The Cunning Treasure Hunter-Chapter 155: Whispers of the Fallen Blade

"I am fine. It has not harmed me."

"What is the meaning of this…?"

Aiden gritted his teeth.

With each inhalation, the energy in her core surged through her Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

Her energy flowed through her delicate arms, wrists, and fingers—

Filling her Falling Blossom Sword to the brim.

As her dark blade pulsed with energy, a dazzling, multicolored light shimmered across its surface.

There was no point in speaking.

That corpse was incapable of conversation.

Leaving it to wander was far too dangerous.

And she knew why it was here.

The Cult Leader wanted to test her.

The very idea disgusted her.

But more importantly—

This was a corpse that needed to be laid to rest.

If they did not stop it now…

It would only rise again.

And again.

"…No words are needed."

Vera muttered under her breath.

At that moment—

Her Falling Blossom Sword, wrapped in Sword energy, clashed against the blade in Aetheris's lifeless grip.

At his peak, Aetheris had once reached the mid-stage of Transcendence Realm.

But now, he was nothing more than a lifeless corpse, a husk of what he had once been.

Having been dead for a long time, his once formidable Inner Force had long dissipated.

"...This is not enough to test me."

Vera murmured under his breath.

The corpse of Aetheris attempted to speak, its rotting jaw creaking open. Yet, no words could escape its decayed throat.

Vera granted him no mercy.

This time, he would ensure that Aetheris received proper rest, an eternal slumber without further desecration.

And to do that—

He had to subdue this walking corpse completely.

Charrururuk!—

Blades clashed and slid against each other.

Aetheris's sword narrowly missed Vera's head as it whizzed past.

Without hesitation, Vera ducked low—

And severed Aetheris's ankle.

Seogeok!—

Cold, hardened flesh.

Dried-out bones.

The sensation of his sword slicing through was nothing like cutting a living person.

Vera fully utilized his Sword energy

This walking corpse, even if it could still manifest Sword Light, could not wield Sword energy.

And because of that—

Aetheris's sword, having clashed earlier, had already sustained severe damage.

"Master!"

Vera called out to Aiden, who immediately gripped his sword and leaped into the fray.

At its current level, the Aetheris of today could be handled by Aiden alone.

Yet the creature paid no heed to him.

No matter how aggressively Aiden attacked, the reanimated corpse fixated solely on Vera.

A relentless pursuit.

An unceasing aggression.

Even at the cost of its own body.

"...Pathetic."

It was only possible because the creature had no regard for its own existence.

No doubt, it was because Aetheris was now nothing more than a Living Corpse.

A perversion of the natural cycle, a mockery of the dead.

Even Vera, who had long abandoned morality, found this revolting.

Though he was neither righteous nor virtuous—

Though he did not seek justice—

He could not help but wonder—

Did Aetheris truly deserve this desecration after death?

Even the heavens themselves would shake their heads in disapproval.

Was this truly an act of pure evil?

And yet, some in the Martial World sought this very power, willing to pay any price.

Despite the pain and suffering it inflicted, it undeniably granted strength.

"Is this truly all you desire?"

Vera asked in a hushed voice.

But the corpse's rotting throat remained silent.

It merely nodded. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

A cold chill settled in Vera's heart.

The Demonic Cult's Young Lord...

That was the kind of person he was.

And in that moment, Vera's blade traced an eerie arc through the air.

Cheng!—

With a brilliant flash of light, his sword struck the already-damaged section of Aetheris's blade.

Once again, Vera's Sword energy dug into the fracture.

And this time—

Aetheris's sword, unable to withstand the impact, shattered completely.

More precisely—

It was cleaved in two.

The fragmented blade spun through the air before embedding itself in the ground.

With the next stroke, Vera slashed directly across Aetheris's hollow chest.

For a moment, the Living Corpse froze.

Its upper body split into four separate pieces, every muscle connection severed.

Vera flicked his sword, though no blood stained its surface.

He then slid it smoothly back into its sheath.

The lifeless remnants of Aetheris crumbled apart.

But there was a reason Living Corpses were feared.

They did not die easily.

Even as it lay in scattered pieces—

Its severed limbs twitched, crawling toward each other, seeking to mend themselves.

Vera frowned.

This was a first.

Chaos energy was supposed to be the bane of all immortality and regeneration.

Those sustained by Demonic energy should have lost their regenerative abilities under his power.

"...Just how deeply has this corpse been tainted?"

And yet, Aetheris refused to perish.

It was then that Vera realized—

The amount of Demonic energy saturating Aetheris's body was far greater, far darker, and far more resilient than he had anticipated.

A mere standard attack would not suffice.

Then—

He simply needed to unleash something beyond the standard.

Taking a deep breath, he drew upon his inner reserves.

A powerful surge of energy erupted from his core.

The flowing sleeves of his pristine white robe billowed violently in the storm of energy.

His long, jet-black hair, like cascading ink, was swept upwards, fluttering chaotically in the wind.

"Haa..."

With his left hand, he gripped the scabbard.

With his right, he grasped the hilt.

Lowering his stance, he extended his right foot while shifting his weight onto his left.

Then, he infused Falling Blossom Sword with Inner Force .

Any ordinary scabbard would have shattered under the pressure of Sword energy.

But the scabbard of Falling Blossom Sword was different.

Despite the overwhelming Sword energy compressed within, outwardly, it remained calm and still.

As if, at any moment, it would unleash everything it had been restraining.

At the precise moment the Living Corpse attempted to rise again—

Vera drew his sword from its scabbard.

A tidal wave of concentrated Inner Force erupted forth.

It was incomplete—

But it was unmistakably close to Sword Strength.

Kiiiiiing!—

A piercing screech echoed through the air.

The meticulously refined Sword energy crashed down upon the creature's form.

Both Great Master Thorne and Aiden widened their eyes at the breathtaking radiance.

"Grrrrrrk..."

That was the only sound the Living Corpse could make with its tattered, rotting throat.

And this time, as it toppled backward—

It could no longer rise.

From beneath the chin to just above the navel, its entire upper body had been obliterated.

All that remained were its head, hands, and lower body.

There was no way to reattach them.

Even if it somehow managed to stitch itself back together—

It would never move properly again.

But there was an even greater issue.

The pure Chaos energy that Vera had unleashed had utterly neutralized the Demonic energy that had sustained the corpse.

The scattered remains of Aetheris no longer even twitched—

The body was once again growing cold.

Vera ignited Flame Incineration at his fingertips and set the remains ablaze.

"...It's over."

Great Master Thorne spoke bitterly.

Aiden did not feel pleased either.

Though Aetheris had not been a good Senior Brother—

Though he had envied and resented both Aiden and his disciple—

Neither of them had ever expected him to meet such a miserable end.

Nor had they ever thought he deserved such a fate.

"He will not rise again."

Vera murmured as he watched the remains turn to ash.

Silence fell over them.

And the first to break that silence—

Was Great Master Thorne.

"Why are you all so sullen?"

"...Grandmaster."

"We have freed a suffering soul. Should we not be relieved? Come, let's have some tea."

Both Vera and Aiden knew those words were not entirely sincere.

But neither of them denied them.

If they did—

The bitterness would be unbearable.

"Master."

"What is it, Vera?"

"Didn't you say before that you couldn't trust the Sect Leader?"

Aiden shot Vera a glance.

Then nodded.

"I did."

"And now, Aetheris, the disciple of the Sect Leader, has fallen victim to an incident."

"...That is true."

"Then, to be honest, I believe we should take a closer look at the one at the center of it all."

Aiden's gaze sharpened.

It was not concrete evidence.

Just because they distrusted the Sect Leader, and just because Aetheris had suffered—

It did not guarantee that Damien was involved in all of this.

But at the same time—

He was the most suspicious.

He was the First Disciple.

The future Sect Leader.

A core figure within Mount Suncrest.

There was no way he knew nothing.

Even Great Master Thorne, who had been preparing tea, chimed in.

"It's not an unreasonable suspicion. Though we lack evidence, it is a possibility worth considering."

"But someone of such high status can't be investigated without cause."

"Not if we go through official channels, no."

Aiden's eyes widened.

"Then how do you propose we—"

"We sneak in, of course."

Great Master Thorne grinned.

Aiden froze.

And Vera's eyes widened.