The Return of the Zombie King 10

Chapter 10: Flower Demon

Just now, when these people were fighting, A'ken also arrived. Kuang Tianyou asked in surprise, "Didn't you say you were going to stay?"

"You left before I finished speaking."

"I had something to do—"

"I'm going to chase that zombie."

"Bring back the living one." When facing A'ken, Kuang Tianyou also spoke more simply.

A'ken quickly dodged, and Kuang Tianyou immediately gave chase. His target was the woman in white. Originally, he didn't want to get involved; he thought this was just some cultivators or beings from another world fighting over a rare treasure—the Emperor's Hate Ring—to enhance their own cultivation. But when he heard the woman in white mention, “Number 22 did not complete the task,” he instantly became alert: Number 22 meant there were still 21 people ahead of him. This Number 22 zombie was a fifth-generation zombie with considerable strength; naturally, others chosen by this mysterious organization would not be weaker than him. Whoever could gather such strong individuals under their control must have extraordinary power. Didn't the King of Hell mention anomalies in the Ghost Mansion? Perhaps they were related to this organization. Since he had encountered them, he definitely could not miss the chance to investigate the truth.

The woman in white seemed preoccupied and was not walking quickly. Kuang Tianyou soon caught up to her and blocked her path. Only a few steps apart, the woman noticed someone in front, was startled, and instinctively stepped back. "Who are you?" Since this person could evade her detection and quietly appear beside her, he was likely stronger than her.

"Who I am is not important. I just want to know who you take orders from."

"Take orders from someone? You have the wrong person," the woman replied.

"That zombie is Number 22. May I ask what number you are?" Kuang Tianyou realized the woman was pretending to be clueless and decided to hint to her.

The woman's face changed color. "You've been there the whole time?" She knew asking was pointless; this person was clearly present.

"Yes," Kuang Tianyou said. "I don't want to trouble you. I just want to know who your superior is."

"I know you don't want to trouble me, otherwise you would have acted already. It looks like you are a gentleman who cherishes women," the woman suddenly said coquettishly.

"Stop digressing. I've already seen your seductive side—just answer my question directly."

"You are being a bit unreasonable."I just won't tell you."

"That makes things difficult. I really don't want to take action."

"Threaten me! I want to see what skills you have to destroy beauty ruthlessly!" The lady attacked Kuang Tianyou with lightning speed. She hit—but no, it was an illusion. In an instant, she noticed Kuang Tianyou appeared on her right side, and she swung her fist upward again, hit—but again it was an illusion. When you can't win, run—the real purpose of her was to run, because she knew she wasn't stronger than Kuang Tianyou. Kuang Tianyou blocked her path, swung his fist toward her with extreme speed; the lady couldn't dodge in time and instinctively closed her eyes, but after a while, nothing happened. Strange, she opened her eyes and saw Kuang Tianyou standing quietly in front of her, smiling. It seemed he had just been waiting for her to open her eyes.

"How about it—fight, you can't beat me; run, you can't escape; you better answer my question honestly," Kuang Tianyou said.

"Where did that guy with the sword go just now? You must have seen him leave," the lady asked a strange question instead of answering Kuang Tianyou.

"Your question doesn't seem related to what I want to know, right?" Kuang Tianyou said.

"If you want to know the answer, answer my question," the lady countered.

Kuang Tianyou sighed helplessly, "They left and went to the Tianyu Weizheng Pavilion."

"What kind of place is the Tianyu Weizheng Pavilion? Did he leave with that woman?"

"I don't know, I only saw him go to the Divine Domain with that woman."

"That's all?" The lady was obviously disappointed.

"That's all I know and saw."

"Where is the Tianyu Weizheng Pavilion? When will I be able to find this place?" the lady murmured to herself.

"Miss—"

"What I say counts. Listen carefully: I don't know who those people upstairs are either," the lady said.

Playing with me! Kuang Tianyou was a bit annoyed. "Is that the answer?!"

"Want to kill me? If you're interested, listen to my story first," the lady said. "I was originally a rose, and three hundred years ago, I cultivated into a spirit. One day, someone—the same person holding the sword today—passed by me. Seeing my extraordinary beauty, he walked toward me. Because I had cultivated into a spirit, many villains wanted to capture me to make medicine, so I had to hide everywhere. When I saw him coming, I suspected he was a villain and immediately ran. He followed me and told me not to run."Those villains also often shouted like that, how could I stop? He caught up with me, blocked me and said, 'I am not a villain.' I said, 'If you're not a villain, why are you blocking me?' He said, 'I didn't expect that flowers could attain enlightenment in the Original Realm, it's so strange! I just want to see it clearly.' I said, 'Original Realm? Where are you from?' He said, 'I come from the Heavenly Domain.' I said, 'What do you mean by Heavenly Domain and Original Realm?' He said, 'It's a long story, and I can't explain it clearly right now. If there's time, I'll tell you in detail later. This time I came to the Original Realm to find something, I cannot waste time. Since you and I have met, it must be fate. I will leave something as a memento, this is for you, it can help you cultivate. If we are fated to meet again, I will give you an even better one. Farewell!' And then he left. The thing he left me was very peculiar, like a yellow crystal stone the size of a palm. When I held it in my hand, I felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth rapidly converging in my body, making cultivation twice as efficient. In only three hundred years, I achieved the cultivation of five hundred years. But each time I cultivated, it would disappear a little until it eventually turned to dust."

"Alas, a matter of the heart!" the lady sighed and continued: "Since he left, his figure has never left my mind. Later, the emotional blockage deepened, and my cultivation stagnated. I traveled across the north and south of the world, trying to inquire about the place called the Heavenly Domain, hoping to meet him again. Unfortunately, no one knew this place. A few years ago, a mysterious person found me and said, 'I know where the Heavenly Domain is. If you want to go, then do something for me.' I was overjoyed and said, 'As long as you tell me where the Heavenly Domain is, I will help you with a thousand or ten thousand tasks!' The person said, 'Find the Emperor's Hatred Ring and give it to me, then I will tell you where the Heavenly Domain is.' Blinded by desire, I trusted him and joined his organization, assigned as number 48. Over the years, I constantly inquired about the whereabouts of the Emperor's Hatred Ring, hoping to find it soon so I could go to the Heavenly Domain to find that person. In the process of searching for the Emperor's Hatred Ring, I heard rumors that the ring possessed immense magical power, and whoever had it could dominate the Demon Realm. I thought, by this logic, the Emperor's Hatred Ring has a huge temptation for every cultivator, and it will inevitably provoke fierce competition. I only have five hundred years of cultivation, how could I deal with so many strong opponents?Later, I started to suspect that I might just be a tool to find the ring." "What a pity, the rumors are misleading! From what I see, the Emperor's Hatred Ring doesn't have any immense magical power; it might just seal a strange spirit inside, whose cultivation is about the same as his—that is, your beloved's." "Really?" "I saw it with my own eyes. The outsider inside seems very familiar with them, so it was only because his power merged with your beloved's power that he repelled the two powerful ones who came before you! Also, that woman was originally a strong fighter!" "I really didn't expect that! It seems the organization's real target is the spirit inside that ring, not the ring itself!" "Connecting the details, this is the only guess." "The Emperor's Hatred Ring was a scam from the start! I don't know how many powerful and capable people have been deceived, and who knows how many died in vain. I regret that I woke up too late." "A single word for greed can kill people!" That organization exploits the common flaw of all living beings—'greed'—to drive everyone to work for it. This mastermind behind the scenes is truly ruthless. "That's right. Later, I wanted to quit the organization, but found I was already trapped in a pit of fire and couldn't escape." "Oh, what happened?" "I was placed under some kind of restriction that makes me unable to stop." "Restriction?" "I can't name it. Let me put it this way: if I don't look for the Emperor's Hatred Ring, I feel heavy and in pain. On the contrary, thinking about searching for it every day makes me feel very comfortable." "It does sound strange. Didn't you notice someone was under a restriction?" "I was puzzled too. Other than that person, I had never interacted with anyone else. However, there is a ritual to join, requiring worship in front of a fierce beast statue, called consecration." At that time, only two red rays of red light shot out from the beast's eye, but I didn't feel anything unusual. Later, I guessed that the mysterious restriction was stolen at that moment. "What kind of exotic beast statue?" "A flying dragon." "Oh. And then?" "Although I am a flower demon with low cultivation, I have always been proud and vowed never to serve anyone, so I went to that person to demand an explanation and ended up losing in a fierce fight.He didn't kill me. He said he kept his word. Finding the ring meant finding the Heavenly Domain. Should I leave or stay? Let me decide. I suspected he was still lying to me, but I couldn't control my desire to go to the Heavenly Domain, so I chose to stay. He told me that if I retrieved the Emperor's Hatred Ring, the master would lift the restriction. Only then did I realize he was just a pawn; there were still people above him. Thus, the thought of going to the Heavenly Domain supported me in enduring the humiliation of being a servant, until the signal from Number 22: the Emperor's Hatred Ring was discovered. I rushed to help him following the marks he left behind, but came to nothing. Later, I followed the marks he left to the same place as before, and sensed two people there as formidable as Number 22. I deliberately stopped, wanting to wait until they both ended up hurting each other before I could attack." "Want to claim the Emperor's Hatred Ring for yourself?" "That's right, but not to dominate the Demon Realm. I want to use its power to break the restrictions, and use this ring as leverage to force the mysterious figures behind the organization to reveal the place of the Divine Realm to me." "There are a lot of people who want the Emperor's Hatred Ring, aren't there?" Kuang Tianyou said. "I know what you mean. To be honest, there are people in the organization who want to claim the ring for themselves. Number 22 is one of them." "Everyone has ulterior motives. Isn't that organization just a ragtag bunch?" Although Kuang Tianyou said this, he thought to himself that the mysterious figure behind the scenes must be very scheming, and the organization he established shouldn't have been like this. "You're wrong. To ensure confidentiality, the organization divides its members into many groups, each with 2-3 people, one of whom is responsible. Each group has single-line contact between superiors and friends, and even within the group, there are different ways of contact. Each small group has no fixed task. When there are tasks, they are assigned by the higher-ups. When a task requires cooperation among multiple groups, a designated person is assigned from above, and the contact information between groups is clearly defined. This way, even if one group fails to act, the organization won't be implicated. Also, the organization clearly states that anyone who acts without permission or fails to cooperate is doomed. Because of this, the organization executed many people. "Just as you expected, the management team behind the scenes really has its own way. As you said, the other teams should be notified on the 22nd." "Hmph, that's exactly how it is according to organizational rules."But I just said, number 22 is also an ambitious person. He can be said to be blinded by greed, always wanting to possess the ring alone. He was worried that I might inform the organization, so he promised me: he would share half of the ring's power with me. Do I not know his little thoughts? I'm afraid that once he succeeds, he will get rid of me. Unfortunately, he didn't expect that I was planning the same against him. Tonight he discovered the whereabouts of the Di Hen Ring, and of course he wouldn't tell the organization, instead dragging me along to act alone. So, on the organization's side, I have nothing to worry about. Of course, if other groups in the organization also discover the ring's location, it would just be my bad luck. To gain rewards, you have to take some risks!” The woman suddenly said firmly, “Therefore, when I thought the time was right, I deliberately appeared and did not send the group's unique signal, making the zombies mistakenly think that someone else had arrived. As expected, they ran away. But what I didn't expect was—”
“Encountering your lover.”
“Yes, it was truly unexpected.”
“Then why didn't he recognize you?”
“At that time, I had just achieved cultivation and couldn't take human form yet. So, I could recognize him, but he didn't recognize me.”
“Then you had the chance to respond to