Strange Valley

Chu Xiaotian left Xia Xue at a loss for words for quite some time, and she could only let him hold her hand. Knowing when to quit, Chu Xiaotian decisively let go after taking advantage of the situation for a moment. However, his eyes remained fixed on her, waiting for a response.

Xia Xue said nothing. After casting a glare filled with feigned annoyance, she vanished from the spot and sprinted toward the valley where she resided. Chu Xiaotian chuckled, temporarily casting aside the frustration of his inability to cultivate, and followed closely behind.

Because of Chu Xiaotian's earlier antics, the atmosphere between them had become somewhat strange. Whether out of shyness or anger, Xia Xue hid in her room the moment she entered the valley and refused to come out. Chu Xiaotian called out to her from outside the door several times, but she ignored him completely.

Chu Xiaotian was not worried, however; he knew this was normal. Girls were shy, and she would be fine once she recovered. Humming a little tune, he ran to the pond in the valley, caught a few more fish, and began preparing lunch.

Xia Xue had intended to give Chu Xiaotian the cold shoulder for a while to teach him not to act so recklessly in the future. Yet, tempted by the savory aroma of the grilled fish, she eventually stepped out of her room. However, before Chu Xiaotian could say a word to her, she simply took two fish from the wooden rack and turned back into her room, leaving Chu Xiaotian to shake his head with a bitter smile.

Chu Xiaotian did not waste the afternoon. Still unwilling to give up, he followed the methods in the Mad Battle Blade Art, drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his body in hopes of witnessing a miracle. But no miracle occurred; the moment the spiritual energy entered his body, it was completely devoured by the Corpse Poison.

Even though he knew this would be the result, Chu Xiaotian could not help but sigh. Still, he quickly regained his composure, having finally come to terms with his situation. While the Corpse Poison in his body had cut off his path to cultivation, it did not mean he was devoid of any offensive power. His zombie body devoured the life force and blood of living beings every night to strengthen his physical form; while not exactly a good thing, it did increase his strength. Furthermore, his Talisman Art could unleash great power in this world filled with spiritual energy. If he could truly use talismans to attack others, his strength would not be weak at all.

He was now able to use his own mental energy to draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, so condensing talismans directly from that energy should not be too difficult. Thinking it, he did it. Without hesitation, Chu Xiaotian began to use the spiritual energy to condense a talisman in mid-air. This was no simple task—at least, it was something the former Chu Xiaotian would have been incapable of. Although he could now manipulate spiritual energy, he tried for half the day without ever successfully condensing a complete talisman.

Spiritual energy was, after all, an ethereal thing; it would not take shape just because one wished it to. As the afternoon drew to a close, Chu Xiaotian had nothing to show for his efforts. His only gain was perhaps a slight improvement in his control over spiritual energy.

"Heaven, you can't be serious. You bring me to this place and then cut off my path to cultivation—what is the meaning of this?" After trying every which way to no avail, Chu Xiaotian could only stand up, look at the sky, and mutter a few curses. Afterward, he went to catch more fish to grill. Xia Xue still ignored him, coming out only to take two grilled fish before retreating back inside.

Chu Xiaotian shook his head, wolfed down the remaining fish, looked at the sky, and without another word, sprinted out of the valley. The Corpse Poison was becoming difficult to suppress; he had to leave.

"This guy, why does he run off at night instead of staying here? No, I have to follow him and see." Just as Chu Xiaotian left the valley, Xia Xue stepped out of her room. Watching the direction he had taken, she frowned slightly and muttered to herself. As soon as she finished speaking, she followed in his footsteps toward the outside of the valley. Unaware that Xia Xue was trailing him, Chu Xiaotian ran at full speed, heading deep into the forest.

Xia Xue was faster than Chu Xiaotian. She had been able to follow him at a leisurely pace at first, but once they entered the forest, Chu Xiaotian's frantic sprinting combined with the obstruction of the trees caused her to slowly lose track of him.

Although Xia Xue possessed some strength, she was still a girl at heart, and she felt a sliver of fear at the darkening forest and the rising chorus of beast roars all around. She stood under a large tree, hesitating for a moment. Deciding not to pursue Chu Xiaotian further, she stomped her foot in frustration and turned to sprint back out of the forest, leaving only the sounds of beasts echoing through the woods—a sound that carried a faint, underlying note of terror.

Chu Xiaotian had lost consciousness once again. His vision was reduced to only black and red—and red was his target. The forest was a scene of carnage. Whether it was a giant wolf over three meters long or a giant bear standing two men tall, they all appeared incredibly fragile before his zombie form, and he easily devoured the life force and blood within them.

High in the sky, the bright moon hung suspended, casting down moonlight as clear as water, cold and detached. In the forest below, a humanoid monster covered in thick black fur was relentlessly devouring the lives of the myriad beasts. Countless giant beasts fled in a frenzy, stampeding toward the depths of the woods.

Transformed into a zombie, Chu Xiaotian had no consciousness; he knew only to devour madly, completely forgetting that powerful demonic beasts might exist in the depths of the forest. Blocked by him, the beasts could not escape outward and were forced to flee toward the heart of the woods in desperation. The zombie form of Chu Xiaotian pursued them without hesitation.

He chased the fleeing giant beasts, occasionally devouring those that lagged behind, driving them into a corner where they had no choice but to run toward a valley ahead. This valley seemed strangely out of place in the surrounding woodland. Under the moonlight, it was clear that the valley was desolate, devoid of any vegetation. The surroundings were composed of fiery red rocks, as if a fire were burning beneath the entire valley.

In truth, the situation was not far from that imagination. The temperature in the valley was extremely high, as if there were indeed a fire roasting it from below. The billowing heat waves were striking under the moonlight. As the beasts rushed in, their fur began to curl. Those that reached deeper into the valley even began to emit black smoke. They wanted to turn back, but behind them, the zombie form of Chu Xiaotian was their death warrant; to retreat was to be drained of their blood and life force.

The myriad beasts dared not move forward, but the zombie form of Chu Xiaotian cared for nothing. With a roar, he leaped and pounced toward the nearest giant bear. Though the bear feared this humanoid monster, the threat to its life caused it to instinctively raise a paw and swipe down at the zombie.

The giant bear stood over a zhang tall, and its paw was thicker than a human body; a single strike could easily crush a person into a pulp. However, Chu Xiaotian was no longer human; he was a zombie, and his physical toughness was staggering. He ignored the bear's strike entirely. Raising both arms, he grabbed the descending paw, his ten sharp, pitch-black claws piercing into the bear's flesh. Before the beast could even howl in pain, he flung it away, slamming it into a boulder the size of a man.

The giant bear wailed a few times, its bones shattered by the impact, leaving it with no strength to rise again. The zombie did not give it the chance; it pounced and bit directly into the bear's neck. With a few guttural sounds, the giant bear's life was extinguished.

After finishing off the bear, the zombie's gaze shifted, locking onto a giant tiger, and it pounced again. This creature, usually a king in its own right, could not muster the slightest will to resist in the face of such terror. With a mournful roar, it took a gamble and sprinted toward the depths of the valley. The depths were hotter, but there was a chance of survival. Facing this humanoid monster, however, meant certain death. Even the king of the forest could distinguish between the two choices.

The giant tiger was extremely fast, outpacing the other beasts, so the zombie changed its target, turning to the other creatures behind. In a few breaths, several more giant beasts met their end at its hands.

By now, they had reached the center of the valley. Ahead, few beasts remained running; behind, the ground was littered with carcasses. The valley was over a mile long, and the deeper they went, the higher the temperature rose. The fur of the beasts running in front had already turned scorched yellow, and a foul stench began to permeate the air. Any further, and their fur might catch fire.

Yet, to escape the god of slaughter behind them, they had no choice but to press on. Just then, a thunderous roar erupted from the depths of the valley, the sound wave carrying a blast of heat that rolled outward, causing all the stampeding giant beasts to come to a halt.