Rebirth as a Demonic Cultivator: Starting with a Zombie Planet

Chapter 47: Blood Steel Wire’s Second Transformation, Boiling Blood Art!

The Blood Steel Wire bobbed its tiny head, practically vibrating with hunger.

Chu Xuan arched an eyebrow, a memory from the *Blood Bug Tome* surfacing in his mind. The Blood Steel Wire was a descendant of an ancient, exotic parasite known as the Gold-Devouring Blood Mother. If fed the right blood, it had a chance to trigger an ancestral reversion. Even if it failed to fully mutate, its power would still skyrocket.

*Is the blood trapped in this amber from the Gold-Devouring Blood Mother?* Chu Xuan mused. *No. Sun Shi was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. There’s no way he could get his hands on the blood of an ancient terror. This is likely just the blood of a powerful Gu insect with a trace connection to the Mother—maybe a Flying Sky Blood Locust or a Mountain Steel Seed.*

*Still, if the Blood Steel Wire wants it, I might as well feed it. It can’t hurt.*

Chu Xuan sliced the amber open.

Before he could even issue a mental command, the Blood Steel Wire lunged, greedily slurping up the dark red sludge. The moment it finished, the parasite turned sluggish. It slithered back into Chu Xuan’s chest, burrowing deep into the Blood Bug Sac before curling into a tight ball.

Then, right before Chu Xuan’s inner eye, it began to spin a cocoon.

He could feel its aura swelling, growing denser by the second.

*A second transformation already?* Chu Xuan suppressed a dark grin. Pushing aside his anticipation, he closed his eyes and began circulating the *Soul Forging Incantation*.

The *Soul Forging Incantation* was divided into three layers. It offered no offensive spells and, at its peak, could only enhance a cultivator’s soul by thirty percent. But a thirty percent boost was still a boost. In this brutal world, he would take every scrap of power he could get. If he found something better later, he’d simply discard it.

Three days later.

A sharp throb echoed from the Blood Bug Sac in his chest. Chu Xuan immediately turned his focus inward. The cocoon was fracturing. With a silent, tearing sensation, the parasite’s aura shattered its previous bottleneck.

Chu Xuan inspected the newly emerged Blood Steel Wire. Its outward appearance hadn’t drastically changed, but it was noticeably longer, thicker, and possessed a metallic, razor-sharp sheen. It hadn’t achieved a full ancestral reversion, but its lethality had multiplied.

*Early-stage second transformation. It’s already comparable to an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.* Chu Xuan’s eyes gleamed with cold satisfaction. *If I had the time to refine it into a Lifebound Gu, its combat power would surge even higher. A pity.*

Still, having a second-transformation Gu gave him another deadly trump card.

*I never gave you a name,* Chu Xuan mused, a cynical smirk playing on his lips. *I won’t call you ‘Little Steel.’ Too generic. From now on, you are… Steel Wire.*

He nodded to himself, utterly satisfied with his own profound lack of creativity. *A name worthy of the heavens.*

The newly christened Steel Wire bobbed its head obediently. It was a bug; it didn’t care.

*Now, what about your innate spell?* Chu Xuan probed through their mental link.

Steel Wire understood instantly. It slithered up to Chu Xuan’s heart, opened its razor-lined maw, and gently bit down on the organ’s surface. A strange, scalding venom injected directly into his bloodstream.

Chu Xuan flinched. His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum. The blood in his veins accelerated to a terrifying speed, burning as if it were about to literally boil.

Testing the effect, Chu Xuan drew a dagger and slashed his own palm. The flesh parted, but before the blood could even spill, the wound knit itself back together. Within three breaths, a scab formed and flaked away, leaving unblemished skin.

Chu Xuan’s eyes widened. *Boiling Blood Art!*

It was a top-tier innate spell. By accelerating the host’s blood flow, it not only granted monstrous regenerative abilities but also drastically spiked all physical attributes.

“Excellent,” Chu Xuan muttered, clenching his newly healed fist. Another weapon for the arsenal.

A sudden vibration from his Storage Bag interrupted his thoughts. Chu Xuan pulled out a communication jade slip. Liu Zhenxiong’s voice crackled through.

“Junior Brother Chu, Wu Teng has recovered. Senior Brother Li is waiting for us at the foot of the mountain. It’s time to move.”

“Understood. I’m on my way,” Chu Xuan replied smoothly.

He left his seclusion and returned to the main cave, finding only Liu Zhenxiong and Wu Teng. The Qi Condensation disciples, including Xu Ming, were nowhere to be seen.

Catching his questioning glance, Liu Zhenxiong smiled. “With Senior Brother Li’s help, we’ve relocated the juniors to a safe zone.”

Chu Xuan gave a curt nod. Good. Dead weight would only get them killed.

Wu Teng looked at Chu Xuan, a complex mix of envy and respect in his eyes. “I never imagined you’d break through to Foundation Establishment so quickly.”

Liu Zhenxiong laughed heartily. “Don’t feel bad, Wu Teng. None of us saw it coming. Now, let’s go. We have a mission.”

The trio descended the mountain. At the base, a lone figure stood waiting with his back turned. He wore pristine white robes that fluttered in the wind, exuding an ethereal, transcendent aura. He looked like the absolute paragon of a righteous Sect cultivator.

“You’ve arrived.” The man turned around.

Chu Xuan took in his appearance. Sword-like eyebrows, eyes like cold stars, and an extraordinarily handsome face. If one were to judge by looks alone, this man belonged to a righteous pillar like the Shenggang Sect, not the demonic, blood-soaked Wuji Sect.

In truth, Li Xuanming’s talent had sparked a bidding war between the Shenggang Sect and the Wuji Sect years ago. The Wuji Sect had paid a staggering price to drag this ‘righteous’ genius into the demonic path.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Li,” Chu Xuan, Liu Zhenxiong, and Wu Teng greeted in unison, cupping their fists respectfully.

In the cultivation world, strength dictated hierarchy. Li Xuanming’s cultivation base crushed theirs; therefore, he was the Senior Brother.

Li Xuanming’s gaze swept past the other two and locked onto Chu Xuan. He gave a slight, approving nod. “Not bad. Reaching Foundation Establishment in our current, desperate environment is no small feat. If times were different, I would have strongly recommended Master take you as a personal disciple.”

The ‘Master’ he referred to was the Wuji Sect’s First Patriarch—the strongest cultivator they had ever known. Unfortunately, that old monster had perished long ago.

“Since Junior Brother Chu has only just broken through, your foundation is still unstable,” Li Xuanming continued, his tone carrying the haughty authority of a natural leader. “When the fighting starts, you will remain on the periphery and keep watch.”

Chu Xuan offered a flawless, deferential smile and bowed his head. “Understood, Senior Brother.”

*Perfect,* Chu Xuan thought, his internal voice dripping with cynical satisfaction. *If these arrogant fools want to do all the heavy lifting and bleed for the Sect, I’ll gladly stand back and watch. The less I reveal, the better.*

“The Shenggang Sect likely already knows about Sun Shi’s death,” Li Xuanming said, his eyes narrowing. “We have no time to waste. We strike Cloud Mist Manor immediately.”

Li Xuanming tapped the ground, his body blurring into a streak of white lightning as he shot forward. Chu Xuan and the others immediately gave chase.

An hour later, the four cultivators arrived at the northern edge of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. The terrain leveled out, revealing a sprawling estate nestled between verdant peaks and a winding river.

This was Cloud Mist Manor.

At first glance, it looked like a peaceful, wealthy mortal estate. But to a cultivator’s eyes, the air rippled with the hidden, lethal intent of a massive formation. Anyone foolish enough to trigger it would instantly be swarmed and butchered by the Shenggang Sect’s ambushers.

Liu Zhenxiong and Wu Teng turned to their leader. “Senior Brother Li, what are your orders?”

Li Xuanming’s expression remained perfectly placid. “I have already gathered intelligence on the four Foundation Establishment guards stationed here. The strongest is at the third layer of Foundation Establishment; the weakest is newly advanced. I will take two. You two will handle the remaining two.”

He then turned to Chu Xuan and tossed him a dull bronze mirror. “Junior Brother Chu, your task is to locate the formation’s core and destroy it. Provide support only if the opportunity arises. That is a Formation-Breaking Mirror. It has no combat value, but it will reveal the weak points of their array.”

Chu Xuan caught the mirror, bowing his head in perfect, obedient deference.

*He’s already planned out the entire suicide charge,* Chu Xuan mused, tucking the mirror away. *Excellent. That leaves absolutely nothing for me to worry about.*