Chapter 79: Liu Zhi’s Treacherous Scheme (Bonus Chapter—Please Bookmark and Recommend)

“We’re out of time,” Liu Zhi murmured, withdrawing the Staff of Death. He turned to Wednina and said, “Do you want to head back first? That toxin is fatally enticing to the undead.”

Wednina shook her head, her four arms gripping her longsword firmly, unwilling to leave ahead of time no matter what. With no other choice, Liu Zhi relented, “Then be careful. Let’s wait a little longer before moving forward.”

He raised his Staff of Death again and took out a small vial, pouring its contents out. “Extraordinary Power: Gale!”

Under the force of the gale Liu Zhi conjured, the liquid was swept away toward the battlefield where Kattler and his group fought, before it could even vaporize. This was a toxin Liu Zhi had specially crafted to target the undead, a poison he had named “Necrotic Chaos.”

Wherever the poison passed, all undead were provoked, drawn to it as if they were dogs lured by meat, chasing the drifting mist. In the haze, the nearly mindless undead turned rabid, attacking anything nearby like dogs guarding their food—friend or foe, it made no difference.

This was precisely the effect Liu Zhi intended. He sent the poison toward Kattler’s position, and as the mist swept through, every undead in its path caught its scent. At that moment, whether it was the wandering undead of the wilds, or the phantoms conjured by the golden statue of the Sun God, all were suddenly riled like agitated hounds and surged toward Kattler’s group.

Those who had come with outside help—whether it was the sailors of Xisai’s navy or the warriors of the jungle tribes, be they chieftains or outsiders like Kattler and Lloyd—all were now regarded as enemies by the undead.

From his vantage point, far from the chaos, Liu Zhi watched as hordes of skeletons clawed their way from the earth, and wave after wave of pale blue phantoms descended from the sky, swarming toward the fray.

At the heart of the poison’s reach, the humans, now temporarily in their soul forms, were also affected by the toxin. In their minds, only one thought remained: to strike down the oncoming undead. Concern for their own safety was forgotten.

Even Kattler was swept up in it, frantically deploying all manner of items. It was clear he was well-prepared; every tool he produced was a rare treasure, and each time he used one, swathes of undead were destroyed.

But this place was part of the Underworld, and the undead here were the accumulation of centuries, if not millennia, from the surrounding tribes. No matter how many he slew in one blow—one hundred, two hundred, it made no difference—a ceaseless tide of undead continued to rise from the earth.

Liu Zhi even caught sight of ancient undead clad in the garments of a distant era.

Meanwhile, hidden within a crystal orb and waiting to seize the Sun God’s final legacy, Sokresa was thrown into confusion. An overwhelming urge seized him, compelling him to abandon the orb and destroy every moving thing nearby.

Fortunately, a lingering trace of the Sun God’s power within the orb helped suppress the urge. Yet this was already the limit. Sokresa’s original plan had been to enter the orb, expel the souls maintaining the Sun God’s power through their worship, and let them battle Kattler and others. In the ensuing chaos, as the Sun God’s power slipped from control, he would forcefully absorb it.

Once the Sun God’s power fused completely with his soul, he intended to use the legacy left by the Sun God to forcibly summon the divinity of the Feathered Serpent, reconstruct the Sun God’s divine body, and thus become the new Sun God himself.

But now, he found his soul slipping beyond his control. Though still inside the orb, he could not merge with the Sun God’s power. Instead, he started seeing every living thing around him as an enemy, and the precious divine energy spilled out in every direction as if it were worthless.

The unleashed Sun God power was formidable, instantly vaporizing any undead it touched, much like sunlight melting snow.

But this was an appalling waste. If the Sun God’s power could be wielded normally, its might would be a hundredfold greater. Yet this single lapse of control was enough to ruin everything.

As the divine energy stored in the crystal orb was gradually depleted, the already fractured crystal began to shatter rapidly.

Sokresa soon realized something was horribly wrong—his soul was being consumed by the crystal as if he were mere fuel.

Abandoning his scheme, he tried desperately to escape the orb. But at that moment, the last vestige of the Sun God’s power manifested a sliver of will—perhaps a final safeguard left by the Sun God himself.

Sokresa’s soul was dragged into the crystal. The orb then emitted a blazing white light that spread outward from its core, instantly engulfing a radius of five miles.

Liu Zhi and his companions almost found themselves caught within the sphere of light. Witnessing the spectacle, Liu Zhi could not help but pat his chest and murmur, “Such power… It seems I have underestimated the foes of this world.”

When the white radiance faded, Liu Zhi noticed that all the undead he had lured there with his poison had vanished. Nothing remained at the center of the light. However, the blue passageway that had appeared before the flash still endured, and a few people seemed to have escaped back through it.

Seeing this, Liu Zhi immediately turned and said, “Back to the Palace of the Dead. We’ll wait until all is calm before returning to settle matters.”

Wednina nodded and forged ahead, clearing the way as they quickly retreated toward the Palace of the Dead.

Meanwhile, inside the blue passage, Kattler—his entire body charred—looked down at his withered left hand, gritted his teeth, and poured a potion over it.

Lloyd, in slightly better shape, supported Kattler and whispered, “Lord Beckett, should we head back?”

“No. It’s too dangerous outside right now. We’re short on men, and if we go out, we risk being attacked by the natives. We’ll head straight for the City of Gold. Once we take it, the great serpent outside will block their entry. I’ll summon the Xisai navy for support.”

“But the situation in the City of Gold—”

“Don’t worry. This whole mess was the old man’s doing. As for the demons in the City of Gold—what’s so terrifying about them? Over the years, I’ve slaughtered nearly a hundred demons. Trust me, I’ve got this under control.”