Chu Xuan's spirit extended outwards, swiftly enveloping the entire skyscraper. In a matter of a minute or two, he discerned the peculiar nature of these zombies.
These lesser zombies were all spawned by a single Zombie Matriarch, akin to a queen bee or ant. They simply required continuous nourishment from the lesser zombies to endlessly produce zombie eggs.
After a period of incubation, these eggs would hatch into more of the lesser zombies. These zombies clearly defied conventional reasoning. After all, if one were to insist on scientific explanations, zombies would be viviparous rather than oviparous.
"How intriguing. I wonder if such lesser zombies could serve as the soil for a zombie farm?" Chu Xuan's interest grew as he watched. Stumbling upon this place by chance, he had not anticipated such an opportunity. As for the two survivors hidden within the skyscraper behind him, he had detected them almost immediately upon arrival. However, since they chose to remain hidden out of fear, he saw no reason to waste time exposing their refuge.
"Long, Hu, Bao, root out the Zombie Matriarch for me."
The three giant corpse puppets soared out and descended at the skyscraper's entrance. They roared excitedly, storming into the group of zombies transporting food like tigers among sheep.
He Shengliang and Ji Shengyu observed everything intently, their expressions solemn.
"The bald zombie at the forefront, the burly one following closely, and the skinny one that appears intermittently might all be level four zombies," Ji Shengyu noted, "This cultivator is very powerful." He Shengliang remarked earnestly.
Ji Shengyu teased, "You're not even talking probabilities anymore, you're nervous."
Ji Shengyu asked, "The Zombie Matriarch hasn't shown up yet. If it recklessly continues to hatch zombie eggs, do you think these three zombies can hold off?" Combining the data in his mind, He Shengliang pondered rapidly. Wisps of steam even began to rise from his head, indicating the intense activity of his brain. After a moment, he earnestly said, "There's a 35% chance these three zombies could kill the matriarch, though there's a possibility of losses."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Long and Hu like wild beasts charged into the skyscraper. Along the way, they left a trail of severed limbs and crushed bodies of lesser zombies. Bao, akin to an assassin, would each time appear and claim the life of a lesser zombie. Together, the three of them were unstoppable.
Deep underground, a sudden and furious growl echoed.
Clearly, the Zombie Matriarch, ceaselessly producing zombie eggs, had become aware that her progeny were being slaughtered en masse.
Soft, yet sharp bursting sounds came from all directions.
Chu Xuan's eyebrows raised. He sensed that a multitude of new lives were emerging from the depths, rushing towards the surface. As expected, it seemed the zombie eggs were being hatched prematurely under the matriarch's urging.
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Intense explosions suddenly erupted. Chu Xuan fixed his gaze and saw, to his astonishment, several lesser zombies clutching onto Bao and detonating themselves!
Organs, flesh, and bones scattered everywhere. These lesser zombies' bodies had undergone some transformation, now filled with unstable energy that could explode with the slightest provocation.
In the blink of an eye, lesser zombies emerged from the deep, clutching the three corpses known as Long and detonating immediately, completely disregarding their own safety. Even Long was left dazed by the continuous blasts. Particularly Bao, who was high in offense but low in defense, adept at slaying powerful foes but vulnerable to strong attacks.
Chu Xuan, sharing a mental bond with Bao, instantly perceived that Bao had sustained injuries.
Continuous howls of agony ensued. Hu, overhearing this, grew increasingly irritated and approached with a forceful shove.
Truly a disgrace to us!
Chu Xuan, however, found his interest piqued. Bao, now an eighth-level corpse soldier, was still susceptible to harm from the self-destructive lesser zombies. This indicated that the zombies and supernatural creatures of this planet indeed possessed their unique traits.
At that moment, another high-pitched scream growing louder approached, and emanated from below.
The Zombie Matriarch had awakened more zombie eggs, and more self-detonating lesser zombies were surging toward the surface.
From the sounds of it, even the Zombie Matriarch was moving towards the surface, evidently dissatisfied with the slow progress of the assault and intending to swiftly end the battle.
He Shengliang stated earnestly, "The Zombie Matriarch is coming. If these three zombies don't retreat, the one skilled in assassination has a 70% chance of being severely injured."
Ji Shengyu arched an eyebrow, "Do you think the cultivator will join the fight?"
He Shengliang nodded, "He definitely will. I have limited knowledge of him, but I estimate that killing the matriarch will cost him a great deal of effort."
Ji Shengyu chuckled, "Then if we intervene, we might earn his favor."
He Shengliang nodded in agreement.
They guessed correctly. Chu Xuan indeed planned to take action.
"It's been a while since I've taken action personally; this will be a good test of my new spells," he said with a slight smile.
After advancing to the fourth level of the Blood Evil Demon Refining Scripture, Chu Xuan mastered two new spells.
The first, acquired at the third level, was the Blood Evil Shadow. The second, learned at the fourth level, was the Corpse Refining Blood Fire.
Blood Evil Shadow, a mid-tier spell of the Foundation Establishment stage, utilizes a combination of blood essence and Yin Evil Qi to condense three pitch-black shadows. These shadows can usually hide within one's own shadow, undetectable. When attacked, they automatically appear to block the assault, requiring no conscious activation—a vital means of self-protection that Chu Xuan had long desired to master.
However, these zombies did not warrant the use of Blood Evil Shadow. Chu Xuan intended to use Corpse Refining Blood Fire, another mid-tier spell of the Foundation Establishment stage.
This spell necessitates the melting down of the corpses of living beings to manifest. If integrated into an offensive spell, the power of that spell greatly increases. When added to a defensive spell, it endows the spell with a counteractive burning capability, deterring opponents from attacking.
To Chu Xuan, this spell was exceptionally effective. The cost-effectiveness of these two spells even surpassed those learned from advancing to the fifth and sixth levels of the Blood Evil Demon Refining Scripture.
This was precisely why Chu Xuan having just broken through planned to find a place to refine his spells. With a casual toss, he enveloped the surrounding area of the skyscraper with thirty-six array flags.
This formation was known as the Sealing Array, a low-transformation formation of the Foundation Establishment stage. While it sounded formidable, it primarily served to prevent the beings within the array from leaving. There were many more powerful arrays than the Sealing Array.
Chu Xuan used this array merely to slightly restrict the zombies inside from leaving at will. With his current level of Spiritual Qi and spirit, he no longer needed to search for array nodes or manually place the flags. A simple toss under the guidance of his spiritual sense sufficed to position the flags and establish the array naturally.