by Fang Xiang
They looked to be one step away from jindan, but it was not so easy to cross that step.
While third stratum xiuzhe were stronger than second stratum, the difference was not so definite. This placed them in an extremely awkward position.
“Isn’t it so! When we were glorious, those brats were still drinking milk!”
“Don’t mention the past, nothing to see there! If I say so, the way things are going, Sky Peak Platoon is going to be dissolved sooner or later!”
“My ass! You crow mouth!”
“It’s the truth. Look at the Shield Guard Platoon. Zong Ru is jindan. Our platoon doesn’t have even one jindan.”
“No way. We need to think of something!”
“Think of what? Jindan isn’t lettuce, buying some when we want them! It’s not that everyone isn’t working hard, no one is slacking off, but our improvement is too slow!”
Now everyone was speechless.
That was right. If jindan was that easy to reach, it wouldn’t be so valuable. These members hadn’t forgotten, they were all wringing their minds thinking of ways to reach jindan a little faster. But in the past who among them had even dared to think they could become jindan?
“Alright, stay alert! Guard your position! Anything can wait until we are safe!”
Due to having three wounded members in Sky Peak Platoon, so Gongsun Cha had positioned them as the last line of defense to protect the Golden Crow Camp that had little to no combat ability.
This made them feel very terrible.
———
Gongsun Cha’s expression was very ugly, and filled with self-blame. He had been immersed in thoughts about that war chess match these days which caused his response today to be slightly slow.
If Zuo Mo had not reacted quickly, they would have fallen for the diversionary tactic of these monsters.
If the yao beasts had successfully ambushed them, then … …
Without needing to think, Gongsun Cha knew that the result definitely would have been terrible. He would be unpardonable! This serious mistake deeply stimulated the usually proud and victory-desiring Lil’ miss. At the same time, fury erupted from his heart!
Hunting, what the yao beasts were using was a classic method used for hunting!
They were being hunted by a group of yao beasts!
Lil’ Miss’ handsome face was furious.
———
There were six monsters in total.
Other than the fiend corpse facing off against Wei Sheng and the sand puppet that was heading for A Wen, the other people had also landed in hard battles. Fighting against Shu Long was an iron rhino, Xie Shan was facing a monster that had six bone spikes that jutted out of its back. Zong Ru was facing a black ball of mist.
And Zuo Mo’s target was a person!
Using person to describe it was not accurate, because there was no vitality in half of his body. This person’s clothing was torn, and his body seemed to be divided in two. The right half had a five colored pattern that looked as though poisonous insects were climbing all over him, and was startling to see!
There was no light in the grey white eyes that stared indifferently as Zuo Mo neared.
Zuo Mo’s speed was very quick. Under the full force of the Light Void Wings, he was like lightning!
The strange person reached out with a finger.
Zuo Mo felt his vision light up and fill with rainbow coloured light. A strong feeling of danger made every inch of his body uncontrollably shake!
Pia!
The beast service card on Zuo Mo’s waist flashed with light. A black butterfly appeared, out of thin air, in front of Zuo Mo.
Black Butterfly!
Ever since it had entered the fourth-grade, Zuo Mo felt the name of the Rainbow Mark Butterfly was not suited for it, and changed its name to Black Butterfly. The Black Butterfly had always stayed in the beast service card. This was the first time it had proactively came out of the beast service card.
The Black Butterfly lightly flapped its wings.
Hiss!
The rainbow energy was drawn in by an enormous suctioning force, gathering together and headed towards the Black Butterfly.
The rainbow energy continuously entered the Black Butterfly. Zuo Mo was astounded. The tiny body of the Black Butterfly seemed to be a bottomless hole. All of the rainbow energy was sucked in. What made him feel this was even more fantastical was the clear joy the Black Butterfly was communicating to him.
Was this light a poison?
When Zuo Mo’s thought formed, the Black Butterfly in front of him danced as though it was agreeing with his speculation.
———
“Why are there so many fiend corpses?” In the sea of consciousness, Pu Yao frowned.
Wei said lightly, “This is the Battle of Sealed Extinction.”
Pu Yao instantly stopped speaking. Right! This was the Sealed Extinction battlefield. It was not strange for such a rare occurrence to appear here.
———
Zuo Mo did not think too much. Letting your mind be distracted by stray thoughts in battle was the same as seeking death. Judging that the strange person was using poison, Zuo Mo’s heart calmed down. The Black Butterfly was a fourth-grade poison butterfly. For it, poisons were like nutrients.
Facing the strange person, no, maybe it was more appropriate to call it a strange corpse. It had the strongest power of this crowd of monsters, and should be upper fifth-level. If the Black Butterfly was not here, Zuo Mo would be in trouble today. The poison released by the fourth-grade Black Butterfly could already corrode ling power. The poison that this strange corpse released should be even more powerful!
Zzt-zzt-zzt!
The beautiful five colored energy spread from the feet of the strange corpse. The hard ground was quickly rotted, and a noxious smell spread.
Zuo Mo accidentally breathed in a thread. He instantly felt dizzy and was shocked inside.
The Black Butterfly seemed to smell something delicious and furiously flapped its wings!
The five colored energy spreading on the ground floated up from the ground and continuously absorbed into the Black Butterfly.
There wasn’t any emotion in the strange corpse’s grey eyes. It silently stared at the Black Butterfly as though it did not see that the Black Butterfly was continuously absorbing the poison it released.
A thread of grey silently mixed into the rainbow energy. Along with the rainbow energy, it entered the body of the Black Butterfly.
The Black Butterfly suddenly froze!
A dot of grey suddenly appeared on its wings.
A rotten presence of death spread out from the Black Butterfly.
———
The flood waves killing essence continuously battered A Wen’s mind. Even more terrifying was that this power was still increasing.
A Wen had a strong sense of danger. If this kept going, before the sand puppet had arrived, he would have lost control and exploded.
Able to survive hundreds of battles, A Wen definitely was not a person without intelligence. It was the opposite. He had astounding battle intuition. Since he could not use Shu Long’s method, then he would use his own!
He carefully controlled the rushing killing essence, but the effect was minuscule. This burst of killing essence was truly too large. It was like a rushing river, and in front of it, he was tiny.
This made him realize just how small his own strength was.
If he wanted to get this strong killing essence to move as he wanted, then he could only use the power it already had. This idea illuminated him.
Gritting his teeth, he opened his mind.
Boom!
Endless killing essence howled and wailed as it swallowed him. His mind became blank for a short instant, but the last remaining thread of clarity allowed him to do one thing—raise the black spear in his hands!
The vast killing essence seemed to find a vent, and furiously rushed towards the black spear in his hand.
In other people’s eyes, they only saw the black snakes wrapped around A Wen’s body furiously head towards the black spear as though there was something there attracting them.
The black mist on A Wen’s body quickly lessened and revealed his armor. The black mist all gathered quickly on A Wen’s black spear without leaving a drop behind.
Pew!
The black mist shrouding the black spear seemed to be ignited. In a blink, the black mist on the entire spear started to burn.
A Wen’s face twisted. He felt as though he was not holding the black spear, but a ball of fire!
Almost unconsciously, he used all the power in his body and threw the burning black spear at the sand puppet!
Chapter 416: Strange Corpse
When the grey mark on the Black Butterfly exuded a strong rotten smell, Zuo Mo knew the situation was not well!
Without hesitating, the Midday Blade in his hand sliced towards the strange corpse!
The golden flame that shrouded the blade burst out along with this blow. It turned to a blinding crescent that leapt towards the strange corpse!
Midday Blade Strike!
Zuo Mo knew that the opponent was immeasurably powerful, so he did not hold any power back with this blow.
The golden flame blade energy was peerlessly domineering. The air howled around the explosive presence!
A different look flashed through the strange corpse’s eyes. The raised finger was not lowered, but pointed lightly at the Midday Blade Strike.
Boom!
The domineering and powerful Midday Blade Strike exploded, as it was released, right in front of Zuo Mo!
Zuo Mo’s vision became white. He was unable to see anything. He was extremely shocked. The other was so terrifyingly powerful! At this time, a feeling of danger rose. Without thinking, the Light Void Wings on his back moved, and his body suddenly disappeared from his spot.
On the spot he had just been standing at, a grey light flashed by!
Zuo Mo’s heart suddenly contracted!
When the light disappeared, everything in his vision became clear again. The strange corpse was still standing at his original spot, as though he had never moved. Even the raised finger had returned to its original place. It was like a statue, one that had no life.
There was nothing between him and Zuo Mo. The Black Butterfly had disappeared.
The strange corpse looked unaffectedly at Zuo Mo. There was no emotion in its empty and grey eyes. It still did not show any signs of life. Even in such a fierce battle, it did not show any vitality!
Coldness sprouted from Zuo Mo’s heart!
What monster was this guy?
“Pu, do you recognize it?” Zuo Mo stared at the other as he remained motionless and asked Pu Yao.
“No.” Pu Yao shook his head. He gave a rare warning. “Be careful. I cannot see its power!”
Zuo Mo’s heart suddenly sank. A level of power that even Pu Yao could not measure, then … …
Wei suddenly spoke, “Try to talk to him, he may have cognition.”
Have cognition? Zuo Mo’s mind shifted and he said, “Sir, who are you?”
The statue like strange corpse’s neck cracked as it moved. The grey pupils stared at Zuo Mo, and its throat sent out dry sounds, “Hiss hiss … …”
The strange hisses caused Zuo Mo’s hairs to stand up.
“Hiss hiss … … person … …”
The strange corpse’s voice was very indistinct as though it had been a long time since it had spoken.
But Zuo Mo heard that “person.” As Wei had suspected, it had cognition! For them, this was both good and bad. If the strange corpse was intelligent, then that meant there was the possibility of communicating with them. That was good. But the this also meant that if the communication failed, then they were faced with an even more dangerous enemy. Intelligent enemies were undoubtedly harder to fight.
“Do you understand my words?” Zuo Mo probed.
“Hiss hiss … … crawk crawk … …” Blurry sounds like those from a wild beast’s throat came. The strange corpse’s expression finally changed slightly. He seemed to be trying to remember something. But the change in expression on his already ugly face made it even more terrible.
Zuo Mo jumped in fright. If they enraged the strange corpse, then it really wasn’t a joke. Power that even Pu Yao could not measure, they definitely were not a match!
“Hiss hiss, human … … you are human … …”
The strange corpse’s eyes held strong emotion but his voice was still cracking.
But Zuo Mo understood. He hurriedly nodded as his hands moved, “Right right right. I’m human, I’m human.”
The subordinates behind Zuo Mo were stunned by the scene in front of them. Their mouths were gaping as their faces were still. Some of the braver ones couldn’t help but laugh lightly. This kind of communication was really weird, especially Daren’s reply, it was too funny to hear.
Listening to the light laughter behind him, Zuo Mo instantly knew what those people were thinking. But in order not to provoke the strange corpse, he filled his face with a friendly and harmless smile.
He thought inside, just wait for me to sort you fools out later!
The strange corpse’s twisted expression calmed, and his words became smoother. “You … … how did you get in?”
Zuo Mo’s hairs rose at being the focus of the strange corpse’s grey eyes. He said, “Our transportation formation was altered by someone so we were transported here.”
“Transportation formation?” The strange corpse perceptively caught the crux of the information.
“Yes, transportation formation.” Zuo Mo nodded.
“What is this transportation formation?” The strange corpse asked.
“Uh, this is complicated to explain … …” Zuo Mo motioned.
“No matter. What is least lacking here is time.” The strange corpse smiled at him but Zuo Mo’s bones shivered at that smile. When he finished speaking, the strange corpse suddenly flicked out a bolt of light. After a while, the five other monsters appeared next to him. Of the five, only the sand puppet looked slightly disheveled, it had a black spear thrust into its body. But compared to its enormous shape, the black spear was like a toothpick. The sand where the black spear was abruptly caved inward, and then swallowed the black spear.
Zuo Mo inhaled sharply.
At the same time, several figures appeared like lightning beside Zuo Mo. Each person did not have a good expression. The other’s powers were too fantastical. The strange corpse looked at the black sword in Wei Sheng’s hands and nodded his head, “Didn’t think that this sword would end up in your possession.”
Wei Sheng’s eyebrow raised.
Zuo Mo reacted the quickest and hurriedly asked, “Elder, what is the origin of this sword?”
“Haa, haa, he will know when the time comes.” The strange corpse’s speech became increasingly smooth and his expressions more varied. But this caused him to look even weirder. The strange corpse turned his face to ask Zuo Mo, “Speak about the transformation formation.”
“The transformation formation is a formation method to move from one place to another … …”
“Formation method?”
Didn’t even know what a formation method was? Were these guys really survivors of the Battle of Sealed Extinction? His heart couldn’t help but beat wildly.
The strange corpse seemed to know what Zuo Mo was thinking inside. The grey pupils were amused.
Zuo Mo focused and carved out a transportation formation on the ground. “This is a transportation formation. We use it to travel.”
The strange corpse swept a look and understood. “This method is clever, but there are many limitations.”
“Yes. We don’t know the general location of this place. One minor difference in the transportation formation, and it creates thousands of li of error.” Thinking about it, Zuo Mo could only shake his head.
But the strange corpse looked at Zuo Mo. “I know you h
ave a another way of leaving.”
Not waiting for Zuo Mo to argue, he said faintly, “I have followed you for many days. You want to reach the center of the battlefield.”
The expressions of those beside Zuo Mo were ugly. Someone had followed behind them for so many days yet none of them had detected it. Zuo Mo wasn’t too shocked. The other’s strength was much greater than theirs. He had a guess. This strange corpse might possibly be an old monster that survived the Battle of Sealed Extinction.
In comparison, the strongest of his group was just jindan. The other could destroy them with a flick of the finger.
“With your strength, you cannot go into the center of the battlefield,” the strange corpse said faintly. “Those that died here are the strongest of the world. Their lingering presences are not something you can resist against even after so many years.”
Having it baldly stated that that their power wasn’t enough left everyone with black faces. But the other’s immeasurable power made them not dare to rebuke the statement.
Zuo Mo reacted the quickest, or rather, of everyone, he had the best understanding of the strange corpse and his group’s power. Since he understood their present situation the best, his mentality was the most appropriate.
“Please, Elder, teach us!” Zuo Mo said with a bow.
The strange corpse showed a satisfied expression, even though the half multicolored face caused him to look horrifying. He did not drag it out. “I can take you in, but I will leave with you.”
Zuo Mo released a breath and said, “It is our honor!”
No one had an opinion for the addition of the strange corpse’s group.
Reality quickly proved that this decision was correct. The addition of the strange corpse caused all the other monsters along the road to disappear. Their speed increased greatly. The strange corpse was not silent, but talkative. He was very interested in talking with Zuo Mo. Zuo Mo might not have proven his speculations on the identity of the strange corpse, but he received a great deal of information. For example, out of the group of six only the strange corpse had intelligence. The other five were vicious beings that were born in this patch of fiendish ground.
Whenever he conversed with the strange corpse, Pu Yao and Wei would remain silent. They were very wary of the strange corpse.