The Demonic Cultivator In Zombie World

The only real difficulty lay in finding the Ghost Shadow Worm.

In that golden age, it might have been easy to find such creatures. But now…

Chu Xuan was deeply concerned whether these bloodthirsty, parasitic creatures still existed. Even if they did, they were likely only the descendants of the original Ghost Shadow Worms, with only a trace of their bloodline remaining.

"However, it doesn't matter if they are the descendants of the Ghost Shadow Worm. Now that I possess the Holy Ant Cultivation Method, I may be able to find a way to return the Ghost Shadow Worms to their ancestral state," Chu Xuan mused with a smile.

As long as one's thoughts remained clear, solutions were always more abundant than difficulties!

He continued to check through the storage bags of Jin Dafu and Zhong Hui. Both had numerous magic treasures, but their quality was rather mundane and did not suit him. While he could not use them, they could be traded with Elder Shang Xingchen, Wei Ji, and others.

However, Jin Dafu did have over a hundred large spirit stones, and the number of medium spiritual stones was even greater—over ten thousand. Combined with the large inventory of goods in the hold of the Golden Dragon ship, Chu Xuan deduced that the Golden Dragon merchant fleet, under Jin Dafu's command, likely hadn't originally aimed for Mystic Azure Star. It was only due to the heavy monetary commission from Situ Kong that their course had been altered, leading them to Mystic Azure Star.

The Three-Phase Soul Transformation Secret Technique had clearly been intended for another client. Jin Dafu never imagined that he would fall here, and it was only by coincidence that the technique fell into his hands.

"Not bad, not bad. This time, it's quite a harvest!" Chu Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

...

The next day, at dawn, Song Junjie woke up early. He had no choice but to rise early—he had to train relentlessly. The consequence of neglecting his training was a grim fate: a trip to the Corpses Valley to the left, or the Ghosts Cave to the right.

"Huh? Where did the ship in the sky go?" he suddenly noticed something was off.

For the past few days, the Golden Dragon ship, resplendent and grand, had been hovering in the sky. The disciples of the Heavenly Infinite Sect had grown used to its presence. However, today, it was completely gone without a trace.

Other disciples also noticed this strange occurrence.

"Even the Myriad Treasures Pavilion hasn't been moved, but the ship is gone. Could something have happened?"

"Hahaha, could it be that they are afraid of us, the Heavenly Infinite Sect?"

"Well, it's not entirely impossible..."

The disciples began to chatter, all curious as to why the ship had suddenly disappeared.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A fierce gust of wind swept by.

Chu Xuan and Shang Xingchen appeared together.

Both of them gazed at the empty sky, equally stunned.

Shang Xingchen furrowed his brow. "Did Jin Dafu and the others flee overnight?"

Chu Xuan sighed deeply. "Damn merchants! Damn merchants! I invested over five hundred large spirit stones, and now it's all gone to waste! Truly, I overestimated the integrity of these merchants. From this day forth, my sect and the Exquisite Treasures Alliance will be irreconcilable!"

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Shang Xingchen clenched his fists. "Heartless merchants! If I, Shang Xingchen, ever cross paths with him again, I will definitely take his head!"

Whoosh!

Once again, two gusts of wind swept through.

Shi Juntian and Wei Ji looked up at the empty sky, their mouths agape.

Shi JunTian exclaimed in shock, "I just paid for the spirit stones yesterday and pre-ordered a magic treasure. Why is there no sign of them?"

Wei Ji gritted his teeth. "I, too… I also paid for spirit stones to pre-order a puppet technique..."

The disciples instantly shrank back in fear. They all sensed the terrifying rage emanating from these Nascent Soul cultivators.

The matter ended there. Not only did the disciples have no clue about what had happened, but even the Nascent Soul Elders were equally confused.

The Golden Dragon ship had countless formations inscribed upon it, including sound-blocking formations. If they wanted to sneak away without anyone from the Heavenly Infinite Sect noticing, it would be an easy task.

...

Treasure Star

This star was bathed in gold, with luxurious and extravagant buildings sprawled everywhere. It seemed as though the very ocean's surface had been coated with gold leaf.

The tallest structure on the star was a massive golden tower that pierced the heavens. This tower was the core of the Exquisite Treasures Alliance.

In fact, the Exquisite Treasures Alliance did not have a fixed main gate. The many merchant fleets scattered across the stars could be considered small, mobile "gates" of their own.

The towering structure was the center for information exchange for these fleets.

Inside the tower, countless cultivators moved up and down, their feet never touching the ground. They were busy calculating the trade conditions across various cultivation stars.

Some cultivation stars were embroiled in war, urgently needing pills and talismans. Others were in dire need of rebuilding, requiring vast amounts of spiritual plants and spiritual wood.

Some cultivation stars boasted abundant metal mines. Others were rich in rare beasts and precious birds.

And still, others…

All these pieces of information were compiled within this grand tower, allowing the Exquisite Treasures Alliance's fleets to extract even greater profits.

At the heart of the tower, there stood dozens of glowing orbs. Each of these orbs was inscribed with text, representing the various merchant fleets engaged in trade.

The larger the fleet, the bigger the orb. And conversely, the smaller the fleet, the smaller the orb.

"Hey, the orb representing the Golden Dragon Fleet is dimming... It's dimming further... it's completely extinguished!"

Among the busy cultivators of the Exquisite Treasures Alliance, some had noticed the anomaly. The orb that represented the Golden Dragon Fleet was fading visibly, its light waning until there was nothing left.

"Quickly report to the Lord of the Alliance!"

The cultivators immediately panicked.

Moments later, the Master of the Exquisite Treasures Alliance, Fu Tenglong, received the news. His brows furrowed in confusion.

The Golden Dragon Fleet was led by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The fleet's head merchant seemed to be... Jin Dafu.

He recalled a bit about this man. Jin Dafu was the second son of Elder Jin Yaozu. After reaching the sixth level of Nascent Soul, he had set out alone to lead his own merchant fleet. Over fifty years, he had avoided major mishaps and had instead brought back numerous rare treasures for the sect.

Because of Jin Yaozu's connections, the Golden Dragon Ship had been inscribed with numerous attack and defense formations. Even the merchant fleets led by some elders in the Deity Transformation stage couldn't match the Golden Dragon Ship.

So why had the Golden Dragon Fleet suddenly encountered trouble?

While Fu Tenglong was pleased to see this, any issue with a fleet meant the ship had to be retrieved.

Fu Tenglong casually waved his hand, and a circular disc appeared in his palm. The disc was filled with countless stars.

Every Exquisite Treasures Alliance ship had a small, inconspicuous formation etched onto it. This formation allowed the location of the ship to be tracked. Unless the plunderers took the ship far beyond reach.

"Golden Dragon Ship," Fu Tenglong calmly spoke.

The disc began to shift rapidly. Countless stars blinked and flickered within it.

But ten breaths passed, then a hundred, then fifteen minutes, and still, the stars continued to flash—unable to stop.

The disc grew increasingly hot in his hands. He was a mighty Deity Transformation cultivator, yet even he struggled to hold the disc.

"What's going on?"

He furrowed his brows deeply, sensing something was wrong. Could the Golden Dragon Ship have been taken to an extremely distant location? Perhaps it was even beyond the range of the disc's detection?

Alternatively, the enemy might have the ability to block the disc's detection. But such methods were rare.

Fu Tenglong thought for a moment and then remembered someone.

"Wen Lingtian's life-bound magic treasure, the Asking Heaven Mirror, a precious divination tool. I can only use the favor owed to him in the past to ask him for help in divining the whereabouts of the Golden Dragon Ship."