Rebirth as a Demonic Cultivator: Starting with a Zombie Planet

Chapter 34: The Zombie Horde, Isn’t This the Perfect Opportunity to Create a Yin-Fiend Land?

The so-called Yin-Fiend Steel was nothing more than hundred-folded steel steeped in massive amounts of Yin and Fiend energy. And hundred-folded steel? Simple refined iron would do the trick.

Chu Xuan’s Storage Bag was already packed with refined iron, originally stockpiled for the routine maintenance of his Magical Artifacts. All he needed now was a location suffocating in Yin and Fiend energy. Bury the steel, let it soak in the ambient malice, and wait.

If he laid down a Qi Gathering Formation to funnel the energy, the Yin-Fiend Steel would forge even faster.

Back in the Yu Kingdom, the five great righteous sects held absolute dominion. Any land reeking of Yin-Fiend energy was heavily monitored by their hypocritical watchdogs. If he dared approach one, he’d be subjected to endless interrogations by those self-proclaimed righteous cultivators. It would be a death sentence.

But here on Hailan Planet?

Chu Xuan just needed to find a dense cluster of Zombies and slaughter them by the thousands. The resulting bloodshed and lingering resentment would naturally condense the Yin-Fiend energy he required.

To condense that much energy, I’ll need to butcher at least ten thousand Zombies, Chu Xuan calculated, his eyes gleaming with cold pragmatism. Time to scout the area.

He dispatched Little Dragon, Little Tiger, and Little Leopard to scour the southern ruins of Donghu City. Meanwhile, he stepped onto his Heavenly Dipper Flying Sword, tearing through the smog-choked sky toward the north.

Donghu City was crawling with the undead, but they were scattered, wandering the cracked asphalt in aimless, rotting droves. Herding these mindless creatures into a single slaughterhouse would be a massive waste of time and energy.

Days bled into one another. After scouring the city without finding a single massive concentration of Zombies, Chu Xuan’s patience began to wear thin.

On the fourth day, Chu Xuan set out a lavish lunch for himself. Just as he picked up his chopsticks, Little Leopard darted into the room, letting out a series of sharp, urgent barks.

“Oh?” Chu Xuan paused, translating the beast’s spiritual intent. “A large group of ‘very chewy’ Zombies has appeared in the south? And a squad of humans is fighting them? Interesting.”

To his blood-beasts, the undead were nothing more than walking rations. “Very chewy” was their crude way of describing high-level Zombies. The higher the mutation, the denser the flesh, and the better the taste.

A sudden influx of high-level Zombies wasn’t a coincidence. A cold smirk touched Chu Xuan’s lips as a realization clicked into place. In the old apocalyptic media of his past life, there was a specific term for this phenomenon: a Zombie Horde.

The catalyst could be anything—a loud noise, a fleeing survivor, a sudden shift in the wind. One Zombie would start running, drawing the attention of ten more. Those ten would draw a hundred. Like a rotting avalanche, the mass would swell into an unstoppable tide of decaying flesh and gnashing teeth, wiping out every living thing in its path.

To the surviving humans, it was an apocalyptic natural disaster.

But there was another trigger: an apex predator. Certain high-level Zombies possessed the innate authority to command the lesser undead, forcibly gathering them into a terrifying, organized legion.

A sudden cluster of high-level mutants was the undeniable vanguard of a Horde.

Chu Xuan’s eyes burned with a predatory light. A Zombie Horde!

What did that mean to him? Tens of thousands of Zombies. Maybe hundreds of thousands.

It wasn’t a disaster. It was a delivery. The heavens themselves were handing him the perfect opportunity to forge a Yin-Fiend land.

He inhaled his meal in seconds, summoned his Heavenly Dipper Flying Sword, and shot toward the southern outskirts of Donghu City.

Hovering high above the ruined city limits, he looked down. A sprawling, writhing sea of rotting flesh blotted out the shattered highways, crawling inexorably toward the city. Even a conservative estimate put their numbers past fifty thousand.

“Perfect.” Chu Xuan’s lips curled into a ruthless smile.

He didn’t waste a single second. Banking his sword, he streaked back toward the Haotai Hotel to gather his materials. He needed to lay down the Formations before the horde arrived. He would bleed this apocalyptic tide dry.

***

Meanwhile, at the Black Vanguard Security Company.

A battered, blood-stained Wuling minivan screeched to a halt inside the fortified compound. Several exhausted men piled out. Wang Gangjian, Wang Yong, and Tang Jinchuan hit the concrete, their faces grim and pale.

Song Dayi hurried over, his voice dropping to a tense whisper. “How bad is it?”

Wang Yong held up a trembling hand, his voice hoarse. “Five. A full five Level 1 Zombies at once.”

Song Dayi sucked in a sharp breath.

“Brother, we have to run,” Wang Yong pleaded, turning to Wang Gangjian. “Five Level 1 mutants moving together? That’s the vanguard of a Zombie Horde. It has to be!”

Tang Jinchuan wiped a layer of greasy sweat from his forehead and nodded vigorously. “I second that.”

Wang Gangjian let out a bitter, defeated sigh. “What’s the point of me breaking through to become a Level 2 Esper? In the end, I still have to abandon the place I grew up in. I still have to run like a dog.”

“Brother, your breakthrough is a blessing,” Wang Yong said softly. “But against a Horde? Flesh and blood don’t matter. When the nest falls, no egg remains intact. Even a Level 3 Esper would be ground into meat paste.”

“I second that,” Tang Jinchuan muttered.

Wang Gangjian waved a heavy hand. “Give the order. Tell everyone to pack their bags. We’re evacuating Donghu City.”

He straightened up, his tone shifting to command. “Old Tang and I will scout an escape route. Xiao Yong, head south and confirm the Horde’s trajectory. Dayi, grab the mechanics. Scour the surrounding blocks for anything with an engine and four wheels.”

He looked at the rusted vehicles parked in their lot. “What we have isn’t nearly enough to transport everyone.”

The three men nodded grimly and scattered to their tasks.

Under Wang Gangjian’s leadership, the several hundred survivors taking refuge at the Black Vanguard Security Company moved with surprising discipline. Fear was a powerful motivator. Within two days, the personnel and Supplies were packed and ready to move.

But the reality of the apocalypse was cruel. Operational vehicles were scarce. Even if they crammed people into the trunks and strapped them to the roofs, their current fleet could only carry about a hundred souls.

Inside the dimly lit main hall, Wang Gangjian and his lieutenants stood over a sprawling, blood-stained map of Donghu City.

“It’s confirmed,” Wang Gangjian said, his voice heavy. “The Horde is coming. We have four days, tops.”

He tapped the map. “But we’re critically short on transport. If we leave now, hundreds get left behind to die. Our only option is to secure heavy transport. Trucks, buses, anything massive.”

He took a red marker and circled several locations. “The city bus depot and the industrial district factories. These are our best bets for intact heavy-duty vehicles. Securing them is our absolute priority.”

He looked up, meeting their eyes. “Pick your targets.”

None of them hesitated. They divided the locations and prepared to move out.

Unlike the arrogant cultivators of Chu Xuan’s world, these Espers didn’t view ordinary mortals as disposable trash. Before the world ended, they had been nothing but blue-collar workers—the absolute bottom of society. Because they had spent their lives drowning in the rain, they were determined to hold an umbrella for those still caught in the storm.

***

Donghu City Bus Depot.

A battered minivan rolled to a stop outside the rusted gates. Tang Jinchuan, accompanied by three burly survivors, killed the engine. With a grunt of effort, the massive Esper squeezed his bulk through the driver’s side door, his boots hitting the cracked asphalt with a heavy thud.

One of the men behind him chuckled nervously, trying to cut the tension. “Brother Tang, with all that weight, you’re gonna have a hard time running. If we run into any high-level mutants in there, you definitely won’t outpace us.”

The other two forced out a laugh, gripping their makeshift spears tightly.

Tang Jinchuan snorted, slapping his massive belly. The impact sent a visible shockwave of rippling fat across his torso.

“What do you idiots know?” he scoffed, though his eyes remained locked on the dark, silent bus depot. “This fat is what keeps me alive. If things go south in there, you’ll see exactly what I mean.”