Volume Three: The Tomb of the Fox Immortal - Chapter Forty-Eight: Fierce Battle of the Twin Corpses

Looking at the two red-haired corpse fiends, I said with a solemn expression, "This should be the true form of the red-haired corpse fiend. What we saw earlier was likely just a decoy."

Hearing my words, both of them were startled. Of course, all of this was thanks to that malicious immortal; had it not been for the fiendish immortal's doing, these red-haired corpse fiends could never have transformed into such a state.

Even as we stood there in amazement, the two red-haired corpse fiends had already begun trading fierce blows. Every strike was vicious; had any of them landed directly on the walls or the floor, it would have instantly left a deep crater or a heavy indentation.

We watched in continuous awe. Such a scene of zombies fighting one another was something even high-ranking Taoist masters would probably not witness once in a lifetime. At that moment, one of the red-haired corpse fiends slowly opened its mouth and uttered something to the headless red-haired corpse fiend. However, because of the passage of countless years, the vocal cords of the red-haired corpse fiend were utterly ruined, and it could only produce a harsh, grating friction sound.

Hearing that the red-haired corpse fiend could actually speak sent a chill through our hearts. If the headless red-haired corpse fiend could still hear, wouldn't that mean the end for the few of us?

Fortunately, the head of the headless red-haired corpse fiend was completely severed. Without a head, it was certain that it could no longer hear any sounds.

Li Kun asked with some confusion, "What did that red-haired corpse fiend say?"

I shook my head, unable to clearly catch the words it uttered, but Xu Tian, standing beside me, said, "I think I managed to catch two words: 'betrayal.' If I guessed correctly, what it meant to say was something along the lines of 'you betrayed Lord Fox Immortal, you deserve to die.'"

Hearing this, a cold shudder ran through all of us. We had not expected that these creatures would retain such a strong residual consciousness.

The two red-haired corpse fiends exchanged blows, each move aimed to kill. However, because the headless red-haired corpse fiend lacked vision and could only rely on sensory perception to counterattack, it was utterly overpowered and placed at a disadvantage before long.

With a wide sweep of its jaws, the intact red-haired corpse fiend clamped its teeth fiercely onto the neck of the headless one. After a series of tearing sounds, the neck of the headless red-haired corpse fiend was bitten clean through. The red-haired corpse fiend bit down and gave a sharp upward jerk, and we watched in horror as the internal organs of the headless corpse fiend were violently ripped out by the roots.

Such a gruesome sight made even Li Kun and me feel goosebumps and nausea, let alone Big Dog and Xu Tian, who had already bent over and begun to vomit.

At that instant, I felt every hair on my body stand on end. Having endured a brutal battle with the headless corpse fiend, the surviving red-haired corpse fiend was covered in wounds, and one of its legs had even been torn to shreds in the fray. But now that the headless corpse fiend was dead, wouldn't the next target be the four of us?

With that thought gripping me, I shouted to the others, "Quickly, all three of you, go and subdue this red-haired corpse fiend! The headless one is dead, and our turn is next. Let's take advantage of its exhausted state to finish it off!"

Hearing my command, they all took a deep breath. Exchanging glances, they gritted their teeth, let out a unified roar, and charged desperately toward the limping red-haired corpse fiend.

The red-haired corpse fiend turned its head and saw the four of us charging at it. It crouched slightly, its sharp arms splayed outward to the sides, clearly preparing to deliver a fatal counterattack the moment we approached.

Seeing this, I hurriedly yelled from behind the three of them, "Form a three-sided encirclement! Don't charge straight at it head-on!"

Prompted by my words, Xu Tian and Big Dog immediately adjusted their positions. Li Kun continued to charge straight toward the red-haired corpse fiend, but he deliberately slowed his pace slightly to coordinate with Xu Tian and Big Dog.

Judging that the moment had arrived, Li Kun lunged forward. In response, the red-haired corpse fiend swung both of its massive, deadly arms downward toward Li Kun's head. But just as those arms descended, Xu Tian and Big Dog surged forward with a burst of speed, their hands clamping firmly onto the red-haired corpse fiend's arms to hold them in place.

Meanwhile, Li Kun slid along the ground, aiming a vicious kick straight at the red-haired corpse fiend's legs. With its arms restrained, the upper body of the corpse fiend was completely immobilized. Yet, by some twist of fate, the red-haired corpse fiend attempted to lift its foot to strike the oncoming Li Kun—a movement that sent a surge of wild exhilaration through Li Kun's heart.

The very instant the red-haired corpse fiend lifted one foot, Li Kun's legs slammed forcefully into its other thigh, landing a solid blow directly on the leg that had already been crippled by the headless corpse fiend.

The red-haired corpse fiend lost its balance instantly. Its body pitched forward, and its face made intimate contact with the ground. At the same time, Xu Tian and Big Dog firmly held their ground, pinning the monster's arms tightly behind its back.

Swiveling his body, Li Kun violently brought his right knee upward, smashing it squarely into the back of the red-haired corpse fiend's head. The impact was solid and direct, yet the creature felt neither pain nor dizziness. To the utter shock of the three, the red-haired corpse fiend twisted its head around with brute force and lunged to bite Li Kun's thigh.

Li Kun hastily yanked his leg back, drew his tri-faceted military dagger, and thrust it straight into the open maw of the red-haired corpse fiend. The blade struck the creature's razor-sharp teeth with a loud clang, and to Li Kun's dismay, the sturdy military dagger snapped cleanly in two.

This entire sequence of events unfolded in mere seconds. Realizing Li Kun was out of options, I lunged from behind him, wielding the Soul-Slaying Blade. I drove it fiercely into the back of the red-haired corpse fiend's neck, then exerted all my strength to forcefully hack and sever the creature's head completely.

Seeing this, the three of them felt a chill run down their spines. Knowing from the previous experience with the headless corpse fiend that simply cutting off its head wouldn't kill it, I instantly realized that its ultimate fatal weakness must lie within the neck itself.

With that realization, I gripped the Soul-Slaying Blade tightly and plunged it deep into the severed neck of the red-haired corpse fiend beneath us. The exact moment the blade pierced the wound, the four of us felt a tremendous surge of raw force erupt from the creature's body, hurling us violently through the air until we crashed heavily onto the stone floor.

As I hit the ground, I coughed violently, a few drops of blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. I looked up at the red-haired corpse fiend, fearing I had miscalculated. Yet, the very next moment, we watched in absolute disbelief as the red-haired corpse fiend stood straight up to its feet.

Confronted with this bizarre anomaly, our hearts plunged into despair. Why wouldn't this creature die even after all of this? How could it still stand?

Then, the three of them watched in horror as the red-haired corpse fiend began to limp slowly toward me. Li Kun yelled at the top of his lungs, "Old Liu, get up! Run!"

While we stared in utter despair, the red-haired corpse fiend staggered forward for only a few paces before its body tilted sideways and it crashed heavily onto the ground. The Soul-Slaying Blade embedded in its neck slid out from the carcass.

This sudden turn of events left us utterly bewildered. Why had it collapsed so abruptly after seeming completely fine a moment before?

All of us gazed intently at the corpse of the red-haired corpse fiend lying on the floor. To our astonishment, its entire body was rapidly desiccating into a mummified husk. In less than a few seconds, the corpse completely disintegrated into a pile of white bones, which then slowly crumbled and scattered into dust.

Seeing this, I felt a secret surge of astonishment. Turning my gaze to the Soul-Slaying Blade lying beside the remains, I thought to myself: it seemed the blade had completely drained all the baleful malevolence stored within the creature's body.

The first red-haired corpse fiend had remained intact because its body hadn't been pierced by the blade in a way that triggered absorption. But once the Soul-Slaying Blade was driven into the neck of this second creature, it had immediately begun devouring the inner malevolence, continuing relentlessly until nothing was left.

With the threat neutralized, the four of us collapsed flat onto our backs across the tomb chamber, utterly exhausted. Only then did a critical question cross our minds: had the three Five Elements Separation-Evil Arrays been broken or not?

I hurriedly drew out the Soul-Suppressing Bell, activated my Heavenly Eyes, and looked toward the massive formation at the center of the chamber. The towering pillar of black light that had previously blazed at the heart of the array had completely vanished, and not even a wisp of dark miasma remained anywhere in the room.

Reassurance flooded my heart. Seeing my actions, the others quickly understood why I had used my Heavenly Eyes to scan the chamber; they knew full well that if the formation remained unbroken, the purpose of our perilous expedition would have failed.

With the array shattered, we lay sprawled on the ground, taking long, deep breaths. Fortunately, Li Kun and the others had destroyed the tunnel passages leading to the other two tomb chambers earlier. Otherwise, dealing with those two red-haired corpse fiends alone had already pushed us to our limits—had two or four more appeared, not a single one of us would have escaped alive.

After resting for a while, I propped myself up into a sitting position. The other three walked over to my side, and Li Kun reached out to pull me up, asking, "Old Liu, how is it? Are you alright?"

I nodded and asked in return, "How about you guys? Are any of you injured?"

All three of them stared at me simultaneously. Xu Tian remarked, "You're definitely the one who got hurt the worst here."

I inspected my current state. Indeed, the backs of both my legs had been scorched by the thermal blast from the explosives, leaving them exposed and bright red, while a large patch of hair at the back of my head had been completely singed off. It seemed I would have to get another haircut upon returning; growing it out long was clearly out of the question now.