Chapter 672: The Zombie King’s Shadow

The red eye hovered above the table.

It was only an image formed from mental energy, yet it appeared alive.

Its pupil contracted as it looked at Chu Miao and Ye Xuan. An ancient and oppressive consciousness descended upon the underground chamber.

For a brief moment, neither of them moved.

The owner of the eye was not physically present, but the pressure it released was stronger than that of the level-nine zombies they had encountered before.

Even Ye Xuan, who had just advanced to the Divine Transformation Realm, felt a chill run through his body.

The consciousness was powerful.

More importantly, it was intelligent.

The eye shifted from Ye Xuan to Chu Miao.

When it looked at her, the pupil contracted again as if it had discovered something unexpected.

A wave of mental energy suddenly rushed toward her.

"Baby, be careful!"

Ye Xuan stepped in front of Chu Miao and released his lightning ability.

Purple lightning filled the underground chamber and struck the red eye.

Mental energy did not have a physical form, but lightning was its natural enemy.

The eye trembled after being struck.

Cracks appeared across its surface, but it did not disappear.

Instead, the consciousness behind it became more interested.

A strange sound echoed inside the chamber.

It was not produced through speech.

The voice appeared directly inside their minds.

"Human..."

The single word was rough and distorted, as if its owner had not spoken in a long time.

Chu Miao’s expression became solemn.

The consciousness was communicating with them through mental power.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The red eye did not answer.

It continued staring at her.

Another wave of mental energy rushed forward, bypassing the lightning surrounding Ye Xuan and heading directly toward Chu Miao’s sea of consciousness.

This time, its intention was obvious.

It wanted to invade her mind.

Chu Miao did not retreat.

Her divine soul had been tempered through two lifetimes, and it was far stronger than that of an ordinary cultivator at her level.

Even though she had not reached the Divine Transformation Realm, invading her sea of consciousness was not easy.

She raised her hand and formed a seal.

The space in front of her distorted.

The mental energy rushing toward her slowed down as if it had entered a swamp.

Chu Miao then released her divine sense and struck it directly.

BOOM!

An explosion that only the soul could perceive erupted inside the chamber.

The red eye shook violently.

The oppressive consciousness withdrew slightly.

Ye Xuan’s gaze became murderous.

"How dare you attack Miaoer in front of me?"

Purple lightning gathered around his palm before condensing into a thin blade.

Unlike the large lightning attacks he used against zombie hordes, this blade contained all its energy within a narrow edge.

He slashed toward the connection between the eye and the drawing on the wall.

CRACK!

The invisible mental connection became visible under the lightning.

It resembled a dark-red thread extending from the eye into empty space.

The lightning blade cut into it but did not sever it immediately.

Ye Xuan increased the power of his attack.

The thread began burning.

A furious roar echoed inside their minds.

The consciousness behind the eye finally reacted emotionally.

The entire command center trembled.

The pale-red stones embedded in the ceiling shattered one after another, releasing large amounts of death energy.

The energy did not spread randomly.

It gathered around the red eye, strengthening it.

Chu Miao waved her hand, and several spatial blades appeared around the table.

They cut through the gathering death energy and divided it into separate sections.

Without a continuous supply, the eye began fading again.

"Ah Xuan, don’t destroy the connection yet."

Ye Xuan paused.

Although he wanted to eliminate anything that dared to attack his wife, he understood what she intended.

"You want to trace it?"

"Yes."

Chu Miao took out a small jade plate from the Soul Ring.

The plate was used to record and track energy fluctuations.

She placed it beside the groove in the table before forming several complicated hand seals.

The remaining mental energy was drawn toward the jade plate.

The red eye seemed to realize what she was doing.

Its pupil suddenly widened.

A concentrated beam of mental energy shot toward the jade plate.

Chu Miao created a spatial barrier to stop it.

The beam collided with the barrier, causing cracks to appear in the space around them.

Even though her cultivation had yet to reach the Divine Transformation Realm, her control over space was already formidable.

The mental beam could not break through.

It was redirected toward the wall instead.

BOOM!

A large hole appeared in the reinforced wall.

The attack had contained enough power to kill an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

If it had struck the jade plate, not only would the tracking method have failed, but the explosion might have destroyed the entire command center.

The red eye turned toward Chu Miao again.

This time, the interest in its gaze had disappeared.

Only hostility remained.

"Threat..."

The distorted voice appeared in their minds again.

Chu Miao’s hands did not stop moving.

"Are you the one controlling the zombie armies?"

The eye remained silent.

"Were you the one who ordered the high-level zombies to leave City S?"

Still, there was no answer.

However, the mental connection fluctuated when she mentioned the escaped zombies.

That slight reaction was enough.

Chu Miao and Ye Xuan exchanged looks.

The consciousness knew about the evacuation.

Whether it had personally ordered it or merely received a report, it was connected to the intelligent zombies that escaped.

"Are you the Zombie King?" Chu Miao asked.

The eye stared at her.

Its pupil slowly narrowed.

Then, a strange sound echoed in their minds.

It resembled laughter, but there was no amusement in it.

"King..."

The word carried pride and contempt.

However, before Chu Miao could ask another question, the mental energy forming the eye began collapsing inward.

"Sweetheart, it is trying to destroy the connection," Ye Xuan warned.

"I know."

Chu Miao sent more spiritual energy into the jade plate.

The symbols on its surface lit up.

A thin golden line appeared inside the plate, pointing north.

Before the direction could stabilize, the red eye exploded.

The explosion did not release energy outward.

Instead, it pulled everything toward its center.

The maps, chairs, and loose objects inside the chamber flew toward the collapsing mental energy.

Even the death energy in the surroundings was swallowed.

The space around the table began distorting.

"It wants to erase everything," Chu Miao said.

Ye Xuan released his Divine Transformation pressure without hesitation.

He created an ice barrier around Chu Miao and the jade plate before striking the center of the collapse with lightning.

The two forces collided.

The underground chamber shook violently.

Large cracks spread across the ceiling, and pieces of concrete began falling.

Chu Miao reinforced the isolation array before expanding her spatial barrier.

Everything within five meters of the table froze in place.

Even the collapsing mental energy slowed down.

She reached toward it with her divine sense, attempting to capture a fragment before it disappeared.

The consciousness on the other end seemed to detect her intention.

A sharp pain suddenly tore through her mind.

Chu Miao’s face paled, but she did not withdraw.

"Miaoer!"

Ye Xuan appeared beside her and held her waist.

"I am fine," she said quickly. "Keep suppressing it."

Ye Xuan wanted her to stop, but he knew that she would not listen.

He could only release more lightning and prevent the mental energy from harming her further.

Chu Miao used her divine sense like a blade.

She cut a small fragment from the collapsing connection and sealed it inside the jade plate.

The moment the fragment was separated, the remaining mental energy exploded.

BOOM!

The table disintegrated.

The walls of the command center cracked, and the ceiling collapsed.

Ye Xuan pulled Chu Miao into his arms before covering both of them with a lightning barrier.

At the same time, Chu Miao activated the spatial mark connected to the Soul Ring.

The two disappeared from the underground chamber.