Chapter 171: Amidst the Rolling Mist

After having wiped out a group of minor ghouls in the deserted village and later used the Fire Technique to destroy a corpse chief, the scattered expenditure of spiritual power left Zhou Qing with almost nothing by the time the flying corpse appeared. Thus, when his spiritual energy was depleted, his Eight Extremes Shield was torn open by a single swipe of the creature's claw.

Now, facing off against the flying corpse, Zhou Qing swallowed a Rejuvenation Pill to restore his spiritual strength and once again raised the Eight Extremes Shield. He knew what kind of existence a flying corpse was—though this was the first time he had encountered such a zombie in person, records of them appeared in his Wandering Notes.

According to a short piece titled "Travels in Baling" written by his grandmaster Tian Yizi, this type of zombie was several times more powerful than a corpse chief—capable of human speech and versed in the balance of yin and yang, with strength enough to subdue tigers and dragons. From the merciless stab just now, it was clear that the physical resilience of this creature far surpassed that of a corpse chief. If Zhou Qing’s previous blow had landed on a corpse chief, the result would have been far more than a mere wound; yet the flying corpse now only had a shallow gash on its arm.

After Zhou Qing had sliced open its arm, the old woman-like flying corpse did not attack immediately. Instead, she fixed him with a chilling gaze and began to speak in human tongue.

"Long ago, your kind and mine made a pact to leave each other in peace. What meaning is there in this disturbance now?"

As the flying corpse spoke, her small frame shifted, drawing two steps closer to Zhou Qing.

"I know little of what transpired in these northern mountains years ago," Zhou Qing replied calmly, seeing that she had no intention of attacking yet. "Nor did I enter these woods to make enemies. I am here to seek something left by my grandmaster, and as for those zombies that attacked me before, had they not pursued me relentlessly, I would not have acted against them without cause."

As Zhou Qing spoke, a ghoul below in the forest bounded quickly toward them. Upon seeing Zhou Qing and the flying corpse, the small zombie let out several low, guttural howls before turning and leaping away.

At the same moment, the flying corpse flickered like a specter and lunged at Zhou Qing once more.

This suggested that the howls from the small zombie had conveyed some message to the flying corpse. Zhou Qing had thought, given the brief conversation, that there might yet be room for negotiation, but it was now clear that all chance was gone.

The flying corpse was incredibly fast. As she lunged, her claws struck the Eight Extremes Shield again, but this time, she failed to tear it open. Seeing this, Zhou Qing stabbed at her with his weapon, Relentless, forcing her to dodge aside.

Though the shield withstood the attack, each blow from the flying corpse consumed more of Zhou Qing’s spiritual power. The shield itself was formed from condensed spiritual energy; the more it resisted her attacks, the more quickly his strength ebbed. Zhou Qing’s supply of Rejuvenation Pills was not limitless.

He knew he must destroy this flying corpse while his energy still held out—the longer the battle dragged on, the greater his losses would be. Resolving himself, he slapped his waist pouch and drew out two more Rejuvenation Pills.

As he held the pills, the flying corpse darted forward again. Once more, the Eight Extremes Shield blocked her attack, and Zhou Qing drove her back with Relentless.

After the shield withstood the second assault, Zhou Qing popped a pill into his mouth and reached into his pouch for a talisman. This was a blood-red talisman inscribed with a strange golden rune.

Zhou Qing’s expression grew grave as he held the blood talisman in his hand. This was the Extreme Heaven Thunder Talisman, a thunder spell much like the Heavenly Thunder Talisman left to him by Wu Liaocheng, but this one summoned ordinary yang lightning rather than the celestial thunder.

There are many kinds of lightning in this world. The thunder and lightning commonly seen by mortals is yang lightning, white and the weakest in power. A step above it is celestial thunder, golden in color and not of this world, hence called otherworldly thunder.

Beyond yang and celestial thunder, there exist other forms. In this land, there is purple lightning known as Dao Thunder, greater even than celestial thunder and only summoned by those of profound cultivation. Above Dao Thunder is crimson Sovereign Thunder, and beyond that, black Desolation Thunder.

Zhou Qing had never seen purple, crimson, or black lightning, but he had learned of their existence from his Wandering Notes.

Though the art he was about to perform was the weakest of the thunder spells, with his current cultivation it was still a challenge to wield the Extreme Heaven Thunder Talisman.

Unlike last time, when he had merely used the talisman to channel the power of the Heavenly Thunder—where the talisman itself contained the grandmaster’s magic and needed none of Zhou Qing’s own energy—this time, the talisman was his own creation and held no such power. To summon yang lightning, he would need to use the talisman as a medium and his own spiritual strength to draw down the thunder.

His face somber, Zhou Qing watched the flying corpse lunge at him again. He struck out with Relentless to drive her back, then tossed the blood-red talisman into the air.

As the talisman spun upward, it burst into flame of its own accord. Zhou Qing formed a strange hand seal with his right hand and pointed skyward, his left hand behind his back, standing alone on the slope. With the talisman as a medium and his own energy as the guide, he began to draw upon the thunder of heaven and earth.

As Zhou Qing raised his hand in the seal, he felt his spiritual power drain rapidly. Overhead, the once-murky sky began to churn and boil with clouds.