Chapter 81: The Flying Sword Incantation

Li Yunfei grasped his curved blade, sprang to his feet, and leapt over the table, his hands wielding the sword in a frenzy midair. Blades of energy shot forth, and as Li Yunfei landed, seven or eight skeletons had already been scattered across the ground. These skeletons were exceptionally fragile, collapsing at the slightest touch. Compared to zombies and reanimated corpses, their only advantage lay in their remarkable agility and quick reflexes; unburdened by muscles and tendons, they were even more nimble than living beings. Yet this lack of flesh rendered their defenses nearly nonexistent. By Li Yunfei’s estimation, even an ordinary person could disperse them with a mere stick. Of course, that was only theory; in practice, ordinary people stood no chance against these skeletons, for they possessed rudimentary martial skills, retreating and advancing with clear tactics.

Unfortunately for them, they faced the unpredictable Li Yunfei.

After landing, Li Yunfei ceased sending out blades of energy, instead gathering his blade’s aura and unleashing a “chaotic whirlwind” upon the skeleton horde. The curved blade itself measured two feet two inches, and with an added three feet of blade aura, it extended over half a yard. Light and agile, his movements formed an impenetrable defense—like water closed off from entry. Though Li Yunfei knew nothing of proper swordsmanship, the saying goes that wild blades can slay the master; with the blade’s aura empowering his erratic dance, his efficiency surpassed that of any structured technique. Not even Li Yunfei knew where his next strike would land, or in what manner he would swing, and with his rapid tempo, the skeletons were powerless to evade.

This method, however, rapidly consumed his spiritual power. Yet, with the Pig King Pill granting him tenfold recovery speed, Li Yunfei could afford the expense.

The skeletons bore no weapons, their only armament being their sharp finger bones. Their attacks mimicked those of the living—punches, kicks, knee strikes, elbow blows—occasionally augmented by piercing fingers or gnashing teeth. Soon, Li Yunfei found himself surrounded on all sides. Inevitably, some strikes eluded his notice, and he was attacked. But the Eight Trigrams Dao robe shielded him with its banishing power, while the protective aura of the Gang Qi Armor guarded him within. The skeletons’ attacks amounted only to spiritual power loss; they could not harm him in the least.

Occasionally, a skeleton lunged forward to grab him, or jumped onto his back to choke or bite his neck, or crawled at his feet to seize his legs. Li Yunfei would then unleash a burst of spiritual energy, the protective aura and banishing power shattering his assailants instantly.

Against Li Yunfei, these skeletons felt like mice grappling with a tortoise—utterly at a loss.

As for the destruction of these hundred-odd skeletons, it was only a matter of time.

While Li Yunfei engaged the skeletons with his blade, the little fox ignited a strange fox fire, spheres of flame revolving around her as she advanced upon the zombies.

“Whoosh… Boom… Boom…”

Seeing the zombies attempting to join the skeletons in their assault on Li Yunfei, the little fox would not allow it. To avoid interfering with Li Yunfei, her first priority was to drive the zombies away from his battleground.

Balls of fire flew forth, striking the zombies with uncanny precision. Though unable to shatter them outright, the blasts sent them tumbling backward. Once the zombies had been pushed back a dozen yards and into the sluggish ranks of the walking corpses, the little fox rushed forward, spun around, and swept her tail—summoning a wall of fire.

Now that the little fox had reached level 31, evolving into a two-tailed demon fox, the power and endurance of her strange fox fire had grown considerably. While not as potent as the Sixfold Divine Fire Spell or the True Fire Talisman, it burned persistently.

Black zombies naturally feared fire, and those who fell into the sea of flames perished in less than half a minute. With the fiery barrier blocking their path, the remaining zombies dared not advance, forced instead to circumvent from the flanks. But the little fox created fire faster than they could move—within moments, the graveyard was engulfed in flame, and both zombies and walking corpses were trapped in the inferno.

Unlike Western bio-zombies, these walking corpses had no vulnerability in the head; a headshot would not kill them. Some lacked heads entirely, or had only half a skull remaining. They were animated by foul energy, maintaining bodily activity even when severed in two—they would not truly die. But once the foul energy was dispelled, they reverted to mere corpses. If dismembered, they would not be dead in the strictest sense, but would be rendered immobile, little different from a corpse.

Well, not entirely indistinguishable. If the corpse of a walking corpse, still infused with foul energy, was devoured by rats or wild beasts, those creatures would themselves become walking corpses.

On the whole, walking corpses were the weakest monsters in the graveyard dungeon.

Their actions were stiff and slow, their combat limited to grabbing and biting; while highly infectious like zombies, their defenses were inferior and their agility less than skeletons’. They were truly a foe even ordinary people could handle. With their leisurely pace, one could easily douse them in gasoline and set them alight. Only if their numbers swelled to countless thousands, forming a tide of corpses, would they pose a threat.

The little fox dispatched zombies and walking corpses with ease. When Li Yunfei annihilated most of the vengeful spirits earlier, their experience bars had already filled past halfway at level 31. After burning a portion of the zombies and walking corpses, Li Yunfei and the little fox naturally advanced to level 32.

As the flames gradually died down, there was no sign of a single zombie or walking corpse left in the graveyard.

The little fox turned to find that only about twenty skeletons remained around Li Yunfei, and within moments, he had dismantled them all.

Thus, only a few dozen scattered vengeful spirits remained in the dungeon, darting about and persistently harassing Li Yunfei.

While Li Yunfei dealt with the skeletons, these vengeful spirits had repeatedly seized every opportunity to strike. Yet the banishing power of the Eight Trigrams Dao robe rendered their attacks futile, accomplishing nothing but depleting Li Yunfei’s spiritual energy.

By now, Li Yunfei’s spiritual reserves, even with tenfold recovery, had been halved.

Faced with those scattered, swift vengeful spirits, Li Yunfei could not be bothered to use talismans.

He sheathed his curved blade, leapt back onto the ritual altar, grasped the Money Sword in his right hand, and placed his left sword fingers upon the blade, reciting: “Pure Yang Sword Immortal, grant me divine power; flying sword pierces the void, slays the ghostly fiend; by the urgent command of the Pure Yang Ancestor.”

Upon finishing the incantation, Li Yunfei’s sword fingers swept along the blade, and wherever they passed, Pure Yang energy—gold tinged with white—flared forth.

He released the sword, which did not fall, but instead floated before him.

Casting his gaze upon the darting vengeful spirits, he pointed his sword fingers forward, and the Money Sword shot out, instantly piercing one of them.

The vengeful spirit struck by the sword vanished without a scream, utterly obliterated.