Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 69

Volume 7 Chapter 69: The First Move

While the young members of the Zhong family dreamed of the day their ancestor would return from the "Azure Crystal Treasure House," leading thousands of Zhong family members and countless undead warriors to sweep across the entire Shenzhou Continent and dominate the world, believing that all beings would respect the descendants of the Zhong family, and from then on, the Zhong family would be the gods of the Shenzhou Continent!

In this regard, the ambition of the Zhong family ancestor was somewhat similar to Zhang Xusheng’s.

At this time, most of the Zhong family members stayed inside the Zhong family base, refining corpses, gathering energy, and preparing for the upcoming grand action.

However, after the cultivators of Tianzuo Camp transformed into smoke, their presence vanished completely, making it impossible to sense them. The Zhong family members patrolling outside were swiftly killed by the high efficiency and skill of Tianzuo Camp, while those inside the base remained completely unaware.

Then, under Little Black’s command, countless Dark Crows, wrapped in thick death energy, surrounded the Zhong family’s base. At that moment, everywhere in You State was filled with death energy. All the disciples responsible for patrolling and guarding had been killed by Tianzuo Camp. So, when three thousand Dark Crows completely surrounded the Zhong family disciples, they finally realized what was happening.

This was another fierce battle. The Zhong family had a history of thousands of years, and their young members were skilled warriors, well-trained, with each one having their own unique spirit corps, which were even stronger than the Zhong family disciples themselves. Although the Dark Crows were not as strong or numerous as the Zhong family disciples, they were the greatest enemies of all beings that cultivated death energy. The battle reached a stalemate, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.

The fighting was silent yet brutal. The death energy did not harm the Dark Crows; instead, it strengthened them. However, many Dark Crows were still killed by the zombies’ bites. Following Little Black’s orders, the Dark Crows focused on attacking the higher-ranking Zhong family members, causing chaos in the Zhong family’s command.

Yet, as the Zhong family disciples desperately summoned all the corpses spread throughout You State to the battlefield, the Dark Crows, despite being the greatest enemies of those who cultivated death energy, gradually began to lose ground, like ants biting an elephant.

Taking advantage of the fierce battle between both sides, the cultivators from Tianzuo Camp sneaked in again. This time, they reached the locations where the powerful corpses, previously discovered, were hiding. Each took out a Buddha seal, using a secret method to float it above. This was a creation of Jin Qinghan’s over the past ten years. Although it couldn’t harm the powerful corpses, it could cut off their connection to the outside world for a while, preventing them from participating in the battle.

Among them, more than ten corpses had the strength of human masters, and two of them were especially powerful, being two of the seven extraordinary corpses left here by the ancestor of the Zhong family.

Meanwhile, Jin Qinghan floated quietly outside the battlefield, watching both sides fight. Although he appeared calm on the surface, the surprise in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Xu Qingfan had fled to the East Sea for many years, but he didn’t expect his strength to have grown so robust. Setting aside the three thousand Dark Crows, just the Tianzuo Camp members responsible for scouting and assassinations were elite figures, even within the Human Alliance. With Tianxin Camp coordinating smoothly, the entire plan seemed well-organized. Even though the cultivators from Outer Seven Camps were slightly weaker, they couldn’t be considered weaklings.

Jin Qinghan remembered the day he parted with Xu Qingfan when Xu Qingfan, accompanied by a few disciples and friends, fled to the East Sea in a desolate state. In just a few decades, Xu Qingfan had taken on a powerful presence.

"I wonder what kind of situation Senior Brother Xu is experiencing in the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ this time? The dangers there are much greater than they are now."

Jin Qinghan thought quietly.

Just then, a few white clouds slowly floated around Jin Qinghan, and then five fierce-looking cultivators appeared around him. They were the five guardians of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, including Dongfang Quan and others.

"Gold Taoist friend, the losses at Dark Crow were a bit surprising, but the plan has gone smoothly so far. Let’s begin."

Dongfang Quan asked carefully.

"Let’s start."

Jin Qinghan nodded and said softly.

As Jin Qinghan spoke, Dongfang Quan and the five guardians took their positions around him. Each took out their own top-notch magical tools, resembling the Five Elements Sacred Tool, and began forming a spell. Instantly, countless Spirit Qi surged around Jin Qinghan.

As the Spirit Qi swirled, the wind and clouds changed dramatically. A strong wind arose, and many auspicious clouds gathered above Jin Qinghan’s head. The scene was impressive, and the Zhong family disciples quickly noticed, but they were all held back on the battlefield by Dark Crow and could not interfere.

With the help of the five great guardians, the Spirit Qi around Jin Qinghan became very active. Jin Qinghan felt a thrill in his heart; he realized that under these circumstances, any power he used would be much stronger than usual.

Before, he did not think much of the so-called five great guardians of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands. Although they held high positions, second only to the four Grand Elders, he believed their skills were only slightly better than those of the elite members of the Tianzuo Camp. But now, with the five holding top magical tools and forming a powerful array, their assistance was truly remarkable.

"Senior Brother Xu has many talented people working under him."

While Jin Qinghan sighed inwardly, his movements did not hesitate at all. A golden lamp floated above his head, and the three thousand Buddhist mantras carved on it turned into golden lines that suspended around the lamp. In the sky, figures and sounds of Buddhas filled the air, creating a majestic and sacred atmosphere that could be felt clearly for thousands of miles.

Wherever the golden light and sound reached, countless approaching corpse bodies slowed down immensely, suffering painfully. However, the battle behind Jin Qinghan showed no signs of being affected.

"Hah!"

As the golden light and sound became thicker and more solid, Jin Qinghan was finally ready. With a loud shout, the golden light within thousands of miles rushed back like a tide, gathering around a three-hundred-zhang area, forming a thin golden barrier.

As the golden light retreated to form a barrier, the approaching corpse bodies were no longer affected. They silently screeched and charged towards the battlefield, but they were stopped by the thin, fragile golden barrier, which they surrounded and crashed into repeatedly, yet it did not budge at all.

In the sky, after completing all this, Jin Qinghan and the five great guardians, including Dongfang Quan, appeared extremely tired, their Spirit Qi exhausted. They supported each other and quickly entered the "Disaster Cloud," moving swiftly towards the distance.

…

A few days ago, when the ancestor of the Zhong family passed away, a disciple of the Zhong family was killed on the very spot where the disciple’s blood had been shed. The blood has long dried up and disappeared, but at this moment, the land seems to sense the crisis facing the Zhong family, shaking violently as the ground cracks open.

Suddenly, a terrifying and eerie roar echoed from the cracks in the earth, sending debris flying as a strange, zombie-like creature, tall as several dozen yards, with body parts seemingly stitched together and covered in green scales, crawled out from beneath the ground. It looked up at the distant battlefield for a moment and then roared several times before sprinting toward that direction.

However, this strange zombie only took a few steps before it suddenly stopped, slowly turned around, and looked behind it.

There, it saw four Dark Crows quietly hovering at some point without its notice, coldly staring at it. The leader of the Dark Crows was Xu Qingfan’s spirit pet, Little Black, while the other three reached heavenly levels of power. They had made a pact with Little Black that after this battle, they would gain their freedom.

Heavenly level demon beasts are not easily restrained.

This zombie is extremely powerful, and even at his peak, Xu Qingfan might not be its match. However, Little Black and the other three Dark Crows are the natural enemies of all zombies. One side is constrained by its power, and the other by its characteristics, leaving neither willing to attack.

Nevertheless, as the distant battlefield raged on, this strange and terrifying zombie, noticing the continued attacks on the Zhong family disciples, finally couldn’t hold back and lunged at Little Black and the other Dark Crows with a roar.

Another chaotic battle broke out.

…

A great battle lasted for nearly ten days.

During those ten days, nearly a thousand Dark Crows died, and Dark Crow specifically targeted the Zhong family members while avoiding the summoned corpses, managing to dodge them. Of the nearly four thousand Zhong family members, only a few hundred remained.

Under the relentless assault of the countless corpses, the golden light barrier around the battlefield was finally broken, and endless corpses rushed toward Dark Crow on the battlefield from both the sky and the ground.

On the other side, two out of four heavenly level Dark Crows had already been killed; besides Little Black, the other one was also seriously injured.

Suddenly, above the East Sea, a beam of rainbow light shot into the sky. All the Dark Crows saw this scene and immediately avoided their opponents, fleeing westward.

Whether it was the powerful strange corpse or the few remaining Zhong family members, they were all chasing the fleeing Dark Crows with numerous strong corpses.

At the same time, led by Chou, thousands of Shura Clan members flew toward the same location.

Under the continued pursuit of the corpses, the heavily injured heavenly level Dark Crow was killed, and Little Black was also badly hurt, while several hundred ordinary Earth level Dark Crows died.

On the other side, Chou was also in a terrible state. Although he had killed several experts from the Shura Clan while fighting and retreating, his wounds were shocking. Even though he had consumed the bodies of two Shura Clan experts to recover, he would have already died if it weren’t for his special body.

Despite Chou and the Dark Crows’ messy situation, they managed to clash with countless corpse soldiers from the Zhong family and thousands of Shura Clan members after great effort.

The Zhong family members were stunned to see the Shura Clan experts, and the Shura Clan experts were taken aback by the sea of corpse soldiers from the Zhong family, causing them to hesitate for a moment.

Meanwhile, Chou and the Dark Crows seized this opportunity to quickly pursue in another direction.

Seeing this scene, the Shura Clan and Zhong family members finally reacted and began to chase after Chou and the Dark Crows.

However, the leading Shura Clan members were surprised to see the haphazardly put together corpse soldier at the front of the chase.

"That corpse soldier carries the aura of the Great Qian Tian and the Great Long Tian! That is the body of Great Qian Tian and Great Long Tian!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the Shura Clan members turned red.

For the battle-loving Shura Clan, dying in battle is their fate and honor, but they cannot use the bodies of those who died; this is an insult to the entire Shura Clan.

Another great battle, but the fighting sides became the Shura Clan and the Zhong family.

As the fighting escalated, the corpse refining from You State kept arriving, and many Shura Clan bodies were found. Besides those strong Shura Clan zombies, two of the seven unique corpses left by the Zhong family ancestor also joined the battle. The once powerful Shura Clan found themselves in a tough fight, feeling both angry and hateful. In the prosperous southwestern part of Middle-earth, many skilled Shura Clan members received news and came to help.

Meanwhile, in the southwestern direction, the main base of the Shura Clan was exceptionally weak at that moment. The Shura Holy Pearl, which could help the Shura Clan reproduce quickly, seemed almost within reach.