Chapter Ninety-Three: It Is All a Gamble

All of the Wei family cultivators below the Core Formation realm had been defeated and could no longer fight. The disciples of the Corpse Refining Sect, however, had not been ordered by Wang Changsheng to kill; they had only left their foes gravely wounded.

At this point, the Wei family’s lack of action instead hinted at something, and Wang Changsheng had already caught a trace of it.

If that was the case, then why wait? Kill them all. Leave no one alive.

As for the Core Formation cultivators of the Wei family still locked in battle, to be honest, with Wang Changsheng’s understanding of Chen Shangyi’s strength, Chen Shangyi had not used his full power at all. Otherwise, he could have slaughtered the Wei family cultivators until none remained!

“Good!”

Hearing Wang Changsheng’s order, Chen Shangyi immediately agreed. His aura spread out once more. With his third-level Core Formation cultivation, the power he unleashed was in no way inferior to the might of the Wei family’s Second Elder at the sixth level of Core Formation.

This was the foundation the Corpse Refining Sect had accumulated over all the years it had remained sealed away.

Though no fresh blood had been poured into the sect, every disciple of the Corpse Refining Sect was stronger than the last. The higher their cultivation, the more terrifying their power became!

Sensing the pressure erupting from Chen Shangyi, the Wei family’s Second Elder also grew grave, while anxiety rose in his heart.

“Move closer! Stay together! Don’t let them pick us off one by one!”

The Second Elder’s voice was urgent.

Instead of attacking, Chen Shangyi simply watched as the Wei family’s Second Elder took the chance to gather together with the remaining three Core Formation cultivators.

“Surround them!”

Chen Shangyi immediately ordered. Ten Corpse Refining Sect cultivators instantly encircled the four Wei family cultivators at the center.

“I was afraid you’d flee, and yet you actually chose to cluster together?” Chen Shangyi said with a smile.

Given the Second Elder’s cultivation and strength, escaping should have been easy enough. Chen Shangyi had not expected that, after Wang Changsheng gave the order, the Second Elder would instead choose to regroup. With them trapped like this, there was no way for him to run.

“Hmph!”

The Second Elder gave a cold snort. “This is Jinning City, not your Corpse Refining Sect. Do you really think you’ve already won?”

He had no choice. If he ran alone, there would be no problem, but the other three Core Formation cultivators, including the Ninth Elder, would likely not survive this day.

Up to now, the Wei family had sent no reinforcements. The Second Elder had already sensed that something was deeply wrong.

He was gambling. If he left, the Wei family might well abandon the remaining three Core Formation cultivators. If he stayed, the family would have to think carefully—after all, losing four Core Formation cultivators at once, including both him and the Ninth Elder, was a blow the Wei family could not easily bear.

“Crush them!”

Wang Changsheng said in a low voice.

Chen Shangyi nodded. At once, the ten Corpse Refining Sect disciples struck together, their coffins carrying overwhelming force as they bore down on the four Wei family cultivators.

Seeing this, the four Core Formation cultivators of the Wei family joined forces to form a protective barrier of true essence, while also activating their War God secret art to its limit. The dark red armor around them seemed as though it might drip blood.

Bang...

Boom, boom, boom...

The ten coffins descended. The true essence barrier formed by the four Wei family Core Formation cultivators held for less than a breath before collapsing outright.

Yet the armor condensed by the War God secret art did manage to withstand the combined assault of the ten.

Pfft!

Pfft...

The four Core Formation experts of the Wei family kept coughing blood. Though they had blocked the attack, blood spilled from each of their mouths. The Ninth Elder’s face had gone deathly pale, his eyes dim and hollow, clearly already reaching his limit.

Even the strongest of them, the Second Elder, who had endured most of the force, had not only torn his armor to shreds, but blood was seeping from wounds all over his body.

“The War God secret art really is extraordinary,” Chen Shangyi said grimly.

Though the ten of them had joined forces, none had unleashed their most terrifying means. By Chen Shangyi’s estimate, that single combined strike should have killed the other three outright, leaving only the Second Elder alive. He had not expected all four to survive.

“Stubborn to the end,” Wang Changsheng said with a sigh.

Up to this point, not a single person from the Wei family had begged for mercy. They truly lived up to the name of the War God secret art—each and every one of them was hard as iron.

“Then kill them,” Wang Changsheng said in a low voice.

Chen Shangyi and the others nodded. Once more they drove the coffins forward, and the coffins trembled violently as an even more terrifying power gathered within them.

Under this strike, none of the four would likely survive.

“Second Elder, go first. We’ll cover your breakaway!” the Ninth Elder said solemnly at that moment. “As long as you make it back to the Wei family, they can’t do anything to you!”

With that, the Ninth Elder exchanged a glance with the other two and stepped directly in front of the Second Elder.

Chen Shangyi, however, did not care what choice they made. They were already surrounded, and in their present condition, there was no way they could break out. Even if the Ninth Elder and the other two were to sacrifice their lives in an attempt to force a path, they still could not get the Second Elder out.

“Kill!”

Chen Shangyi’s voice rang out, murderous and cold.

The coffins came crashing down on the four at once.

The immense pressure made the houses in Jinning City tremble. Many of the defensive formations around the buildings shattered outright. Once those arrays were gone, the houses were instantly ground to dust by the force. Even those inside the buildings, if they lacked sufficient strength, were knocked unconscious on the spot.

Feeling that terrifying pressure, the Second Elder knew that he and the others would not survive the day.

“Not good!”

Just as Chen Shangyi was about to deal the finishing blow, a roar suddenly rang out.

This was the first time since he had begun fighting that Chen Shangyi had shown any urgency.

Boom!

A gigantic golden hand appeared in the sky without warning, slapping straight toward the coffins controlled by Chen Shangyi and the others.

A deafening explosion followed. Then the coffins were sent flying backward. Chen Shangyi and the others caught the returning coffins, only to be forced back again and again by a tremendous shockwave.

Pfft!

Chen Shangyi was the first to cough up blood. The other nine Corpse Refining Sect disciples also spat blood at the same time. Their already pale faces lost the last trace of color, and even the green light flickering in their eyes dimmed by several degrees.

“A Dao-attaining true cultivator!”

Seeing this, Wang Changsheng’s expression changed, turning grave.

With the combined strength of Chen Shangyi and the others, they would even dare to face a late Core Formation expert head-on. Yet now, they had not even seen a person—only a single hand—and they had been driven back and injured.

Other than a true cultivator who had attained the Golden Core Dao, Wang Changsheng could think of no other possibility.

The Ninth Elder and the others, who had been closing their eyes and waiting for death, all revealed looks of relief after surviving a calamity.

“A true cultivator who has attained the Golden Core Dao is indeed extraordinary,” Chen Shangyi said coldly, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

His words also confirmed Wang Changsheng’s suspicion.

Roar!

Just as Wang Changsheng was about to stop Chen Shangyi, another thunderous roar suddenly burst from Chen Shangyi’s mouth.

Then Wang Changsheng saw Chen Shangyi slam a palm hard against the coffin. The coffin lid flew open at once, and from within stepped out a gaunt, skeletal figure.

It was Chen Shangyi’s corpse puppet.

“No!”

Zhang Cunzong also let out a roar, though his was meant to stop Chen Shangyi.

“Shangyi, don’t act rashly!” Wang Changsheng shouted as well.

He had spent enough time in the Corpse Refining Sect to know exactly what Chen Shangyi intended to do. He was trying to refine his corpse puppet.

This was one of the sect’s forbidden arts. If Chen Shangyi truly used it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

More importantly, in Wang Changsheng’s view, even if Chen Shangyi succeeded in unleashing that forbidden technique, he still would not be the match of a true Golden Core cultivator.

After all, a true cultivator who had attained the Golden Core Dao was, in essence, no longer the same kind of existence as ordinary cultivators. A Core Formation cultivator could not hope to defeat such a being simply by relying on a secret art or forbidden technique.

Hearing Wang Changsheng’s voice, Chen Shangyi looked over in confusion, clearly not understanding his meaning.

Wang Changsheng glanced at the Corpse Refining Sect disciple guarding him. The disciple immediately understood and brought Wang Changsheng up into the air, setting him before Chen Shangyi.

Wang Changsheng ignored Chen Shangyi and instead looked into the sky, speaking softly.

“What? You still couldn’t resist? Do you think this is a pity?”

Everyone from the Corpse Refining Sect looked at Wang Changsheng, Chen Shangyi included, all of them puzzled by his behavior.

No answer came.

Wang Changsheng only smiled.

“Yes, it is a pity. Losing four Core Formation cultivators at once, including two elders, really is a shame,” he said with a faint laugh.

Still no one replied. Wang Changsheng seemed as though he were talking to himself.

“All right. Since you’ve already made your move, then let us have a proper talk,” Wang Changsheng said in a deep voice.

Then, in a voice only he could hear, he said, “My request is simple. Send me to the Li family of Shanyang.”

“Deacon Wang may come personally to the Wei family to discuss this, though I wonder whether Deacon Wang has the nerve.”

At last, a voice entered Wang Changsheng’s mind.

The voice was calm, almost indifferent. But Wang Changsheng could be certain of one thing: the speaker was absolutely a true Golden Core cultivator of the Wei family.

He smiled. Wang Changsheng actually smiled.

At this point, what did he still have to fear?

Not even the Wei family—if it came to that, even a dragon’s pool or a tiger’s den, he would dare to enter.

Wang Changsheng’s own strength might not amount to much, but so long as he brought Chen Shangyi and the others with him, and carried the title of Corpse Refining Sect deacon, there was nothing about the Wei family that he needed to fear.

What was more, the Wei family’s true cultivator had endured until now before taking action. Wang Changsheng could not see through the hidden currents in this, but one thing was certain: at this moment, the Wei family’s true cultivator was definitely constrained by something. Perhaps it was the avatar of the Unclear Elder, and perhaps even that was not the whole story.

Wang Changsheng turned around and looked at Chen Shangyi and the others.

“Pack up. We’re going to the Wei family.”