209: Chapter 209 Launching the Attack

Three days later, the night was as dark as ink, and the moon and stars were hidden.

The mountains of Chimang Ridge were like dormant giant beasts in the dark, and the spiritual light of the Restrictions among the rock cliffs was the only light source.

Yantu stood at the highest point of the ritual altar, having already changed into a set of form-fitting black battle armor.

The battle armor was refined from unknown bones, and a dark purple crystal core was embedded in the chest. A wisp of natal corpse Qi from a Demonic Path Golden Core Cultivator was sealed within the crystal core, which could boost his combat power by thirty percent in a short period.

Behind him, six Late Stage Foundation Establishment Demonic Path Cultivators lined up in a row, each followed by two Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets.

Further back were seventeen Early and Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Demonic Path Cultivators, along with the Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets they each controlled.

A total of twenty-four Foundation Establishment Demonic Path Cultivators and twenty-eight Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets—this was already all the elite forces that the Corpse Puppet Sect could mobilize in the direction of Chimang Ridge in a short time.

Yantu turned around, his gaze falling on the open space behind the ritual altar shrouded in thick black fog.

The patch of black fog was so dense that it almost condensed into substance, and a massive outline was faintly visible within the fog—over three zhang tall, standing quietly like a black iron tower.

Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet.

It had already been secretly transported to the front line the night before and had been hiding in the black fog Restrictions. Even the low-stage Cultivators on their own side had never seen its true appearance. Only at this moment did Yantu decide to let it reveal its form.

He took out a fist-sized black orb from his sleeve. The surface of the orb was covered with dense blood-colored patterns, and a drop of dark red essence blood could be faintly seen slowly rotating in the center.

This was the carrier of the Corpse Soul Mark and also the key to controlling the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet.

Yantu bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood onto the orb. The essence blood was absorbed instantly, and the blood-colored patterns on the surface of the orb suddenly lit up, emitting a heart-palpitating dark red light.

He raised the orb above his head, chanting obscure incantations in his mouth, and the corpse Qi around his body poured into the orb like a torrent.

That thick black fog began to churn violently.

An arm covered in dark golden scales reached out from the black fog—the arm was as thick as a water vat, and when the five fingers opened, the nails were as sharp as short knives, shimmering with a faint light in the dark.

Immediately after, the other arm reached out, followed by the legs, torso, and head.

The Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet took steps, and every step it took shook the ground, leaving footprints several inches deep on the rocky ground.

When it completely walked out of the black fog, even the six Late Stage Foundation Establishment Demonic Path Cultivators behind Yantu involuntarily took half a step back.

This Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet stood three zhang and six chi tall, its entire body covered in dark golden scales. Every single scale was the size of a palm, overlapping densely like dragon scales.

Harrowing bone spurs grew at the joints, and the tips of the bone spurs shimmered with a dark green gloss, obviously soaked in deadly poison.

Its head was in an inverted triangle shape, and two clusters of eerie green soul fire burned in its eye sockets. The flames danced silently, resembling ghost fire from the depths of the nine netherworlds.

What was most heart-palpitating was the pressure radiating from its entire body.

That pressure was completely different from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's, condensing like substance and heavy like a mountain, making people instinctively feel suffocated.

This was power belonging to the Golden Core level; even if it was just a corpse puppet without intelligence, it was enough to make ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators feel despair.

"Good." Yantu looked up at this behemoth whose offensive power reached the Middle Stage Golden Core and defensive power reached the Late Stage Golden Core, his hoarse voice unable to hide his excitement. "With the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet paving the way, I would like to see what those Righteous Path Cultivators will use to resist this time."

However, he was not blinded by excitement. Although the Chimang Ridge garrison had suffered heavy casualties, there were still more than ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators holding down the fort. While it was true that this Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet had extremely strong defensive power, its shortcoming was that its movement speed was inferior to a Golden Core Cultivator's; if used improperly, there was still a risk of a turnaround.

Yantu sat cross-legged, taking out a newly drawn topographic map of Chimang Ridge from his Storage Pouch.

The map was marked extremely detailedly; every ridge, every Restriction node, and the location of every mountain peak matched the actual situation without the slightest deviation—this was intelligence bought with the lives of numerous corpse puppets and low-stage Demonic Path Cultivators during countless probing attacks over the past four months.

Yantu pondered for a moment, deducing it several times in his mind.

He put away the map, stood up, and his gaze swept across the twenty-three Foundation Establishment fellow Sect members in front of him. His voice suddenly heightened, carrying an unquestionable Evil Qi within its hoarseness.

"Everyone, listen to my command!"

The twenty-three people bowed in unison.

"Everyone is divided into three teams. I will personally control the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet to take the main peak of Chimang Ridge directly. The first team, consisting of ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators leading fifteen Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets and two thousand Bronze-Armored Corpse Puppets, will follow closely behind, attacking the frontal defense line with the momentum of a corpse tide."

"The second team, consisting of six Foundation Establishment Cultivators, will lead five Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets and one hundred Bronze-Armored Corpse Puppets to bypass the main peak and launch an attack from the eastern mountain path of Chimang Ridge. There is no need for a hard charge, but the momentum must be big enough to make the eastern garrison unable to move an inch."

"The third team, consisting of six Foundation Establishment Cultivators leading eight Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets, two hundred Bronze-Armored Corpse Puppets, and the remaining one thousand two hundred Iron-Armored Corpse Puppets, will be responsible for the western mountain path direction of Chimang Ridge."

"When the frontal main force breaks through, it will be the time for you to storm the western mountain path. Be sure to capture the three peaks of the western mountain path in the shortest time possible and cut off the retreat route of the frontal defense line."

"Everyone, set out with me!"

...

The assignments completed, Yantu formed hand seals with his right hand and held up the orb of the Corpse Soul Mark with his left hand.

The eerie green soul fire in the eye sockets of the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet suddenly blazed fiercely, its massive body slowly turning around to face the mountain pass of Chimang Ridge, resembling an ancient Vicious Beast waking from a deep slumber, locking onto its prey.

"The Sect Leader instructed me this time that although the Corpse Refining Sect is the protagonist of this Righteous-Demonic War, our Corpse Puppet Sect is an affiliated Sect. If we can establish meritorious deeds in this battle, none of the post-war rewards for contributions will be missing."

Yantu said coldly, "Establishing meritorious service, making a name for oneself in the Demonic Domain, and whether you can get Golden Core resources depends on today's battle for everyone."

In the eyes of the twenty-odd Demonic Path Cultivators, greedy and fanatical lights lit up simultaneously.

For most Demonic Path Cultivators, what Righteous-Demonic War or territorial disputes were all just passing clouds; what truly made them risk their lives were benefits—Spirit Stones, Materials, Cultivation Techniques, and status.

Yantu said no more and suddenly waved his right hand.

In the black fog, the horde of corpses began to surge.

The Bronze-Armored Corpse Puppets took stiff steps, surging forward like a tide under the drive of the Demonic Path Cultivators.

The Silver-Armored Corpse Puppets interspersed among them, arranged in a wedge-shaped battle formation.

In the center of the procession, the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet stepped with dull paces, every step shaking the earth and mountains, its dark golden scales flashing with a chilling cold light in the dark.

"Go."

Yantu took out a transmission talisman from his sleeve and conveyed the news of the impending general attack to the Corpse Puppet Sect camp.

After finishing this matter, he formed seals with both hands, the corpse Qi around his body surged violently, and his entire person turned into a streak of black escaping light, directly plunging into the dark purple crystal core at the center of the Golden-Armored Corpse Puppet's brow.

Riding the Puppet with the Body.

This was a secret technique in the Corpse Puppet Sect that only the most core Sect members were qualified to Cultivate.

The caster integrated themselves into the body of the corpse puppet, replacing the corpse puppet's incomplete consciousness core with their own Divine Soul, thereby exerting the full combat power of the corpse puppet.

The cost was that the caster's Divine Soul would be continuously eroded by corpse Qi; the longer it was used, the greater the damage, and there would even be a weak period lasting several months after the battle ended. But for this battle, Yantu was willing to pay any price.