https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-504-The-Zhang-Family-s-Ancestral-Master/12542469/
Chapter 505: Fierce Battle
Chapter 505: Fierce Battle
The Zhang family's ancestor, transformed into a copper corpse, engaged in a fierce battle with the iron corpse elder controlled by Mo Hua. Their battle stirred rolling waves of corpse energy and overflowing might.
It resembled a close-quarters brawl between two body cultivators.
However, being zombies, their close-quarters combat involved claws and fangs, making their movements more savage and their techniques more vicious.
Mo Hua watched with his blood boiling.
He felt like an elite monster controller battling a major villain.
After watching the spectacle for a while, Mo Hua suddenly realized that he still had important matters to attend to.
He calmed his mind and focused his spirit, beginning to observe the copper corpse ancestor's offensive techniques.
He noted whether it favored punches, claws, or kicks.
He memorized its combat habits, such as following a right punch with a sweeping kick, always continuing with an upward slash after a lateral claw tear, and invariably turning to deliver an elbow strike after a black tiger gut-ripping strike.
...
Mo Hua quietly observed, committing the ancestor of the Zhang family's combat habits to memory.
It was similar to how he had once observed the movements of demons and cultivators to refine his Water Flow Step movement technique.
Knowing oneself and one's enemy, one will never be endangered in a hundred battles.
Different enemies had different techniques and combat habits.
Demons were distinct from humans, and humans were distinct from corpses.
Therefore, it was necessary to familiarize oneself with these differences to predict their actions in advance and avoid being caught off guard during combat.
It didn't matter against ordinary opponents, but against powerful enemies like the Zhang family's ancestor, who could transform into a copper corpse, extra caution was warranted.
The more one understood their opponent, the greater their chance of victory.
This was also a skill of demon hunters.
It was something his father, Mo Shan, had taught him back in the Great Black Mountain.
A demon hunter's physical body was far inferior to that of a demon beast, but they had to engage in close-quarters battles with these beasts, so it was crucial to be thoroughly familiar with their movements and habits.
The same applied to Mo Hua's confrontation with the copper corpse ancestor.
As Mo Hua observed, he also deduced the copper corpse's combination attacks, ensuring he had a clear understanding and contemplated how to counter them.
Indeed, the copper corpse was formidable. Even against eleven iron corpses, it maintained the upper hand.
Each of its moves was extremely fierce and carried profound strength.
In direct confrontations, a single iron corpse was no match. Only through Mo Hua's unified command, with each iron corpse coordinating their attacks, could they take turns striking and disengaging in a wheel-like battle of attrition against the copper corpse.
For a time, the battle reached a stalemate...
The copper corpse's strength lay in its raw power.
On the other hand, the iron corpses' strength lay in their fearless ferocity.
They were willing to trade injuries and even self-destruct to battle the Zhang family's ancestor.
They were using the Zhang family's elders against their own ancestor.
Mo Hua didn't feel any heartache.
Even if they all perished, it wouldn't matter...
But the Zhang family's ancestor did feel the pain! These were his descendants, the elders of the Zhang clan, who had made outstanding contributions. As the ancestor of the Zhang family, if they truly perished together, the Zhang family would be finished.
"This battle of attrition cannot continue..."
The ancestor of the Zhang family's eyes turned cold, his aura surged, and his right fist swept horizontally, forcing back several iron corpses. He then retreated a few steps and began to make intricate hand seals.
As the iron corpses closed in again, a green mist of corpse energy suddenly enveloped them.
The affected iron corpses soon slowed down, their steps faltered, and their aura weakened.
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed.
Corpse poison?
No, it seemed more like a type of spell.
Corpse Poison Technique!
A technique that unleashed corpse poison, causing those affected to slow down, suffer from continuous poison damage, and eventually become sluggish.
The copper corpse's poison was indeed troublesome...
Mo Hua made a mental note to be more cautious.
With the Zhang family ancestor's use of the Corpse Poison Technique, the situation changed.
Affected by the corpse poison, the iron corpses slowed down for a short time, their attacks became sluggish, and their steps faltered, unable to get close to the Zhang family ancestor to restrict his movements...
"Looks like it's my turn to make a move..."
Mo Hua's eyes gleamed as he nodded slightly.
Hidden in the shadows, he waited for the right opportunity and then, with a slight flick of his finger, he cast the Water Prison Technique.
The Zhang family's ancestor, who was dodging the iron corpses' attacks, suddenly felt the qi around him change drastically. A faint blue spiritual silk appeared, transforming into chains that bound him in place.
At the same time, he failed to dodge an attack.
An iron corpse's sharp claws pierced his left chest. Due to the copper-like toughness of his body, the wound wasn't deep, but it was still noticeable.
The Zhang family's ancestor punched the iron corpse, sending it flying, and then, with cold eyes, he scanned his surroundings and shouted, "Who is it?"
"Who dares to sneak attack me?"
Mo Hua, pretending to be a master, remained silent.
The ancestor of the Zhang family's expression turned ugly.
His suspicions were confirmed.
Someone had indeed set up an ambush, endangering the Zhang family's elders and brainwashing them to use against him.
And now, this mastermind was lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity to take his life!
Their intentions were extremely malicious!
The ancestor of the Zhang family's face turned icy. "I want to see who dares to harbor malicious intentions against me, the ancestor of the Zhang family!"
He clenched his right hand, and his spiritual sense condensed.
In the blink of an eye, a bone-white staff appeared in his hand.
Mo Hua's eyelids twitched.
Manifesting a spiritual artifact!
This ancestor of the Zhang family was far more adept at manifesting spiritual artifacts than he was.
He could only manifest the Thousand-Jin Stick, and even then, it would often appear with some faint shadows, lacking substance. It was far inferior to this bone-white staff, which seemed almost real.
However, this probably wasn't a manifestation of a spiritual artifact.
It was likely a manifestation of an evil artifact!
This bone-white staff was clearly refined through evil and unorthodox means, using bones as a medium and a demonic furnace.
Corpse poison condensed, forming myriad serpentine dragons that writhed and coiled, their venomous fangs bared.
Mo Hua's scalp tingled.
This old ancestor of the Zhang family sure had a lot of tricky methods up his sleeve.
Not only did he cultivate a corpse body, but he also practiced sorcery.
Was he a physical cultivator or a spiritual cultivator? Or perhaps, the methods of demons were unique, disregarding qi and spiritual power?
As Mo Hua's thoughts turned, the serpentine dragons slithered towards his feet. Mo Hua immediately executed the Water Flow Step, stepping back lightly.
This slight movement generated a ripple in his spiritual sense, and although it was minuscule, the fully alert ancestor of the Zhang family detected it.
The copper-colored vertical pupils of the Zhang family's ancestor narrowed, and he pointed the white bone staff at Mo Hua.
The serpentine dragons of corpse poison surged like a tidal wave, converging into a mass that rushed towards Mo Hua, exuding a chilling toxic aura.
Mo Hua had no choice but to reveal himself. With light footsteps, he retreated while continuously tapping his fingers, casting spells.
Fireball spells condensed at his fingertips and whistled forth.
The crimson fireballs collided with the serpentine dragons of corpse poison, exploding one after another.
The explosive force of fire-attribute spiritual power, coupled with the entanglement of fiery tendrils, wreaked havoc.
Huge swaths of serpentine dragons were blasted into ashes by the fireballs, their corpse poison incinerated. In the crimson flames, a sinister viridescent hue could be discerned.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Mo Hua had incinerated all of the ancestor's serpentine dragons with his fireball spells.
The ancestor of the Zhang family remained expressionless.
Although his corpse poison technique had been broken, he had succeeded in forcing the "mastermind" out of hiding.
However, this "mastermind" gave him a startling surprise.
It was actually a little ghost...
If the mastermind had been a remarkably talented young cultivator, a deeply scheming middle-aged cultivator, or an old cultivator with a perpetually gloomy face, he wouldn't have been surprised.
But this little ghost, with his innocent demeanor, pure aura, and profound gaze, made him feel a sense of unease.
When something abnormal happens, there must be a demon at play.
The ancestor of the Zhang family frowned.
This little ghost had pure and profound divine sense, capable of manifesting himself and casting spells.
He appeared innocent, but his methods were insidious.
He hid in stealth, leaving no trace.
He toyed with the elders of the Zhang family as if they were mere puppets.
Moreover, if it weren't for his manifestation of the white bone staff and the enhancement of his corpse poison technique, he wouldn't have been able to force this little ghost out of hiding.
His ability to manipulate divine sense was something he had slowly cultivated over hundreds of years by devouring the divine sense of others, diligently exploring, and combining it with the corpse path legacy from his mortal life.
How could this little ghost, with his youthful appearance and presumably short time in the world, possess such profound scheming and bizarre methods?
The ancestor of the Zhang family's gaze turned slightly cold as he asked, "Little ghost, what is your origin?"
Mo Hua smiled and replied, "Guess."
The ancestor of the Zhang family did not show any anger and asked again, "How exactly are you controlling my Zhang family's elders?"
Mo Hua opened his eyes wide and lied, "I'm not controlling them. They realized their own wrongdoings and wanted to devour my divine sense in my sea of consciousness. I kindly advised them, and they had a change of heart, deciding to turn over a new leaf..."
"Oh, right," Mo Hua added, "They also said that they want to uproot all evil and get rid of you, the evil ancestor, to atone for their sins."
The ancestor of the Zhang family's gaze turned icy.
This little ghost was full of nonsense, and he couldn't tell which part, if any, was true...
He was definitely not a benevolent being.
A thought occurred to the ancestor of the Zhang family, and he proposed, "We have no grudges between us. How about we call it quits?"
Mo Hua heaved a sigh of relief and nodded, "Sure, I don't want to fight you either. I can't beat you."
After saying that, Mo Hua waved his hand at the ancestor, "You can leave now. I won't hold you back..."
The ancestor of the Zhang family was taken aback, and his expression became ambiguous. He said faintly, "Then what about my Zhang family's elders?"
Mo Hua waved his hand again, "Like I said, they had a change of heart and decided to turn over a new leaf. They don't want to follow you anymore. Now they're mine and will listen to my commands..."
The ancestor of the Zhang family let out a cold laugh, "You said we would call it quits, but little brother, you don't seem very sincere."
"What do you mean by sincerity?"
The ancestor of the Zhang family said, "You remove the control over them, and I'll take them away. From then on, we'll stay out of each other's way. My Zhang family will no longer show any disrespect towards little brother, and I ask that little brother also show some respect towards my Zhang family. What do you think?"
Mo Hua pretended to ponder, furrowing his brows, "But... I already said that I can't beat you. If I release these iron corpses and you go back on your word, won't I be at a disadvantage?"
The ancestor of the Zhang family cursed inwardly.
What a suspicious little ghost!
"What do you suggest then?"
Mo Hua's eyes rolled, and he said, "How about this? I'll remove the control over these iron corpses, and you'll disable your divine sense. You don't have to disable it completely, just about seventy to eighty percent. This way, without the iron corpses, you'll be at a disadvantage due to your weakened divine sense, and we'll be on equal footing."
The ancestor of the Zhang family's gaze turned cold, "Little ghost, are you making fun of me?"
Mo Hua was about to continue bantering when his expression changed drastically, and his eyes widened in shock.
He had noticed that behind the ancestor of the Zhang family, a gigantic bronze coffin had appeared at some point.
This coffin was clearly also a manifestation, ancient and corroded with green and blue patina, exuding a profound aura. It resembled the bronze coffin used to refine the Corpse King.
The massive size of the bronze coffin indicated its extraordinary nature.
Manifesting such an object would undoubtedly consume a significant amount of time.
The ancestor's previous suggestions of "calling it quits" and "staying out of each other's way" were all lies.
He was merely stalling for time.
The ancestor's expression twisted with anger as he realized what had happened. "You little punk, you set me up too?! While I was busy chatting and casting the Great Seal Coffin Technique, you took advantage of my distraction and the cover of the bronze coffin to set up these array patterns!"
"What's good for the goose is good for the gander," Mo Hua retorted.
The ancestor's face paled as he prepared to seal the coffin. But Mo Hua was quicker. With a thought, he shouted, "Explode!"
The densely packed Earthfire Array erupted!
From within the bronze coffin, the array patterns lit up one by one, layer by layer, spreading outward. Waves of spiritual power surged and expanded.
The bronze coffin transformed into a fiery inferno. The spiritual power, manifested by the ancestor's spirit, exploded within.
Taking advantage of the open coffin, the earthfire array patterns extended inside, maximizing their destructive power.
Fiery light blazed, and moments later, the bronze coffin trembled and cracked, fading into a faint shadow before vanishing completely.
At the same time, several of the iron corpses that had been pulled into the coffin were affected by the array's power, their figures dimming as they became immobilized.
Within the sea of consciousness, spiritual power manifested through spirit techniques was as real as the spirit itself.
With the bronze coffin destroyed, the ancestral spirit of the Zhang family was also heavily injured. His face turned pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as his spirit suffered severe damage, his form shrinking slightly.
"Array patterns?!" he grit out through clenched teeth.
How could this little punk also be an array master? And what was this array technique he used, drawn without brush or ink? What medium did he use, and how did he create the array?
The ancestor's eyes widened in shock. In his hundreds of years of life, he had never encountered a cultivator who could set up array formations within another's sea of consciousness.
And to do so without brush or ink, using only the power of his spirit, was truly unfathomable.
This boy must have come from an extraordinary background, with a deep and profound heritage. Or perhaps he had encountered some incredible opportunity and obtained an astonishing legacy!
Mo Hua's face also paled. He had manifested too many array patterns at once, consuming a large amount of spiritual power, and now he felt his spirit faltering.
This ancestor of the Zhang family was even more troublesome than he had imagined.
The copper corpse, Corpse Poison Technique, White Bone Staff, and Great Seal Coffin Technique.
If not for his control over the iron corpses, giving him the advantage in numbers, the outcome of a direct confrontation would have been uncertain.
Fortunately, he had been a little cowardly...
But at this point, with the ancestor heavily injured, he couldn't let him escape!
He had to strike while the iron was hot!
Of the eleven iron corpses, six were on the brink of death due to the earthfire array, leaving only five.
Mo Hua manipulated these remaining iron corpses to continue the assault while also using the Water Prison Technique to control and the Fireball Technique to wear down his opponent.
"Not good!"
With the Great Seal Coffin Technique broken, the backlash damaged his spirit, and the ancestral spirit of the Zhang family felt a chill in his heart.
Today was a day of great peril! Even after living for hundreds of years and achieving the level of a Corpse Dao Ancestor, he never imagined that he would capsize in the "gutter" of Mo Hua's sea of consciousness.
And amidst all his careful calculations, all his schemes were undone by this little ghost.
The Zhang family's ancestor was furious beyond measure, his expression twisting with rage. No matter how the iron corpses surrounded and attacked him, he moved like the wind, rushing straight towards Mo Hua.
Now that his spiritual sense had been greatly damaged, he could only ensure his survival by killing this little ghost and devouring his spiritual sense.
Even if it meant death, he would take this little ghost down with him.
From what he had witnessed of Mo Hua's techniques, he was skilled in spells and array formations but lacked prowess in close-quarters combat, which was why he kept his distance and employed such insidious methods.
As long as he got close to him, everything would be resolved.
The ancestor's gaze was fierce, his eyes bloodshot, and his corpse energy surging.
This was his last chance at survival, and he had to give it his all!
Mo Hua sensed the ancestor's intentions and felt a chill in his heart. As he retreated, he cast the Water Prison Technique to restrict the ancestor's movements.
But the ancestor, having transformed into a copper corpse, possessed incredible speed and strength.
In his current rage-fueled state, the Water Prison Technique could only hold him back for a moment or two before he broke free.
The chase lasted only a moment before the ancestor caught up to Mo Hua.
Elated, the ancestor's eyes flashed with killing intent as he extended his fingers, sharp as blades, sending gusts of sinister wind towards Mo Hua's vital points.
Mo Hua remained calm and executed the Flowing Water Step, his body bending gracefully to effortlessly dodge the attack.
The ancestor paused momentarily before continuing his assault.
His contorted and ugly hand, adorned with spines, viciously slapped downwards, aiming for Mo Hua's head.
Like a falling leaf, Mo Hua rose and fell abruptly, as if borrowing strength from the void, his body swaying naturally like ripples on water...
The ancestor's expression changed.
What kind of movement technique was this? He couldn't discern any trajectory at all.
They exchanged blows several more times, and the ancestor's heart sank with each strike.
He couldn't even touch him!
Not even the edge of his clothes, let alone killing this little ghost.
What he found even more unbelievable was that all his actions seemed to be predicted by this little ghost.
Every punch, every claw, every advance and retreat, every close-quarters combat technique and habit—this little ghost knew them all!
In this situation, even getting close was useless!
Why?
Why was this little ghost so familiar with his techniques?
Could it be that from the very beginning, when he was fighting the iron corpses, this little ghost had memorized each and every one of his moves?
For the first time, the ancestor felt despair.
He attempted to use the Corpse Poison Technique again, but Mo Hua was prepared.
As soon as the ancestor lifted his hand, Mo Hua quickly withdrew, creating distance, and then countered with fireball spells, supplemented by array formations to trap and kill...
Although the battle dragged on, Mo Hua's spiritual sense was also greatly depleted. The power of his fireball spells and array formations had diminished.
But the Zhang family's ancestor was also at his limit.
He couldn't withstand Mo Hua's relentless assault.
Moreover, Mo Hua's spiritual sense manifested as attacks that truly struck the ancestor's body, while the ancestor's various techniques couldn't even touch Mo Hua's shadow.
The five iron corpses stood by, ready to pounce.
Whenever they had the chance, they would exchange injuries and even sacrifice themselves to battle the Zhang family's ancestor, ensuring he couldn't escape...
The ancestor was frustrated beyond measure but powerless.
He was torn apart by the iron corpses, bombarded by spells, and trapped by array formations. His body was riddled with wounds, and even when he was restricted by the Water Prison Technique, he couldn't kill Mo Hua, nor could he escape. All he could do was be slowly worn down...
Time passed, and after countless exchanges, the Zhang family's ancestor, a master of the corpse path, was exhausted to death...
His body was covered in wounds as he knelt on the ground, devoid of any signs of life.
Even so, Mo Hua dared not approach him.
He kept his distance, letting the remaining two iron corpses guard him while he meditated to restore his spiritual sense.
Once his spiritual sense had recovered somewhat, Mo Hua directed his fireball spells at the ancestor's corpse, reducing it to ashes.
After the bombardment, he meditated again to restore his spiritual sense.
Then he used fireball spells once more.
He meditated, then bombarded...
This process was repeated countless times until the ancestor's corpse was blasted beyond recognition, leaving only a thick, black smoke. Only then did Mo Hua feel relieved...
He lay on the ground, panting heavily.
Overall, the process had gone smoothly, but Mo Hua wasn't entirely satisfied.
He realized that while his spiritual sense was strong, it was only ordinary strong.
Weaker enemies could be easily defeated with spells and array formations.
But against stronger foes, like the Zhang family's ancestor, with his current means, he couldn't deliver a decisive blow or ensure a sure kill!
He had to first find a way to expose their trump cards and then break them one by one.
After that, he could rely on his movement technique, spells, and array formations to slowly wear them down...
This was extremely exhausting...
And it took a long time.
The longer it took, the more likely something unexpected could happen, and any change could bring risk.
"It looks like I need to come up with more ideas and learn some more powerful techniques..."
Mo Hua thought to himself.
Then, a sense of relief washed over him.
After all, he had managed to get rid of the Zhang family's zombie ancestor!
His eyes lit up as he looked at the black-tinted, spiritually dense smoke, anticipation filling his heart:
"I wonder how much my spiritual sense will increase after 'eating' this ancestor of the Zhang family..."
(End of Chapter)
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