Gateway of Immortality

Before Wu Yuesheng could even catch his breath, a sudden change occurred.

Just as the corpse poison, which had been almost entirely burned away, let out a loud explosion, a burst of Earth Malevolent Qi hidden within it erupted, shattering the Crimson Flame Sword's spiritual light.

Wu Yuesheng's expression shifted dramatically, and he hurriedly summoned back his spiritual sword. Although the Crimson Flame Sword's blade hadn’t cracked, its spiritual essence was clearly damaged. The sword light had dimmed significantly compared to before, and Wu Yuesheng’s face showed deep pain and anger.

A life-bound spiritual sword was an object that a sword cultivator bonded with spiritual essence. Once damaged, it would become less agile, and its power would diminish. Although the Crimson Flame Sword wasn’t entirely ruined, the damaged spirituality would require Wu Yuesheng to nurture it for a long time to restore it. This would not only delay his cultivation but also consume a great deal of his energy.

Seeing this, Qin Sang was secretly startled. Without hesitation, he unleashed the full power of the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword, wrapping the spiritual sword in surging spiritual power to prevent the malevolent corpse from taking advantage of any openings.

Wu Yuesheng’s Crimson Flame Sword had almost been destroyed, and since the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword was far inferior in quality to it, if it were struck by the corpse’s claws, it might not even need the corpse poison to corrode it—it could be directly severed.

“Damn this vile corpse!”

Wu Yuesheng cursed angrily, not daring to use the Crimson Flame Sword anymore. He quickly withdrew it into his dantian to nurture it, then took out another spiritual sword from his Mustard Seed Pouch.

Due to the damage to Wu Yuesheng’s spiritual sword, the formation of the three was easily disrupted by the malevolent corpse.

The malevolent corpse, having suffered losses, was no longer easily lured into traps.

Its evasion technique was disturbingly elusive, allowing it to move unpredictably in the grand hall. They had to defend themselves against sneak attacks, while simultaneously managing their artifacts to try to corner the malevolent corpse.

This stalemate dragged on for a while. They continuously attacked the Xuanhuang Armor on the corpse, trying to deplete the Earth Malevolent Qi, but most of their efforts were evaded, with little effect.

However, after the initial panic, they gradually began to notice something. Despite the intense battle, aside from the Xuanhuang Armor and the strange evasion technique, the malevolent corpse hadn’t used any other spells.

Wu Yuesheng had joked earlier about whether the malevolent corpse could use artifacts. Though it had been a jest, they had cautiously tested it out and confirmed that, aside from its claws, which were as sharp as artifacts, the malevolent corpse had no other means of attack.

This malevolent corpse had developed some intelligence, but its methods were limited. No matter how powerful its evasion technique was, it was still just that—an evasion technique. As long as they stayed vigilant and didn’t give it any openings, they could handle it.

In other circumstances, they could have slowly worn it down, exhausting the Earth Malevolent Qi that fueled the Xuanhuang Armor, making it easy to kill.

But with more threats looming ahead, they didn’t have the luxury of time.

After a long time of not being able to subdue the malevolent corpse, Qin Sang was considering summoning his ebony sword. But then, he noticed Hermit Baiyun growing impatient.

Hermit Baiyun took out his Sky-Trapping Pouch and shouted, “Do either of you have a way to temporarily trap this creature? This artifact of mine, the Sky-Trapping Pouch, is designed to imprison enemies. Once it’s trapped, the creature won’t be able to use its evasion technique and will have nowhere to run. But I need time to prepare. Please buy me that time.”

Qin Sang had seen Hermit Baiyun use the Sky-Trapping Pouch to pass through the yin wind barrier and fend off the malevolent corpse’s sneak attacks earlier. He had thought it was a purely defensive artifact and hadn’t expected it to have such a function. It truly was Hermit Baiyun’s trump card.

Upon hearing this, Qin Sang and Wu Yuesheng didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed. Their strategy changed in an instant.

The two of them flashed forward, positioning themselves between the malevolent corpse and Hermit Baiyun, attacking the malevolent corpse with their artifacts at full force. Seeing this, Hermit Baiyun nodded, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to activate the Sky-Trapping Pouch. His eyes slightly closed, he started chanting incantations.

The Sky-Trapping Pouch originally looked like a dull, gray sack. But as spiritual power surged into it, the artifact’s form began to change.

The pouch floated into the air on its own, swelling as if blown by an invisible wind. The mouth of the pouch pointed directly at the malevolent corpse, and suddenly a fierce gale began to blow. From the Sky-Trapping Pouch, an ice-blue wind poured out, swirling like blue fish swimming in the air. The scene was mesmerizing, and in the end, the wind formed an eight trigrams array near the mouth of the pouch.

The malevolent corpse instinctively sensed the threat coming from the Sky-Trapping Pouch. Its blood-red eyes swiveled toward Hermit Baiyun, a fierce expression appearing on its face. Letting out a howl, its figure suddenly vanished from its original spot.

Wu Yuesheng hastily slashed out several streaks of sword qi with his spiritual sword, but they all hit nothing but air. He quickly shouted a warning.

"Junior Brother Qin!"

Qin Sang realized the malevolent corpse was coming toward him. He swung the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword, and the malevolent corpse's shadowy figure reappeared, attempting to bypass him and ambush Hermit Baiyun.

Hermit Baiyun was in a critical moment of refining the Sky-Trapping Pouch. Qin Sang couldn’t let the malevolent corpse disrupt him, so without hesitation, he raised his left hand and flung out several concealed spiritual talismans.

These talismans were earth-based, able to gather earth-elemental spiritual power to form barriers like earth walls or shields, which could either defend or block an enemy’s path.

As soon as the talismans left Qin Sang’s hand, they shattered, and under his control, their power surged ahead of the malevolent corpse. In an instant, thick earth walls sprang up from the ground, blocking the way between the malevolent corpse and Hermit Baiyun.

Boom!

The malevolent corpse revealed itself and, with a single claw strike, smashed a gaping hole in one of the earth walls, showing its terrifying strength.

Qin Sang had previously prevented Sun De from using his talismans, leaving these talismans in his possession. However, most of them were made for Qi Refining Realm spells, which were not particularly effective against a malevolent corpse comparable to a Foundation Building cultivator.

Still, stalling the malevolent corpse for even a moment was enough.

With a gesture, Qin Sang directed the Five-Elemental Breaking Sword, sending sword qi stabbing viciously toward the malevolent corpse. The attack knocked it off balance, giving Hermit Baiyun time to evade.

Hermit Baiyun had been keeping a close eye on the battle. Seeing this opportunity, he continued refining the Sky-Trapping Pouch without changing his stance, floating backward to create more distance from the malevolent corpse.

Meanwhile, Wu Yuesheng retrieved another artifact from his Mustard Seed Pouch, which resembled a green vine. With a light motion, he sent the artifact shooting toward the malevolent corpse like a swift serpent.

The malevolent corpse had just scrambled to its feet, only for the vine to whip its tail fiercely across the corpse, forcing it back several steps, even further away from Hermit Baiyun.

Qin Sang and Wu Yuesheng worked together to suppress the malevolent corpse. They didn’t aim to wound it, only to hold it off. Each time, they narrowly managed to drive the malevolent corpse back. Its attempts to break through their defense, darting left and right, were in vain.

After a while, Hermit Baiyun finally completed the refining process for the Sky-Trapping Pouch. Standing up, he cast a fierce glare at the malevolent corpse and activated the pouch, sending it flying toward the corpse with a shout. "Restrain it now, both of you!"

Qin Sang and Wu Yuesheng quickly moved to the sides.

At the same time, Wu Yuesheng let out a low shout, and the vine artifact emitted a bright green glow, projecting multiple shadowy vines that tightly bound the malevolent corpse.

Qin Sang wasn’t one to fall behind either. He flipped his hand and tossed out several talismans designed to trap enemies.