Han Yingu's ability to withstand Wu Tao's punch for a period of time with his half-human, half-corpse body was already remarkable.
After all, Wu Tao relied on his dual cultivation of body and techniques to stand out among the tens of thousands of outer disciples of the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
"You're seeking death!"
Wiping the black blood from the corner of his mouth, Han Yingu roared in a low voice. The sound, as if emanating from the depths of a harsh winter, was chillingly cold.
When it reached Wu Tao's ears, it inexplicably tightened his heart. He had a sensitive premonition that something was amiss.
"Bad, retreat quickly."
As soon as this thought flashed through Wu Tao's mind, he didn't hesitate. He transformed into an afterimage and plunged into the ground behind him.
It was only at the moment he retreated that a ferocious expression appeared on Han Yingu's withered, tree-like face.
"Buzz!" "Buzz!"
As the air vibrated violently, a massive black coffin of imposing power, wielded by eight armored zombies, flew up and hovered in mid-air.
Endless corpse energy surged from within. Han Yingu made no move, yet the black coffin exuded a terrifying, world-crushing pressure.
The colossal black coffin slammed down fiercely onto the ground where Wu Tao had stood.
"Rumble..."
With this impact, the ground began to shake violently.
Numerous large trees groaned, and flowers and grass whimpered. The power of this black coffin was beyond imagination, and the destructive force unleashed by its descent was truly terrifying.
The sound of cracking earth echoed repeatedly, then the ground began to warp and twist, and finally, it caved in.
Meanwhile, Wu Tao, who had sensed trouble long ago, had already retreated before the colossal black coffin descended.
Now, looking at the vast, deeply gouged pit beside him, Wu Tao gasped.
He thought to himself, fortunately, he had sensed the danger and retreated a step ahead.
Otherwise, unprotected, he would have been instantly crushed into a pulp by that enormous black coffin.
...
Under Han Yingu's control, the black giant coffin underwent a terrifying transformation.
The black giant coffin reappeared above Wu Tao.
Grayish-white corpse energy surged rapidly within the black giant coffin, and thick, ghastly white streams of corpse energy rained down on Wu Tao.
Each stream carried an extremely sharp aura, like a meteor shower pouring from the heavens.
"Run!"
Wu Tao had long mastered the specialized top-tier magical artifact, the Wind-Riding Azure Bird Boots.
With their full power unleashed, he glided across the ground, his feet not touching the vegetation, moving as fast as a lightning leopard, leaving a dozen afterimages in a single second.
Before Wu Tao could even relax, streams of potent corpse energy shot towards him from behind.
Wu Tao knew without looking that these were concentrated streams of corpse energy.
Even a slight graze would cause a cultivator below the Foundation Establishment stage to have their blood dry up, their limbs numb, and their life hanging by a thread.
With his incredible speed, Wu Tao flickered and weaved, always evading the potentially fatal attacks at the very last moment.
With a "bang," a pit was blown open in the ground to his right, and the nearby vegetation instantly withered.
"Such potent corpse energy! This black giant coffin is quite powerful. If I could obtain it, it would at least increase my combat strength."
"No, what am I thinking?"
Wu Tao found his own thoughts laughable. He wasn't even sure if he could defeat his opponent yet, and here he was, coveting the enemy's magical artifact. It was truly courting death.
Bang...
One after another, ghostly corpse energy attacked from behind. Wu Tao always found the optimal route to evade, giving the impression of him strolling through a hail of bullets.
Seeing this, Han Yingu, enraged, let out a bitter laugh. He stopped using the black giant coffin to spray corpse energy and began to pursue Wu Tao with all his might, gradually closing the distance between them.
Fifty paces!
Forty-five paces!
Forty paces!
...
Three minutes later, Han Yingu finally caught up to Wu Tao.
A sinister smile playing on his lips, Han Yingu began to chant a spell.
The massive black coffin above his head rapidly shrank, transforming in an instant into a delicate, small black coffin.
The black coffin was now only a little over a meter long, but because of this, the artifact's "precision" became even better.
Large swathes of grayish-white flames spread from the black giant coffin, moving like living creatures. These grayish-white flames rose into the air, occasionally transforming into streams of grayish-white fire serpents and pythons, their tongues flickering.
These grayish-white flames burned silently, without a sound.
The temperature emitted by the grayish-white flames was terrifyingly low, like an eternally frozen glacier, unbearable in its cold.
Wu Tao retrieved the Immortal Slaying Demonic Blood Blade from his storage bag. After coating the blade with blood, the blade itself radiated a brilliant crimson light.
One after another, crescent-shaped black blade energies cleaved through the fiercely burning grayish-white sea of flames, forcefully carving out a path.
Wu Tao then flicked his left hand, and two even more powerful black blade energies shot out, striking with extreme speed towards Han Yingu's throat and heart.
*Pfft!*
Han Yingu's devil-like left claw sliced through one blade energy, while the other, drawing a stunning arc, grazed his chest, tearing off a small piece of disgusting flesh.
"Damn it! Corpse Fire!"
In pain, Han Yingu roared in fury. The black giant coffin shook, and countless grayish-white flames shot out, clinging to Wu Tao's protective aura.
"This fire is truly fearsome." The grayish-white flames, with their strong corrosive properties, were irresistible even to the protective aura, which was rapidly eroded.
With no other choice, Wu Tao's spiritual energy in his dantian erupted, pushing back both the external Protective Magnetic Aura and the grayish-white corpse fire.
Han Yingu, caught off guard, was directly hit by this magnetic aura. He stumbled back four or five steps, his grayish-white protective corpse energy flickering.
"Ghost Corpse Drill!"
Halting his retreat, Han Yingu gathered his left hand into a cone shape, the tip formed by five grayish-white hardened fingernails. Outside the nails, grayish-white corpse energy spun violently, forming a grayish-white corpse energy drill that plunged towards Wu Tao.
*Swish!*
The sound of piercing the air was extremely faint, and the corpse energy drill reached Wu Tao's front in the blink of an eye.
"So troublesome!"
Wu Tao muttered to himself and once again swung the Immortal Slaying Demonic Blood Blade. Pitch-black blade energies erupted, intercepting the incoming corpse energy drill with a single strike.
*Ching ching ching!*
Fierce sparks scattered wildly, and the corpse energy drill gradually lost its momentum and dispersed.
Seizing the opportunity, Han Yingu retrieved a magical artifact, a golden skull, from his storage bag and immediately threw it.
As the golden skull flew into mid-air, it released clusters of black Yin energy ghost threads that spread downwards like a large net.
"Yin energy ghost threads!"
Dozens of Yin energy ghost threads surged towards Wu Tao.
Relying on the speed of his Wind-Riding Azure Bird Boots, Wu Tao once again managed to leave the coverage area of the Yin energy ghost thread net at the last possible moment.
"This fellow is truly slippery, like an eel. I must kill him quickly, lest too much time is wasted and others find this place, causing further complications."
After a series of exchanges, Han Yingu had used nearly all his strength, yet he hadn't managed to injure Wu Tao at all. Instead, he himself had lost a small piece of flesh.
Although he had a semi-zombie body, a bit of flesh and blood was not a significant injury to him.
However, as a ruthless elite outer disciple of the demonic path, when had he ever been taken advantage of by others?
The simmering rage in Han Yingu's heart gradually ignited, and his black eyes began to glow with a sinister, terrifying green.
"Ghost Roar Corpse Transformation Technique!"
Opening his foul-smelling mouth, Han Yingu circulated his corpse energy, condensing a phantom skull in his throat. The skull then opened its mouth and unleashed a terrifying sonic wave.
This sonic wave, faintly grayish-black, swept out in waves, filling the riverbank with wails like those in hell, as if the gates of the underworld had reopened.
"What a bizarre and potent sonic wave technique. I must be careful!"
Wu Tao desperately circulated his spiritual energy to protect his mind, but the sonic wave was more than just sound; it also contained a force that was difficult to guard against.
*Pfft!*
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and Wu Tao staggered backward.
...
Seeing that Han Yingu was about to unleash the Ghost Roar Technique again, Wu Tao's expression turned grim. The Immortal Slaying Demonic Blood Blade in his hand silently absorbed more essence blood, and the blade energy on its surface became even sharper than before.
Dense, sharp, cold light. The crescent-shaped blade energies converged into a river.
*Crackle!*
Facing the terrifying torrent of blade energy, Han Yingu, in a panic, forcibly dispelled the Ghost Roar Technique. The golden skull above his head suddenly grew several meters large, intercepting the dense blade energies.
*Ching! Ching! Ching!*
The dense crescent-shaped blade energies, each moving with lightning speed, were slightly too slow for Han Yingu's block. The golden skull failed to block all of them.
The next moment, a deep, bone-cutting gash appeared on his shoulder, nearly costing him a good arm. The loss was far from insignificant.