The Race

In an instant, a wondrous sensation washed over Yu Xian. He felt as though he had absolute mastery over every single cell—down to every last atom—of Zhang Gangxing's corpse. If he wished, he could disassemble Zhang Gangxing at any moment. He dispelled the spatial bubble. The previously blocked corpse qi instantly infected Zhang Gangxing's body. With Yu Xian's tacit permission, Zhang Gangxing's corpse began to spontaneously absorb the surrounding corpse qi. To the naked eye, his skin rapidly turned cyan. His mouth fell slightly open, and two sharp fangs sprouted where his canines had been. His eyes snapped open, and he unleashed a roar. Taking a violent breath, he drew in every scrap of corpse qi within several hundred li. With Yu Xian relinquishing direct control, instinct took over completely, and everything proceeded on its own. "Roar!" Zhang Gangxing turned his gaze toward Yu Xian. Driven by instinct, he lunged to attack, craving the fresh blood within him. Yet with a mere thought from Yu Xian, those zombie instincts were overwritten: he could never attack any creature Yu Xian did not permit him to attack; without Yu Xian's consent, he was forbidden from releasing corpse qi; and he was compelled to absorb corpse qi without limit. The feral glint in Zhang Gangxing's eyes vanished as quickly as it had appeared, returning to calm. He merely continued to absorb the surrounding corpse qi automatically, his strength climbing by the second. Because Zhang Gangxing had originally been a Dragon-rank expert with an exceptionally high degree of physical cultivation, immense physical might, and a build far larger than a normal human's, his absorption speed was vastly superior to that of an ordinary zombie. In the blink of an eye, he advanced from the lowest-level common zombie straight into a flying zombie. Had an ordinary corpse been turned into a zombie, reaching this stage would have taken a very long time—even in a place like this, it would have required months. Yet Zhang Gangxing had leapt to the heavens in a single bound. Though Yu Xian had anticipated that Zhang Gangxing's progress would be swift, he had never imagined it would be this fast. After a moment's thought, he drew a portion of blood from his own body, brought it to Zhang Gangxing's lips, and commanded him to drink it dry. He was curious to see what changes a dual bloodline—zombie coupled with vampire—would bring to Zhang Gangxing. Besides, Zhang Gangxing was now effectively his "battle pet." The stronger Zhang Gangxing became, the more beneficial it would be for him. In the future, he wouldn't even need to rely on the Heavenly Megastar; whenever he met an enemy, he could simply unleash Zhang Gangxing. Obeying the order, Zhang Gangxing drank every drop of the blood Yu Xian had drawn. Sure enough, fresh transformations erupted across his body in the very next breath. His original frame had been overly burly, even somewhat bloated, and his five-meter height made him resemble a giant. But under the catalytic effect of Yu Xian's blood, his stature gradually shrank until he stood at one point eight meters tall. His cyan skin shifted to a pale jade luster, and his overall appearance underwent a complete refinement. Zhang Gangxing had never been a handsome man, yet now, under the influence of Yu Xian's blood, he turned downright dashing—far more pleasing to the eye. However, the true transformation occurred within his internal organs. He directly inherited a whole series of abilities contained within Yu Xian's blood: the Light Eater talent, the Pangu Herculean Divine Ability, the Pangu Transmutation Divine Ability, spatial ability, and more. At this rate, in just a little while longer, his zombie bloodline would reach its zenith, transforming him into a legendary drought demon. "Yaoyao, when can he attempt to devour the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon?" Yu Xian asked Zhang Buyao, nodding in satisfaction as he looked at the newly transformed Zhang Gangxing. With a single slash, Zhang Buyao severed the bodies of countless zombies. Glancing at Zhang Gangxing, she said, "Right now is fine. Have him hurry up and eat the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon." "Understood. Go on!" Yu Xian nodded and commanded Zhang Gangxing to move out. The Infinite Pot resided inside the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon. Only by completely devouring the dragon's entire carcass could Zhang Gangxing inherit its power. Though Yu Xian wondered whether Zhang Gangxing could truly stomach such a colossal body, zombies could hardly be judged by common sense anyway, so he decided to wait and see. Zhang Gangxing's zombie consciousness was evolving at a blistering pace. It might have even inherited much of the combat knowledge stored in his brain, and paired with its innate instincts, it was remarkably intelligent. Upon receiving Yu Xian's command, he dashed up to one of the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon's tentacles, opened his mouth, and drove his fangs into the dragon's flesh. Crack! Zhang Gangxing's fangs snapped on the spot. In truth, his fangs were already countless times harder than those of an ordinary zombie. But the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon was a bona fide Li Rank lifeform; its defense was naturally not something a mere Dragon-rank could hope to pierce. Otherwise, how could the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon's body have withstood such immense power in the first place? If one's body was like a balloon that popped at the slightest prick, it would be impossible to contain much energy. Therefore, the physical forms of experts who broke through to Li Rank through legitimate cultivation could never be weak; only Transcendents who advanced by relying on Star Divine Artifacts or Li Divine Artifacts were prone to such vulnerabilities. "I forgot!" Yu Xian smacked his forehead and immediately stepped forward, striking the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon's corpse with his palm. Under this blow, energy rippled like waves throughout the dragon's entire form, instantly softening its rock-hard flesh. He ordered Zhang Gangxing to devour the dragon once more, and this time, there were no hitches. Zhang Gangxing sank his freshly regrown fangs into the dragon's appendage and began greedily gulping down its flesh and blood. To the naked eye, his back bulged into a hunch before his entire figure visibly swelled. Meanwhile, the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon's corpse began to shrivel, though the process was exceedingly slow. Its body was simply too colossal—larger than an entire continent. Zhang Gangxing drinking its flesh and blood was like a mosquito drawing blood from the largest blue whale. No, it was far less than a mosquito on a blue whale, for he was utterly minuscule by comparison. Deep within the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon, a split-off creature resembling a slime was trembling in terror. It was an offshoot the dragon had divided off before being slain by Zhang Buyao. [Myriad Resentments: Can split to manipulate infinite sea corpses; body can assemble or disperse; amorphous, lacking weaknesses, lacking a core.] Thanks to its coreless nature, even though the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon was indeed dead, this little entity had managed to survive before it could escape outside. Yet it knew full well that danger was drawing near. It had originally intended to hide within the primary body and bide its time until the enemies departed. But judging by the current situation, the intruders had no intention of leaving, which meant it had to save itself. It burrowed frantically through the interior of the dragon's corpse, heading toward the beast's power core. Only by inheriting the dragon's strength would it stand even a sliver of a chance to escape alive. Looking down from the sky, the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon resembled a colossal whale spouting water. The split slime rushed toward the core from the tail end, while on the other side, Zhang Gangxing ferociously drained flesh and blood. Visibly, the dragon's carcass began to shrivel, and that shriveling spread steadily toward the core.