Volcanic Age

Its movements indicated that it was a livebody zombie. No other type of zombie could move like that.

"But it wasn't a powerful expert when it was alive!"

It was definitely fast. What made it even more special was how unnoticeable it was when it moved. Yet, that was the extent of it. If Zhou Xuchuan faced an expert with such agility, he would have been killed already.

After all, there was no way a zombie could move 'in moderation' when the necromancer wasn't here to control it.

Whisk-!

In the meantime, an ax hurtled toward him. The double-bladed ax spun as it flew through the air.

"Not happening!"

Zhou Xuchuan swung his sword as hard as he could, not forgetting to imbue his qi into it. The flying ax was deflected with a resounding clang.

"Still, it's pretty strong!" Zhou Xuchuan complained.

Despite its speed, the zombie lacked qi, but possessed formidable strength. His body trembled from the impact of deflecting the ax. The vibration from the attack spread across his entire body.

Pah-!

The zombie jumped into the air, wielding a pair of daggers.

"Just how many weapons can it use?"

First, it was a sword, then an ax, and now it was dual daggers. It meant that the zombie was well-versed in martial arts.

"Watch out!" warned Zhuge Shengji, who was watching. The zombie crossed its daggers and swung them menacingly.

"Heh, but it looks like we've hit the jackpot!"

Zhou Xuchuan laughed as he skillfully deflected the daggers, causing the zombie to stagger backward and somersault through the air before hitting the ground.

Its movements remained elusive. He felt like he was fighting against a ghost that didn't exist in the material world.

Zhou Xuchuan grinned while facing the zombie. He looked like he had found a treasure.

"Is the captain losing it?"

Zhou Xuchuan was grinning while looking at a livebody zombie. He was definitely not normal in the eyes of everyone.

"We met earlier than expected," Zhou Xuchuan suddenly talked to the zombie. "Three-Eyed Godly Thief."

"What!"

When Zhou Xuchuan called the zombie the Three-Eyed Godly Thief, the rest of the group erupted into commotion. Their surprise was understandable.

"Wait, you mean that zombie is the Three-Eyed Godly Thief?" Wang Yi asked in disbelief.

"I'm only at the Peak Realm, but it's impossible to not detect even a hint of his presence despite focusing all my senses, unless someone is of the Harmony Realm. There is only one person who can do that." Zhou Xuchuan muttered, seemingly speaking to the zombie.

"If the owner of the treasury is protecting something, the treasures inside this room should be extraordinary," Zhou Xuchuan concluded. As long as he could defeat the Three-Eyed Godly Thief, he would be done with this frustrating treasury.

"Captain Zhou, can I take a swing at him?" Chu Lian asked as she clenched her fists. The other cultivators behind her also looked like they couldn't hold back their anger.

All those mechanisms and traps! All that suffering!

The mere thought of it fueled their anger.

"No." Zhou Xuchuan flatly refused them for the first time. "I have a lot against him too."

Like an arrow, Zhou Xuchuan darted forward, his movements as swift as lightning. Simultaneously, the zombie, the Three-Eyed Godly Thief, shot forward.

The two clashed once more. Zhou Xuchuan swung his sword, the sword qi surrounding Frostedge growing sharper and gleaming.

Slash-!

A sword and a dagger met, but instead of the usual clang of metal, something was sliced through.

It was the dagger in the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's hands.

"It's over!"

Zhou Xuchuan stepped forward, reversing the path of his sword that had sliced through the dagger.

Whisk-!

"Dammit!"

The Three-Eyed Godly Thief recoiled, contorting its body so much that Zhou Xuchuan wondered if it was broken.

"How's a thief so strong?!"

He complained again, but nothing changed. On the contrary, the Three-Eyed Godly Thief became even more infuriating, bending backward to touch the ground before launching a kick upward.

Clang-!

A foot struck the side of the sword, nearly causing Zhou Xuchuan to lose his grip. The zombie used a sword, an ax, and even a pair of daggers, so there was no reason it couldn't use fist arts or leg arts.

At this point, it might be as strong as one of the Hundred Experts Under Heaven.

Swoosh-!

Suddenly, he felt a strong pressure around his face. Before he knew it, the Three-Eyed Godly Thief was punching his side.

Zhou Xuchuan quickly executed the Five Ways Plum Blossom Steps, evading the blow. The zombie remained insanely fast.

Whoosh-!

After a right punch, it followed with a left palm strike. It was a palm art.

Zhou Xuchuan took two steps back to avoid it.

"Aren't you too goddamn fast!" Zhou Xuchuan exclaimed, though he knew the zombie wouldn't respond. He couldn't distract it, yet his lips moved ceaselessly.

The onslaught of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's attacks continued, much like the movement of his lips.

Fist punches, elbow punches, knee-kicking, kicking, palming… all the attacks seamlessly flowed together as it relentlessly attacked Zhou Xuchuan.

Whenever it was close to a weapon on the ground, it picked up the weapon to attack. This time, it was a spear.

"Was Captain Zhou always this talkative?" Chu Lian wondered as she observed the fight between the man and the zombie.

"Yep." Zhuge Shengji nodded without hesitation.

He was only quiet during the exploration of the treasury because there were many things to watch out for, but normally Zhou Xuchuan would chat endlessly by his side.

"Don't we need to help him?"

"You wanna jump in there?"

"It'll be a hindrance instead."

Only someone of Zhou Xuchuan's caliber could survive that. Had it been anyone else, they would have died a long time ago. Even if they tried to help, Zhou Xuchuan would likely curse at them for being a hindrance.

"Gosh! It's so damn annoying! Give me time to breathe at least!" Zhou Xuchuan lamented, annoyed by the endless barrage of attacks.

The zombie showed no signs of exhaustion. Its attacks seemed fueled by boundless internal qi.

I'll lose at this rate.

He also had a lot of internal qi, afterall, he wasn't called All Bite No Bark without reason. However, even then, he had a lot, not an infinite amount. He was only human and had his limits.

The fight lasted for about fifteen minutes before something changed. Unfortunately, it was Zhou Xuchuan who changed as he began to sweat.

He found himself on the defensive, gradually being pushed back.

I'll be the one to fall at a disadvantage if I keep stalling for time. If I want to win, I need to bet everything on one move.

The Three-Eyed Godly Thief's body looked very feeble at first glance. It had thin limbs and not much muscle. Although it was a small wound, Zhou Xuchuan confirmed that his attacks did inflict injuries on it.

I need to sever its head.

A zombie would move even if its heart was destroyed. It would continue moving as long as the head and the body were connected.

Okay.

He didn't really have any strategy. However, he thought of a way to win this fight.

"This will be the first time I'm using it, but…" Zhou Xuchuan muttered, gathering all his qi. He was about to bet everything in one attack. He would die if he failed.

When he accepted the possibility of his death, he started focusing harder. It felt like time was slowing down.

The Three-Eyed Godly Thief charged at him again. Even the movements he thought were faster than light had slowed down.

Fortunately, there was no weapon in its hands. Five minutes earlier, Zhou Xuchuan had cut its spear in half.

"Come!"

He stood still; he didn't do anything else. His stance seemed full of openings.

"Captain Zhou!" Wang Yi was alarmed. He almost shouted, fearing Zhou Xuchuan was planning to commit suicide, but the Three-Eyed Godly Thief was in front of Zhou Xuchuan already.

Woosh-!

The Three-Eyed Godly Thief twisted its body and punched. Its fist pierced the air with formidable force, aimed directly at Zhou Xuchuan's head. At this rate, Zhou Xuchuan's head would burst open like a smashed watermelon.

"Now!"

Zhou Xuchuan jumped slightly. Thanks to that, the punch that was aimed at his head was now aimed at his chest. Of course, that didn't mean that he would be safe from the attack. He would be injured regardless if he took the brunt of the attack.

Zhou Xuchuan quickly extended his left hand, which wasn't holding a sword, to grab the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's right arm and fix it under his armpit.

"Cough!"

Just because he didn't get hit by the punch didn't mean that he was unscathed. Unless he struck back with a similar amount of internal qi, the shock of the attack would be transferred to him. Even avoiding a direct hit didn't spare him from injury, resulting in blood spurting from his mouth.

Sacrifice something minor and take something major!

The Three-Eyed Godly Thief's movements weren't something he could catch, making it difficult for him to inflict proper damage despite attacking for a while.

That was why he came up with this method. If he could grab its arm and immobilize it, he would be able to restrict the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's movements.

His internal qi surged through his meridians and converged at his sword. Though the color of the qi couldn't be seen properly, it had a faint violet hue.

Ziin-!

The qi in the sword whirled like a tempest. It felt like a mosquito was buzzing right next to his ears.

Violet Haze Sword Art, the First Form!

He had trained earnestly even after he started exploring the treasury. As a result, his cultivation of the Violet Haze Divine Art managed to barely reach the fourth stage.

Reaching the fourth stage in the Violet Haze Divine Art meant that he would be able to start learning the Violet Haze Sword Art.

The Violet Haze Sword Art, which only the sect master was allowed to learn, was executed by Zhou Xuchuan.

'Violet Haze Dawnbreaker!'

Rumble-!

A loud rumble akin to thunder resounded.

"DIE!"

It was the strongest move he could use!

Zhou Xuchuan struck out with a shout. The energy contained in the sword shot toward the Three-Eyed Godly Thief.

The Three-Eyed Godly Thief instinctively tried to evade. However, with an arm stuck, it could not evade.

In the end, the Violet Haze Dawnbreaker consumed the Three-Eyed Godly Thief.

"Ah…" No one could speak coherently, let alone breathe properly.

Despite witnessing what unfolded in front of their eyes, their minds struggled to process it immediately. In the first place, they could not follow the fight with their eyes.

What they saw was a blurry image of the fight before Zhou Xuchuan had grabbed the Three-Eyed Godly Thief's arm, then he unleashed a very powerful attack that caused the surrounding air to tremble, erasing the zombie's head from existence.

"Bleeergh!"

Zhou Xuchuan shattered the silence, his face pale as he continued to spurt blood onto the ground.

"C-captain!"

Only then did the cultivators snap back to reality.

"Take out all the medicine we have!" Wang Yi urgently shouted.

"Hihihi…" Zhou Xuchuan was sprawled on the ground, laughing like an idiot. His head was ringing from the noise, but he didn't mind. He felt like all his frustrations had been relieved in one go.

Pushing himself to the limits and executing a new sword art after concealing everything was exhilarating.

"Ugh, it hurts."

He was in a pretty dangerous state, but he didn't feel bad. For some reason, he couldn't help but continue laughing.

I… defeated the Three-Eyed Godly Thief.

It was different from the battle with Lu Dalang. He fought on his own without anyone's help and won.

The zombie in front of him was no random cultivator. It was none other than the legendary Three-Eyed Godly Thief.

Although the Three-Eyed Godly Thief wasn't a peerless expert, he still used to be a legendary figure, so defeating someone like that made him grin.

"You stole the world? Then I stole the treasures of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief that stole the world! HAHAHA… Urgh, cough!"

Zhou Xuchuan laughed pleasantly before coughing out blood.