What kind of face was it?
The flesh of the face had completely decayed, not a single piece of skin remained intact, and many maggots were constantly burrowing through the rotting flesh. The eye sockets were dark and empty, the eyeballs evidently having fallen out long ago.
Within those dark, hollow eye sockets, two small red snakes coiled, flicking their tongues lightly, their serpent eyes fixed intently on Mu Jinyu as she turned her head towards them.
The item that the Bridal Gown Bride held and examined in her hands was not any sort of book; it was actually a collection of intact human faces.
Mu Jinyu glanced once and immediately felt his scalp tingle.
For those human skin faces in the hands of the Bridal Gown Bride seemed alive, their expressions changing unpredictably—twisted, anguished, despairing, pleading, hateful...
The range of emotions was vivid and clear, giving the impression that they were not yet dead, or perhaps, even if they were dead, their souls had been stripped away along with their skin, sealed within and unable to find release!
"Shh!"
At that moment,
The Bridal Gown Bride made her move.
The two small red snakes coiled in her eye sockets shot out like arrows released from a bow, instantly lunging at Mu Jinyu.
Their speed was so fast that Mu Jinyu barely reacted in time, narrowly avoiding being bitten in the eye sockets!
"Shh!!"
Mu Jinyu had no time to swing the Golden Dagger to kill these bizarre red snakes and instead turned his head to evade them first.
Only then did he grip the dagger firmly, and as the snakes turned in midair to strike at him again, he swung his blade down in a chop!
"Tss!"
The two small red snakes were slashed by the Golden Dagger, and immediately a dark black blood burst forth, before they divided into four lengths of snake body, falling to the ground and writhing incessantly.
Mu Jinyu wondered what kind of ghastly presence this was. How had Ah-Huang managed to bring it back without getting hurt?
"Huff..."
A gust of cold wind blew.
Mu Jinyu immediately remembered the Rotten Corpse Bride ghost behind him. Knowing it was her who was attacking him, he hastily sprinted forward before turning back to look.
He saw the Rotten Corpse Bride clothed in the wedding dress standing not far from where he had just been, her perfect, flawless jade hands gently caressing the air.
Mu Jinyu's scalp tingled at this sight.
Because if he remembered correctly, the Rotten Corpse Bride was caressing the air where his face had just been.
Could it be that this demon also wanted to strip off his own facial skin?
Mu Jinyu thought so, suddenly feeling an ominous premonition. If that was indeed the case, then what about Ah-Huang who was in the headquarters of Dragon King Hall?
But there was no time for further thought.
For, after touching the empty air, the Rotten Corpse Bride clumsily turned its body and then looked towards Mu Jinyu.
It awkwardly took a step, its red embroidered shoes peeking out from underneath the red dress.
Suddenly, it flew swiftly to Mu Jinyu's side and continued to raise its hand to touch his face!
Seeing this, Mu Jinyu clenched his teeth, raised the Golden Dagger, channeling all his True Yuan into the blade, and furiously slashed downward, creating a dazzling and brilliant arc of light, cutting straight towards the Rotten Corpse Bride!
This stroke was the strongest one he could perform with his current ability in the God Realm; not just a tank or an armored vehicle, even a building could easily be cleaved into a heap of ruins and debris!
However...
"Dang!"
As Mu Jinyu's blade struck the Rotten Corpse Bride, not only did it fail to split her in two, it also emitted a sound like gold striking iron.
It was as though he had hacked at stone with an iron sword.
Not a single blow could inflict any damage upon this demon!
"Just as I thought!"
Mu Jinyu had anticipated this, knowing that his slash might not cause any real damage to the demon, so he wasn't particularly disappointed.
Taking advantage of the Rotten Corpse Bride's brief moment of sluggishness after being struck by his blade, he gripped the Golden Dagger and thrust it straight into its chest!
Mu Jinyu was unsure whether destroying the heart of a demon like the Rotten Corpse Bride would be effective, but having no other methods at hand, he decided to give it a try.
Without other options, he would have to stall for time, engaging in a protracted battle until the Golden Gatling was ready at Dragon King Hall. Then, he would praise the Gatling Bodhisattva and perform a physical transcendence for the benefactor who tragically became a demon on her wedding day!
"Hiss!"
Mu Jinyu, holding the Golden Dagger, stabbed precisely into the heart of the Rotten Corpse Bride and quickly let go, retreating backwards.
He stared intently at the brightly clad bride before him, hoping she would simply stop moving. If so, all he had to do was wait for the Golden Coffin from Dragon King Hall and seal her inside it.
However.
The situation didn't play out as Mu Jinyu had hoped.
Initially, when the Rotten Corpse Bride was stabbed in the chest with the Golden Dagger, she did stop moving. However, a scarlet light suddenly flared from her red wedding dress, and the dagger plunged into her heart clattered to the ground.
Mu Jinyu's pupils shrank slightly at the sight.
He discovered that the wedding dress was completely undamaged, meaning his earlier thrust with the dagger hadn't succeeded in piercing the demon's chest, nor in reaching its heart!
"Is there a problem with that wedding dress?"
Mu Jinyu had just realized this
when the Rotten Corpse Bride, wearing Embroidered Shoes, once again flew towards him.
"These Embroidered Shoes are problematic too!"
Mu Jinyu felt his heart sink.
With these two Ghostly Artifacts, wasn't the Rotten Corpse Bride invincible?
Her defensive capabilities were of first-rate strength, and her speed was on par with that of the God Realm. Unleashed upon the world, she could wreak havoc on her own!
"Shick!"
Mu Jinyu was just about to take out a spare Golden Dagger to fend her off while waiting for the Golden Gatling to be delivered
when suddenly, the Rotten Corpse Bride released her grip, and the many human skins in her hands began to float in mid-air.
The expressions on them were all different: some in agony, some numb with despair, others filled with raging resentment.
"Uh-ah!"
"Roar!"
These vividly expressive human skins, floating in mid-air and revolving around Mu Jinyu, emitted a cacophony of screeches and roars!
It was as if fierce ghosts were wailing and weeping!
"Damn it!"
As these ghostly wails and howls arose, Mu Jinyu, who was about to extricate himself, suddenly found that he couldn't move his body.
He was entirely rigid, as if he himself was exerting a fearsome pressure to subdue ordinary people, preventing them from moving.
However, at that moment, he was the one paralyzed by the demon's terrifying pressure.
"Swoosh!"
The Rotten Corpse Bride glided in front of Mu Jinyu, raising her crystal clear, flawless hand—beautiful as if it did not belong to a normal person—toward Mu Jinyu's face!
The gesture was so gentle, like a lover caressing their beloved's cheek.
Yet Mu Jinyu was horrified, his body hair standing on end as he inwardly shouted furiously, struggling to break free from the ghastly presence of the demon and escape.
If his face were touched by the demon's hand, who knew what would happen?
It was very likely that his skin would be peeled off along with his very soul, dragging both down to perdition.