Translator: Cinder Translations
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Lu Cang hurriedly summoned his late-stage Ghost King of the third rank.
The Ghost King soared into the air and charged fiercely at the silver corpse.
The ghost and the corpse clashed in an instant.
Although the Ghost King's power was inferior to that of the silver corpse, it fought valiantly, temporarily halting the silver corpse summoned by Song Wen.
Lu Cang did not have time to worry about the Ghost King's fate. He rushed diagonally toward the left, aiming to break through.
Just then, another mid-stage third-rank corpse puppet appeared from behind and charged toward him.
Lu Cang gritted his teeth in anger when he sensed the puppet's approach.
This puppet belonged to Zhang Xiaofan.
Moreover, when Zhang Xiaofan had created this puppet, Lu Cang had provided him with a substantial amount of corpse materials.
Lu Cang raised his hand and threw a black orb, about the size of a fist, with corpse qi swirling around it like dark flames. It collided with the approaching corpse puppet.
"Boom!"
A muffled sound echoed as the black orb struck the puppet's chest, causing it to cave in and send the puppet flying backward.
However, Lu Cang was not satisfied with the result.
This black orb, known as the Corpse Soul Pearl, was his life-bound treasure. In its prime, a full-force strike could easily destroy Zhang Xiaofan's puppet.
But due to the lingering effect of the Corrosive Soul Smoke, Lu Cang was unable to unleash his full power.
"Whoosh, whoosh."
The sound of two blades cutting through the air rang out.
A short, curved blade and a ghostly saber came slashing toward him.
The curved blade was Song Wen's Void Break Blade, a medium-grade magical treasure.
The ghostly saber was Zhang Xiaofan's treasure, a low-grade magical weapon.
Facing the two-pronged attack, Lu Cang knew he could not protect his daughter, Lu Chan, completely.
He threw Lu Chan down toward the dense forest below.
Lu Chan, still in a daze and unaware of her surroundings, crashed directly into the forest.
"Ah!"
She broke several tree branches and fell heavily to the ground.
The pain made her instinctively let out a scream.
Fortunately, the height wasn't too great—only about a dozen meters. Despite Lu Chan being in a foggy state and unable to use spiritual power to protect herself, her body was still strong due to her foundation-building cultivation, and the trees helped cushion her fall. She wasn't killed, though her face and body were scratched and she appeared quite battered.
After throwing Lu Chan away, Lu Cang quickly called back the Corpse Soul Pearl for assistance, and summoned a shield to protect himself.
"Clang, clang!" The sound of metal clashing echoed.
The Corpse Soul Pearl deflected Song Wen's Void Break Blade.
The shield blocked Zhang Xiaofan's ghostly saber.
Seeing that escape was no longer possible, Lu Cang stopped fleeing and, in a fit of rage, yelled.
"Zhang Xiaofan, damn it, I will clean up the sect of you traitors myself!"
Under his command, the Corpse Soul Pearl's surface began to glow with numerous black runes, its power increasing as it sped toward Zhang Xiaofan.
Zhang Xiaofan quickly ordered his mid-stage third-rank corpse puppet to block the orb.
The puppet raised its claw and tried to catch the orb.
"Boom!"
The Corpse Soul Pearl collided with the puppet's claw.
The claw exploded instantly, sending fragments of rotten flesh and bone scattering.
However, the Corpse Soul Pearl's momentum was greatly reduced.
"Damn it!"
Lu Cang cursed under his breath as his full-force strike only managed to destroy one of the puppet's claws.
The effect of the Corrosive Soul Smoke was still hampering him.
Lu Cang's anger was mounting, while Zhang Xiaofan was becoming more anxious.
If they couldn't defeat Lu Cang soon, the effects of the Corrosive Soul Smoke would fade, which meant Lu Cang would only grow stronger with time. The longer the battle dragged on, the worse it would become for them.
"Ji Yin, what's wrong with your corpse puppet? It's at the peak of the third rank, yet it can't even handle a late-stage Ghost King. You assured me that your silver corpse would easily capture Lu Cang's Ghost King. But now, what's the situation?" Zhang Xiaofan questioned.
Song Wen was calm, continuing to control the Void Break Blade to attack Lu Cang.
"Zhang Xiaofan, don't blame me. The Corrosive Soul Smoke isn't as powerful as you claimed. After Lu Cang was affected, his power wasn't reduced as much as you imagined."
Zhang Xiaofan shot him an irritated glance and summoned a spirit-grade flying sword. It shot through the air and made its way toward Lu Chan in the forest.
Since they couldn't take Lu Cang head-on, Zhang Xiaofan decided to attack Lu Chan, hoping to force Lu Cang to come to her rescue, potentially opening up a breakthrough to change the tide of battle.
Upon seeing this, Lu Cang's eyes went bloodshot with rage as he screamed.
"Zhang Xiaofan, you beast, how dare you!"
Zhang Xiaofan didn't hesitate. His flying sword continued its path to strike Lu Chan.
Though Lu Cang understood Zhang Xiaofan's plot, he could not stand by and watch his daughter perish before his eyes. He immediately activated the Corpse Soul Pearl to intercept the flying sword.
"Clang!"
The Corpse Soul Pearl, arriving just in time, collided with the sword's blade, shattering it into pieces.
Taking advantage of Lu Cang's momentary distraction, Song Wen's Void Break Blade and Zhang Xiaofan's ghostly saber attacked Lu Cang from both sides, but both were blocked by the shield Lu Cang had raised in front of him.
However, the danger was far from over.
The corpse puppet Zhang Xiaofan had lost an arm, but it, along with the mid-stage third-rank corpse puppet Song Wen had originally summoned, continued to attack relentlessly.
The shield began to show signs of wear, its glow weakening with each strike.
At this moment, the peak of the third-rank corpse puppet finally broke free from the Ghost King's entanglement and pounced at Lu Cang.
"Boom!"
The puppet's claws slammed into the shield.
Immediately, both Lu Cang and the shield were sent flying.
Zhang Xiaofan saw his chance and sent his ghostly saber around the shield, piercing straight through Lu Cang's chest.
A massive hole appeared in Lu Cang's chest.
His breath immediately began to falter.
Lu Cang turned his head to glance at his daughter in the dense forest below, his eyes filled with reluctance and worry.
"Thud!"
The ghostly saber arced through the air and returned to Zhang Xiaofan's grasp.
Zhang Xiaofan rushed forward, grabbing hold of Lu Cang's head.
"Hahaha..."
"Master, you've finally died by my hands."
"You taught me cultivation, passed down alchemy skills, and gave me cultivation resources..."
"You were a dedicated master, providing me more than my parents ever did. But..."
"Why did you promise me Lu Chan's hand in marriage? Don't you see what kind of person your own daughter is? Lu Chan is stubborn and petty. After we got married, I had to constantly flatter her, lower myself, and live worse than a dog on the street..."
(End of the Chapter)
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