Chapter 272 : Demon-Subjugating Dharma Aspect
Chapter 272: Demon-Subjugating Dharma Aspect
‘This is bad.’ Chen Beiwu’s pupils contracted.
Although it had been only a fleeting glimpse, his divine sense had detected that this Golden Armored Corpse’s entire body gleamed with a dark golden hue, without the slightest trace of corpse blotches.
Even the joints of its body had been refined to near perfection, reaching the Five Metals Body stage, and there was even a faint indication of it evolving into a Golden Armored Corpse King.
Clearly, the Qian Clan's ancestor, Qian Buhuan, had already endured the complete trio of calamities — Corpse Transformation, Yin Corrosion, and Metal-Fiend Calamity — and had become a formidable force. His strength was on par with a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, far more difficult to handle than an ordinary Golden Armored Corpse.
Had it not been for Senior Sister Yun carrying two Third-Tier Treasure Talismans and a Third-Tier Luminous Formation Disk for protection, she might not have withstood even a single blow.
“Boom!”
Sensing the intense danger approaching from behind, Yun Yishu’s heart sank.
Her guess had been correct.
The moment she was poisoned and lost her arm, she became a burden to her fellow disciples.
The Golden Armored Corpse deliberately targeted the one they had to save — a calculated move to end the duel swiftly at the lowest cost.
“Go!”
Seeing her junior sister injured, Senior Sister Zhu Qiong’s eyes flashed with a chilling light. The golden hairpin in her hair transformed into a dazzling golden streak, shooting toward the Golden Armored Corpse’s brow.
At the same time, she flipped her hands, revealing her lifebound artifact nurtured in her Dantian Qi Sea through the Town-Dao Smelting Furnace Artifact-Pill Method.
It was a pair of vicious-looking short halberds, named Blazing Twin-Dragon Halberds, a set of top-grade third-tier artifacts.
The halberd blades were forged from refined Bing-Ding Li Fire Essence, shaped into triple-edged swimming dragons, with fierce Li Fire flames burning at their tips.
The halberd shafts were made of Southern Bright Red Dragon Wood, engraved with true fire-script glyphs, continuously boosting the wielder’s mana.
At the tail of each halberd hung a Soul-Shaking Bell, which, when rung during battle, emitted a piercing sound of Blazing Fire, capable of disturbing a cultivator’s divine sense.
Zhu Qiong gripped the halberds in reverse, her aura surging as she charged forward with an escape art, crossing her weapons and slashing.
The halberd blades erupted in waves of flame that condensed into two fire dragons mid-air, lunging directly at the Golden Armored Corpse like twin dragons emerging from the sea.
Boom!
A thunderous clash of metal erupted as Qian Buhuan switched from offense to defense, swatting the golden hairpin aside and spewing a blast of corpse qi from his mouth, aiming to pollute and destroy Zhu Qiong’s lifebound artifact.
She quickly altered her technique. Her left halberd feinted as the fire dragon burst apart, shielding against the corpse qi, while her right halberd suddenly swept upward, the tip piercing precisely beneath the Golden Armored Corpse’s jaw and neck.
“Roar!”
The ringing of the Soul-Shaking Bell echoed like a real dragon’s furious roar, enough to daze a late-stage Golden Core cultivator for two breaths.
However, ancient records stated that Golden Armored Corpses were “soul-forged as gold, immune to illusions.”
Having overcome the Metal-Fiend Calamity, this Golden Armored Corpse had already refined its three souls and seven spirits into a Corpse Core. Its Purple Mansion Spirit Platform was empty, void of any mental fluctuations typical of living beings. Its perception and combat relied solely on the Corpse Core and Corpse Baleful Energy, not on senses or divine consciousness—rendering it immune to most illusions.
Qian Buhuan only paused for a brief moment before disregarding the incoming halberd light, his right hand’s nails suddenly extending in a savage swipe—intending to trade injury for injury.
But Zhu Qiong was well aware of how perilous and potent Golden Armored Corpse Poison was. She knew that getting wounded would drastically weaken her strength. How could she clash head-on with someone like Qian Buhuan, whose skin and flesh were tough, and whose body was forged in Five Metals Body?
She crossed her halberds, channeled Earthly Sha True Qi, and changed her stance once more.
The Blazing Twin-Dragon Halberds in her hands surged with red flames, the embedded Bing-Ding Li Fire blazing to life. With a technique akin to a Flame Dragon Bowing Its Head, she thrust directly at Qian Buhuan’s eyes.
He twisted to evade but was still grazed on the neck by the halberd blade, leaving behind a charred scar—which soon healed.
‘Senior Sister is truly ferocious.’
Seeing this, Chen Beiwu silently admired her in his heart, but also sensed something was off.
Although Senior Sister was the sect’s foremost killing expert among the true disciples, with an incredibly solid foundation and armed with numerous artifacts and talismans capable of challenging enemies beyond her level, she should not be able to dominate a Golden Armored Corpse.
After all, the difference between early and late-stage Golden Core was a gap of two entire realms.
Unless Qian Buhuan wasn’t as powerful as he appeared!
“I… am… sorry…”
Senior Sister Yun opened her eyes, black blood trickling from her lips, her voice weak, her once fair skin now cloaked in the pallor of death.
If she hadn’t become a burden, with the strength of her junior brother and senior sister, even if something went wrong at the Corpse Refinement Grounds and a true Golden Armored Corpse emerged, they still could’ve retreated safely.
Instead, both had chosen to stay behind—one risking a duel against the corpse to buy time for her to suppress the Golden Armored Corpse Poison, the other guarding her against further harm.
“If it really comes to it, I’ll cover your retreat. You two escape—and later avenge me.” Yun Yishu gripped the shattered Corpse-Suppressing Formation Disk of Star-Severing and Vein-Breaking, her gaze steely.
“Don’t apologize.” Chen Beiwu shook his head. “If anyone should apologize, it’s me—for not researching thoroughly enough, which caused Senior Sister to lose an arm.”
With that, Chen Beiwu stood and turned his back to Yun Yishu, eyes locked on the nearby Golden Armored Corpse.
“As for covering the retreat—Senior Sister needn’t speak of it again.”
“Since I brought you into this perilous place, then I must bring you out unharmed. Otherwise, how could I face returning to the sect?”
Hearing this, Yun Yishu couldn't help but look at Chen Beiwu’s side profile, her heart trembling.
Though she had genuinely meant her words about staying behind, a part of it stemmed from selfishness.
That selfishness was simple—she feared Chen Beiwu and Senior Sister Zhu might abandon her if the situation grew dire.
Though the Golden Armored Corpse was a foe akin to a late-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator, if Senior Sister and the Dao Child were willing to go all out and use their deepest cards, getting word to the sect for rescue might not have been impossible.
But accidents were always a possibility.
If even after giving their all, the two still couldn’t summon help, Yun Yishu would have fulfilled her promise, initiating the formation at all costs to aid their escape.
“Zi’ang, don’t act on impulse.” Yun Yishu’s emotions stirred, sweat streaming down her forehead.
“Worry not, Senior Sister.”
Chen Beiwu turned around with a faint smile, his tone relaxed. “Your junior brother dabbles a little in physiognomy. I see a Green Luan Spreading Wings sign in your features today, a hidden omen of turning misfortune into fortune!”
“As for this Golden Armored Corpse—he is doomed. Heaven’s fate is rebounding upon him, with a Calamitous Star Piercing the Moon above his head. He is likely to perish right here today.”
Yun Yishu was slightly stunned upon hearing this, a ripple of emotion stirring within her heart.
Zi’ang had always been composed, yet now he dared proclaim the slaying of an enemy on par with a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
Could it be… Zi’ang carried some secret weapon gifted by the Patriarch, capable of slaying even Golden Core experts in one strike?
“Boom!”
At that moment, Qian Buhuan chose to take Zhu Qiong’s triple halberd assault head-on, using the rebound force to activate a Corpse Dao Divine Ability, teleporting directly behind Chen Beiwu.
His right claw, brimming with thick Corpse Baleful Energy, plunged toward Chen Beiwu’s back.
Zhu Qiong was too far to intercept, and the other Third-Tier Formation Master had already lost the power to resist.
To Qian Buhuan, Chen Beiwu, a mere peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, might as well have been a corpse already.
“This seat may not survive today, but you will definitely die here.” Qian Buhuan’s gaze was icy, completely unfazed by Chen Beiwu’s boast.
With the cultivation clan behind him and seventy-two Silver Armored Corpses sharing the Backlash of Fate, how could he possibly fall here?
“Chi!”
Chen Beiwu’s expression remained unchanged as he pressed his fingers together into a sword shape. A streak of crimson-golden light shot from his sleeve—an expendable artifact gifted by his master: the Great Wilderness Calamity Needle, which sealed within it the Earthfire of the Calamity Land. When activated with divine sense, it could unleash the equivalent of an early Golden Core strike.
“A mere grain of light dares to compete with the full moon?”
Realizing that Chen Beiwu’s desperate counterattack was merely a third-tier artifact, Qian Buhuan inwardly shook his head.
Such a feeble trump card attempting to threaten his life? Today’s Foundation Establishment cultivators truly had no sense of their own limits.
To show this ant what a true full moon looked like, Qian Buhuan activated his Corpse Dao Arcana with a thought. The nails of his right hand extended three feet and ignited with Azure-Gold Corpse Flame.
This was no ordinary flame, but the infamous Golden Nether Corpse Flame, terrifying in power and capable of corrupting even Dharma Aspects.
Any ordinary Golden Core cultivator who came into contact with it would instantly melt away, their three souls and seven spirits reduced to ash in a breath.
Even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would be cautious and unwilling to touch this flame lightly.
If not for the fortuitous opportunity of acquiring a Corpse King Pill, which he used as a catalyst, Qian Buhuan would never have been able to refine this flame during his Golden Armored Corpse phase.
Of course, due to his cultivation limit, the flame he refined was only in its infancy—nothing more than a tiny spark to a Nascent Soul cultivator, easily extinguished.
But against Golden Core cultivators, it was undoubtedly a supreme killing weapon.
Even peak Golden Core cultivators would retreat in fear, not daring to touch the Golden Nether Corpse Flame, let alone a mere peak Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“Junior Brother, fall back!”
Zhu Qiong’s expression shifted, and she shouted in alarm.
Qian Buhuan’s claw struck. The Great Wilderness Calamity Needle, like snow falling into boiling soup, dissolved instantly, unable to even struggle as it was consumed and erased by the corpse flame—leaving not even a trace behind.
Watching the corpse flame’s might remain undiminished as it pressed down toward Chen Beiwu, Yun Yishu lifted her gaze, worry flashing in her eyes.
A golden fish-dragon swept its tail, activating the Gilded Body, shielding Chen Beiwu and confronting the Golden Nether Corpse Flame head-on.
“Glug.”
“Woof!”
Golden Egg too fully activated the Sky-Draping Cloak, turning into a silver stream of light that wrapped completely around Chen Beiwu.
‘A mantis trying to stop a chariot.’ Qian Buhuan’s eyes were filled with contempt.
In the face of the Golden Nether Corpse Flame, numbers meant nothing.
Still, the selfless actions of this one fish and one dog did make things marginally more convenient for him.
‘No choice.’
Chen Beiwu sighed inwardly and brought out a talisman about one foot two inches long and six inches wide, a mysterious piece of material that looked neither like jade nor metal.
According to ancient records, Golden Armored Corpses were powerful, capable of ignoring third-tier treasure arts with ease, only cultivators in the late Golden Core stage and above could contend with them.
But their weakness was also obvious—when facing higher-level power, especially the Yuqing Demon-Subjugating Profound Talisman, their otherwise impenetrable defenses would become as fragile as paper.
Though Chen Beiwu was somewhat reluctant to part with it, he wanted a swift victory to purge the Corpse Poison from Senior Sister Yun’s body as quickly as possible. That meant using his trump card.
“Command!”
The moment the Yuqing Demon-Subjugating Profound Talisman soared into the air and illuminated the void, 360 beams of green light swirled around Chen Beiwu like rotating stars.
“Damn it!”
Sensing this True Monarch's Pressure, Qian Buhuan’s pupils shrank, his entire body trembling as he revealed a look of utter disbelief.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator actually carried a fourth-tier talisman as a personal defense? Just what Nascent Soul True Clan genius was this?!
‘Is heaven determined to destroy me?’
Without hesitation, Qian Buhuan activated Corpse Dao Arcana and fled as far as he could.
If Chen Beiwu could pull out a fourth-tier defensive talisman, then he might just have a fourth-tier offensive talisman as well—capable of suppressing everything.
Compared to the threat of death, things like blood offerings and dragon veins were utterly meaningless to Qian Buhuan.
“Trying to escape?” Chen Beiwu pressed his hands together. “Too late.”
“By Yuqing’s decree, let all demons perish!”
Now that the Golden Armored Corpse was finally within thirty feet of him, Chen Beiwu immediately resonated his mana with the talisman.
In that instant, the sky split open with a green rift stretching across thousands of miles, wildly absorbing spiritual essence and invoking the might of heaven and earth.
From within the rift, green light cascaded like a waterfall, and a towering Dharma Aspect began to form in boundless radiance.
It stood over a hundred zhang tall, with three heads and six arms, exuding divine majesty. The left face resembled a compassionate bodhisattva, eyes downcast. The right face, a wrathful vajra, eyes wide open with a heavenly eye.
The central head was the most extraordinary—like a Demon-Subjugating Heavenly Venerable, mouth holding the Mandate of Heaven, proclaiming a decree to destroy evil!
Even more intimidating for Qian Buhuan, the six arms of the Demon-Subjugating Dharma Aspect reached toward the heavens.
Each hand held a phantom image of a Supreme Dao Treasure, glowing with Dao resonance. Behind it, a Demon-Subjugating Golden Wheel slowly spun, radiating infinite golden light.
Qian Buhuan let out a desperate roar, trying to burn his internal Corpse King Pill to flee for his life—but was frozen in place by the golden light, unable to move. Corpse Baleful Energy erupted uncontrollably from his body.
Seeing this, Zhu Qiong couldn’t help but swallow hard.
Her father was Zhu Shaoyuan, great-grandson of the sect patriarch, Zhu Wuya.
And yet, even she wasn’t qualified to receive a fourth-tier talisman from her great-grandfather for protection.
But Chen Zi’ang, as the sect’s Dao Child, could casually summon one to kill an enemy.
Truly, people are born unequal. The same umbrella, different handles.
‘So that’s it.’
Yun Yishu glanced at the Nascent Soul Dharma Aspect in the sky, but her heart remained calm.
As the Dao Child of the sect, Zi’ang possessed peerless talent, with the bearing of one destined for Divine Transformation. It was only natural he was valued by the patriarch and gifted a fourth-tier talisman for protection.
No wonder he had dared to claim that this place would be Qian Buhuan’s grave—he had planned it all, waiting for the Golden Armored Corpse to launch its assault and fall right into his trap.
“Glug.”
“Woof.”
Golden Egg and Iron Egg also stared wide-eyed at the celestial Dharma Aspect.
Against the Golden Armored Corpse, they could still fight head-on despite being weaker in realm.
But in the face of this towering Demon-Subjugating Dharma Aspect, they couldn’t even muster the thought of resistance.
‘One day, we’ll have this kind of power too!’
That aspiration ignited within both beast companions. Chen Beiwu triggered the Yuqing Demon-Subjugating Profound Talisman, its light blazing.
The Dharma Aspect looming in the sky opened all six of its eyes and looked down upon the tiny ant-like Golden Armored Corpse. With its six arms holding divine treasures, it smashed downward.
“Boom!”
As the sky-darkening strike descended, despair filled Qian Buhuan’s eyes.
Even a lion used full strength to hunt a rabbit—yet he had still underestimated Chen Beiwu and his companions.
Had he attacked Chen Beiwu from the start, instead of the third-tier formation master, they never would’ve had the chance to unleash this fourth-tier talisman.
“Spare me—I can serve you as a slave—”
Before he could finish, his Five Metals Body was crushed to glimmering dust by the Demon-Subjugating Dharma Aspect, not even a shred of his soul escaping.
Soon, the Dharma Aspect vanished, and the sky returned to calm.
The spot where Qian Buhuan had once stood was now a basin, with only a single dark-gold Corpse Core left behind.
Beneath it lay a plain but ancient-looking storage ring, resting silently.
Chen Beiwu activated his divine sense, first putting away the now-dimmed Yuqing Demon-Subjugating Profound Talisman.
Then, he raised a hand and used his mana to draw in the Golden Armored Corpse Core and storage ring, gripping them in his palm. He turned to face Senior Sister Yun and Senior Sister Zhu.
A heavy silence descended over the battlefield.