Chapter 16: The Blood-Red Garment Fiend (Revised)

"In response to your question, the constables are all locked up on the second level of the mine, a dozen or more crammed together. There’s a mysterious figure planning to use their martial bodies to refine a fiend corpse in a few days.”

"The Lin Family talisman master is with the mysterious man, probably deep within the mine. I don’t know what they’re doing. I haven’t seen them come out, nor have I ever seen that red fiend corpse, but the Lin Family has sent many people into the mine, none made it out alive.” The traitor confessed everything in detail in the blink of an eye.

Ling Chi's eyes gathered thunderous light as he spoke in a voice echoing with thunder, “Look into my eyes. Have you ever killed a commoner?”

“I only forced myself upon the mayor’s daughter and his concubine! I never killed anyone!” The traitor, shaken to his core by the thunderous voice, stammered incoherently.

“To violate a woman’s will and force yourself upon her—death penalty. Effective immediately.” Ling Chi announced the sentence with pleasure, then twisted the man’s neck, gaining three strands of thunder spirit energy in his body.

Ling Chi had a hunch—today, fortune favored him.

He turned to join his senior brothers, shared the intelligence, and the three decided to rescue everyone in one swift move before seeking out the Lin Family talisman master, provided they could best him in a fight.

Thunder magic was too domineering for silent combat, but that hardly hindered Ling Chi’s efficiency. He was like a diligent farmer harvesting his fields—one after another, he cut down his enemies.

In a short span, the three carved a bloody path through the first level and pressed on to the second. Ling Chi sheathed his short knife and switched to the horse-slaying blade.

The blade’s light howled through the air, sweeping wide arcs, mowing down all in his path. Ordinary body-forging experts could not withstand even a single exchange; heads rolled and blood flowed like a river.

After a thorough search, they finally found their second senior sister and fourth senior brother, both spiritless and deathly pale, along with the remaining constables.

Of the dozen constables who had set out, only half remained. Even the head constable, Xue Li, had been grievously wounded and was barely clinging to life.

The three brothers rushed to rescue them, helping them up and urging them to move upward. Ling Chi took out healing pills and fed them to Senior Sister Xiao Yu and Senior Brother Zhao Lei.

Their condition was dire; captured and used as blood slaves, they’d been bled twice, their skin the color of gold paper, their faces ghostly white.

Seeing the once lively and radiant Senior Sister and their master’s own son, Zhao Lei, now at death’s door, Ling Chi was consumed with rage, his eyes promising death.

Xiao Yu and Zhao Lei were deeply ashamed. They were senior siblings, yet it was their juniors who had come to their rescue.

"Second Sister, how were you captured? Is that talisman master truly so formidable?" Ling Chi asked curiously as he carried Xiao Yu on his back.

Xiao Yu, setting aside her embarrassment, answered weakly, “The talisman master didn’t make a move. I think a second-tier talisman master wouldn’t be too difficult to handle. The real problem is that mysterious man. He looks old and frail, but he commands a blood-robed fiend corpse—swift as the wind, impervious to blades and spears. Almost everyone in the town was slaughtered by that fiend corpse.”

So it was as he suspected—a fully-formed fiend corpse was a formidable foe. This was trouble.

Such chaos above, yet the two below remained unaware. It made no sense. Ling Chi, with Xiao Yu on his back, quickly exited the second-level tunnel.

Outside, the surviving constables were stunned by the carnage—dismembered bodies everywhere. Only now did they realize just how fierce their rescuers truly were.

Xue Li, still unconscious, was carried on a door panel, while six or seven constables helped each other, shuffling out in a line from the first-level entrance.

The martial brothers followed, but before they could exit, a beastly panting echoed from behind.

Ling Chi instinctively glanced back to see a figure, shrouded in a stench that filled the air, rushing toward him at breakneck speed.

The figure’s entire body was red, blood smeared at the corners of its mouth, its eyes burning crimson. Its hair was withered and ash-yellow, its breathing like a starving prisoner’s. Its fingernails were long and black, its movements swift, unlike low-level zombies. The veins on its exposed arms bulged, its corpse-flesh hardened like steel.

Ling Chi hurled Xiao Yu toward Third Brother, spun around, and drew his blade.

With every breath, thunder surged from within him, wrapping his horse-slaying blade in dazzling lightning.

Steel flashed, mingling with golden thunder. Ling Chi gripped the hilt with both hands, each strike bold and unyielding.

The Supreme Unity Calamity Blade was a technique of harmonizing yin and yang, but in Ling Chi’s hands, it exuded the lethal might of warfare.

Forward, never retreating. Fight to the death.

Monster, tonight you’ll aid my cultivation!

Lightning danced along the blade as Ling Chi pressed the attack. His blows were mighty, the blade, tempered by thunder, slashed like a meteor, every strike aimed at the fiend corpse’s vital points.

Metal clashed with flesh, sparks flying as the blade met the blood-robed fiend corpse. The cave rang with the sound of clashing steel.

Li Shui, carrying Xiao Yu, and Zhao Shanhe, carrying Zhao Lei, were all stunned by the spectacle. Ling Chi’s eruption of power was overwhelming.

Zhao Shanhe thought, I knew you were holding back for my sake, but I never imagined you were holding back this much.

Ling Chi pressed forward, his horse-slaying blade spinning like a wheel, thunder radiating in all directions. The blood robe was soon riddled with holes.

Empowered by divine thunder, the blood-robed fiend corpse roared in impotent fury, its beastly howl echoing through the mine.

In an instant, fiendish energy surged, enveloping the corpse in a shroud of red mist. Its black claws left afterimages as it tangled with Ling Chi.

Two old schemers remained hidden. Ling Chi kept his movements relentless, his heart calm as still water, outwardly steady as a seasoned hound.

“Fifth Brother, get everyone out. There are two more hiding in the dark. Ready the treasures Master gave you. Blast them to hell if they show themselves.” Ling Chi sensed eyes watching from the shadows, his sense of safety plummeting.

Of all present, only Zhao Shanhe could keep pace with Ling Chi’s schemes. As his words fell, Zhao immediately pulled something from his chest and clutched it, scanning their surroundings warily.

He knew Old Six was setting a trap—he had no treasure, only a single copper coin.

Ling Chi watched his brothers withdraw from the cave out of the corner of his eye, and in an instant, unleashed his full power.

A snort. A shout.

Two dragons of misty thunder, each a foot long, burst from his nose and mouth, diving at the fiend corpse.

Lightning crackled across the fiend’s skin, shockwaves rippling through the air.

Soul-extinguishing, spirit-seizing!

The blood-robed fiend corpse staggered; Ling Chi seized the opening.

“Erlang Splits the Mountain!”

Ling Chi’s jaw clenched, veins bulging in his arms, neck cords writhing like worms. A blazing arc of steel cleaved for the fiend’s neck, aiming to sever its head.

A metallic clang resounded like a temple bell. The fiend’s neck was split four or five inches, eliciting a shriek of pain. Its right claw swung at Ling Chi’s face. He couldn’t withdraw his blade in time; instead, he drew his short knife and blocked the blow.

With a roar, he grappled with the fiend, whose fetid breath made Ling Chi’s eyes water.

Damn you, thick-browed fiend corpse—using biological warfare now, are you?

He stepped back with his right leg, gathered all his strength, and kicked forward with all his might.

“Rabbit Kicks the Eagle!”

Bang!

The fiend was sent reeling by the forceful blow.

Dropping the short blade, Ling Chi reached to his belt, producing a silvery pearl in his palm. Thunder surged within, and it blazed with dazzling brilliance.

With a flick of the wrist, Ling Chi hurled the thunder pearl into the fiend's throat. The fiend corpse was struck numb on the spot.