The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

After destroying all the instrument nodes in Operation Zone 4, Wu You finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood on the ruins of the last node, with a shattered six-pointed star pattern beneath his feet, the fragments slowly turning into black smoke and dissipating.

Wu You didn't rush to leave, but instead opened the Sword Manual panel.

Allocable experience points: 5000.

The black-clad royal corpse had just contributed 5,000 experience points. Without any hesitation, he channeled all of them into the Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Sword.

Seven Stars Sword (Beginner) (2811/10000) → (Beginner) (7811/10000)

A vast amount of knowledge flooded into my mind like a tidal wave.

The Tianji Hengshi Sword—this defensive sword—has finally been fully mastered.

The sword circle rotates like a star trail, creating an invisible barrier of stellar energy around the body to weigh, neutralize, and deflect the weight of external forces.

At the same time, he also learned the basics of the fourth move, the Tianquan Wenqu Sword. This sword technique, which focuses on attacking weaknesses and exploiting vulnerabilities, has a complex and unpredictable style with endless variations.

Wu You could sense that it was completely different from the grand and imposing Tian Shu Po Jun Sword—that used force to overcome skill, while this used skill to overcome force.

He opened his eyes, a fleeting glint of silver starlight flashing within them.

He let out a long breath.

Although his level hadn't increased and he remained at the sixth rank, his strength had made significant progress.

If that black-skirted corpse were to revive, he wouldn't need to play any tricks on it anymore—he could simply use the Tianquan Wenqu Sword to find its weakness and then use the Tianshu Pojun Sword to kill it instantly.

The combined effect of the two is not as simple as one plus one.

Feeling the improvement in his strength, a faint hint of joy flashed in Wu You's eyes.

Meanwhile, residents throughout Lanhe City saw the black beams of light gradually diminishing.

Some people stood on the balcony, looking up at the sky and muttering to themselves; some leaned against the window, pressing five fingerprints into the glass; some came out of the basement, squinting at the collapsing black pillars of light, and let out a long breath.

They didn't know what those pillars of light were, nor what the people in black trench coats were doing, but they could see—those black pillars, which clearly weren't good, were disappearing one by one. Fewer of them was definitely a good thing.

The panic is slowly subsiding.

Above the Bureau of Investigation building.

Hu Lie and Lin Zhili exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

No words were needed; the tacit understanding between comrades flowed naturally at this moment. Hu Lie clenched his right fist, and Lin Zhili raised his left hand slightly. The two attacked at the same time.

Previously, the three black-cloaked fighters could barely hold their own against Hu Lie—after all, it was a three-on-one fight, and they could wear him down through attrition.

But as soon as Lin Zhili joined the battle, the situation immediately turned in one direction.

Although Lin Zhili had only just entered the eighth level, he was more than capable of holding off a black-cloaked figure.

Hu Lie was much more relaxed. His eighth-level limit fist slammed into the two black-cloaked figures, each punch carrying the power to shatter mountains and split rocks.

The wind howled as the fist struck, and the black mist scattered.

The three black-cloaked figures were forced to retreat repeatedly, their black cloaks tattered, revealing their pale bodies underneath.

One of them had its left arm shattered by Hu Lie's punch; black mist churned at the severed end, but it wouldn't grow back. The other one had a large cave-in in its chest, and every breath it took made a hissing sound of air leaking out.

The leader was in slightly better shape, but black liquid was still spilling from the corner of his mouth, and he looked like he was about to be punched to death on the spot.

Hu Lie withdrew his fist, looking down at them condescendingly. His voice held no mockery, only a cold interrogation: "Tell me all the plans your Thousand-Faced Corpse Clan and Lustful Corpse Clan have in Lanhe, and I can give you a quick death."

He paused, a dangerous smile curving his lips.

"Otherwise, our Investigation Bureau has also developed some small toys specifically for high-level zombies, guaranteed to make you feel like you're in heaven, but you won't die."

However, the faceless priest who was leading the cult, covered in wounds, chuckled.

The laughter was hoarse, sounding particularly eerie in the tense standoff.

"As you know, the Lustful Clan is involved in this matter." Its voice remained flat, but a hint of amusement crept into its tone. "But have you seen any of their high-ranking experts yet?"

Hu Lie's pupils suddenly contracted.

If the Thousand Faces and the Desire Clans are to cooperate, it's impossible that only the Thousand Faces Clan will send out high-level corpses; the Desire Clan must also have high-level corpses in Lanhe!

Otherwise, it wouldn't be called cooperation, but rather one party enslaving the other. After all, the hierarchy among the corpse races is strict, and the obedience of the lower to the higher is an instinct ingrained in their bones. Without an equal high-level expert to oversee them, how can the Lustful Corpse Clan stand on equal footing with the Thousand-Faced Corpse Clan?

So where are the high-ranking corpse species of the Lustful Corpse Clan?

Even with the presence of a high-level lustful corpse seed, he and Lin Zhili were still...

Before the thought had even settled, a sudden change occurred.

Lin Zhili, who was standing next to Hu Lie, suddenly made a move.

It wasn't aimed at the three men in black cloaks, but at Hu Lie—a palm strike was unleashed, its palm shrouded in black mist, aimed directly at Hu Lie's back.

Hu Lie was, after all, at the limit of the eighth rank, and his senses were extremely sharp. The moment Lin Zhili made his move, he sensed something was wrong. He instinctively turned his body to the side and swept his right fist horizontally, forcefully blocking the attack.

"Bang--!"

Fist and palm collided, and a shockwave exploded. Hu Lie was caught off guard and forced to take two steps back, the air beneath his feet momentarily distorting.

He stared at 'Lin Zhili' in disbelief.

"How is this possible! Old Lin, what's wrong with you?!"

His voice was filled with disbelief.

He could understand if a wild ability user surrendered to the zombie species and became a traitor to humanity—after all, not everyone has the courage to face death.

But if you say that the torchbearer of the Investigation Bureau surrendered to the zombie species and became a traitor to humanity, Hu Lie would never believe it.

But Lin Zhili stood right in front of him and attacked him.

Hu Lie forced himself to calm down, his gaze fixed on Lin Zhili's face.

At that moment, he also noticed a detail.

Lin Zhili's originally sharp eyes now carried a hint of evil.

That wasn't the Old Lin he knew!

Based on what the man in the black cloak had just said, an almost impossible guess suddenly came to Hu Lie's mind.

He abruptly turned to the three figures in black cloaks: "How is that possible! No matter how high the rank of the Lustful Corpse Species, it cannot parasitize a human with extremely high intelligence! Not even a corpse!"

"Furthermore, Lin Zhili's life indicator light has always been on and has never gone out. Even if he were truly parasitized, Lin Zhili should only be an empty shell by now, and his life indicator light shouldn't be on!"

The Bureau of Investigation's life indicator monitors vital signs, which are a combination of data including heart rate, body temperature, and brain waves.

If all that's left of a person is their body, then all that data has long since been rendered meaningless.

"How did you do that?!"

Hu Lie was extremely anxious. There had never been a precedent of a human being parasitized by the Desire Corpse Clan before, because that was determined by the underlying logic of the Desire Corpse Clan's parasitic ability.

The Lustful Corpse Species can parasitize all races of Corpse Species because they are all Corpse Species, even the lowest-priced ones. They are essentially still one race, so their rejection reaction is relatively small, and they can naturally complete the parasitism.

However, humans and zombies are completely different species. Once the lustful zombie begins to parasitize, it will have a severe rejection reaction. Either the human body will explode or the lustful zombie will explode. It is impossible to complete the parasitism!

Moreover, the higher the intelligence, the more difficult it is for the abomination to parasitize. Compared with the abomination, the intelligence of humans is extremely high!

Even an ordinary person has extremely high intelligence and it is impossible for them to be parasitized!

Given all these factors, it is virtually impossible for the Lustful Corpse Species to parasitize a human!

This time, however, even the Golden Emblem Torchbearer has run into trouble, being controlled by the zombie species! He even managed to deceive the bureau!

Hu Lie could hardly believe his own judgment!

At this moment, Lin Zhili, whose eyes were filled with evil intent, spoke up: "Hehehe, you've always known that this is a cooperation between our two races."

"Why are you still relying on past experience to make judgments, Lao Hu?"

Hearing the manipulated "Lin Zhili" call him Lao Hu, Hu Lie felt a chill run down his spine.

Two members of the Corpse Clan are cooperating? A new guess popped into Hu Lie's mind, a man with extensive experience.

"You first ambushed Lin Zhili while he was breaking through, then the Thousand-Faced Corpse Seed devoured his flesh and blood, inherited his memories, and then the Lustful Corpse Seed parasitized the Thousand-Faced Corpse Seed that had devoured Lin Zhili?"

The Lustful Corpse Species cannot parasitize humans, but it can parasitize the Thousand-Faced Corpse Species.

But Hu Lie immediately shook his head: "No, even if that's the case, it's impossible. If that were the case, he would have died the moment the Thousand-Faced Corpse Devoured his flesh and blood, and his life indicator light should have gone out by then."

"You can devour human flesh and blood, but you can't mimic the exact same life fluctuations as humans. You couldn't possibly bypass the life indicator lights!"

Upon hearing this, the leader of the black-robed men laughed after hearing Hu Lie's words: "Who told you he's dead?"

Then, the evil intent in Lin Zhili's eyes faded, replaced by a look of despair and anger.

Hu Lie recognized that look; it was Lin Zhili's own eyes!

Then, Lin Zhili spoke up: "Run, Lao Hu!!! They're going to..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Zhili's eyes were filled with evil intent again.

At this moment, the injuries inflicted by Hu Lie on the leader in the black cloak had healed: "We only devoured his body and preserved his head."

Hu Lie, his eyes already blazing with rage, still managed to restrain himself and said, "Even so, it's impossible. His consciousness is still intact, and the Lustful Corpse Seed cannot parasitize him!"

He wanted to gather as much intelligence as possible, and he really couldn't understand how the Thousand-Faced Corpse and the Lustful Corpse could cooperate to completely control Lin Zhili, a Golden Torchbearer, without anyone noticing!

Upon hearing this, the leader in the black cloak raised his hand and slowly smoothed out the wrinkles in his cloak. He glanced at Hu Lie, his pure black eyes devoid of emotion, only displaying a condescending indifference.

"You humans are willing to give your lives for your people and your world," it said. "Our faith in the great gods is no less than your faith in your own people!"

The voice remained flat, but every word pierced Hu Lie's ears like nails.

The words of the Faceless Cult priest reminded Hu Lie, and a flash of lightning struck his mind.

A thousand faces devour the body, desires and evil become the soul!

The high-ranking corpse of the Thousand-Faced Corpse Clan first devoured most of Lin Zhili's body, leaving only his head. Then, the Lustful Corpse Clan parasitized the high-ranking Thousand-Faced Corpse Clan that had devoured Lin Zhili. The Lustful Corpse Clan could not parasitize humans, but it could parasitize Thousand-Faced Corpse Clan members.

After parasitizing, the high-level Thousand-Faced Corpse Seed became the host of the Lustful Corpse Seed, and at the same time, it also possessed Lin Zhili's body and a part of Lin Zhili's memories.

The life indicator light primarily monitors vital signs of the head. As long as the head is still there, the brain is still there, and brain waves are still beating, and pulse and heartbeat are easy to mimic, the light will not go out.

The part of the body that was being controlled was actually the shell of the Thousand-Faced Corpse Seed wearing Lin Zhili's skin, and the consciousness inside was that of the Lustful Corpse Seed!

As for why it was the high-level Thousand-Faced Corpse that devoured Lin Zhili, it's because the low-level Thousand-Faced Corpse simply couldn't devour the high-level Golden Emblem Torchbearer; the difference between the two was too great.

Once the Lustful Corpse Seed parasitizes a Thousand-Faced Corpse Seed, the parasitized Thousand-Faced Corpse Seed will definitely die! After being parasitized by the Lustful Corpse Seed, any host will be left with only a shell.

This means that they chose to sacrifice a high-ranking corpse within their own race in exchange for a manipulated Golden Flame Torchbearer!

Hu Lie felt a chill run down his spine after realizing all this: At this moment, the Investigation Bureau was unaware of the existence of this indirect parasitic method that could deceive the life indicator light. What if this method were applied to other Golden Emblem Torchbearers...

Hu Lie gritted his teeth: No, we must send this information back to the General Administration!