After transforming into a zombie and taking elixirs to overcome her initial period of weakness, A Xiu returned to Hongxi Village. There, she began her long vigil for Kuang Guohua. Since she had no way of knowing when she would see Qiu Xia again, she did not consume her medicinal pills daily. Instead, she rationed them, only taking one whenever she felt her hunger reaching the point where she might lose her sanity.
Jiang Chen once said that love is the greatest power a zombie can possess. There had been a Fourth Generation zombie who, driven by love, forgot the fear of death and managed to cross two entire ranks to kill a Second Generation zombiethough the influence of the Demon Star had certainly played a part. A Xiu herself was unique; her transformation had been fueled by pills refined by Qiu Xia using the essence blood of Kuang Tianyou and Kuang Fusheng.
At the time Qiu Xia obtained their blood, Jiang Chen's own progenitor blood had not yet fully finished fusing within them. Consequently, the pills A Xiu consumed contained a trace of Jiang Chen's blood. Though it was far scarcer than the blood flowing through other Second Generation zombies, it provided A Xiu with the potential to evolve.
Bolstered by her love for Kuang Tianyou and the assistance of the elixirs, A Xiu successfully advanced from a Three-and-a-Half Generation zombie to a full Second Generation zombie by the time she consumed her fifth pill.
Of course, to A Xiu, rank mattered little. Whether she was a Third Generation or a Second Generation was irrelevant; her only reason for becoming a zombie was to endure the passage of time until Kuang Tianyou returned to her.
Elsewhere, Qiu Xia had already brought Kuang Tianyou and Kuang Fusheng back to the Naruto World. He took the time to explain his own circumstances as well as theirs.
Upon learning he was now in an entirely different world, Kuang Tianyou's expression turned complicated. "So, the 'solution' you mentioned before... was simply to bring us to another world?"
"That's part of it, but not all," Qiu Xia replied. "You've been turned into zombies by Jiang Chen. If you want to become human again, your only hope lies with the Pangu Clan. However, those people are currently occupied fighting a war against Destiny and won't help you. Even if they did, the Destiny of your world would likely scheme against you again or find a way to turn you back into zombies."
After a brief silence, Qiu Xia looked directly at Kuang Tianyou. "If you don't want to be a mere pawn on a chessboard, you must strive to increase your power. Only by reaching the Red Eye level of a First Generation zombie will you have even a shred of ability to protect yourself from Destiny. Otherwise, you're just a toy for Destiny to play with as it pleases."
"What exactly are this Pangu Clan and Destiny you speak of?" Kuang Tianyou asked, looking bewildered.
"There are some discrepancies between your world and what I originally understood, so I can't say for certain if every detail is correct," Qiu Xia explained. "But here is what I know: when your world was first created, three divine books were bornthe Book of Heaven, the Book of Earth, and the Book of Humanity. The Book of Heaven is Destiny itself. From the moment it was born, it sought to devour the other two books and control the fate of every living being in the world."
"The Pangu Clan, to which Jiang Chen belongs, is the most perfect race ever created by the Heavenly Dao. Because they are so perfect, even Destiny cannot destroy them. Destiny has waged war against the Pangu Clan for countless years, yet they remain in a stalemate. Both sides want to annihilate the other, but neither has the power to do so."
After a moment of thought, Qiu Xia continued, "Because Destiny is a product of the Heavenly Dao, the Dao is naturally more inclined toward Destiny as long as it doesn't commit a major transgression. Coupled with internal conflicts within the Pangu Clan, they eventually fell into a disadvantage and retreated into the depths of the universe.
They remained there until a special existence was born: Nüwa. After her birth, the Pangu Clan dispatched Jiang Chen to watch over her. However, during his descent to the mortal realm, the passage of timeor perhaps some other factorcaused Jiang Chen to lose his memories..."
As he listened to the reality of his home world, Kuang Tianyou was stunned. What kind of messed-up world had he lived in? A sentient Destiny? A whole tribe of Pangu beings? He didn't even know what to say.
Kuang Tianyou felt he needed to calm down and decide his path forward. Qiu Xia, however, didn't want him to sink too deep into depression just yet. Before that could happen, he managed to obtain seven drops of essence blood from both Kuang Tianyou and Kuang Fusheng. His excuse was that he needed them to research a way to increase their power or fix the flaws in their condition.
Since they were currently safe within the Land of Demons and neither of them had any desire to create "blood progeny," Qiu Xia obtained the essence blood easily. With his supply of Yin Spirit Pills, he knew he would have a steady stream of essence blood in the future.
After acquiring the blood, Qiu Xia refined it into Zombie Transformation Pills. He kept three on his person and placed the rest in a Yin-heavy location to soak up purified Yin energy, corpse qi, and spiritual energy to enhance their quality.
Qiu Xia decided to use two of the three pills in this world and the last one in the One Piece World. He had already decided who the recipients would be.
"What?! You want to turn Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai into zombies?!"
Atop a beautiful mountain peak in the Land of Demons, Uncle Jiu looked at Qiu Xia in total disbelief.
"Master, the zombies I'm talking about aren't the mindless ones we used to subdue. They would be descendants of the Jiang Chen lineage. It's like this..." Qiu Xia explained the lore of My Date with a Vampire without holding anything back.
Uncle Jiu frowned as he listened. "Even if such zombies are powerful and carry the name of the Pangu Clan, they are still zombies. Your elixirs might substitute for blood, but it's not the same. We can't spend our lives feeding on blood."
"Master, consider Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai," Qiu Xia argued. "Given their laziness and mediocre aptitude, do you think they can ever achieve immortality on their own? Even with the abundant spiritual energy of the Naruto World and the unlimited resources I provide,
they still haven't been able to break through to the rank of Heavenly Master. I don't think my Senior Brothers are suited for the Path of Dao. If they use the Zombie Transformation Pill to become Jiang Chen-style zombies, they can ascend to greatness in a single leap. It gives them a real future."
"But... they would be zombies!" Uncle Jiu's face was etched with hesitation.
"Master, why don't I bring them here and let them choose for themselves? The most important thing is their own opinion. If they agree, we use the pills. If they don't, I'll find someone else."
Uncle Jiu thought it over and realized Qiu Xia was right. He couldn't make such a life-altering decision for his disciples based on his own whims. Although it was a Taoist's duty to deal with zombies, not every zombie was an enemyUncle Jiu himself had adopted a young zombie back in the days of the One-Eyebrow Priest.
When Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai arrived and heard the proposal, neither of them hesitated. They agreed immediately. While they wouldn't be able to eat normal food anymore, the trade-off was immortality and immense power. With their Junior Brother around, they wouldn't have to hunt for blood; they could just eat elixirs. Who in their right mind would refuse such a deal?
Seeing that his disciples were willing, Uncle Jiu said no more. Once they consumed the elixirs, the effects took hold within a day. Perhaps it was because they were already cultivators, or perhaps it was because Qiu Xia's pills were refined with top-tier materials, but instead of starting with the yellow-green eyes typical of their rank, a single Yin Spirit Pill pushed them both straight to the Second Generation level. Qiu Xia now had two more powerful research subjects.
Because the Naruto World was his primary home, Qiu Xia didn't intend to let too many zombies appear. He only planned to let his close friends and family undergo the transformation if they wished. As for anyone else? Qiu Xia couldn't care less.
After a month and dozens of Yin Spirit Pills, Qiu Xia reached a conclusion: Kuang Tianyou and the others could hold a maximum of nine drops of essence blood. After he took eight drops, it took five pillsessentially five daysto regenerate a single drop.
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