14: Corpse Demon

The putrid, cold, viscous darkness instantly enveloped Lin Jingyu, like tangible sludge.

The interior of the tomb was far larger and deeper than it appeared from the outside.

The concentration of putrid corpse odor and Evil Qi in the air multiplied several times, enough to cause ordinary Meridian Opening Realm Martial Artists' Qi and blood to stagnate, leading to dizziness.

A terrifying Aura, dense with gore and Corpse Fiend energy, which had been dormant, was now violently surging like an awakened volcano!

The heavy sense of oppression, like an invisible tide, impacted Lin Jingyu's nerves wave after wave.

[Warning! High concentration of Corpse Fiend Evil Energy detected!]

[Warning! Intense life threat detected! Target energy level: Peak Bone Forging Realm (Half-step Tendon Changing)!]

[Source of the Blood Soul Life-Chasing Curse locked: Corpse Fiend Master (???)!]

The cold System prompt sounded in his mind, carrying an unprecedented warning. Peak Bone Forging Realm! It might even have touched the threshold of the Tendon Changing Realm! This was definitely incomparable to the previous small fry!

"Peak Bone Forging?" Lin Jingyu's pupils contracted slightly, but instead of fear, a more intense Battle Intent and greed surged on his face! The stronger, the better! The stronger it was, the more evolution points he would get!

His massive physique moved through the narrow passage like a mobile steel fortress. The halo of the Vajra Shield fluctuated slightly under the erosion of the dense Evil Qi, emitting a low hum, isolating all filth outside. Dragon-Elephant Power surged and roared through his Meridians, like a dormant Vicious Beast, ready to unleash devastating power at any moment.

At the end of the passage, the space suddenly opened up.

A huge underground cavern appeared before his eyes. Countless sharp stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping dark red, viscous liquid that smelled sweet and bloody, gathering on the ground into small blood pools. In the center of the cavern was a massive altar built from pale white skeletons! The altar was carved with countless twisted, writhing blood-colored runes, emitting nauseatingly sinister fluctuations.

The core of the altar was not a statue of a god, but a gigantic bronze ancient coffin covered in dark red rust!

At this moment, the lid of the bronze ancient coffin was shaking violently!

It emitted a massive, muffled "thump-thump" sound, like thunder!

Each tremor was accompanied by a visible wave of gray-black Corpse Fiend Qi surging out, impacting the entire cavern!

The blood-colored runes on the altar flashed frantically, greedily absorbing the escaping Corpse Fiend energy and feeding it back into the ancient coffin, forming a bizarre cycle. Thick, ink-like black blood, giving off a stench, continuously seeped out from the gap between the lid and the body of the coffin!

"Hoo... hoo hoo..."

A muffled, hoarse panting sound, like the dragging of broken bellows, came from inside the coffin.

Every breath carried boundless brutality, hunger, and... a monstrous rage from having its slumber disturbed!

Lin Jingyu's arrival was like a drop of water thrown into a pot of boiling oil!

"ROAR—!!!"

A deafening roar, filled with endless fury, suddenly erupted from within the coffin! The sound waves were like a tangible giant hammer, fiercely slamming against the rock walls, causing gravel to rattle down! The entire cavern trembled!

"Rumble!"

That heavy bronze coffin lid was forcibly flung off from the inside by an overwhelming Giant Strength!

Like a massive meteorite, it spun, carrying a sharp sonic boom, and smashed fiercely toward Lin Jingyu at the passage entrance! The momentum was terrifying!

Lin Jingyu's eyes sharpened; he advanced instead of retreating! His right fist clenched, covered in dark golden luster, and Dragon-Elephant Power surged!

"Break!"

With a fierce shout, his iron fist struck out resolutely!

"CLANG—!!!"

The deafening clang of metal echoed throughout the cavern! A violent wave of Qi exploded from the center of the impact, causing Lin Jingyu's clothes to flap loudly!

That massive bronze coffin lid was actually sent flying back by his single punch, slamming violently into the cavern wall, smashing out a deep pit and embedding itself deeply... The tremendous rebound force caused the hard rock beneath Lin Jingyu's feet to crack into spiderweb patterns, but his figure stood firm as a mountain, unmoving!

"Such powerful strength!" Lin Jingyu felt a slight chill in his heart. The strength of that casual coffin-flipping strike definitely exceeded the scope of the Meridian Opening Realm!

Amidst the dust, a tall, suffocatingly massive figure slowly rose from the bronze ancient coffin.

It was nearly three meters tall, far exceeding ordinary people!

Its entire body was covered in a deathly cyan-black skin, like dried ancient bronze, covered in gnarled muscles resembling old tree roots, radiating explosive power.

Its head was almost bald, with only a few strands of withered white hair remaining on the back of its head. Its face was twisted and stiff, with tusks protruding. Its eyes had no pupils, only two fiercely burning, pale green phosphorescent glows, like Will-o'-the-wisps!

Monstrous Corpse Fiend Qi surged and burned on its surface like tangible black flames, emitting heart-palpitating coldness and the Aura of death!

The Corpse Fiend Master!

Its burning phosphorescent eyes locked onto the small human at the passage entrance who nonetheless exuded astonishing vitality and strength. The rage from being forcibly interrupted from its slumber, combined with an instinctive greed for powerful flesh and blood, made it let out a low roar, like muffled thunder rolling past:

"Blood... food... dis... turb... die!"

The voice was dry and hoarse, like rusty iron plates scraping together, and every word carried intense killing intent.

Lin Jingyu felt the mountain-like heavy oppression from the opponent, and his thoughts raced.

The Peak Bone Forging Corpse Fiend Master's Physical Body strength definitely surpassed human Martial Artists of the same Realm! Although his Vajra Shield and Dragon Elephant Suppressing Prison Technique were formidable, the opponent's strength and defense were equally terrifying. A direct clash of attrition was absolutely not the best strategy.

Must become stronger!

931 evolution points! That's enough!

"System!" Lin Jingyu roared internally, "Immediately evolve the Vajra Shield! Target—Indestructible Vajra Divine Art!"

[Command confirmed!]

[Cultivation Technique: Vajra Shield (Major Achievement) → Evolution Direction: Indestructible Vajra Divine Art (Elementary)!]

[evolution points consumed: 900 points!]

[Beginning deduction... Deduction complete! Infusing...]

Boom!

A golden torrent, far more magnificent, purer, and imbued with the Aura of immortality and indestructibility than any previous time, instantly erupted from deep within Lin Jingyu's body!

"Buzz—!"

Dazzling golden light, like tangible golden liquid, instantly covered Lin Jingyu's entire body! He seemed to transform into a deity cast from pure gold! His skin, muscles, bones, fascia, and even every drop of blood emitted a deafening hum! The intensity of the golden light instantly dispelled large swathes of gloom and Corpse Fiend black Qi in the cavern, illuminating the entire underground space with brilliant gold!

The power of Qi and blood roared and surged within him like an awakened Dragon, emitting a sound like raging rivers!

A boundless vitality and immortal intent, originating from the essence of life, perfectly fused with the divine charm of the Indestructible Vajra defense!

[Ding! Indestructible Vajra Divine Art (Elementary) successfully mastered!]

[Current Realm: Meridian Opening Realm Ninth Level Peak! Physical Body strength, defense, Qi and blood recovery, and strength capacity limit have been massively improved! Acquired Trait: Rebound (Elementary), Evil Repulsion (Elementary)!]

[Remaining evolution points: 31!]

"Hoo?!"

The Corpse Fiend Master's burning pale green phosphorescence suddenly constricted! For the first time, an extremely anthropomorphic expression of astonishment appeared on its stiff face!

The human ant before it, right under its nose, had his Aura instantly skyrocket several times over!

The Aura of immortality, indestructibility, and all evil retreats emanating from the golden light caused the Corpse Fiend black flames surging on its surface to feel intense suppression and burning pain!

This sudden drastic change completely exceeded its comprehension!

"Now," Lin Jingyu slowly raised his head, his eyes covered in immortal golden radiance, like two divine lamps, coldly locking onto the massive Corpse Fiend Master.

He twisted his neck, emitting several crisp "crack" sounds, and a savage, powerful grin spread across his mouth. His voice was like the clanging of metal:

"It's your turn now, old zombie!"

The instant his voice fell, Lin Jingyu moved!

No longer a probe!

The Dragon-Elephant Power, enhanced by the Indestructible Vajra Divine Art, erupted with unprecedented terrifying might!

"Boom!"

The hard rock ground beneath his feet exploded like tofu, forming a deep pit! The golden figure left an afterimage where he stood, moving so fast that it even caused a sharp sonic boom! The air was violently torn apart!

The target pointed directly at the Corpse Fiend Master on the altar!

"Die!!!"

Facing this terrifying punch, which was powerful enough to tear apart and corrode even ordinary Bone Forging Realm Martial Artists, golden light burst from Lin Jingyu's eyes, devoid of fear!

"Dragon Elephant Suppressing Prison! Open up—for me!"

Above his right fist, golden light intertwined and boiled with the dark red Qi and blood smoke! Wherever the fist edge passed, the air was compressed by extreme force, forming visible distorted ripples! A pure, overbearing, all-crushing will condensed on his fist!

A head-on clash!

A collision of pure Physical Body strength!

"DONG!!!!"

It was like thunder from the Nine Heavens exploding in the narrow cavern!

Gold and black, immortal divine light and corrosive Corpse Fiend energy—two completely opposing energies, yet both containing terrifying power, violently erupted at the center point of the double-fist collision!

A circle of destructive shockwaves visibly swept out! The pale white skeletons on the altar instantly turned to dust! A thick layer was scraped off the rock walls! The blood pools on the ground were shaken, splashing blood waves several meters high!

The Corpse Fiend Master's black vortex Fist Aura, condensed from terrifying Corpse Fiend energy, seemed to meet its nemesis the instant it touched the golden fist edge!

A harsh "hiss-hiss" corrosive sound rang out, but the golden light flowed, unbreakable!

The seemingly all-corroding Corpse Fiend energy was actually unable to shake the Indestructible Vajra Divine Art in the slightest!

What astonished it even more was the strength coming from the opponent's fist!

"Crack!"

A subtle yet distinct sound of bone cracking came from its massive cyan-black fist!

An overwhelming, terrifying Giant Strength, far exceeding its imagination, violently broke through the Corpse Fiend defense on its fist, pouring fiercely into its arm like a breached river of stars!

"ROAR—!"

The Corpse Fiend Master let out a painful roar mixed with agony and disbelief! Its massive three-meter-tall body was actually struck by Lin Jingyu's punch—a punch condensed with Indestructible Vajra and Dragon-Elephant Giant Strength—causing it to stagger back violently by one step! Its heavy feet stamped two deep footprints into the hard altar stone!

Its burning phosphorescent eyes flickered violently, staring fixedly at its own massive fist, which was slightly trembling and showed cracked knuckles, then looking at the human opposite, who was covered in flowing golden light, possessed a rainbow-like Aura, and hadn't moved an inch!

A Meridian Opening Realm human! One punch! He had repelled it, the Half-step Tendon Changing Corpse Fiend Master, head-on! And cracked its bones?!

This is impossible!

A cold chill, originating from instinct, suppressed its rage for the first time, quietly creeping up the Corpse Fiend Master's already dead heart.

Lin Jingyu slowly retracted his fist; there wasn't even a white mark on his knuckles covered in immortal golden radiance. He looked at the horror in the Corpse Fiend Master's eyes, felt the terrifying power surging endlessly within him, as if it would never dry up, and a feeling of pride that scorned everything spontaneously arose.

"Half-step Tendon Changing? Nothing more than this!" His voice was cold, carrying a metallic texture, echoing in the dead silence of the cavern. "The next punch, I'll smash your dog head!"

Before his voice faded, golden light flashed beneath his feet again, and with an even more violent Aura, he proactively launched his second charge!

The phosphorescence in the Corpse Fiend Master's eyes jumped wildly, mixing shock and fury! It suddenly opened its massive, tusked mouth, and an extremely dense gray-black Corpse Fiend Origin, mixed with bone-chilling cold Death Qi, sprayed out toward the charging Lin Jingyu like a breached flood!

"Corpse Fiend Cold Tide! Bone-Eroding Soul-Destroying!"

The temperature of the entire cavern plummeted; even the rock walls instantly condensed a thick layer of black frost! The terrifying cold tide and corrosive energy were enough to instantly freeze and decay the flesh, sinews, and bones of a Bone Forging Realm expert!

However, Lin Jingyu neither dodged nor avoided; the golden runes circulating on his surface suddenly lit up!

"Evil Repulsion!"

Buzz!

A layer of golden light barrier, more condensed and imbued with a sacred, immortal Aura, instantly appeared!

"Hiss—!!!"

Lin Jingyu's figure, bathed in golden light, charged through the sky-filling gray-black cold tide, completely unscathed! His speed did not decrease but increased!

Clear fear finally appeared in the Corpse Fiend Master's eyes!

"ROAR! No—!" It let out a desperate roar, crossing its arms in front of itself. Dense Corpse Fiend black Qi condensed on its surface, forming a thick layer of black bone armor! This was its strongest defensive stance!

But facing the iron fist that had broken through the cold tide, carrying destructive golden light and the roar of the Dragon-Elephant, it had only one thought:

It can't be blocked!

The golden fist, carrying the will to crush everything, rapidly magnified in the Corpse Fiend Master's desperate pupils!

"BOOM—!!!"

The entire underground cavern seemed to tremble violently under this earth-shattering punch!