constituted the corpse gu dispersed in the filthy rain, abandoning the parts of the body pierced by the shadow lines, and reassembled in the distance.

After reuniting, it lost two skeletal hands but gained four skeletal legs. With its human head and fleshy sac atop its head, it crawled swiftly on its many legs, like a hideous worm lurking in the shadows of the city. It leaped onto the road, easily overtaking water trucks on the nighttime highway, its speed comparable to that of a martial arts cultivator.

But look! On the right side of the lane where the ugly corpse worm lurked, the yellow-clad, remnant of the spirit was moving parallel to it on foot. His arms crossed over his chest indicated he undoubtedly still had energy to spare. The man and the corpse worm drifted past the "100" mark on the highway like phantoms! They far exceeded 100 kilometers per hour!
"Come here!" The multi-headed corpse worm extended its bony claws, and the Remnant Heart retaliated with a slash. "Don't follow me!" One of its heads spewed out thick green poisonous smoke, which the Remnant Heart shattered with a flashing finger. "Are you underestimating me!" Several heads lunged to prey, only to have their throats pierced by shurikens that arrived first. Seizing the opportunity, Qingye unleashed a low kick while running at full speed. The corpse worm struck by the kick tumbled past the "120" emergency number, losing its balance and falling off the overpass!

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh!!" The Corpse Gu spat out its snake-like tongue, which wrapped around the overpass as it fell. It swung up using its tongue as a rope, passed under the bridge, and came behind Qingye to launch a sneak attack with a heel strike aimed at its head.

The bone claws smashed the girl's head, then tore her entire body apart, the violence shattering the corpse into glass-like fragments. Transparent, like real glass shards. "?!" The corpse-devouring insect was astonished by the strange sight. The fragments drifted past it, bringing a chilling, icy cold. Its limbs were freezing.

It didn't strike the heartbroken one; it was a mirror formed of ice crystals!

Suddenly, countless thin, cicada-wing-like ice crystals rose up on the overpass, piecing together a dazzling maze of mirrors. In the eerie chill, girls who should have been dead emerged from the mirrors—not just one, but ten, then twenty—surrounding the corpse-devouring insects like an army.

They simultaneously swung their blades, unleashing an equal number of ice blades as their clones. The Corpse Gu raised its bony claws and slammed them wildly, shattering the ice blades. But the more it destroyed the enemy, the more icy fragments it created, constantly generating new ice mirrors, making the enemy's attacks increasingly dense. It couldn't find the Heartbreaker's true form; the pervasive chill grew stronger, slowing its speed and preventing it from leaping for a moment.

"Boss!" "What?" "I don't understand!" The corpse worms were in a state of confusion.

In the hotel, Wu He twirled a stray strand of hair, lost in thought. He had seen the enemy's Heart-Binding Technique on the battlefield; the Cold Track Technique, which used ice mirrors and hidden weapons to toy with opponents, was a specialty of the Cold Intent Sect on Shura Island. But ordinary Cold Track Techniques didn't have such a wide range, nor could they last that long, especially since it was a skill that only a "Secret Soul" Heart-Binding Technique practitioner who had mastered the power of Turbid Tears could master.

Did he absorb the Iceman's power with his sinful bones to unleash a technique exceeding his own physical level? That would be such a waste; the Remnant Souls usually use their trump cards for a one-hit kill...

"Intending to gather your strength?" Wu He sneered. He flipped his palms, revealing a new blood talisman, a "Burning" character that flickered like fire. It was the Blood Burning Qi Control Talisman that Chu Hengkong had used.

The talisman fell upon the paper figure, and the multi-headed corpse gu immediately let out a wail. The blood in its body began to burn violently, and the spirit gained by recklessly sacrificing its life force exploded, violently shattering the ice crystals within a hundred meters!

Wu He took control of the Corpse Gu. The wide field of vision brought by his multiple eyes allowed him to accurately capture all the information in the environment. Qing Ye, who had just put on the Shadow Robe and was trying to sneak into the night, was as conspicuous as a firefly in the dark. He exhaled, closed his eyes, and slashed out with his right palm with immense force. The flowing energy made the palm wind as red as blood.

The Crimson Sun Subduing Demon Palm is one of the signature martial arts of the Yueque Palace. Its attack range is as wide as the sun shining. As long as a trace of palm force touches the opponent, the rest of the force will be transferred and follow up. Every strike is 100% accurate without wasting any power, making it perfect for dealing with opponents who hide their true intentions.

"Crimson Sun." "Subduing Demons." "Palm!"

The corpse gu, controlled by Wu He, unleashed a twisted bone claw, its force transforming into a fiery red wall that slammed forward. Qing Ye couldn't dodge in time, barely grazing a streak of red. Her outward-flowing energy instantly contracted, transforming in a flash into a palm that struck Qing Ye's abdomen, piercing her through.

The one struck by the broken spirit was engulfed in flames. Her fierce will burned away her flesh like a raging fire, and the ashes fell, turning into shuriken the same color as the night!
"what?!"

Amidst the Corpse Gu's gasp, the shuriken spun in a wide arc like a thrown discus, its tip trailing a thin line of shadow. This was the foundation of the Sinful Bone and Broken Heart: the Weapon Substitution Technique. Ordinary techniques, when used at the right moment, could become deadly moves. Only now did the Broken Heart's true form appear, clinging to the Corpse Gu like a true shadow, her twin blades thrusting out simultaneously, their blades gleaming with an otherworldly light.

The Way of the Broken Heart Sword. The Unthinking Reversal Style: Twin Wind Kill.

The blade pierced the corpse worm's body, and two opposing forces of energy erupted within it like two gusts of wind from the blade, instantly shattering the talisman controlling the corpse worm at its deepest point. Blood gushed from the eyes of the corpse worm's sixteen heads simultaneously, and the deformed flesh sacs were pierced by the blade wind, forming a hole the size of a human head, inside which the stolen stone seed lay.

Qingye grabbed the stone seed, turned, and ran away. The corpse gu, having lost its core, struggled and trembled on the spot, then erupted into a towering flower of flesh and blood.

She stepped back and carefully observed the stone's rock-like surface, her grip on the dagger never loosening.

"It doesn't seem to be contaminated." Qingye didn't relax. "Can you recognize the monster's true nature?" [A Gu-poisoned corpse that controls the body with talismans, consuming life force to gain power. Its foundation is the talismanic arts of the Zhengxuan Palace, but its application is far too evil. It requires recklessly layering methods to strengthen the body; it couldn't be achieved by just one person's madness. That's probably...]

"I had my doubts from the very beginning."

Qingye tried to activate the communication relic, but to no avail; Wu He had somehow managed to interfere with the communication. However, a competent Remnant of the Heart always has a contingency plan. She then took out a black paper cup, the bottom of which was connected to the group's base by an extremely thin thread. This was a small communication device created using elemental resonance; it could be used if there was a similar force on the other side.

"Sister Huaisu, how is the situation?"

“We can’t count on Sethlen and Vande for now, but I can still fight,” Ji Huaisu replied quickly.

"I brought back the stone seed, but the situation is very bad." Qingye was caught in a dilemma. "There's an aura of heresy around Mr. Chu, and the talisman master's place is also..."

"Don't be reckless. You and I alone can't defeat a talisman master. I'll set off with the supplies now and meet up with Akong."

"Okay." Qingye nodded emphatically. Sister Huaisu was indeed a seasoned veteran; her composure under pressure was something Qingye couldn't learn. She grabbed the stone seed and rushed towards the battlefield, not forgetting to check the details: "Is that dragon-something tree talisman ready?"

[Don't underestimate me, kid. I just finished...] Shi Zhong's handwriting suddenly paused, [Oh no!]

Qingye was startled: "I've been trying really hard not to underestimate you!! What happened again?!"

The talisman has been stolen! The Purification Talisman is in the hands of a talisman master!

Qingye felt a wave of relief wash over her. She informed Ji Huaisu, "Thankfully, it was just a lost talisman; nothing serious happened..."

"Damn it! This is terrible!" Ji Huaisu was truly panicked this time. "Ah Kong!"

Qingye suddenly realized. The talisman in the stone seed was key to suppressing heretical power. There was a clear heretical aura emanating from Chu Hengkong. He had just finished a life-or-death battle. His spine was an immortal machine…

The power of the true machine is about to go berserk!
But how did that talisman master manage to do it? The corpse gu, which was used as a pawn, had already been killed by her, and no third person was involved in the process. How did he manage to steal a talisman without anyone noticing?

·
Luxury hotel suite in northern Jinye City.

The record was still playing, and Wu He hummed along. The useless paper figure was casually tossed into the trash can, where it was pierced by a bullet.

The blood of the clown ape, the scales of the juggling sprite, the bark of plant beasts, and a third of humor. The "transfer bullet," handcrafted by the strange gunslinger, is activated through a paper doll—the Gu Hand Heart-Connecting Talisman. This bullet was originally intended for him to forcibly transfer the stone seeds, but unexpectedly, another gain came into his hands while capturing the stone seeds.

He went to great lengths to obtain the stone so that he could use it as material to make a talisman, a talisman that was of utmost importance to him.

Nagarjuna's Separation from Defilement.

"Without lifting a finger!" Wu He said happily, "That martial arts practitioner was also thinking of making talismans, and this talisman just happened to end up in my hands. Luck really is something that turns bad into good; after a period of misfortune, good fortune has come my way again."

In my opinion, things that are intangible are never trustworthy. Only material things. Child. Only material things and life itself are worth relying on.

A voice sounded from the darkness, kind and gentle, like the voice of an elder patiently guiding a junior. Wu He unfolded the talisman he had obtained from the stone seed, admiring its near-perfect design.

"Let's just say that's how it is. Anyway, this is the last time I'll talk to you like this," Wu He said casually.

He walked onto the balcony and looked up at the dark night sky. The man raised his hands as if embracing, and a small, glittering object fell from his palms. It was a gleaming gold badge, with a meteor-like protrusion running through the curve at the bottom, like a star rising from the bottom of an abyss.

The shape of the badge was exactly the same as Ji Huaisu's pendant.

"Refining begins."

The badge melted like golden droplets, and a third force merged into the rune. Wu He struggled to raise his arms, and from his stronghold, tens of thousands of vein-like black lines activated, rapidly spreading throughout the city. The rune array, meticulously prepared for days, was activated at this moment; the power within the earth's veins was drawn into the array and surged through the array into Wu He's body!
(End of this chapter)