Chapter 141 : Projection of the Huangtian Descendant
Chapter 141: Projection of the Huangtian Descendant
Zhou Cang wanted to serve under Hang Yu.
However, Hang Yu didn’t receive the system notification for territory submission.
That was because “serving” was not the same as “swearing allegiance”—it was simply lending a hand for the time being.
Zhou Cang was well aware that his sanity was only temporarily intact. Once the talisman faded, he would inevitably fall back into the ocean of madness—worse than before, potentially sinking fully into Corruption.
Now, the final and only path to salvation was to kill Zhang Bao. Only by completely destroying the source of the nightmare could he break free from the endless cycle and finally obtain proper death—and rest.
Death was terrifying to many.
But to Zhou Cang, a clean death would be the greatest mercy!
He would rather die than endure unending torment, and he absolutely did not want to become a monster like Zhang Bao!
During his plunge into the Abyss, Zhou Cang was subjected to various forced corruptions and temptations—including massive amounts of knowledge forcibly crammed into his mind. From that, he learned about the existence of the Stars' Faction.
For natives, eliminating the source of Abyssal Creatures was nearly impossible. But beings who possessed the power of the Stars—its people and followers—could achieve this.
“Hmph, well well, Zhou Cang—how dare you betray me again?”
A sinister, cold voice suddenly echoed in everyone’s ears. It wasn’t loud, but crystal clear, and once again spread the contamination of Filthy Whispers.
Zhang Bao, the Four Generals of the Mortal Realm, several Tier-Two elite Corrupted, and the remaining forces of the Core Corruption Zone all appeared on the battlefield.
Zhou Cang sneered. “I, Zhou Cang, never wished to be a hound of the Abyss, much less a hound of another hound! You’ve failed to corrupt me for over a decade—now that the Stars have descended, your fate is sealed, Zhang Bao!”
Zhang Bao’s three pairs of eyes glowed with murderous light. “Stars? Just a bunch of useless humans from the Stars—pathetic!”
“Who are you calling useless?!”
“You really think our Calamity Legion is just here to eat rations?”
“Don’t think you’re something special just because you killed us once! If we’re good at anything, it’s not being afraid of death!”
“Exactly! This time, with Lord Hang and Zhou Cang backing us up, I want to see how your malformed, motherless monster face plans to take us on!”
“Lord, could you hold back for a bit?”
“Leave trash like this to us!”
“Yeah, our mighty Lord Yu has no need to lower himself for such filthy grunt work—leave the dirty jobs to us Calamity boys!”
“……”
The Calamity Legion’s morale surged.
They were afraid that Hang Yu might take action again.
At this point, the players had developed a blind reverence for Hang Yu’s strength.
They were well aware that if Hang Yu went all out, not only would it wipe out tons of high-value loot, but it would also tank their Quest Rating, leading to severe losses for the players.
Hang Yu, taking their plea to heart, graciously stepped aside. He sent four personal guards—Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, and Zhao Liu—along with the now-sane Zhou Cang to assist. As for himself, he simply stood near the Blessing Point, spectating the battle.
The Calamity Legion, emboldened, stepped up their assault.
Zhang Bao hadn’t expected the Stars' Lord to be this arrogant. Enraged, he let out a furious roar. His lower body, a grotesque blood-and-bone skeleton, raised two massive skeletal greatswords and slashed violently, sending a wave of blood spray toward the attacking players.
“Watch out!”
This was Zhang Bao’s first attack.
Ye Li Meng and the other players immediately became alert.
What surprised them was that when the blood rain splashed over them, aside from feeling discomfort, it caused no actual harm or threat.
“What the hell?”
“This attack didn’t do any damage?”
“Zhang Bao can’t be this weak, can he?”
Just as Ye Li Meng and the others were still puzzled—
The blood suddenly transformed into dozens of squirming crimson threadworms, like bloody earthworms, which darted through the cracks in their armor with lightning speed, tearing through their skin and burrowing into their bodies.
【You have been attacked by “Abyssal Blood Puppet Worm”! HP -20!】
【You have been affected by the “Blood Puppet Curse”! You are now in an uncontrolled state!】
Zhang Bao raised his staff and cackled wildly. “Though your flesh is weak, it will suffice for my purposes!”
Ye Li Meng was shocked to find he had lost control of his body—similar to being hit by the Corrupted Twin Body’s “Despair Bloom” ability. He instantly raised his weapon and crushed a nearby player’s skull!
“Holy sh*t!”
“Boss Ye, what the hell?!”
“Why did you explode Zha Jiang Mian’s head?!”
“Damn it—it wasn’t me! I’m being controlled!”
Mad Blade Old Wang, Salty Fish Charge, Chimera Wraith, and other top-tier players suddenly had meat worms sprouting all over their bodies.
These disgusting worms not only rapidly reproduced by absorbing life force—they had the terrifying ability to forcefully control a living being’s actions and even thoughts.
“Mother of—!”
“So gross!”
“I’ve got worms growing out of me!”
“No good! Run! I’m losing control too!”
At least several dozen elite players were now under control, madly swinging their weapons at their allies. The battlefield was plunged into chaos and death.
And it didn’t stop there—
The curse continued to spread.
More and more players were being cursed and controlled.
They posed no threat to Zhang Bao—instead, they became his puppets in battle.
The Four Generals of the Mortal Realm launched their own offensive. Midnight Pig Slayer, Niu Shisan, and Artist Faction Leader, along with dozens of players, tried to intercept, but their side faced tremendous resistance.
This Corrupted creature had four heads—each with a different power: spell attacks, physical attacks, super defense, and healing regeneration.
The Four Generals could switch rapidly between these four states.
They didn’t just hit hard—
They were tanks and healers too.
Extremely tricky!
Only now did the Calamity Legion realize—even though Zhou Cang had been turned, the remaining bosses were still a huge threat. Especially Zhang Bao, the Core Corruption Source—in just a few seconds, over a hundred players had already been taken over.
Zhou Cang made his move.
His red-hot blade slashed toward Zhang Bao.
Zhang Bao’s skeletal lower body casually blocked with both bone swords.
The clash of the three massive blades created a violent shockwave, and a tide of worm-like blood creatures surged out from Zhang Bao’s skeletal half and greatswords, instantly covering Zhou Cang’s entire body.
But Zhou Cang was familiar with Zhang Bao’s methods. Magma and flames erupted from within his body, incinerating tens of thousands of worms trying to burrow in, all while he continued swinging his weapon furiously at Zhang Bao.
In a flash—
They had exchanged ten rounds of blows.
Zhou Cang was evenly matched with Zhang Bao—his power truly monstrous.
“Hahahaha! I am the General of the Earth, brother of the Great Virtuous Teacher—how could you ever hope to defeat me, Zhou Cang?!”
As the skeletal half of Zhang Bao clashed with Zhou Cang, his upper body also began to act—summoning twenty Great Peace Lightning Talismans that stuck onto Zhou Cang’s body without triggering.
“Lightning, strike!”
Zhang Bao clenched his left hand.
Zhou Cang was struck by twenty bolts of lightning at once.
Even with his immense defense, he took serious damage. His bone armor cracked in several places, and he was paralyzed.
While his human half cast spells, Zhang Bao’s skeletal half swung both greatswords again, landing a brutal hit that knocked Zhou Cang back over ten meters.
“No matter how many times you try, the result is the same!”
Zhang Bao activated another secret technique—causing the already chaotic players to fall under a new wave of control.
Ye Li Meng and the others suddenly turned from attacking their teammates to charging at Zhou Cang. It was clear that Zhang Bao had taken control again, and various energy beams and flames struck Zhou Cang, worsening his injuries.
“Let me die!”
“Kill me!”
“Don’t let me drag you down!”
“Fire at me! Don’t hold back!”
“……”
Lone Boat stealthily stabbed Ye Li Meng to death.
Little Bell unleashed a Chain Lightning, instantly killing seven or eight controlled players.
The remaining unaffected players immediately shifted their targets—attacking their own comrades who were under control.
In an instant—
The mind-controlled Calamity Legion soldiers—
Were slain one by one by their teammates.
Zhang Bao hadn’t expected these Star-Favored to be so ruthless—mercilessly killing their own to stop the spread of control and curses. And all the while, the Lord stood in the back—calmly spectating.
A few seconds later—
The light of resurrection flashed.
Ye Li Meng returned to the battlefield.
He hefted his hammer and laughed, “Daddy's back, baby! Hu Hansan has returned!”
One by one, the players returned to the battlefield in under a minute. The Stars' force never seemed to shrink in number. That’s when Zhang Bao realized—
This Lord might actually have some form of resurrection method!
“Impossible!”
Zhang Bao finally noticed that a significant portion of this Stars' army was the same group that had first invaded the stronghold. No matter how many times they died, they returned—though their energy slightly diminished, the drop in combat power was negligible.
“Kill!”
“Everyone stay sharp!”
“Don’t let those worms get in again!”
“If you realize you’ve been infected by blood worms—immediately commit suicide or have someone else do it. No matter what, don’t let that bastard win!”
“……”
Dozens of Tier-Two players, leading over a hundred Level 10 elites, regrouped and once again joined the battle against Zhang Bao. Now that they understood Zhang Bao’s mechanics, they had also taken appropriate defensive and countermeasures.
Objectively speaking—
Zhang Bao was powerful.
Not only did he possess melee strength no less than Zhou Cang’s,
He also wielded a variety of potent spell talismans.
But his most dangerous and troublesome ability was without doubt the Blood Puppet Curse.
Once the curse infected enemy troops, it didn’t just control the afflicted soldiers—it turned them into vectors, spreading the curse to others, eventually corrupting an entire army in no time.
Any Lord would find dealing with such an enemy a nightmare,
But the Calamity Legion was filled with warriors unafraid of death, each possessing rapid self-awareness and reaction speed.
Zhang Bao kept spreading his curses.
But the curses never managed to sweep the whole battlefield.
The Calamity Legion charged forward wave after wave, falling one after another.
“Fire, come!” Zhang Bao activated the Great Peace Flame Talisman, dozens of red talismans scattering around him, instantly forming a wall of fire. A dozen players were caught off-guard and incinerated on the spot.
Seeing this, Zhou Cang activated his Transformation State.
He dropped from the sky like a Flaming Meteor, smashing toward him.
“Water, come!” Zhang Bao’s skeletal half fended off players with his twin blades, while his humanoid half quickly cast blue-white talismans, which condensed into a massive ice barrier for defense.
Boom!
Zhou Cang’s lava beast form smashed through the ice wall,
Grabbing both of Zhang Bao’s skeletal swords with his bare hands.
No matter how hard Zhang Bao pulled, he couldn’t retrieve his weapons.
“Courting death!”
Zhang Bao hysterically summoned wave after wave of red and purple talismans—Great Peace Flame Talismans and Great Peace Lightning Talismans. Each talisman represented a deadly strike, raining down on Zhou Cang from all directions.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Zhou Cang suffered heavy damage—
Yet he still refused to let go of Zhang Bao’s swords.
“What are you all waiting for? Kill him now!”
The surrounding Calamity Legion players suddenly understood—Zhou Cang, knowing he alone couldn’t kill Zhang Bao, was using himself as a meat shield, attracting fire and locking Zhang Bao down—just to buy the players a chance.
“Attack!”
“Go all out!”
“Kill him at all costs!”
The players became excited. Zhang Bao’s strength was unquestionable—he was even stronger than the Dragon-Lizard Lord Chi Lin. Killing someone like him under normal circumstances was nearly impossible. This was the perfect opportunity.
Flame Blade, Explosive Flame Spell, Windflame Arrow, Lightning Talisman—
A volley of spells exploded on Zhang Bao’s body!
But this guy wasn’t just deadly—he was tanky, too.
Even after Explosive Flame Spell blew off half his head, it only registered as a regular critical hit. The damaged skull immediately began to regenerate—earthworm-like bloody worms wriggled out, quickly reconstructing the missing parts in seconds.
Salty Fish Charge was in disbelief: “So damn tanky?!”
Zhou Cang shouted, “His weak spot is between his chest and abdomen!”
“Let me!” Ye Li Meng’s Thousand-Skull Demon Hammer gleamed as he unleashed his charged energy. With a loud roar, he leapt high and slammed the hammer onto Zhang Bao’s chest using the Earthshock Wave skill.
Boom!
A shockwave burst out.
The attack dealt massive damage!
Ye Li Meng shattered more than a dozen bones in Zhang Bao’s body, creating a massive hole—inside, a deformed, tumor-like beating heart wrapped in flesh and blood was exposed.
“Got it!”
Other players immediately launched focused attacks!
Realizing the danger, Zhang Bao quickly amputated his own arms to escape Zhou Cang’s hold. While retreating, he cast and chanted frantically, unleashing a barrage of Lightning and Flame Talismans at the surrounding players.
But the players were relentless.
They were like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves—
Not only agile but highly coordinated.
Zhang Bao was struck in the weak spot multiple times. His HP bar dropped below half.
【Player “Ye Li Meng” has died. Essence +6400...】
【Player “A Sword Comes from the West” has died. Essence +5200...】
【Player “Glorious Years” has died. Essence +5200...】
【……】
“Phew… The fight’s more intense than I imagined. But looks like the outcome is set.”
Hang Yu stood calmly near the Blessing Point, watching the show.
Zhang Bao was being pinned down by Zhou Cang, while the Calamity Legion whittled away at him. His defeat was only a matter of time.
On the other side, things were progressing similarly. The Four Generals of the Mortal Realm, as fusion Corrupted beings, were stronger than even the Twin Body. Facing just Midnight Pig Slayer, Niu Shisan, Artist Faction Leader, and others was one thing—but they also had to deal with Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, and Zhao Liu.
The personal guards were overwhelmingly powerful—
Especially the eight starting personal guards.
These four were among them. All had already been promoted to Level 16 by Hang Yu, each having mastered at least six max-level skills, consumed Attribute Enhancement Potions, and were equipped with high-quality, well-upgraded gear.
Each one of them outclassed even the strongest players at this stage.
With the four joining forces, they could suppress the Four Generals.
Victory for the players was only a matter of time.
“Almost there.”
Though the battle hadn’t ended yet—
The outcome could already be summarized.
Hang Yu roughly calculated that the Essence gained from the Core Corruption Zone alone would total around 2.3 to 2.4 million, not even counting what was earned during the earlier near-wipe against the Corrupted Twin Body.
And that was just the Essence squeezed directly from the players.
The real profit didn’t stop there!
A large amount of loot remained uncollected on the battlefield. The Essence loss from that also went straight into Hang Yu’s pocket—another estimated four to five hundred thousand Essence.
In other words—
The Calamity Legion, in order to seize the Core Corruption Zone—
Had netted Hang Yu nearly three million Abyssal Essence!
And that was a conservative estimate. Even so, it was no small number.
Hang Yu was thoroughly satisfied with the results and planned to spend 1.5 million Essence to reward the players!
The main fighting force this time was over a hundred Calamity elites, and more than three hundred players had joined later as reinforcements—but total participation was under five hundred.
Which meant—
At this budget—
Each player could receive 3,000–4,000 Essence on average.
The quest’s reward range was 100–25,000!
Ordinary players who only died a few times and made minor contributions could get 500–800 Essence, while top-tier players might earn 20,000 Essence in one go.
Such generous rewards—
Would easily cover level-loss penalties.
And in some cases, give double or triple the lost Essence.
A Yellow Turban Strongman could drop 6,200 Essence;
A Yellow Turban Demonized Soldier, 2,100 Essence.
This battle had seen nearly 200 Yellow Turban Strongmen, and 400–500 Yellow Turban Demonized Soldiers. Including a few Corrupted and Bosses, even if 30% of the Essence was lost, players could still rake in over a million Essence.
Without a doubt—
This battle would lead to—
A significant boost in player level and strength.
As for the 1+ million extra Essence in Hang Yu’s hands, most would be used to cultivate personal guards, with the rest saved for future development and investment.
As a Lord—
The more Essence he stockpiled—
The stronger his foundation.
With enough Abyssal Essence, Hang Yu could create a powerful army at will.
He could also raise any local native or Stars’ follower into a top-tier existence.
That’s why Abyssal Essence, a non-tradable core resource, had to be stockpiled appropriately beyond essential spending—it would become the true foundation and insurance of the territory.
By now, Zhang Bao’s HP was nearly gone.
His heart was filled with unwillingness and despair.
Zhang Bao never imagined that he’d be pushed to this point by a bunch of human Star-Favored. What filled him with true despair was—throughout the whole fight—the enemy Lord never once intervened.
In other words—
They hadn’t even used their full strength!
And yet this Stars faction had still cornered him!
When Black-Eyed Rui Ge’s Blackfeather Arrow struck Zhang Bao’s heart again, driving him into a near-death state, his fury and humiliation exploded—
He suddenly let out a hysterical roar:
“Huang——Tian——Aid——Me!”
Zhang Bao burned all his mana, his flesh rapidly withering and decaying,
Using every ounce of strength to hurl a bizarre talisman into the sky.
“Damn, that startled me!”
“What’s going on?!”
“He suddenly started screaming like a ghost!”
“Look! Something’s happening!”
Zhang Bao had expended every last ounce of his strength to cast that talisman—yet it managed to distort the surrounding space, causing the very fabric of reality within a certain radius to bend and collapse. It felt as if some ancient, powerful, and indescribable presence was descending upon this place.
Zhou Cang’s face changed drastically.
“This is bad! He’s summoning a Projection of the Huangtian Descendant—kill him, kill him now!”
The players were confused.
But seeing Zhou Cang so flustered and panicked,
Everyone instinctively sensed danger.
It had to be some kind of trump card being unleashed.
Just as the crowd prepared to finish Zhang Bao off with one final strike, they suddenly noticed five strange shadowy forms appear around him—each looking like a formless blur made up of countless threads and beams of light, completely indescribable.
“What the hell is that?”
“Don’t worry about it, just kill Zhang Bao!”
Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Salty Fish Charge, Street Slayer, and others tried to bypass the projections to strike the utterly drained Zhang Bao—but in that instant, the five projections suddenly moved.
Crimson lightning surged out to form a cage, protecting Zhang Bao within.
—
952 (Lethal Critical!)
—
973 (Lethal Critical!)
—
968 (Lethal Critical!)
……
Several top-tier players were instantly obliterated the moment they touched the red lightning. They didn’t even have the chance to break through the seal of those shadows—their bodies were wiped out by the power that emerged from thin air. In that moment, the players finally saw the information on those twisted shadows:
【Projection of the Huangtian Descendant】, Level 16 Commander...
Description: A projection of a high-ranking Follower under the Master of Huangtian. Though merely a projection, it still wields overwhelming power.
All five twisted projections displayed identical information.
Upon seeing this, the players were visibly shaken.
“Five Level 16 Commanders?!”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“Dev team, come out right now—I swear I won’t kill you!”
“……”
These five indescribable projections seemed far more than just projections. Though their bodies were unstable—appearing like tangled weaves of distorted light—they clearly possessed awareness, and were observing the situation.
“Zhang Bao…”
“This one is too weak…”
“Weak or not, he is still a Follower of Our Lord…”
“The Nightmare Source in this zone is weak, which limits the power we can project…”
“Our state won’t last long—let’s eliminate the current threats first…”
The five twisted projections let out intermittent, broken speech—like a signal struggling through interference. Their arrival filled Zhang Bao with ecstatic joy, while Zhou Cang and the Calamity Legion players were stricken with dread.
They didn’t know exactly what these five entities were.
But judging by their power, each one of them was at least as strong as Zhang Bao—though listed as Level 16 Commanders, they seemed to be at the absolute peak of that level.
There was no doubt—
Their true forms were terrifyingly powerful.
But the Nightmare Source of this zone was too weak.
Zhang Bao, as the anchor for this Abyssal Nightmare, was only Level 16. As such, the beings summoned could not exceed that level either. However, in terms of actual combat strength, any one of them was likely stronger than Zhang Bao himself.
“How interesting…”
At that moment—
A calm voice came from behind.
All the players turned back and instantly felt relieved.
The Lord himself had arrived, riding atop his majestic Magic Steed.
Hang Yu scanned the field. The players of the Calamity Legion all looked tense and worn down—most had already entered a moderate fatigue state. Facing a full-power Zhang Bao would already be tough enough, let alone five Projections of the Descendant of the Evil God.
Chimera Wraith spoke up: “Lord, we failed. We let Zhang Bao summon backup at the last second!”
Hang Yu replied calmly, “You’ve done your part. The battle from here on… is no longer yours to fight. All of you, fall back.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Calamity Legion players were excited yet anxious.
Was the Lord finally going to act personally?
Given the current circumstances, it seemed there was no other choice.
Hang Yu rode up before the five indescribable shadows. The projections clearly sensed his presence. For a moment, they hesitated—not attacking right away, but choosing to enter a standoff instead.
“A human Lord…”
“Truly rare…”
These beings were likely followers of Zhang Jiao.
No—more accurately, they were followers of the Evil God, Master of Huangtian.
Zhang Jiao may have possessed numerous projections, clones, or rare variants,
But those who had truly awakened their Divine Essence and reached this level were usually one-of-a-kind, sovereign-tier existences. Fortunately, the ones summoned this time were merely projections of the Descendants of Huangtian.