Chapter 64

In the days to come, Jiang Chen would teach Li She and the other two with great care. Although it is said that a master can only lead you to the door, but cultivation depends on the individual, without the experience of predecessors to draw upon, relying solely on one's own exploration would certainly be slow.

After recovering, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged in the thatched hut and slowly explained to Li She and the other two.

"Trapped in this world, I can only suppress my progress, and my cultivation has always been at the initial stage of 'Drought Zombie.' You three are different. The cultivation of the 'Drought Zombie Path' depends on the heart, and the strength of the heart comes from the blood. Since transforming into a Drought Zombie, one becomes immortal. The heart, the primordial spirit, and the yin energy are all confined within the body, so as long as the heart does not perish, the Drought Zombie can be considered immortal!" Jiang Chen explained.

"Blood? Senior, since we transformed into Drought Zombies, our hearts have almost stopped beating. How can we produce blood?" Wang Yuyan asked.

"Hehe, good question. If the heart no longer beats, where does the blood come from? This is the result of the world's will. All things in the world are interdependent and counteract each other. The Dao has thousands of paths, but they all lead to the same destination. The spiritual energy in the myriad worlds is no longer sufficient to support the emergence of another sage, so the many restrictions are aimed at the 'Drought Zombie Path.' You three have just transformed into Drought Zombies. Your hearts do not beat once a year, at most once every ten years," Jiang Chen said solemnly.

"How can we make our hearts beat?" Li She asked.

"First, absorb yin energy to refine your body, then absorb the blood of various powerful creatures to enhance your own blood," Jiang Chen said, extending two fingers.

Li She asked in confusion, "Senior, didn't you say that when yin energy becomes too strong, it will be impacted by the world's will, and you need to rely on blood to alleviate it?"

Jiang Chen shook his head helplessly and said, "Even if yin energy is not actively absorbed, it will gradually increase over time. Trapped in this world, I can only slowly improve through this method. Each time the yin energy becomes too strong, it is impacted by the world's will, and three layers of yin energy are expelled from my body, causing my cultivation to fall back. This process repeats, making my progress extremely slow. Without the blood of divine beasts to enhance my bloodline, my cultivation can only stagnate."

Although he changed the subject, he pointed at Li She and said, "But you three are different. With the 'Divine Thief Order,' a heaven-defying artifact, you can break through the barriers of the myriad worlds and encounter various powerful creatures. As long as you absorb their blood and use yin energy to assist, even if the yin energy becomes too strong and is impacted by the world's will, expelling three layers of yin energy, it doesn't matter!"

"Powerful creatures? Are Qilin, dragons, phoenixes, and the like considered powerful creatures?" Li Yunluo asked.

"Of course, the blood of various divine beasts and deities can all enhance you! The prerequisite is that you can obtain it," Jiang Chen said with a smile.

Li She swallowed hard, "Divine beasts? And deities? They could crush us with a single finger. Do you really expect us to drink their blood? Senior, are you serious?"

Jiang Chen waved his hand, as if it was none of his concern, and said, "Ah, you truly don't know how fortunate you are. With infinite life, what do you have to fear? Drinking the blood of divine beasts to enhance the Drought Zombie bloodline, making the heart beat. Of course, even with an immortal body, without a powerful primordial spirit to control it, it is useless. The primordial spirit, although confined in the body by yin energy, is immortal, but it also needs to be nourished with various heavenly treasures."

Li She and the other two nodded frequently as they listened to Jiang Chen's introduction. The experience of predecessors is the best reference. For Li She and the other two, transforming into Drought Zombies opened a new door, revealing a new world. The martial arts they knew before were insignificant here. Even if one's internal energy reached the realm of a先天高手 (Xiantian expert) and could live to 200 years, that was the limit. But for a Drought Zombie, 200 years was just a nap.

Divine beasts, deities, and other mythological figures were legends in modern society, but they truly existed in the myriad worlds. This made Li She even more curious about who created the Divine Thief Order.

Over the next three months, Jiang Chen taught Li She and the other two the combat methods of Drought Zombies. With an immortal body, any attack was futile. Jiang Chen preferred direct and straightforward attacks, and he generally did not use his mouth.

Outside the thatched hut, Jiang Chen stood with his hands behind his back, staring at Li She. "Three months have passed. Let me see what you have learned."

He then revealed his true Drought Zombie form. Instantly, yin energy swirled around, and the dense yin energy enveloped the entire thatched hut. Because the valley was protected by an array, the overwhelming yin energy did not leak out. Li She gritted his teeth, resisting the yin energy emanating from Jiang Chen. The violent yin energy made Li She forget to think.

Jiang Chen's true Drought Zombie form made him grow a meter taller, reaching 2.8 meters. His hands transformed into large bone claws, surrounded by yin energy. Bat-like wings sprouted from his back, and when they unfolded, Jiang Chen floated in the air. Nine sharp bone spines protruded from the wings, gleaming with a cold light. His entire body was covered in black bone armor, engraved with mysterious patterns. A large skull mask covered his handsome face, forming a black skull helmet with two bull-like horns extending upward from the sides.

"Drought Zombie true form," Li She murmured, the four words floating in his mind based on the description in the Shan Hai Jing.

The yin energy that enveloped the ground was directed only at Li She. Wang Yuyan and the others, though frightened by Jiang Chen's true Drought Zombie form, did not feel oppressed.

At this moment, Li She felt his legs trembling, a trembling from the soul. Facing Jiang Chen, who looked like a demon god, he felt like an ant in the eyes of his opponent.

"Hmph? Scared stiff? Only a Drought Zombie can fight a Drought Zombie!" Jiang Chen said softly.

Li She's eyes lit up, "Right, I am also a Drought Zombie! If you can reveal your true Drought Zombie form, so can I."

Li She closed his eyes, feeling the boiling sensation in his blood. Something seemed to be breaking out from his back. Two lumps rose on his back, as if something was about to emerge. With a crisp sound, Li She's clothes were torn, and blood-red wings unfolded from his back. The wings were like bat wings, but unlike Jiang Chen's, they had no bone spines. Instead, ten long tentacles, each five meters long and ending in a hard triangular bone spike, dangled from the wings. They floated around Li She, and his arms, legs, and chest were covered in red bone scales, gleaming with a metallic luster. A red mask covered his face, not as fierce as Jiang Chen's skull helmet, but it exuded a cold expression. The mask was adorned with red bone scales on the sides, resembling wings.

Feeling explosive power throughout his body, Li She looked at his hands, which were covered in red bone scales. With a thought, his nails extended to twenty centimeters. Although his form did not grow as tall as Jiang Chen's, his blood-red Drought Zombie true form resisted the overwhelming yin energy.

Jiang Chen smiled in satisfaction, "Not bad, you've grasped the Drought Zombie true form so quickly. It's rare! Let's see how many of my attacks you can withstand." He then blurred and appeared in front of Li She. Li She's eyes widened; he couldn't see Jiang Chen's movements. They were about fifty meters apart, and Li She heard a sonic boom as Jiang Chen moved at super-high speed.

Li She had no time to marvel at Jiang Chen's speed. Suddenly, he felt a crushing force on his chest, as if hit by a train. Li She was sent flying by Jiang Chen's punch.

The red bone scales on Li She's chest instantly dented, leaving a clear fist mark. The red bone armor on his chest, like a living thing, wriggled and slowly repaired itself.

After sending Li She flying, Jiang Chen flapped his wings and flew up, his fists like meteors, swinging at Li She. Li She felt punches coming from all directions, and he didn't know how many times he was hit. He was in a constant cycle of his red bone armor being dented and then repairing itself.

Li She could only protect his head with his hands. "Martial arts, techniques, these are just human martial arts. Deities and divine beasts have their own ways of fighting, and so do Drought Zombies! It seems you still can't adapt to the Drought Zombie fighting style!" Jiang Chen said, swinging his fists as he lectured.

Although Li She was hit with a storm of punches, he was not injured at all. The formidable defense of the Drought Zombie true form was indeed impressive. Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Li She realized that he was still using the fighting style of a human martial artist. Facing an opponent with astonishing speed, formidable defense, and immense strength like Jiang Chen, he was at a loss. To fight Jiang Chen, he needed to forget everything and find his own Drought Zombie fighting style.

With a thought, the ten tentacles on his wings moved like fingers, swinging like ten long whips, creating a dense web of defense. The sharp triangular bone spikes began to defend.

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