Da Xuan Martial Saint

However.

Just as Xu Hongyu and Xiao He passed by Chen Mu and fled into the darkness, suddenly another gust of wind came head-on, and two nearly identical gray-white Silver Corpses appeared, attacking Xu Hongyu and Xiao He.

Xu Hongyu reacted quickly, her sword light flared, and she swung out a "Sword Rain," colliding with the attacking gray-white Silver Corpses. Accompanied by the explosion of sword light, the Silver Corpses were forcibly repelled by her head-on strike, but she also fell downward.

On the other side.

Xiao He, facing the suddenly attacking Silver Corpse, did not have it as easy as Xu Hongyu. Her soft sword also waved a circle of sword light, but when it collided with the opponent's fist, the sword light was shattered and she was sent flying backward.

Although neither of them was injured, this collision made the gap between their strengths clear. Xu Hongyu faced the Silver Corpses head-on with a full-strength attack after having some understanding and did not probe but was able to repel a Silver Corpse directly.

However, Xiao He was unable to do so. Although she essentially blocked and deflected all the force of the Silver Corpse's punch and was not injured, she clearly fell into a disadvantaged position and would have to rely on her own agility to engage in a tangled battle if she were to fight it.

Bang!

Just as Xiao He was sent flying backward, another Silver Corpse emerged from the dense forest and ferociously pounced toward her, throwing a fierce punch. At that moment, Xiao He was in mid-air, her old strength exhausted and new strength not yet arisen, immediately falling into peril.

Seeing this scene, Xu Hongyu had no time to help, as another Silver Corpse appeared on her left side, intercepting her horizontally, and the one that initially chased her was coming from behind. There were already a total of five!

"Not good..."

Facing the attacking Silver Corpse, Xiao He held her soft sword, her heart slightly sinking. Although as a Tendon Changing Realm martial artist she was not completely unable to handle this attack, the momentum suggested that a hasty response would likely result in inability to fully absorb the attack, and she might get injured.

But her heart did not panic, although Silver Corpses appeared one after another, there were still people on their side who hadn't made their move and were right behind her.

Indeed.

In the next instant, a hand supported her back from behind, first pushing up to help her unload the force she had received from the previous collision with the Silver Corpse, then lifting her by the collar and tossing her upward.

Xiao He did not resist, allowing the hand to throw her upwards, her body soaring high and landing on the treetops. Looking down from there, she saw Chen Mu taking her previous position, facing the attacking Silver Corpses head-on.

Chen Mu's expression was calm, seemingly interested in testing the abilities of the Silver Corpses. He clenched his right hand into a fist and swung it down mid-air, directly colliding with the fist of the Silver Corpses.

Whoom!!!

A sound like a bronze bell ringing.

The roaring sound wave caused visible ripples in the air, spreading in all directions and turning into a dull bell toll, echoing throughout the valley under the dark night sky, startling a flurry of birds.

"Fierce..."

Xiao He watched this scene and quietly formed a word in her heart.

Chen Mu evidently did not only take his Skin Toughening to the limit but probably also reached the peak of the First Realm of Body Refinement before entering the Tendon Changing Realm, possessing such a terrifying Horizontally Trained Body that he could withstand a head-on collision with a Silver Corpse.

Moreover, judging by the way the Silver Corpses fell backward after the collision, it seemed that Chen Mu subtly held the upper hand.

At the same time.

The initial Silver Corpse that Xu Hongyu engaged also rushed over while Xiao He leapt down from the tree, swinging her sword to meet the approaching Silver Corpses. This time she changed her swordsmanship to Soft Entanglement, barely managing to block it.

It was also around this time that a voice carrying surprise came from the dim forest.

"A Horizontally Trained Body?"

"And he has entered the Tendon Changing Realm. Good, very good indeed."

Suddenly, a thread of moonlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the forest and revealing a gaunt figure standing among several large ancient trees, holding something that resembled an infant's skull in his hand.

His eye sockets were sunken, his eyeballs nearly shriveled, but his pupils emitted a strange gleam, seemingly excited as he watched Chen Mu from afar, continuously sizing him up.

Corpse Refinement.

For a typical martial artist in the Skin Toughening Realm, among ten individuals, it's nearly impossible to refine a Copper Corpse, though refining an Iron Corpse might be achieved.

For a martial man in the Body Refinement Realm, roughly seven or eight out of ten could refine into a Copper Corpse.

The Tendon Changing Realm corresponds to a Silver Corpse, which also is not a guaranteed success, and there's still a chance of failure, resulting in the corpse's decay.

However, for someone like Chen Mu with a Horizontally Trained Body who has also entered the Tendon Changing Realm, using him for Corpse Refinement would almost certainly result in a Silver Corpse, with both strength and quality surpassing regular Silver Corpses, and even granting a slight chance of refining into a Golden Corpse!

At this time.

The five Silver Corpses encircled Chen Mu, Xu Hongyu, and Xiao He in the center, blocking any direction of escape.

Xu Hongyu stepped back two steps, coming closer to Chen Mu and Xiao He, whispering, "Although these Silver Corpses are hard to injure, they aren't very fast. The terrain here is to our advantage, and we might find a chance to escape from above."

Xiao He also looked around with a flickering gaze, continuously assessing the situation.

But just then.

In the distance among the ancient trees, the gaunt figure who had been continuously sizing Chen Mu up, as if appreciating a new piece of merchandise, suddenly let out a raspy, eerie laugh, saying, "Escape?"

As his words fell.

Sounds of footsteps echoed from within the dense forest.

Noticing this noise, Xu Hongyu and Xiao He's expressions changed drastically, and when they hastily looked, they saw a procession of gray-white figures stepping out from the pitch-dark forest, a total of more than a dozen, all of them Silver Corpses!

Counting the original five, this made a total of twenty Silver Corpses completely surrounding them from all directions, each emanating a rotting stench and under the moonlight, their skin emitting a sinister silver glow!

"Escape?"

The dessicated figure repeated the word again.

Then he lifted the object that resembled an infant's skull in his hand, gently shaking it.

Hum!

It was as if some terrifying thing had moved, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

In the somewhat frozen gaze of Xu Hongyu and Minor Achievement, they saw behind the withered figure, a grand body more than two meters tall, stepping out from the ancient trees, its muscles emitting a faint golden luster.

"Escape?"

The withered figure grimaced.

His shriveled eyeballs looked toward Xu Hongyu, saying, "It's just a bit too boring, just playing with you. When did you get the illusion that you could escape?"

Xu Hongyu remained silent.

Minor Achievement's body also stiffened slightly.

Their gazes were now fixed on the slowly advancing golden corpse puppet, resembling a small mountain. Although they hadn't directly felt its power, the appearance, form, and the intense oppressive feeling were evident.

Golden Corpse!

Recorded in the archives, capable of confronting those in the Bone Tempering Realm!

Even considering the strength of a Silver Corpse, an ordinary minor Bone Tempering could not handle one.

Not to mention twenty Silver Corpses...

Minor Achievement couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. With such a lineup, even someone like Xue Lin would take to their heels. It's obvious that since the other party dared to disclose their corpse refinement techniques and attack them, they were certain of their victory.

As for all that talk about being too bored and just playing, it's unnecessary to listen further. The opponent did not mobilize so many Silver Corpses initially, clearly delaying on purpose, waiting for Chen Mu to return, and then encircle all three of them to capture them in one fell swoop!

After all, the speed of these Silver Corpses was not fast enough. As long as they were not surrounded, they could leave them far behind. Even the Golden Corpse was probably not very fast, and chasing them in the dark might easily cause unforeseen problems.

All was silent.

Finally.

"I am Xu Hongyu. If I disappear in the Autumn Forest mountains, Yu City will dig three feet into the ground to find you. Facing your Golden and Silver Corpses, the Yu Family will not consider them much of a threat,"

Xu Hongyu said, her tone cool.

"So you are Xu Hongyu… Hmm, I have indeed heard this name, but the Yu Family's reputation isn't enough to scare me. Apart from that one person in your family who could be considered significant, the others are just so-so. But even that one, in the presence of my master, isn't much either. Alright, enough talk, isn't it time to peacefully go on your way?"

The withered figure uttered a few guttural, unpleasant laughs.

As his words fell.

He raised the infant's skull in his hand, and immediately ten Silver Corpses took steps forward, slowly advancing.

But just at that moment.

Chen Mu, who had been standing quietly, finally sighed lightly and slowly drew the Fine Iron Knife from his waist, stepping forward, positioning himself in front of Xu Hongyu and Minor Achievement.

Xu Hongyu and Minor Achievement's gazes instantly fell on Chen Mu. Xu Hongyu bit her lip corner slightly. She knew Chen Mu was very strong, probably not much weaker than her. Previously, she had intentionally spoken of looking for a chance to escape, which was rather to surprise and directly coordinate with Chen Mu to break out of the encirclement and deal directly with the corpse controller.

But now…

Twenty Silver Corpses encircled the area tightly, not to mention there was also a Golden Corpse.

Perhaps they should have camped outside the Autumn Forest for the night and then crossed directly through the mountains tomorrow, or initially choosing to take the official road wouldn't have been a problem. However, no one would have expected that remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect were hidden in Autumn Forest, and past efforts to hunt in these mountains had never encountered them.

Ultimately, it was her moment of misjudgment that led her into a deep abyss.

As her gaze fell, Xu Hongyu suddenly recalled something, a matter that made her body involuntarily shiver—the unexplained disappearance of her father, Xu Yichuan. Although outside the city lay many dangers, her father was at the peak of Bone Tempering and mastered Artistic Conception. In Yu City, fewer than ten people could surpass him then. How could he have disappeared without a trace?

Even the Yu Family had found no clues afterward.

Could it be… Read exclusive chapters at mvl

Xu Hongyu looked bewilderedly at those Silver Corpses, in a daze, as if she saw her father's figure, also surrounded by numerous corpse puppets, but those corpses were stronger and more terrifying.

But just at the next moment.

The fleeting scene shattered.

The shattering of the scene was brought about by a brilliant arc of light under the moonlight, like that of a silver moon—a flash of knife light which seemed to make the slight breeze in the dense forest pause and solidify.

Whoosh.

The silver light flashed and swept across.

Chen Mu's figure quietly stood before a group of Silver Corpses, his right hand holding the Fine Iron Knife.

The several Silver Corpses directly in front of him froze in place, each with a fine line appearing on their necks, and then their heads gently slid forward and finally rolled onto the ground with a thud.

Rustle.

The briefly paused breeze blew again, causing the leaves in the dense forest to rustle.