Stranger Danger

After his complexion had completely returned to normal, Ancestor Greenwood wiped away the yellowish liquid still clinging to his lips and muttered,

“I got away… right?”

He was afraid not just because of his mysterious pursuer, but also his “One Autumn Life”.

“One Autumn Life” was an escape technique in “Plants Live Only One Autumn”. It was also his life-saving trump card. A form of Wood Escape of the Five Phases Escape, it allowed the Ancestor Greenwood to escape through plants. It was easily one of the best escape techniques out there.

Of course, “One Autumn Life” was no match for the orthodox Taoist’s Wood Escape. It cost the practitioner their life essence to activate and infected them with a plant’s energy of decline.

It was why “One Autumn Life” was named the way it was. It implied that those who used it would probably live and die within one autumn.

Just now, he had used “One Autumn Life” to travel tens of kilometers in just a short time. Not only did it robbed him of a ton of life force, he was tainted by much energy of decline as well. That was why he had aged between forty to fifty years in an instant.

Even with his cultivation art, it would take him at least five or six years to replenish it. Such was the cost of using “One Autumn Life”.

Still, it was worth it. After all, it kept him alive, and so long he was still alive, anything was possible.

Ancestor Greenwood stared at his aged, wrinkly hands before declaring fiercely and hatefully, “Cough! Cough… I don’t know who you are, but you shall pay once I’ve thoroughly grasped the secrets of the Wenliang Pearl!”

“I don’t think you will get that chance.”

A voice suddenly came from somewhere in the forest.

“Impossible!”

Ancestor Greenwood’s pupils shrank. His already pallid complexion instantly turned as white as paper.

He had traveled at least tens of kilometers with “One Autumn Life”. How was it possible for his pursuer to catch up to him?

There was no time to think. He immediately tried to use “One Autumn Life” again. Although his previous usage had already damaged his foundation, and a second use would most likely worsen his injuries and even kill him outright, dying later was still better than dying now.

Besides, Ancestor Greenwood hadn’t given up hope yet. Every second he could buy for himself was a second he might escape his pursuer and live to see another day.

Unfortunately, the forest within a hundred meters of him suddenly burst into green flames and began wilting earnestly. The color green usually symbolized life and nature, but this one oozed an aura of death, inauspiciousness, and calamity.

In just a matter of seconds, every plant around him was dead.

“...”

Ancestor Greenwood was speechless. Suddenly, he didn’t know what to do anymore.

“One Autumn Life” could only be executed if there were plants around him, but now, every plant within a hundred meters of him was dead. How could he possibly escape like this?

This is unfair!

“Who are you?!” Ancestor Greenwood roared in despair.

Whoosh…

Right after he said that, the weak-looking flames abruptly swelled into a towering inferno.

Suddenly, the wall of flames parted, and a man slowly stepped out into the open. He too was covered in green flames, and he had cold, emotionless eyes.

“Who are you? Why are you trying to kill me? P-perhaps there is a misunderstanding between us?” Ancestor Greenwood stuttered. He knew that his assassin was targeting his Wenliang Pearl as a matter of course, but he wasn’t willing to give it away just like that. What if the assassin actually wasn’t targeting his treasure? What if there was a chance he could get away with both his possessions and his life?

“There is no misunderstanding.”

Unfortunately, the man replied in a low tone, “Remember. Your killer is Earth Walker of the Yaksas, one of the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas!”

“Wait! I’ll give you the Wenliang Pearl! All I ask is—”

Ancestor Greenwood blanched knowing that luck definitely wasn’t on his side today. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even finish his pleading before the fire behind Earth Walker surged another fifty meters into the air before crashing down on Ancestor Greenwood like a tidal wave.

When the green flame finally dispersed, everything within a hundred meters had burned down into an ashen wasteland. Ancestor Greenwood was nowhere to be seen, but where he was standing a moment ago lay a single pearl. It was emanating a cool energy.

The pearl was, of course, the Wenliang Pearl. Although the Wenliang Pearl turned hot when it was cold and vice versa, Earth Walker had attacked far too swiftly and fiercely. As a result, Ancestor Greenwood had burned into ash before it could activate its full power.

Earth Walker walked up to the Wenliang Pearl and picked it up. Then, he looked at the pile of ash that was once Ancestor Greenwood and said indifferently, “Your offer is unnecessary. I prefer picking up the stuff I like with my own two hands.”

……

The Amorous Mother Palace was originally a massive grave until Amorous Mother renovated it into the Amorous Mother Palace. It looked just as luxurious and splendid as any human palace.

Right now though, it was a pile of ruins that was covered in broken limbs and bodies. There was enough blood to form a river.

Right now, a tall, muscular man was doing battle against five children inside the hypogeum[1]. Young they might be, the children were anything but human. Covered in black hair like monkeys, they had blue faces, sharp fangs, and dark green arms. They also ran and leaped around as lithely as monkeys. An expert would recognize them as mythical Flying Zombies.

A zombie was a type of Stranger. If a human died, and their body refused to be subsumed by nature, then they would become stuck in the limb between life and death. Hence, a zombie.

A zombie could be categorized as White Zombies, Black Zombies, Jumping Zombies, Flying Zombies, Ba[2] and Hou.

When a corpse was placed inside a corpse breeding ground, it would grow long, white hair in about a month’s time. This type of corpse moved slowly and was exceptionally easy to handle. It was also weak to many things such as sunlight, fire, water, chickens, dogs and of course, humans. This was what they called a White Zombie.

If a White Zombie was fed the blood essences of livestock for several years, it would eventually shed its white hair and grow a coat of black hair that was just several inches long. It was still afraid of sunlight and fire, and its movements were still very slow. However, it no longer feared chickens and dogs, and its fear of humans were slightly diminished. It avoided humans who were awake and feared head-on fights, but it would feed on their blood once they were asleep. This type of zombie was called a Black Zombie.

A Black Zombie who fed on human blood for a couple centuries would shed their black fur. They also gained the capability to hop, which was much faster than dragging their feet. They still feared sunlight, but they no longer feared humans and animals. People called them Jumping Zombies.

Jumping Zombies transformed into Flying Zombies by absorbing the essence of the moon and yin energy. A Flying Zombie was usually a zombie that had lived at least a century or even several centuries. Swift and agile, they possessed explosive jumping power that enabled them to leap up trees and houses like nothing. They could also feed on essences without leaving external wounds.

A Flying Zombie who had absorbed essences for a couple centuries grew increasingly horrifying in appearance. Often described as having man-eating Rakshasha with a blue face and long fangs, they could mask themselves with illusions, slay dragons and start plagues. At this level, the zombie was known as a Ba.

Finally, A Ba who had transformed into a Hou possessed great magic and could spit smoke and fire from their mouths. They could toy with dragons like nothing, fly into the sky or slip into the earth. They were supposedly omnipotent.

To put it in simpler terms, a White Zombie was a Mortal-class Stranger, a Black Zombie was a Malice-class Stranger, a Jumping Zombie was a Hatred-class Stranger, a Flying Zombie was a Phenomenon-class Stranger, a Ba was a Disaster-class Stranger, and a Hou was an Ancient-class Stranger.

The five children weren’t Bas yet, though they were fairly close judging from their appearance. Possessing the strength of a Phenomenon-class Stranger, they were fast, immune to most weapons, and insanely strong. Their teeth, fingernails and such also possessed deadly poison that could transform someone into a zombie. They were terrifying foes to say the least.

The five children were currently flying all over the big man and attacking him frantically. However, the terrifying Flying Zombies might as well be ants before the big man, weak and pathetic. Their deadly teeth and nails could not break his skin, leaving behind only white marks that looked like scratch marks one left behind when they scratched an itch. On the other hand, the big man was like a walking cyclone that sent the five children flying as soon as they made even the slightest contact with him. It was clear who held the advantage between the two sides.

1. An underground temple or tomb. ☜

2. Drought demon. Remember the Hanba? A kind of dog-shaped, man-eating beast that was considered to be the pinnacle of zombies. ☜