The instant his words fell, the ground beneath them shook violently.

The zombie did not bother using the tunnel they had escaped through.

Instead, it tore straight through the earth itself. Rock and soil exploded outward as its body burst from below, relying solely on its terrifying physical strength.

In a blur, it appeared several hundred feet away from the pair.

A savage growl echoed through the forest as it slashed its claws forward once more.

A foul stench spread through the air. The space around Chen Xuan and Su Tianyi seemed to solidify, as though they had become insects trapped within amber.

This time, however, the situation was different. The calm one was no longer Su Tianyi, but Chen Xuan.

Even while facing the attack, his expression remained composed. He even had the leisure to comment on it.

"This thing’s physical body has already reached the Soul Formation realm. Even if it can’t cast techniques, it can still contend with Soul Formation cultivators through brute force alone."

He glanced at Su Tianyi from the corner of his eye.

"You should be careful."

The moment the words left his mouth, the attack arrived. Both of them were swallowed by its aftermath.

The land for several miles around vanished beneath black light and poisonous mist filled with the stench of the dead.

Only after several breaths did the dust begin to settle.

When the two figures reappeared, their conditions could not have been more different.

A golden barrier stood before Su Tianyi. A massive claw-shaped imprint had been driven deep into its surface.

Her beautiful face had turned pale, and her proud chest was heaving up and down.

The golden scepter in her hand trembled violently, evidence of the strain she had just endured.

Chen Xuan, meanwhile, appeared completely unbothered.

A Taiji Symbol floated before him. The Yin and Yang halves revolved endlessly, neutralizing the force of the attack.

No. The attack was not neutralized.

Instead, it was reflected. Like a magical mirror, the Taiji Symbol redirected the blow elsewhere.

Its target was not the zombie, but Su Tianyi!

Crash!

The already-trembling golden barrier shattered.

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Su Tianyi’s lips as she nearly lost her footing and fell from the sky.

"You... you..." she stammered, her voice trembling with shock and fury.

She could not understand what Chen Xuan was thinking.

Cultivators were mostly rational creatures. Even if they had enmity, they knew how to make the best out of a situation.

Faced with a monster like this, shouldn’t the two of them be working together to survive?

Unfortunately, the answer she received was a saber slash.

The instant her defenses collapsed, Chen Xuan seized the opening. The black blade swept across her abdomen.

Another slash soon followed. Then another.

Within the span of a split second, fresh wounds covered Su Tiany’s entire body.

The zombie’s previous attack had already drained most of her strength. Now she could barely resist.

All she could do was watch as her aura weakened and her Nascent Soul grew increasingly unstable.

She had never expected that she would die like this—not at the hands of Elder Xia or the claws of the zombie, but because of the scapegoat she had intended to sacrifice.

Despair washed over her. She slowly closed her eyes, preparing for her own demise.

But just then, the attacks coming in her direction suddenly stopped.

A cold voice snapped her out of her daze.

"I have a way to seal that corpse. However, I’ll need your help."

"Answer me."

"Yes or no."

The emotionless tone made Su Tianyi’s heart tremble.

Something about it felt wrong. Yet as she looked at the blood dripping from his saber, she hurriedly nodded.

At this point, her life was completely in his hands.

Even if Chen Xuan shockingly decided to spare her life, the zombie certainly would not.

In her current state, escape was certainly impossible.

Chen Xuan paid little attention to her thoughts.

In his eyes, the disaster unfolding before them had started because of this woman.

He was already showing mercy by not executing her on the spot. Any further kindness was out of the question.

Seeing her nod and understanding her decision, he immediately moved.

His Nascent Soul erupted with power. One moment, he stood several feet away, and the next, he had appeared directly behind Su Tianyi.

His palm pressed against her bare back. The sudden contact made her body stiffen, and her ears flush crimson.

Before she could question him, however, Chen Xuan leaned into her ear and spoke.

"Don’t resist if you don’t want to die."

Without waiting for a response, a black vortex appeared in his hand.

The Kunpeng Art was activated. Instantly, a terrifying devouring force descended upon Su Tianyi.

The remaining Spiritual Energy within her body, the strength of her soul, and even her vitality began flowing away.

Like rivers converging into the sea, they poured through her body and into Chen Xuan using her back and his palm. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Chen Xuan’s aura surged. Yet, his expression only grew even more solemn. There was no joy on his face.

An agonizing pain spread through every inch of his body. This was the price of using such a technique and the reason he had been unwilling to do so before.

But as he stared at the approaching zombie, he knew he had no better option.

Although he could always escape, that would solve nothing.

If he were to do so, the entire eastern territory would eventually descend into chaos.

More importantly, Chen Xuan could sense a strange mark hidden deep within himself, carrying the same aura as that of the zombie.

His instincts warned him that once the creature regained enough strength, it could use this mark to hunt him down, no matter where he ran.

The current time was his best opportunity to solve this issue.

Not only was the zombie relatively weak—compared to its true strength—but there was also a "power bank" right next to him.

Ignoring the pain wracking his body and Su Tianyi’s increasingly miserable screams, Chen Xuan finally made his move.