The Undying King

Xiao Chen was bathed in a resplendent radiance, as if clad in a suit of sacred armor. He had emerged unscathed! The Qi-Refining Diagram on the ancient stele was truly mysterious beyond compare—the mystical art had shielded his body, preventing it from truly turning to stone.

He could not afford to linger in this situation. His body wreathed in faint light, he shot into the air like a bird streaking across the sky, landing atop a colossal ancient tree.

Zhao Lin'er and Gu Luo reacted swiftly, surging upward in an instant. The surrounding experts swarmed in pursuit, eager to combine their forces and surround the still-living Xiao Chen.

Midair, as Gu Luo and Zhao Lin'er leaped up, they exchanged consecutive palm strikes with Xiao Chen. Sheets of dazzling radiance exploded continuously in the sky, tearing apart the nearby trees, which burst and shattered, sending branches and splinters flying everywhere. Xiao Chen borrowed the force of their palms to land on a giant tree, then used the branches to spring onto the crown of the next tree, bounding away like a nimble ape.

Gu Luo’s face was extremely dark. Although the Life Radiance had healed his wounds, he had lost too much blood and his vitality had been sapped. Forced back to the ground by Xiao Chen’s momentum, he could finally hold back no longer. With a roar, he led his men in pursuit.

But at that moment, cracking sounds rang out again. The three ice sculptures suddenly shattered, and the three skeletons emerged, not trapped after all! They had broken free of their confinement and, with calm and unhurried precision, pierced through three men nearby.

Chaos erupted in the forest. The sight of the three undead beings sent a chill of fear through some of the followers. Yet the skeletons did not continue the slaughter; like Xiao Chen, they swiftly fled deeper into the swamp.

The sun had long since vanished. The swamp was shrouded in an eerie, murky gloom.

Now, Xiao Chen had already stopped breathing.

Gu Luo and Zhao Lin'er pressed the pursuit with their group, unwilling to give Xiao Chen any more chances. They were determined to annihilate him in this woodland that very day. But just then, a sudden “thump” sounded, and someone inexplicably collapsed in the dim forest.

“Thump!”

Another person fell to the ground!

“Damn it! Miasma! Fall back—it’s corpse miasma!” Gu Luo’s brows shot up at the first collapse, and he reacted instantly.

By the pale moonlight filtering through, faint mist could be seen rising from the swamp.

The Death Swamp fell into turmoil. Everyone fled outward in terror, as if the end of days had come, seized by overwhelming dread.

Black mist coiled. The breath of death surged. The swamp had become a realm of the dead!

Given Zhao Lin'er and Gu Luo’s cultivation, they could hold their breath for long periods. The corpse miasma could not yet harm them. But the others were different—they were already dizzy, and men were collapsing one after another.

When they finally burst out of the swamp, only five followers remained with Gu Luo and Zhao Lin'er. The rest had fallen in the death zone behind them.

Gu Luo’s face was ashen, his expression grim to the extreme. If all those men died, he would have no subordinates left. Grinding his teeth, he turned to Zhao Lin'er and said, “Please, Your Highness, help me. Enter the swamp with me and bring those men out. I have a way to restore them.”

Zhao Lin'er was also shaken. She felt that Xiao Chen was truly formidable. Without a word, she followed Gu Luo into the Death Swamp and brought out all the unconscious men.

Outside the swamp, a crowd of figures lay sprawled on the ground. Their breathing was nearly at a stop; black lines had already appeared on their skin, the corpse venom deep in their flesh.

“Sacred Purification!” Gu Luo muttered under his breath as he unrolled a scroll. Milky-white light cascaded like a curtain over the clearing. The afflicted men groaned, and faint black mist rose from their bodies, hissing and vanishing into nothing in the white light.

After that precious Purification Scroll was used, everyone was out of danger.

Xiao Chen had no idea Gu Luo possessed such a life-saving item. By now, he had reunited with the three skeletons and emerged from the swamp from another direction, restoring his energy.

“I will not let him go!” Gu Luo’s face was dark. This day’s losses were heavy, and fury blazed in his heart.

Zhao Lin'er furrowed her delicate brows and said, “But the corpse miasma forms a natural barrier. It causes a great deal of trouble.”

“No matter. I still have one more scroll!”

Half an hour later, when all those lying on the ground had recovered, Gu Luo unfurled another scroll and chanted: “Dispel evil and darkness. Let sacred radiance protect my body!”

The scroll crumbled to ash. Half of the men were enveloped in a mass of holy light, their bodies emitting a faint glow that stood out sharply in the night. The other half, not covered by the holy radiance, had not received the “Sacred Protection” and were left outside the swamp to await.

When these people appeared before Xiao Chen, he was greatly alarmed. Leading the three skeletons, he plunged back into the swamp. But this time, the corpse miasma had lost its effect on them. Wherever they touched the holy light, the miasma automatically dispersed. Each man was now immune to the Death Swamp.

Gu Luo and Zhao Lin'er led the group in relentless pursuit, driving Xiao Chen and the three skeletons into a desperate retreat. Several times they were nearly cornered to their deaths. Finally, ignoring the skeletons’ attempts to block him, Xiao Chen charged toward the central area of the dark swamp—though he deliberately slowed his pace, keeping the group locked in close pursuit.

“ROAR!”

A ghastly, spine-chilling shriek suddenly tore through the Death Swamp. It was a demonic wail, so eerie and terrifying that it made one’s scalp crawl. The howl was sinister beyond measure.

Ahead, the mud was pitch black. Vaguely, a colossal corpse shadow, fully ten meters tall, was seen roaring at the sky. The aura of death rolled and surged violently, as if the gates of a dark hell had opened.

“ROAR!”

Another bone-chilling cry sounded. Endless darkness came rushing in—a surging tide of deadly corpse aura!

The pursuers, terror-stricken, realized that the holy light enveloping their bodies had been extinguished in an instant. The terrible death qi had shattered the Sacred Protection.

“No! Fall back! It’s the Undying King!” Gu Luo shouted, his voice trembling.

Everyone’s heart froze with fear. Their souls seemed to flee in terror!

A king among the undead—such beings appeared only in legend. When they reached their ultimate realm, even gods would pale!

All fled for their lives, their hearts seized by the deepest dread. Why had they encountered a king of the undead? Gu Luo fumed in his terror, but then, thinking of this sealed primeval island, he felt a grim resignation.

Though Xiao Chen had been mentally prepared, even he felt a chill of horror. He kept far from the crowd, fleeing swiftly. At that moment, the three skeletons emerged from somewhere, dragging him through the dark swamp, twisting and turning to escape.

Endless death energy surged. Men under Gu Luo’s command kept falling in the swamp. Behind them, a terrible giant corpse shadow followed unhurriedly through the darkness, reaping lives at its leisure.

Xiao Chen stole a glance from afar and drew a sharp breath. In the fleeting glimpse, he saw what seemed to be a pair of enormous, rotting wings on the back of the ten-meter-tall corpse shadow!

Death qi churned, and boundless darkness blocked his sight. He could see no more…