Chapter 215: Chapter 215: This is Not an Earth Corpse, This is a Jiangshi

Chu He was also baffled, unsure why this Evil Spirit known as the Earth Corpse had left the swamp to suddenly attack Chen Yi.

Faced with Chen Jia’s suspicion, Chu He couldn’t be bothered to explain.

In Chu He’s mind, the Earth Corpse from the Great Xia Empire’s Demon Cave had always been a rather unique existence among Evil Spirits.

However, Chu He couldn’t quite put his finger on what made it so special. It was just a gut feeling.

The Earth Corpse’s sudden move now only served to confirm his suspicions.

Suddenly, a series of hoarse, low syllables escaped the Earth Corpse’s mouth,

as if it were utterly disdainful of the name "Earth Corpse."

"No, this isn’t an Earth Corpse, this is a zombie!"

Chen Jia’s eyes widened. "And it’s a High-Tier Zombie," he said.

’A High-Tier Zombie?’

Chu He was unfamiliar with the term. He frowned, his gaze falling back on the Earth Corpse.

"Whether it’s an Earth Corpse or a High-Tier Zombie, we have to take this thing down.

It destroyed my body. Even though I can create a new one, this current body is basically just mud."

Chen Yi stared coldly at the Earth Corpse.

"Don’t worry," Chen Jia said. "Zombies defy the laws of nature. It’s everyone’s duty to destroy them."

The Earth Corpse’s eyes were like two bottomless, dried-up wells,

in which an unnatural disdain and apathy flickered—

a detachment that held everything in the world in contempt, or perhaps a cruel amusement buried deep within its soul.

It slowly raised a hand weathered by the ages,

tightly gripping a Rattle that looked simple and ancient, yet radiated a sinister aura.

This Rattle was no child’s toy. Its surface was carved with twisted Runes,

each line tracing the path of an ancient Spell, filled with some unknowable power.

With a gentle shake from the Earth Corpse, a subtle ripple seemed to move through the air,

like a breeze brushing across a placid lake, sending invisible ripples spreading out, one after another.

Everywhere they passed, the very air seemed to solidify, bringing with it a suffocating pressure.

This power was invisible to the naked eye and irresistible to a mortal mind.

It silently permeated every inch of Chen Yi’s skin, reaching deep into his very soul.

Chen Yi felt an unprecedented chill shoot up his spine, instantly engulfing his entire body.

An invisible cord coiled tightly around his neck.

As the Rattle’s rhythm quickened, Chen Yi’s neck began to twist in an unnatural way,

each turn accompanied by the sickening grind of bone on bone—the mournful cry of a life struggling in despair.

Pain.

It was like a million sharp needles stabbing into his mind, like an endless darkness instantly swallowing all light and hope.

Chen Yi’s eyes shot wide, filled with terror and confusion, but the emotions were quickly drowned in agony, transforming into a silent scream.

His vision blurred, the world around him replaced by a thick black fog— 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

an abyss woven from fear and despair, pulling him step by step toward the brink of annihilation.

Finally, with a chilling CRACK, Chen Yi’s neck snapped completely, like a brittle branch in a storm.

His head, losing all support, twisted at an impossible angle and slid from the torn stump of his neck,

before rolling onto the cold ground with a sickening, heavy thud.

The moment Chu He saw the Earth Corpse raise the Rattle, he acted, covering the ears of Xia Chengli, Xiao Yu, Nanting Snow, Lin Zuoguang, and Ye Lingyun.

’As long as they couldn’t hear the Rattle, they wouldn’t be affected.’

Before Chen Jia and the other two could react, the Earth Corpse sprang forward. It landed beside Chen Yi’s body, bit down, and began rapidly devouring the Power of the Earth from within the corpse.

Nourished by the Power of the Earth, the Earth Corpse’s skin began to take on a more normal, human-like color.

Though it remained wan and desolate, it now had the faint feel of natural Life Force.

"The Kun Rune Technique..."

Chen Jia’s words were cut short as if severed by invisible Chains,

the unfinished sentence freezing on his lips as an eternal regret.

In that same instant, the Earth Corpse’s figure flashed like lightning in the dead of night, crossing the space between them in a blink.

It appeared before Chen Jia, moving so fast it seemed time itself couldn’t track its movements.

The Earth Corpse’s fist was hard and cold, as if forged from the hardest metal,

or imbued with the boundless Earth’s Core Power.

With irresistible, destructive force, it slammed violently into Chen Jia’s chest, right over his heart.

For a moment, the air seemed to freeze. Then came a muffled CRUNCH.

Chen Jia’s chest caved in as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer, his heart pulverized beneath the Earth Corpse’s fist.

Losing all support, Chen Jia’s body collapsed limply to the ground like a dead tree ravaged by a storm.

As he fell, blood gushed forth like a spring, staining the surrounding dust a shocking crimson.

His eyes were wide with indignation and terror,

but the light of life was already fading from them, leaving behind nothing but a broken, mangled husk.

The Earth Corpse lowered its head, a cold, cruel smile spreading across its wrinkled face.

It opened its massive maw, revealing two rows of sharp, vicious fangs that glinted with bloodlust in the dim light.

With a sudden, violent inhalation, a powerful suction erupted from its mouth, so strong it seemed to devour the very air.

Pulled by this force, Chen Jia’s shattered body was lifted as if by an invisible hand and instantly sucked into the Earth Corpse’s mouth.

Blood and shredded flesh created a gruesome tableau in midair,

tracing ghastly arcs before disappearing into the Earth Corpse’s gaping mouth.

The corners of the Earth Corpse’s mouth were stained red with blood, and chunks of flesh clung to its fangs and cheeks, but it seemed completely unfazed.

It simply chewed mechanically, each bite accompanied by a sickening CRUNCH.

The once-living fragments were mercilessly crushed and digested in the Earth Corpse’s mouth,

ultimately transforming into energy that it absorbed into its body.

The air seemed to congeal. The only sound was the satisfied, cruel chewing of the Earth Corpse echoing in the silence.

"We need to fall back."

Chen Bing and Chen Ding exchanged a look in that instant.

But in that life-or-death moment, a sudden crisis shattered what little balance they had.

Chu He bared his fangs.

His movement was swift and decisive. He struck out with his palm, the force so immense that the surrounding air vibrated with a low hum.

Chen Bing and Chen Ding felt an overwhelming pressure surge toward them from behind,

as if all the strength had been drained from their bodies in an instant, leaving them weightless and without control.

Their bodies, like leaves caught in a gale or kites with their strings cut,

traced several erratic arcs through the air before crashing violently to the ground right under the Earth Corpse’s cold gaze.

The moment they hit the ground, their bodies began to twitch and contort violently—

a final, desperate struggle of life, and clear proof of how fragile the flesh was in the face of immense power.

Blood, like an unleashed torrent, gushed from their mouths, noses, and ears, dyeing their clothes and soaking the ground beneath them.

Fragments of their shattered organs, mixed in with the blood, created a gruesome spectacle.