Chapter 157: Chapter 136: Back from the Dead

The Invisible Blade sliced through space, heading straight for the Living Puppet’s mind.

The Living Puppet had been possessed and gained Spiritual Wisdom. However, compared to a true Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it was quite fragile. This was because it lacked a Sea of Consciousness for support and defense.

The Spirit-Slaying Gourd specialized in slaying the Divine Soul, making it the puppet’s greatest nemesis.

Sword Qi surged in all directions, slashing viciously at the puppet’s body, but it only left a ghastly wound. Meanwhile, the Spirit-Slaying Blade mercilessly annihilated its soul.

As the Living Puppet’s body crashed to the ground, the two men finally let out a long sigh of relief. The battle had been brief, but it was fraught with danger. A single careless move could have meant losing everything.

If the Spirit-Slaying Gourd hadn’t worked, Song Changsheng was prepared to use his last Godslaying Flying Knife. Fortunately, the Spirit-Slaying Gourd had not let him down.

"This is fate. We were about to leave, but we ended up trapped here. Then, by a stroke of luck, we ran into this thing. It must be our destiny to have this fortuitous encounter."

Song Changsheng said with some emotion as he collected the puppet’s remains.

"Indeed. With this, we’ve completed one and a half of the three bounties from the City Lord’s Mansion." Xu Yunhe’s pale face couldn’t hide his elation.

That last strike had consumed nearly all of his Spiritual Power, but thankfully, the reward was proportional to the effort.

"Oh, right. We should hurry and check on that half... I mean, check on how Fellow Daoist Xia is doing." Only then did Song Changsheng remember there was someone else lying over there.

’She’s half a bounty, after all. Can’t just let her die...’

Just as the two were examining Xia Wanyun’s injuries, beneath an unremarkable mound somewhere in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a pair of hands, pale as paper, burst through the soil. Immediately after, all the surrounding Spiritual Qi was drawn in, channeled deep into the earth.

When all the nearby Spiritual Qi had been absorbed, the earth began to swell upward. Finally, a head emerged. His eyes were vacant at first but quickly filled with awareness.

He pushed himself up with his hands and slowly rose to his feet. As clumps of dirt fell away, they revealed a body of average height.

Tattered clothes, disheveled hair, a filthy face, and withered skin—such was his appearance.

He stretched his stiff limbs, then performed a few odd movements as if to acclimate himself to this new body. After a moment, he seemed satisfied with the results.

After getting his bearings, he started walking out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

A gentle breeze swept over the hill, rustling the myriad green leaves. It also stirred his once-magnificent robes, now reduced to tattered strips, revealing a ghastly hole in his chest.

The space where his heart should have been was empty, with only white maggots writhing inside.

If Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe had been present, they would surely have cried out in shock, for the man who had just crawled out of the earth was none other than the long-dead Wuy Luochuan...

Xia Wanyun didn’t know how long she had been unconscious. Her mind remained in a hazy, muddled state. She could vaguely hear sounds, but couldn’t make them out clearly.

After an unknown amount of time, a hazy light appeared before her. When she opened her eyes, she saw a chiseled face.

He had a world-weariness that belied his years, yet his eyes were exceptionally clear and bright. He was currently holding her wrist, channeling a steady stream of Spiritual Power into her and filling her entire body with a pleasant warmth.

Xu Yunhe sensed her gaze. The moment their eyes met, he froze.

Xia Wanyun was completely different from before. All traces of her former seductiveness were gone, and her eyes had lost their bewitching, soul-stealing quality.

It wasn’t that she had become ugly. Rather, she had lost that worldly, jaded air. This, combined with her slightly furrowed brows, inspired an irrepressible desire to protect her.

Even Xu Yunhe found himself unwittingly affected.

And so, when Song Changsheng returned after severing the Earth Vein and breaking the Natural Magical Array, this was the scene that greeted him:

Xu Yunhe was gripping Xia Wanyun’s slender, pale wrist, staring intently into her eyes. He wasn’t channeling Spiritual Power, nor was he letting go, frozen like a statue.

’What’s going on here? How long was I even gone? Did those two already hit it off?’ Song Changsheng’s eyes widened. ’Isn’t this developing a little too quickly?’

Song Changsheng had the good sense not to interrupt them. He just stood a short distance away, but to his surprise, the pair seemed to have mutually agreed to ignore his very existence.

’They’re less than fifty feet away. There’s no way they can’t sense me. I’d never believe it,’ Song Changsheng thought. ’They’re two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, not mortals.’

’What are they staring at? Are they going to see flowers bloom from it? Make a move already!’ Song Changsheng grumbled to himself.

After standing there for a quarter of an hour and seeing that the two had made no further moves, Song Changsheng couldn’t stand it any longer. He cleared his throat twice and said, "Fellow Daoist Xia, you’re awake. How are you feeling?"

The two of them snapped out of their daze and instinctively looked away from each other. Xia Wanyun struggled slightly, and Xu Yunhe, flustered, finally remembered he was still holding her hand and hastily let go.

A crimson blush spread across Xia Wanyun’s cheeks, and she lowered her head slightly.

Seeing their reactions, Song Changsheng couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. ’Things change so damn fast these days. I was gone for a single ancient hour, and these two are already getting cozy.’

"Brother Song, you’re back! Do you need my help breaking the array?" Xu Yunhe quickly put some distance between himself and Xia Wanyun, his expression rather awkward.