Rebirth as a Demonic Cultivator: Starting with a Zombie Planet

Chapter 9: Thunderous Might, Instantly Killing Three!

Chu Xuan didn’t wait at the rendezvous point. Instead, he scaled a nearby hill and crouched behind a jagged boulder, his presence entirely concealed.

In times like these, betrayal was the only certainty. The only person he trusted was himself. Lingering out in the open was a fool’s errand.

Moments later, Chen Ge hurried out of the Wu family estate, returning to the shade of the designated tree. Finding the spot empty, a flicker of suspicion crossed his face.

From his vantage point, Chu Xuan didn’t immediately reveal himself. He meticulously scanned the perimeter, straining his ears for the slightest rustle of an ambush.

Growing anxious, Chen Ge hissed into the shadows, “Senior Brother Chu, where are you?”

Chu Xuan let him sweat for a long moment before finally stepping out.

Chen Ge exhaled a heavy sigh of relief, the realization dawning on him. Any Demonic Cultivator who had survived the relentless purges of the five righteous sects wasn’t the type to blindly trust anyone.

Without another word, Chen Ge retrieved a formation disk and a set of flags from his Storage Bag, offering them up.

Chu Xuan inspected the items and gave a curt nod.

It was the genuine article: the Blood Transformation Great Array.

In its most basic form, it was merely a Middle Grade Magical Artifact, easily operated by a Qi Condensation cultivator. However, if one layered additional Formations over it—evolving it into the Soul-Seizing Blood Transformation Great Array or the Blood Transformation Condensing Killing Intent Great Array—it would ascend to the rank of a Dharma Treasure. At that level, only a Golden Core expert could wield it, and the required materials and complexity would multiply a hundredfold.

“Senior Brother Chu, are you absolutely certain you won’t join us?” Chen Ge pressed, unable to help himself. “Martial Uncle Liu treats us well. When we retreated to the Wu family manor, he was the one who covered our escape.”

Chu Xuan shook his head. “No.”

With that, he turned on his heel and walked away. He had zero intention of overstaying his welcome.

The surviving members of the Wuji Sect were a festering thorn in the side of the five righteous sects. They were marked for death. Clinging to a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Liu Zhenxiong might feel like finding a sturdy shield, but in reality, it was painting a massive target on their backs.

When the inevitable hammer fell, Liu Zhenxiong might have the strength to flee, but the Qi Condensation disciples would be slaughtered like livestock.

Chu Xuan refused to place his life in another man’s hands.

Securing the Blood Transformation Great Array put Chu Xuan in an excellent mood. His next step was simple: find a secure location and charge the Blood Mirror’s energy to the brim.

Once he crossed back to that apocalyptic wasteland, he would deploy the array and skyrocket his cultivation realm!

However, his good mood vanished twenty miles out from the Wu estate.

The air shifted. Someone was approaching. Fast.

Several streaks of light pierced the sky, descending rapidly to cut off his path.

Three figures materialized, flanking him. They wore pristine, snow-white Daoist robes, the collars and sleeves embroidered with golden sword motifs.

Chu Xuan recognized the uniform instantly. Shenggang Sect. Qi Condensation disciples.

“Fellow Daoists, what seems to be the problem?” Chu Xuan asked, his face a mask of perfect, bewildered innocence.

The trio sized him up with undisguised contempt.

The middle-aged cultivator at the helm spoke with cold authority. “By order of Martial Uncle Sun, the Wu family is suspected of harboring Wuji Sect remnants. A fifty-mile quarantine is in effect. Entry is permitted; exit is forbidden.”

Chu Xuan widened his eyes, feigning panic. “Wuji Sect remnants? But I’m just a legitimate Rogue Cultivator!”

“I don’t care if you’re a Rogue Cultivator or a Demonic Cultivator,” the middle-aged man sneered impatiently. “No one passes this intersection today.”

“If you want to keep your head attached to your neck, stay put and be obedient.”

“Once Martial Uncle Sun finishes turning the Wu estate inside out, you’ll be let go—assuming you’re clean.”

Chu Xuan immediately hunched his shoulders, pasting on a fawning, ingratiating smile. He nodded vigorously. “Of course, of course! I am more than willing to cooperate.”

Seeing the man cower, the middle-aged cultivator puffed up his chest, a haughty smirk spreading across his face. “That’s more like it. You Rogue Cultivators just need to learn your place and listen.”

Chu Xuan offered a meek, awkward chuckle in return.

Just then, two brilliant streaks of light tore across the sky above them, their speed staggering.

Chu Xuan raised a brow. “Could that be Senior Sun Shi of your esteemed sect?”

The middle-aged cultivator laughed arrogantly. “Exactly! With two Foundation Establishment Martial Uncles taking the field, they’ll rip the Wu family up by the roots.”

Chu Xuan nodded slowly.

Sun Shi. That was the bastard who had led the Shenggang Sect blockade against him back in Qinghe City. He remembered it vividly. If he hadn’t been paranoid enough to wear He Liang’s human skin mask, his corpse would have rotted long ago.

Chu Xuan’s tone suddenly shifted, his voice dropping a fraction. “Just the three of you? What if there really are Wuji Sect remnants hiding in that manor? Can you three actually hold this road?”

The middle-aged cultivator scoffed, his disdain palpable. “The Wuji Sect is nothing but a pack of beaten dogs. The three of us are all at least at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. Guarding a simple crossroad and putting down a few Qi Condensation Demonic Cultivators is child’s play.”

“And if a Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivator shows up, Martial Uncle Sun will crush them.”

Chu Xuan nodded as if finally reassured.

Then, his eyes widened in sheer terror. He pointed a trembling finger directly behind the middle-aged cultivator. “Watch out!”

Startled, the middle-aged cultivator assumed a Wuji Sect Demonic Cultivator had flanked them. Panic flashing in his eyes, he whipped around, instantly summoning his Magical Artifact to block the ambush.

His two subordinates reacted identically, snapping their heads back to look.

But there was nothing but empty air. There was no Demonic Cultivator.

Roar!

A guttural, inhuman snarl shattered the silence.

One of the Shenggang Sect disciples slowly, agonizingly, lowered his head. His eyes bulged in absolute horror as he stared at the thick, pitch-black claw protruding from his chest.

His ribcage had been torn open like wet paper. His heart was gone—plucked right out of his body.

The second disciple reacted just in time, scrambling backward to put distance between them. He frantically channeled his spiritual energy, urging his Tiangang Sword to skewer Chu Xuan.

Every Shenggang Sect disciple who broke into Qi Condensation was issued a Tiangang Sword; it was standard-issue gear.

Unfortunately for this disciple, his Sword Riding technique was utterly pathetic. The blade wobbled through the air, sluggish and clumsy.

Chu Xuan didn’t even bother lifting a finger. Xiao Hu blurred forward, swatting the incoming Tiangang Sword away with a deafening clang.

The corpse puppet’s claw lashed out like a striking viper, sweeping cleanly across the cultivator’s neck.

A geyser of crimson erupted.

The disciple’s head launched into the air, his bulging eyes still locked in a state of profound confusion.

The middle-aged leader, possessing slightly better reflexes, threw up a small shield Magical Artifact to defend himself.

But a razor-thin line of crimson had already shot from Chu Xuan’s palm.

Sensing the lethal threat, the leader threw himself to the side.

He was far too slow. The Blood Steel Wire whipped through the air.

Snap.

The middle-aged cultivator’s right arm was sheared off cleanly at the shoulder.

His shield clattered uselessly to the dirt. Blood sprayed from the stump in a violent fountain!

Shrieking in agony, the man stumbled backward in blind terror.

Chu Xuan’s expression remained entirely clinical. He gave the man no quarter.

With a flick of his wrist, the Blood Steel Wire lashed out again, just as Xiao Hu lunged savagely from behind.

Caught in the pincer attack, the leader’s fate was sealed.

Xiao Hu’s claws punched straight through his back, obliterating his remaining heart, while the Blood Steel Wire neatly slit his throat. He was dead before he hit the ground.

The slaughter had taken mere seconds.

In less than ten breaths, three Qi Condensation cultivators had been utterly eradicated.

“Hoo…”

Chu Xuan exhaled a slow, measured breath.

A thrill of dark satisfaction coursed through him. Even he hadn’t anticipated his combat prowess to have spiked this drastically.

His opponents hadn’t been weaklings; all three were at least at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. The leader had even been at the seventh layer—a realm higher than Chu Xuan himself.

Yet, butchering them had felt as effortless as swatting flies.

“Can’t linger,” Chu Xuan muttered.

Moving with practiced efficiency, he stripped the corpses of their Storage Bags and Magical Artifacts. Within moments, he melted into the dense shadows of the mountain forest.

He deliberately avoided using a flying Magical Artifact—taking to the sky now would make him a glowing target for the Foundation Establishment experts. Instead, he vanished on foot, leaving only three cooling corpses behind.