Clang!
The crimson greatsword collided with the serpent's fangs, unleashing a thunderous roar.
Holding the greatsword on pure instinct, the Martial Ultimate Zombie King blocked the giant serpent. Fire slowly began to kindle in its pupils, which had previously lacked even the faintest glimmer of light. It threw back its head in a bellowing roar and swung both hands with immense force. The giant serpent was flung backward through the air, crashing heavily onto the earth thousands of meters away.
Not far behind it, Yu Xian let out a breath of relief.
His guess had been right: the Martial Ultimate Zombie King really could block the giant serpent.
Even so, the serpent had underestimated its opponent. Moments ago, it had merely been chasing Yu Xian and Zhang Shou—it had been hunting rather than fighting.
Rolling back to its feet, the serpent fixed its gaze on the Martial Ultimate Zombie King, parting its bloody maw to release a menacing roar.
Yet the Martial Ultimate Zombie King had no intention of stepping aside. It stood rooted in place, greatsword still raised.
A second later, the real battle began.
The eyes covering the serpent's body all shot forth curving beams of light that converged above its head into a single, elongated horn. In an instant, it charged forward, slamming the horn straight into the Martial Ultimate Zombie King.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out.
The Martial Ultimate Zombie King was launched backward by the single strike, vanishing beyond the horizon like a falling star.
Fortunately, Yu Xian and Zhang Shou had already used a bubble to teleport tens of thousands of meters away. The shockwaves of the clash caused them no harm.
"Appraisal!"
From far away, Yu Xian activated his Appraisal skill on the giant serpent.
Instantly, the serpent's attributes surfaced in his mind, and his eyes widened in shock.
——————
Name: Ba
Codename: Snake God
Race: Soaring King Mirage Serpent
Gender: Male
Age: 189,116,655
Lifespan: 0
Level: God High
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Abilities:
[Mirage of the Heart: When coiled motionless, can manifest the mirage within a viewer's heart.]
[Myriad Eyes: Possesses all-around vision without any blind spots, immune to confusion.]
[Toxic Fire of Sinan: Every eye can fire green poisonous flame and freely manipulate its shape.]
[Fire God Body: Ignites oneself into the Fire God form, gaining massive immunity to physical attacks; the higher its own temperature rises, the lower the surrounding temperature drops.]
[Shock of the Fire Thief: The flame of the Fire God; none can be immune except those whose status exceeds the Fire God; all others burn.]
[God of Deceit: Holds authority over the bizarre, dread, dreams, demonic evil, and delusion; only those of steadfast mind may perceive its truth.]
[Summary: An evil god inadvertently trapped in the world of the dead.]
——————
It wasn't a zombie!
Just like them, this giant serpent was a living creature that had accidentally tumbled into this world.
Yu Xian suddenly understood why the serpent had pursued them so relentlessly. Food was in desperately short supply in this world; not everyone could feed on light as he did.
Besides, even he wouldn't last very long here without Little Dumb, the Golden Crow, perpetually radiating light and heat above his head. The ambient light of this world was far too dim and devoid of nourishment.
Indeed.
The light in this realm was bizarre—so gloomy that even the light itself seemed dead, casting no warmth upon the skin.
Yu Xian was able to maintain his peak condition entirely thanks to the illumination shed by Little Dumb.
That was precisely what gave him the confidence that he wouldn't starve to death.
The distant battle was far from over.
Flung away like a shooting star, the Martial Ultimate Zombie King returned like one a second later.
In a flash, it materialized before the giant serpent, forcing it back with a fierce slash. The two entities then unleashed a relentless flurry of attacks against one another, fire and sword light clashing wildly.
The mere shockwaves of their collisions shattered everything nearby. The ground fractured into web-like cracks that spread at an alarming rate, detonating hordes of buried zombies before they could even crawl out of the earth.
"I'm just a lowly Bee rank! Is this kind of scene even meant for my eyes?" Zhang Shou stammered, trembling as he watched the duel.
Yu Xian chuckled immediately. "Shall I send you back first?"
"No, wait, let me watch a bit longer! If things look bad, send me away right then!" Zhang Shou hastily replied.
After a brief thought, Yu Xian commanded the bubble to retreat further. He still felt they were too close for comfort.
In the distance, the Martial Ultimate Zombie King and the giant serpent were locked in a savage brawl. Although the zombie king was two minor ranks below the serpent, its body was extraordinarily tough. The serpent's attacks could barely inflict any damage on it, whereas quite a few of the serpent's own scales were cracked and split open by the zombie king's greatsword.
Time and again, the serpent relied on its massive size and immense strength to ram and swat the Martial Ultimate Zombie King away. Yet every single time, the zombie king instantly corrected its angle and flew back, pressing the offensive with ever greater fury.
Finally, after more than ten minutes of fighting, green flames flared in the serpent's eyes, and its entire body burst into flames.
If it had looked like a grotesque monster moments before, it now radiated the divine majesty of a true fire god. Enveloped in roaring flames, its silhouette resembled both dragon and serpent. Dense clusters of eyes opened amidst the fire, blooming into peculiar plumes of green flame that, from afar, looked like two constantly shifting dragon whiskers.
The moment it entered the Fire God form, the land froze for ten thousand li around, while its own body temperature skyrocketed.
With a single punch from a claw forged of fire, it blasted the Martial Ultimate Zombie King flying. A massive, scorched black brand was clearly visible across the zombie king's chest.
Although the Martial Ultimate Zombie King's Yin-Yang Boundless Physique could invert elemental attacks, its status was evidently lower than that of the serpent. Its ability was countered and rendered useless by the serpent's superior might.
No ability was universally absolute—only relatively effective.
Boom!
The Martial Ultimate Zombie King slammed violently into the ground. The earth caved in instantly, carving out a colossal impact crater.
The resulting shockwave blasted away all surrounding soil and zombie fragments, tearing apart the dark overcast skies overhead as well.
As the dense, dark clouds dispersed, a crimson, chaotic, swirling starry expanse—formed of countless layered bands of red energy and floating rock—was revealed before Yu Xian and Zhang Shou.
The shattered world clashed violently with the disordered red celestial vista, like two worlds colliding and cracking apart like eggshells.
"An Abyss rift... This is way too huge," Zhang Shou murmured, staring up at the sky.
Yu Xian's eyes widened. "No, that's not an Abyss rift. That is the Abyss itself... This world has completely fallen into the Abyss. In the end, it will probably be entirely assimilated, becoming a part of the Abyss."
He suddenly realized that this world was like a battered, decrepit ship drifting within the depths of the Abyss.
Perhaps the demise of this world was not caused by the surge of corpse qi alone, but also by the invasion of the Abyss. Both forces had worked together, ultimately driving all living creatures here to extinction.
"Roar!"
Down on the ground, the Martial Ultimate Zombie King rose from the crater.
Letting out a low roar, it charged at the giant serpent once more, raising its greatsword to cleave at the creature's head. But the serpent, now in its Fire God form, was far faster. Countless flames condensed into a sword, severing the hand gripping the greatsword in the blink of an eye.
After cleaving the Martial Ultimate Zombie King's arm, the terrifying flame sword carved outward for hundreds of thousands of meters, gouging an insurmountable chasm across the earth.
The spectacle was utterly magnificent and breathtaking.
Both Yu Xian and Zhang Shou stared with mouths agape, their hearts pounding in lingering fear. If the giant serpent had used its full power against them from the start, they wouldn't have stood a ghost of a chance.
Fortunately, two tiny shrimps like them had not been deemed worthy of forcing the serpent into its Fire God form.
Chapter 121