Chapter 201: 192. The Sudden Appearance of the Corpse

With the giant monster named Alice falling, everyone stared in disbelief.

As the giant monster named Alice fell, everyone stared in disbelief.

"No way—Li Yi actually pulled it off." Gu Mengping watched the entire scene; he'd initially thought Li Yi's attack had failed, but now the monster had truly collapsed.

Unbelievable.

Something even a Spiritual Sense expert couldn't handle—Li Yi actually hunted it down.

"This is bad. After Li Yi resolves this incident, he might actually take the slot."

Gu Mengping's head throbbed again. The one scenario he dreaded had come to pass. With Zhang Lei and Pete already looming over him, he'd had enough trouble—now he had another powerful rival: Li Yi.

He felt utterly drained, ready to give up and lie down.

Yet at this moment, the monster named Alice was not yet dead. It writhed, moaned, and suffered terribly.

Li Yi swiftly descended from the building, adhering to the principle of striking while the iron is hot. He cautiously approached the monster, his vertical pupils glowing as he prepared for crisis.

Lin Yue also feared the monster might recover, so she moved closer, ready to seize an opportunity and finish it off.

"Lin Jie, be careful." Li Yi warned.

"You too." Lin Yue nodded.

As the two drew nearer, the monster named Alice ceased struggling. It only gasped, its expression one of intense pain. Its enormous belly rapidly deflated, then gushed forth a flood of fluid, followed by countless tiny spider-people.

"It's… giving birth?" Lin Yue was stunned.

Clearly, the monster sensed its death was near. With its last breath, it forcibly gave birth, bringing forth its final clutch of spider-children—unwilling to let them die inside its womb.

Was this the monster's reproductive instinct—or a twisted form of maternal love?

The newborn spider-people were still alive. If left unchecked, once they matured, they would become a massive disaster. All had to be killed—none spared.

The spider-mother's birthing continued.

Vast numbers of spider-monsters poured out. In mere moments, the entire street was covered. The spider-people were washed everywhere by sticky fluid—some quickly righted themselves and scrambled into nearby residential buildings, others were swept into sewers, some writhed and circled in place.

"Too many. Impossible to wipe them all out completely. We'll have to clean them up gradually later." Li Yi frowned.

"Then leave them for now. Deal with the mother first. Once she's gone, these spider monsters will only dwindle until they vanish entirely." Lin Yue said, then moved close enough to attempt her Gaze Technique once more.

But in that instant—

The monster suddenly lashed out with a massive hand, striking swiftly toward Li Yi.

"Watch out—it's still alive!" Lin Yue shouted urgently.

At that moment—

Li Yi's Instinct Warning flared, but the monster had clearly been waiting for him to approach, determined to drag his enemy down with it before dying.

"Bang!"

At that moment—

A gunshot echoed through the surroundings.

The hand about to strike Li Yi exploded into fragments.

Li Yi seized the chance and retreated again, putting himself at a safe distance.

"Li Yi, don't be careless. This monster isn't that easy to kill." Yuan Mingjin's voice came through the radio.

From a nearby building, Yuan Mingjin was aiming his sniper rifle this way. He'd reacted instantly to the monster's move, firing with anticipation—and luckily hit. He'd blocked the attack, letting out a sigh of relief; he only had one bullet left.

"Thanks." Li Yi said.

"No problem."

After taking the bullet, the monster's arm had exploded—but it still regenerated as before.

Yet now, the monster had finally collapsed completely, motionless.

It seemed that even after its soul was extinguished, its body still lived.

Seeing this, Li Yi couldn't help but marvel: the Hanging Spear was truly extraordinary. One strike had slain such a massive monster. If they'd fought head-on, even all the cultivators in the Investigation Bureau might not have succeeded.

But speaking of the Hanging Spear—where was his own spear?

He looked up, scanning the surroundings.

Soon, he spotted it embedded in the wall of a nearby building.

"Li Yi, it's truly dead—its consciousness is gone. But its body still lives. This creature is peculiar. I believe it has high research value."

Lin Yue observed again, even attempting her Gaze Technique. She confirmed: the monster named Alice was truly slain. No resistance remained. Even under Gaze, it showed no reaction—like a corpse.

"Good. Zheng Gong, report this to the Bureau. Send someone to handle the corpse." Li Yi nodded, then briefly left to retrieve the spear embedded in the building wall.

He'd thought the matter was over—that everyone could finally relax.

But the moment Li Yi reclaimed the Hanging Spear, he suddenly saw a figure slowly emerge from a nearby ruined building.

"Who?"

Li Yi shouted sharply—he felt an inexplicable sense of danger.

Not just him—Lin Yue sensed it too. Her gaze snapped toward that direction.

The figure became visible.

It was a stranger—pale face, rotting skin, like a walking corpse. But its eyes glowed with eerie light, filled with bitter malice as they fixed on Li Yi and Lin Yue.

And it wasn't alone.

Soon—

More figures emerged from nearby buildings: from windows, stairwells, dark alley corners. In moments, the area grew bustling again—as if all the people who had vanished from the old district had suddenly returned.

Li Yi's face darkened. He recognized these things.

They weren't people—they were corpses possessed by vengeful ghosts. Just like Liu Yan before.

But why—why did all these corpses' eyes glow?

That glow—it resembled the gaze of a cultivator who had evolved.

Could these things be cultivating?

If so, this was terrifying. Vengeful ghosts possessing human bodies to cultivate? This would truly turn the world upside down.

"Li Yi, something's wrong here. Get out of here now."

Lin Yue shouted. She now sensed mounting danger—each moment spent here intensified the threat.

This feeling told her: they had to leave immediately. One extra second could kill even a Spiritual Sense expert.

"Zheng Gong, Yuan Mingjin—the situation here is abnormal. Evacuate the old district immediately. Don't hesitate." Li Yi didn't delay—he retreated swiftly.

"Understood." Zheng Gong and Yuan Ming replied at once, asking no questions.

"Li Yi, this way!"

Lin Yue, relying on her Spiritual Sense to sense the hidden danger, sprinted with Li Yi into a narrow alley.

Their speed was swift. In mere seconds, they'd left the battlefield, escaping the most dangerous zone.

Zheng Gong and Yuan Mingjin, positioned as snipers, had chosen relatively safe spots and encountered no anomalies, giving them ample time to retreat. In moments, they shouldered their rifles, exited the building, and fled beyond the old district.

But just as Li Yi and Lin Yue burst out of the alley, preparing to choose an escape route—

Suddenly—

Hummm!

From nearby buildings, pairs of eerie eyes ignited.

At that moment, Li Yi and Lin Yue felt searing pain in their heads.

"It's Gaze—these things can use Gaze Technique too. They're no longer mere possessed corpses—they've become cultivators."

In Li Yi's mind, the tiny figure seated on the lotus throne, resembling a Buddha, suddenly opened its eyes in fury, roaring like a dragon and tiger—forcefully resisting the Gaze. His spirit recovered, but he was wounded—blood trickled from his nostrils.

Lin Yue, as a Spiritual Sense cultivator, fared better—she suffered no injury, only dizziness and vertigo, barely able to stand.

Fortunately, the attack came swiftly and passed just as quickly.

Lin Yue shook her head, cleared her vision, and said: "This way—this route is safe."

She immediately moved again, pulling Li Yi along.

Indeed—

Lin Yue's chosen direction was correct. The nearby threats rapidly diminished. Yet for some reason, Li Yi still felt a chilling, heart-pounding unease.

Suddenly—

Instinct Warning flared.

The next instant, a figure reeked with heavy corpse odor, bursting from a nearby shop. Its form was ghostlike, skin shriveled and blackened—a strange desiccated corpse. Most terrifying: its power—seemed to have surpassed Instinct, reaching Spiritual Sense.

A corpse with Spiritual Sense power?

Did this person cultivate faster after death than when alive?

Yet Li Yi didn't hesitate—he instinctively threw a punch.

Tendons and bones rang out, divine power erupted—he met the attack head-on.

Boom!

With the punch's force exploding, the desiccated corpse was instantly thrown back—but suffered no serious damage. Its eyes, beneath messy, dry hair, glowed a sickly green—and it lunged again.

"I'll handle it."

Lin Yue shouted, clenching her fist and striking back. Her punch exploded with force, sending the corpse flying.

"Don't stop—go!"

Lin Yue saw the corpse rise again—her expression changed instantly. Without a word, she dragged Li Yi and kept fleeing.

Took two punches and still alive?

That meant ordinary punches couldn't harm this thing anymore.

"Lin Jie, what was that thing…?" Li Yi asked as they ran.

"I'm not sure, but it looks like a corpse zombie," Lin Yue said grimly. "It's bizarre—I can't understand it—but I'm certain these things are cultivating, and their strength is immense. Earlier, those things used a gaze technique on us; just now, that zombie had power approaching Spiritual Perception. Their cultivation speed is too fast."

"Why do corpses controlled by evil spirits cultivate faster than humans?" Li Yi said.

Lin Yue said, "Because we humans must absorb pure energy leaking from wormholes, but corpse zombies don't. Our world is already saturated with vast amounts of cosmic energy—more abundant than the energy provided by strange artifacts. The only drawback is that it's polluted."

"But corpse zombies aren't affected by pollution. They're inherently bizarre, so they cultivate at an astonishing pace, far surpassing us cultivators. In more mystical terms, our environment is perfect for breeding evil entities: polluted cosmic energy acts as both a shield for them and fertile soil nurturing their growth."

"So that's how it is," Li Yi now understood.

These things cultivated so quickly because they directly absorbed polluted cosmic energy—meaning they were essentially immersed in an energy field, evolving every day without doing anything.

No wonder there's a saying: when the Dao rises a foot, evil rises a zhang.

Cultivation through corruption is always faster than normal cultivation.

"Be careful."

Suddenly, Lin Yue sensed something and came to an abrupt stop.

From a nearby building, three figures reeking of decay burst through the windows—before either could react, they saw several pairs of withered hands, blackened with long nails, already reaching toward their faces.

So fast?

Lin Yue's pupils shrank sharply.

These three zombies were even more terrifying—they were no weaker than a transcendent beast, stronger than an ordinary Spiritual Perception cultivator.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Li Yi and Lin Yue were about to counterattack when three gunshots rang out.

The zombies' heads exploded instantly; their headless bodies were blasted backward and crashed to the ground—but they were not dead, still writhing, trying to rise.

"Hurry, don't delay—there are too many evil entities here. I alone cannot exorcise them all," said a middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in Daoist robes and holding a sniper rifle, his expression grave.

"Is that Father Peter?"

Li Yi and Lin Yue immediately relaxed, then fled swiftly under Father Peter's cover, escaping the most dangerous part of the old district.

Yet strangely, after the two left the old district, they saw none of those bizarre things following them—they seemed, like the spider monster, to have territorial awareness and wouldn't easily leave their fixed zones.

Perhaps precisely because of this, the people around them could live in peace without knowing.

Otherwise, if they knew that so many terrifying entities lurked just two li away in the old district, panic would have erupted instantly.