44: Zombie Princess Wants to Eat

Burial King City was bustling with activity.

The entrance to the Merit Hall had long queues every day, stretching from the east to the west of the city, then circling back to the south. The spoils of war submitted by the disciples were varied: there were grindstone-sized insect crystals; Asura bone fragments corroded and pitted by acid; and various dark and greenish ores and herbs, piled up like small mountains. The disciples responsible for registration were all incredibly busy, their voices hoarse from shouting.

Huang Yan, that girl, had truly settled into the Merit Hall. Dressed in a simple, clean dress, she seemed out of place yet strangely harmonious amidst the fierce spoils of war and boisterous disciples. In front of her were account books piled higher than herself, and her concentration was so intense that it seemed as if she wasn't looking at a pile of junk materials, but at sparkling immortal crystals.

"Feng San's team, submitted one hundred and twenty catties of Bone-Corroding Insect Cores, medium-low quality, converting to three hundred merit points!"

"Li Gou Dan's team, discovered a companion ore vein of Demonic Crystal Marrow, preliminary exploration shows good reserves! A majorMerits is recorded! Two thousand merit points!"

"Zhao Tie Zhu! What is this black lump you submitted? Suspected Asura excrement fossil? Get out! The Merit Hall doesn't accept trash! If you cause trouble again, I'll deduct your work points!"

While rapidly recording, Huang Yan also had to deal with those trying to take advantage of the chaos, her small face taut. Occasionally, she would look up, her gaze always unconsciously drifting towards the tallest central grand hall in the city, with a hint of subtle resentment in her eyes.

And Lin Xuan? This lord was sitting cross-legged in the center of the grand hall, like a giant mischievous child, casting spells on the grindstone-sized Asura King's heart in front of him.

From his fingertips, a wisp of grayish-white Chaos Nirvana Divine Fire emerged, carefully carving patterns on the pitch-black, faintly pulsating heart. Strands of incomparably pure destructive origin energy were painstakingly drawn out from the heart, then molded like clay into a complex array model, basin-sized and suspended in mid-air. The array model shimmered with colorful light, its core embedded with several fragments emitting chillingNirvana energy, pried from the black coffin.

"It's done!" Lin Xuan's eyes lit up, and he pressed down sharply with his finger!

Buzz!

The entire array model instantly solidified, transforming into an exquisitely precise metal disk radiating dual dark-red and ethereal-blue light! In the center of the disk, the wisp of destructive origin energy that had been kneaded in slowly circulated like a living thing, forming a strange balance with the chillingNirvana fragments at the edge, emitting an energy fluctuation that seemed capable of annihilating everything.

"Done! The Annihilation and Destruction Dual-Core Power Reactor!" Lin Xuan whistled proudly, picking up this freshly made contraption and weighing it in his hand. "Hmm, the energy is potent enough! It should feed that ancestor, the black coffin, for a while!"

He stood up, brushed off non-existent dust from his backside, grabbed the dual-core power reactor, and hummed a tune as he walked towards the back hall. Deep within the back hall was a specially designed isolation zone, where the mysterious black coffin was kept.

Just as he reached the entrance of the isolation zone, he bumped into Huang Yan, who was running over, breathless, clutching a stack of new account books.

"Hall Master!" Huang Yan's small face was flushed from running, and fine sweat beaded on her forehead. Her large eyes blinked as she looked at Lin Xuan. "I've finished compiling the quarterly consumption report for the Abyssal specialty ingredients you requested!" She pushed the thick stack of account books forward, her gaze irresistibly flicking towards the clearly extraordinary dual-core power reactor in Lin Xuan's hand.

Lin Xuan glanced at the stack of account books that could kill someone, then at Huang Yan's expectant, slightly aggrieved eyes, and chuckled: "Ho, quite efficient, Chief Steward Huang! You've worked hard, truly hard! Leave the reports on my desk for now, I'll look at them later." He casually tucked the dangerous power reactor under his arm, freeing a hand, and very naturally ruffled Huang Yan's head. "Well done! I'll give you a bonus later! Double!"

"Ah?" Huang Yan was stunned by the sudden head pat. Her small face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple, even the tips of her ears tinged pink. Her hands, clutching the account books, froze, and her mind went blank, leaving only the lingering warmth on her head and the buzzing phrase "double bonus."

Lin Xuan didn't pay much attention. After ruffling her head, he tucked his reactor under his arm and swiftly slipped behind the heavy stone door of the isolation zone, leaving Huang Yan standing there alone, her face flushed, clutching the account books in a daze, unable to recover for a long time.

Inside the isolation zone, the cold was bone-piercing, and the light was dim. The ancient and heavy black coffin lay silently on the central stone platform, its surface covered with a thin layer of white frost, exuding an aura ofNirvana that warned off all living things. Beside it, the Zombie Princess, Yu Lin, immersed in the Myriad Realms Spirit Spring Eye, still had vacant eyes, like a delicate porcelain doll.

Lin Xuan walked to the black coffin, grinning: "Old fellow, it's dinner time! Today I've got some heavy fare for you!" He carefully inserted the Annihilation and Destruction Dual-Core Power Reactor into a pre-made, glowing slot on the side of the black coffin.

Click!

It fit perfectly!

Buzz!

The moment the power reactor embedded, an anomaly suddenly occurred!

The entire black coffin shook violently! The lid almost flew off! A terrifying energy, far more violent, chaotic, and filled with both destructive andNirvana properties than ever before, erupted like a breaching dam!

Rumble—!

A dual-colored energy storm of dark-red and ethereal-blue instantly swept through the entire isolation zone, centered on the black coffin! The incredibly sturdy stone walls, inscribed with reinforcing arrays, groaned under the strain, instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks! Cold energy and destructive heatwaves intertwined, forming bizarre energy turbulence that frantically tore at space!

"Holy crap! It's that powerful?" Lin Xuan was caught off guard, directly knocked off his feet by the violent energy shockwave, hitting the stone wall behind him, dusty and disheveled, almost throwing up his dinner from the night before.

Even more astonishing was the Zombie Princess, Yu Lin, in the Spirit Spring Eye beside him!

As the violent energy storm swept over the Spirit Spring Eye, Yu Lin, who had originally been vacant-eyed and unresponsive, suddenly trembled! Deep within her grayish-white, lifeless pupils, something seemed to be forcibly activated! A faint, yet utterly pure, silvery-white light suddenly ignited in the deepest part of her pupils! That light carried a soul-freezing chill, yet also contained an indescribable longing?

Immediately following, something even more shocking happened that almost made Lin Xuan's eyes pop out!

Yu Lin, who had been like a wooden puppet, suddenly opened her mouth without warning! No sound was emitted, but in Lin Xuan's mind, he clearly heard a dry, cold voice filled with endless hunger:

"Hungry, so hungry..."

This voice was like an electric current, instantly piercing Lin Xuan's soul! At the same time, Yu Lin's pupils, flickering with faint silver light, were no longer vacant, but fixedly, intently staring at the grindstone-sized Asura King's heart that Lin Xuan still held in his hand, not yet put away!

That gaze was like a wolf that had been hungry for eight hundred years suddenly seeing a walking piece of streaky pork!

"..." Lin Xuan looked at the huge heart still faintly pulsating in his hand, then at the little Zombie Princess in the spring with her fixed gaze and the thought of "I'm so hungry" emanating from her. His mouth twitched violently. This script wasn't right! It was one thing for the black coffin to go berserk, but how did this Zombie Princess also come with an à la carte function? And she specifically asked for a King-tier heart? Her appetite was too picky!

Boom!

Before Lin Xuan could figure out the Zombie Princess's ordering behavior, the sky above Burial King City, overhead, exploded without warning!

The sky, originally shrouded in demonic mist and perpetually dim, was instantly torn apart by an indescribable terrifying pressure! The thick demonic clouds receded frantically as if encountering a scorching branding iron! In their place were churning, suffocatingly heavy, pitch-black tribulation clouds!

Within the tribulation clouds, there were no common lightning bolts or electric snakes, but countless twisted, gigantic chain phantoms emitting ominous bloody light! These chains collided with each other, producing a grating, teeth-aching screech, and each collision unleashed destructive bloody lightning! The entire Burial King City, with its millions of disciples, instantly felt as if an invisible primordial divine mountain had been pressed onto their backs! The Outer Sect Disciples with lower cultivation directly collapsed, those in the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages trembled, and even those in the Void Refinement stage like Yun Qingyao and Leng Yuechan felt a pang of fear!

"Heavenly tribulation?!" Chu Xinghe had just finished inspecting the array at the city wall's base. He looked up, his face turning green. "And it's a bloody heavenly tribulation with chains of order? What the hell did some accursed person do? Did they dig up the Heavenly Lord's ancestral grave?"

The entire Burial King City instantly plunged into panic!

"Oh my god! What is this?"

"I can't breathe!"

"We're going to die! We're going to die!"

Just as this world-destroying pressure enveloped them, the roof of the central grand hall exploded with a loud bang, creating a large hole!

A figure, like a cannonball, defiantly shot into the sky, enduring the terrifying heavenly might that could crush a true immortal! It was Lin Xuan!

He still held the gigantic Asura King's heart in one hand, while his other hand casually brushed off thegravel and dust from his body. He looked up at the bloody tribulation clouds, almost obscuring the entire sky, with chains colliding and roaring, without even a flicker of his brow.

"Tsk, so noisy." Lin Xuan picked his ear, his tone carrying a hint of annoyance at being disturbed. "Isn't it just charging the black coffin and waking up a hungry zombie girl? Does it warrant such a grand display?" He weighed the Asura King's heart in his hand, then glanced down towards the isolation zone, seemingly able to see the little princess eagerly awaiting food in the spring through the roof. A playful smile curled on his lips. "Alright, alright, I know your family makes a big fuss when it's mealtime, so I'll make the fuss a little smaller for you."

Before his words finished, Lin Xuan moved!

He did not summon the Immortal Slaying Sword Array, nor did he unleash the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon Roar. Just as the countless phantoms of the Chains of Order intertwined and collided, about to unleash a destructive strike, Lin Xuan extended a finger towards the boundless tribulation clouds!

At his fingertip, a wisp of chaotic energy quietly swirled.

Then, he flicked his finger at the myriad chains and bloody lightning with extreme casualness!

Whoosh!

A grayish, hair-thin sword qi of chaotic annihilation shot out silently.

This sword qi looked inconspicuous, not even causing a ripple in space. However, the moment it shot into the tribulation clouds,

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

Boom!

The bloody tribulation clouds, which had covered the sky and held ancient might, suddenly collapsed and contracted inwards as if a billion nuclear bombs had been detonated at their center! Then, under the dumbfounded gaze of millions of disciples, they burst like a giant, punctured, bloody balloon!

Puff!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only an extremely muffled thud, as if space itself had been crushed!

The countless churning phantoms of the Chains of Order shattered and annihilated inch by inch! The thick bloody tribulation clouds, like thin ice under a scorching sun, instantly melted and evaporated! Countless fragmented bloody lightning bolts, having lost most of their power, scattered like water droplets from a punctured water bag, falling weakly and drizzlingly through the dissipating cloud gaps, hitting the defensive shield of Burial King City with soft crackling sounds, not even enough to scratch an itch.

One moment it was the end of the world, the next it turned into a bloody drizzle?

The entire Burial King City fell into a deathly silence.

Millions of disciples gaped, their eyeballs almost falling out.

Chu Xinghe's array disc clattered to the ground, hitting his toes, but he didn't even notice.

On Yun Qingyao's usually cold face, a look of stunned blankness appeared for the first time.

Leng Yuechan hugged her sword sheath, her knuckles white from gripping.

Feng Qiqi looked up, her small face gazing at the drizzling blood rain, and murmured: "Can we collect this rain to refine pills?"

Lie Tian snorted, shaking his tail: "Hmph, just for show."

Ling Long blinked her big eyes, looked at the sky, then at Lin Xuan suspended in mid-air, and burst out laughing.

"Done." Lin Xuan withdrew his finger, blowing at non-existent dust on his fingertip, as if he had merely casually swatted a buzzing fly. He looked down, his gaze penetrating layers of obstruction, once again falling on Yu Lin in the isolation zone's spring.

This little princess also seemed to have been startled by the terrifying heavenly might and the instantly dissipating heavenly tribulation. The silvery-white light in her eyes flickered, and the thought of "Hungry, so hungry" became even stronger and clearer, its target extremely precise, locked firmly on the gigantic Asura King's heart in Lin Xuan's hand!

Lin Xuan grinned, revealing his stark white teeth: "Little girl, you have sharp eyes, don't you? Alright, consider yourself lucky!"

His figure flickered, carrying the Asura King's heart, which exuded a terrifying aura, and returned to the isolation zone.

The silence in the city was finally broken by a surging wave of fervent cheers!

"Hall Master!"

"One finger! Just one finger! And the heavenly tribulation is gone?"

"Oh my heavens! Is the Hall Master the father of the Heavenly Dao?"

"Brothers! What are you waiting for! Quickly grab basins to collect the blood rain! The Hall Master's processed heavenly tribulation dew! A great tonic!"

The entire Burial King City plunged into unprecedented frenzied worship and a rush to grab overlooked treasures. Meanwhile, in the isolation zone, Lin Xuan looked at the little zombie in the spring, staring eagerly at the King's heart, and weighed the big heart in his hand, wondering where to make the first cut to satisfy this seemingly ravenous "ancestor."

As for the bottom of the abyss, while Burial King City experienced this farcical heavenly tribulation, that faint golden guiding light seemed to flicker again, very subtly, as if with a hint of confusion?