The Demonic Cultivator In Zombie World
Chapter 386: The Verdant Blood, Unyielding Heart Method

On the other side, Shangguan He and Kang Jia were also desperately fleeing, evading the strikes of the Taotie Tree roots and the attacks of the Wood Corpses. They were not like Chu Xuan, who seemed to have an intuitive grasp of the Taotie Tree's attack patterns.

They had to dodge when possible and block when they couldn't avoid the strikes. Every time they were forced to defend, they had to expend Nascent Soul essence, defensive magic treasures, defensive spells, and talismans. After a series of evasions, their strength was nearly depleted.

Kang Jia was luckier, suffering only superficial wounds, but Shangguan He's situation was far more dire. A long tree branch had pierced through his abdomen. As he tried to pull it out, he found that it had somehow rooted itself deep within his body, greedily siphoning his life force and blood. To make matters worse, during his escape, he had collided with a small space rift. Although he managed to avoid a fatal blow to his head, his right arm was severed at the shoulder by the rift, leaving it dangling uselessly.

As they continued to flee, a massive wave of Wood Corpses surged toward them. Kang Jia, who was positioned ahead, had a chance to escape. However, Shangguan He was trapped in the midst of the corpses, and with his severe injuries, no matter how much he struggled, there was no way for him to break free from the encirclement.

"Senior Brother!" Kang Jia called out without hesitation, turning back to rescue him.

Shangguan He spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered in front of Kang Jia.

"Fool!" he cursed. "You can run, so why are you coming back to save me? Don't you fear that I'll use you as a human shield to escape?"

Kang Jia froze, unsure how to respond. He had never considered that possibility. When he was still a child, he had joined Shangguan He's sect. From the time he became a Foundation Establishment cultivator, to the present as a Golden Core cultivator, Shangguan He had always been his mentor. They had worked together closely, and Kang Jia had never once thought that Shangguan He would sacrifice him without a second thought.

Seeing the confusion in Kang Jia's eyes, Shangguan He sighed deeply.

"Little Jia..." he said softly. "I had intended to teach you slowly, but there's no more time."

He paused, looking at his disciple one last time. "I will teach you the last rule on the path to immortality. To save others, you must first save yourself! If you can't even escape safely yourself, how can you save anyone else?"

With a roar, Shangguan He's Spiritual Qi reversed, causing his body to inflate rapidly, as if he were about to explode. Kang Jia's eyes widened in shock.

"Senior Brother..." he murmured, realizing what was happening. As a disciple of the Fiery Sky Cloud Pavilion, he was familiar with the technique.

Under normal circumstances, a Nascent Soul cultivator might self-destruct in a desperate situation. But the Fiery Sky Ancestors had discovered a method that allowed not just the self-destruction of the Nascent Soul but also the explosion of the soul, vitality, and cultivation, amplifying the destructive power to its peak.

The founder of Fiery Sky Cloud Pavilion had named this technique "The Verdant Blood, Unyielding Heart Method".

"Remember my words, and live well!" Shangguan He laughed loudly, his body disintegrating in a violent explosion.

Boom!

The earth-shattering sound of the explosion reverberated through the air. Everything within a thirty-zhang radius—the Wood Corpses, the rocks, the soil—was obliterated into dust, ground into fine powder as small as rice grains.

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Kang Jia was protected by a force left by Shangguan He before his death, sending him flying far from the explosion's epicenter.

Boom!

Kang Jia wiped away the tears he hadn't realized had fallen. With determination, he unleashed his full speed and fled with all his might, using his escape technique to soar through the air. He swore to carry on the life his Senior Brother had sacrificed for, to live on and fulfill the final wish of the man who had once guided him in the path of cultivation.

Within the pitch-black palace, a cold, indifferent gaze swept across its surroundings.

When Luo Zu caught sight of Chu Xuan's retreating figure, he could not help but let out a soft, surprised sound.

"That little brat... he's running pretty fast. If I want to kill him, it'll take quite a bit of effort. Forget it. I woke up too soon. There are far too many forgotten memories... I can't afford to linger any longer. I must head to the Eternal Battlefield. Only there will I uncover the truth of what I must do."

Suddenly, the Dark Palace began to ascend at an incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, the palace's base detached itself from the ground. This massive, pitch-black structure floated gracefully in midair, slowly drifting toward the edge of the domain outside the battlefield.

The fleeing cultivators around them stood frozen in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Chu Xuan, who had just obliterated the Wood Corpse that had charged at him, also witnessed this scene. He saw, too, that the base of the palace was wrapped in countless Taotie Tree roots.

As the palace soared into the starry sky, the surrounding Taotie Trees emitted a mournful wail, as though they were being forcibly pulled from deep beneath the earth by the Dark Palace.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground trembled once more.

Chu Xuan dared not delay. Without hesitation, he accelerated, knowing he had to leave immediately. Sure enough, deep trenches soon appeared across the land. Entire cities crumbled, and mining fields shattered, falling into the abyss below.

However, Nascent Soul cultivators at least had the ability to fly, and few were unfortunate enough to fall into these deep chasms.

Boom!

Finally, a small grey tree was violently uprooted by the Dark Palace. The cultivators around them were stunned. A tiny tree, capable of triggering such a magnitude of earthquake?

What sort of power did this little tree possess?

The Dark Palace did not linger. It continued its ascent into the starry sky, quickly vanishing from sight.

Chu Xuan stared at the distant heavens, his gaze sharpening. He suddenly noticed several flickering points of light.

"Is this just my imagination? The starry sky of the Heavenly Metal Battlefield is always unchanging. Why are there suddenly a few... new lights?"

He was confused and shook his head, dismissing the thought for now. But then, his expression shifted, his brow furrowing as he scanned his surroundings.

He realized that only a portion of the Taotie Tree roots and Wood Corpses had stopped moving. The rest were still wreaking havoc, attacking any living being in their path.

"The Taotie Tree... there's more than one?!"

With a surge of urgency, Chu Xuan increased his speed, pushing himself to the limit as he fled the area.

A cold snort echoed from within the Dark Palace.

"Interesting. A few little brats are hiding in the distance, waiting to harvest the Taotie Tree?"

Several flickering points of light shimmered in the vast sky, but none revealed their presence.

"You look interesting. I think I'll kill you first."

Luo Zu suddenly fixed his gaze on one of the red-glowing points of light and let out a strange laugh.

In the next moment, the Dark Palace transformed into a streak of black light, accelerating toward the red point. It closed the distance in the blink of an eye. A startled cry echoed from within the red light, and the figure instantly shot off, fleeing into the distance.

A chase ensued—one black, one red—before both figures vanished from sight. Once they were gone, the three faint points of light gradually regained their glow. Each point represented a separate consciousness, and they began exchanging information through a series of messages.

"The Taotie Tree in the Heavenly Metal Battlefield failed to grow. It was a failure. Who would have thought there was actually a shard of Luo Zu's avatar sleeping here? The Taotie Trees in the other two perilous battlefields have yielded results, but they are useless to us."

"What about Wen Lingtian?"

"He borrowed the power of the largest Taotie Tree, trying to break through to the latter stage of the Astral Projection realm, but his soul couldn't withstand it. He was assimilated, and I took him. It seems this path doesn't work."

"No, perhaps it's just because our cultivation is insufficient. Who will handle the aftermath here? The domain outside the battlefield cannot collapse further. It's already been noticed."

The three points of light flickered out, one by one, as silence enveloped the space. After a long pause, a single point flickered once again, and a message was sent:

"I'll handle it. But the remaining Taotie Tree here is mine."

"Agreed."

"It's yours."

The other two points of light faded away, clearly departing. Only the final point of light remained, slowly making its way toward the Heavenly Metal Battlefield.