Chapter 38: Treading the Seven Stars

The female corpse moved?

I even suspected I was hallucinating from the severity of my injuries. That was until she suddenly pushed her body up. When she lunged at my mouth and I felt the warmth of her lips, I finally realized it. She really had moved. And that familiar body heat... she... she had a pulse!

I describe it as "lunging" because she sucked firmly on my lips. Then, she licked along my chin, finally reaching my Adam’s apple. The next second, she took my throat right into her mouth. Weak as I was, my entire body went taut, and I felt a sudden surge of strength.

"What... what are you doing!"

I was truly stunned. Who could handle this? Kissing my Adam's apple the moment she wakes up? Even if you're in a hurry, now is hardly the time, lady—they’re trying to kill me!

But I had thought too much. The moment she pulled away from my embrace, a flash of green shadow flickered. She was gone! She ran? This woman just ran off?

Anxiety gripped me, and I tried to stand up to follow her. But I only had a sliver of strength; I could barely speak, let alone stand. I clutched my chest, gasping, "Ugh..."

The group of people were stunned as well. They stood frozen, looking behind them. No sooner had they turned around than I heard a series of impacts.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

I couldn't see what was happening behind me, only hear the sounds of collision followed by a chorus of screams.

"Ugh!"
"Ah!"
"Ouch!"

In a matter of seconds, the sea of yellow and white robes that had been blocking my view was reduced by more than half. I stared at them blankly. Those who had fallen were now sprawled on the ground, each clutching a different injury.

"What is going on!"
"Huizhi, Huiya, what happened to you!"

Daoist Lianhua was taken aback, looking around with extreme caution. Elder Qi’s expression changed, his eyes darting across the surroundings. But the female corpse was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a woman in green, possessing exquisite features and a cold, frigid look in her eyes, appeared on Daoist Lianhua’s shoulder. Her voice was icy.

"Don't bother looking. If you’re looking, you’re already too late..."

*CRACK!*

Her slender, beautiful hands grabbed his head and gave it a violent twist. The once arrogant Daoist Lianhua rolled his eyes back and collapsed to the ground, motionless.

*THUD!*

His body slumped limply onto the earth.

Holy crap! She was that formidable? Daoist Lianhua had just sent Er Pang’s two-hundred-pound frame flying with a single whip of his whisk. How could someone so powerful be unable to withstand a single move from her? I watched in utter shock.

Her movements were crisp and clean, without a single wasted motion. In the next second, she vanished again.

"Daoist Lianhua!" The remaining few in yellow robes rushed over, but just as they prepared to check on him, her voice echoed from the air: "Idiots!"

She reappeared, executing a beautiful high kick that struck the top of their heads. Her green robes fluttered. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion—her long hair cascading over her shoulders, her breathtaking face, her nimble movements, and her cold, aloof temperament. I swore that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, or would ever see in my next life.

So, this is what my bride is like when she wakes up...

I stood there with my mouth agape, my hand resting on the Adam’s apple she had just kissed, still damp with her saliva.

*Bang, bang, bang!*

After her legs came down, another yellow-robed Taoist was knocked to the ground. She landed perfectly, her cold, beautiful eyes fixed on Elder Qi. She didn't say a word, her aura filling the space.

The remaining three or five people began to retreat, some trembling visibly.

"The enchantress is alive! The enchantress is alive..."
"Elder Qi, the enchantress is alive..."

Two of the yellow-robed Taoists called out to Elder Qi, their confidence shattered by how quickly Lianhua had been taken out. Naturally, they looked to their leader.

The old man’s face, for the first time, showed a flicker of well-hidden panic. He looked at the female corpse and said, "Miss Yin, you were once a Ninth-Rank Fortune Teller. Now that you have just awakened, injuring so many of our Daoist sect members, don't you think—"

"Get out!"

The female corpse didn't even listen to his high-minded rhetoric, barking the command sharply.

Elder Qi’s face twisted in rage. "Do you really think we have no way to deal with you?"

With that, he stomped his foot into a forward lunge and waved his whisk. "All positions, heed the order! Combine your strength to activate the Huitian Demon-Suppressing Formation!"

The remaining seven people moved in unison, forming the shape of the Big Dipper. Elder Qi performed a hand seal.

"One star, four seas, suppress the world! Earth Immortals, heed my command!"

He roared, a flash of yellow light erupting from his hands. The disciple behind him, Hui Ming, assumed a lunge and performed his own seal.

"Two stars, eight directions, suppress the wilderness! Spirit Mountain, heed my command!"

The other five followed suit.

"Three stars, ten directions, suppress the mountains and rivers! East Sea, heed my command!"
"Four stars, all-encompassing, suppress the underworld! The netherworld, heed my command!"
"Five stars, supreme, suppress the heavens! The three realms, heed my command!"
"Six stars, raging waves, suppress all things! The six universes, heed my command!"
"Seven stars, reach the peak, suppress the void! All unite to suppress the demon and settle the universe!"

As the formation activated, black clouds in the sky began to shimmer with stars.

Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation in my body—it was incredibly uncomfortable, different from the pain of being beaten. It felt as if something was crawling out from the soles of my feet, slowly moving upward. When this strange sensation reached my chest, I felt the pain from my injuries subside, and my breathing became much smoother.

Could this formation be healing me?

I immediately dismissed the thought because I suddenly felt scorching hot, my body swelling with a sense of pressure. It felt like something wanted to burst out. My feet were burning, so I kicked off my shoes. I began to strip off my clothes in the rain like a madman.

I shouted to Elder Qi, "Stop it! Just stop!"

Elder Qi, still channeling the formation, shouted back with a livid expression, "Young friend, you are still obsessed! If we hadn't set this formation before you arrived, you would have caused a great disaster today!"

As I stripped, I realized: *So that’s it.* No wonder the main force hadn't headed straight up the mountain, but had stayed at the base, leaving those two disciples to watch Liu Deshui's ancestral grave while he came up later. They were setting up this formation at the bottom of the mountain!

Would this formation harm her?

I looked up at the female corpse. Her skin seemed to be changing; the once flawless, porcelain-white surface was slowly developing cracks of black.