Longevity: Starting as a menial servant in the Green Wood Sect

Gu An felt a toothache.

With his current strength, relying on his fully developed "Copper Skin and Iron Bones" and his pure Yi Wood True Qi, he might be able to fight against ordinary cultivators at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining. However, if he were to face a group of armored corpses that felt no pain, were fearless, and were covered in poison, he would probably have a hard time even escaping.

"We can't force our way in."

Gu An quickly made a judgment. He was a man who valued his life; only a fool would risk his life for a vague and uncertain opportunity to obtain a Golden Core.

"We need to make some preparations. For example... corpse-dissolving water for corpse puppets, or lightning-attribute talismans that can suppress yin energy."

He carefully put the map away and tucked it back into his pocket. His gaze unconsciously swept over the jade bed not far away.

Shen Wan remained lying there quietly. After several days of "treatment," the festering sores on her body had stopped oozing pus, but the chilling aura of death seemed to have intensified. She was like an exquisite doll; apart from the occasional slight tremor, she was almost unrecognizable as a living person.

"We'll have to wait a bit longer. We'll wait until we've harvested this humanoid elixir for a while longer, and our cultivation has advanced further, or until we get a few palm lightning talismans."

Gu An made up his mind and was about to get up to sort through the spoils he had just brought back from the black market.

Woo-woo-woo-woo!

A piercing, mournful horn call abruptly shattered the tranquility of the Valley of Broken Souls in the dead of night.

The sound did not come from the sect's rallying cry, but rather carried a chilling, eerie quality, as if countless wronged souls were wailing at the same time.

Immediately afterwards, the earth began to tremble.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

From the direction of the outer defensive line in the distance, came violent explosions and the terrified screams of cultivators.

"Enemy attack! It's the Corpse Puppet Sect! The Corpse Puppet Sect has launched a surprise attack on the logistics department!"

"Quick! Activate the formation! Don't let those green-haired monsters break in!"

"Ah—my hand! Help..."

A cacophony of sounds surged forth.

Gu An's expression changed, and his body tensed instantly.

Did the Corpse Puppet Sect launch a sneak attack on the logistics department?

This is the rear area; although the defenses aren't as tight as the front lines, there are still quite a few restrictions in place. Unless… someone is colluding from within, or the front lines have completely collapsed?

"Damn it!"

Gu An cursed under his breath. Instead of rushing out to kill the enemy, he quickly swept all the bottles and jars in the tent into his storage bag. Then, he grabbed the rusty iron tweezers hidden in his sleeve—his current disguise weapon.

run?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he suppressed it.

The entire Soul-Severing Valley is definitely sealed off by a large formation now. Running around will only get you labeled a deserter or blasted to smithereens by random spells. Moreover, although this Class C protected area is dangerous, its remote location and status as a poisonous den make it a potential blind spot in the chaos of battle.

"Bang!"

Just then, a loud bang came from the direction of the special protection zone gate.

The protective light barrier that had been enveloping the area flickered violently a few times before collapsing with a sickening cracking sound.

A strong stench of rotting corpses, mixed with the smell of blood, instantly filled the area that was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

"roar--"

A deep, beast-like roar resounded.

By the light of the explosion outside, Gu An could see through the gaps in the tent that more than a dozen tall and burly figures crashed through the wall and rushed into the special protection zone.

Those figures were covered in long green fur, their muscles bulging like rocks, and their eyes glowing with a ghostly red light. They had no reason, only a thirst for the flesh and blood of the living.

"A green-haired zombie! With the combat strength of a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator!"

Gu An's pupils contracted slightly. Although these weren't the legendary armored zombies, they were enough to give this group of defenseless medical staff a run for their money.

Screams instantly echoed throughout the sanctuary.

Before the unfortunate medicine apprentices could even run, they were grabbed by the green-haired zombies that rushed in and torn in half. Blood and entrails were splattered all over the ground, further fueling the monsters' ferocity.

"Don't run around if you don't want to die!"

Gu An glanced back at the cold jade bed and gave a low shout.

He had considered taking advantage of the chaos to abandon this burden and use a concealment technique to escape. After all, carrying a cripple would greatly reduce his chances of survival.

However, when his gaze fell on Shen Wan's face, he was slightly taken aback.

This girl, who usually struggled even to turn over, suddenly opened her eyes. Those lifeless, black eyes held no trace of panic or fear, but rather a...disgust?

Yes, it's disgust. It's like someone with OCD seeing a pile of garbage.

Push me over there.

Shen Wan's voice was still hoarse and grating, but his tone carried an unquestionable command.

"What?" Gu An thought he had misheard. Why wasn't he hiding under the bed and pretending to be dead? Why was he heading towards the door?

"Push me to the door." Shen Wan turned her head slightly, giving Gu An a cold glance. "I don't like being cornered and killed inside a room."

Gu An's lips twitched.

That crazy woman!

But in that brief moment of hesitation, the screams outside were already getting closer to tent number four.

A particularly burly green-haired zombie with a broken sword stuck in its body was punching away the No. 3 tent blocking its way, its scarlet eyes fixed on this side.

It smelled the aroma of top-quality "blood food" here.

Although the poisonous blood from Shen Wan's body was extremely toxic, it was an unparalleled delicacy for this kind of monster that lived on corpse energy.

"roar!"

The green-haired zombie roared and stomped its legs on the ground, crashing straight into tent number four like an out-of-control chariot.

"Damn it, I'll risk it!"

Gu An knew there was no way to avoid it. He gritted his teeth, and instead of pushing the jade bed out, he kicked the foot of the bed, placing it horizontally in the center of the tent. He then slid forward to block the bed.

His current identity is "Lu Guan," a greedy, cowardly, and unlucky rogue cultivator who hasn't run away yet.

So he appeared terrified.

"No...don't come any closer! I'm poisonous! I'm poisonous!"

Gu An clutched a handful of unknown powder, shouting and staggering backward. He appeared flustered, but in reality, each step he took was precisely placed in the gaps between the "colorful phantom fungi".

"boom!"

The green-haired zombie couldn't understand human speech at all; it only knew how to kill and eat.

Its body, as hard as iron, smashed through the fragile wooden door of the tent, bringing with it a nauseating gust of wind, and rushed towards Gu An.

It was incredibly fast! If it were an ordinary Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator, they would be smashed into a pulp in one hit.

But Gu An did not back down.

The moment the green-haired zombie rushed into the tent, a cold glint flashed in Gu An's narrowed eyes.

He did not use the broken sword, nor did he use the Golden Light Technique.

Because there was a pair of eyes watching him from behind.

His left hand was behind his back, and he made a hand seal very discreetly. The azure-green wood spiritual power within his body surged instantly to his fingertips along his meridians.

The target wasn't the zombie, but rather—the clusters of alluring "Five-Colored Illusionary Fungi" by the door.

【Life-Growing Wood Formula - Fertility-Inducing Technique】

This is a special auxiliary spell used to accelerate the ripening of spiritual plants; it can only be used for farming under normal circumstances.

But at this moment, under Gu An's domineering infusion of Yi Wood True Qi, this farming skill has become a killing move.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The moment the green-haired zombie's muddy foot stepped on the poisonous mushrooms, those mushrooms, which were slowly releasing spores, seemed to be injected with an excessive amount of stimulants.

Their caps expanded tenfold in a tenth of a breath, and then burst open completely! It was like stepping on a landmine filled with poison gas.

A dense cloud of multicolored dust, so thick it was visible to the naked eye, suddenly exploded in front of the green-haired zombie, instantly covering its face.

This is no ordinary dust, but a high concentration of poisonous spores that have been nourished day and night by Shen Wan's poisonous blood and catalyzed by Gu An.

Even though the green-haired schizothorax has no sense of pain and is not afraid of poison, these tiny spores have extremely strong adhesive and...blocking properties.

"Huh...uh...?!"

The green-haired zombie's mouth, which had been wide open and ready to bite, was instantly filled with a large mass of sticky poison powder. Its nostrils, ear canals, and even its scarlet eyes were all covered by this thick layer of poison powder.

Although not fatal, the sudden "blinding" and "suffocation" abruptly halted its forward momentum, causing it to instinctively wave its arms to scratch its face.

This is the opportunity Gu An wanted.

Taking advantage of the moment the zombie paused, the iron tweezers in Gu An's hand disappeared, replaced by a long nail coated with "throat-sealing powder".

He crouched down, intending to roll to the zombie's side and plunge the long nail into the weak joint at the back of its neck.

This is his fighting instinct as a low-level cultivator—insidious and deadly.

However, just as Gu An lowered his body, before he could even deliver the strike,

"laugh."

A faint, almost muffled sound, almost drowned out by the noise outside, suddenly rang out in the small tent.

There was no light, no spiritual energy fluctuations, only the sound of air being instantly compressed and pierced by some extremely concentrated force.

Gu An felt a chill run down his spine, his scalp tingling. It was the sensitivity to extreme danger brought about by his [Spirit Plant Affinity] talent.

That power emanated from behind him.

It passed just three inches above his head.

Followed by.

"puff!"

A dull, soft sound.

The green-haired zombie that was scratching its face suddenly froze.

It maintained that ferocious posture, but the light in its scarlet eyes was rapidly fading.

In the very center of its forehead, which was as hard as iron and could not even be damaged by low-grade magic weapons, a round hole only the thickness of a little finger appeared.

The round hole was transparent from front to back, and black brain matter mixed with malevolent energy was slowly flowing out.

One fatal blow!

"Bang!"

The out-of-control zombie body fell straight backward, crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up dust and residual poison spores.

A deathly silence fell over the tent.

Gu An remained frozen in that half-squatting, nail-holding posture for a full breath.

He slowly turned his head and looked behind him.

On the cold jade bed.

Shen Wan remained in that half-lying position, and even the bandages on her body were not disheveled.

But her right hand, which had been hanging by her side, was now slowly lowering. At the tip of her pale, bloodless index finger, a trace of...transparent fluctuation still lingered.

It was pure, extreme compression of spiritual energy. There were no fancy spells, just simple external release of spiritual energy, yet it was condensed to the point of being as solid as a steel needle.

What terrifying spiritual power control does that require?

Late stage of Qi Refining? Or... Foundation Establishment?!

Shen Wan glanced indifferently at the zombie corpse on the ground with her lifeless eyes, then at Gu An, who was staring at her in shock.

Her face was expressionless, as if she had just casually swatted a fly.

"Don't let anything dirty in."

She spoke hoarsely, then closed her eyes wearily, her hand hanging limply by the bedside, trembling slightly, clearly indicating that the blow she had just received had been a tremendous strain on her.

Gu An's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. He looked at the round hole, then at the seemingly weak Shen Wan, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

This special protection zone... is definitely not simple.

This crazy woman is not some lamb to be slaughtered.

This is clearly a tigress that has been seriously injured and is recuperating!

These past few days I've been poking her with needles and sucking her poisonous blood to practice my kung fu... and she didn't even kill me with a single finger?

Gu An felt a wave of fear, but more than that, he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

He originally thought he had the upper hand, treating her as his private cultivation resource. Now it seems, it's hard to say who the hunter and who the prey are.

Her recovery was faster than she had anticipated.

Once she has fully recovered, or even if she's in a bad mood one day...

"Gulp."

Gu An swallowed hard, quickly concealing the shock on his face and replacing it with a look of relief and flattery that suggested he had survived a close call.

"Girl...you are so powerful! I...I'll get this filthy thing out of here right away!"

He scrambled to his feet and dragged the heavy, green-haired zombie corpse outside.

As he passed the Jade Bed, he lowered his head, no longer daring to stare at it as brazenly as before.

But deep within those lowered eyelids, Gu An's gaze became even more profound and cold.

"Looks like... the days of taking advantage of loopholes are numbered."

"We need to speed things up. Whether it's our cultivation level or the Nine Dragons Demon-Suppressing Cauldron..."

Outside the camp, the shouts of battle still shook the heavens.

But Gu An knew that the greatest danger tonight was actually right behind him.

He threw the zombie corpse into the fire pit some distance away, watching the rising black smoke, and secretly crushed a piece of iron he had taken from the zombie's body.

Those are the waist tokens of the Corpse Puppet Sect disciples.

"Let it be chaotic, the more chaotic the better."

Gu An turned around, looking at the No. 4 tent flickering in the firelight, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Only when things are in chaos can I take advantage of the confusion and... survive."