Undying Life

Chapter 78: Good Fortune

Vegetation soldiers?

Princess Qianyou watched as the vegetation soldiers slowly closed in from all directions and spoke, "These are Illusionary Soldiers, growing stronger when faced with strength. It's a battle of equals. Remember, stay true to yourselves."

"Yes," the subordinates immediately responded.

It was only then that Zhongshan noticed something peculiar: these soldiers, they didn't have faces? Or rather, Zhongshan couldn't see their faces at all? They had no faces?

There were already over a hundred of them surrounding them.

Princess Qianyou, Gulin, A'da, and A'er stood in the center, while the remaining eight subordinates quickly raised their swords and charged towards the surrounding vegetation soldiers. Beiqingsi also wielded her sword to fend off the vegetation soldiers in front of Zhongshan. Obviously, not resisting was not an option.

"ClangClang"

Sounds of swords clashing echoed from all directions, and surprisingly, the strength of these vegetation soldiers was on par with the resisting individuals.

No, Zhongshan suddenly noticed a strange phenomenon: all the weapons of the vegetation soldiers in combat suddenly became identical to those of their opponents.

Identical?

In front of Beiqingsi, the three vegetation soldiers, whose original weapons were large swords, suddenly transformed into white swords identical to Beiqingsi's. The same was true for the other vegetation soldiers, each wielding weapons identical to their opponents', even in battles where there were multiple opponents against one.

Zhongshan saw that, except for Beiqingsi, the faces of the other eight people all showed incredulous expressions. Although they hadn't been defeated by their opponents, their expressions were as if they had seen a ghost.

"Crack"

One vegetation soldier was cut in half by Beiqingsi, suddenly transforming into two broken pieces of grass. But more vegetation soldiers swarmed over.

Suddenly, one vegetation soldier, in an unnoticed moment, bypassed Beiqingsi's defense and appeared in front of Zhongshan.

Seeing this scene, Zhongshan immediately released the hands of the two women and prepared to intervene with his sword. The two women also swiftly drew out their weapons. However, as the vegetation soldier approached, Zhongshan suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

The vegetation soldier now had a face. Previously faceless, it suddenly sprouted facial features. Facial features? And they were exactly like his own. Seeing the vegetation soldier was like looking into a mirror, seeing someone identical to himself?

At the same time, the vegetation soldier with his own likeness suddenly wielded a large sword resembling a "Nightmare" and swung it wildly at Zhongshan. The power of that strike seemed identical to Zhongshan's weakest moment?

The Fourth Stage of Innate Realm?

The two women also seemed to witness something incredible. They were about to move forward with their weapons, but Zhongshan acted first.

The Fourth Stage of Innate Realm? Vegetation soldiers? Are these soldiers a reflection of the opponent's strength? If I'm at the Fourth Stage of Innate Realm, are the vegetation soldiers also at the Fourth Stage of Innate Realm?

"Crack"

As Zhongshan's sword passed, the vegetation soldier was suddenly cut into two pieces, completely severed.

Seeing this scene, Zhongshan suddenly understood the meaning of a mutual harming situation. A reflection of oneself fighting against oneself? One vegetation soldier was manageable, but what about ten, or a hundred?

As more and more vegetation soldiers appeared, Zhongshan felt both horror and delight. So, he could protect himself too? Princess Qianyou and the others refrained from acting because they couldn't intervene directly. If Princess Qianyou acted, the strength of the vegetation soldiers would skyrocket. While they wouldn't necessarily lose, it would be pointless.

"Don't intervene," Zhongshan immediately said to Ying Lan and Tian Ling'er.

"Okay," the two nodded immediately. Although they didn't understand why Zhongshan said so, they seemed to have absolute confidence in him. Zhongshan said it, so they would follow it completely. Besides, hadn't Zhongshan just dealt with one vegetation soldier?

Zhongshan's actions just now caught Princess Qianyou's attention.

Mr. Shuijing had thoroughly explained the vegetation soldiers here to her. She naturally wouldn't intervene at this moment, but instead took the opportunity to observe how her subordinates would handle themselves facing their own reflections.

The situation was as expected. Except for the three who had lost their focus earlier, everyone else quickly defended against their own reflections. Those three individuals seemed to have narrowly escaped death. Princess Qianyou also used this opportunity to assess the strength and resilience of her subordinates.

At the same time, Princess Qianyou noticed Beiqingsi on the other side. Beiqingsi seemed capable of holding off ten opponents, facing them calmly without faltering, just as formidable as her own subordinates. Could Kaiyang Sect really have such a remarkable individual?

However, it was when Zhongshan intervened that Princess Qianyou truly marveled. This individual at the Innate Realm, his calm demeanor in facing the vegetation soldiers was even more astonishing than Beiqingsi's.

One strike, one kill. Dealing with each reflection effortlessly, as easy as slicing vegetables.

How was this possible? It was the first time Princess Qianyou had witnessed something so astonishing. At the same time, when she looked at Zhongshan, a strange smile flashed in her eyes. Such talent, how could she not want to utilize it?

As Zhongshan effortlessly cut down the vegetation soldiers, Ying Lan and Tian Ling'er couldn't help but admire him. Meanwhile, Beiqingsi, while fending off the vegetation soldiers, also revealed a subtle smile as she sensed Zhongshan's prowess.

The other eight individuals engaged in battle also couldn't help but be amazed by Zhongshan's fighting. Their reflections, capable of using sword energy just like them, their swords had even transformed into sword qi. But Zhongshan's reflections were equally matched, which left them feeling frustrated. Wasn't he just at the Innate Realm? How was this possible? And why couldn't their reflections even release sword energy? Why was Zhongshan so lucky, facing only weak vegetation soldiers, while they were stuck dealing with formidable ones of their own level?

Gu watched as Zhongshan effortlessly dispatched the vegetation soldiers, his eyes widening in disbelief. His thoughts mirrored those of the others engaged in battle: Could this person be so lucky? Over there, battles were raging with sword energy flying and powerful strikes, but here, Zhongshan couldn't even release a hint of sword energy. It seemed like he was just here to die. How could this be? Was this kid pretending all along? Wasn't he at the Innate Realm?

"Crack"

With a casual strike, Zhongshan once again killed a vegetation soldier.

Zhongshan was becoming increasingly intrigued by the grand formation. Illusion? No, this was definitely not an illusion, but it felt like one. The strength of the vegetation soldiers depended on their opponents? It was truly bizarre.

The Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, was this what it truly was? And it was being controlled by just one person? If it had a large number of soldiers as its foundation, how powerful would it be? If he could obtain control of this formation, it would be fantastic!

As Zhongshan pondered, he continued to slay the vegetation soldiers.

Within the Ren Formation, Zhongshan had already ensured the safety of himself and the two women.

Meanwhile, in another location, at the Dead Gate of the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, Mr. Shi and his group also began to enter the formation. Zhongshan stealthily followed from afar.

Nine individuals, led by Mr. Shi, along with eight others at or above the Yuanying Realm, formed an undoubtedly formidable lineup.

As they entered the Dead Gate, they were first faced with a Mental Formation, a realm filled with illusions. However, this group of nine individuals seemed incredibly resolute, without any hesitation, they directly entered the second gate.

Zhongshan, hidden, followed closely behind.Entering it, Zhongshan also saw a gigantic dragon eye hanging in the sky. Within this environment, instead of verdant trees, there were zombies of all kinds walking around in this peculiar world, as if the world had been overrun by zombies. They bit at the sight of people, swarming to attack anyone who entered, the scene incredibly terrifying. Inside, there were already the corpses of a hundred cultivators strewn about, a gruesome sight to behold, not only bitten to death but even dismembered.

Truly, it was the Gate of Death, the most frequented gate of all.

Mr. Shi walked to a spot, and with a flick of his hand, twenty-three coffins suddenly appeared. He sealed them with a talisman, took out nails, opened the coffin lids, and the bronze corpses leaped out one after another. Swiftly, they formed a circle facing outward, confronting the numerous zombies outside.

Zombies against zombies?

The group was surrounded in the center, the bronze corpses with their steel-like bodies stood firm, unafraid of the other zombies' attacks, which made the surrounding zombies hesitant to approach.

Hidden within the shadow of a zombie, Zhongshan carefully observed the group in the center.

"Protect me," Mr. Shi spoke up.

"Rest assured, sir," the emperor among them immediately responded.

Nodding slightly, Mr. Shi once again retrieved the eerie heart. Grasping it in his right hand, he muttered strange incantations under his breath.

The crimson heart trembled slightly, and suddenly, from atop the crimson heart, a drop of black blood emerged. As the blood hit the ground, it instantly transformed into a massive altar, exactly like the one Zhongshan had seen before on Mount Zhongshan.

Mr. Shi quickly retrieved another coffin, slowly walking out the original golden corpse from within. He didn't bring out his silver corpse, only a single golden one.

After the Golden Corpse emerged, Mr. Shi swiftly tidied up the numerous coffins, then sat cross-legged, closing his eyes and intoning eerie incantations.

The Golden Corpse slowly sank into the ground, earthbending, descending gradually like so.

Hidden in the shadows, Zhongshan witnessed this scene, knowing that the Golden Corpse's destination was surely his own objective. With a slight sinking feeling, he followed suit, slipping through the crevices of the soil. Though his progress wasn't swift, he eventually caught up with the Golden Corpse.