The Hunt for Fire-Seeds

The three cities—Seven Kill, Broken Army, and Greedy Wolf—were not vast, but they were renowned throughout the eastern lands, for in ages past, three supreme powerhouses had arisen from them, evolving to a terrifying level and leading great armies of fire-seed into the depths of the central continent—the World of the Dead.

The three cities stood in unbreakable alliance, advancing and retreating as one. The cities themselves were named after those three great warriors, and the names had been passed down unchanged to this day.

Xiao Chen had already walked several li beyond Seven Kill City. Before him stretched an empty plain, its reddish-brown soil as though stained with blood. Broken bones lay scattered everywhere, and faint black mist swirled in the air.

Ahead, seven fire-seed beings blocked his path. Among them, six possessed purple-diamond bone bodies, their sinister aura carrying a strange nobility as they gleamed with streaks of light.

But the being at the center, the only one with a white bone body, was clearly the leader. His killing intent was undisguised, a palpable murderous aura soaring to the heavens.

Xiao Chen naturally understood their intentions. Riches should not be revealed abroad. Over the past twenty days, he had traded eleven purple-diamond bone bodies in Seven Kill City—he had long since been marked.

A purple-diamond snake bone, nearly ten meters long and as thick as a water barrel, slithered forward shimmering with purple light. It raised its head and transmitted a spiritual fluctuation: "Our city lord is here. Come forward and pay your respects."

Xiao Chen recognized this purple-diamond great serpent before him. Its name was Du Si. Its strength was not as terrifying as its appearance suggested; it was of the same rank as him. In fact, this ostentatious purple-diamond bone body had been purchased from Xiao Chen.

He examined the other five purple-diamond fire-seed beings. Two were of his rank, three were a level higher—but they had not truly attained purple-diamond rank; they were all fire-seed beings who had traded with him.

"Greetings, Seven Kill City Lord." Xiao Chen, in his red-diamond bone body, clasped his hands in salute, but did not advance a single step.

Du Si, the purple-diamond snake bone, slithered forward aggressively. "To dare sell such rare purple-diamond bone bodies so openly in our city, you must be powerful and have no regard for our city lord."

"Speak your purpose plainly. Stop beating around the bush." Xiao Chen stared at the fire-seed being named Du Si, twin beams of light lancing from his eye sockets, a murderous aura spreading outward. They had once traded pleasantly, but now these beings had brought the Seven Kill City Lord to rob and kill him—truly ruthless.

It was clear that at this level of cultivation, these fire-seed beings all possessed considerable intelligence; some were quite cunning.

"Our city lord invites you to stay a few days at the Seven Kill City Lord's manor," Du Si said, halting about thirty meters from Xiao Chen.

"Sorry, I have other matters. I will certainly visit another day."

Hearing this answer, the lone white-bone being gave a heavy cold snort. "In the eastern region, if I, Seven Kill, wish to detain someone, no one can refuse." A terrifying murderous aura erupted, exuding overwhelming dominance. His power was unfathomably dreadful.

In the three cities of Seven Kill, Broken Army, and Greedy Wolf, each generation of city lord took the city's name as his own.

"Cut off his head and bring it back to the city," Seven Kill commanded, his aura oppressive. Within his snow-white skull, his vigorous spirit fire blazed like a sun, blindingly bright.

A faint yellow light flashed. The bone knife slashed down, and with a crack, the purple-diamond snake head fell. Xiao Chen used the bone knife to lift the head and swiftly retreated.

Catching the enemy off guard, two strikes had succeeded!

Brilliant purple light flared. A pair of divine wings, like amethyst crystal, appeared on Xiao Chen's back. He transformed into a beam of purple light, surging into the high sky.

The five purple-diamond beings below roared in fury, but they could not fly.

Seven Kill was enraged. The spirit fire in his skull surged out, instantly enveloping his white bone body, and then he soared into the air.

Xiao Chen was greatly startled. The Seven Kill City Lord's strength did not match the intelligence he had gathered. This opponent could fly without relying on wings—truly formidable.

But he was not afraid. The purple wings on his back had been personally refined for him by two elders of the divine race, etched with secret formations of the divine clan, granting him extreme speed.

Xiao Chen shot back over a thousand meters in an instant, clearly faster than the Seven Kill City Lord.

If truly locked in battle, the Seven Kill City Lord believed he could destroy his enemy with a single hand. But his opponent possessed a pair of divine wings—while it filled him with murderous intent, it also stirred envy. He cared nothing for those purple-diamond bone bodies, but the pair of translucent purple wings set his heart racing. If he could seize them, his strength would leap by a full tier.

Xiao Chen looked across at the Seven Kill City Lord. "When I sensed something was wrong, I chose to yield and withdraw. But you left me no quarter, chasing me out of the city to kill me. That has hardened my resolve. Today, I will reap one fire-seed of my rank. Before long, I will make this place my hunting paradise."

Xiao Chen's words enraged the several powerful fire-seed beings. His meaning was clear: in the future, he would hunt the strong here to advance.

Seven Kill City Lord flew forward, and the five purple-diamond beings on the ground roared as well, their terrifying fluctuations shaking the ten directions.

"I brought you purple-diamond bone bodies, gave you hope for a rank-up plan, yet you refuse to know your place! Remember this: soon I will return to hunt." Xiao Chen transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, tearing across the sky and vanishing.

He had left the eastern region. Until his strength improved, he could not return for a time.

Before choosing to trade in the three cities of Seven Kill, he had investigated and learned that they lacked powerful fire-seed beings adept at flight. But the Seven Kill City Lord was clearly an exception—he could fly. Fortunately, he had prepared thoroughly, or the situation would have been perilous.

In truth, the main problem was his haste. If he had traded slowly, it would not have been nearly as dangerous. But ever since discovering the bone cavern leading to the Nine Provinces, he had been desperate to evolve to his strongest state as quickly as possible.

Still, this was not entirely bad. When his strength was sufficient, he could return without fear to hunt his enemies for advancement. If he could capture a few cities and command a force of dead soldiers, it would be an excellent outcome.

Oases were truly rare in the Dead World.

Ahead, lush greenery spread before him—fine trees, tangled vines, blooming flowers. Inadvertently, Xiao Chen discovered a village of the divine race. But when he entered, he found it had been abandoned for many years. Skeletons of the divine race lay scattered, the remains of a fierce battle decades past.

This was truly a cruel world. Even the powerful divine race could suffer the calamity of an entire village wiped out.

Xiao Chen had once heard Elder Li Mu speak of it: the divine race was exceptionally rare; only a few villages had been discovered across the endless lands.

The conflicts were mostly over life-source fluid. Some fire-seeds were simply too powerful and terrifying.

Returning from the eastern region, Xiao Chen did not rely on his purple-diamond divine wings to fly directly back to the divine village. Instead, he traveled on foot, searching for powerful fire-seed beings of his rank, hoping to reach the count of thirty.

After killing Du Si, he had traveled this road, raiding three sinister ancient castles, and had already refined twenty-nine fire-seeds of his rank. He needed only one more.

Under the moonlit night, the desolate land gave rise to waves of dark yin energy. The bright moon hung high, scattering a little holy light over the grim earth, diluting the gloom.

Night was the time for fire-seed beings to emerge, like flickering fireflies. Far from the city, walking in the wilderness, Xiao Chen was unquestionably the king of fire-seed beings in this region. All leaping spirit fires kept their distance, not daring to approach.

It was a surprising scene. Under the moonlight, skeletons walked the land. Wherever the red-diamond bone passed, fire-seed beings receded like a tide to either side.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen stopped as if sensing something. A powerful fire-seed being was nearby; he had caught a dangerous aura.

Far from the city, powerful beings roaming the ancient battlefield at night were the most terrifying—solo hunters, like lone wolves among their kind, fearsome and untamed. In a sense, Xiao Chen was now such a lone wanderer, hunting prey in the wild to evolve stronger.

Then he saw the dangerous hunter. Under the moonlight, a hundred-meter-tall stone mountain stood on the empty plain. Not a single fire-seed's spirit fire danced nearby; all had fled far away.

On the cliff of that stone mountain, a tall figure, blood-red like rouge, stood on the sheer rock face, staring coldly at Xiao Chen.

This was a dangerous sign!

A red-diamond king of the same rank, a lone wolf hunting—two powerful beings had met.

"Roar…" The red-diamond king's roar shook the night air. The spiritual fluctuation was especially terrifying. Many weaker fire-seed beings around prostrated themselves on the ground.

Xiao Chen did not stop. He strode forward. The ground was thick with bones, but they shattered under his feet, turning to powder.

"Under the moonlight, so beautiful… the feast begins…" The red-diamond king was supremely confident, looking down at Xiao Chen from above, the light in his eye sockets as sharp as a wolf's gaze.

Xiao Chen said nothing. Though a skeleton, he moved as nimbly as a spirit monkey, scaling the hundred-meter cliff in a few bounds.

The hunter who roamed alone under the moon—his red-diamond bone body was as crimson as jade, nearly identical to Xiao Chen's translucent crystal form.

This was definitely a powerful foe. It was the first time Xiao Chen had faced a super-evolved king. This opponent was clearly much stronger than the white-bone beings of his rank he had encountered before.

"I believe every fire-seed corresponds to a star in the heavens. Tonight, a bright star is about to… fade." The red-diamond king raised a white bone knife and advanced on Xiao Chen along the cliff.

Xiao Chen stared at the opponent's white bone knife, not daring to underestimate it. If a being's strength was great enough, no matter the color of its bones, they could be unbreakable. The knife in his own hand was selected from a heap of color-diamond bones and polished to shape; it gave off a faint yellow light and was much harder than color-diamond bone bodies.

"Like a dream, the bright moon night—perfect for killing." The red-diamond king wielded his bone knife, the spirit fire in his skull blazing fiercely.

Xiao Chen found him odd. This fellow was rather flamboyant and full of himself, seeming unlike other fire-seed beings. He did not resemble a skeleton at all, but rather an unrepentant "man."

"I am a wandering poet, named Changsheng. You seem no common being—state your name."

"To satisfy your wish before death: I am Xiao Chen." As he spoke, the two had already met, knives raised. In an instant, they moved. Knife light surged like rolling white waves. The two bone knives exchanged a thousand blows in a flash.

The sound of fierce collisions rang without end, the thousand slashes merging into a single continuous din.

Xiao Chen and the red-diamond king moved along the cliff like two streaks of blood, their speed unbelievable.

A rumbling sound continued as the two white bone knives hacked countless great stones from the cliff. The knives were incredibly sharp, cutting into the rock as if slicing through yellow mud.

They moved like lightning, leaving a trail of red afterimages. The stone mountain was filled with their traces. Red diamond light flashed, knife light gleamed—they moved like startled swans and pouncing rabbits, turning into two beams of light intertwined in fierce combat.

The white bone knives stirred up sand and stones, shattering the mountainside.

Xiao Chen and the red-diamond king were evenly matched, battling fiercely on the cliff. Soon, the two knives had carved away a large section of the mountaintop.

This was truly a major battle in the Dead World for Xiao Chen. The two were like crimson flood dragons leaping and twisting, turning into streaks of red light that charged and whirled. Then, locked together, they plunged from the hundred-meter stone mountain, continuing their violent battle on the bone-covered plain.

Xiao Chen was deeply surprised. This being seemed to retain memories of a past life, yet the red-diamond king before him was not much weaker than him, seemingly versed in many exquisite combat skills.

Killing him would be a pity, but Xiao Chen could not afford to be soft-hearted. In a life-or-death struggle, any hesitation could lead to eternal regret.

The red-diamond king leaped high, a full dozen meters into the air, dodging Xiao Chen's nine killing strikes.

The spirit fire in Xiao Chen's skull pulsed. The moment had come—he could delay no longer.

An eagle strikes the sky!

He too soared into the air. The white bone knife flashed like a bolt of lightning. It deflected dozens of blows from the red-diamond king, then plunged like a divine dragon into the opponent's chest, vibrating fiercely.

Crack.

The sound of breaking bone came. The long knife in Xiao Chen's hand snapped one of the opponent's ribs.

The red-diamond king retreated swiftly, seizing the broken red rib and fleeing into the distance without looking back.

Xiao Chen gave chase, his white bone knife glinting with specks of yellow light under the night.

"Come on, I'm already running away in defeat—why are you still chasing?" The red-diamond skeleton fled while shouting in frustration. "Have a little style, will you? I'm in such a sorry state, and you still won't let me go?"

Xiao Chen had been about to unfurl his wings, but hearing this, he felt a surge of strangeness and pursued at a steady pace. This was no ordinary fire-seed being. He seemed like a being with a human mind.

"Spare me, brother! I admit I'm afraid of you, alright? We're both geniuses—losing one is a terrible loss. Please don't chase me. I'm going to cry."

The more Xiao Chen heard, the stranger he felt. This was nothing like a skeleton—he was clearly a being with a distinct personality.

"Brother, I'll be your disciple, okay? Don't chase me anymore. You can't bully people like this!" The red-diamond king's spiritual fluctuation carried a tearful tone.

But the man behind him just raised his butcher's knife and kept pursuing in silence. The red-diamond skeleton was both depressed and terrified.

"Brother, stop chasing me, will you? Later, I'll give you thirty fire-seeds of the same rank. If that's not enough, a hundred or eighty—whatever you want." The red-diamond king fled while trying to negotiate. "Please, brother, let others off where you can. You're really going to make me cry."

Only then did Xiao Chen ask, "Have you recalled your past life?"

"Ah! Skeleton brother, you know about past lives? I thought you were just a mindless dead thing to fool." As the red-diamond king said this, Xiao Chen's bone knife nearly stabbed into his pelvis, making him leap high and flee faster. "Easy there, brother! Don't chase me. I'm from the Nine Provinces—maybe we're countrymen. Brother, where did you hang out before?"

Nine Provinces?! Xiao Chen's heart shook. He had to capture this man alive—he had encountered a distinctive "countryman."