Chapter 28: Lu Yixi's Slightly Foolish Appearance

They found themselves in a flat expanse between two mountains. After walking for what seemed like an eternity, they finally caught sight of a distant pass.

The pass was in ruins, yet it still towered over them at nearly three hundred feet high, dividing the plain into two distinct sections.

Lu Yixi’s eyes narrowed as he took in the scene. “Is it almost time?” he asked.

Qin Shu nodded gravely. “Yes, it’s almost time.” The Flying Sand Sword was already in his hand, its blade buried deep in the earth.

Under the influence of the Flying Sand Sword, the ground began to disintegrate into sand, spreading outward in a rapidly expanding yellow field.

It was then that the countless bane corpses slumbering beneath the surface sensed the presence of living beings. The soil nearest Qin Shu bulged upward as if possessed by some unseen force.

A gaunt, withered hand burst forth from the earth, quickly followed by the rest of a body.

How to describe these bane corpses? They were akin to jiangshi—those reanimated remains—but more formidable than their counterparts. Their bodies, though hardened by death, weren’t rigid, and many wielded weapons in their decayed hands.

Dozens emerged from the ground, each one bearing various mutilations. Some had lost limbs; others were so severely damaged that they barely qualified as whole. A few lacked even arms or legs, and there were those whose heads lay separate from their torsos. Having struggled mightily to break through the soil, they now could only flail helplessly on the surface.

What purpose did they serve?

Qin Shu sighed, then raised his sword arm and slashed downward.

The sword glare carried swirling sand forward like a yellow dragon, slicing through the air with a shrill whistle before piercing right through the foremost bane corpse.

The bane corpse instantly turned to dust as the sand-infused sword glare passed through it, then exploded, forming more sandal sword glares that scattered in all directions.

These bane corpses were only equivalent to first-rank monsters; Qin Shu dealt with them effortlessly. He then asked Lu Yixi, “Want to give it a try?”

“No need.” Lu Yixi shook her head, feeling quite fearful of these creatures. Their ugliness and revulsion made her stomach churn.

“Ah!” Qin Shu sighed, sensing that the Lu Clan was raising Lu Yixi to be utterly useless. Feeling somewhat sorry for her, he reminded her, “You can’t avoid this your whole life—you’ll have to face combat eventually.”

Lu Yixi understood this point. Gathering some courage, she said, “Then I’ll give it a go?”

“You might as well start here and practice.” As Qin Shu spoke, he swung his sword again, sending another wave of yellow sand hurtling forth to annihilate the second batch of bane corpses emerging from the ground. Then he stepped aside.

Approaching, Lu Yixi drew out a flying sword. With a delicate shout, she commanded, “Go!”

Her control over the flying sword was decent enough, quite steady actually, but she hadn’t found her target yet.

Qin Shu looked on with exasperation, wondering why this woman seemed so… inept at times.

“Wait until the bane corpses break through the earth before you attack!”

“Oh, right.” Lu Yixi stuck out her tongue and maneuvered the flying sword to circle in mid-air.

As they spoke, the ground continued to swell. First, hands emerged, pushing against the earth as heads and torsos followed suit, burrowing their way up.

“Alright,” Qin Shu directed, “now’s your chance. Chop off their heads.”

“Got it!” Lu Yixi guided the sword with a flick of her wrist. The flying blade circled around the bane corpse’s neck, severing its head with precision.

Yet, death eluded them.

These headless bane corpses continued to move, swiftly charging towards the pair.

“We’ll have to slice them into pieces,” Qin Shu reminded her.

“I don’t know how!” Lu Yixi admitted. “I’ve been focusing on cultivation these past few months, not much combat practice.”

“Forget it, forget it. I’ll handle this myself.”

With an expression of disdain, Qin Shu waved his Flying Sand Sword, unleashing three streams of sword qi that formed sand dragons.

Wherever the sand dragons passed, only yellow sand remained, devoid of any bane corpses.

He spared none, including those incomplete ones still struggling to emerge from the earth.

Even as he fought, he asked, “Haven’t you learned even one magical technique?”

Lu Yixi shook her head. “No, I only learned how to control flying swords. Besides, I don’t need combat skills anyway. Grandma said it’s fine to focus on cultivation first and leave learning spells until reaching Golden Core stage.”

While waiting for the next wave of bane corpses to emerge from the ground, Qin Shu glanced at Lu Yixi—her eyes held a pure yet slightly foolish gaze.

She’s too naive.

“Never mind, just make sure you protect yourself,” he told her.

The Abyssal Gold Bracelets on their wrists emitted a faint golden glow. At this moment, they were teammates, bound by complete trust.

More sword glares swept across like sandstorms as Qin Shu annihilated over a hundred bane corpses—a feat equivalent to dispatching several second-rank monsters.

“Do you feel drained?” Lu Yixi asked him. “I have some Yuan Recovery Pills here if needed.”

Yuan Recovery Pills were tier-2 medicinal pills primarily used to restore one’s inner true essence.

“No need!” Qin Shu replied firmly. Inside his body, his vital organs pulsed rhythmically, circulating the five elements’ karma energy. He rapidly absorbed the abyssal qi, using it to replenish his own reserves.

In Lu Yixi’s eyes, Qin Shu seemed to possess an inexhaustible supply of true essence. Is he truly that formidable?

As more and more bane corpses disintegrated into yellow sand, the expanse of the desert grew steadily larger. Before them lay a vast area covered in thousands of square meters of yellow sand.

Suddenly, a sound pierced the air from the left.

“Watch out!” Lu Yixi cried out in alarm.

But Qin Shu’s reflexes were faster than hers; before her voice could finish, Flying Sand Sword had already been swung.

The sword qi sliced through the air, struck its target, pierced through it, and exploded, adding more material to the desertification of the land.

“It seems the banesoldiers within the mountains on both sides have awakened as well,” he said to Lu Yixi. “The real battle is about to begin. Don’t move around recklessly.”

“I understand,” Lu Yixi nodded.

Qin Shu turned back to glance at the ruined fortress some ten kilometers away—that was where the main act would take place. To play it safe, he directly produced the five directional flags.

“Go!”

The five flags were inserted into the ground according to the Five Elements’ positions, forming a Five Elements Formation.

Now they were absolutely secure.

With the apricot-yellow flag guarding underground, there was no way banesoldiers could sneak up from beneath.

The other four flags guarded the east, south, west, and north directions, creating an invisible protective dome hundreds of meters wide.

The energy of the Five Elements circulated endlessly within the formation.

Ahead, from the mountains on both sides, one after another, banesoldiers charged towards them.

“Fire Escape, Wind Escape, Wind Returns Fire Turns.”

Qin Shu used the Five Elements Great Escape to temporarily transform the Five Elements Formation into a Fire-Wind Formation.

The invisible protective shield changed into a scarlet fire shield.

As each charging banesoldier passed through the fire shield, they hadn’t taken more than a few steps before turning into flying ash.

“You’re still a formation master!” Lu Yixi said with some surprise. “This set of five elements array flags must be very expensive.”

“It is quite pricey,” Qin Shu replied half-heartedly, his attention mostly focused on the front and both sides ahead.

The first-rank banesoldiers approached like moths to a flame, densely packed and heedless of their lives, only to become fuel for the great wind-fire array.

As time passed, the scope of the array expanded, its power growing ever stronger.

Lu Yixi watched this scene with curiosity and said, “I know what kind of magic I want to learn from now on.”

“What kind?” Qin Shu asked absently.

“Formations. You look so relaxed right now—just put down the formation and then you don’t have to worry about anything else.” A look of longing could be seen in Lu Yixi’s eyes.

Qin Shu tugged at the corner of his mouth but didn’t discourage her.

Among the awakened beings’ secondary occupations, formations were undoubtedly the most complex.

Artificing was akin to physics, pill concocting to chemistry, and talisman drawing to mathematics—all starting simple before gradually becoming more intricate.

But formations? They too involved math, albeit from the outset it was calculus-level complexity, terrifyingly convoluted.

In comparison, talisman drawing was as straightforward as asking if one plus one equals two; all that was needed was a yes or no answer.

Learning formations? Are you out of your mind?