Chapter 711: The Jade-Shattering Alliance
Twenty miles from Shen Anyu's villa, hidden deep within the basement of a courtyard house in a sprawling urban slum.
The air was thick with the stench of decay and old earth. Around the room, candles flickered with an eerie green flame, their light swaying as if stirred by an unseen wind. complex, demonic patterns covered the ground, lines of power weaving together to form a malevolent formation.
At each major node of the formation stood a corpse puppet, their dead eyes staring blankly into the gloom. Streams of sickly light flowed from their bodies, converging on the very center of the array.
And at that center stood a handsome young man with skin the color of bleached bone.
"Pfft—"
A spray of dark green blood erupted from the young man's mouth. The ground beneath him rumbled and tore apart, the complex formation shattering with a deafening crack. The corpse puppets at the nodes were thrown violently backward, crashing against the damp stone walls.
The moment Shen Anyu had crushed his Land Immortal-level puppet, Qin Yuan felt his mind reel as if struck by a colossal hammer. Blood, thick and green, streamed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Qin Yuan staggered back, his legs giving way. He collapsed to the ground with a dull thud, his already pale face turning a ghastly, ashen shade. The eerie, dark green blood that pooled around him was chillingly unnatural, the mark of a practitioner of the darkest arts.
It was the backlash.
The backlash from the Celestial Corpse Refining Divine Method.
He had controlled the Land Immortal puppet from a distance, using the divine method to launch a devastating sneak attack on Shen Anyu. But when the puppet was destroyed, the connection had snapped back, inflicting a catastrophic wound upon his spirit.
A ruthless glint flashed in Qin Yuan's dark eyes. He raised a pale, trembling hand and made a grasping motion. Instantly, the streams of light that had once flowed from the remaining corpse puppets reversed their course, surging out of the broken formation and pouring directly into his body.
As the light flooded into him, a touch of color returned to his cheeks, and his weakened aura began to rise once more.
He did not stop until all dozen of the corpse puppets in the basement had crumbled into fine dust, their power utterly consumed. Only then did Qin Yuan slowly open his mouth.
A stream of foul air, glowing like green ghost fire, shot from his lips. It traveled several meters before striking the basement wall, corroding a deep, dark hole of unknown depth.
"I've suffered a tremendous loss!"
Though his injuries had stabilized, Qin Yuan's expression was devoid of relief. His face was a grim, gloomy mask of fury.
Those puppets had been, at the very least, at the Grandmaster level, with many even reaching the world of Heavenly Human. Now, they were all just scrap, sacrificed to mend his wounds. Was it easy for him? To work so hard, excavating ancient ruins, desecrating tombs, and retrieving corpses from every corner of the world?
And then there was the Land Immortal puppet—the one Shen Anyu had obliterated. He had secretly dug up the ancestral graves of hundreds of martial arts families and sects, both domestic and international, just to find a single, perfectly preserved Land Immortal corpse. He had then poured vast, irreplaceable resources into nurturing it, barely managing to restore it to the peak of its power before death.
It was meant for a grand purpose, a trump card for a crucial moment. And now, it was gone, destroyed on its very first deployment.
Qin Yuan felt as if his heart were bleeding.
'A Land Immortal corpse puppet... I had planned to use it to achieve great things upon entering the Xuanhuang World, and now it's gone. It won't be easy to find another corpse of that caliber, let alone refine it into a puppet again.'His thoughts were a bitter storm.'What a pity. In this mortal world, even if one finds the grave of a cultivator, the spiritual energy within the corpse would have long since dissipated, rendering it useless.''If only I were in the Xuanhuang World,' he seethed.'How wonderful it would be to dig up the graves of a few Golden Core or even Nascent Soul ancestors.''Forget a Nascent Soul puppet—if I had a single Golden Core stage corpse puppet, would Shen Anyu still be alive right now?'
Qin Yuan was consumed by a deep sense of unwillingness. The mortal world's limitations were a constant chokehold; even finding a Land Immortal's corpse was a monumental task. If he were back in the Xuanhuang World, with his full capabilities, he would have ground Shen Anyu into dust long ago.
He had seized a perfect opportunity, and still, he had failed.
'Shen Anyu's growth is too fast!'
Qin Yuan's expression flickered, shifting between gloom and a cold, calculating brightness. He knew better than anyone how terrifying Shen Anyu was, how monstrously fast she grew. That was why he had acted immediately, even without full preparation, the moment he sensed her soul had left her body.
And yet, it was not enough. He had fallen just short of success.
'I am reborn. This time, I must not repeat the mistakes of my past life. I will not perish at Shen Anyu's hands again.'A new thought began to crystallize in his mind.'Perhaps... I can find a few capable helpers.''I don't need many. But they must be secretive. They must harbor a blood feud with Shen Anyu. And they must be strong!''Wu Ming... Zhang Zhiyun... those two are good candidates. If I can win them over, form an alliance to kill Shen Anyu, it will surely succeed.'A dark, twisted smile touched his lips.'An avengers' alliance? No... a Jade-Shattering Alliance!'
Faint green corpse-fire surged in Qin Yuan's eyes. With a cold snort, he waved his hand, obliterating every trace of his presence in the basement. Then, he melted into the shadows and was gone.
...
Soon after, Qin Yuan appeared at the summit of Da Di Mountain, a hundred miles east of Hangzhou. He stood before the incense burner of a long-abandoned temple.
He carefully placed three thick sticks of incense into the burner. Wisps of white smoke rose from their tips, ascending straight into the clear sky without wavering. Beside the burner, he arranged a few simple offerings.
After completing the ritual, Qin Yuan clasped his hands in a formal salute. His voice, when he spoke, was ethereal, seeming to echo from a place beyond the world.
"To the Lord of Tianmu Mountain Blessed Land, Tian Gai Di Xuan Tian. Qin Yuan has important matters to discuss. I humbly request an audience..."
...
Within a blessed land of stunning beauty, where spiritual energy hung thick in the air like morning mist.
Interlocking fields of gold stretched as far as the eye could see, the crops exuding the joyful scent of a coming harvest.
Wu Ming, wearing a simple straw hat, moved through the fields like an old farmer, a contented smile on his face.
'The Yellow Beam Rice in the portable immortal manor ripens three times a year,'he thought with satisfaction.'It increases spiritual power and tastes absolutely divine. Just a few more days until the harvest.'
It was then that an ethereal voice drifted into his ears, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"To the Lord of Tianmu Mountain Blessed Land, Tian Gai Di Xuan Tian. Qin Yuan has important matters to discuss. I humbly request an audience..."
Wu Ming's expression shifted, the smile vanishing.
He had known for a long time that his portable immortal manor was, in fact, the legendary Tianmu Mountain Blessed Land—also known as Tian Gai Di Xuan Tian—one of the famed paradises of the ancient cultivation world. This was his greatest fortune. Without his permission, not even a Nascent Soul ancestor could force their way in.
To contact him from the outside world, one had to perform a specific ritual at the peak of Da Di Mountain, the former location of the blessed land's entrance.
But this was a secret no one in the mortal world should know. Only a true cultivator could possess such knowledge.
'Qin Yuan?' Wu Ming frowned. The name was completely unfamiliar.
Seeing no response, the voice from the outside world spoke again.
"I go by another title: the Jing River Corpse Fisher. Perhaps Fellow Daoist Wu Ming has heard of it."
Jing River Corpse Fisher?
Wu Ming's eyes widened in genuine surprise. He had heard that name. It was very famous—not in this life, but in the one from which he had been reborn.
According to the rumors of his past life, the Jing River Corpse Fisher had inherited the legacy of an ancient cultivator and possessed unfathomable strength.
Ultimately, however, he had fallen at Shen Anyu's hands.
'But why would the Jing River Corpse Fisher be looking for me now?'Wu Ming wondered, his curiosity piqued.'We have no connection.'
As he watched and listened, Qin Yuan's voice echoed into his sanctuary once more, carrying a chilling weight.
"You and I are both victims of Shen Anyu."
The voice paused, then delivered its final, devastating blow.
"Fellow Daoist Wu Ming... you've also been reborn, haven't you?"
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