Chapter 50: The Smug Elder Yuan

The three of us immediately formed a Tri-Talent battle formation, fixing our eyes tightly on the water's surface, bracing ourselves without daring to lower our guard for even a second.

Before settling into my position, I intentionally cast a glance around the vicinity. Finding that Old Scoundrel Yuan had not come, I finally let out a sigh of relief.

As long as he was not here to stir up trouble, the three of us would at least be able to retreat unscathed.

A moment later, bubbles began to surge and churn within the pool. As each bubble burst, pitch-black corpse aura drifted across the sky in all directions.

The three of us held our breath in unison and closed in toward the water's edge. Our footsteps were utterly silent yet we secretly gathered our strength, ready to strike at any given moment.

Suddenly, the pool water exploded outward, and the Daoist priest turned corpse burst through the surface. While still airborne, its double claws locked onto Old Ghost Ye, and with alternating claw-winds, it struck downwards from the sky.

With an angry roar echoing through the air, Old Ghost Ye thrust his hands out like the wind, meeting the opponent head-on. Their four palms collided mid-air, and the resulting shockwaves of scattered violent Qi swept across all directions.

Taking advantage of the moment while the corpse-Daoist was still entangled with Old Ghost Ye, Ye Huan and I forced our way in from the flanks against the lingering shockwaves, driving our daggers simultaneously into the corpse's ribs.

Although a corpse that had gained power was impervious to ordinary blades, the daggers in Ye Yang's and my hands were divine weapons. Empowered by our inner Qi, they were more than enough to pierce through the corpse's leather-like skin.

The instant our strike succeeded, the two of us immediately pulled back and retreated. Driven mad by the excruciating pain, the corpse saw the strength in its arms multiply manifold. Under this heavy blow, Old Ghost Ye's figure slid backward several meters, his boots carving two furrows several inches deep into the ground.

Had Old Ghost Ye chosen to lean backward and roll upon the ground, he could have fully dissipated the force of the corpse-Daoist's blow. Instead, he stubbornly chose to take the palm strike head-on, causing a thin trail of blood to seep from the corner of his mouth.

Injured as he was, the ferocity in Old Ghost Ye's eyes burned even brighter, and his fighting spirit grew all the more intense.

A tiger is the king of beasts; facing a formidable enemy, it never shows weakness, maintaining its majestic dignity even unto death.

Old Ghost Ye was precisely such a man!

"Ghost Grandpa, don't move!" Knowing that I could not let Old Ghost Ye continue fighting, I realized that if he launched another forceful attack while heavily wounded, he would either die or suffer catastrophic injuries.

Just as Ye Huan and I charged forward simultaneously, the enraged corpse-Daoist leaped into the air once more, hurling itself downward upon us.

"I'll cover you! Attack his heart from behind!" I pushed Ye Huan aside and confronted the corpse head-on.

The short dagger I excelled at using was originally ill-suited for frontal combat, but since Ye Huan possessed the Black Tiger Fiend within him, I dared not let him recklessly expend his inner Qi. I had no choice but to shoulder the heavy offensive myself.

On the Piao Xue dagger, snowflake after snowflake flashed with a bloody glow. Seen from afar, the dagger radiated a fierce crimson light, brimming with murderous intent, as if it were no longer I who wielded the weapon, but Piao Xue itself leading my desperate charge.

True to expectation, the corpse-Daoist's attention was captivated by the dagger, and its gaze instantly shifted toward Piao Xue.

The next moment, Piao Xue slipped from my grasp, shooting straight toward the creature's chest.

I immediately drew my second dagger, shifted my footing to a different angle, and lunged at the corpse from the side.

The corpse-Daoist instantly flung its arms wide, using one hand to block Piao Xue and clawing at me with the other.

Simultaneously, Ye Huan circled around behind the creature, though his pace was a fraction of a second slower than mine.

At this sight, my heart instantly turned cold.

Neither of us had managed our timing properly, which effectively meant we were attacking the target one after the other.

Even if the encirclement succeeded, one of us was bound to sustain heavy injuries.

Yet, things had reached this point, and I could no longer retreat. If I slowed down even a fraction, Ye Huan would become the corpse-Daoist's primary target.

In desperation, I could only charge toward the target with all my might.

At the very last split second, I suddenly heard the sound of rushing wind from afar.

Before I could even process it slightly, five or six iron plowshares struck the corpse in rapid succession.

The iron plowshares, no larger than walnuts, actually embedded themselves more than half an inch deep into the corpse's body. The one that struck the center of the corpse's brow in particular directly cracked the skull, sinking deep into its forehead.

Before I even had time to react, I heard Old Scoundrel Yuan give a low shout: "Break—!"

As a crimson light flared across the six iron plowshares, the corpse seemed to be engulfed in fire, erupting from head to toe with a blazing red radiance. With a reluctant shriek, it collapsed onto the ground.

Shortly thereafter, raging flames ignited over the corpse, and the pungent stench of decaying flesh forced Ye Huan and me to cover our noses and retreat far into the distance.

Only then did Old Scoundrel Yuan come sauntering over, puffing leisurely on his tobacco pouch, swaying back and forth as he walked. "You two are utterly useless! Your skills still need serious practice!"

Was it Old Scoundrel Yuan who struck the corpse with iron plowshares?

Before I could figure out what was going on, I saw Old Ghost Ye giving a thumbs-up. "Old Brother, brilliant! The timing was seized to absolute perfection. This technique... could this be the long-lost 'Southern Dipper Rejuvenation Array'?"

"To apply a formation to concealed weapons, using a life-bestowing formation to slay the dead—Old Brother, your technique is truly magnificent!"

Old Ghost Ye was filled with the utmost admiration, while my head buzzed incessantly: Old Scoundrel Yuan didn't know the first thing about formations! The Southern Dipper Array? If he were capable of setting up a formation, I would immediately drink this entire pool of water dry and squat in the mud to act as a golden toad myself.

Old Scoundrel Yuan was already putting on airs. "Trivial tricks, not worth mentioning."

"Tell me, Old Ghost! You can't keep sheltering these two all the time. For certain matters, you have to let them figure it out themselves. Only when things truly become hopeless should you step in to help. If you always tuck them under your wings like this, when will they ever grow strong?"

Old Ghost Ye nodded repeatedly. "Old Brother is right! You held back your attacks precisely to temper these two youngsters, didn't you? Brother, I've learned a lot today."

We're doomed; Old Ghost Ye fell for it.

Old Scoundrel Yuan had once said: the highest realm of deception is making the victim deceive themselves.

Isn't this precisely Old Ghost Ye blinding himself?

Upon second thought, however, something felt off.

Those iron plowshares had clearly flown in from over ten meters away. Did Old Scoundrel Yuan possess that kind of physical strength?

I quickly chimed in, "You two go ahead and chat; I suddenly need to relieve myself."

Old Scoundrel Yuan glared at me. "Such low capacity! Can't even hold it for a moment over a little thing like this? Go on then, hurry up!"

I darted like a wisp of smoke into the nearby woods and sure enough, found several white streaks carved into the bark of certain trees—the unmistakable friction marks left behind by animal tendons pulled taut against tree trunks.

I finally figured out how Old Scoundrel Yuan had hurled those iron plowshares.

He had tied animal tendons between two trees just like a giant slingshot, pulled the tendons back with all his might, and used their elastic force to shoot the iron plowshares out.

And to think Old Ghost Ye had crouched in hiding just to maliciously ambush people behind their backs!

Yet, for the sake of appearances, I still had to maintain Old Scoundrel Yuan's dignity in front of Old Ghost Ye and the others.

Why did I find this so utterly infuriating?

By the time I walked back out, the two old men had already strolled leisurely into White Dragon Cliff. According to their logic, since they had made the trip out, they couldn't return empty-handed; even if they had to strip the clothes off the corpse, they had to bring back some sort of trinket.

As it turned out, the two of them actually dug up a small chest of jewelry inside White Dragon Cliff, including half a dozen supreme-quality Eastern pearls meant as tribute for the imperial court. This stroke of windfall wealth was truly substantial!

Old Scoundrel Yuan still lorded it over me. "Ergou, I told you—never rush to leave after finishing a job; clean up a bit and you'll dig up good treasures. If it were left to you and Ye Huan, you probably would have just patted your asses and walked away."

"This windfall belongs to Old Ghost and me; it has nothing to do with you two!"

That old scoundrel!

I really wanted to punch him!