Zombies were the lowest race; most of them were outcasts, downtrodden, and oppressed individuals who would do anything. They had a nightmarish appearance, and their resilient bodies made them formidable enemies. They came in various shapes and sizes, but they all shared one thing: the Qi of death.
However, Fang Yuan was not an ordinary zombie. Just when he was in the early stages of transformation, he used magic to halt the process. Fang Yuan looked normal but was a zombie; thus, no one suspected he was one. But if they paid close attention, they would notice the Qi of death.
The Qi of death flowed through Fang Yuan's body. Although his blood had stopped circulating and his heart no longer beat, his energy channels were still active. In fact, the energy channels were the lifelines of a zombie. Therefore, the Qi of death was like blood in his veins.
Fang Yuan was under the control of Bai Mo's will.
Bai Mo's will, a saint from ancient times, was trapped in a legacy Gu and had to sacrifice Fang Yuan's humanity in the battle against the Heavenly Kings. As a result, he now possessed a zombie body.
When the commotion subsided, Bai Mo awoke. Everything was gone. However, Fang Yuan's body still retained its human appearance.
Once he was sure of this, he ran a hand through his hair and said with frustration, "Although I managed to keep my human appearance, I'm trapped in a zombie body. Zombies can't cultivate and have limited thoughts. Limited thoughts mean limited decision-making power and use of willpower…"
Then, as he watched the sunset, he recalled past memories. He had to survive in the world of cultivation, but he had become a zombie and would likely be blacklisted.
"To survive, I have two options: join the Zombie Alliance or obtain the Thought Gu to expand my thoughts… Although returning to life is nearly impossible, I must find a way, or my death is inevitable."
Bai Mo headed towards the forest.
"I need to get a Gu… and the Thought Gu can only be obtained through cultivation in the path of wisdom."
However, the path of wisdom was at odds with the principle of survival. If he pursued the path of wisdom, his combat power would significantly decrease, although this path could help him cultivate thoughts. Nevertheless, many dangers lurked in this path, and with Fang Yuan's limited thoughts, it was better to avoid it.
"I can cultivate various paths, but I must determine my main path. The path of wisdom is my second priority. Since I need to survive, I'll choose the path of power, which doesn't require many thoughts."
His eyes gleamed as he stared at the gray mountain. Power was the essence of survival. No creature could live without it, and Bai Mo knew this. Power brought respect, gave value to a person, and had the upper hand over wisdom.
Bai Mo thought for a longer time. Since he had lost many thoughts, he couldn't reach a conclusion quickly. By then, night had settled in, and a cold wind blew across the plain.
Bai Mo was dead, and the dead were off the Dao path. The Dao was life, and only the living walked on it. When he realized this, a heavy sorrow cast a shadow over his heart, and he sighed deeply.
The gates of heaven were closed.
"Now that heaven ignores the fallen, I must find another way to become stronger…"
Bai Mo directed his consciousness towards the immortal aperture. That thousand-colored cave had turned into a desolate and lifeless place.
Bai Mo ran his hand over the dull, gray walls, and the dust of death settled on his hand.
But he was no ordinary person. Bai Mo had participated in the great war, achieved many accomplishments, and mastered numerous techniques and methods.
"But there must be a way for me… even if it's the weakest star in the sky, I'll find it and escape this grim fate."
Yet, he had more concerns. He used his power to suppress Fang Yuan and control his body. Therefore, the production and consumption of his thoughts were in conflict, and Bai Mo's willpower was declining.
"I need to find the Thought Gu, not just the Thought Gu but also the essence to activate it…"
But he didn't know where to find the Thought Gu. Gu was a rare entity. Although the Thought Gu didn't significantly enhance combat power, it was considered a boon for zombies with slow minds and difficulty thinking.
"The Thought Gu can be found in the wise tribes, but deceiving those tribes with a zombie's mind is challenging. Although I can infiltrate them and search for the Thought Gu, I'm sure they'll soon suspect me…"
Bai Mo thought for a longer time, and thus three more days and nights passed. It rained and then became sunny, but he didn't notice these changes, using only the few thoughts his mind produced. However, compared to ordinary zombies, he had more thinking power.
Finally, he reached a conclusion. The best place to find a Thought Gu was in the Zombie Alliance's treasury. However, joining the Zombie Alliance was not easy. He didn't know where the Zombie Alliance was or how to contact them, but his mind was so exhausted that he couldn't consider these issues.
Bai Mo sat on the ground, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. Thus, the fourth day passed…
A month had passed since he became a zombie. Although Bai Mo still controlled Fang Yuan's body, no calamity had descended from the heavens. In heaven's eyes, Bai Mo was dead; another goal of Bai Mo becoming a zombie was to escape these heavenly tribulations. Zombies were very slow-minded and relied on their instincts for survival, which sometimes made them very dangerous. When a zombie went out of control, there was only one way to calm it, and that was the blade of a sword.
Killing zombies was not easy; even skilled individuals found it challenging. Zombies easily survived fatal wounds. Their blood was a strong acid that burned the skin and melted bones.
Although zombies couldn't continue cultivating, they had a solid foundation in cultivation and reached stability in their cultivation level. They used the power of death and the will of fanaticism to stabilize their level. Cultivators ascended by understanding the world; the better their understanding of the world and techniques, the more powerful they became. However, zombies were incapable of understanding the universe and acted solely on their instincts.
Zombies roaming the world were no different from wild animals and monsters. They were hunted and thrown into the fire. But capturing zombies with independent thought from instinct was not easy.
Zombie hunters were hunters who spent most of their lives in damp caves, ruins, swamps, or crypts. They were recluses who spent their entire lives among monsters and zombies. And when the news of the disappearance of the villagers of Red Mountain spread, everyone suspected the presence of a zombie. Although they hadn't seen the zombie, the discovery of corpses with their brains eaten strengthened this hypothesis.
This led to small groups of zombie hunters heading to Red Mountain.
A red dot came to life at the end of the dark corridor. It slowly swallowed the surrounding darkness and turned into a blazing flame. From behind that flickering light, a forty-year-old man emerged with many small and large scars on his face. He wore a green tunic and a leather strap slung diagonally from his shoulder. His black boots reached below his knees, and he had a silver sword at his waist. He wore a white jade pendant around his neck that turned black when it came into contact with the aura of death. And now it was engulfed in darkness. A growling sound came from the end of the corridor.
*Tap* *tap* *tap*
The sound of the zombie hunter's footsteps echoed in the corridor. The growling grew louder and louder. The zombie hunter drank from a vial of holy water and spat some of it onto his sword's blade. Seeing a black figure crouched over a corpse, he threw the torch to the ground. The whites of his eyes disappeared, and his pupils dilated. The blood vessels around his eyes expanded, and his face turned pale.
"So here you are, bastard…" he said quietly, drawing his sword.
The zombie slowly turned its head, intestines of the corpse hanging from its yellow, filthy teeth. Its black eyes widened at the sight of the sword's gleam, and its growls reached the sky.
"So you're scared?" The zombie hunter kicked the fire towards the zombie. Fire was one of the zombies' weaknesses.
The silver sword drew an arc in the air, descending in an instant and severing the zombie's head. The zombie staggered and then fell to the ground; since the sword had been blessed with holy water, the zombie's regeneration process was halted.
"Now I need to burn it…" Suddenly, a zombie's claw tore through his chest. The zombie hunter looked behind him. Green eyes stared at him in the absolute darkness.
"A…another…?"
Before he could finish his sentence, his heart was ripped from his chest, and he died on the spot. Bai Mo held the zombie hunter's heart in his grasp, blood dripping from his long fingers. He glanced at the zombie's corpse and plunged the sacred sword into its heart.