The Demonic Cultivator In Zombie World
Chapter 399: Chapter Xuan Escaped?

Five days later.

Chu Xuan gazed at the black-red flames before him, a satisfied smile on his face. In these past five days, he had endured the searing pain of the Nether Fire while searching the valley for Nether Fire Crystals. By now, he had collected over thirty of these crystals. Some were even as large as a person!

All of them had been absorbed by the Blood Evil Yin Fire, which had now transformed from its original purple-black color into the present black-red hue.

Chu Xuan took out a mid-grade magic treasure and tossed it into the flames. In just ten breaths of time, the treasure was reduced to molten iron! If it had been a high-grade magic treasure, it would have lasted a bit longer—about twenty more breaths—but the result would have been the same.

Even top-grade magic treasures wouldn't survive long against such flames. Though they wouldn't melt immediately, they would still suffer deep cracks, causing their power to diminish considerably. Very few Nascent Soul cultivators would dare to use such treasures to clash with this kind of fire.

"The Blood Evil Yin Fire has grown far more dangerous than before," Chu Xuan mused. "It now possesses the power to harm both the body and the soul, far surpassing its former capabilities. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator in the later stages would tremble before its burning."

He observed the flames and smiled in satisfaction.

"It's no longer just Blood Evil Yin Fire. It deserves a new name. Born from the Nether Fire Valley, capable of devouring flesh and soul alike…"

After a moment of thought, he declared, "From now on, you shall be called Netherfire Devouring Flame."

The flames roared in response as if acknowledging his words.

Chu Xuan couldn't help but smile. He knew very well that this was merely his wishful thinking. Despite its great power, the Netherfire Devouring Flame was still just a fire—it wouldn't develop intelligence.

In other words, a fire that could develop intelligence, one created from the world's essence, would be far beyond the reach of any Nascent Soul cultivator, let alone himself.

"With my preparations complete, it's time to act."

With a thought, the Netherfire Devouring Flame blazed even hotter, and Chu Xuan felt an unusual coolness wash over him.

The Netherfire Devouring Flame, born in the Nether Fire Valley, surpassed even the flames here in intensity. It was this very power that helped to push back the oppressive heat around him. He was about to stride toward the valley's exit when suddenly, a deafening rumble echoed from deep within the valley. It sounded like a long-dormant giant had finally awakened.

"Netherfire King!" Chu Xuan's gaze sharpened.

Immediately, he thought of the information Yuan Zichu had provided. It was said that there was a Netherfire King in the valley, though it had remained dormant for an unknown period.

He hadn't believed it at first, but now, the truth had been revealed. The Netherfire King had awoken after so long. But why now? It could be because the Deity Transformation cultivator had entered the valley. Or perhaps…

Chu Xuan lowered his gaze to the black-red flames in his hand. It was precisely for the Netherfire Devouring Flame that he had come here! After a brief moment of contemplation, a smile crept onto his face. The awakening of the Netherfire King might actually prove to be a huge boon for him! He could seize this opportunity to blend in with the bandit cultivatorss and infiltrate their ranks undetected.

Chu Xuan swiftly flew toward the edge of the valley. He could sense that at the exits outside the valley, three bandit cultivators were currently in a state of panic. Not only them, but the cultivators guarding the other exits were likely in the same state of disarray.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He had chosen these three in particular because he had previously noticed that the Nascent Soul cultivator stationed at this exit had a similar build and height to his own. The others guarding the exits were either too tall, too short, too fat, or too thin to match his physique.

The ground rumbled ominously. The Netherfire King was clearly getting closer.

Wait… just wait a bit longer.

Chu Xuan held his breath and focused intently. As the rumbling noise grew louder, approaching rapidly from a distance and nearly reaching within a hundred zhang of him, Chu Xuan suddenly charged out of the valley! Four figures shot from his body, racing toward the three bandit cultivators.

Before the two Golden Core cultivators could react, Hu and Long had already crushed their skulls, exploding their heads into pulp. As for the Nascent Soul cultivator, the moment he saw Chu Xuan, his pupils suddenly contracted. He instinctively reached for his communication jade.

But Two Arms and Four Arms, with their faster speed, reached him in the blink of an eye. One to the left, the other to the right, they ruthlessly tore his soul from his body!

Chu Xuan immediately used Soul Search on the cultivator's memories, scanning them with lightning speed. Then, with a sudden slap to the cultivator's face, he used his transformation technique. In the blink of an eye, his appearance changed to match that of the cultivator, a perfect disguise.

He then stomped his foot hard, subtly altering the shape of his muscles and tendons, causing his body to grow slightly larger and assume the exact proportions of the Nascent Soul cultivator.

Boom!

The massive claw of the Netherfire King slammed down with terrifying force. The valley's exit was instantly obliterated into stone shards, and torrents of Netherfire surged out.

Chu Xuan immediately evaded, darting toward the distance in a rapid flight. The Netherfire King, enraged, roared a few times, as if wanting to chase after him. But it seemed to hesitate, unwilling to leave the valley.

It howled with fury and slammed the ground with its claws, shaking the very earth. However, after a few moments of impotent rage, it grudgingly retreated back into the depths of the valley. It was like an angry middle-aged man, awakened from his sleep, who wanted to beat up the mischievous child but found that the child had already disappeared in a flash.

Chu Xuan let out a breath of relief. As expected, the Netherfire King could not leave the Nether Fire Valley. He took a moment to calm himself before carefully scanning the memories of the unfortunate cultivator whose identity he had just assumed.

"Now I understand. The Starshatter Sea is located in the northern part of the Storm Star Region, while the Reincarnation Sect, Heaven Shaking Sect, and Exquisite Treasures Alliance are all in the southern part of the Storm Star Region. No wonder I've never heard of the Starshatter Sea—it's just too far away."

These bandit cultivators are from a faction called Nine Yin Island in the Starshatter Sea. Nine Yin Island has a total of nine leaders, all cultivators above the Nascent Soul middle stage. The Big Boss, Pei Yuankui; the Second Boss, Sima Zhen; the Third Boss... I am the Eighth Boss, Chen Jin.

As for the Old Ninth and Old Seventh... hmm, they've died. Above these bandit cultivator leaders, there is one Deity Transformation cultivator, True Master Yin. I believe this True Master Yin is the one who chased me that day."

Chu Xuan's eyes grew cold as he processed the information. Not long after, several figures appeared beside him.

"Old Eight, what's going on? Where are your two subordinates?"

The leader, Pei Yuankui, spoke first, his gaze sharp as he saw Chu Xuan alone. He immediately reprimanded him. Having just used Soul Search to explore this man's memories, Chu Xuan couldn't help but feel a pang of unease as he answered, "Boss, a huge monster charged out of the valley, over ten zhang tall! It slammed down with a punch, and it felt like the very earth was splitting apart! My two subordinates... they're dead!"

Pei Yuankui looked at the shattered rocks and the remnants of Netherfire nearby, his expression grave.

"Did that kid, Chu Xuan, use the chaos to escape?" He suddenly asked.

Chu Xuan shook his head quickly. "No way! Any normal person wouldn't try to escape when such a monster showed up, right? If he dared to run from this exit, he wouldn't even need us to act. That giant monster could just swat him like an ant!"

Pei Yuankui nodded in agreement.

"Since even True Master Yin didn't dare to enter the Netherfire Valley personally, it shows that the Netherfire King is incredibly powerful—definitely a Deity Transformation demonic beast. A Deity Transformation demonic beast is more than enough to crush a Nascent Soul cultivator. And with the Netherfire Valley as its domain, crushing him would be a trivial matter. This Chu Xuan, five days have passed, and he hasn't come out yet, plus the Netherfire King has gone berserk... He's probably already on the brink of death. Could it be that this time we'll return empty-handed?"

Pei Yuankui fell into thought for a moment before taking out a communication jade and transmitting a report to True Master Yin.