Jian Lin screamed, stomping her feet and dodging frantically. The danger combined with the revulsion was about to kill her.
The Demon Lord remained calm, gathering his demonic energy to form a black longsword, which he used to cleanly sever the zombie arm.
A brief silence returned to the surroundings, followed by an entire corpse lunging from the scorched earth. Jian Lin, having prepared herself mentally, steadied her breathing and dodged backward. The Demon Lord once again dispatched it with a swift strike.
Then, as if a switch had been flipped, zombies scrambled out of the scorched earth one after another, directly attacking them.
Initially, Jian Lin hid behind the Demon Lord, but soon she could no longer evade them. Gripping her Heyi Sword, she joined the fray.
Seeing the exquisitely crafted scabbard of the Heyi Sword smash against the dark, foul-smelling zombies, her heart bled. Save her, this was truly brutal.
These zombies were not difficult opponents; their movements were slow and they lacked intelligence. A single one was easy to deal with, but the problem was their sheer numbers. They were impossible to kill completely.
During a lull in the zombie slaughter, Jian Lin leaned behind the Demon Lord and discussed, "Shouldn't we think of a way? If we keep killing like this, where does it end?"
"Yes," the Demon Lord replied curtly. He suddenly looked forward and said loudly, "I think we should go over there!"
Following the Demon Lord's gaze, Jian Lin saw that a large bulge had appeared ahead, within which it seemed powers were clashing, and the ground was surging.
Jian Lin's hairs stood on end, and she trembled, asking, "But I feel... it's more dangerous over there."
Beneath the surging ground, perhaps, lay more, larger, and stronger zombies.
"According to the ghost formation's design, the most dangerous place is precisely where the exit lies," the Demon Lord slanted his longsword, cleaving a zombie in two. He took Jian Lin's hand and said softly, "Don't be afraid, I'm here, we'll definitely break out."
Jian Lin nodded calmly and followed the Demon Lord, killing zombies as they flew towards the bulge.
Before they landed, the Demon Lord released Jian Lin's hand. He gripped his longsword with both hands, his demonic energy surging. With a swing of his blade, he split the bulge with a thunderous roar.
Jian Lin watched, her body going numb. She stepped on a zombie's head and flew back into the air, unwilling to touch the ground, while also getting a clear view of the situation inside the bulge.
Following the tear in the earth that the Demon Lord had created, more zombies surged out, a dark, contiguous mass. Suddenly, amidst them, a white figure appeared. Jian Lin focused her gaze and recognized her own ethereal master.
"Master!" Jian Lin cried out in surprise, raising her Heyi Sword and rushing to her master's side to assist. "Master, how did you get in here?!"
"Of course, it's for you, my weakling disciple," the Sword Immortal swung his Mingyan sword, effortlessly dispatching zombies. "Less nonsense, now is not the time for idle chat. Let's kill our way out first, and then we can talk once we're out of the ghost formation."
"Alright," Jian Lin charged forward, fighting side-by-side with her master. "Master, do you know? We just discovered a huge secret!"
"I told you, we'll talk about it after we get out!" The Sword Immortal grew annoyed, and the spiritual energy of his sword strike intensified, exploding several zombies.
Seeing the rotten internal organs, Jian Lin quickly relented, "I know, I know, calm down, old man. Don't kill too fiercely."
Just then, the Demon Lord also fought his way over to join them. He said calmly, "Senior, have you found the formation's core? Only by killing our way there can we possibly escape."
"I have found it. I came from the formation's core," the Sword Immortal pointed to the crack beneath his feet. "Kill your way to the black zombies' lair; the formation's core is in their center."
Jian Lin looked down. The black zombies were like ants, swarming out of the crack. Their lair, then, must contain even more terrifying numbers.
But they had no other choice. They couldn't just wander aimlessly in this scorched earth world; it was meaningless and a waste of time.
With the Master and the Demon Lord flanking Jian Lin, the three of them simultaneously unleashed their spiritual energy or demonic energy to protect themselves, forming a hard shell. They charged into the crack with one accord.
Jian Lin felt her vision blur. Everywhere were black arms and legs, pale white rotten eyes, and mouths dripping with saliva. It was so disgusting she felt like vomiting.
It was an extremely painful journey until they broke into an underground cavern. Jian Lin discovered that the structure resembled an ant nest, with a massive white fleshy mass continuously producing black zombies. The stench there was comparable to poison gas.
In fact, it was poisonous. The Demon Lord told her to hold her breath, and the three of them joined forces to attack it.
The Sword Immortal pointed at the large fleshy worm and said, "The formation's core is beneath it. Move it, and we can get out."
The Demon Lord nodded and stepped forward with the Sword Immortal. The two of them prepared to push the fleshy worm with all their might, and Jian Lin, overcoming all difficulties, reached out to assist.
The moment the three of them touched the fleshy worm, it let out a vigilant shriek. The sound waves were piercing and harmful, penetrating their protective layer and stabbing into their ears.
Jian Lin had to retract her hands and cover her ears to recover, her vision going white.
At the same time, the black zombies, summoned by the mother body, erupted with frenzied combat power. They no longer ran outwards but gathered within the cave.
"There's no time!" the Sword Immortal shouted. "Demon Lord boy, let's combine our strength and quickly chop this fleshy worm, or we'll all die!"
The Demon Lord and the Sword Immortal drew their longswords simultaneously and attacked the fleshy worm fiercely. With every swing, the black zombies became even more frenzied.
She had to protect them; she couldn't be useless. No matter what, she had to help!
Jian Lin turned, waving her hands, forming a giant sword edge, and using her spiritual energy to sweep outwards, repelling the tide of black zombies back by a good four to five meters.
If only I had sword intent, and was a little stronger, Jian Lin muttered in her heart. Then she could definitely repel them further and buy more time for the two behind her.
Thinking of this, she swung again. With a bang, this time her spiritual energy slightly receded, only managing to push them back three to four meters.
Each sword swing consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. Jian Lin had to reach into her Qiankun bag to find some restorative medicine. As she fumbled, she actually pulled out the fruit of the Man-Eating Flower King.
She remembered this fruit. It looked plump and soft, but it was as hard as a rock, utterly impossible to bite.
Thinking of this, she had intended to throw it back. But it was truly too late, and she couldn't free her hands. She had no choice but to bite into the Man-Eating Flower King's fruit, grip the sword with both hands, and swing with all her might once more.
Surprisingly, at the same moment, she actually managed to bite off a piece of the man-eating flower.
However, there was no time to think. Without even chewing, she swallowed it directly, then tossed the remaining fruit into her Qiankun bag and swung her sword again.
During this time, the Sword Immortal encouraged her, "Good disciple, well done. Hold on a little longer, we'll be out soon."
Jian Lin didn't even have the strength to speak. She killed black zombies with all her might, but as time passed, her spiritual energy and strength were depleted. The black zombies drew closer and closer, and she could only anxiously watch, helpless.
Suddenly, a strange sound came from behind her. Jian Lin turned and couldn't help but gag. She saw that the Demon Lord and the Sword Immortal had finally chopped the fleshy worm to pieces, and the dense mass of things inside was simply... life-threatening!
The moment she was distracted, the black zombies finally seized the opportunity to attack, engulfing the three of them.
"Go!" The Demon Lord swung a sword back, creating a small opening, and pulled Jian Lin over. The Sword Immortal, gathering his strength with both hands, plunged his Mingyan sword into the formation's core.
The Sword Immortal's terrifying power flowed into it. The black zombie formation, unable to withstand the Sword Immortal's power, began to collapse and crack.
Jian Lin stood at the formation's core. For some reason, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She shouted to the Demon Lord, "Come here quickly! Mo Chongyuan, come here quickly!"
Before her words had even fallen, a familiar and eerie figure suddenly appeared within the black zombie formation. Jian Lin recognized him as Zhan San Dao.
He wasn't dead. No, that wasn't right. He was dead, assimilated by the black zombie formation, but he retained his original consciousness.
He was still small, and with a significant advantage, he darted out, grabbed the Demon Lord's leg, and tried to drag him into the black zombie town.
No, this won't do. Jian Lin chased after him. Even if she died with the Demon Lord, she wouldn't abandon him.
Please, save him. She didn't know who she was pleading with. Perhaps when people are desperate, they just cry out randomly, to anyone. Anyone, please help him.
Suddenly, the Heyi Sword in her hand erupted with a brilliant light. Jian Lin looked at the long sword in her hand in surprise. As if telepathically connected, she grasped the scabbard with one hand and the hilt with the other. With a heave, she drew the Heyi Sword.
She used the Sword Immortal's twelfth move, the final move, "Heaven and Earth Splitting." With a swing of her sword, the sword intent of the Heyi Sword radiated like a wave of light. Wherever the light reached, the black zombies actually disappeared.
Jian Lin was stunned by such shocking power.
The Demon Lord, having freed himself from Zhan San Dao, was the first to react. He rushed towards Jian Lin, grabbed her waist, and ran swiftly towards the formation's core. Seeing that the time was right, the Sword Immortal drew his Mingyan sword, and the black zombie formation completely collapsed. The three of them were plunged back into the magma sea.
Terrifying red was everywhere. Jian Lin dared not breathe, thinking she was going to be cooked. Fortunately, the Demon Lord held her tightly, giving her a sense of security.
She didn't know why she had emerged from the lava sea unharmed. When she came to her senses, she was standing at the cave exit, with screaming, wailing living dead below.
Her master called to her, "Good disciple, it is now impossible to stop the ghost formation from forming, but you can send the people here to reincarnation. Do not fail to do good deeds, no matter how small. Use the sword in your hand to send them on their way."
Jian Lin came back to her senses and realized she was still holding the Heyi Sword. She looked closely, and the blade of the Heyi Sword was indeed as beautiful as she had imagined.
The thin blade, silvery white and translucent, was carved with patterns of flora and fauna, like a captivating work of art.
She stared blankly for a long time, then asked in confusion, "How do I send them away?"
The Sword Immortal rolled his eyes, then sighed. He couldn't get angry at this foolish disciple. He patiently explained, "Use your power to activate the sword intent of the Heyi Sword. Its sword intent can cleanse filth. If it can ferry black zombies, it can surely do the same for these living dead."
In fact, by then, Jian Lin still did not understand the meaning of the Sword Immortal's words.
She simply followed instructions, waved her long sword with her power, and the light spread out. The living dead in the cavern instantly vanished.
At the same time, her vision went black, and she fainted to the ground as if detached. Her last memory was the Demon Lord reaching out to support her.
Good, no need to fall on the ground. That's good.