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

The two walked for a long time before finally stopping in front of a gray, precipitous cliff.

The road ahead is blocked.

Or perhaps, the original mine tunnel leading to the underground core underwent a violent collapse here, and someone used some brutal method to carve out a narrow passageway just wide enough for two people to pass side by side. The passageway is suspended in mid-air, with a bottomless, pitch-black abyss below, where the faint howling of eerie winds can be heard.

Gu An looked around and finally landed at the end of the plank road.

There, a thick, impenetrable black mist shrouded the area. But in Gu An's keen spiritual perception, hundreds upon hundreds of chilling auras emanated from that black mist.

Those auras were not living beings, yet they were more dangerous than living beings. They were silent and cold, yet they were like piles of powder kegs that could be ignited at any moment. As long as there was a spark—that is, the life force of a living person—they would explode instantly.

"We can't get in."

Shen Wan glanced at the suspended walkway, then at the black mist in the distance, a look of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

"The Ironclad Corpse Forest is just ahead."

Shen Wan, holding onto the edge of the carriage, barely managed to stand and whispered, "That was a deadly barrier specially set up by the Corpse Puppet Sect to protect the core area. Those armored corpses are not ordinary refined corpses, but rather 'tomb-guarding puppets' formed by the bodies of successive generations of Corpse Puppet Sect disciples being sealed in molten iron and copper after their deaths, and then suspended above the Yin Sha acupoints, where they are eroded day and night by the Yin energy of the earth's veins."

"They are in a state of 'feigned death and nurturing,' without sight, hearing, or even consciousness. But they are extremely sensitive to 'life.' Even if a mouse passes by, as long as it has body temperature and a heartbeat, it will instantly wake them up, inviting a relentless attack."

Gu An frowned slightly upon hearing this.

"So, you mean we can walk across as long as we don't breathe, have no heartbeat, and no body temperature?"

"That's how it is in theory." Shen Wan nodded, then gave a wry smile. "But how easy is it to do that? Especially when you have to walk under that kind of intense Yin energy pressure. If you're not careful, your blood and qi will surge and all your efforts will be wasted."

"Then don't let it surge."

Gu An remained indifferent as he pulled a porcelain bottle from his robes and poured out two black pills that emitted a foul odor. These were "breath-holding pills" he had made by mixing corpse pill powder with several poisonous herbs. Although they had significant side effects, they could forcibly suppress the flow of qi and blood for a short period of time.

"Eat it."

Gu An handed one to Shen Wan and swallowed one himself.

Then, he turned around, half-squatted down, and said, "Get on. Your body is too weak. If you walk by yourself, you'll lose control before you even get halfway due to the yin energy entering your body. I'll carry you."

Shen Wan did not hesitate and climbed onto Gu An's back.

The cold, hard touch, like lying on a rock, brought her a slight sense of peace. This man, though ruthless, possessed a reliable quality that inspired trust when it came to saving his own life.

"Hold on tight. The road ahead might be a bit bumpy."

Gu An gave a low shout, supporting Shen Wan's thighs with both hands, and his Corpse Control Technique began to operate rapidly.

hum.

A deathly aura, ashen and lifeless, surged from his dantian, enveloping his entire body. His heartbeat was forcibly suppressed to its limit, barely registering a beat every half-cup of tea's time. Blood flow slowed, and his body temperature plummeted until he was indistinguishable from the cold rocks around him.

Shen Wan also used the "Withering and Flourishing Spirit Seal" to completely merge her aura with Gu An's.

At this moment, to outsiders, it appears as a tall zombie carrying another corpse on its back, taking stiff, heavy steps toward that forbidden land of death.

……

Step onto the boardwalk and pass through the black mist.

Even Gu An, who was mentally prepared, couldn't help but shrink his pupils at the sight before him.

This isn't a forest! It's clearly a slaughterhouse where corpses hang upside down!

This was a massive underground cavern, its dome reaching a height of hundreds of feet. And from that dome hung countless thick, black iron chains, each ending in a zombie clad in tattered iron armor.

They looked like dried bacon, densely packed together, and at a glance, there were at least three to five hundred of them.

These armored corpses were a metallic bluish-black color, with dark red runes engraved on their skin. Some held rusted heavy swords and long spears, while others had hooked hands with fingernails half a foot long that gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light.

They hung there silently, swaying slightly with the occasional gust of wind blowing from the cave ceiling, making a clanging sound as the chains clattered.

The sound echoed in the empty cave, like the whispers of countless wronged souls.

Beneath these corpses lay a ground littered with jagged rocks. The ground was piled high with bones, clearly the fate of those who had previously attempted to pass through.

"Don't look up, don't look into their eyes."

Shen Wan's voice resounded directly in Gu An's mind through bone conduction, "Some high-level armored corpses have already cultivated 'corpse eyes,' and eye contact will cause fluctuations in the soul."

Gu An nodded slightly, his gaze fixed straight ahead, and stepped into the forest of corpses with steady yet stiff steps.

One step, two steps.

The surrounding air seemed to have solidified into lead, so heavy that it was suffocating.

Gu An could clearly sense that the moment he stepped into the forest of corpses, the hundreds of corpses above him, which had been lifeless, seemed to stir with an extremely faint agitation.

Like a sleeping wild beast that smelled something strange in its sleep, it turned over.

"Splash..."

On the upper left, the chains of an armored corpse suddenly shook violently.

Gu An's steps froze instantly, his entire body stiffened like a stone statue, even his faint breath was completely held.

A drop of thick, cold, foul-smelling black liquid dripped from the corner of the corpse's mouth.

"Clatter".

The liquid fell onto the rock at Gu An's feet, corroding a small pit that was emitting white smoke.

After shaking a few times, the armored corpse seemed to notice nothing amiss and returned to its deathly stillness.

Gu An held that position for a full ten breaths, and only after confirming that it was safe did he lift his foot again and slowly lower it.

This kind of walking is like dancing on a knife's edge.

Every step requires precise control of muscle strength, without making too much noise; every breath must be meticulously calculated, without revealing even a trace of life force.

Sweat had already frozen into ice crystals on Gu An's back, but he didn't feel the cold; he only felt an extreme focus.

We reached the middle of the journey.

The armored corpses here are even more densely packed, and some of their feet have even reached above Gu An's head. If he straightens up even slightly, he will touch those cold iron armors.

Gu An had to lower his body even further, moving almost touching the ground.

Shen Wan, who was on his back, was also acting strangely at this moment.

The Yin energy here was too heavy. Although the poison in her body was suppressed, the instinctive rejection reaction was becoming increasingly intense. Her body began to tremble slightly uncontrollably, and an extremely subtle fluctuation of blood energy, which sounded like thunder to Gu An, was brewing in her chest.

"Hold on."

Gu An roared inwardly, gripping Shen Wan's thighs tightly with both hands. Through the point of contact, he continuously channeled the Yi Wood Corpse Qi within his body to her, attempting to help her suppress the restlessness.

However, what you fear most is what happens.

Just as the two had rounded a huge stalactite pillar and were about to pass through the densest horde of corpses...

Shen Wan suddenly let out a muffled groan.

The sound was extremely soft, as soft as a mosquito flapping its wings.

But in this desolate forest of corpses, the sound was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

"Buzz—"

An invisible wave swept out instantly.

Directly above Gu An's head, a tall, armored corpse that had been sleeping with its arms crossed suddenly opened its eyes.

Those weren't murky, dead fish eyes, but a pair of demonic pupils burning with scarlet ghost fire!

"roar……"

A low, hoarse roar, like the friction of two pieces of rusty iron, was squeezed out from the depths of its throat.

Its arms, which had been hanging stiffly, suddenly shot out like lightning. Its claws, covered in black hair and with hooked nails, carried a suffocatingly foul stench and went straight for Gu An's skull!

They're too close!

It's less than three feet long!

Gu An could even see the dried bloodstains and rune patterns on the claws.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

hide?

It's too late. And if they make a big dodge, the resulting gust of wind will instantly wake up all the armored zombies around them, and then it will be utterly certain death.

block?

This armored corpse has at least the physical strength of the eighth level of Qi Refining. If Gu An withstands it, he might be fine, but Shen Wan on his back will definitely have his heart meridian shattered.

At the critical moment.

There was no panic in Gu An's deathly gray eyes; instead, a trace of calm and ruthlessness that he had rehearsed countless times flashed across them.

He did not use any offensive spells, nor did he attempt to block.

His divine sense pierced out like a needle tip, instantly locking onto an inconspicuous grayish-brown vine, only the thickness of a finger, in a crevice in the left rock wall.

[Plant Affinity: Manipulation]

It wasn't a spiritual plant at all, just a low-level symbiotic plant called "Ghost Rope Vine" that grew year-round in dark corners. It usually survived by absorbing corpse energy, and was tough and elastic.

"collapse!"

Gu An's divine sense was like a knife, severing the roots of the vine and simultaneously injecting a surge of violent wood-based spiritual power.

The vine, which had been still, seemed to come alive in an instant. Like a startled venomous snake, it suddenly sprang out from the crevice in the rock wall.

"Snapped!"

The vines lashed out at the armor of an iron-clad corpse three zhang away from Gu An, producing a crisp impact sound.

Immediately afterward, under Gu An's control, the vine did not fall to the ground, but instead, like a nimble mouse, it quickly scurried up the chains of the armored corpse, making a "rustling" sound.

The commotion sounded particularly abrupt in the deathly silent cave.

The red-eyed, armored corpse that was about to crush Gu An's skull suddenly stopped.

A hint of doubt flashed in its scarlet eyes.

Zombies have very low intelligence; they primarily judge their prey by their aggression and sound.

At this moment, Gu An remained motionless, like a corpse, his heartbeat completely stopped.

However, three zhang away, there were obvious noises and sounds of objects moving.

"roar!"

The red-eyed armored corpse roared, its claws, which were originally reaching for Gu An, suddenly changed direction. Its body left a trail of afterimages in mid-air, carrying heavy chains, and it lunged fiercely towards the direction from which the sound had come.

"boom!"

It shattered the rock wall with a single claw, sending fragments flying.

The dozen or so armored corpses around were also awakened by the commotion. They let out low growls and surrounded the area, creating a cacophony of clanging chains and hissing noises.

Chaos.

Things have completely fallen apart over there.

And this is exactly the opportunity Gu An needs.

"Walk!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu An took advantage of the fact that all the zombies' attention was drawn to the "rats" over there, and with his feet moving with force, he maintained that stiff rhythm, carrying Shen Wan on his back, like a gray ghost, quickly passing through this most dangerous area.

Ten zhang... twenty zhang... fifty zhang...

The roars behind me gradually faded away, and the oppressive feeling of being pricked on my back slowly dissipated.

Only after passing through the last stone gate covered with runes did the view suddenly open up.

Gu An then let out a long breath, which turned into white mist in the air and lingered for a long time.

His back was already soaked with cold sweat, and even Shen Wan's red robe was somewhat damp.

"That was close..."

Shen Wan whispered in his ear, her voice trembling with the shock of surviving a close call, "That armored corpse was a 'corpse general' level. If it had gotten entangled with us, we would have been dead for sure."

"Luck is also a part of strength."

Gu An replied calmly without stopping.

He raised his head and looked ahead.

This is an enormous underground cavern, with countless luminous pearls embedded in its dome, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.

In the very center of the cave is an altar made of piled bones.

Above the altar, a giant bronze cauldron, as large as a house, floats.

The cauldron was ancient and heavy, with nine lifelike blue dragons carved on it. Although the bronze color had become somewhat mottled due to the erosion of time, it still exuded a terrifying pressure that suppressed heaven and earth.

From the mouths of the nine azure dragons, a continuous stream of azure flames was spewing forth, tightly locking the churning black mist beneath the cauldron, which emanated overwhelming demonic energy.

Nine Dragons Demon-Suppressing Cauldron!

Gu An stared at the giant cauldron, his pupils contracting slightly.

He could feel that the "Life Forest Wood Technique" within his body was operating uncontrollably at this moment, as if it had encountered a long-lost relative and was emitting a joyful buzzing sound.

Around the giant cauldron, countless disciples of the Corpse Puppet Sect, dressed in black robes, stood in dense formation.

They were busily setting up something around the altar, and buckets of foul-smelling black blood were being poured into the altar's recesses, where countless wronged souls wailed in the blood.

At the very front of the altar, a figure dressed in a blood-red robe and carrying a bone sword stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the giant cauldron.

Li Tianxing.

He had indeed arrived.

"Looks like we've caught the last act."