Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible
Chapter 69: Sudden Encounter

Chapter 69: Sudden Encounter

The corpse they had just thrown away in haste was growing right in front of their eyes. As Han Xuhan and Mu Ran stumbled back in horror, a revolting transformation took place in that body at an unbelievable speed.

Strips of shriveled skin tightened up and ripped apart around its torso, revealing a shifting mass of bones and muscles in a barrel-like shape. Its shoulders were punctured from within as spiked outgrowths formed an armor of bones.

Its four limbs elongated and grew three times more muscular, giving the body the appearance of a quadrupedal beast. The predatory appearance was only enhanced further when its spine warped upwards, the neck ballooned into a massive pipe, and it opened an enlarged jaw spraying mucus and pus everywhere.

The corpse moved on to its four limbs and locked its sight on the two frozen young cultivators just dozens of meters away.

Han Xuhan recalled the horror shrouding the man’s eyes at the penultimate moment of his death. That look was now replaced by an instinct-driven, indifferent, brutal gleam.

Tendrils of the familiar gray fog were being pushed out of its nostrils and mouth as its barrel-like chest pulsed without a rhythm.

Han Xuhan’s limbs were stiff, mind numb, feet cold, and throat dry. He could barely form a coherent thought as every cell of his body screamed for immediate escape.

Thankfully, Mu Ran immediately took action, breaking him out of his brain freeze and attracting the mummified, mutated corpse’s attention.

His spear left his hand like a bolt of lightning and struck the monstrosity right inside its half-open mouth.

"CAACKKHH!"

The yelp it let out was not a sound any human could produce. Using both forelimbs to tear the spear off with its jaw, the corpse leaped away like a frog, its limbs sending sand and gravel toward them.

It ran in a large semi-circle around them, it disappeared inside the fog. But they could still see the traces of its movements, waiting, repositioning itself, and preparing to burst out for a surprise attack.

Feet shivering, Han Xuhan ran toward the portal as fast as possible. It was only tens of meters away. The monster’s roar came from behind, perhaps triggered by his attempt to escape, followed by Mu Ran’s battle cry.

Well, if Mu Ran refused to run away, he didn’t need to worry about Mu Ran’s safety, nor could he afford that luxury.

Exerting every bit of strength in his feet, Han Xuhan dived into the marked area at the edge of the cliff and the violent noise behind him stopped instantly.

After a moment of disorientation, he found himself at the edge of the portal in the middle of the familiar grove. However, the sight that greeted him here was almost scarier than the scene he had just left!

The clearing was surrounded by dozens of strangers, all exuding the aura of a cultivator. They wore white uniform robes, with an insignia of a blue star occupying the middle of their torso.

It seemed that these people were as surprised as Han Xuhan at the sudden encounter. They stared at him silently, mouths open.

The cumulative effect of so many glares made Han Xuhan seriously consider jumping back into the portal to battle the monstrous corpse.

But right then, Han Xuhan’s mind suddenly moved down a different line of thought. These guys were definitely not demonic cultivators. Which demonic sect would be dumb enough to walk around in numbers while flashing their sect’s insignia and matching robes?

In that case, perhaps a conversation could be struck instead.

And if Han Xuhan was confident of one aspect of his personality, it was his skill of spewing bullshit to make things work out his way.

"Uhh..fellow cultivator? You are a cultivator, right?"

A hesitant voice came from the group surrounding him. Han Xuhan immediately seized the chance.

"AH! Of course, I am. Didn’t you just see me travel over from the other side of this portal? I’m Shen Kai, a core disciple of a local sect here. If I may ask, which sect are you from, fellow cultivators?"

Han Xuhan’s tone was laced with a serious sense of urgency.

The person who had spoken up just now looked him up and down and failed to find any insignia on his clothes. Han Xuhan had changed his attire before entering the portal because his formal robe had been torn up in the fight against Shen Kai. That had been a good decision, in retrospect.

"We are from the Stardust sect. I’m sure that fellow cultivator Shen Kai has heard of it...?"

Han Xuhan had barely been a cultivator for a month. He didn’t even know all the pavilions of his own sect, let alone knowing the names of random sects from far away. So he shook his head with a self-deprecating smile on his face.

"Fellow cultivator, I’m but a sheltered disciple of a reclusive sect with nearly zero reputation in the vast world of cultivation. How can I know the names of such mighty sects from afar? This is the first time I’ve met disciples from another sect."

He didn’t lie and claim that he recognized the name of their sect. If he claimed that, who knows what kind of questions might come next? Lies were hard to keep track of when spun on the spot.

The cultivator who had spoken to him suddenly smiled.

"Hehehe, fellow cultivator, I was just testing your character. You didn’t lie even under the pretense of being polite! I like that quality in my friends!"

One of his companions laughed. "Stardust sect, Brother Jun? Really? That’s the best name you could come up with?"

"Yeah, what a stupid name for a sect to have!" said another guy.

Han Xuhan felt like they were trying to misdirect him from the actual truth. That name couldn’t really be the true title of their sect, right?

"Hahaha... Brother Kai, don’t look so confused. We didn’t want to give away our real identities here in these foreign lands. I hope you understand that," the first guy, surnamed Jun, explained upon seeing Han Xuhan’s unsightly countenance.

"Since you’ve given us your name, I’ll tell you mine. My surname is Jun, given name is Feng. You can call me Brother Jun as well."

Meanwhile, Han Xuhan was getting impatient. He had no idea how long Mu Ran could hold on by himself against the zombie. The corpse gave off a very dangerous aura.

His initial plan to escape and save his own neck had undergone a change the moment he realized that these people weren’t demonic cultivators. Now, what he wanted was to make them go inside the portal to assist Mu Ran.

Without letting them waste any more time, he got to the point.

"Ah, it’s truly a fortunate incident that I could meet Brother Jun here. This must be destiny! My companion is in grave danger inside that portal. We’d be very grateful if you helped us!"

"Grave danger? Can you elaborate?" A female disciple among their group spoke up.

"Yeah, and also explain what this portal is and where it leads to, while you’re at it," another voice followed up.

Seeing the impatient look on Han Xuhan’s face, Feng Jun added after them, "It’s not that we don’t trust your words, Brother Kai. But one can never be too careful. We need to consider whether we can handle the danger your companion is facing."

What these guys cared about wasn’t him or Mu Ran, but the world behind the portal and whatever treasure was hidden inside the fog.

Realizing this, Han Xuhan could only explain the story helplessly as fast as he could, hoping that Mu Ran could hold on till the reinforcements arrived.