Chapter 1669: Chapter 967: Funeral Guanyin (Part 2)
Yang Xiao had a reason for not naming himself No. 1, after all, No. 1 sounds like the leader, and truly, Ku Daoist had the strongest spiritual power among them.
If the other side intended to decapitate, they would target Ku Daoist first, and Yang Xiao wanted this old guy to share the firepower for him.
The battle was on the verge of erupting, and Ku Daoist, without the slightest hesitation, walked towards the Funeral Guanyin and the hundred mourning corpses she controlled.
The Funeral Guanyin’s funeral technique was formidable, yet Ku Daoist’s corpse control skill was not for nothing; when it came to a duel, he truly did not fear her.
Although Ku Daoist didn’t say it, he knew he was getting a good deal; although the Blood Flesh Immortal’s spiritual power was lesser compared to the Funeral Guanyin, the difficulty in handling him was greater. It was rumored that his methods were extremely peculiar, and Ku Daoist had heard of his reputation.
Having Yang Xiao deal with the Blood Flesh Immortal suited him well; he also wanted to see what other tricks the self-proclaimed Ming Emperor had up his sleeve.
As the mourning stick was waved, the Hundred Demons wailed. Yet to Ku Daoist, this horrifying scene was insignificant. He casually removed the corpse-controlling copper bell from his waist, shook it slightly, and immediately, several nearby corpses stopped moving; their mourning expressions gradually returned to normal, with some even turning around to follow Ku Daoist like the most loyal servants.
In less than half a minute, Ku Daoist managed to turn nearly a third of the corpse puppets against her.
At this moment, the Funeral Guanyin, staring closely at the hand shaking bell, finally recognized the person in front of her, her pupils shrunk abruptly, and she shrieked, "You’re not from the Patrol Defense Office, you... you’re Ku Daoist from the Taoist Sect?!"
"Petty tricks, yet you dare to show off!" Ku Daoist sneered, forming a spell with his hands in front of him, and in the next second, propelled by spiritual power, a wooden sword flew out straight, aiming at the Funeral Guanyin’s brows.
The Funeral Guanyin reacted swiftly, her body unmoved, just tilted her head slightly to avoid the sword. But the wooden sword seemed to possess intelligence, humming lightly, and shot at her again from a crafty angle.
At the critical moment, the Funeral Guanyin wasn’t flustered, didn’t even dodge. Just as the wooden sword was about to pierce her body, a figure flashed by, blocking the strike for her, but the corpse puppet was pierced through the chest by the wooden sword.
But the corpse puppet felt no pain and knew no fear, even attempting to seize control of the wooden sword, but with the might exerted by the wooden sword, it pushed the corpse puppet back.
Soon, a second, third... up to six, seven corpse puppets lined up to block the wooden sword, actually managing to suppress its attack force.
Seeing the wooden sword restrained, the Funeral Guanyin breathed a sigh of relief. Yet at the same time, she felt extremely pained, for these corpse puppets weren’t ordinary; they were urgently refined from the Withered Bone Pavilion’s disciples, each possessing the strength of a Fierce Level Apostle before their death, and now she sacrificed most of her elite corpse puppets to suppress an opponent’s magic artifact—a significant loss.
However, there was no choice. Facing this old man, she had to pay some price. After all, in terms of qualifications and fame, the old man before her was superior by a vast margin.
"Ku Daoist, what a grand name, yet only so much!" The Funeral Guanyin clutched the mourning stick, finally stabilizing the situation.
"Take another move, only so!" Ku Daoist chuckled instead of getting angry, and in the next moment, the corpse puppet pierced in the chest by the wooden sword seemed to be countered by a force, pulled out the sword, its neck cracked 180 degrees, performing an action impossible for a living person, slashing back with the sword.
The movement was fluid and without any unnecessary action; the not particularly sharp-looking wooden sword effortlessly cleaved open the heads of three corpse puppets behind, like splitting watermelons, but soon the fourth corpse puppet broke an arm to grasp the wooden sword tightly.
Meanwhile, behind Ku Daoist, a sudden change occurred. A corpse of an old woman under his control gradually opened her eyes, her pupils scattered, her eyes clouded and covered with a layer of old yellow.
The old woman’s wrist flipped, and a rusty iron scissors appeared in her hand as she lunged forward, trying to stab Ku Daoist’s back.
But Ku Daoist, as if he had eyes on his back, elegantly dodged the attack, grabbing the corpse-controlling bell and smashing it down onto the old woman’s head. Her head was smashed open, making her stagger a few steps like a kite with a broken string, then fall with a "thud."
The old woman was dead, her head severely fractured, oozing blood mixed with brain matter, but it wasn’t fresh blood, rather an odorous, filthy blood.
Seeing this, the Funeral Guanyin’s face darkened gradually, realizing her methods largely revolved around corpse controlling, and this old man was a peer in the same craft. Their techniques were similar, neither could quickly overpower the other.
Normally it would be fine; losing the fight means leaving. But now, the problem was they couldn’t escape, surrounded outside entirely.
Today’s only hope for breaking the deadlock was capturing these people to use as leverage, compelling the Patrol Defense Office to grant them passage.
But now, even that hope was dwindling, realizing the ones that came weren’t from the Patrol Defense Office at all, much like them, wanted evil cultivators.
Even if capturing this bunch were possible, would the Patrol Defense Office release them for their lives? She believed it was highly unlikely.
"Ku Daoist, you and I have no past grievances nor recent animosities, why keep hounding me? For someone with a name and standing in the world of martial arts, why lower yourself to kneel, serving the Patrol Defense Office?"
The Funeral Guanyin attempted another tactic, trying to persuade him, "How about this, you help us break out together, and after we escape, I will introduce you to our patron. I know you have long dissociated from the Taoist Sect, and with your skills, if you are willing to join the Withered Bone Pavilion, your position surely won’t be below mine!"
"Absurd! Compared to the Patrol Defense Office, your Withered Bone Pavilion is nothing. I am grateful to the generous Patrol Defense Office for accepting me to atone for my sins. I am endlessly thankful, how could I ally with petty scoundrels like you?"
Ku Daoist displayed a great sense of valor, resembling a master of a renowned sect, "I advise you to lay down your arms and surrender, perhaps you may still save a life, otherwise, we decide to kill!"
Ku Daoist spoke with such conviction, but what he truly thought was known only to himself. He gathered from the Blood Flesh Immortal’s words that they were surrounded by experts from the Patrol Defense Office, yet if he revolted now, his fate would likely be worse than a hundred Butchers and Desire Demons.
He was amused to banter with the Funeral Guanyin, as a mortal combat might leave him injured even if he succeeded in killing her, and once gravely injured, his value diminished, his end near, the Patrol Defense Office not a place for retirement.
He knew too well the style of the Patrol Defense Office; privately their conduct was scarcely better than the evil cultivators, the difference being they were officials, while themselves were bandits and thieves.
Aspiring to be an official through murder and arson and then gain amnesty; Ku Daoist heard before that whether it be the Patrol Defense Office, United Federation Chamber of Commerce, or top-tier forces like the Ten Great Sects, these prestigious sects would secretly recruit experts, regardless of being evil cultivators or past atrocities, if sufficiently fierce, strong, capable, one could secure a decent job.
A successful tenure might even offer a chance to start fresh, emerging again as a brave hero.
The first time he saw his wanted notice, Ku Daoist was astounded, for many accusations therein were not his doing, like murdering thirteen members of the Zhou Family in Lin County, a place he had never even set foot.
Upon reflection, he understood; undoubtedly, he was used as a scapegoat, with unresolvable messes all attributed to him, unable to plead his case.
Evil cultivators aren’t considered people, lacking human rights.
