Translator: CinderTL
A blood-colored tentacle suddenly lashed out, wrapping around the Zombie in mid-air.
With a forceful tug, the tentacle slammed the Zombie hard onto the ground, sending a shower of shattered rocks flying.
The Zombie lifted its head, its gaze fixed on the direction of the Withered Corpse Bamboo.
Xue Mei had already uprooted the entire Withered Corpse Bamboo Grove, along with the surrounding rocks, and was carefully clearing away the stones, clearly wary of damaging the bamboo's extensive root system.
The Zombie's glowing red eyes remained locked on the Withered Corpse Bamboo, its only remaining hand clawing at the rocky ground, trying to move toward the bamboo.
However, severely injured as it was, the Zombie couldn't break free from the control of the blood-colored tentacle, rendering its efforts futile.
In a flash, Song Wen appeared in the air above the Zombie.
His hands swiftly formed a magic seal, and eerie red-glowing runes materialized in front of him.
The runes flew out and landed on the Zombie.
The Zombie, already gravely injured and under the control of the tentacle, had no strength to resist and could only allow the runes to imprint on its forehead.
Song Wen was casting the Corpse Control Incantation, one of the most commonly used techniques by Corpse Dao Cultivators. It allowed the cultivator to leave a Divine Sense mark within the Zombie's Corpse Core, thereby gaining control over it.
Of course, this incantation only worked on masterless Zombies or those without intelligence.
Song Wen's hands moved in a blur as he quickly completed the entire set of the Corpse Control Incantation, and over a dozen runes had already entered the Zombie's skull.
However, to his surprise, Song Wen found that he had failed to leave a Divine Sense mark on the Zombie.
The Corpse Control Incantation had failed!
"Could it have developed intelligence?" Song Wen wondered silently.
He wanted to test whether the Zombie truly possessed intelligence. With a wave of his hand, he released the tentacle that had been restraining the Zombie.
Freed from its bindings, the Zombie immediately leaped forward, charging toward the Withered Corpse Bamboo.
A sharp whistling sound echoed behind the Zombie.
The tentacle, like a massive spear, struck the Zombie's back.
With a loud "bang," the Zombie crashed to the ground.
It rolled a great distance, smashing countless rocks before finally coming to a stop.
The Zombie tried to rise again, but the tentacle wrapped around it once more, immobilizing it.
It lifted its head, gazing at the Withered Corpse Bamboo, whose roots had been mostly exposed by Xue Mei's careful clearing.
In the Zombie's crimson eyes, Song Wen seemed to catch a glimpse of sorrow, as if it were witnessing the destruction of a home it had known since birth, filled with helplessness and grief.
Shaking his head, Song Wen couldn't immediately determine whether this Zombie truly possessed intelligence.
He attempted the Corpse Control Incantation once more.
But the result remained the same.
"It's useless."
Xue Mei's voice suddenly rang out.
She had already cleared all the rocks from the roots of the Withered Corpse Bamboo.
The roots were exceptionally developed, with the longest stretching over twenty to thirty zhang.
In contrast, the bamboo stalks were only a few chi tall, creating a bizarre sight.
"Although this Zombie doesn't have much intelligence, it has a strong attachment to the Withered Corpse Bamboo. With this attachment, your Corpse Control Incantation will never succeed," Xue Mei explained.
"Then I'll shatter its attachment," Song Wen said coldly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the tentacle wrapped around the Zombie suddenly lifted it high into the air and then slammed it down onto the ground with great force.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The dull thuds of impact continued to echo.
Xue Mei watched as the tentacle repeatedly smashed the Zombie into the ground, shaking her head slightly, as if mocking Song Wen's futility.
"These six Withered Corpse Bamboos are between five thousand and eight thousand years old. How about we split them equally?"
"Agreed," said Song Wen.
Due to the presence of the rhizomes, the six Withered Corpse Bamboos were connected together.
Xue Mei used the Black Water of Destruction to condense a short blade and began cutting the rhizomes of the Withered Corpse Bamboos.
The rhizomes were as hard as iron, and Xue Mei was careful not to damage the fine roots of the Withered Corpse Bamboos.
Thus, the process was slow. It took several dozen breaths of time to complete the division.
Xue Mei tossed three of the Withered Corpse Bamboos to Song Wen.
Song Wen caught the Withered Corpse Bamboos, examined them for a moment, and then took out a large jade box to store them.
Xue Mei was quite fair; the three Withered Corpse Bamboos each of them received were roughly the same in age. In fact, the total age of the three Song Wen received was slightly higher.
"Give it a quick end. Stop tormenting it; it's useless," Xue Mei said, looking at the Zombie that was on the verge of falling apart.
Song Wen recalled his tentacles, and the Zombie's remains immediately fell to the ground.
He attempted to use corpse control again, but it still failed.
The Zombie fell right next to the deep pit left from harvesting the Withered Corpse Bamboos.
It stared into the empty pit, and two streams of black water flowed from its crimson eyes.
"If we hadn't come, perhaps in a few more years, it would have developed intelligence," Xue Mei's voice came softly.
"If it cannot be of use to me, even if it develops intelligence, it would still be a beast, a scourge upon the world."
As Song Wen finished speaking, a flash of blade light struck the Zombie's cracked skull.
The skull shattered, and the Void Breaking Blade pierced the Zombie's brain, crushing its Corpse Marrow.
The Zombie's crimson eyes instantly lost all their luster, gradually dimming until they were completely lifeless.
"Both of you have obtained what you wanted. What are your plans now?" Lan Chen's voice came.
"Naturally, we will continue exploring this cave," Xue Mei said.
"There's no need to explore further," Lan Chen said slowly. "While you were harvesting the Withered Corpse Bamboos, I went ahead and scouted. A few miles ahead is the end of the cave."
"Fairy, did you find a Teleportation Array or a barrier to leave the cave?" Song Wen asked.
Lan Chen shook her head, "No."
Song Wen looked up at the cave ceiling and whispered, "Perhaps we can try to break through the rocks above and return to the surface?"
Lan Chen said, "I'm not planning to leave this place yet."
"Why?" Song Wen asked, somewhat surprised.
Lan Chen replied, "You, Xue Mei, and Mo Yexue have all obtained what you wanted in the Dark Orchid Realm, but what I desire has yet to be found."
Upon hearing this, a flicker of surprise crossed Song Wen's eyes.
Lan Chen actually knew this place was called the 'Dark Orchid Realm'!
"What does the fairy desire?"
"The Phantom Wing Butterfly!" Lan Chen said.
"How does the fairy know that the Phantom Wing Butterfly exists here?" Song Wen asked.
Lan Chen replied, "I learned of it from an ancient text."
At that moment, Xue Mei's figure suddenly emerged from the depths of the cave.
After hearing that Lan Chen had already scouted the cave ahead, she had gone to investigate personally.
Song Wen cast an inquiring glance at Xue Mei.
"Lan Chen is correct. A few miles ahead is indeed the end of the cave," Xue Mei transmitted via Divine Sense.
Song Wen nodded slightly. He looked up at the cave ceiling, pondering whether they should really break through the rocks above.
Just then, Xue Mei's voice came again.
"Everyone, we might have run into some trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Lan Chen asked.
"Just now, at the end of the cavern, I tried to attack the rocks on the ceiling. Deep within the rocks, there's a barrier formed by an array. In other words, we're trapped here," Xue Mei said.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (RDC) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c980. [+2]
🔑Early Access at $5.
✍Translated (6) Series, (3.6K+) Chapters, (5.1M+) Words.