Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Bang!

The soil cracked open, and a large hand thrust out abruptly. It was a rotting human hand, with bare bones and decayed flesh still clinging to it. Disgusting to no end.

Then, a man crawled out from the earth, his entire body, like the hand, was mostly decayed, and an overwhelming stench emanated from him.

Just moments ago, this place was filled with ethereal aura, like a fairyland. But now, it had turned into a ghost domain, the stark contrast too astonishing to accept.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, one after another, the Corroders climbed out of the soil, akin to zombies emerging, like a biohazard crisis.

Suddenly, nearly thirty rotting corpses appeared, and what shocked Chu Hao was that the Thousand Leaves Grass was growing on the chest of one of the decayed bodies, with its roots pierced straight into the heart. Looking at other corpses, each Spirit Grass's root was the same, embedded in the heart.

Coincidence? Impossible, there's no such thing as so many coincidences.

So... were these Spirit Grasses planted by someone? Thinking of this possibility, everyone shuddered, a profound fear causing them to tremble uncontrollably.

Chu Hao, staring at the corpse, said, "The body hasn't completely decayed. It hasn't been buried in the ground for long."

Everyone nodded. Although the degree of decay varied, the longest was about a year, and the shortest was only two or three months, very "fresh." In this case, it couldn't be an ancient medicine field but rather occupied by some force.

Using human bodies as nourishment for Spirit Grass, this... evil, cruel.

The corpse in front of Chu Hao reached its hand towards him, its mouth opened, the tongue long since rotted away, yet it let out a strange "uh uh uh" sound, as if trying to say something.

Chu Hao's face changed drastically.

"These aren't dead bodies... they're still alive!" he said horrified.

What!

Everyone was shocked, not dead? Impossible! But upon listening carefully, they all turned pale, especially Zhuo Yunshan and Miao Yujun, who looked like they were about to vomit.

There was a heartbeat, though very faint, but indeed, a heartbeat.

Who, who could be so cruel as to bury living people underground to supply the growth of Spirit Grass? Moreover, rotting to such an extent is not an overnight thing; how could these people still be alive?

"Look behind them!" someone said.

Everyone looked and saw that each Corroder had a gray-brown vine inserted into their back, appearing hollow in the middle, with liquid flowing inside.

Could these vines be sustaining the Corroders' lives, making them rot but not die?

But what kind of torture is this?

Buried underground, being drawn of heart blood by Spirit Grass, unable to live, unable to die. Who could commit such a heartless act?

Each Corroder was either waving their hands as if seeking help or gesturing a throat-slitting action, clearly begging for death. Under such torture, most would only wish for death to end this endless pain.

"I-I recognize this person!" Leng Deshan suddenly said tremblingly. Even as a genius on the Fledgling Dragon List, he was pouring cold sweat. Pointing at a nearby Corroder, he said, "He is Gu Yu, the Mount-Ring Black Wolf, a Seven Meridians Martial Sect."

"I also recognize him!" Cao Minghao pointed at another Corroder, "He is Zhou Xiaoyun, Cold Mountain Lone Sword."

"He is Lin Jing, Big Ghost Hand."

Out of the thirty Corroders, five identities were recognized, mainly because their degree of decay was lesser, making their appearances recognizable and their bodies distinctively identifiable, for example, Zhou Xiaoyun's right hand was notably longer than his left.

These five had varying levels of strength and ages, showing no common characteristics.

Perhaps they accidentally discovered this place and ended up as nourishment.

"We should leave here." someone suggested.

The Spirit Grass was tempting, but just looking at the fate of these over thirty Corroders made everyone feel uneasy. Moreover, among these Corroders were strong Eight Meridians Martial Sects who couldn't even die, indicating the strength of the hidden force behind this.

"Go!" everyone agreed. Opportunities can be sought again, but if one loses their life, everything is for naught.

Pop pop pop, just then, the soil around broke open, gray vines shot out like arrows towards the ten people.

"Dodge quickly!"

Everyone jumped swiftly, but more vines followed, shooting continuously from the ground, aiming at Chu Hao and the others. With so many vines attacking together, it was like a barrage of arrows; despite their fast movement technique, it was impossible to dodge them all, forcing them to defend.

"Luckily, these monsters aren't too strong!" After blocking them, everyone felt more confident. The vines' strength was only around Five Meridians.

Except for Chu Hao, the other nine were Four Meridians Martial Sects, and qualifying for the Fledgling Dragon List meant that Nine Meridians Martial Masters' breakthroughs were the baseline. Thus, these nine equaled ordinary Five Meridians Martial Sects.

Five Meridians against Five Meridians, they were on equal footing, and their combat talents were naturally unmatched.

Earlier, they were too fearful because the thirty-odd people had been pierced by the vines, living in agony, scaring them to the core, dampening their fighting spirit and making them want to escape.

But in combat, they felt confident; these vine creatures weren't fearsome.

With fear gone, greed resurfaced, the Spirit Grass here was worth billions, and this was just an estimate. The real value could be far greater.

A billion Star Stones is enough to drive a War King to risk their life, let alone them?

"Kill!" they counterattacked, determined to eliminate the vines and secure their reward.

Chu Hao frowned. Speaking of life experiences, he had acquired far more wealth than these people. Even on Earth, he frequently explored ancient ruins, casually obtaining valuable antiques.

Though the Spirit Grass valued at a billion Star Stones tempted him, he thought further ahead.

—Among the thirty-plus people "trapped" here, five were identified, their strength varied, but the strongest was an Eight Meridians Martial Sect. The vines were numerous, but their strength was only around Five Meridians.

Here's the issue, shouldn't an Eight Meridians at least be able to escape if not win?

The fact was, they were captured, imprisoned underground, their essence drained by Spirit Grass daily, living worse than death. If Chu Hao knew he would end like that, he'd rather commit suicide.

Yet, these Corroders were all alive—if they could still be considered living.

Why?

Had the vine creatures not used full strength? Or maybe these were just one group of monsters, and there were more and stronger ones?

"Retreat!" Chu Hao decisively said, "Look at those people, many aren't weak, yet they couldn't even escape. This valley is far from simple."

Otherwise, if only one person escaped, the valley's secrets would be public. As mentioned, such valuable Spirit Grass would excite even a War King, and mere Five Meridians-level vines, no matter how many, couldn't stand up to a War General.

With one slap, all would be settled, let alone a War King.

His words sobered Zhuo Yunshan, Miao Yujun, and Leng Deshan, their rationality overcoming greed. But people like Mi Zerui didn't listen at all.

They only saw the vines weren't strong and were confident in handling them. Afterward, they'd earn at least a billion Star Stones.

Martial Artists must constantly enter ancient ruins, always risking their lives, and often might not even find treasures because who knew if ancient ruins had long been emptied.

But now, the Spirit Grass was clearly everywhere, not fake.

If not now, then when?

"Kill!" Chai Zerui and the six grew more determined, counterattacking the vines, using ultimate moves to end the battle swiftly.

Their strength couldn't be underestimated. With their ultimate moves, the numerous vines, despite their quantity advantage, were destroyed in clumps, showing no resistance.

These six weren't just any talents; they were geniuses from the Fledgling Dragon List or those qualified but yet to enter the list. Though their power matched the vines, their combat ability was overwhelmingly superior, leading to a one-sided massacre.

Countless broken vines fell to the ground, some twitching like half-dead snakes, spilling gray-brown fluid.

"Hahaha, nothing to worry about!" Mi Zerui laughed, glancing at Chu Hao, saying, "Kid, your scare tactics won't work; none of this is yours."

Chu Hao frowned, saying, "Take this chance to leave quickly!"

Otherwise, lifting the invisible barrier needed cooperation from all ten, he wouldn't bother with this self-righteous man.

"Say another nonsense, and I'll kill you!" Mi Zerui said coldly, losing all patience with Chu Hao.

Chu Hao clenched his fist, his anger flaring up.

Without beating this guy up, the others wouldn't listen to him.

"My Star Force is rapidly diminishing!" Party Bright said in a trembling voice.

"Me too!"

"No, no, this can't be happening!"

Two people sat down helplessly; for Martial Artists, losing Star Force equated to being crippled. Despite being prodigies, their confidence came from their strength.

With strength drained, they reverted to ordinary people, their genius status stripped away instantly.

Terrible!

Chu Hao noticed the fluid from the vines, a word flashing in his mind: Poison! But it was too late, his Star Force too was draining away, as if he had never cultivated at all.