26: Zombies seeking a son-in-law? Whoever wants to be the prince consort can do it.

Looking at the instantly cleared ground, Lin Xuan clapped his hands in satisfaction, as if dusting off non-existent dirt. "Let's go, Heaven Splitting, let's find the owner of this corpse lair and see how deep his pockets are."

The Lie Tian Divine Tiger snorted, shaking its paws in disgust, avoiding the few puddles of foul-smelling, viscous fluid on the ground. One man and one tiger leisurely walked in the direction from which the Zombie General had just charged.

The stench of corpses in the air seemed to have been diluted by that wave of environmental recycling, but the bone-chilling cold and deathly silence grew even thicker.

Everywhere they looked, it was a scene of decay and ruin. Withered, grotesque trees twisted like ghostly claws, and black-brown mud pits gurgled, emitting gray-green corpse bubbles. Occasionally, a few ordinary zombies, stiff and slow, aimlessly wandered. When Lin Xuan's Law-Breaking Sword Eyes swept over them, they immediately seemed to be seized by an invisible fear, stiffly hiding in the shadows, emitting incomprehensible sounds.

"Roar... Master, this place is even more boring than the Burial God Abyss..." Heaven Splitting grumbled, the crimson-gold divine flame subtly flowing over its body, dispelling the chilling corpse qi attempting to approach it.

"Soon," Lin Xuan's gaze pierced through the thick gray mist and death qi, seeing the outline of a colossal, twisted city built from massive black bones and decaying rocks. The city walls were towering but riddled with collapsed gaps, as if gnawed by giants. At the city gate, shadowy figures seemed to be much livelier than on the plains just now.

The closer they got to the so-called Black Fiend Corpse Kingdom's capital, the more eerie the atmosphere became. There were no guards at the city gate, only two rows of street lamps burning with ghostly green flames, hanging on tall bone structures, making the city archway resemble the esophagus of a giant beast. The scene inside the city was even more unnerving.

The streets were quite wide, but the ground was slippery black mud mixed with unknown filth. The buildings on both sides were bizarre: some were giant hollowed-out bones used as houses, some were crooked wooden shacks built from twisted dead trees, and others were shelters piled with the huge carapaces of unknown creatures. However, none of these were the most eye-catching.

What truly made Lin Xuan and Heaven Splitting pause was the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd of zombies on the streets! Their numbers far exceeded what they had seen on the plains earlier.

They were dressed more decently, though still in tattered, decaying ancient robes, but the styles were more varied: there were Confucian scholar zombies in wide robes and flowing sleeves, warrior zombies in short, fitted attire, and even female zombies in tattered palace dresses. At this moment, these zombies were no longer mindlessly wandering; instead, they were like chickens pumped with adrenaline. Although their movements were still excruciatingly slow, they all craned their necks, emitting incomprehensible guttural sounds, and surged towards the same direction—the city center—struggling, step by agonizing step!

Their stiff, decaying faces strangely exuded an emotion called fanaticism! Their murky eyes stared fixedly in the direction of the city center, as if some peerless treasure lay there.

"Roar? Master, are they... taking a collective stroll? Or going to a market?" Heaven Splitting tilted its massive tiger head, its eyes full of confusion. Zombies going to a market? To buy what? Fresh brains?

Lin Xuan frowned slightly, his Law-Breaking Sword Eyes instantly focusing on the city center. Piercing through the layers of slowly wriggling zombies, he saw a high platform constructed from countless colossal, pale bones. Upon the platform sat a figure.

The figure was enveloped in a thick, impenetrable black corpse qi, allowing only a vague outline of a burly form to be seen. It wore a bone crown inlaid with dark green gems, and beneath it was a bone throne draped with some kind of black beast hide. Merely sitting there, the cold, heavy, and decaying aura it exuded far surpassed that of the Iron-Armored Corpse General from before by a hundredfold! It was like the absolute core of this deathly realm! The aura of a Void Refinement peak cultivator, like a dormant volcano, unmoving but enough to make this world tremble!

It was none other than the lord of this realm—the Black Fiend Corpse King!

And below the Black Fiend Corpse King's throne, to the side, was another, slightly smaller bone chair. On the chair sat a figure whose style was completely out of place with the entire zombie kingdom!

It was a woman. She wore a magnificent and intricate palace gown, its hem embroidered with an exquisite 'hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix' pattern, though its colors were dim and stained with unknown filth. Her skin was not bluish-black, but an unnatural, deathly pale, with the cold, hard texture of jade. Her facial features were delicate but lifeless, like the finest porcelain doll. Her eyes were empty and vacant, staring blankly at the surging tide of corpses ahead. Only her lips, painted with a vivid, blood-red rouge, were glaringly bright, creating a strong visual impact in this gloomy world.

"This is the Zombie Princess?" Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow. She was... more presentable than he imagined, but that was all. A strong, peculiar smell, a mix of corpse fragrance and decay, seemed to penetrate his nostrils from afar.

At this moment, below the high platform, the zombie crowd had reached a fever pitch. The guttural roars merged into a continuous sound, like a tide. The zombies desperately wriggled and pushed forward, their movements clumsy like a group of fighting marionettes. Their target was a makeshift platform, also piled with bones, temporarily erected in front of the high platform. On this platform, a zombie dressed in a tattered civil official's robe and a crooked official's hat was holding an equally tattered beast-hide scroll, loudly shouting with his hoarse, rusty-gong-like voice:

"Silence! Silence! Ho... ho... Black Fiend Corpse Kingdom! A once-in-ten-thousand-year grand event! His Majesty the Corpse King! Is openly recruiting a son-in-law for his beloved daughter... Princess Yu Lin! Ho... All subjects of my Corpse Kingdom! Regardless of origin! Regardless of race! Regardless of... uh... degree of decay! All may ascend the stage and display their talents! Ho ho! The victor! Shall be the imperial son-in-law! And share with the Princess... eternal life! Glory... uh... and three jars of His Majesty's treasured... Thousand-Year Brain Marrow Frozen Cream! Ho ho ho!"

The zombie announcer shouted until his voice was hoarse, spitting saliva—if that dark green viscous liquid could be called saliva—everywhere.

The zombie crowd below instantly became even more "fanatical"! Sharing eternal life? Glory? These zombies didn't seem to care much about that. But the words "three jars of Thousand-Year Brain Marrow Frozen Cream" ignited a powder keg! The guttural roars suddenly rose by an octave! Countless zombies' decaying eyes burst forth with greedy green light, pushing even harder! A few relatively agile warrior zombies were already roaring and scrambling onto the crude performance stage with all fours.

"Roar... Ugh..." Heaven Splitting let out a dry retch. "Brain marrow... frozen cream? Master... can we leave? I feel like my tiger fur will rot off if I stay in this wretched place for another second!"

Lin Xuan looked at the lifeless Princess Yu Lin on the high platform, then at the crowd of zombies below, frantically pushing for the Thousand-Year Brain Marrow Frozen Cream, and then considered the condition "regardless of race" mentioned by the announcer... An extremely absurd feeling welled up in his heart.

Recruiting a son-in-law? For this Zombie Princess? The prize is brain marrow frozen cream?

His mouth twitched, and he suppressed the urge to recycle this entire platform along with the Corpse King. Just then!

"Hmm?" Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly. His Law-Breaking Sword Eyes keenly detected an extremely subtle aura fluctuation, yet one that was completely out of place with this corpse-qi-laden world!

That aura... within the coldness and deathly silence, carried a trace of extremely pure, special chill that seemed capable of freezing the very essence of the soul! Moreover, the source of that aura was not the Black Fiend Corpse King or the Zombie Princess on the high platform, but rather... from the dense corpse qi-shrouded shadow behind the Zombie Princess!

Just as Lin Xuan tried to pinpoint that aura—

Buzz!

On the high platform, the Black Fiend Corpse King, who had been sitting like a statue, had the thick black corpse qi shrouding his body suddenly churn violently! His head, hidden beneath the corpse qi, seemed to turn slightly! A cold, tyrannical intent, filled with greed and appetite, like an invisible venomous snake, instantly crossed space and locked onto Lin Xuan and the Lie Tian Divine Tiger beneath him!

That gaze carried the ecstasy of discovering a peerless treasure, and even more, a naked desire... as if to devour them whole, skin and bone, completely! Especially for the surging divine life fire on Heaven Splitting's body!

"Living beings! Divine... beast! Ho ho ho... Heaven... helps... this King!" A hoarse, dry voice, like two pieces of rotten wood rubbing together, echoed directly in Lin Xuan and Heaven Splitting's minds! It was filled with uncontrollable excitement and greed!

This sudden locking of intent and the greedy voice transmission were like a ladle of cold water splashed into boiling oil!

The movements of all the zombies in the entire Corpse Kingdom's capital instantly froze! Countless decaying heads stiffly turned in the direction of Lin Xuan and Heaven Splitting! Their empty, murky eyes first showed confusion, then were instantly ignited by an extreme craving for fresh blood, flesh, and yang qi, stemming from their primal life instincts! It was a hundred times more fervent than seeing the "Thousand-Year Brain Marrow Frozen Cream"!

"Ho, fresh meat!"

"Hot blood! Divine beast!"

"Eat them!"

A tsunami-like roar, mixed with endless greed and appetite, like a tangible wave, instantly engulfed the entire Bone Capital! The zombies who had just been pushing and shoving to compete for the stage instantly changed their target. Like a school of piranhas that had caught the scent of blood, their movements, though still stiff and slow, carried a chilling persistence. They surged from all directions, layer upon layer, densely packed, towards the man and tiger at the city gate!

The scene was like a black, writhing, foul-smelling tide, threatening to completely drown and devour them!

The Lie Tian Divine Tiger's crimson-gold divine flames surged explosively, its fur bristling, and it let out an earth-shattering roar: "Roar—! Damn it! Master! These dead guys want a feast!"

Lin Xuan's eyes grew completely cold. His original intention was just to pick up some trash and see how much yin-attribute spiritual energy this Corpse King was worth. He hadn't expected that the owner of the trash heap had such a large appetite, wanting to make him and Heaven Splitting a grand meal?

He looked at the slow but steady surging black tide of zombies, then glanced at the Black Fiend Corpse King on the high platform, hidden in the corpse qi and exuding the aura of a Void Refinement peak, as well as the faint, elusive chilling aura in the shadows behind him that even his Law-Breaking Sword Eyes found unusual... "System," Lin Xuan's voice was calm and unruffled, yet carried a bone-chilling coldness, "Automatic loot recycling function, zombie classification, range... full city coverage."

"Warning: Detecting a large number of high-energy reactions (One Void Refinement-level Corpse King, one special fluctuation, multiple Nascent Soul-level Corpse Generals, a large number of Golden Core-level zombies!)"

"Full city coverage recycling requires additional energy. Do you wish to confirm?"

"Confirm." Lin Xuan didn't hesitate. Energy? Killing all these zombies, the energy contained in the recycled materials alone would be enough to offset it! He might even make a profit!

Buzz—!

An invisible spatial fluctuation, a hundred times stronger than before, spread out from Lin Xuan like mercury flowing across the ground, instantly sweeping over the entire Black Fiend Corpse Kingdom's capital!

Time, as if, was paused at this moment.

The zombies, who were just roaring and slowly surging forward, whether ordinary white zombies, black zombies, or those Corpse Generals in tattered armor, their movements instantly froze!

On the high platform, the zombie announcer's hand, waving the beast-hide scroll, froze in mid-air. Princess Yu Lin, who had been sitting like an exquisite doll, her empty eyes seemed to move ever so slightly, and her lips, painted with vivid red rouge, imperceptibly pursed.

Only the Black Fiend Corpse King, sitting on the throne, had the thick black corpse qi surrounding him violently churn, like boiling ink! A sharp roar, filled with shock, anger, and disbelief, erupted from the corpse qi: "No—!"

However, it was too late.

The next second!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

As if thrown into an invisible high-temperature incinerator!

From the outermost ordinary zombies, to the inner circle of powerful Corpse Generals, and then to the crowded tide of corpses below the high platform... zombies on the streets, in houses, and even peeking out from gaps in the city walls... all zombies swept by the spatial fluctuation, regardless of their level or speed, their bodies disintegrated instantly like weathered sand sculptures, illuminated by the ghostly green flames! They turned into flying dust, emitting a faint gray-green glow!

There were no screams, no struggles. Only the faint 'puff' sounds, like rotten wood breaking, as their bodies disintegrated, forming a strange and grand symphony of death!

In the blink of an eye!

The Bone Capital, which had just been bustling with noise and overcrowded, became empty! Only scattered fragments of tattered cloth, rusted weapons, and a few puddles of foul-smelling viscous fluid remained, proving their former existence.

The entire city was as silent as a true tomb. Only on the high platform, the ceaselessly churning thick black corpse qi, and the eyes within the corpse qi, filled with furious disbelief, almost spewing green flames!

And the chilling aura in the shadows behind the Zombie Princess seemed to fluctuate violently as well!

Ding! Loot recycling complete!

Recycled: 128,604 low-tier white zombies, 38,572 mid-tier black zombies, 83 high-tier iron-armored Corpse Generals.

Obtained: 18 units of medium-grade pure yin-attribute spiritual energy! 1 unextracted Corpse King essence! 1 trace amount of special chilling energy (awaiting analysis).

Automatically imported into the sect's warehouse and medicine garden!

Lin Xuan didn't even look at the system prompt. His cold gaze pierced through the thin gray mist, directly locking onto the churning black corpse qi on the high platform, a humorless arc forming on his lips.

"Now, it's quiet." He took a step, and the space beneath his feet rippled slightly. His figure appeared on the bone high platform, confronting the Black Fiend Corpse King across the air. "It's your turn, Your Majesty the Corpse King. Will you enter the recycling station yourself, or shall this lord... send you off?"

The Lie Tian Divine Tiger followed closely, its massive tiger body landing on the edge of the high platform. Its crimson-gold divine flames blazed, scorching the lingering cold corpse qi with sizzling sounds. Its tiger eyes, filled with fierce light, stared at the ball of corpse qi, emitting a threatening growl from its throat.