Chapter 119: The Great Battle Against the Matriarch of Corpses

Her touch made my skin crawl with revulsion. Summoning the last of my strength, I shoved her away and snarled, "Get lost, you wretched old hag!"

The corpse-hag let out another cackling, unnatural laugh. She lunged forward, snapping her jaws onto my arm and tearing away a large chunk of flesh in an instant. I let out a sharp cry of pain, but she only chewed on my arm, her mouth dripping with my blood, muttering, "Delicious... truly delicious!"

My stomach churned violently. Ever since my "Nine Yin Fate" had been exposed, I knew monsters and spirits would covet my body. I had imagined all sorts of supernatural threats, but I never expected the first to find me would be such a depraved, cannibalistic freak.

Nearby, Bai Rushuang was in such agony she was on the verge of fainting. Seeing this, I pleaded with the hag, "Old woman, your goal is to consume my body, right? My friend is innocent. Let her go!"

The corpse-hag cackled, "Not a chance. Your little girlfriend has such tender, delicate skin—she looks appetizing. I’m going to eat you both."

She began to ramble incessantly. "Young man, do you have any idea how much effort I put into catching you? Ever since I learned of your Nine Yin Fate, I’ve been running a rice noodle stall at that snack street every day. I went to great lengths to conceal the yin energy and malevolent aura in this house. I knew your little girlfriend was a foodie, so I figured as long as I sold my fragrant, human-flesh rice noodles, you’d eventually take the bait. Besides, human meat is hard to come by these days! I spent the last few nights stealing corpses from the hospital morgue—nearly got caught every time. It was so thrilling!"

She burst into laughter again. "I thought I’d be waiting at that snack street for a long time, but you fell for it so quickly. I have your little girlfriend to thank for that. All I had to do was slip a bit of corpse-gu into the noodles, and I didn't even have to break a sweat to leave you completely defenseless. Without that gu, I’m not sure I could have taken you on."

"You’re despicable!"

I could feel countless insects crawling inside my stomach; the corpse-gu from the noodles was taking hold. I looked over at Bai Rushuang, who had completely lost consciousness. Black matter was oozing from her mouth—looking closer, I realized with horror that they were black, writhing worms.

Panic set in. I was terrified she might die. I struggled desperately, trying to use my internal Taoist energy to purge the poison, but it was futile.

The corpse-hag watched me struggle. "It’s useless, boy. Be a good lad and listen. You Taoists always preach about saving the world, don't you? Look at how pathetic this old woman is—help me out. Come now, let me cut you open."

As she spoke, she approached me with a kitchen knife. My heart hammered against my ribs with every step she took. Looking at her vicious, twisted face, I had no doubt she would decapitate me the next second.

*What do I do? How can I get out of this?*

As the old hag drew closer, I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut. The forbidden arts of the Yellow Springs began to surface in my mind.

I had reached the point of life or death. If I didn't unleash the power of the forbidden arts, I was as good as dead. My own life mattered little, but I would never allow any harm to come to Bai Rushuang.

"Forbidden Art of the Yellow Springs!"

The moment the hag swung her knife, I snapped my eyes open. The red blood-coffins that usually filled my vision were replaced by an abyssal black. My pupils turned pitch dark.

The corpse-hag recoiled in shock. Sensing that the situation was turning, she quickened her strike to end it before things could change.

Just as the knife blade came within a foot of me, I thrust my right hand out and caught the steel.

"Boundless Dark Law!"

I whispered the incantation. Fragments of various Yellow Springs techniques flooded my mind. Usually, these required complex totems and precise chants, for which I had no time. However, there was one fundamental technique—a secret known only to those who had studied the Forbidden Arts, a power granted directly by the Tome of the Yellow Springs itself.

With my eyes void-black, countless black veins began to emerge on my skin, spreading across my body at a visible speed. An eerie, overwhelming power surged through them. As the energy reached my palm, I exerted force and tore the knife from her grip. I immediately swung it back, hacking fiercely at her.

The hag shrieked and darted aside with unnatural speed, narrowly avoiding the blow. Before I could strike again, she vanished from my sight. A sharp, searing pain exploded in my back, sending me stumbling forward as the knife clattered to the floor.

Ignoring the agony in my back, I spun around to see the hag’s fingers elongating into long, razor-sharp claws. She lunged at me with a screech.

I didn't dare hesitate. I dodged to the side, though the sinister energy coursing through my black veins was beginning to cloud my reason. I roared in defiance. As her claws pierced my chest, I lunged forward and seized her arm.

Her nails tore a bloody gash in my flesh, but I made her pay for it. I squeezed her arm with all my might, channeling the black veins onto her skin, and twisted until the bone snapped with a sickening crunch.

The corpse-hag screamed and retreated. I collapsed into a corner, gasping for air. Seeing my body covered in black, pulsing veins, the hag’s face paled in terror. She demanded to know what kind of sorcery this was and why her corpse-gu had failed.

The Forbidden Arts of the Yellow Springs were legendary in the world of the supernatural, but the book had been lost for ages. Only the most powerful masters would recognize it. It was expected that a creature like her wouldn't know what she was facing.

However, if she escaped, she would eventually realize what had happened. If she spread the word, the trouble I would face would be a hundred times worse than the burden of my Nine Yin Fate.

My objective had shifted. If I had initially used the forbidden art to escape, now I knew: the corpse-hag had to die. No matter the cost, I had to finish her.

I sneered at her look of bewilderment. "Don't worry about what this is. It's enough to end you."

Realizing the danger, the hag grew cautious. She retreated, and a torrent of black, malevolent aura erupted from her body.

Having feasted on countless corpses and haunted by a hundred ghosts, she was half-human, half-corpse. The aura she unleashed was terrifying. The temperature in the room plummeted, and a wave of concentrated, lethal power rushed toward me.