CHAPTER 401: CHAPTER 401 THORNY DEMON FLOWER_1

Chu Hao ran to the rock wall and quickly scaled it using qinggong, soon reaching the shore.

Ji Ba also just climbed up, gasping for breath, smiling foolishly with the joy of having survived a disaster.

Everyone looked at Chu Hao with eyes full of fear.

This man was a mystery from head to toe. His sprinting across water and killing the monstrous fish had indeed frightened many people.

Especially Zuo Lingyun, who was nearly driven insane. The other man had not died, but had instead put on a masterful display of intimidation.

Seeing Chu Hao approach, Zuo Lingyun yelled in terror, "Chu Hao, I... I was wrong, really wrong. Please don’t kill me, I beg you not to kill me."

Zuo Lingyun was so scared that he was trembling all over, kneeling and knocking his head against the ground desperately.

Chu Hao grabbed him by the neck, lifted him to the edge of the lake, and said coldly, "Have I gotten in your way?"

"Ding... Host successfully performed a Scary Show Off, obtaining 700 Pretentiousness Points."

Zuo Lingyun’s breathing was rapid. Terrified out of his wits, he shook his head desperately, saying, "No, no."

Chu Hao continued coldly, "Then why do you want to kill me?"

Zuo Lingyun’s face was filled with terror. Looking at the hydras below, he knew that if he were thrown down, he would absolutely be sucked dry in an instant. He said in fear, "Brother Hao, I... I was just confused for a moment."

Chu Hao slapped him across the face. Zuo Lingyun’s teeth went flying, his mind went blank, and his mouth filled with blood.

Chu Hao continued icily, "Is this how you want to brush off Brother Hao?"

Zuo Lingyun, terrified inside, pleaded with agitation, "Mu Yu, help me, please help me."

Su Muyue sighed and turned away. Zuo Lingyun had indeed gone too far. To stand up for him now would be pure folly.

Chu Hao landed several more slaps, blood splattering everywhere. His once handsome face was now swollen like a pig’s head. He was close to passing out.

Chu Hao demanded, "Do you have any last words?"

Zuo Lingyun was in despair, already scared witless, begging pathetically. Only now did he understand how foolish he’d been to oppose Chu Hao.

Chu Hao, tired of the nonsense, kicked him over the edge.

"AHHH!!"

As Zuo Lingyun fell into the water and struggled in vain, the hydras around him crawled into his clothes and into his nose and mouth.

In less than a minute, Zuo Lingyun’s blood was completely drained, and his body floated on the surface of the lake.

Chu Hao dusted off his hands.

Zuo Lingyun had taken the opportunity to kick a man while he was down. More despicable than anyone, how could Chu Hao let him off?

The rest of the people were extremely wary of Chu Hao. Having survived a fall into the water seemed an impossible feat.

Ji Ba was ecstatic, giving Chu Hao a bear hug and exclaiming, "OMG, you truly are a god."

This foreigner, are we even that close?

However, Louis Jiba felt that he and Chu Hao had shared a life-and-death encounter and was very enthusiastic.

Having survived the ordeal, and gaining more than two million Experience Points along with various odds and ends, he felt content.

The crowd moved on toward the depths.

Across the bridge lay an abyssal canyon, prompting awe at nature’s amazing work. How King Chu had discovered this place was a mystery—it was entirely an underground world.

On both sides of the canyon stood towering rock walls, their tops unseen, leading straight down into the depths.

However, in the recesses of the surrounding walls, numerous stone coffins had been placed in flat, indented fissures.

Atop each coffin were purple buds, each as large as a person. They lay on the coffins like people and resembled the purple flowers from beneath the lake.

So whose bodies were inside the coffins on the walls, those of the Ghost Offering Clan or of the Chu Kingdom?

Chu Hao wanted to take a look. If they were of the Ghost Offering Clan, he’d wipe them out in passing.

He climbed up close to a purple flower bud. It lay indolently on the sarcophagus, its purple bud on the verge of bursting into full bloom, a visually stunning sight, like a sleeping beauty.

Chu Hao cast a skill towards the purple flower bud, yielding a combat value of 0.

That put his mind at ease, and he moved closer.

Suddenly, Chu Hao saw a human arm emerge from the purple flower bud, draping over the sarcophagus, and he was immediately taken aback.

There was a person inside the flower bud!

What the hell was this? Chu Hao searched the Ancient Desolate Scripture for similar monstrous creatures but couldn’t find any match.

Chu Hao said, "System, is everything recorded in the Ancient Desolate Scripture truly comprehensive? You’re not fooling me, are you?"

System: "The host is recommended to purchase the Shanhai Demon Encyclopedia, consuming 1000 Pretentiousness Points."

Chu Hao cursed, "Tell me, are you trying to scam me? The Ancient Desolate Scripture already has records of the demons from Shanhai, so why is there now a Shanhai Demon Encyclopedia?"

System: "Host, don’t speak ill of Daddy System. If you want to know, just buy it. Why make such a fuss?"

This System was too intelligent, picking fights with Brother Hao without a second thought.

Chu Hao purchased the Shanhai Demon Encyclopedia.

"Ding... The host has purchased the Shanhai Demon Encyclopedia, deducting 1,000 Pretentiousness Points, leaving a balance of 12,500 Pretentiousness Points."

The Shanhai Demon Encyclopedia indeed recorded more creatures than the Ancient Desolate Scripture did. If one would say that the Ancient Desolate Scripture records the most ancient species, it might have slight imperfections, not being completely comprehensive. Then, the Shanhai Demon Encyclopedia documented all of the ghosts, demons, and evil spirits from the Shanhai era.

Now, looking again at the purple flower bud, Chu Hao knew what it was.

The Purple Thorn Demon Flower.

It was a type of demon flower, a bud that grew from the Bauhinia Demon Tree, an extremely ancient floral species.

It had a special ability—to nurture corpses.

’Nurturing corpses’ meant cultivating dead bodies, also known as "flower-raised corpses."

The Purple Thorn Demon Flower would consume a human corpse. Instead of decomposing, the body would retain life as it was cultivated until the flower’s spirit could fully inhabit the corpse, resurrecting it as a demon!

Without a doubt, the giant tree seen earlier was the Bauhinia Demon Tree itself. Its roots penetrated the underground rock and spread throughout the entire ancient tomb.

The stone coffins in King Chu’s Tomb, which entombed corpses, had now become breeding grounds. The seeds of the Bauhinia Demon Tree had devoured the corpses and cultivated them for thousands of years.

Chu Hao was speechless. He had accepted that the Ghost Offering Clan could be resurrected, but the idea of flowers transforming into people was truly staggering.

After thousands of years of cultivation, the "person" inside could not be fathomed.

Chu Hao didn’t dare to touch the bud, lest he disturb the Bauhinia Demon Tree. These were all its descendants, and agitating it would be more than troublesome if it sought him out.

My goal is to liberate the souls of my ancestors. I should quickly complete the mission and leave.

Moving deeper, he finally saw the first main burial chamber, with a sarcophagus crafted from jade that could dazzle one’s eyes—undoubtedly only a king would merit such elaborate treatment.

The main burial chamber was vast, a natural cave adorned with terracotta warriors and horses.

In the center, on an elevated platform, a figure knelt on the ground, muttering indistinct incantations.

"Bis, you’re not dead!"

Louis Jiba was shocked to see the foreigner kneeling before the jade coffin.

What were the Ghost Offering Clan up to? Chu Hao suddenly had an ominous feeling.

The black-haired foreigner, Bis, stood up. Pointing at Chu Hao and his group, he commanded, "Kill them."

"BANG, BANG, BANG."

Beneath the high platform, several stone sarcophagi burst open, their lids flung aside as one Corpse General after another stepped out.