55: What the hell is this? Get back here!

Meanwhile, in the deepest underground of the Tianqiong International Group.

The air was filled with a thick scent of corpse aura and blood, bone-chillingly cold.

A massive blood-colored formation was operating at full power, emitting an ominous red light.

Dozens of members of the Corpse Ghost Cult, dressed in black robes, were sitting cross-legged at various nodes of the formation, chanting incantations while forming eerie hand Seals.

A vast amount of life force was being continuously drawn from all directions by the formation.

This extracted life force transformed into streams of blood-red, ultimately converging into the massive bronze coffin at the center of the formation.

"Hum... hum... hum..."

The bronze coffin vibrated violently; the ancient and heavy coffin lid was already covered in fine cracks.

A ghostly qi, far surpassing everyone present and powerful enough to be suffocating, was frantically seeping out from the cracks.

That aura was filled with tyranny, hunger, and endless resentment.

"It's almost time! It's almost time!"

"I can feel it! Lord Corpse Emperor is about to wake up!"

A Cadre presiding over the formation wore an expression of fanatical joy.

He saw the dawn of victory.

He saw a future where he followed a god and ruled the world!

Just then, "Crack!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

The cracks on the bronze coffin suddenly widened.

"Boom!"

The next second, the incredibly heavy coffin lid was blown off by a massive force from within, slamming heavily into the distant rock wall with a deafening crash.

A dark green corpse aura shot up into the sky.

A shriveled, thin figure with skin like withered tree bark slowly sat up from the coffin.

The Corpse Emperor had been born!

"Welcome, Lord Corpse Emperor!"

"We pay our respects to Lord Corpse Emperor!"

All members of the Corpse Ghost Cult displayed expressions of immense fanaticism and loyalty, excitedly kneeling to worship.

They had waited too long and sacrificed too much.

The being before them was their god!

It was their hope!

However, the awakened Corpse Emperor did not acknowledge their worship.

In his hollow eye sockets, only two balls of scarlet flames danced, burning with the most primitive and pure hunger.

"Roar!"

A roar unlike any human sound exploded from his shriveled throat.

He lunged fiercely at the nearest cult member.

The fanaticism on that member's face had not yet faded before the Corpse Emperor bit into his neck.

"Urgh..."

He couldn't even let out a scream before his entire essence of flesh and blood was instantly sucked dry, turning him into a dried corpse that fell to the ground.

The scene was immediately thrown into panic.

"C... Lord Corpse Emperor?"

"Wh... what is going on?"

The joy on people's faces instantly froze, replaced by bewilderment and panic.

As it turned out, having been sealed for a thousand years, the Corpse Emperor's power had long since dropped to rock bottom.

He was now extremely weak and desperately needed to devour large amounts of flesh and life force to restore his strength.

In his eyes, there was no distinction between believers and enemies.

There was only food.

"Ah!"

Someone realized what was happening and screamed, retreating repeatedly.

But there was also a small group of completely brainwashed fanatics who, instead of being afraid, revealed even more fanatical smiles.

"Being able to become food for Lord Corpse Emperor to restore his power is our honor!"

"Come, Lord Corpse Emperor, eat me!"

They proactively opened their arms, welcoming the lunging Corpse Emperor.

The Corpse Emperor did not stand on ceremony, opening his large mouth to devour and suck dry these fanatics one by one.

As he devoured them, his shriveled and thin body began to expand at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Beneath the withered skin, muscles twitched and regenerated.

The aura of power within his body climbed steadily.

A second ago, he had barely reached the level of Tier 2.

In the blink of an eye, his power soared to the Peak of Tier 3!

However, the fanatics willing to be eaten were ultimately just a small group.

This amount of "food" was completely insufficient for the Corpse Emperor to return to his Peak state.

After eating all the fanatics, the Corpse Emperor's scarlet eyes slowly turned toward the panic-stricken, fleeing cult members nearby.

This included those Cadres who had been so imposing just moments before.

"No! Don't!"

"Run! He wants to eat us!"

"Help!"

At this moment, everyone realized what was happening.

They had joined the Corpse Ghost Cult to pursue power and eternal life, not to become someone else's rations!

The instinct to survive overwhelmed all false beliefs.

The entire underground space instantly turned into a living Hell.

People screamed and cried, desperately rushing toward the only exit.

However, in front of the hungry Corpse Emperor, all their struggles were futile.

The Corpse Emperor's speed was extreme; he moved through the crowd like a green bolt of lightning.

Every lunge was accompanied by the sound of shattering bones and shrill screams.

Every bite could suck dry the life of a living person.

These cult Cadres, who usually acted with impunity, were now completely like fish on a chopping block, with no power to resist.

The Corpse Emperor's strength skyrocketed amidst the slaughter and devouring.

Soon, his aura broke through the barrier of Tier 4 and surged all the way to the Peak of Tier 4.

He was only one step away from Tier 5.

The entire underground space was already flowing with blood, with corpses strewn everywhere.

An atmosphere of despair enveloped everyone.

Just then, a figure appeared silently at the entrance.

The Youdu Corpse Emperor, who was in the middle of hunting down the crowd, suddenly stopped his movements.

He slowly turned around, his scarlet eyes fixed firmly on the newly appeared figure.

In his perception, the life force contained within that person was more vast and pure than all the people here combined.

That was supreme deliciousness!

"Roar!"

The Corpse Emperor let out a greedy roar, abandoned the "snacks" before him, exerted force with his four limbs, turned into an afterimage, and lunged viciously at Chen Nian.

That terrifying power at the Peak of Tier 4 was enough to make any Cultivator below Tier 4 tremble in fear.

However, Chen Nian just frowned, his face full of disgust.

At the very moment that large, foul-smelling hand was about to touch his face, he moved.

There were no complex Moves, no flashy techniques.

He simply raised his right foot.

Then, he kicked out.

"What the Hell is this thing, get back!"

Accompanied by an extremely dull, loud noise.

"Boom!"

The Corpse Emperor, which had been so arrogant just a moment ago, crushing and slaughtering the members of the Corpse Ghost Cult, was now like a tattered sack being kicked away.

He flew backward at a speed even faster than he had arrived.

He traced a perfect parabola in the air.

"Clang!"

Finally, he was kicked precisely back into that bronze coffin.

The whole scene was dead silent.

Everyone from the Corpse Ghost Cult was stunned.

They looked at Chen Nian with shock, their brains almost crashing.

What was going on?

Who on earth was this?