Xiao Chen was entirely wrapped in a layer of brilliant radiance, as if clad in a suit of divine battle armor. He was unharmed! The Qi-Refining Diagram on the ancient stele was indeed mysterious beyond compare; the profound art had shielded his body, and he had not truly turned to stone.
Given the circumstances, he could not afford to linger in battle. His body shrouded in faint light, he shot upward like a bird crossing the sky, landing atop a massive ancient tree.
Zhao Lin’er and Guluo reacted swiftly; in the span of a breath, they surged upward. The surrounding experts also swarmed after him, seeking to join forces and surround the still-living Xiao Chen.
Leaping into the air, Guluo and Zhao Lin’er exchanged a series of palm strikes with Xiao Chen. Brilliant bursts of light exploded in the sky, smashing the nearby trees into splintered ruin—branches and wood chips flying in all directions. Xiao Chen used the force of their palms to land on the trunk of a giant tree, then bounded across the branches to the crown of another tree, fleeing with the agility of a swift ape.
Guluo’s face was extremely dark. Though the Life Light had healed his wounds, he had lost too much blood and his vitality was damaged. Forced back to the ground by Xiao Chen, he finally could not hold back a furious roar and led his men in pursuit.
Just then, a cracking sound came once more. Three ice sculptures suddenly shattered—the three skeletons had not been trapped! They broke free from their bindings, restored to freedom, and calmly and deliberately pierced the bodies of three nearby men.
The forest fell into chaos. The behavior of the three undead beings filled some of the attendants with dread, but the skeletons did not continue the slaughter. Like Xiao Chen, they quickly fled deeper into the swamp.
Sunset had been gone for a long time. The swamp was now shrouded in gloom and darkness.
At this moment, Xiao Chen had already halted his breathing.
Guluo and Zhao Lin’er led their men in relentless pursuit. They did not want to give Xiao Chen any more chances—today, they were determined to kill him in this forest. However, just then, they suddenly heard a “thud.” Someone had inexplicably collapsed in the dim woodland.
“Thud.”
Another person fell to the ground!
“No—miasma! Fall back, it’s corpse miasma!” Guluo’s brows shot up the moment the first person fell; he reacted in an instant.
By the light of the pale moon that filtered through the canopy, faint wisps of mist could be seen rising from the swamp. The Death Swamp erupted into a panic; everyone fled outward in terror, as if the apocalypse had come.
Black mist coiled. The breath of death pulsed. The swamp had become a realm of the dead!
Given the cultivation of Zhao Lin’er and Guluo, they could hold their breath for extended periods. The corpse miasma could not yet harm them. But the others were different—all were dizzy and lightheaded, and from time to time people collapsed.
When they finally burst out of the swamp, only five followers remained with Guluo and Zhao Lin’er. The rest had fallen in the dead zone behind them.
Guluo’s face was ashen, his expression dark beyond measure. If all those people died, he would have no subordinates left. Gnashing his teeth, he turned to Zhao Lin’er and said, “I beg the Princess to assist me. Enter the swamp together with me and bring those people out. I have a way to revive them.”
Zhao Lin’er was also shaken with lingering fear. She sensed that Xiao Chen was not easy to deal with. Without saying much, she entered the Death Swamp with Guluo and brought out everyone who had passed out.
Outside the swamp, a mass of figures lay on the ground. Their breathing was about to cease, and black lines had appeared on their skin—the corpse poison had already penetrated deep into their flesh.
“Sacred Purification!” With Guluo’s low chant, a scroll was unfurled. Milky white light spread like a curtain, covering the clearing. Those afflicted with corpse poison all groaned. Faint black mist rose from their bodies and then dissolved into nothing with a faint sizzling sound in the white light.
After that extremely valuable Purification Scroll was used, everyone was out of danger.
Xiao Chen had no way of knowing that Guluo possessed such lifesaving items. By now, he had regrouped with the three skeletons and also left the swamp, recovering his vitality in another direction.
“I absolutely cannot let him go like this!” Guluo’s face was dark. His losses today were heavy, and fury burned in his heart.
Zhao Lin’er furrowed her delicate brows slightly and said, “But the corpse miasma is a natural barrier, causing great trouble.”
“No matter—I still have one more scroll unused!”
Half an hour later, when everyone lying on the ground had recovered, Guluo unfurled a scroll and chanted: “Dispel evil and darkness; may holy radiance protect my body!”
The scroll turned to ashes. Half of the people were enveloped in a mass of sacred light. Their bodies emitted a faint glow, conspicuous in the night. The other half who were not within the light’s range and thus not blessed with Sacred Protection were left behind outside the swamp to stand by.
When these people appeared before Xiao Chen, he was greatly shocked. He led the three skeletons and plunged back into the swamp. However, this time the corpse miasma had no effect on them. As soon as it touched the holy light, it automatically dispersed. None of them feared the Death Swamp any longer.
Guluo and Zhao Lin’er led their men in a relentless chase, forcing Xiao Chen and the three skeletons to flee in panic. Several times they were pushed to the brink of death. Finally, disregarding the skeletons’ resistance, Xiao Chen charged toward the heart of the dark swamp—though he deliberately slowed his pace, keeping the pursuers at a stalemate.
“ROAR!”
A ghastly, terrifying howl suddenly erupted from the Death Swamp. This ghostly shriek made everyone’s scalp tingle—it was eerily wicked to the extreme. Ahead in the darkness, a huge corpse-like shadow fully ten meters tall could be vaguely seen roaring up at the sky. Deathly energy surged and churned violently, as if they had entered a hellish underworld!
“ROAR!”
Another howl—one that sent chills down the spine. Endless darkness swept forward like a tide—it was surging, overwhelming deathly corpse energy!
The group chasing Xiao Chen realized in horror that the sacred light enveloping their bodies was extinguished in an instant. The fearsome deathly aura had shattered the Sacred Protection.
“No! Fall back! It is an Undead King!” Guluo shouted, his voice trembling.
Everyone’s courage failed them; they fled for their lives, scared out of their wits!
A king among the undead had only ever appeared in legends. When such a being grew to the ultimate realm, even gods would change color!
They ran as if their lives depended on it, terror clutching their hearts. Why would they encounter a king of the undead? As Guluo fled in fear, he cursed his luck, but when he remembered that this was a sealed primeval ancient island, he could only accept it.
Xiao Chen had been mentally prepared, but even so, his heart turned cold. He fled far from the crowd at top speed. At that moment, the three skeletons rushed over from somewhere, pulling him left and right through the dark swamp to escape.
Endless deathly energy pulsed. Guluo’s men kept collapsing in the swamp. Behind them, a terrifying, massive corpse shadow followed unhurriedly in the darkness, casually reaping lives!
From a distance, Xiao Chen caught a glance and inhaled sharply. In that fleeting vision, he thought he saw behind the ten-meter corpse shadow a pair of huge, rotting wings!
Deathly energy surged. Endless darkness blocked his sight, and he could see no more.
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