When Su Mo spotted the living corpses, they noticed him at the same time.
Their grotesque faces, hidden behind bronze masks, turned toward Su Mo in eerie unison.
There were over a dozen of them—all close-combat types.
“Close-combat types” referred to the stronger, more heavily armed living corpses, like the one that had killed Wang He.
Seeing them, Xiao Bai instinctively shrank back, hiding behind Su Mo and only daring to peek out with half his head.
“Is that all the courage you’ve got?” Su Mo pulled out a small combat knife from his white jade ring and tossed it to Xiao Bai, then took out a larger one for himself. “Take this. Aim for their heads.”
With that, he charged forward like the wind.
Thanks to the energy from the red fruit, Su Mo’s physical abilities had reached new heights—he was no longer the same person he once was.
Not to mention, he already knew their weaknesses.
A flash of steel—the first corpse was cleaved in two. Inside the cleanly severed skull lay a faint green orb.
Seeing how fiercely Su Mo fought, Xiao Bai brandished his knife and rushed to help. Yet, none of the living corpses paid him any attention, as if he were invisible. They focused solely on Su Mo.
Surrounded, Su Mo moved like a god of death, his blade cleanly decapitating every corpse in his path.
Sheathing his knife, retrieving the orbs, looting—his movements were fluid, precise, and almost elegant.
Xiao Bai stared in awe, not even noticing when his weapon was taken back.
“Keep up.” Su Mo swept his disheveled hair back, revealing his graceful, swan-like neck.
Now that he was here, he wasn’t leaving empty-handed. As the saying goes, “Fortune favors the bold.”
The journey ahead was far from peaceful. They encountered living corpses frequently, always in groups.
But at Su Mo’s current strength, numbers meant nothing—they were just free equipment deliveries.
And, of course, more orbs.
As they ventured deeper, the terrain gradually flattened. The occasional hills were nothing compared to the towering peaks of Jing Mountain.
Vegetation grew sparser, transitioning from dense forests to barren deserts. Food and fresh water became scarce.
“Nature is truly miraculous,” Su Mo mused. “In just three days, I’ve gone from forests to deserts.”
But that wasn’t the strangest part.
What defied logic even more was—the gravity here changed with time!
That’s right, gravity itself was shifting. Su Mo could feel it clearly.
In the morning, he could run freely. By night, even walking became a struggle, as if he were a tiny iron figure stuck to a giant magnet.
Fortunately, everything returned to normal at dawn, repeating the cycle anew. Once he figured out the pattern, adapting became easier.
Seven days later.
Su Mo emerged from the sand, his face covered in dirt. Nearby, Xiao Bai was also struggling to dig himself out.
“That was a dangerous nap… Almost didn’t wake up.” Su Mo stretched, then forcefully pulled himself free.
Xiao Bai screeched at him, clearly displeased.
“I gave you a choice. You’re the one who insisted on following me. Don’t blame me!”
Xiao Bai: “#$@&＊…”
“Fine. If we don’t find anything today, we’ll turn back,” Su Mo promised.
Xiao Bai gave him a skeptical look but eventually nodded.
Well, once you’re on a pirate’s ship, you sail with the pirate.
“Xiao Bai, look over there!” Su Mo suddenly pointed at the sky in shock.
Xiao Bai turned—and froze at the sight.
High above, a massive palace stood majestically, shimmering under the sunlight. Surrounding it was an endless plaza where a kingly figure was inspecting his troops.
The man was in his prime, exuding confidence and authority. With a sword in one hand and a royal seal in the other, he basked in the reverence of thousands.
His soldiers, all young and armored, stood in formation, gripping long blades. Their silent battle cries were more intimidating than any roar.
Su Mo’s sharp eyes immediately recognized the armor—it looked familiar. Then it hit him: the living corpses.
Were these soldiers the same as the undead they’d been fighting?
Once mighty, now reduced to decay. Time had eroded all glory.
As the vision continued, Su Mo’s thoughts wandered.
Perhaps this was human nature—so easily moved by fleeting scenes.
He recalled a line from the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu:
“A broken halberd buried in the sand, its iron unrusted—
I polish and wash it, remembering a lost dynasty.”
Now he understood the poet’s melancholy—regret, nostalgia, helplessness.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning shattered the palace. The king and his soldiers vanished in an instant.
…Huh?
Su Mo stood frozen, muttering, “So that’s how they died. But why would their bodies…?”
His words caught in his throat. His expression turned even more stunned than if he’d seen a ghost—50% shock, 30% speechlessness, and 20% delight.
Because where the palace had collapsed, a massive portal appeared—identical to the one that had brought him here days ago.
And that wasn’t all.
Two figures tumbled out of the portal—a man and a woman. One of them, he recognized.
“Su Mo!” He waved toward the portal, calling out his own name.
“Qingyi…? What are you doing here?” Ye Qingyi dusted herself off and helped up the dazed girl beside her, surprised.
“You’re here too, aren’t you?”
The two stared at each other—then suddenly burst into laughter.
For some reason, seeing “himself” again filled Su Mo with an inexplicable sense of relief.
Without wasting time, they exchanged stories, sharing everything they’d experienced.
Ye Qingyi’s journey hadn’t been as eventful as Su Mo’s, but it was thrilling in its own way—because she’d spent most of it either fighting or looking for fights.
The most ridiculous part? She’d been actively hunting living corpses just to train herself.
What a gentle southern girl…
“And you? What happened on your end?” Ye Qingyi leaned in eagerly, her mannerisms unconsciously revealing a girlish charm.
Su Mo coughed awkwardly, gritting his teeth. “Hey, watch it…”
Ye Qingyi: ~(๑•₃•๑)
She was in high spirits and didn’t argue, instead urging, “Come on, out with it!”
Su Mo: (¬_¬)
He summarized his journey, deliberately omitting key details—not because he didn’t trust her, but because their surroundings weren’t safe.
Amid the endless desert, Su Mo and Ye Qingyi chatted animatedly, laughing and clapping at the exciting parts.
But neither noticed—just one step away, a man and a monkey stood in the whirling sand, utterly bewildered.