The snowy plateau's back mountain.
Starlight showered upon the graves. Near Chen Ben's tomb, figures lay hidden, their bodies blending into the night. Not only Lin Zhao, Mu Geng, and Chu Yu were present, but even Chen Ben himself knelt beside Lin Zhao, holding his breath. Not far off, Fu Zhi, clad in a black shirt, looked exceptionally heroic, her entire being brimming with sword intent. She pressed one hand to the ground, streams of sword intent flowing out, enveloping everyone ambushed near the graves in a layer of sword aura that concealed their every breath.
Fu Zhi's sword cultivation was too profound; her technique made it easy to elude the notice of the eleventh-realm Coffin Bearers, who practiced ghost-raising arts and knew little of the sword.
"They're here," Fu Zhi's voice resonated in everyone's minds. "Don't make a sound. Once Commander Lin makes his move, everyone attacks. Obey Commander Lin's orders."
Everyone nodded in unison.
Amidst the starlight, figures approached from the west side of the snowy plateau, heading directly for the back mountain. At the forefront was Song Miao, the eleventh-realm Coffin Bearer, his arms crossed as he arrived with the wind. Beside him was Tan Xin, a female disciple in a qipao, followed by over a dozen cultivators, all at the Nascent Soul, Golden Core, or Void Comprehension realms. The weakest was seventh-realm.
The top experts of the Coffin Bearer lineage had almost all arrived!
"Hmph!" Song Miao stood in the wind, his black robe fluttering, his eyes fixed on Chen Ben's tomb. He chuckled, "Lin Bai of the snowy plateau is truly laughable. Calling himself the foremost general of the human race for a thousand years, it's all empty fame. Ignorant of his own limitations, he led people to attack our clan's cultivators at Jiuzhangyuan. Now, this is his fate. A promising seedling who could have become a martial artist of the Upper Five Realms has been ruined by him."
Tan Xin sneered, "He's just a man of false reputation. When the demon clan truly invades, this Lin Bai will be the first to die. But this time, the outcome will be completely different. The demon clan will surely march south, trample the Washing Sword River and the Fusu Great Wall, and penetrate the heartland of the Great Shang Dynasty!"
Song Miao laughed, "Indeed." He swept his gaze around, "The snowy plateau has no inkling. Let's be quick about it and retrieve Chen Ben's corpse!"
"Yes, Master!" Song Miao gracefully descended first, his fingers spread upwards, slowly pulling. Instantly, an entire tomb in front of him was lifted, soil and all. With a shower of falling dirt, the empty coffin rose from the ground. Song Miao narrowed his eyes, his pupils filled with ecstatic joy. An embryonic artifact of the superior immortal-grade refined corpse lay before him!
Tan Xin also narrowed her eyes. The great achievement was within reach.
"Whoosh!" Lin Zhao, hidden ten meters away, lightly ignited a Divine Speed Talisman. Instantly, everything in the world seemed to come to a standstill. The moment the talisman ignited, he shot up, moving like lightning towards Song Miao. Before the latter could react, he ignited a Body-Fixing Talisman and slapped it onto Song Miao's forehead with a "snap."
For a moment, the core of the Body-Fixing Talisman hummed, emitting a dense aura of military killing intent. The eleventh-realm Coffin Bearer was immobilized by the oppressive killing intent, but the True Return realm spiritual energy within him surged, constantly impacting the talisman. Clearly, this Body-Fixing Talisman wouldn't hold him for long.
"Now, kill!" As Lin Zhao quietly retreated, he raised his right hand, igniting three Sword-Illuminating Talismans and throwing them at the eleventh-realm Coffin Bearer. Instantly, three sword energies swept past, tearing open Song Miao's black robe and leaving bloody sword wounds on his solid flesh. However, the destructive power was still insufficient to kill an eleventh-realm ghost cultivator!
"Kill!" Fu Zhi's sword flashed. Just before the Body-Fixing Talisman, constantly burning and exploding, was about to be exhausted, she brought her sword, Cheng Xin, down heavily on Song Miao's head. Instantly, his skin split open, and even his skull was cracked by an inch. The wriggling brain beneath was visible. The next second, Fu Zhi's index and middle fingers joined and rapidly pressed into the wound. A flying sword shot out, instantly piercing Song Miao's back of the head!
"How dare you... do this?!" Unexpectedly, the eleventh-realm Coffin Bearer, whose brain had been pierced by a flying sword, was not dead. Instead, blood-red runes surged all over his body. The flying zombie beside him let out a cackling cry, and the coffin behind him emitted dense ghost qi, swirling around Song Miao.
"Not good!" Fu Zhi leaped into the air. "He's using the flying zombie and vengeful spirit to prolong his life. We must attack quickly and kill him!"
Saying this, Fu Zhi flicked her fingers, and ten Demonic Soul Swords, wreathed in enchanting blood-red light, struck Song Miao's body like ten meteors, "boom boom boom." Meanwhile, Mu Geng, Chen Ben, Xiang Ji, and Xu Sheng each ignited five Sword-Illuminating Talismans and threw them at Song Miao. Instantly, sword light flashed everywhere. Song Miao's body was hacked into a bloody mess by the sword qi from Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua. But this eleventh-realm ghost cultivator's vitality was surprisingly tenacious; even so, he was not dead!
"Master!" Tan Xin cried out in alarm. Just as she was about to rescue him, she was violently repelled by Chu Yu's punch. Immediately, a 본명 flying sword shot out, repelling the zombie Tan Xin kept, a毛僵. As Tan Xin made her move, the other Coffin Bearers also attacked, and for a time, ghost qi and sorcery filled the air, exploding continuously.
"Divine Dragon Crossbows!" Xiang Ji waved his hand. The Xueyu cavalry hidden in all directions operated their Divine Dragon Crossbows, shooting out bolts of arrows. Under the assault of the Divine Dragon Crossbows, several seventh-realm ghost cultivators were injured, and then intercepted by Xiang Ji and Xu Sheng wielding their weapons nearby. Fu Zhi and Mu Geng concentrated their forces on Song Miao, unleashing powerful sword qi and fist winds.
Lin Zhao, holding the Setting Sun sword, gritted his teeth. This eleventh-realm Coffin Bearer was too tough. That flying zombie was also terrifyingly powerful, leaping and dodging, its arms unleashing spells to block the onslaught of Fu Zhi and Mu Geng, managing to hold its own against these two eleventh-realm experts for a short time. Indeed, when it came to fighting one-on-one within the same realm, the Coffin Bearer lineage's strength was formidable!
"Boom!" Dense blood-red runes formed on Song Miao's forehead. He was suppressing his own body. At the same time, he threw a punch, clashing with Mu Geng's blazing fist. Using sorcery against fist wind, he was not at a disadvantage. The sword qi unleashed by Fu Zhi was completely blocked by the terrifyingly powerful flying zombie, making it impossible to break through the situation in a short time.
"Withdraw slowly!" Song Miao roared, "Someone, block Fu Zhi and cover my retreat!"
Two ninth-realm Coffin Bearers immediately led zombies and vengeful spirits to pounce behind Fu Zhi, forcing her to divide two Demonic Soul Swords to block their attack, inevitably weakening her assault on Song Miao.
The timing was perfect! Just as Song Miao was about to escape into the air, a sword energy suddenly enveloped his head. Then, Lin Zhao's sword energy struck, pinning him in place. At the same time, he thrust his sword upwards, the Ascending Dragon Slash keeping Song Miao suspended in mid-air.
"Chen Ben!" Lin Zhao shouted.
Instantly, the strongest tenth-realm young martial artist of the snowy plateau acted. Lin Zhao had previously told him not to act without his command. Now that Lin Zhao had finally spoken, Chen Ben's youthful blood boiled. He flashed forward like lightning and delivered a muffled, heavy punch to Song Miao's abdomen!
"Boom!" The eleventh-realm protective aura that even Mu Geng couldn't break was shattered by Chen Ben's punch. In an instant, Song Miao's body flew out, crashing heavily into the mountainside rocks, shaking the entire back mountain slightly. Then, Chen Ben ignited a Divine Speed Talisman, and his body appeared above Song Miao like a bolt of lightning. He unleashed another blazing fist, instantly shattering the sealing runes on Song Miao's forehead.
Amazing! Lin Zhao's scalp tingled. The tenth-realm martial artist with a burning War God's Gallbladder was truly monstrous. If he hadn't died back then and had cultivated to the tenth realm, would he also be this strong? For a moment, he felt a flicker of hope. If he hadn't woken up in the game back then, and the story had continued, wouldn't he have seen a different martial world and a different realm?
Now, seeing Chen Ben's punch, Lin Zhao couldn't help but curve his lips. In this world, there would always be outstanding young people who would flash across the historical sky like shooting stars. It was gratifying to witness it firsthand. From this day forward, the snowy plateau had Chen Ben. In this human realm, a star of martial arts was rising on the snowy plateau. How fortunate!
Chen Ben's brilliant War God's Gallbladder hummed within him. Under his fierce assault, the already heavily injured eleventh-realm ghost cultivator Song Miao looked extremely pathetic. Taking Chen Ben's fist now was a fatal blow. Coupled with the sword strikes and punches from Fu Zhi and Mu Geng, Song Miao's body became like a tattered cloth in the wind, with almost no intact bones. The dense sword wounds were terrifying.
"Chih!" Fu Zhi used her ten Demonic Soul Swords to entangle the flying zombie, which was constantly releasing spells. She herself, holding Cheng Xin, flashed past. Instantly, Song Miao's arm flew through the air, cleanly severed. Meanwhile, Mu Geng descended from the sky with a punch, knocking Song Miao's head askew. At the same time, Chen Ben, enveloped in golden fist wind, swept a horizontal punch, bisecting Song Miao's body!
"Kill him quickly!" Lin Zhao said in a deep voice, "After killing Song Miao, deal with Tan Xin!"
Fu Zhi suddenly opened her hand, summoning the ten Demonic Soul Swords. Instantly, the ten swords, like ten fiery red meteors, pierced through Song Miao's skull. At this moment, this eleventh-realm ghost cultivator was completely unrecognizable. Furthermore, the injuries inflicted by Fu Zhi, Chen Ben, and Mu Geng were too severe. Even with the protection of vengeful spirits and the distribution of injuries to the flying zombie, it was still not enough. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and half of his body collapsed. He was dead.
"Swish~~~" The eleventh-realm vengeful spirit, nurtured within the coffin, was freed and soared into the sky, transforming into a vengeful spirit woman in a red dress. After letting out a few ferocious laughs, she disappeared into the forest.
"Ah?" The Coffin Bearer girl in the qipao suddenly turned around. Seeing Song Miao's corpse, she was filled with surprise and joy. She immediately shouted, "My master is dead, I am now the ancestor! Everyone, cover me, retreat to Jiuzhangyuan!" With that, she darted away, sticking a golden talisman onto the forehead of the eleventh-realm flying zombie. "Let's go!"