"You're dragging this out."
The voice came from behind the demonic cultivator.
Guardian Zhao's pupils contracted.
The demonic cultivator's expression also changed slightly as he turned his head, and a figure descended from the sky behind him, landing lightly upon the broken ground, his robes fluttering in the residual wind created by the earlier clash.
He wore the same kind of dark robes as the ghost cultivator, and his face was concealed behind a similar mask.
There was no need to ask where he came from.
They were clearly from the same power.
The newcomer had slightly reddish hair that fell loosely around his shoulders, and unlike the ghost cultivator, there was no trace of ghostly Yin Qi around his body. Instead, an oppressive physical aura spread from him, growing heavier with every breath.
At first, his cultivation appeared to be around the mid-stage of Purple Palace.
Then his body began to change.
His shoulders broadened, his muscles swelled beneath his robes, and his entire frame slowly grew larger, the skin covering his exposed hands becoming increasingly pale.
Not the pale complexion of an ordinary person.
It was the colour of a corpse.
Guardian Zhao's heart tightened.
Before he could properly react, the newcomer's aura exploded.
The surrounding air distorted violently.
Guardian Zhao's Gang Field shattered.
BOOM!
A tremendous force struck his body.
Guardian Zhao was sent flying backwards, his feet leaving the ground as his Astral Qi erupted instinctively around him, his body twisting in mid-air as he tried to redirect the force rather than receive it directly.
Even so, the impact was overwhelming.
He crashed into the ground several dozen metres away, rolling across the broken earth before finally digging his fingers into the soil and forcing himself to stop.
Guardian Zhao lifted his head.
His expression became extremely solemn.
The person who had attacked him was standing exactly where he had been moments ago, both hands stretched forward in a strange stance, his fingers slightly curled, his enormous body completely still.
He had not even moved after striking.
Yet the force behind that single attack had shattered Guardian Zhao's Gang Field.
Guardian Zhao slowly rose.
His gaze travelled over the man's corpse-like skin and enlarged body.
He was not a ghost cultivator.
There was no Yin Soul leaving the body, no ghostly aura surrounding him, and no spiritual technique being used to control corpses.
Instead, the strength came directly from his physical body.
Could he be...
"You seem not to be too surprised."
The newcomer grinned beneath his mask.
"Indeed, I am a zombie cultivator."
Guardian Zhao's heart sank.
Zombie cultivator.
The words alone explained everything.
Demonic cultivators also possessed their own branches of the Four Major Hundred Arts, paths that allowed them to pursue their Dao through techniques completely different from orthodox cultivation.
Gu insect rearing, zombie refining, ghost rearing, poison cultivation.
Each path possessed its own terrifying characteristics.
Gu cultivators raised strange Gu insects, using their abilities to kill enemies, heal injuries, strengthen their bodies or even transform their own bodies.
Ghost cultivators refined and controlled ghosts, eventually using powerful Ghost Specters to overwhelm enemies through Yin techniques.
Poison cultivators devoted themselves to refining terrifying poisons, often capable of killing cultivators without them even realising they had been poisoned.
And zombie cultivators...
They refined corpses.
Ordinarily, a zombie cultivator would search for powerful corpses, refine them with Yin materials and secret techniques, then slowly strengthen them, allowing the corpse to evolve from an ordinary corpse into a corpse puppet, a powerful zombie and eventually a loyal Dao Soldier capable of accompanying its master through battle.
But the person before Guardian Zhao had taken a completely different path.
He had turned himself into a zombie.
Then he had begun cultivating as one.
Guardian Zhao's eyes widened.
"You're..."
He understood immediately.
This person had not merely refined his physical body.
He had abandoned the ordinary human path and transformed his own flesh into a corpse, using the techniques of zombie refinement to continuously strengthen himself.
He had made his own body his greatest corpse puppet.
Crazy.
It was an extremely dangerous method, because once the transformation progressed too far, the cultivator's original human nature could be lost entirely, leaving behind nothing more than a corpse possessing intelligence.
Yet if successfully cultivated, the physical body could become terrifyingly powerful.
The zombie cultivator looked at Guardian Zhao's expression and seemed to enjoy his reaction.
He slowly licked his lips.
"I've yet to devour an Astral Gang martial artist."
His corpse-like face stretched into a grin.
"I'm sure you'll taste much better than the last one."
Guardian Zhao's eyes sharpened.
"Last one?"
Before he could ask who the man was referring to, the zombie cultivator suddenly disappeared.
Guardian Zhao's pupils contracted.
Too fast.
He immediately circulated his Astral Qi through his legs and twisted his waist.
A shadow flashed past him.
BOOM!
A heavy kick slammed into his side.
Guardian Zhao's body was launched sideways.
He barely managed to protect his ribs with his arm before the kick landed, but the force still sent him flying through the air, his body crashing into the ground and creating another crater.
Pain shot through his entire side.
Guardian Zhao rolled with the momentum, using the movement to rise rather than allowing himself to remain stationary.
The instant he stood, he saw the zombie cultivator already approaching.
The man's movements were completely different from those of the ghost cultivator.
There was no elegance.
No unnecessary technique.
Every movement was brutally direct.
His foot struck the ground, his body surged forward, his shoulder rotating as his fist came straight towards Guardian Zhao's chest.
Guardian Zhao stepped sideways.
The fist passed beside his body.
The pressure alone tore his robes.
Guardian Zhao immediately countered.
His right palm struck towards the zombie cultivator's ribs, lightning Astral Qi concentrating into his palm as he poured his Martial Will into the attack.
Bang!
His palm connected.
Lightning exploded.
But the zombie cultivator merely staggered half a step.
His pale skin was charred slightly where the lightning struck, yet beneath the damaged flesh, there was no blood.
Guardian Zhao's heart sank.
The zombie cultivator turned his head.
Then he grinned.
"That's more like it."
He swung his elbow.
Guardian Zhao ducked beneath it, feeling the wind from the attack sweep over his hair, then immediately drove his shoulder into the man's abdomen.
The collision sounded like two enormous rocks smashing together.
Guardian Zhao's feet slid backwards.
The zombie cultivator barely moved.
The difference in physical strength was too great.
Guardian Zhao's eyes became cold as he retreated.
He understood now.
The zombie cultivator's physical body had reached at least the mid-to-late Rank 3 level.
Against such a body, his newly formed Astral Gang physique simply could not compete.
He had no chance of winning through close combat.
Then—
A cold sensation appeared behind him.
Guardian Zhao's Gang Field had already been shattered, but his Martial Will remained sensitive to danger.
He immediately twisted his waist.
A ghostly claw swept past his back.
SHUA!
The claw tore through the air where his body had been moments earlier.
Guardian Zhao narrowly avoided it.
He retreated several steps, his breathing becoming heavier as he looked between the two demonic cultivators.
One possessed terrifying physical strength.
The other controlled a Rank 3 Ghost Specter and countless weaker ghosts.
They were working together.
Guardian Zhao clenched his fists.
He could dodge one attack.
He could perhaps survive two.
But how long could he continue avoiding attacks from both sides?
The ghost cultivator's eyes darkened when he saw his claw miss.
His prey had escaped again.
His expression became increasingly ugly.
"You're getting annoying."
The ghostly aura around him surged violently.
Behind him, the damaged Thousand Ghost Banner trembled.
The remaining ghosts inside began screaming once more.