Life Surging

Wu Zhong's hidden dantian life gate took shape within his body, capturing Feipeng's inner force.

But it was a foreign inner force. He did not even know internal arts himself and had no idea how to control it.

The only reason he had used it just now was that, when he exerted force, his instincts had drawn out a little of it.

In most inner-force systems, exerting physical strength also involved circulating qi. After all, strength and qi were inseparable.

Since Wu Zhong knew no internal arts, he could only use the most primitive and crude method of drawing qi with strength.

But that was enough. With his current physical condition and the boost from some inner force, even seriously injured, Feipeng was no match for him.

"Arborvitae, save me!"

Feipeng rolled frantically across the ground, widening the distance as he fled toward Arborvitae.

Wu Zhong did not chase him. Instead, he helped the old woman up and brought his mouth to the blood on the wound on her arm.

He really could not hold on much longer. Though he had defeated Feipeng, he was nearly out of breath, with stars dancing before his eyes.

Who knew what other tricks his opponents still had while he remained half-dead like this?

Arborvitae's repeated resurrections had practically traumatized him.

Wu Zhong knew he had to heal himself quickly! As long as he recovered from his injuries, he would fear no one.

Meanwhile, Yang Chunsha's battle against Arborvitae was not going nearly as well.

Arborvitae was simply a monster. Though he had sacrificed much, was badly wounded, gray-haired, and gaunt-faced—

His strength and crimson aura were astonishingly powerful.

"Heh heh!"

He chose to kill Yang Chunsha first, since she could still move freely and use magic.

He kicked off with both legs, his knee striking like a charging rhinoceros.

"Stone Statue Plate Armor!"

Yang Chunsha gritted her teeth and let out a low roar. Her spell was finally complete. Rock flowed like liquid, not only blocking Arborvitae's knee strike but knocking him back.

Stone armor wrapped her entire body, leaving only half her face exposed. Heavy. Majestic.

Although the armor over her abdomen had shattered under the knee strike, revealing her originally fair and tender skin, the writhing rock visibly filled the gap again, restoring it completely.

"I can hold him off for three minutes at most!"

"Forget the old woman. These old mercenaries have too many hidden cards. They just keep coming."

"Run while you can. As long as you leave, I can dig a tunnel and get away by myself."

As Yang Chunsha spoke, her thick, heavy, imposing stone arm met Arborvitae's attack.

Though heavily injured, Arborvitae was stronger. His electrified body whistled through the air as he unleashed a flying kick, slamming into her with tremendous force.

Yang Chunsha swayed, both feet leaving the ground as she was about to be kicked flying.

Fortunately, rocks stretched continuously beneath her feet, pulling up earth as though yanking out a carrot.

Rocks had rooted themselves deep in the ground, forcibly dragging her back down and keeping her as steady as a mountain.

"Hmph!" Arborvitae looked disdainful. Three minutes? Was she really looking down on his Thunder Soul Secret Art that much?

He snorted a puff of white vapor from his nostrils, enraged by her words.

Rip! Lightning suddenly sprouted from his severed arm, forming an arm of electricity!

Blue electrical fluid flowed through it, lifelike and vivid.

"Boom!" His lightning hand formed two fingers into a blade and stabbed out like a sharp knife.

Swift as thunder, fierce as lightning, he instantly pierced Yang Chunsha through the chest.

The spellbook inside her thick armor was destroyed beyond repair.

"Crackle, crackle!"

The once-thick and sturdy rock armor collapsed with a crash, revealing the woman beneath.

"This guy is still getting stronger... Debiao, run!" Wu Zhong's head buzzed.

He had not expected Yang Chunsha, now a member of the Madblood Clan, to be defeated by that monster in a single move.

Her eyes widened as she coughed up blood, her gaze filled with terror.

"W-Wu... no, I was wrong. Don't kill me... don't kill me..."

She clutched Arborvitae's arm, her whole body trembling and her face deathly pale.

She wept pitifully, a sight that would stir anyone's heart.

But Arborvitae had long ceased to be a rookie. After struggling in the Calamity Realm for years, what had he not seen?

No matter how beautiful a woman was, in battle, he saw her as nothing but a skeleton beneath a pretty face.

"Pfft!"

Arborvitae pulled out his arm, and Yang Chunsha sprayed blood as she collapsed.

But she was not dead yet. She struggled and crawled along the ground, staring toward the end of the alley as she desperately kicked her legs, dragging a trail of blood behind her.

Arborvitae strode over in a few steps and grabbed the back of her neck.

Yang Chunsha convulsed all over, her hair curled from the electricity.

"Ghk..." Her eyes nearly burst from their sockets as her head was twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, leaving her face directly toward Arborvitae.

Bloody tears streamed from her eyes, two red lines streaking down her cheeks.

"Debiao—" Wu Zhong's pupils contracted.

He threw a punch, sending Feipeng flying backward as he vomited blood.

Then his feet flashed like lightning and his body moved like the wind. In a furious burst, he launched a flying kick that slammed heavily into Arborvitae's back.

"Pfft!"

Arborvitae spat blood, dropping Yang Chunsha as he flew sideways and crashed into a wall.

"Hm?" Feipeng and Arborvitae were both shocked.

Wu Zhong's injuries had actually recovered! He no longer looked half-dead as before.

His wounds had closed, his chest cavity had returned to normal, his bones had reconnected, and his energy overflowed. Even the arm that had been twisted like a rope had wriggled itself back into place!

His muscles were even stronger and more powerful, his force far greater than before!

"How... can dementia really be absorbed?" Arborvitae's face turned deathly pale.

"Die!"

Wu Zhong caught Yang Chunsha, then roared in fury. His iron fist caved in Arborvitae's chest with a series of cracking sounds.

Then he slashed upward at an angle, chopping Arborvitae's neck with the edge of his palm and shattering bone with a crunch.

Arborvitae's lightning arm flailed wildly. Wu Zhong sidestepped to evade it, spread his fingers wide, raised his right hand, and unleashed a Purple Molten Bomb.

"Urgh!" In his Thunder Soul state, Arborvitae was faster than before. He suddenly darted into a rural courtyard beside them, hiding behind the wall for cover.

But they were too close, and Wu Zhong could fire repeatedly now!

He bombarded the area relentlessly, blasting down one wall. His final shot completely blew apart Arborvitae's chest, erasing his heart.

"Pfft!"

Arborvitae kept his mouth shut as a breath of foul air hissed from his nose. His eyes bulged as he fell.

This time, he was completely dead.

But Wu Zhong still feared he might survive, so he fired another shot into the back of his head, blasting it into pulp.

"Arborvitae!"

"Why? Dementia isn't a mental illness!"

Feipeng's face was filled with extreme horror when he saw his companion die.

He was certain dementia could not be absorbed. Members of the Madblood Clan had tried it long ago, and as a veteran mercenary, he naturally knew that. Besides, even if it could be absorbed, it had to be a repeated illness to heal injuries so efficiently.

Now that Wu Zhong had recovered, Feipeng was burdened with far too many negative effects, and his teammate was dead.

No matter how unwilling he was, he could only turn and flee, sticking out his butt as he ran wildly with manic laughter.

"Debiao..."

Wu Zhong ignored him, focusing entirely on Yang Chunsha.

"Don't die! Absorb me! Hurry, try absorbing me!"

His eyes were bloodshot as he bit open his arm and gave her his blood.

But Yang Chunsha's head had been twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, and she was already at death's door. At his words, she licked the blood on Wu Zhong's arm, but it did nothing.

"You're not First Generation..."

Wu Zhong was frantic. "How do I save her? What else can I do? Think! Think!"

An ordinary person would already be dead with their neck twisted like that.

But Yang Chunsha was different. The Madblood Clan possessed far greater vitality, so she still clung to life—but she had little time left.

If Wu Zhong absorbed her physique, she would likely die instantly before he could give her a new first embrace.

"Forget it. Treat a dead horse as if it were alive."

With no other options, Wu Zhong could only force a try.

Holding Yang Chunsha, he sucked and blew with incredible speed, instantly stripping her power and giving her a new first embrace.

His goal was to replace her mental illness, swapping insomnia for another condition.

At the same time, he did not stop moving. He carried Yang Chunsha over and laid her in the old woman's arms, pressing her fangs to the wound on the old woman's arm.

Yang Chunsha instinctively drew in a breath. In that instant, her unfocused pupils suddenly contracted.

A surge of illness power bloomed within her, repairing her injuries.

Delighted, Wu Zhong slowly turned her one-hundred-and-eighty-degree twisted neck back into place...

The old woman's mind had already become much clearer. Startled and flustered, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Grandma, you really are a treasure..." Wu Zhong laughed.

It turned out the old woman's dementia was extremely severe. Combined with being left alone at home for years, it had later triggered two serious mental illnesses.

Though he could not be sure exactly what they were, based on her symptoms, they were likely hallucinations and delusions.

Wu Zhong had not given her a first embrace before. He had merely casually sucked some blood from the wound on her arm, and his injuries had instantly begun to heal.

That meant the old woman had a mental illness identical to his.

Wu Zhong's vitality had immediately surged, healing a huge portion of his injuries.

Luo Yi had once said that, after suffering serious injuries, he could recover by absorbing two or three severely addicted smokers. Wu Zhong's physique had been roughly comparable to his at the time, so after absorbing one repeated condition, half his injuries had healed.

That was how he had suddenly risen up, driven back Feipeng, and killed Arborvitae.

Had he not been in such a hurry to save Yang Chunsha, Feipeng would have died here too.

Now that his arm had recovered, his physique was seven times that of an ordinary person. Combined with his augmented armguard, that was no joke.

"Debiao! Can you hear me? Can you breathe?"

When Wu Zhong tried to let Yang Chunsha absorb more, it no longer had any effect. The old woman's mental illnesses had all been drained away.

He had absorbed one earlier, which should have been delusional disorder. Yang Chunsha had just absorbed another, possibly a form of hallucinatory schizophrenia.

Wu Zhong had risked Yang Chunsha's sudden death to refresh her condition once more. The illness he replaced was precisely the one he had previously used her to test for hallucinations.

It really matched perfectly. It happened to be identical to the old woman's condition, producing a healing effect.

"I... I..." Yang Chunsha no longer looked like she was about to die, but she still lacked the strength to rise and fell unconscious again.

Wu Zhong picked her up. "Stop talking. Get some rest."

Yang Chunsha had nearly died. One dose was not enough to fully heal her; it had only pulled her out of immediate danger.

But there was nothing more he could do. The old woman no longer had any mental illnesses left.

Only her severe dementia remained, but unfortunately, that could not be absorbed.

After some thought, Wu Zhong grabbed the old woman's hand and passed the Madblood Clan effect to her.

The old woman panicked and struggled weakly. "What are you doing? Let go of me..."

Then she froze. She felt surging energy, as though she had regained the strength of her youth—no, even greater strength. Her cloudy eyes became clear.

Dementia was caused by organ degeneration. She was simply too old, and all her bodily functions had declined.

But with the physique of an ordinary man directly doubled, along with doubled cellular activity and immune function, the illness was basically cured.

Of course, Wu Zhong had no intention of making the old woman a member of the Madblood Clan.

After this battle, he had deeply felt the brutality of the Calamity Realm. Becoming a Calamity being was not necessarily a good thing.

So after waiting a while, Wu Zhong absorbed her insomnia and stripped away her Madblood Clan identity.

At the same time, because it was not a repeated condition, Wu Zhong's physique reached eight times that of an ordinary person!

"Grandma, your illness is cured, right? Is your mind clear now?" Wu Zhong let go of her hand.

The old woman immediately ran into the house in panic. Peeking out from the doorway, she put on a brave face and said, "Leave my house right now! My dad and mom will be back soon!"

"..." Wu Zhong froze for a moment, then realized that the old woman's memories had remained in her childhood.

Her condition before had truly been severe. Even though briefly becoming a member of the Madblood Clan had removed the dementia itself—

The memories she had lost would never return.

"Don't be afraid. We aren't bad people..."

Helpless, Wu Zhong carried Yang Chunsha on his back and slung the Giant Gate Shield over himself. He turned to leave, glancing at the devastated alley, its broken walls and collapsed pits.

He pressed his lips together, then sprinted away from the village.