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

Wu You killed as he went, and he didn't know how many zombies he had killed.

He simply kept swinging his sword and reaping the rewards, the light on the four-colored crystal longsword never fading.

When he saw the bodies of those thousand-faced corpses suddenly freeze and then float upwards as if pulled by something, Wu You seized the opportunity to kill as many as possible.

After killing a few fifth or sixth-tier Lustful Corpse Species along the way, Wu You finally arrived near the Investigation Bureau building. At a glance, the streets beneath his feet were devastated, buildings collapsed, vehicles burned, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and burnt flesh.

Then he looked up and saw the huge red braised egg.

As Wu You looked at Him, a strange feeling of being watched suddenly crept into Wu You's heart.

At the same time, Wu You felt an extremely cold power appear in his body without any warning!

Meanwhile, the cool energy within Wu You's body, which had merged the power of the Phantom Cloud Sword and the Seven Stars Sword, sensed the intrusion of this icy power and instantly began to surge violently.

However, the nature of this cold power was extremely high, and Wu You used almost ten times its volume of cool air to extinguish it.

Just then, a weak voice came from the side: "Don't look at Him! That's the God of a Thousand Faces!!!"

Ye Yi helped Hu Lie, who was covered in blood, out of the ruins of the building.

Hu Lie's trench coat was no longer recognizable as its original color, and his face was as white as paper, his lips were purple, and his breath was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.

"The God of a Thousand Faces?!" Wu You's pupils suddenly contracted.

The progenitor of the Thousand-Faced Corpse Clan?! The being known as 'God'?!

"How could He appear in Lanhe?! Isn't it said that beings too powerful cannot enter the Dark Realm, let alone the real world?!"

"Cough cough..." Hu Lie coughed twice, and some blood foam spilled from the corner of his mouth again. "That was summoned by the Faceless Cult through the divine descent ritual. It is a wisp of power from the God of a Thousand Faces."

Seeing Hu Lie's appearance, Wu You's heart tightened: "Uncle Hu, how did you get injured like this..."

"Ahem, this plan has run into a major problem!"

Next, Hu Lie briefly told Wu You about the cooperation between the Thousand-Faced Corpse Clan and the Lustful Corpse Clan, the manipulation of Lin Zhili, the former director of Lanhe City, and the Faceless Cult's descent ceremony.

Meanwhile, in mid-air, the red braised egg would open its vertical pupils every now and then.

Each time the vertical pupils open, the facial features of any creature seen through those pupils, which are surrounded by layers of golden halo, will disappear, and its face will become a flat slice!

Then, a vertical pupil filled with chaos and madness will open on that flat cut surface!

From this point on, this being became a completely subjugated member of the Thousand-Faced God! Its body and soul were both under His control! It had no self, no consciousness, only obedience!

"So, this is actually a trap set by the Corpse Species world against us?"

Hu Lie nodded, his eyes heavy: "Their invasion of our world has entered a new phase. There has never been a precedent of two zombie clans cooperating before, but now they have not only joined forces, but have also developed this parasitic method that we have never encountered before."

"So what should we do next?"

Hu Lie didn't answer. Ye Yi glanced at him, sighed, and patted Wu You on the shoulder: "Xiao You, come with me. We can talk about it together."

Although Wu You had some doubts, he still followed Ye Yi.

Ye Yi led him deeper into the building, through several corridors, and finally stopped in front of a door. Wu You recognized the door; he had been here before.

Pushing open the door, there was a stone tablet about two meters high in the room, with the oath of the torchbearer engraved on it.

"This is..."

A few people were already scattered around the room.

They were all wearing battle-damaged black trench coats, covered in dust and blood, clearly indicating they had just come from the battlefield.

Wang Qi was among them, leaning against the corner of the wall, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking exhausted.

Their commonalities are obvious—they are young and all are Silver Emblem Torchbearers.

Wu You looked at Ye Yi with a puzzled expression: Why did you bring him here?

Ye Yi sighed, then turned to everyone in the room, including Wu You, and said, "From now on, you have only one task."

"That means staying in this room until someone opens the door again."

Wu You frowned immediately, a bad feeling rising in his heart: "Just the few of us? What about you guys?"

Wang Qi and the others also looked at Ye Yi: "Director Ye!"

Ye Yi shook her head: "We naturally have our mission, and this is a strict order: none of you are allowed to step out of this room. Otherwise, you will be considered to have betrayed the Investigation Bureau!"

Wang Qi and the others were speechless.

Ye Yi stopped explaining, walked up to Wu You, patted him on the shoulder, then turned around and walked out with Hu Lie, whose breathing had calmed down a bit.

The only door to the room slowly closed.

Wu You sighed. After all these actions, how could he not know what Ye Yi and the others were thinking?

There must be some kind of protective mechanism in this room, which could even withstand the so-called Thousand-Faced God. That's why Ye Yi let these young and promising Torchbearers stay here.

They most likely went to deal with the so-called Thousand-Faced God.

Although they didn't know the extent of the Thousand-Faced God's strength, judging from Hu Lie's injuries—the strongest fighter in Lanhe—they were most likely unable to handle him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have left him hiding here.

Their going there was practically suicide.

Wu You closed his eyes, and the tragic scenes he had witnessed throughout Lanhe and the selfless figures flashed through his mind.

And there was Uncle Lin's final message.

Without further hesitation, he opened the Sword Manual panel.

Allocable experience points: 20120

Seven Luminaries Sword of the Star Pivot (Mastery) (10011/40000)

This was the experience points he had accumulated along the way, including 8,000 points contributed by a seventh-tier Lustful Corpse. Without any hesitation, he channeled all the experience points into the Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Sword.

Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Sword (Great Completion) (10011/40000) → (Great Completion) (30131/40000).

Nine thousand points are needed for the Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Sword to be perfected.

When he opened his eyes again, a dazzling silver starlight flashed before his eyes, disappearing in an instant.

He then walked directly to the door and pushed it, but it didn't budge; it was clearly locked.

Wu You drew his longsword directly, and with a whoosh—

The gate was then split in two.

Wang Qi and the others were stunned by his actions.

Wu You turned his head and his gaze swept over the faces of everyone in the room.

"Gentlemen, I will disobey this order for now."

After saying that, he disappeared from the spot.

Wang Qi stared at the empty doorway for two seconds in silence. Then, he put away the unlit cigarette in his mouth, transformed into a blue fire lotus, and disappeared from the room.

Before long, the room was empty. Only the stone tablet engraved with the torchbearer's oath shone faintly in the center of the room.

. . .

On the other side, Ye Yi and Hu Lie, who had transformed into golden-haired and golden-eyed beings, were clearing out the one-eyed monsters that had been transformed into the Thousand-Faced God's Familiars, while also dealing with some Lustful Corpse Species.

Ye Yi was in charge of those at the sixth rank and below, while Hu Lie was in charge of those at the sixth rank and above.

Not only that, they also had to avoid the gaze of the Thousand-Faced God.

In a short period of time, the number of followers transformed by the God of a Thousand Faces has become enormous, and they cannot be killed off at all. Moreover, there are several seventh-tier lustful corpses watching from the sidelines.

Normally, these seventh-tier corpses would be nothing more than a few punches for Hu Lie, but now that he is seriously injured, stopping them is already his limit.

As the one-eyed kin continued to pour out from all around, the two stood back to back, panting heavily.

"Sigh, I hope they don't hate me." Ye Yi sighed.

Hu Lie forced back a seventh-tier Lustful Corpse with a single punch, then smiled weakly: "They won't."

Ye Yi conjured a golden lightning spear in his hand and flung it out, carbonizing a large group of one-eyed familiars. His voice carried a hint of reluctance: "Yes, it's just that I really can't bear to part with them."

More and more one-eyed creatures were appearing around them, and several seventh-tier lustful corpses had their eyes on the two. Even more serious was that the wisp of power of the Thousand-Faced God had noticed the two, and His gaze was frequently cast in their direction.

The situation is extremely critical.

Just then, a silver sword light swept across from afar, like a crescent moon. Wherever the sword light passed, a large group of one-eyed clansmen were instantly cut in half at the waist, their upper and lower bodies separated and turning into black smoke and dissipating.

Experience points +100, +100, +100...

The two people, who were not afraid of death at all, changed their expressions immediately upon seeing the figure of the person who came.

"Xiao You! What are you doing out here! Go back inside!"

Hu Lie was also anxious, and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Xiao You, go back quickly! Are you going to disobey the bureau's orders?!"

Wu You just smiled and said, "Director Ye, Uncle Hu, it's really not fair of you to sneak out and kill these zombies without me."

Wu You unleashed a few more sword strikes, and the seventh-tier Lustful Corpse Species surrounding Ye Yi and his companion instantly vanished into black smoke.

Experience points +32000!

Upon seeing this, the two were also startled: "Xiao You, you..."

Before he was even twenty, he instantly killed a seventh-level opponent!

Then, the desire for Wu You to live grew stronger in their hearts.

Hu Lie quickly said:

"Xiao You, listen to Uncle Hu and go back quickly. Although you have the strength of the seventh rank, the power of the God of a Thousand Faces has already descended."

"Although it was only a negligible wisp of its power, it was still far beyond the eighth rank, at least reaching the limit of the ninth rank, or even approaching the tenth rank!!!"

"Moreover, this wisp of power is of an extremely high level, existing in a state that we cannot comprehend; ordinary attacks simply cannot hit it."

"We are completely outmatched!"

"The stone tablet in that room contains the power left behind by the Lords of Li. Only there can we hold out until the strong enough to resolve this incident arrive."

"Xiao You, your talent is the best I've ever seen. You have the potential to become a powerhouse like Lord Li, a pillar of humanity!"

"You can't die! You shouldn't be buried here with us old folks. The future of humanity depends on you!"

"Just listen to Uncle Hu!"

Hu Lie's last words even carried a hint of pleading.

After Ye Yi cleared out another batch of one-eyed clansmen, he added, "Xiao You, I know you're a kind-hearted child and can't bear to see us like this."

"But this is our duty, you don't need to feel guilty."

"The name 'Torchbearer' not only signifies serving as a torch to illuminate the path ahead, but also implies passing the torch from generation to generation."

"It is our duty to light the way for you younger generations."

"We can both die today, but you absolutely cannot die!"

"Are you trying to prevent us from even fulfilling the oath we took as torchbearers?!"

Wu You listened to these words and fell silent.

Then he shook his head.

"Does this mean that everyone in Lanhe City, except for that room, will die?"

Hu Lie was silent for a moment: "Yes, His power has begun to radiate throughout the entire Lan River. In less than an hour, the entire Lan River will be completely integrated with the Dark Domain. At that time, everyone... except for that room."

"Moreover, the provincial bureau only has one expert capable of handling this incident, and it would take at least half a day for them to get here... so..."

"So no one can save us now?"

Wu You took a deep breath. Although he had guessed something from Hu Lie and Ye Yi's arrangements for them, he still couldn't believe it now that it was confirmed.

A city, millions of people, are they all going to die here now?

His family, friends, classmates, those who cared for him and helped him, those who held him in their hearts, are now all heading towards death.

Does he intend to hide away and let everyone else perish?

Wu You closed his eyes.

Many images flashed through his mind: Li Wei's relieved look before he disappeared, Hu Cheng standing in front of him, Lin Yuan smilingly handing him the sword manual, the glass of milk that Aunt Wu placed on the table every night, Hua Linlin squatting under the street lamp holding her sword and waiting for him, and those comrades whose names he didn't know, who fell one after another in front of the corpses, without a single one retreating.

He opened his eyes and looked at Ye Yi and the other person: "As long as we destroy that red braised egg called the Thousand-Faced God, everyone can live, right?"

Hu Lie sighed: "That's true, but now it's impossible..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wu You's figure had already taken to the air and rushed straight towards the red vertical pupil in mid-air that was radiating immense pressure!

Wu You's sudden fall startled the two of them.

"No—!" Hu Lie shouted, finally realizing what was happening, and with his last bit of strength, he leaped through the air and chased after it. "Xiao You, that's a being close to the tenth rank! Even if you have the strength of the eighth rank, you're just going to your death!"

Wu You continued to ascend, the wind whistling in his ears and Hu Lie's anxious shouts. He heard the words "suicide," and his lips curled slightly as he shook his head.

"Going to your death? I don't understand."

Then, Wu You increased his speed again, leaving the seriously injured Hu Lie far behind.

Hu Lie, who was in mid-air, wanted to accelerate again, but a mouthful of blood gushed from his throat: his injuries prevented him from speeding up any further.

Just as he was about to approach the red vertical pupil, a pure white flame suddenly ignited on Wu You's body.

As the white flames burned, his aura surged, reaching the seventh, eighth, and ninth rank...

Let's go back to when Wu Yougang came out of that room.

Realizing the situation was dire, Wu You opened the Sword Manual panel and looked down at the bottom line.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Hidden Realm: 9 (15%)

Without hesitation, Wu You made a thought.

He reappeared in that vast void filled with points of light.

Then a message came from the Sword Canon: the more times you consume the Myriad Swords Return to the Source, the higher the level of sword technique you will obtain.

Without any hesitation, Wu You used all nine of his abilities!

At the same time, Wu You had only one thought in his mind: he needed a sword technique that could solve his current predicament!

As if sensing his intense, almost obsessive, thought, a huge, pure white star suddenly appeared in the void.

It was brighter and bigger than all the other stars, like a white sun. It crashed through the other stars that wanted to fly toward Wu You and rushed straight into his body.

The moment the two made contact, a voice rang in his mind.

The voice was a blend of youthful innocence and weathered experience, like a child and an old man speaking at the same time. Two completely different qualities intertwined, yet strangely harmonious.

"A single sword pierces the sky, granting three thousand years of life."

Cut off all the sorrows of humankind throughout the ages.

Burning away the spring and autumn to illuminate the long night,

"I will not ask the common people about my gray hair!"

Then, a new line of information appeared on Wu You's sword manual panel.

Sword Technique: [Separation from Heaven]!!!