Deep in the valley, after a thunderous roar rang out, a strange beast crawled from the depths. It looked like a lizard, but was far larger than an ordinary one.
Its body was as thick as a barrel, and from its head to the tip of its tail it measured six meters. More astonishingly, flames blazed across its body, making it look like a fire dragon.
Its appearance left the beasts that had charged to the front of the valley trembling with fear. Two giant wolves had even fallen to their knees. Their reward for doing so was to be swallowed whole by the enormous, blazing lizard.
More than a dozen giant beasts remained, trapped with nowhere to go. On either side lurked a demon ready to devour them. No matter which way they turned, they faced certain death.
There truly were demons before and behind them. While the beasts had paused, a zombie and a blazing lizard had charged into their midst like tigers among a flock of sheep and begun slaughtering them.
Under the two creatures' combined assault, the dozen or so giant beasts were all dead within two or three minutes. At last, the center of the valley held only a pitch-black zombie and a blazing lizard, facing off.
The zombie that Chu Xiaotian had become had no consciousness to speak of. To him, the blazing lizard before him was simply a prize packed with far more vital energy than any of the beasts he had devoured before. If he could swallow it, his body would grow stronger. The only thing he wanted now was to devour all that abundant vital energy. Without the slightest hesitation, he shot forward like lightning, pouncing on the Fire Lizard.
The fire lizard was no ordinary beast. It was a monster Xia Xue had told Chu Xiaotian about before: a demon beast. What set demon beasts apart from ordinary beasts was their innate special abilities. This one was only a lowest-tier, first-rank demon beast, the Fire Lizard, and its innate ability was fire. The flames that were so terrifying to other beasts were something it could control from birth, though only in the simplest way.
The flames wreathing its body looked frightening, but in truth, they were not all that powerful. Even so, they made it stronger than any ordinary beast. Even a human cultivator at the Pulse-Opening Realm would struggle to gain the slightest advantage against it, thanks to those flames. A first-rank demon beast was equivalent to a Pulse-Opening Realm expert. That was why Xia Xue hadn't dared venture into the depths of this forest.
Chu Xiaotian was nowhere near the Pulse-Opening Realm. If he had been conscious, he would never have come this deep into the woods to fight this blazing creature. But he was no longer capable of clear thought. His actions were driven almost entirely by instinct. So even though the Fire Lizard was much stronger than he was, he still pounced without hesitation.
The Fire Lizard wasn't afraid of the black-haired monster either. With a roar, it charged instead of retreating, opening its jaws wide to bite the zombie. One was mindless, the other fearless. The two powerful creatures crashed together in the valley like a pair of trucks.
The layer of black hair covering Chu Xiaotian's zombie form had been unaffected by the heat in the valley. But when he collided with the giant lizard, it immediately began sizzling and smoking. Fortunately, the long black hair was formed from the cold Corpse Poison within him, so the flames didn't burn it away at once. But fire overcame dark, cold forces, and the hair couldn't withstand the blaze for long. Soon, the smell of charred flesh filled the air.
Chu Xiaotian's zombie body hadn't burned away yet, but if the flames kept at him much longer, he would be reduced to ashes. No matter how much cold Corpse Poison he contained, the outcome wouldn't change. Even mindless, Chu Xiaotian understood that.
Without hesitation, he lashed out with both claws, a thread of icy energy clinging to them as he aimed for the Fire Lizard's head. He wanted to kill it with his claws. But the Fire Lizard had scales as well as flames. Chu Xiaotian's zombie claws failed to tear it apart, leaving only a few scratches on its armor. In return, both his claws nearly burned to a crisp.
By instinct, the zombie Chu Xiaotian had become knew he was no match for the Fire Lizard. He stopped fighting the creature wreathed in flames and leaped backward.
Chu Xiaotian tried to flee, but the Fire Lizard had no intention of letting him go. Demon beasts had their own territories, and any living creature that intruded was a challenge to their authority. They had to fight to the death. Besides, the cold Corpse Poison within Chu Xiaotian repulsed the Fire Lizard, making it all the more determined to burn him to ashes.
The zombie Chu Xiaotian had become had barely run four or five meters when the Fire Lizard came hurtling after him like a giant fireball. Chu Xiaotian leaped aside, avoiding the lizard's body as it crashed down.
Despite its massive size, the Fire Lizard moved no slower for it. Its huge body slammed down where Chu Xiaotian had been, and at the same moment, its tail swept out like a fiery whip, smashing the zombie flying into the mountainside behind him. Fortunately, the zombie's body was exceptionally tough. The blow hadn't seriously injured him, and as soon as he hit the ground, he got right back up.
"Roar..." The repeated blows stoked the zombie's ferocity. He stopped running and charged at the Fire Lizard instead. His ten black claws, each like a sharp sword, struck once more at its head.
The Fire Lizard paid little heed to the zombie's attack. It turned its head to dodge his two claws while raking its own foreclaws across his chest. Its huge tail came whistling down again, aiming for the zombie's head.
"Stststst..." The Fire Lizard's claws raked across the chest of the zombie Chu Xiaotian had become, throwing off a string of sparks. Its attack had no effect either; it only burned away the layer of black hair on Chu Xiaotian's chest, leaving his flesh untouched. In the circumstances, the black hair covering Chu Xiaotian's body served the same purpose as the scales covering the Fire Lizard.
Chu Xiaotian blocked the Fire Lizard's claws, but he couldn't evade the giant tail crashing down from above. He turned his head and dodged, escaping a blow that would have smashed his skull like a rotten watermelon, but the tail struck his shoulder. If his body hadn't been so tough, his arm would have been ruined.
His arm remained intact, and with it came an opportunity. Before the Fire Lizard could pull its tail back, Chu Xiaotian seized it with both hands. His ten claws dug firmly into the gaps between the scales. Summoning all his brute strength, he swung the Fire Lizard toward the mountainside.
"Boom..." A boulder as large as a person shattered into pieces when the Fire Lizard slammed into it. But its scales were so tough that the collision didn't kill it. It only left the creature dizzy, with stars dancing before its eyes. Its long tail, trapped in the zombie's grasp, detached on its own, freeing it. It turned and charged at the zombie Chu Xiaotian had become.
Chu Xiaotian, his bloodlust roused, didn't retreat either. He dropped the severed section of tail in his hands and charged at the Fire Lizard. The two savage creatures fought in the valley, sending dust billowing and boulders flying.
The Fire Lizard had lost its tail, and with it, a powerful weapon. But its blazing body still made life miserable for Chu Xiaotian, a zombie. Every time he left a gash on the Fire Lizard, one patch of his own flesh was burned. And now, besides the flames that never ceased to wreath its body, the lizard had begun spewing fire from its mouth, aiming it all at his head. Chu Xiaotian couldn't see a thing. He could only swing his claws by feel to fend off the Fire Lizard's attacks.
Completely outmatched, Chu Xiaotian was burned black and blue by the Fire Lizard's flames. Almost all the hair on his body was gone, and black smoke rose from most of him. The stench of burning flesh drifted through the valley. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Chu Xiaotian was burned to a crisp.
But the Fire Lizard was bent on killing him and had blocked his escape route. Even if he wanted to run, there was no way out. After they had fought for a while longer, Chu Xiaotian's body was almost entirely covered in blackened, charred skin. He looked like a walking lump of charcoal.
"Roar..." This was the first time Chu Xiaotian had been so thoroughly beaten since becoming a zombie. With a roar, he threw caution to the wind and lunged at the Fire Lizard. He clamped one arm around it, ignoring the flames scorching him, and raked at its body wildly with the other. The Fire Lizard's scales were so tough that even after all that tearing and clawing, he couldn't inflict a fatal wound. Instead, a large area of his own body was burned, and the Fire Lizard's bite left several gashes in his arm.
At this rate, he might not last much longer before perishing in the flames. Fortunately, at that very moment, Chu Xiaotian's wildly raking claws suddenly struck a soft spot. Beneath it, he could feel something beating nonstop. Driven by his instinct to kill, he plunged his claws in without hesitation.
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