Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 190: Li Canghai!

Staring at the butchered, mutilated torso pinned to the boulder, Meng felt his mind go blank. He couldn’t believe his own eyes.

Wang Ba, noticing the specific corpse Meng had frozen on, walked over, his expression tight with shock.

Sweeping his Divine Sense over the ruin, Wang Ba stood back up, his face grim.

Zhu Ziji’s body had been cleaved entirely in half. The torso was separated from the legs, his intestines violently severed at the midpoint. The sheer destructive residue radiating from the wound indicated the strike had been delivered by a force bordering on the third grade. He was dead beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Did the Golden Core elders of the Incense Burner Path personally intervene? It was the only logical explanation Wang Ba could muster. It also perfectly explained the eerie, total absence of enemy patrols on their route to Luolan Mountain and back. The entire regional horde had mobilized here to hunt down and butcher Zhu Ziji.

Wait… the residual Spiritual Energy on this wound hasn’t dissipated much. Which means the Incense Burner Path expert who killed him hasn’t gone far!

Wang Ba’s heart hammered against his ribs.

“We are still in the kill zone!”

Just as Wang Ba braced for an ambush, Meng let out a strangled, terrified yelp.

“What is it?!” Wang Ba snapped, his Divine Sense violently sweeping the perimeter.

But aside from his own squad of terrified Qi Refining cultivators, the forest was completely devoid of life. No ambushers. No hidden snipers.

Following Meng’s trembling finger, Wang Ba looked back at the boulder.

“He… he moved!” Meng gasped.

Wang Ba froze, every hair on his body standing on end. He instantly kicked backward, putting distance between himself and the boulder as a scene of pure, skin-crawling horror unfolded before him.

Zhu Ziji’s mutilated corpse was animating.

The severed, spilled intestines began to violently wriggle like a nest of dying snakes, dragging themselves through the dirt to reconnect with the upper torso! The severed halves of his body forcefully dragged themselves together, the dead flesh knitting in a gruesome display of biological horror.

Simultaneously, Zhu Ziji’s dead, pallid eyes snapped open.

They locked dead onto Wang Ba. There was no glaze of death in those eyes—they burned with sharp, concentrated divine light.

The realization hit Wang Ba like a physical blow.

“He isn’t dead?!”

Zhu Ziji took in Wang Ba and Meng, a flicker of surprise crossing his face as he recognized the generic robes of the Left Path support forces.

He didn’t seem to care. With a mere thought, his sundered body snapped back together. However, a massive, jagged scar remained wrapped around his waist. The exposed, crimson muscle fiber writhed and churned, desperately trying to close, but some lingering energy prevented it from healing completely.

Frowning at the stubborn wound, Zhu Ziji forced himself upright and looked at Wang Ba.

“I recognize you. You are one of the squad commanders deployed today. Is your mandate complete?”

The man was a legend. Ranked fifth on the Combat Power Ranking, a butcher from the Slaughtering Life Path. Wang Ba didn’t dare show the slightest hint of disrespect. He offered a shallow, perfectly polite bow.

“Greetings, Fellow Daoist Zhu. My squad’s mandate is indeed complete. Were you ambushed by the Incense Burner Path?”

Zhu Ziji didn’t bother hiding his failure. “The moment I crossed into the occupied zone, my patrol was compromised. A massive horde, commanded personally by Li Canghai, encircled me and my squad.”

Zhu Ziji spat a glob of blood onto the dirt. “That bastard Li Canghai has actual teeth. He’s mastered a third-grade technique, and he’s wielding a third-grade Magical Artifact… vastly outnumbered and outgunned, I had no choice but to feign death to escape the encirclement.”

A third-grade technique and a third-grade Magical Artifact?!

Wang Ba’s heart skipped a beat. That explained the terrifying residual aura on the wound. It wasn’t a Golden Core Elder; Li Canghai had essentially nuked Zhu Ziji with Golden Core-level armaments.

Honestly, Wang Ba was impressed. Surviving a concentrated bombardment of that magnitude from an entire horde—even if it meant literally splitting oneself in half to play dead—was a feat of staggering resilience. Wang Ba knew he couldn’t survive that.

But looking at the butchered remains of the Heavenly Gate Sect cultivators littering the valley, Wang Ba remembered Zhu Ziji’s abysmal standing on the Survivor Ranking.

Wait… does he use this ‘feign death’ trick every single time he gets surrounded? If the Foundation Establishment commander literally dropped dead the second a fight turned sour, how could the Qi Refining fodder possibly survive the ensuing slaughter? It was a miracle anyone ever made it back alive from his deployments.

Blissfully unaware of Wang Ba’s internal critique, Zhu Ziji sneered, his eyes burning with arrogant malice.

“However, he made a mistake! I observed Li Canghai’s attack patterns, and I’ve found his fatal flaw!”

Zhu Ziji pointed a bloody finger at Wang Ba. “Since your mandate is complete, you are requisitioned. I’m going to rally a few more squads in the sector. You all will form a vanguard to stall the Incense Path trash while I personally execute Li Canghai!”

“You want me… to follow you?” Wang Ba asked, genuinely stunned by the sheer audacity.

Sensing the resistance in Wang Ba’s tone, Zhu Ziji’s face darkened, his aura flaring dangerously.

“Is there a problem?”

“My mandate was specifically to eliminate Li Canghai. As a Heavenly Gate Sect commander, it is your duty to cooperate!”

Wang Ba’s immediate instinct was to flat-out refuse.

His mandate was to build a Formation at Luolan Mountain, not to launch a suicidal decapitation strike against a man wielding Golden Core weaponry. He would rather fail a hundred mandates than willingly kick a hornet’s nest of Incense Burner Path zealots. If a chaotic melee forced him to reveal his mastery of the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture, he would be hunted to the ends of the earth by both sects.

But as he met Zhu Ziji’s glacial, murderous stare, the refusal died in his throat.

Wang Ba had zero doubt that if he said the word ‘no,’ Zhu Ziji would instantly obliterate him. Even heavily injured, Zhu Ziji was a late Foundation Establishment expert, perhaps even brushing the threshold of Perfection. He had oceans of combat experience. If they fought, Wang Ba’s chances of survival were zero. Even if he burned every trump card he had, he lacked the raw firepower to put Zhu Ziji down.

While Wang Ba calculated his odds of surviving a sudden escape attempt, Zhu Ziji’s tone shifted, offering a poisoned olive branch.

“Relax. I’m not sending you alone. Li Canghai has over a dozen second-grade zealots flanking him. To hold the line, I’ll need at least eight or nine full squads.”

Zhu Ziji gestured toward the northwest. “Furthermore, the entire regional horde of Incense Path trash has collapsed inward to hunt me. They are blocking your exfiltration route. If you try to run back to the garrison now, you will hit their blockade and die.”

“Rather than dying alone in the mud, follow me. We crush Li Canghai, shatter their command structure, and punch a hole straight through to the garrison.”

Hearing the tactical assessment, Wang Ba covertly glanced at Meng.

Meng immediately transmitted a hushed, frantic message. Senior… he’s right. The only other way back to the garrison is to detour hundreds of miles southeast, straight past the Mountain Sea Sect, and then cross another occupied zone…

The Mountain Sea Sect? Wang Ba mentally slammed the door on that option. He had literally just murdered one of their elite disciples. He couldn’t go anywhere near their territory.

Running out of options, Wang Ba was forced to swallow his pride.

Zhu Ziji’s logic was sound. The horde was massed on their only safe route home. Trying to sneak past them alone was a gamble; if he was spotted and bogged down, the horde would swarm him, resulting in a scenario of nine deaths and one life.

Piggybacking on Zhu Ziji’s massive counter-offensive actually offered the highest statistical chance of survival. He just had to be ready to run the exact second Zhu Ziji decided to play dead again.

Making his decision, Wang Ba cupped his fists in a flawless display of subordination.

“I am willing to follow Fellow Daoist Zhu.”

Zhu Ziji nodded in arrogant satisfaction.

He raised his hand, summoning a Heavenly Gate Task Token. He manipulated the runes for a moment before a cruel smile split his face.

“Excellent. There are multiple squads in the immediate vicinity. I have issued the rally order!”

Wang Ba exhaled quietly. If he was going to be press-ganged into a suicide mission, he was glad he wasn’t the only meat-shield. The more Foundation Establishment commanders present, the more the risk was diluted.

Zhu Ziji dropped into a cross-legged meditation. With a flick of his wrist, a Storage Ring materialized in his palm—a hidden artifact Wang Ba hadn’t detected earlier. Zhu Ziji popped several high-grade Pills into his mouth, refining the medicinal energy rapidly.

His aura began to stabilize, the terrifying pressure of his late Foundation Establishment core returning to peak capacity. The ragged scar on his abdomen finally sealed over with thick, dark scabs.

Within minutes, the brush rustled. A squad of cultivators emerged, flying low to the ground.

Their leader wore the crimson and black robes of the core Heavenly Gate Sect. He radiated the dense, suffocating aura of a mid Foundation Establishment expert, significantly outclassing Wang Ba.

Soon after, a second squad arrived. Then a third.

By the time Zhu Ziji stood up, fully restored, nearly ten Foundation Establishment commanders and their respective squads had rallied around him in the bloody valley.

“Good. We have the numbers,” Zhu Ziji declared, his voice ringing with absolute authority. “Your orders are simple. You hold the line. Keep the trash off my back. Li Canghai is mine!”

“They believe they have me on the run. They will never expect a concentrated, aggressive counter-strike! We hit them hard, and their lines will break!”

The gathered commanders remained silent.

None of them wanted to be here. Charging a fortified commander holding third-grade weaponry was insanity. But Zhu Ziji was right; the horde had cut off their retreat. Unless they planned to sit in the dirt and magically ascend to the Golden Core stage, they had to fight their way through.

Zhu Ziji closed his eyes, his Divine Sense sweeping the horizon like a radar pulse. His eyes snapped open, locking onto the northeast.

“Li Canghai is there. Move out!”

The massive strike force surged into the sky, following Zhu Ziji in a tight, aggressive wedge formation, screaming straight toward the enemy encampment.

Wang Ba flew near the center of the pack. But as the miles vanished, he noticed his position gradually shifting toward the absolute front of the vanguard.

A quick scan with his Divine Sense revealed the truth. The other Foundation Establishment commanders were subtly, deliberately throttling their speed, letting Wang Ba drift to the front.

You cowardly bastards! Wang Ba cursed internally.

It was obvious. They were all trying to hang back, letting someone else absorb the initial alpha-strike so they could preserve their own Spiritual Energy!

The agonizing irony was that Wang Ba was trying to do the exact same thing!

But before he could hit his own brakes, a jolt of alarm spiked through his mind.

At the absolute limit of his Divine Sense, he registered a massive, ruined city. In the highest pavilion of a shattered palace, a cluster of Incense Burner Path elites were casually drinking wine.

Seated at the head of the table was a mountain of a man. His features were brutally rugged, and the sheer, suffocating pressure radiating from his frame completely eclipsed the other zealots.

Sensing Zhu Ziji’s incoming armada, the man paused, a look of genuine surprise crossing his face before twisting into a horrific, bloodthirsty grin.

“You’re actually still alive? You must be that rat from the Slaughtering Life Path,” Li Canghai’s voice boomed across the miles, carrying on the wind. “This time, I won’t just break your spine. I’m going to grind your soul into dust! Let’s see you feign death from that!”

Li Canghai shattered his wine cup and roared an order.

The horde mobilized instantly.

Thousands of zealots poured out of the ruins, scattering into combat formations. But it wasn’t a chaotic swarm; it was a disciplined barrage. A tidal wave of Talismans, Magical Artifacts, and offensive techniques blotted out the sun, screaming toward the Heavenly Gate Sect vanguard!

Hidden within the barrage, elite zealots activated their innate Yin Ghosts, launching invisible, lethal soul-strikes.

But the Heavenly Gate Sect was prepared. Several commanders simultaneously deployed high-tier defensive Talismans specifically engineered to repel soul attacks, casting a shimmering, protective dome over the Foundation Establishment experts and the majority of the Qi Refining grunts.

“Break formation! Intercept them!” Zhu Ziji roared.

True to his word, the butcher didn’t hold back. He accelerated, transforming into a streak of bloody light as he bypassed the frontline entirely, diving straight for the mountain of a man in the pavilion.

Seeing his prey approach, Li Canghai laughed maniacally. Completely ignoring the standard doctrine of a backline commander, the behemoth violently launched himself into the sky, meeting Zhu Ziji in a cataclysmic, mid-air collision!

Realizing they couldn’t hide any longer, the Heavenly Gate Sect commanders drew their weapons and engaged the zealot elites.

Wang Ba immediately scanned the battlefield for an easy target. He locked onto an early Foundation Establishment zealot whose aura was flickering erratically, indicating a severe, pre-existing injury.

Perfect, Wang Ba thought, diving toward the wounded man.

But before he could cross the distance—

Screech—!

The lethal whine of incoming magic triggered Wang Ba’s passive defenses.

A brilliant barrier of treasure light erupted around his body, instantly taking a catastrophic hit. With a deafening CRACK, the barrier shattered like glass, the kinetic force violently throwing Wang Ba backward through the air.

Channeling his Spiritual Energy, Wang Ba aggressively stabilized his flight path, coming to a halt mid-air. He whipped his head around to identify the sniper.

Hovering a short distance away was a zealot clad entirely in crimson. His aura was intense, roughly equivalent to a mid Foundation Establishment expert. However, the energy was unstable and erratic, suggesting he had only recently forced a breakthrough.

The zealot sneered, crossing his arms with an expression of supreme, mocking confidence.

“Your opponent is me… you pathetic little rat!”

Sensing the specific, unstable fluctuations of the man’s aura, an incredibly strange, almost pitying expression crossed Wang Ba’s face.