Zuo Zhengzong

Huaxia. Near West Gemini Mountain. The spatial rifts surrounding West Gemini Mountain suddenly expanded at a rapid pace, and countless zombies poured out. Or rather, tumbled out. They had been trying to head toward the rift where the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon lay, but because they had piled up so high, many lost their footing and tumbled downward, gradually triggering a massive landslide. Meanwhile, the concentration of corpse qi on this side had spiked drastically, destabilizing the spatial rift leading to West Gemini Mountain even further until it ruptured wide open. Thus, countless zombies came rolling and crashing down onto the slopes of West Gemini Mountain. To a zombie, aside from the intense pull of corpse qi, the scent of the living was equally irresistible. The moment they rolled out of the rift onto West Gemini Mountain, the local wildlife immediately drew their attention. Swarms of zombies charged frantically into the surrounding woods, plunging into a ravenous chase. In truth, ever since Yu Xian returned from the world of the dead, Qilin had stopped studying West Gemini Mountain itself, merely stationing a small squad there year-round. When this squad saw the grand army of zombies sweeping down the mountain, they knew immediately they stood no chance of holding the line. They quickly called for backup and fought a retreating battle, doing everything they could to delay the horde before it reached human cities. Three meters underground on the outskirts of an abandoned town behind West Gemini Mountain, inside a coffin, Zuo Zhengzong lay quietly, a Soul-Sealing Talisman affixed to his body. Zuo Zhengzong, dead at forty-five, had been a cremator and an occult enthusiast. Once, chasing his dreams had cost him everything he owned, yet he had never abandoned his aspiration to become a Transcendent. Fortunately, two years ago, he had finally realized that dream and obtained a ticket to the transcendent world: a bone fragment smaller than a grain of rice from a zombie rabbit. That was enough. As long as he contracted corpse poison, he could easily turn into a zombie, thereby fulfilling his ambitions. His choice to come to West Gemini Mountain had actually been spurred by television news. He had mistakenly assumed that because zombies were always appearing here, West Gemini Mountain had to be an auspicious geomantic site for raising corpses. Yet while ideals were glamorous, reality was brutal. He had enlisted a fellow occult enthusiast to bury him in the soil behind West Gemini Mountain. After scratching himself with the zombie rabbit fragment, he discovered that the agony far exceeded anything he could have imagined. Before dying, he had clawed relentlessly at the coffin lid until his fingernails tore away, leaving the wood drenched in bloody scratch marks. After death, his soul became utterly twisted, unable to maintain any sense of self-awareness. Had it not been for the Soul-Sealing Talisman, his soul would have escaped his corpse long ago to wreak havoc upon the mortal world. Perhaps he truly had become a transcendent creature as he wished, but he was the weakest, most pitiful kind imaginable. Barring any unforeseen developments, he would have remained buried deep underground for ages. West Gemini Mountain was not actually a geomantic treasure ground to begin with, and the coffin he used shielded him from most corpse qi. Even after a century or a millennium, he likely would have remained the lowest rank of zombie. He was, without a doubt, the most pathetic of wretches. Yet the ways of heaven turn in cycles; no one stays fortunate forever, nor do they stay perpetually cursed. Now, because the rift leading to the world of the dead had burst open, the concentration of corpse qi around West Gemini Mountain was soaring. Although corpse qi drifted on the wind, it was inherently a sinking essence. Simply put, corpse qi was closer to earth qi, naturally adept at burrowing through the ground. Unclaimed corpse qi was readily absorbed by zombies, but with such a tremendous quantity flooding the area, the speed at which each individual zombie could absorb it was limited, leaving a vast excess to drift freely. Some of that corpse qi diffused through the earth, gradually reaching Zuo Zhengzong's coffin, where it was drawn into his body. Not all corpse qi was created equal. The Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon's corpse qi originated from the Infinite Pot—effectively an extension of the pot itself. It carried myriad miraculous properties, which was why the dragon possessed so many potent abilities. Ordinary corpse qi derived from the Forbidden Fruit. In both rank and quality, it fell far short of what came from the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon. Once Zuo Zhengzong absorbed this wisp of corpse qi that traced back to the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon, the soul still bound inside him miraculously merged into his zombie flesh. His power skyrocketed. From the lowest Insect rank, he advanced to Ant rank in the blink of an eye. Punching clean through the coffin lid above, he dug frantically through the dirt, wriggling upward like a worm until he broke through the surface. Crawling out of the soil, he threw back his head and roared at the sky. "I did it!" "Hahaha, I succeeded!" Zuo Zhengzong wept tears of joy before dropping to his knees, letting out a series of raspy laughs. It took him about three minutes to calm down and look toward West Gemini Mountain. His memories remained intact. In fact, because of his twisted soul, his mind was flooded with a chaotic mess of dark, wicked impulses. Fortunately, he had never been a good person to begin with. When he lacked power, he hadn't refrained from killing and arson out of kindness, but simply because he knew he couldn't escape the iron fist of the authorities. Now that he possessed power and had joined the ranks of the Transcendents, he craved even more. A zombie's sense of smell was extraordinarily sharp, easily catching the scent of living creatures while remaining hypersensitive to deathly energies. He could tell with certainty that the corpse qi that had freed him originated from West Gemini Mountain. "Let's go have a look!" Zuo Zhengzong sprang into the air and bounded rapidly toward West Gemini Mountain. Upon reaching the mountain, he heard sounds of combat coming from the other side. He concealed himself immediately and peered furtively toward the noise, only to be struck with sudden dread. Several Transcendents were slaughtering massive numbers of zombies. One of them, looking like a little girl, threw a single punch that twisted countless zombies and sent them flying backward. The sheer power left Zuo Zhengzong shuddering in terror; if he took a hit like that right now, he would probably be pulverized on the spot. That was definitely a Dragon-rank powerhouse. Terrifying. *Is that... So that's where the zombies on West Gemini Mountain came from,* Zuo Zhengzong thought to himself as he noticed the spatial rift and the continuous stream of zombies tumbling out of it. It seemed West Gemini Mountain wasn't the source of the high-grade corpse qi after all; the other side of the spatial rift was. He had to find a way inside. Only over there could he grow stronger quickly and become a Dragon-rank existence. Without reaching Dragon rank, one was nothing more than an ant. Zuo Zhengzong understood all too well how weak he was right now. If the authorities discovered him, he would most likely be put down. He was a zombie, after all—naturally an enemy to all living things. Even if he swore never to harm an innocent soul, who would believe him? As long as suspicion existed, he could never be truly trusted. And without trust, being discovered by humans meant only one fate: being dissected for research, or imprisoned until death. Of course, the most probable outcome was both—imprisoned first, dissected, and then locked away until the end of his days.