Chapter 330: Scale Zombie and Corpse Dissolving Immortal

Ten thousand years ago, the Abbot of Militan Temple had single-handedly held back these two monsters, even using a Moving Array to completely seal off the temple.

When the two monsters were unsealed just now, everyone had assumed the Abbot of Militan Temple couldn’t have possibly held on. They thought that over ten millennia, both his physical body and Primordial Spirit would have surely disintegrated, turning to mush at the slightest touch, just like the corpses in the halls before.

But in reality, the Abbot’s power had fused with that of the two monsters, allowing him to use their strength to maintain a sliver of life over the past ten thousand years.

Now that the monsters had been separated from his body, the Abbot of Militan Temple began gathering his power, burning that final trace of vitality for a final, sublimated burst of strength—one last desperate strike!

A golden tiger, formed from endless Buddha Light, roared at the heavens. The phantom of the Buddha above it formed a mudra, its body dissolving into brilliant Buddha Light. In an instant, a powerful suction pulled the two monsters directly in front of the tiger.

The next moment, the golden tiger extended its sharp claws, pinning the two monsters under its paws.

It then opened its massive jaws and lunged forward to bite them.

But strangely, the monsters’ physical bodies remained unharmed. Instead, the golden tiger tore out a mass of black energy and a mass of red energy from within them.

“Quickly! Shatter their sources of power!”

An ancient voice echoed in everyone’s minds. Chen Yuan and Zhang Xuanzhong didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately struck!

Boundless Blood Fiend gathered around Chen Yuan, the immense power even causing fine cracks to appear on his skin.

He swung his blade, unleashing a hundred-zhang wave of Blood Fiend Power that majestically slashed toward the black energy.

Gu Lichuan also attacked with his Five Swords, and even Yue Ling’Er burned her Qi Blood to strike the mass of black energy.

Zhang Xuanzhong held nothing back either, going so far as to use his Purple Sky Demon Slaying Sword. The others did the same.

In a life-or-death battle like this, no one would dare hold back. Only an idiot like Feng Tiande would entertain improper thoughts at a time like this.

The green-scaled monster and the flesh-and-blood monster roared, trying to break free from the golden tiger’s grasp, but the claws formed from the Power of Buddha Light held their bodies down firmly.

This time, the attacks from Chen Yuan and the others finally found their mark, crashing into the two masses of energy and tearing them apart. A massive shockwave of power erupted.

When the shockwave subsided, the two monsters’ sources of power were finally shattered, and their physical bodies began to crumble.

The scales that had previously withstood a Celestial Soldier instantly lost their vitality and turned to dust, while the flesh-and-blood monster collapsed into a pile of gore.

At the same time, the Abbot of Militan Temple’s physical body also disintegrated, leaving only his True Spirit barely maintaining a faint form within the Buddha Light.

“Senior, may I ask what those two monsters were? And what exactly happened in the Heaven-Reaching Tower?”

Chen Yuan asked, cupping his hands in respect.

The Abbot of Militan Temple opened his mouth. A faint, weak, and ancient voice echoed in everyone’s minds.

“They are a Scale Zombie and… a Corpse Dissolving Immortal… The Heaven-Reaching Tower is a sham! We are all sacrifices!”

Chen Yuan and the others were stunned. They recognized the words the Abbot spoke but couldn’t comprehend their meaning.

They had heard of zombies—the Corpse-Driving Sect often refined them—but what was a Scale Zombie? They had never heard of such a classification.

As for Corpse Dissolving Immortal, Zhang Xuanzhong was more familiar with the term.

Within the Daoist Sect, there was a method of achieving immortality known as “corpse dissolution,” where one would first die and then shed their mortal coil, using an external object to ascend to immortality.

But even the ancestors of the Ancient Daoist Sect, with their heaven-shaking Cultivation, had never been able to transcend the limits of life and death, shatter the void, and ascend to become Immortals.

The so-called Corpse Dissolving Immortal existed only in the legends of the Daoist Sect.

Besides, even if they did exist, a Corpse Dissolving Immortal should still be an Immortal. How could it be such a disgusting, flesh-and-blood monster?

And why did he say they were all sacrifices? Sacrifices to whom?

Before he died, the old man from the Blood Shadow Nether Kill Sect had also obsessively repeated that the Heaven-Reaching Tower was a sham. Who was the one deceiving them?

At that moment, Ying Yuanzhen suddenly spoke up. “In the Heaven-Encompassing Daoist Sect, I read an ancient text that said within the cycle of the heavens, there are five immortals: celestial, terrestrial, human, ghost, and spirit. There are also five types of creatures: shelled, scaled, furred, feathered, and exoskeletal.”

He continued, “The one covered in scales corresponds to ‘scaled.’ Since the flesh-and-blood monster is a Corpse Dissolving Immortal, it might be the result of a Cultivator’s failed corpse dissolution, corresponding to ‘human’ or ‘ghost’?”

Zhang Xuanzhong shook his head; he had never seen such a text.

‘But what’s the point of dwelling on this now? It’s a complete waste of time.’

‘The Heaven-Reaching Tower is filled with countless strange and evil things. The records of my Shenxiao Sect describe things far stranger than this. Chen Jiutian is asking completely pointless questions.’

Zhang Xuanzhong cleared his throat, preparing to ask something more meaningful.

For instance, where was the Treasure Vault of Militan Temple? Did this senior have any inheritance to leave behind?

Although he was from a Daoist Sect, it didn’t mean he had no use for the Secret Treasures and Cultivation Techniques of a Buddhist Sect.

Even if he couldn’t use them himself, he could trade them with sects like the Vajra Prajna Temple for many valuable items when he returned.

However, just as Zhang Xuanzhong finished composing his words and was about to speak, the True Spirit of the Abbot of Militan Temple began to dissipate.

“Senior…”

Zhang Xuanzhong panicked and cried out, but the Abbot’s True Spirit had already rapidly dissipated, leaving his words stuck in his throat.

‘Already? That was fast.’

Zhang Xuanzhong’s expression darkened, and an eerie silence fell over the scene.

They had all joined forces against a common enemy. Aside from Feng Tiande, who had been too stupid to see the bigger picture, everyone else’s cooperation had been decent.

But now that the immediate crisis was over, the ground was still littered with the various Secret Treasures that the Scale Zombie and Corpse Dissolving Immortal had thrown out to lure them in.

The two monsters were fake high-ranking monks, but the items they had thrown were real.

They must have infiltrated Militan Temple and replaced two high-ranking monks, which meant the items in their possession were naturally authentic.

Feng Tiande had made a preemptive move for these treasures earlier, but now… how would they be divided?

A vicious glint flashed in Zhang Xuanzhong’s eyes. In an instant, boundless purple lightning gathered in his hand, the violent, surging electricity solidifying into a Purple Thunder Long Sword that he abruptly swung at Chen Yuan!

Purple Sky Demon Slaying Sword!

In that instant, the sword light resembled a dragon of purple lightning, crashing down with a deafening peal of thunder.

At the same time, Zhang Xuanzhong roared, “Ying Yuanzhen! Fang Zhibai! Don’t hold back! Combine your strength and kill Chen Jiutian first! We’ll deal with the others later!”

Fang Zhibai didn’t hesitate. Boundless Sword Qi surged from his long sword. He unleashed the majestic Heaven-Soaring Sword Technique, and in an instant, ten thousand rays of sword light rained down upon Chen Yuan.

Ying Yuanzhen hesitated for a moment, but he too executed his Heaven-Encompassing Swordsmanship and attacked Chen Yuan.

Although he and Zhang Xuanzhong were both from the Four Daoist Courts, their relationship was actually not very good.

Of the Daoist Sect geniuses, the other three were all in the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings, a testament to the Daoist Sect’s prosperity.

Only Ying Yuanzhen was a bit of a letdown, which was why he usually felt some jealousy and resentment toward Zhang Xuanzhong.

But now that they were taking sides, he naturally had to stand with Zhang Xuanzhong, who was also from the Daoist Sect. He couldn’t possibly choose to help Chen Jiutian, who had been his enemy just moments before.

But the instant Zhang Xuanzhong made his move, Chen Yuan’s was even faster!

Silvery-white lightning appeared in his hand, solidifying into a liquid lightning long sword that he swung down abruptly. In an instant, the shocking thunder of Shenxiao boomed, blasting toward Zhang Xuanzhong with immense power!

‘Damn it!’

Zhang Xuanzhong was instantly overcome with rage. ‘Chen Jiutian is doing this on purpose!’

Whether it was their previous fight outside or their recent alliance against the monsters, Chen Jiutian had demonstrated countless powerful Cultivation Techniques and Secret Arts. Yet, when facing him now, he chose to use only the Shenxiao Evil-slaying Sword. He was clearly doing it on purpose!

Unfortunately for Zhang Xuanzhong, his foundational power was weaker than Chen Yuan’s. So, even though they were both using the ultimate Secret Technique of the Shenxiao Sect, the clash resulted in Shenxiao’s thunder shattering Purple Sky’s lightning. Chen Yuan’s sword sent Zhang Xuanzhong flying, his face pale.

But after that one sword strike, the attacks from Fang Zhibai and Ying Yuanzhen were already upon him.

Buddha Light radiated from Chen Yuan’s body as a Brahma Sound like rolling thunder instantly filled the air.

He unleashed the Six Paths of Vajra Mantra of Master Padmasambhava, sending Ying Yuanzhen’s Dao Sword flying.

Gu Lichuan had also made his move by this point. He completely disregarded the toll on himself, crazily burning his Qi Blood and True Qi. The power he displayed was even more ferocious and intense than when he had faced the two monsters.

The Yin Yang Dual Swords, the Ice and Fire Dual Swords—four types of Sword Intent erupted at once, instantly shattering Fang Zhibai’s Sword Momentum and turning the attack back on him.

Although Yue Ling’Er was a bit slower to react, she still charged toward Ying Yuanzhen.

But Chen Yuan stopped her. “Junior Sister Yue, go help Brother Gu. I’ll handle Zhang Xuanzhong and Ying Yuanzhen.”

Yue Ling’Er didn’t have much combat experience. She had foundational power but couldn’t even unleash eighty percent of it in a heated battle.

She was barely adequate when dealing with Feng Tiande earlier, but she was outmatched against a Martial Artist like Ying Yuanzhen, who hailed from one of the Four Daoist Courts.

So, rather than have her struggle to hold her own, it was better for him to take on two opponents at once.

Yue Ling’Er was taken aback for a moment but obediently followed his command, joining Gu Lichuan to gang up on Fang Zhibai.

“Arrogant!”

A cold glint appeared in Zhang Xuanzhong’s eyes.

He admitted that his foundational power was indeed inferior to Chen Jiutian’s, but in a true life-or-death struggle, the outcome was still uncertain!

And while Ying Yuanzhen wasn’t the strongest, he wasn’t weak either. For Chen Jiutian to plan on fighting them both at once was the height of arrogance.

Just as Zhang Xuanzhong was about to coordinate with Ying Yuanzhen for a pincer attack on Chen Yuan, he suddenly noticed an aura of death emanating from him.

This deathly aura extinguished all Vitality, merging with an ultimate killing intent. In an instant, Chen Yuan was shrouded in a black mist that isolated him from all forces of life.

A sudden chill shot through Zhang Xuanzhong’s heart. He roared, “Fall back!”