Rebirth as a Demonic Cultivator: Starting with a Zombie Planet

Chapter 42: Foundation Establishment Second Layer, The Wu Family Raid

Half an hour later.

Five commanders from across Longjiang City converged on the General’s Mansion. They were a motley crew—some towering and built like brick outhouses, others gaunt and skeletal.

“Why the sudden summons?”

“No idea, but it has to be big.”

“Obviously. There are only ten commanders in the Linjiang Army. With five deployed outside the city, calling the rest of us here means something went sideways.”

“The personal guards are waving us in. Move.”

Inside the reception hall, the five commanders sat in stiff, respectful silence. General Ye Nantian stood before them, hands clasped behind his back.

“The briefing files are in front of you,” Ye Nantian said, his voice a calm, flat baritone. “Read them.”

The commanders hurriedly flipped through the thin folders. By the time they finished, the color had drained from their faces.

“A hundred-foot-long aquatic mutation?”

“So that’s what tore apart the cargo ship last week!”

“If this thing lives, the Linjiang Army’s water transport routes are dead in the water.”

“We have nearly eighty thousand men! Are we really afraid we can’t butcher one overgrown fish?”

“General,” one commander spoke up, “you brought us here to hunt this beast, didn’t you?”

Ye Nantian gave a curt nod. “This mutated creature is at least a Level Three threat. But the river is its domain. Submerged, its combat power likely rivals a Level Four.”

He leaned forward, eyes hard. “Killing it will be a nightmare. But we cannot allow it to choke Longjiang City’s supply lines. Your orders are simple: hurt it. Make it bleed. Break its spirit until it is too terrified to ever enter Linjiang Army territory again!”

The five commanders rose as one, their boots slamming together. “Yes, General!”

…

Meanwhile, in the ruined metropolis of Donghu City.

A figure stepped through the empty air. Billowing waves of cold, sinister Yin-Fiend energy erupted in his wake. One second he was hovering above a rusted intersection; the next, he materialized on a rooftop hundreds of feet away.

He moved with the speed of a phantom gale.

Thrusting a hand forward, he manifested a massive, spectral Yin-Fiend Demon Claw. The dark energy slammed into a concrete utility pole, instantly crushing the reinforced stone and steel into fine powder!

A moment later, Chu Xuan alighted on the rusted spire of a cell signal tower.

A cold, satisfied smile touched his lips.

This morning, he had successfully broken through to the second layer of Foundation Establishment.

The Yin-Fiend Evasion and the Yin-Fiend Demon Claw were exactly as the ancient texts described. If fueled by standard spiritual power, they were painfully mediocre. But when driven by pure, concentrated Yin-Fiend energy, their lethality skyrocketed, rivaling High Grade Foundation Establishment spells.

Most cultivators overlooked this nuance, severely underestimating the techniques. Chu Xuan, however, intended to exploit it. The explosive speed and terrifying destructive force would allow him to butcher opponents before they even realized they were under attack.

“This trip to Hailan Planet has paid off in spades,” Chu Xuan muttered, the wind whipping at his coat.

Before crossing over, he had been stuck at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation. Now, he was a second-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator. He possessed his Natal Artifact, the Fiend Soul Chain, and was armed to the teeth with High Grade Magical Artifacts like the Heavenly Dipper Flying Sword and the Goldwood Shield.

With his mastery of the Yin-Fiend Evasion and Yin-Fiend Demon Claw, he held the absolute initiative in battle. Whether hunting prey or retreating, he was virtually untouchable.

“With this kind of power, even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Sun Shi tracks me down again, I won’t just survive. I’ll slaughter him.”

Chu Xuan’s smile widened into a predator’s grin.

“Time to head back. My Natal Artifact is missing one final component.”

A Foundation Establishment living soul.

Returning to the Haotai Hotel, Chu Xuan made his preparations.

He ordered Xiao Hu and Xiao Bao to guard the base, while he would take Xiao Long with him. Leaving Xiao Bao behind wasn’t an oversight—it was a calculated move. He fully trusted the loyal tiger mutant, Xiao Hu. Leaving the rebellious leopard mutant with him was an excuse to let Xiao Hu beat some discipline into the unruly beast.

As for Xiao Long, the massive mutant python was simply too powerful and inherently treacherous to leave unsupervised. It had to remain within striking distance at all times.

With his arrangements complete, Chu Xuan retrieved the Blood Mirror from his Storage Bag.

In the blink of an eye, his form blurred and vanished from the apocalyptic world.

Xiao Hu barely blinked, already accustomed to its master’s sudden disappearances.

Xiao Bao, however, froze. The leopard’s ears twitched.

Where did the master go?

The mental leash connecting it to Chu Xuan had suddenly grown incredibly faint. A dangerous, opportunistic glint sparked in the leopard’s eyes. Does this mean I can—

“Roar!”

Before the thought could even form, Xiao Hu snorted coldly and delivered a brutal, bone-rattling slap to the back of Xiao Bao’s head.

The leopard face-planted into the floor, whimpering in grievance, instantly abandoning any thoughts of mutiny.

…

Cangxuan Continent, Taiyin Market.

Chu Xuan materialized in the bustling hub, though his appearance was entirely different. He now wore the guise of a bald, heavily scarred, burly man. He radiated a fierce, bloodthirsty aura that practically screamed at strangers to keep their distance.

The moment he stepped into the market, he noticed the shift. The usual lively, cutthroat atmosphere was suffocated by a heavy blanket of tension.

It didn’t take long to gather the intel: the Wu family, the overlords of the Taiyin Market, had been raided and exterminated by the Shenggang Sect.

Someone had tipped off the righteous sect that the Wu family was harboring Wuji Sect remnants. The Shenggang Sect dispatched their inquisitors, confirmed the rumors, and brought down the hammer.

Thousands of Wu family members were branded as Demonic Cultivator collaborators and slaughtered to the last man. Only the family’s ancestor, Wu Teng, and a handful of Wuji Sect elites managed to carve a bloody path to freedom.

Chu Xuan sipped his tea by the window of a local teahouse, his expression an unreadable mask.

Just as I predicted.

A large group was nothing but a giant target painted on their backs. The Wu family manor was a ticking time bomb. It was a damn good thing he hadn’t stayed behind with Liu Zhenxiong and the others. If he had, he would currently be running for his life, hunted like a dog by the Shenggang Sect’s righteous hypocrites.

Now a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Chu Xuan didn’t even need the Truth-Listening Bug to eavesdrop. He simply tuned his heightened senses to the ambient chatter of the teahouse.

As expected, less than a month had passed in the Cangxuan Continent. The disappearance of Ouyang Hao was still a hot topic among the local Rogue Cultivators.

But another, far more massive piece of news quickly caught his attention.

Wan Wuying, the Golden Core elder of the Wuji Sect, had perished.

He had been cornered by three Golden Core ancestors from the Shenggang Sect and Jinlong Temple. Despite a heaven-shaking battle, he was ultimately ground down and killed.

The fall of a Golden Core cultivator was an earth-shattering event across the nine prefectures of Yu Country. The teahouse was buzzing with the gossip.

“When the Wuji Sect fell, only two Golden Core ancestors made it out alive.”

“And now, there’s only one left.”

Chu Xuan took another slow sip of his tea, feeling a fleeting sense of irony.

The alliance between the Shenggang Sect and Jinlong Temple was a slight surprise. Among the five righteous sects of Yu Country, the Shenggang Sect held the undisputed number one spot, with Jinlong Temple sitting at a bitter second. The two factions despised each other, constantly clashing over resources and prestige.

Yet, to put down Wan Wuying, the pompous hypocrites had actually managed to hold their noses and work together.

Not my problem, Chu Xuan thought dismissively. The political squabbles of the righteous sects were far above his paygrade.

I just need to find a large-scale conflict. A chaotic battlefield where I can fish in troubled waters and rip out a Foundation Establishment soul for my Fiend Soul Chain.

He tapped his finger rhythmically against the wooden table, filtering through the noise. But after an hour of listening to Qi Condensation cultivators spout useless rumors, he lost his patience.

Tossing a low-grade Spirit Stone onto the table, he stood up and walked out.

He didn’t even glance in the direction of the Wu family manor. Only an idiot would return to a freshly raided stronghold. The Shenggang Sect likely had ambushers waiting in the ashes for stragglers.

Leaving the market behind, Chu Xuan summoned his Heavenly Dipper Flying Sword and took to the skies, heading straight south.

After his meticulous refinement, the flying sword’s appearance had drastically changed. Unless the original forgemaster inspected it personally, no one would ever recognize it as Ouyang Hao’s former weapon.

If I can’t find a human Foundation Establishment cultivator to harvest, I’ll settle for the next best thing, Chu Xuan decided, the wind roaring past his ears. A Foundation Establishment Demon Beast will do just fine.

He flew south for a full day, passing over countless mortal villages and bustling towns without a second glance.

Finally, a massive, sprawling mountain range loomed on the horizon.

Thick, ethereal mist choked the towering peaks, giving the jagged landscape the illusion of a divine fairyland. This was the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, the treacherous natural border between Tongzhou and Wuzhou.

Qinghe Prefecture, his previous hunting ground, was merely one of Tongzhou’s eight territories.

The Cloud Mist Mountain Range was infamous for its dense population of lethal creatures.

Finding a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast here wouldn’t be a problem. Surviving it, however, was another matter entirely.