Chapter 324

What is that?

Clouds…?

Near the Matchmaking Festival of Qingyun, in a fairy garden in Zhongzhou, countless scion families' youths gathered, strolling and seeking suitable marriage partners.

But before the atmosphere could heat up, many noticed the sky darkening rapidly.

The young men and women instinctively looked up—and saw the writhing blackness, instantly holding their breath.

In an instant, a screech like grinding stones shattered the entire city; a flood of demonic corpses, thick with malevolent energy and grotesque faces, crashed down like thunder.

Boom!!!!

As their heavy bodies struck the ground, they plowed deep furrows, then struggled to rise and charged into the city.

One, two, three…

Crack—the city guards were instantly swallowed, spewing blood everywhere.

Then they trampled and tore, scrambling desperately toward the city's densest crowds, smashing walls and houses, surging wildly toward the throngs.

Wherever they passed, houses collapsed, corpses littered the ground.

Quiet human settlements erupted into chaos; countless shrill screams echoed across the city.

What's happening? What is this? Where did so many demonic corpses come from?

Too many! We can't see any direction—east, south, west, north—they're everywhere!

The scion families gathered in Zhongzhou reacted swiftly; the moment they sensed danger, their ancestral protective arrays erupted instantly, encircling their entire ancestral grounds.

But these grotesque demonic corpses were merely dead shells, devoid of fear, still charging relentlessly toward the blazing mystic arrays.

The first wave slammed into the array, screaming in agony before being shredded into pulp by overwhelming killing intent.

But the second wave stepped over their corpses, sharp claws driving deep into the mystic light.

Then came the third, the fourth…

What had been a protective array for the scion families was instantly engulfed by a writhing tide of corpses, trampled and torn apart, the demonic shells' eyes fixed only on the hunger for slaughter.

Boom!!

Boom!!!

Boom!!!!

As the relentless assaults continued, many scion families' arrays shattered outright; amidst countless screams, blood surged wildly.

Since the end of the Ancient Era, humanity rose—but though zombie outbreaks had occurred before due to various causes, none had ever reached this horrifying scale, like a locust plague.

Seeing this, the scion families not yet overrun immediately abandoned their protective arrays and fled northward in a mad scramble.

Soon, countless palanquins and treasure ships lifted into the sky.

The demonic corpses had no ability to fly; in theory, flight was safest.

But as countless people soared upward, the ground-bound demonic corpses shrieked—and with a thunderous *Peng! leapt impossibly high, swarming en masse onto the flying fairy ships.

Amid violent shaking, the first fairy ship tilted sharply, then slammed into another.

Too many, too many…

Don't panic! Head straight for Shengjing to seek refuge!

In western Zhongzhou, the He family patriarch raised both hands skyward—a divine light blasted forth, repelling a vast horde of demonic corpses, then he roared: "All descendants, head northeast immediately!"

Individually, these things aren't particularly strong—but their numbers are overwhelming.

To fight them with human strength alone is to be drained to death.

Besides, our family has many young ones—evacuating immediately is the best course.

The protective arrays of the Seven Immortal Sects and the imperial capital's array in Shengjing all share the same origin as the northern frontier walls.

Those arrays held back the barbarians for a thousand years; these dead shells, no matter how strong, could never break through.

At this roar, the elders of the scion families formed front and rear lines to slaughter the demonic corpses, while the younger generations were shielded in the center; the group began moving westward.

Other surviving scion families from Zhongzhou joined this column: the Qiu, Liu, and Sheng families following He, hearing the order, immediately followed; along the escape route, they encountered the Zuqiu family, along with the Huang, Zhou, and Lu families trailing behind them.

Amid thick bloodstained air, demonic corpses rained down like a deluge.

Then they coalesced into waves, relentlessly pursuing and slaughtering.

Their numbers were simply too vast, and their innate flesh was formidable; many low-level cultivators were inevitably torn apart on the spot by leaping demonic corpses.

Amid splashes of blood, countless people were terrified into utter despair.

The Qiu, Huang, and Sheng families were among the weakest; though they followed He and Zuqiu, they were not kin and received no proper protection.

So after flying only a short while, they saw a massive tide surge forward, smashing them apart from the major clans.

Seeing this, countless people immediately flooded their bodies with vast spiritual energy, charging forward regardless of life or death.

For they knew—if left behind now, they would all die here.

But dreams are beautiful; reality is often brutally cruel.

The remnants of the ancient clans possessed superior innate bodies, starting above humanity's lower three realms.

Now, swarms of demonic corpses screamed as they leapt forward, their grotesque faces drawing ever closer, as if ready to devour everything.

Puff!

Blood spurted, limbs flew.

Instantly, the outer-line disciples were slaughtered in droves.

The three scion patriarchs waved to shield their young, eyes blazing with rage as death loomed.

But as the stench of blood surged, a clear, crisp sword cry suddenly rang from the heavens—like a phoenix's cry, instantly drowning out the screams of ten thousand demonic corpses, jolting everyone awake.

In their peripheral vision, all eyes snapped upward.

Beneath the churning sky, a brilliant sword light split the gray mist with a thunderous *Hong! —like a river of silver cascading from the heavens.

Before the blade even reached, dozens of demonic corpses at the front cracked open.

The next instant, majestic sword qi crashed down; the surrounding air shrieked under unbearable pressure.

Where the sword qi passed, demonic corpses fell like wheat before the wind; severed limbs and torsos rained from the sky; the lingering sword intent carved a chasm into the earth, raising a dust storm that blotted out the sun, stretching a hundred li.

At that moment, the leading scion families—He, Zuqiu, Fang, Peng—all halted in shock and turned back.

Above the heavens, Ji You glowed like a rising sun, floating in midair, residual sword intent still humming through the air.

Without hesitation, everyone immediately surged forward, using the gap carved by that single sword strike.

The Huang, Qiu, and Sheng families dared not delay either—they rose instantly and caught up with the main group, continuing westward.

When they encountered towering walls of demonic corpses, they saw again that figure among the crowd—leaping skyward, drawing his sword, slashing a gap through the tide with blinding speed.

Seeing this, the fleeing scion youths couldn't help but glance toward the Qiu family trailing behind.

Back when Ji You first entered the Inner Court, the He family had intended to arrange a match—offering Qiu Hanyue as his concubine.

At the time, Qiu Hanyue had exhausted every means to refuse; Qiu's patriarch, seeing Ji You as a mere rustic cultivator with no standing, also saw no value in the match and used every trick to successfully reject it.

Now, with countless Qiu family descendants dead, the patriarch remained silent, as if his soul had been scattered.

Ji You's sword wasn't meant to save them—it was meant to cleave open the corpse tide.

But suddenly he realized: had their relationship been different, that sword might have come sooner—and perhaps fewer of his family would have died.

Only Sheng Xiyu, who had once pretended to be Qiu Hanyue's close friend and urged her to break off the match to avoid mockery, dared not turn back or speak a word.

But on the rest of the escape, that sky-splitting sword qi never appeared again.

The He patriarch and Elder He Long, along with Zuqiu and Fang, continuously unleashed thunder and fire arts, repelling wave after wave of leaping corpses; when they caught their breath, they glanced toward Ji You hidden among the crowd—and suddenly understood one thing.

This man isn't here to help—he's just hitching a ride…

In fact, they hadn't guessed wrong.

Ji You's destination matched theirs; but with the corpse tide surging, upon seeing their large group, he decided to tag along and conserve his strength.

The first two sword strikes were free gifts—to show sincerity.

Now, he lurked among the crowd, running nonstop…

Boom!!!

As the Zuqiu patriarch flipped his palm, a heavenly light surged downward, blasting every oncoming demonic corpse a hundred zhang away.

Seeing this, Ji You's thoughts darkened slightly.

He had come from the Youzhou border; after urging his coachman to flee, he fought his way here—and clearly felt these demonic corpses were stronger than ever before.

Yet they didn't target villages where civilians lived; instead, they precisely smashed through countless scion families—as if guided.

Boom!!!

Amid the roar of spells, the first wave was quickly shattered by the united scion families; soon, other cultivators from distant regions joined their column.

Though their growing numbers increased their speed, casualties also mounted.

Along the path of slaughter, everyone had grown numb to the thick stench of blood—as if they'd grown accustomed to it.

At that moment, people suddenly saw a figure leap into the sky—his aura blazing like the first rays of dawn spreading across the heavens.