Exposed in an Instant

Every ability had its limits. Take Yu Xian's Super Smell, for example—its maximum range was merely a single city. Unless an ability was upgraded, no matter how much stronger one became, it remained essentially a passive skill and would not improve. Zuo Zhengzong was only a Wolf-rank zombie. While Life-Death Reincarnation was formidable, reality was never quite so rosy; he was fundamentally incapable of possessing a creature vastly stronger than himself. For instance, possessing the corpse of a Dragon-rank creature was something he could never pull off. Had he truly targeted a Dragon-rank creature, the inevitable outcome would have been becoming a mere part of the corpse, perishing alongside it. Yet fate favored him. His luck was exceptionally good, because the vessel he possessed was the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon, not Zhang Gangxing. Had he possessed Zhang Gangxing, the result would have been becoming a part of him, enslaved by Yu Xian for all eternity, never to know freedom. In choosing the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon, though he could not control its entire body, the dragon’s physical form was inherently divisible and had no central core. After Zuo Zhengzong discovered that even his utmost efforts could not control the entire body of the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon, despair gripped him at first, thinking he would be devoured by that terrifying behemoth along with the dragon's carcass. Then, to his immense surprise and delight, he discovered that the portion of cells under his control could actually move. Along the belly of the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon, a mass of flesh slowly bulged outward, sprouted a pair of eyes, and furtively surveyed its surroundings. Once it made sure the coast was clear, the flesh swiftly transformed into a snake and fled toward the dragon’s tail. *Hahahaha, I'm alive!* *You bastards, just you wait! I'll be back!* Zuo Zhengzong rejoiced wildly in his heart. As wind swept across his slithering form, he felt an unprecedented sense of freedom, and the wicked impulses innate to a malicious ghost surged once again in his mind. The very next instant, however, a hand pinched his tail and hoisted his lower half into the air. "Yaoyao, do you even know what you're doing?" "Look, there's a loose end right here. You didn't even clean up properly." Yu Xian held up Zuo Zhengzong, complaining teasingly to Zhang Buyao behind him, then gave his hand a slight twitch to evade a snapping strike as Zuo Zhengzong whipped his head around. *You bastard, it's you!* Zuo Zhengzong recognized Yu Xian in a single glance, old grudges and fresh hatred welling up together. He snapped his jaws wildly, trying to bite Yu Xian, yet every strike was casually dodged. "Huh? That's impossible. I clearly killed the corpse vein dragon. Where did this come from?" Zhang Buyao leaped onto the back of the Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon's carcass, staring at the thrashing Zuo Zhengzong in Yu Xian's hand with open astonishment. Growing a bit annoyed with dodging, Yu Xian simply pinched Zuo Zhengzong by the snake's seven-inch mark and said, "How should I know where it came from? If my divine sense hadn't been blanketing the area the entire time, it really would have gotten away." "How strange. This guy actually seems to have intelligence. Aren't corpse vein dragons all brainless?" Zhang Buyao leaned in, peered into Zuo Zhengzong's eyes, and muttered to herself. Yu Xian asked in surprise, "The Infinite Sea Corpse Vein Dragon was brainless?" "Of course! It was a monster cobbled together from all sorts of messy junk. How smart could it possibly be?" Zhang Buyao replied. Zuo Zhengzong dared not expose his identity, nor did he dare utter a word. He knew full well how formidable Yu Xian was. Even before Zuo Zhengzong had died the first time, this guy was already a renowned powerhouse commanding respect across the region, and now he was accompanied by such a terrifying behemoth—there was no telling how powerful he had become. He had to remain hidden in the shadows, growing stronger and stronger until one day he surpassed Yu Xian and exacted brutal vengeance. At worst, it was just death. Death would only make him stronger! If he had feared death before, he certainly had no fear of it now. However, Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao clearly had no intention of killing him right away. Yu Xian activated Appraisal, and Zuo Zhengzong's attributes appeared before him. Clearly, Zuo Zhengzong was still too naive, completely ignorant of how unfair a Transcendent's methods could be. —————— Name: Zuo Zhengzong Codename: Old Crooked Race: Dark Zombie Ghost Gender: Male Age: 45 Life: 66666/66666 Destiny: Strength: 0.05 Luck: None Theoretical Lifespan: 0 Rank: Earth Rank Alignment: Chaotic Evil Technique: None Abilities: [Infinite Power: The longer it exists, the stronger its power becomes—without end, without ceiling.] [Indestructible Zombie Body: Nourishes the body through corpse qi, vastly increasing defense. After sustaining injury, corpse qi can rapidly repair wounds.] [Pseudo-Corpse Vein Dragon: Increases all attributes by 100%, enhances resistance to water-attribute attacks, grants immunity to mental attacks and soul attacks, and provides the ability to exhale dragon breath.] [Myriad Resentments: Can divide and manipulate infinite sea corpses. The body can gather and disperse at will, formless, without weakness, and without a core.] [Body of the Sea Corpse: The body can transform into the sea corpse form, immune to impact, blunt force, and collision, while capable of absorbing seawater to repair damage.] [Life-Death Reincarnation: Upon death, retains all abilities and returns to Samsara Space. After consciousness leaves Samsara Space, can choose a deceased target for possession. If possession is not accomplished within ten minutes, permanent death occurs. Usable three times per year.] [Summary: A fusion of malicious ghost and zombie. If you are a Shiny Vampire, then he is a Dark Zombie Ghost.] —————— The moment Yu Xian finished reading Zuo Zhengzong's attributes, the smile on his face vanished completely. He promptly projected Zuo Zhengzong's status through his Star Ring and transmitted it to Zhang Buyao, and the two switched to communicating via divine sense. "You're a Shiny Vampire, and he's a Dark Zombie Ghost. Doesn't that make you two destined nemeses?" Zhang Buyao glanced at Yu Xian, her voice transmitting through divine sense. Yu Xian frowned, sending back, "His abilities are far too dangerous, and his alignment is Chaotic Evil. I'm considering whether we should imprison him forever." "Indeed. He was even able to steal the corpse vein dragon's abilities, and we can't kill him. Imprisonment is the best choice," Zhang Buyao agreed. Because of the Life-Death Reincarnation ability, killing him was clearly out of the question. Otherwise, finding Zuo Zhengzong next time would be like searching for a needle in the sea; locating one specific individual among quadrillions of living beings was simply too difficult. Although Yu Xian could pinpoint Zuo Zhengzong's location through Auntie Number Two, if Zuo Zhengzong was dead set on hiding, there were still ways to stay out of sight. At the very least, Yu Xian could already think of several methods. For example, plunging deep underground, flying around blindly with eyes closed, and possessing whatever dead creature he bumped into. There would be virtually no way to track his location then. Yu Xian had tested it before: creatures like bacteria had no brains and were incapable of providing Auntie Number Two with information. Of course, Zuo Zhengzong had no idea Yu Xian possessed such a tracking ability, so Yu Xian could still kill him once. If Zuo Zhengzong was foolish enough, he might even be able to kill him twice and finish him off for good. Yet Yu Xian didn't want to gamble. What if Zuo Zhengzong actually figured it out? Infinite Power was utterly repulsive. Once Zuo Zhengzong had time to develop, things would turn ugly. But where could he be imprisoned? The Everlasting Silence Prison Tower only held heinous criminals guilty of the most monstrous atrocities; Zuo Zhengzong didn't even qualify. Yu Xian found himself at an impasse. An ordinary facility would never be able to hold Zuo Zhengzong. Infinite Power would make him stronger and stronger over time, and once he became powerful enough to break out of his cage, that would spell disaster. He looked toward Zhang Buyao, hoping she could offer a suggestion, but she merely spread her hands, clearly just as clueless. The sudden silence between the two terrified Zuo Zhengzong. He couldn't understand why Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao had abruptly stopped speaking.