Chapter 42: The Demon Star

Ah!

That’s it?

An unexpected scene and outcome appeared before Li Yu’s eyes.

The "Undead Medicine Corpse," which had looked so formidable, was burned into charcoal by the elixir fire in the blink of an eye; the exotic flowers and herbs on its body, along with the swirling clouds of mist surrounding it, acted like fuel, sweeping through and urging the flames until everything was burned to a crisp.

Accompanied by a notification sound, Li Yu clearly saw points of light flying out from the charred corpse, rushing straight into his body before disappearing without a trace.

"Is this what they call collecting spiritual roots?"

Li Yu frowned slightly and stepped forward to loot the corpse.

He knew that it was unlikely he would find anything on a charred corpse, but it was a hard habit to break.

Sure enough, aside from a charred jade identity tag, there was nothing else to be found.

When Li Yu wiped away the soot to reveal the words "Number Ninety-Three of the Hundred Children," the identity tag suddenly shattered with a click.

At that same moment, the area of the imperial palace in the distance seemed to experience some strange agitation.

Li Yu didn't pay it any mind, assuming it was just those reckless cultivators from the "Blood God Sect" and "Red God Sect" charging the palace in an attempt to snatch corpses.

He tossed the identity tag aside, still reeking of medicinal herbs and rotting flesh, and continued toward the gathering point.

"Those who haven't opened their mouths to reveal their identities and are silently making their way there are likely all crafty individuals with their own schemes."

"Whoever forms a group first will be able to strike first and kill, avoiding being erased."

As Li Yu thought this, he was hiding within the tide of corpses and could already clearly see the situation unfolding ahead.

It was unexpected!

The first to form a three-person group was the side of the Demon Star Order holders.

On the roof of a building with blue tiles, a person who looked like a scholar in white was holding something resembling an electric eel lamp; inside, however, were not electric eels, but eyeballs connected by nerves and covered in blood and gore. A pale beam of light poured out, and the tide of medicine corpses within three meters of him involuntarily chose to detour around him.

"What magic treasure is that? A Heavenly Craft artifact?"

"Could this fellow be from the Heavenly Craft Sect? That’s impossible. What other path sequence could use this kind of thing that combines flesh and technology?"

A doubt had just risen in Li Yu’s mind.

The next moment, he saw two figures suddenly break free from the corpse tide and leap into the range of the light beam.

They were a tiger-headed monk and a young man covered from head to toe in filth and a foul stench.

The various impurities clinging to his body were like nests, housing a large number of green-headed flies, cockroaches, fleas... and even mice; it was truly staggering to behold.

Li Yu instantly guessed their path sequences.

"A demon monk and an Unclean One."

"The latter is a Sequence Eight of the Plague God path under the Merciful Father."

"There are far too many cultivators in Ten Thousand Blessings City who follow the [Merciful Father], and the Unclean One is hailed as one of the easiest initial sequences to advance in."

"As long as your lack of hygiene and laziness reach a certain realm, you can advance to become an Unclean One at minimal cost—provided, of course, that you find the correct secret medicine formula; otherwise, you will only turn into a puddle of filthy, rotting flesh, becoming food and a breeding ground for true [Unclean Ones]."

Clearly, Li Yu’s fifth Truth Bubble had not been filled at random.

This piece of secret lore came from a discarded scrap of news from the Ten Thousand Blessings Daily: in a market in the Southern District, an Unclean One had tricked over a dozen idlers into drinking fake secret medicine, causing them to collectively explode into the foulest, filthiest flesh in the world. The perpetrator lay among them, attempting to establish a spiritual connection with the great "Merciful Father," begging Him to bestow the secret medicine formula for the next sequence.

……

"Good!"

"Two Order holders have already arrived; that is enough."

"The three of us will begin the hunt; other Order holders, please gather here as quickly as possible."

"In this situation, those who are alone will surely die."

When the white-clad scholar holding the blood-eye lamp spat out this last sentence, his chilling murderous intent could no longer be concealed.

The next moment, a scene of brutality that no one had expected occurred.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Reincarnators had not yet completed any gathering, these three crossed the boundary and charged toward a Reincarnator who was currently entangled by the corpse tide.

It appeared to be a young martial artist who, facing the entanglement of the corpse tide, used no techniques or treasures, but instead relied on his fists and feet.

However, after his punches and kicks landed, there was visible radiant force, and even sound effects.

Yet his enemies were not human; the medicine corpses came one after another, binding him tightly, and the medicinal poison released by these corpses upon death also made him feel dizzy and his movements sluggish.

Then, he witnessed a scene he had never seen before:

A seemingly refined scholar in white suddenly leaped up with a ferocious grin, descending toward him.

While in mid-air, the white clothes on his body suddenly shattered.

No, more than that.

His entire outer "skin," including his clothes, skin, hair, and face, all shattered.

In their place was a mechanical body loaded with guns, chainsaws, and a large number of strange and terrifying weapons. The controller was a naked brain firmly encased in the head, with black veins like earthworms wriggling and twitching on the surface of the brain matter—it was incredibly gruesome.

Amidst the spraying of scarlet steam, a cold, ruthless, yet mocking mechanical voice rang out:

"Human flesh and limbs, ah, what fragile existences."

"I never thought the first Reincarnator I’d kill in the Weird Domain would be a believer of the Demon-Slaying Heavenly Venerable who worships these things so much—a Sequence Eight [Martial Disciple] of the Great Sage path, hahaha... Come, enjoy the collision of machinery and flesh."

Before the words had even faded, he had transformed into a mechanical ball the size of a millstone.

Blades extended, and under the support of terrifying power, they spun into a blur, smashing down toward the Martial Disciple.

If both sides had been in perfect condition, fighting a normal battle.

Even if the Martial Disciple were countered, he would never have ended up so miserably.

But at this moment, he had first been exhausted by the corpse tide and then poisoned.

In his haste, he only had time to raise his fists to strike back, a thin layer of golden radiance belonging to the Demon-Slaying Sect believers covering his arms. There was only one booming, thunderous sound.

What followed was the sound of a large amount of flesh and bone being shredded and splattered.

Half of the Martial Disciple’s body was completely mangled.

The entire street was splattered with the remains.

But before the surrounding medicine corpses could revel and enjoy the martial artist’s flesh, they were first shredded to pieces by the mechanical ball.

When this scene occurred!

Li Yu, in the distance, could not help but be stunned.

"Too fast, too brutal."

"What path is this? What sequence?"

Just as Li Yu was guessing in horror.

A new change occurred on the field.

=9+Shu_Ba

Amidst the splattering flesh, a gust of inexplicable, eerie wind blew, and the "Martial Disciple," who was destined to die with only half a body left, suddenly vanished from where he stood.

When he reappeared, he was already in the distance, being carried by a young man in a black robe, sprinting toward another safe pillar of light.

In broad daylight, the two figures disappeared and reappeared, which was extremely strange.

"Earth Mother Sect, Wandering Soul."

The white-clad scholar reverted to his human-mechanical form, wearing a half-shattered face, and said through gritted steel teeth.

Then, he suddenly turned his head to look at another Reincarnator who was being entangled by the corpse tide.

It looked like another slaughter was about to be staged!

An extremely abrupt change came from the area of the Sui Kingdom imperial palace in the distance.

There, the area had originally been shrouded in toxic fog.

But at this moment, it began to churn violently.

Then, one after another, strange figures were seen popping out of the toxic fog with an inconceivable jumping posture, *pop, pop, pop*.

Each figure looked like a young boy or girl.

Their clothing was luxurious, and their skin and features far surpassed those of ordinary people; they were all glowing white, like jade—beautiful yet eerie.

Clearly!

They were the imperial princes and princesses of the Sui Kingdom.

Although they had also turned into "medicine corpses," the medicinal herbs growing on their bodies were far, far superior to those on the commoner zombies in terms of both spirituality and rarity.

When they jumped out and began to arduously call out a certain name, Li Yu’s expression changed abruptly.

"Ninety-Three!"

"Ninety-Three is dead, recover the spiritual root."

"Recover!"

"Kill all the intruders."

……

Those reckless fools who had tried to storm the imperial palace hadn't actually reached the outer palace walls yet.

But these princes and princesses had come out first, and the two sides collided head-on.

The reckless fools didn't care what these strange medicine corpses were shouting; they only knew that the moment they met, the notification sounds of the Demon Star Order and the Reincarnation Heavenly Net rang out in their minds.

"Side quest!"

"Hahaha... we ran right into them; killing one gives ten merit points. A bit stingy, but at least there are plenty of them."

"Trying to erase me? You don't even have a copper coin's chance."

Listening to these roars, Li Yu couldn't help but reach two conclusions.

The Demon Star Order’s choice of masters probably doesn't depend entirely on special qualities; there must be some ordinary tokens that rely purely on luck.

These "reckless fools" should be pure Blood God Sect members, not rogue evil cultivators like Hong Sanquan.

Fortunately, these undead medicine corpses are strong on the outside but weak on the inside; they shouldn't be able to kill anyone in a short time.

Were they alarmed and drawn out because of the one I burned to death?

This third thought had just emerged in Li Yu's mind when, the very next moment, he was slapped in the face.

The two sides clashed!

At the start, the few reckless men who went up to meet them tore apart several undead medicine corpses with ease.

But immediately following that, a truly horrifying scene occurred:

Their shattered shells reassembled in the blink of an eye, and then nearly a hundred Imperial Princes and Princesses split into three groups, swarming forward to completely envelop the few reckless men.

"Vines" and "roots" stained with rotting flesh slowly surged out from within these exquisite medicine corpses and began to burrow into the bodies of those reckless men.

Screams and wails rang out one after another.

Before long!

Accompanied by a rustling sound.

When the Imperial Princes and Princesses scattered once more and came leaping toward all the Star Order Masters and Reincarnators.

There wasn't even a puddle of blood left on the spot.

"Eaten... eaten them all!"

In an instant, an atmosphere of fear began to permeate both camps.

PS: Seeking monthly tickets and follow-up reads.

(End of this chapter)