An SUV stopped once again in front of Su Ze's villa.
The little shrine maiden with wine-red hair immediately jumped out of the car and ran off, while Uesugi Chigenki, like an owner who had lost control of their husky's leash, hurriedly jogged after his sister.
Su Ze walked while alternating between puffs of cigarette and sips of alcohol. Cang Yu, who disliked the smell of smoke, quietly distanced himself, while Shen Qingsheng showed no discomfort and continued chatting with Su Ze.
Suddenly, Cang Yu felt a weight on his back as Zhi Xu jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He quickly held onto her thighs to prevent her from falling. "Can't you walk by yourself?"
"Walking is too tiring," Zhi Xu buried her head in his shoulder. "If you don't want to carry me, you can just drop me."
"Stop squirming," Cang Yu adjusted his girlfriend's position, silently continuing forward while holding onto her fair thighs.
Su Ze took a sip of alcohol, tilted his head back, and gargled, "Gulp gulp."
"Pfft!"
"Do you love me?" Zhi Xu asked.
"..." Cang Yu looked around, realizing that ever since his girlfriend had jumped on his back, everyone had simultaneously turned their heads away. He felt somewhat embarrassed. "Can you stop asking such childish questions all the time?"
"Do you love me or not?" Zhi Xu persisted.
"I do," Cang Yu answered, fighting his embarrassment.
Zhi Xu kissed his cheek, "That's your reward."
Cang Yu felt a tingling sensation through his body, his cheeks slightly flushed as he continued walking in silence.
"Gulp gulp, pfft!"
"Do you love me?" Xu Ziyin looked at Gu Qingqing with expectant, watery eyes.
Gu Qingqing smiled, "No."
Dead on arrival.
"Then I won't give you a reward!" Xu Ziyin threatened.
"Okay," Gu Qingqing replied with a playful smile.
Double dead on arrival.
The three single individuals' lips curled upward.
"I don't care, I don't care!" Xu Ziyin whined, suddenly grabbing Gu Qingqing's hand, "Do you really not love me?"
Gu Qingqing maintained her sweet smile, "Really."
Xu Ziyin still wouldn't give up, "Why don't you feel any guilt when lying to others?"
"I usually don't lie to others."
"Stop joking! Stop joking!" Xu Ziyin's eyes instantly turned red, her voice becoming choked, "Please don't joke around, okay? Did I... did I do something to upset you? I promise I won't do it again, no more jokes, okay? Don't leave me, please, I..."
"Silly girl, it's because you're not 'others' to me."
Seeing her suddenly cry, Gu Qingqing felt her heart clench and quickly embraced her.
"Sister Xingyao, you lead the rest of the way. I have something to take care of and need to leave first. Once I'm done, I'll come find you all," Su Ze said.
"How will you find us?" Meng Xingyao asked, puzzled.
"I'll rely on luck. If I can't find you, I'll meet up with you at the shelter. It won't take long."
With that, Su Ze left.
As he walked, he lifted his flask, "Gulp gulp gulp, pfft!"
Half a day passed, and Su Ze walked into a plain following his memory.
In the river flowing with thick, foul-smelling water, numerous unsightly monsters were eyeing him vigilantly.
Su Ze ignored these monsters and strode through the water, trudging to the opposite bank, finally stopping about a hundred meters away from a large tree covered in numerous human faces.
These faces belonged to the victims from Lang Province when the mysterious realm descended.
There was a hollow in the tree.
Su Ze clasped his hands together like a conch shell and blew into an opening, producing a horn-like sound that echoed throughout this quiet realm.
A decaying eagle poked its head out.
Su Ze drew his Miao blade, and their gazes locked in a fierce standoff.
Time ticked by second by second as a murderous aura spread, and withered, eerie leaves fell from the tree.
Three hours passed.
The monsters dwelling in the river, tree crowns, and soil remained as still as wooden statues.
None dared to join the battle before their king gave the order.
Moreover, they didn't dare to be the first to draw Su Ze's fire.
This was a battle for dominance.
Every time Su Ze entered the Land of the Living Dead, he would come here dozens of times.
He had killed these monsters until they were terrified of him. No exaggeration, each of these monsters had died hundreds of times by his hand.
He had chopped them into tens of thousands of pieces and burned them with corpse oil for hours.
When the corpse oil ran out, he would chop down these trees and continue burning.
No matter how strong their regenerative abilities were, Su Ze would immediately dismember them and throw their body parts into different pits to burn, preventing them from reassembling quickly.
Of course, conquering these monsters wasn't accomplished in a single visit. It took Su Ze hundreds of back-and-forth trips to instill fear in them.
These monsters, with their immortal bodies, had also beaten him into retreat countless times.
In the worst instance, he had one hand and one foot cut off, followed by hundreds of monsters pouncing on him – he had nearly died there.
But his repeated visits were purposeful.
The battle had now lasted six hours, and darkness was falling.
Su Ze's gaze remained fixed on the eagle as he slightly tilted his head to massage his sore neck.
In the next moment, the eagle suddenly flapped its wings and swooped down to attack.
The surrounding monsters that had been watching him also pounced all at once!
Su Ze's lips curled into a smile as he raised his blade for a swift strike!
The eagle was instantly split in two.
Crouching down, his long blade ignited with blue rule flames! Twisting his waist and turning, he used the power of rules to slash out a hundred-meter diameter circle of flaming blade light around him!
Whoosh!!
The monsters that had charged within the hundred-meter radius of the blade light were instantly cut in half!
The trees and rocks in the area were also sliced through like tofu!
But before these monsters' bodies could completely separate, the two halves attracted each other like magnets, instantly healing upon contact.
Hundreds of clones surged out like a tide, and Su Ze used his extremely high agility to continuously dismember these monsters, cutting them again and again!
He grabbed one monster's head, sliced it off, and as the monster groaned, the head fell to the ground where he crushed it to pulp with his foot!
Such injuries could prevent the monsters from fully recovering for a short time, requiring at least ten seconds to heal completely.
Compared to instant healing, this was much slower.
Like the Grim Reaper, Su Ze swung his Miao blade, slaughtering the monsters in the most brutal ways.
The eagle, which had already healed, suddenly increased in size!
Its body, now dozens of meters large, came crashing down like a small mountain!
Su Ze urgently transferred his main body to a clone further from the battlefield.
Boom!
The giant eagle created a huge crater upon impact, earth curling up, dust filling the air, leaving the monsters bloody and mangled in its wake.
As it spread its wings, the wind howled, and its majestic silhouette in the dust was awe-inspiring!
At this moment, one of Su Ze's clones remaining on the battlefield leaped toward the giant eagle's head!
His main body transferred, raising the blade and bringing it down fiercely at the eagle's neck!
Swoosh!
A straight, enormous blade light fell like a guillotine! Creating a thin light screen that completely separated the giant eagle's head from its body!
Su Ze grabbed the eagle's head and jumped high into the air, his flame-wreathed long blade splitting the eagle's head into pieces as the flames engulfed it.
A terrifying sight unfolded – the headless giant eagle's body flapped its wings, stirring up fierce winds, its sharp and fierce talons lunging at Su Ze!
Su Ze spun again to rise higher, avoiding the giant eagle's body's path. His body inverted, and as the eagle passed beneath him, he grabbed its feathers, twirled his blade in a flourish, and thrust it deep into the giant eagle's body!