"Something's wrong! Those corpses have indeed mutated! Even I don't know exactly what's going on with these corpses, but I can sense they're extremely dangerous. We need to get out of here now!" Huang Shang exclaimed in shock, urgently speaking to Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei didn't dare delay. He turned and fled.
Just as Ye Yunfei turned to leave—
Splash… splash…
Corpse after corpse, covered in seaweed and glowing green, rose upright from the seawater.
The surfaces of these corpses were thick with lush green aquatic weeds that looked like countless soft, small green snakes clinging densely to their forms, writhing incessantly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The corpses, one after another, began lunging toward Ye Yunfei to attack. Their nails were long, green, and appeared incredibly hard, capable of piercing through space instantly. Wherever they passed, dark spatial cracks were left behind.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Confident in his physical strength and quality, Ye Yunfei didn't dodge but instead met them with his fists, his punches clashing with the corpses' nails or bodies.
"These corpses are incredibly hard and possess tremendous strength," Ye Yunfei remarked in astonishment.
He realized that these corpses' power and the hardness of their bodies seemed superior to those black-furred beasts. When Ye Yunfei struck the black-furred beasts, though not fatal, they would still be injured. Yet when he hit these green corpses, aside from being knocked back, they suffered no damage whatsoever, immediately lunging back into the fray.
While Ye Yunfei was besieged by the green corpses, the Heavenly Gods in the distance faced the same predicament.
A large number of green corpses suddenly surged from the seawater around them, joining the black-furred beasts in a combined assault.
"I think I know what these monsters are," Hun Lao suddenly sent a sound transmission to Ye Yunfei.
"Hun Lao, you've identified these monsters?" Ye Yunfei's heart stirred, and he quickly inquired.
"I just searched my racial memories and found a description of this type of creature. They should be called Ghost Corpse Monkeys. These Ghost Corpse Monkeys are covered in extremely tough black fur. Half the reason their bodies are so hard is due to that black fur on their surfaces. They inhabit special aquatic realms and feed specifically on the flesh, blood, and origin essence blood of other living beings. Moreover, Ghost Corpse Monkeys possess a shocking innate talent: they are born with the ability to refine corpses and control them. That means the corpses soaking in this sea area are likely controlled by these Ghost Corpse Monkeys," Hun Lao explained.
"There are actually such monsters, born with the ability to refine and control corpses! So refining and controlling corpses is their racial talent?" Huang Shang, having heard Hun Lao's words, was deeply shocked.
Since Huang Shang practiced corpse path techniques and understood corpse refinement and control, he knew that cultivating corpse path arts required significant talent, abundant corpse sources, and long, arduous training to achieve results. Hearing that Ghost Corpse Monkeys were innately capable of refining and controlling corpses was naturally astonishing.
AHH!
At that moment, a sharp, agonized scream came from one of the Heavenly Gods in the distance.
It turned out one Heavenly God was surrounded by several hundred Ghost Corpse Monkeys and dozens of corpses. After barely holding out for a moment, his body was shattered into pieces. Fortunately, with the help of other Heavenly Gods nearby, this god quickly reconstituted his physical form, though his face was deathly pale and filled with terror.
"We must leave immediately! We can't stay here any longer. If we remain, our lives might not be safe!" Finally, the Guardian Faction's Heavenly Gods dared not linger further. One by one, they turned, seeking to break through the encirclement and escape.
"That kid is also besieged by a large group of monsters and corpses. He likely won't make it out alive," one Heavenly God said, glancing toward Ye Yunfei. They saw Ye Yunfei encircled by dense masses of Ghost Corpse Monkeys and a host of green corpses, embroiled in intense combat.
"Once we get out, we'll report the situation here truthfully to the old wizard. Our large group of Heavenly Gods can barely handle these monsters and corpses together. That kid, alone and unaided, couldn't possibly cope with so many monsters and corpses," another Heavenly God stated.
They were preparing their excuse for leaving.
The Heavenly Gods then ceased hesitation, combining their strength to fight their way toward the outer edges of the Ancient Desolate Sea. However, with Ghost Corpse Monkeys and corpses appearing in ever-increasing numbers around them, breaking out wouldn't be easy.
The dozen or so Heavenly Gods pressed close together, forming a battle array as they charged outward.
"Looks like those guys are scared and want to leave," Hun Lao said to Ye Yunfei.
"What do we do then?" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm asked.
"We must leave here too. There's no need to fight these Ghost Corpse Monkeys and corpses to the death. Winning or losing would be a pure waste of time and energy," Ye Yunfei said, frowning as he observed the densely packed Ghost Corpse Monkeys and corpses around them.
Ye Yunfei extended his Soul Power perception and quietly used the Chaos Heavenly Calculus to divine a direction. "The numbers of Ghost Corpse Monkeys and corpses are relatively sparser in this direction."
In the next instant, Ye Yunfei released a large group of puppets, while Huang Shang released a host of corpses. Previously, Ye Yunfei had expended many puppets and Huang Shang many corpses, but some remained. To escape this area, they now had to employ the remaining ones.
Surrounded by these puppets and corpses, Ye Yunfei swiftly broke through, heading in a specific direction.
"It's incredible! These Ghost Corpse Monkeys truly can control these corpses!" Huang Shang exclaimed in wonder. After hearing Hun Lao's words earlier, he had been somewhat skeptical, so he'd been sensing and observing the Ghost Corpse Monkeys and corpses. He now confirmed that the corpses were indeed under the Ghost Corpse Monkeys' control, as each corpse had a Ghost Corpse Monkey beside it.
These Ghost Corpse Monkeys either issued sharp, whistling sounds or used strange movements to command the corpses in combat.
"It seems each Ghost Corpse Monkey controls one corpse," Huang Shang observed aloud. "No, some larger Ghost Corpse Monkeys actually control several corpses at once, even over a dozen! These corpses seem much more powerful than those refined by the Yin Corpse Hall. I wonder what secret methods these Ghost Corpse Monkeys possess to refine corpses to such strength." Huang Shang gazed at the green corpses, nearly salivating.
He was now dual-cultivating corpse and ghost arts, so those corpses were extremely tempting to him.
"Help me capture a few corpses then. I want to study them closely," Huang Shang suddenly said to Ye Yunfei.
"Capture a few corpses?" Ye Yunfei was momentarily taken aback.
"Alright, let's join forces and capture a few," Ye Yunfei nodded in agreement.
As soon as he spoke, Ye Yunfei threw out three Heavenly God-level magic treasures, activating them simultaneously to encircle and trap one corpse.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The corpse and a Ghost Corpse Monkey beside it immediately went berserk, frantically attacking the three treasures and producing a series of loud collisions.
Ye Yunfei swung his fist, punching the Ghost Corpse Monkey and sending it flying.
"Let me handle this," Huang Shang appeared beside Ye Yunfei. In his left hand, he held a black Corpse Bag, and in his right, a bundle of black rope. The Corpse Bag was a spatial treasure specifically for storing corpses. The black rope was a treasure from the Yin Corpse Hall called the Corpse-Binding Lasso, designed to bind and seal corpses.
Ye Yunfei punched again, striking the corpse's shoulder. Rolling fist force pressed down on the corpse, causing it to sink lower. Huang Shang then charged forward with the lasso, beginning to subdue the corpse.
This corpse was far more powerful than those Huang Shang had previously encountered from the Yin Corpse Hall. It resisted desperately, vast amounts of green corpse energy gushing from its body. Its corpse claws were exceedingly sharp; wherever they passed, space seemed to turn soft as tofu, instantly shredded.
Ye Yunfei swung his fists in a flurry, each punch applying immense pressure to the corpse.
Meanwhile, the Ghost Corpse Monkey Ye Yunfei had punched away earlier shrieked and charged back, launching a frenzied attack on Ye Yunfei once more.
However, Ye Yunfei punched out again, directly sending the Ghost Corpse Monkey flying once more.
Simultaneously, the surrounding Ghost Corpse Monkeys, corpses, and massive waves continued to assault Ye Yunfei incessantly.
In the distance, the dozen or so Guardian Faction Heavenly Gods pressed tightly together, advancing cautiously as they fought their way toward the outer Ancient Desolate Sea. They no longer had time to worry about Ye Yunfei.
"You just wait, kid! You'd better not emerge alive, or I'll definitely tear you to shreds to vent the hatred in my heart!" As they retreated, the Heavenly Gods glanced back at Ye Yunfei intermittently, each gnashing their teeth in fury.
They had pursued Ye Yunfei here with so many Heavenly Gods, yet so far, they hadn't laid a finger on him. Instead, they'd lost one companion, and another was severely injured—an outcome they found hard to accept. But faced with the dangers here, they had no choice but to retreat.
"Do all these hollow words help your cause? I'm right here. If you want to kill me, just make your move. I'll be waiting," Ye Yunfei retorted with a cold laugh.
"Kid, arrogance brings disaster! Just you wait! You won't be cocky for much longer!" The dozen gradually departing Heavenly Gods were furious at Ye Yunfei's words. But in this environment, they could do nothing to him, only glare at him with knife-like gazes from afar before continuing their outward charge.