Chapter 404: Chapter 274: So This Is the Zombie God? Not Bad at All

Blood fell to the ground, transforming into tentacles of varying lengths that crawled up his body. A look of pain appeared on his face, but the rationality in his gaze remained firm, unwavering.

Time passed, second by second, and everything around them grew quiet.

At some point, Wild Forbidden and the others awoke. They stared blankly at the bonfire, their eyes falling upon Fu Ming, and then upon Yang An.

The Yang An they saw, however, was utterly out of place in this world.

They had been rendered in shades of gray by this place, while Yang An alone remained vibrantly colorful.

It was as if they were seeing Yang An for the first time, as if everything that had happened before had never occurred. Surprise flickered across the faces of Wild Forbidden and the others, but it was quickly replaced by a look of understanding.

After all, if Yang An hadn’t killed Life Crane, they wouldn’t be here.

So it was only natural for Yang An to be here as well.

"We almost killed him, didn’t we?"

Wild Forbidden surveyed the ravaged jungle, where vast swathes of vegetation had been destroyed. Fu Ming’s expression also looked a little strange.

You Hong’Er and the others looked at Fu Ming with curiosity, smiles playing on their lips.

Judging by the current situation, they must have lost their minds and attacked Yang An, only to be stopped by Fu Ming.

Fu Ming had completely recovered, though a few tentacles still lingered on his body. At their words, he slowly opened his eyes and swept his gaze over Wild Forbidden and the rest.

"Senior Brother, you’re dreaming. None of you are strong enough."

"..."

"It was Huai Du. He brought someone else with him."

"Hmph!"

Wild Forbidden let out a cold snort. It was unclear if he was angry because Fu Ming said they weren’t strong enough, or because Fu Ming had mentioned Huai Du’s name.

"If we kill him now—as long as we kill him—we might find a way to resurrect using his body. Everything that belonged to Master will be ours."

Wild Forbidden’s madness began to surface again. His gaze on Yang An was filled with malice, but he was all talk. He didn’t dare make a real move, because Fu Ming was staring him down with a cold, hard expression.

"That world will vanish sooner or later. What’s the point of going back to a place like that?

If you want to kill him, I won’t stop you. But you’ll have to wait until he wakes up, because I’ve already promised to act as his guardian.

If you try anything before then, you’ll all die."

Fu Ming said, his tone icy. He felt no nostalgia for the real world.

"Die? Heh. Junior Brother, as you know, we’re already dead. That makes us immortal here. The only way to kill us is to gain control of the Xian Origin Land."

Wild Forbidden looked at Yang An with a touch of disdain.

"Even Master couldn’t do that. Do you really think *he* can?

This is the perfect opportunity. If we kill him, we’ll get the Earth Spirit Stele. We might even be able to surpass Master and seize control of the Xian Origin Land."

"Do you really think he killed Master through sheer luck?"

Fu Ming gave a cold laugh.

If luck was all it took to kill Life Crane, they wouldn’t have spent their lives living in his shadow.

"I may not be able to kill you, but you’re welcome to try me. Making you wish you were dead isn’t a hard thing for me to do." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Faced with Fu Ming’s unyielding stance, Wild Forbidden said no more. He shot Yang An one final glance, then transformed into a gray shadow and departed.

You Hong’Er followed Wild Forbidden, as did Ji Bu. In the end, only Jin Tong remained, but he wasn’t looking at Yang An. He was looking at Fu Ming.

Compared to his time back in the Life Crane Sect, when he was a living corpse who spent all day lying in a coffin, Jin Tong looked much more normal. Blood vessels still protruded from his body, but his complexion had improved considerably.

"More people will be here soon. Do you need me to stay and help?"

At Jin Tong’s words, Fu Ming simply shook his head.

"I don’t trust you."

"Heh. Fair enough. I only hope that when I lose myself, he’ll go easy on me."

"I’ll tell him."

Fu Ming nodded.

Jin Tong glanced at Yang An, still in his meditative state, and then quickly departed. Only Fu Ming and Yang An were left, sitting quietly by the bonfire.

This world had no day or night. It was a place of eternal gray, from the earth to the sky.

The bonfire burned continuously, needing no fuel. Its gray flames flickered, yet the light they cast upon Yang An and Fu Ming was completely different. It was as if anything that drew near Yang An would have its vibrant colors restored.

Time ticked by, second by second. The passage of time wasn’t particularly important in this world, but Fu Ming still calculated it silently in his mind—more out of instinct than anything else.

After a little over four hours, a disturbance arose in the distance, carried on a rustling wind.

The earlier battle between Fu Ming, Huai Du, and the others had destroyed the surroundings, but at some point, everything had mysteriously returned to its original state.

Fu Ming slowly rose from his spot by the bonfire. His expression wasn’t grim, merely solemn.

Just as Jin Tong had said, people had arrived. And there were quite a few of them—four in total!

He glanced at Yang An, whose eyes were still tightly shut, his own filled with worry. Nevertheless, he walked away from the bonfire without a second thought.

With each step he took away from the fire, his body began to change. His flesh swelled, and countless tentacles erupted from his back, trailing along the ground.