Chapter 99: Chapter 10: Undead Demon Soldiers (Part 2)
"Sigh... forget everything else, I *have* to learn this Qinggong!"
Of course, for Su Zhou, the most important discovery wasn’t any of that. It was the fact that Qinggong actually existed in this world!
He watched with envy as the escort squad zipped across the snow, sliding on their feet like human snowmobiles. He, on the other hand, could only hop from one black wooden stake to another like a monkey, green with envy. He could clearly see their unique method of circulating Spiritual Power, which greatly enhanced their movement efficiency and even reduced the impact of their body weight on their agility.
If it weren’t for the fact that it was unnecessary, they could definitely pull off Snow Stepping Traceless!
Su Zhou’s weight had already been approaching 100 kilograms. After his Awakening ceremony, where he absorbed a large amount of Spiritual Materials and attained an Extraordinary Physical Body, he had broken the 120-kilogram mark, entering true heavyweight territory. Although his strength had also increased, he wasn’t as nimble as he used to be.
Even with the power of Wind Aid, all it did was lengthen his hang time when he jumped, allowing him to glide farther. It did nothing for his agility.
The group moved with incredible speed, as swift as flight even on the mountain terrain. Their leader, Zhou Buyi, seemed very familiar with the area and had clearly traveled this route many times. Even when they reached sections where the snow was so deep it buried the black wooden stakes, he could still accurately guide them onto the correct path.
Su Zhou’s mind had been occupied with thoughts about combat and techniques for using Spiritual Qi. With his Spiritual Vision active, he was trying to study the others’ Qinggong circulation patterns while his body followed them on autopilot.
But a peculiar smell snapped him out of his thoughts.
’The smell of human blood?’
His brow furrowed. He stopped dead in his tracks, dropping from mid-air into the snow below. THUD! He landed hard, blasting out a huge crater in the snow.
In the next instant, Su Zhou dropped his pack. Spear in hand, he launched himself forward like a cannonball, sending a blizzard of snow flying as he charged toward the source of the bloody stench.
"...What was that?"
The escort squad reacted a step too slow. The strongest of them, Zhou Buyi, exchanged a look of alarm and uncertainty with his companions. He then gave a slight nod, confirming that he, too, could smell blood.
"Seven or eight families of hunters and ginseng harvesters used to live over there... but the place should be empty in the winter."
"Maybe the heavy snows sealed the mountains too early this year and they got trapped? Or maybe some civilians leaving the pass got lost..."
"Don’t tell me they were attacked by Demon Soldiers..."
After a moment’s hesitation, they decided to follow Su Zhou. The Taibai Mountain Range wasn’t exclusively the territory of the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Soldiers, after all. Although the main front between the Anx Dynasty and the Rebel Army was in the Jiangnan region, the forces of Southern Celestial Capital still had the logistical capacity to transport troops to the northeastern regions by sea.
The previous attacks they had suffered had all happened this way. After all, as long as Demon Soldiers remained uninjured, they required almost no supplies and were indifferent to the environment. When it came to mobility, not even Martial Artists could compare.
If they were attacked by a significant number of Demon Soldiers, their own battered and incomplete squad would likely suffer casualties or even be wiped out without Su Zhou. That being the case, they were better off following him to see what was going on.
Following closely behind Su Zhou, the group soon arrived at a small, flat area off the side of the mountain path.
There, they saw Su Zhou crouching with a grim expression before several corpses. The bodies were completely desiccated, their clothes mottled with bloodstains.
The clearing was a natural, windless hollow in the mountains. A palisade of sharpened wooden stakes, like a reinforced fence, faced outward to deter wild beasts. Within the circle stood several sturdy log cabins, showing signs of recent habitation.
Scattered around the cabins were more twisted corpses. Most of the bodies were intact, their final poses suggesting they had been struggling and screaming before they died. Their skin was caked with congealed blood, while the flesh inside their bodies had been almost completely hollowed out, leaving behind nothing but skin and bones.
Su Zhou finished his inspection and rose to his feet, his face a mask of pity and rage. He had just found seven holes in the corpse’s back. The victim’s flesh, blood, and organs had been extracted through those seven openings. Judging by the body’s final, contorted posture, one could only imagine the agony the person had endured. They had likely been drained of their very flesh and blood while still alive.
"It’s Demon Soldiers!"
When the escort squad arrived and saw the desiccated corpses, one of them cried out in alarm, "They’ve penetrated this deep into the Taibai Mountain Area? Did they just abandon the front lines?!"
’Demon Soldiers.’ A flame began to ignite in Su Zhou’s heart. He said nothing, mulling over the term in his mind.
Demon Soldiers, according to the earlier explanation, were elite soldiers of the Anx Dynasty who had been implanted with the Divine Wood Undying Root. They could strengthen themselves and heal their wounds by absorbing flesh and blood.
’So, this is how they absorb flesh and blood?’
HUUUU—
It felt as if something was burning fiercely within him. Su Zhou closed his eyes and exhaled sharply. An instant later, he snapped them open. He had poured half his body’s Spiritual Power into his Spiritual Vision, making his eyes blaze like a pair of high-beams. His gaze became tangible, sweeping across the surrounding peaks like a sword.
"The Spiritual Light Trajectory... there it is!"
The members of the escort squad, who had been about to say something, could only watch as Su Zhou leaped into the air once more. He seemed to fly, using the power of Wind Aid to cross a hundred meters in a single bound, hurtling toward a snow-covered forest nearby.
「In the snowy forest.」
Three large men in white robes had been lying in wait, hidden beneath the ice and snow in a state of feigned hibernation with one ear pressed to the ground. When a palpable wave of ’Fear’ washed over them, they instantly snapped awake. The blood, qi, and Inner Strength throughout their bodies began to rage, circulating with a berserk fury that no ordinary Martial Artist could—or would—ever attempt, a method bordering on self-destruction. In a single instant, their power flared from a mere flicker to its absolute peak!
BOOM!
The very next moment, Su Zhou—his arms and spear wreathed in violet-blue Spiritual Fire, his killing intent fully unleashed—crashed down like a meteorite. Amidst a violent tremor and a blast of snow and ice, his Long Spear pierced through the dust cloud, whistling as it shot straight for the leader of the white-robed men!
This was completely different from his spar with the escort squad. This strike was meant for one thing and one thing only: slaying a Demon!
At the last possible second, the man roared and drew two Fine Steel Scimitars from his waist. Their blades shimmered like water; they were clearly high-quality weapons. He crossed them in front of his body, attempting to block Su Zhou’s furious strike, while the other two men scrambled to draw an Armor-Piercing Long Spike and a crossbow to provide support.
CRACK—SHUNK!
But in the next instant, the other two white-robed men, who had just readied their weapons, witnessed a horrifying sight.
They saw the shattered remains of the twin scimitars; a chest so utterly destroyed that the ribs and spine had been blasted clean through; the face of their leader, frozen before it could even register shock; and a seven-foot Cross Spear, drenched in blood, that had run the man completely through!
The holy Rune inscribed on the centipede-jaw spearhead began to flicker as it touched the Spiritual Blood. A translucent ’Blade of Evil-Breaking’ materialized, emitting a pale light.
"HACK... SPLURT!"
The pierced man in white coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs, but no one paid him any mind.
Standing his ground, Su Zhou expressionlessly raised his Long Spear. The white-robed man’s shattered ribs and flesh caught on the spearhead, and his entire body was lifted into the air, impaled and struggling in vain.
His Dragon Pupils stared at the two dumbfounded men in white. Hot, azure blood suffused with Wood Qi dripped onto the frozen earth. The ’Demon Hunter’ grinned at the ’Demon Soldiers’—a truly chilling smile.
