Mo Fan at his best – Versatile Mage

There were around thirty people willing to leave the village, most of them young people.

Xie Sang let out a sigh when he saw that so many had decided to stay in the village.

Su Xiaoluo tried to convince them, yet they were only urged to leave sooner.

Left with no choice, those who had decided to leave packed their stuff and departed for the Ancient Capital.

Mo Fan was rather confused as they headed for the entrance. The people of the villages were supposed to be under the effect of Ash Garlic naturally. For example, while their group was involved in the intense battle, the muscular man was perfectly unharmed. None of the undead bothered to attack him.

If that were the case, wouldn’t they be safe on their way to the Ancient Capital? Why did everyone seem so nervous, regardless whether they were leaving the village or not?

“I told you the village is cursed. You’re going to die if you stay here, let’s go,” said the young man called Gouzi.

“Gouzi, enough with your bullshit,” scolded Xie Sang.

“Leaving the village means abandoning the teaching of our ancestors. You won’t even survive the night, you should just stay in the village. We are still protected by the God of the Well...” grumbled an old lady before the group left.

Many with traditional thinking decided to stay. As a result, the number of people leaving the village was reduced further.

Mo Fan was unable to make the correct call. He could not tell if staying at the village or going to the Ancient Capital was safer for the villagers. He had no right to decide for the villagers. All he knew was that he would help escort Su Xiaoluo’s people back to the Ancient Capital, since she had saved his brother’s life.

There were around thirty people in the group. To Mo Fan, Liu Ru, Fang Youmiao and Shorty, they were simply going back along the same route.

Meng’e and her two subordinates did not stay at Hua Village for long. They were not interested in escorting the villagers, hence they bid farewells to the group and left on their own.

As Meng’e left, Mo Fan was still curious about why the three had come to this chaotic land. What were they trying to find and achieve?...

——

The current season had a shorter daytime and a longer nighttime. On top of that, the cloudy weather further strengthened the presence of death.

The stronger the presence of death, the greater the number of undead that would appear. Without needing food, the undead could only rely on the presence of death to evolve further. It was the same with demon beasts who needed to become stronger.

The villagers were in good shape physically. The group made significant progress during the day.

It was safe during the day, hence everyone was rather relaxed during the journey. However, after three in the afternoon, an uneasy feeling began to loom over the group, which continued to grow stronger as time passed.

None of the villagers could tell if they were still under the protection of the God of the Well. They had no idea if Zhang Xiaohou’s friend was reliable, either.

“Let’s take this route. We don’t have to pass by Sunny Goat Village,” said Chief Xie Sang to Mo Fan.

“Is it quicker this way?” Mo Fan glanced at the map and saw that by taking a straight route, they would still pass by Sunny Goat Village.

“That route is passing through a pulsating terrain. It might look shorter on the map, but it’s going to take a longer time. Trust me, I know this place better,” replied the chief.

Mo Fan nodded and followed Chief Xie Sang’s guidance.

—

The day gradually turned dark. The villagers obviously trusted Chief Xie Sang and Hong Jun more. They walking closer to the two. It would not be surprising if they ended up hugging them tightly.

Su Xiaoluo was surrounded by a few people, too. The girl was quite reputable in the village. Some of them subconsciously followed her around. Most importantly, the retarded man whom Su Xiaoluo had saved was incredibly strong. He had simply wiped out the zombies that had invaded the village with two Wind Spells!

“Liu Ru, look after the kids at the back,” said Mo Fan.

Liu Ru nodded and said, “Take care of yourself.”

“We’ll check the situation out. We have Ash Garlic, and the villagers are under the protection of their god. If the undead doesn’t attack us, we’ll just walk past them.”

“Acknowledged.”

The route that the chief had selected was indeed a lot smoother.

As the night inevitably arrived, the starving cries of undead came from all directions.

“Err, Brother Mo Fan, if the undead does attack us, we won’t be able to protect so many people,” Shorty came up to Mo Fan and whispered.

Mo Fan was well aware of it too. He was merely hoping that the villagers were still protected by their god.

“It feels like... they are not focusing on us,” Shorty glanced at the undead who had woken up the earliest.

“Mm,” Mo Fan held his breath.

The group proceeded. Normally, the presence of such a large group would surely attract the undead, yet even when the group had traveled a kilometer, the undead still did not show any reactions. It clearly implied that both Ash Garlic and the protection were still effective.

When the villagers saw the undead were ignoring them like usual, they immediately let out a relieved sigh. Their pace became more relaxed. Otherwise, it felt like each of their steps was walking on nails.

“Strange... if we are still protected, why would the zombies invade our village?” Su Xiaoluo was utterly confused.

“This means those zombies were mutated. It feels like it’s meaningless for us to move away from the village now,” admitted Hong Jun.

Hong Jun would follow Su Xiaoluo wherever she went, as if the guy had completely forgotten that he had fled for his life on his own when they were in danger before. Su Xiaoluo never had a good impression of him, and now, his existence alone was annoying to her.

“That’s enough. Either way, we’ll be safe when we reach the Ancient Capital,” Chief Xie Sang was determined to move away.

Mo Fan glanced at Chief Xie Sang. He somehow felt that the chief was hiding something. After all, the chief of a village would usually obey the rules of the village strictly...

——

The group was unharmed throughout the night. As everyone was relieved that the undead did not attack them during the night, they were even more confused about why their village was attacked.

The night did not pose any threat, and the clouds had cleared away the next day. After a brief rest, the group continued their journey to the Ancient Capital.

“Brother Mo Fan, what do you say?” Shorty nudged Mo Fan and whispered.

“How would I know, I’m not familiar with this place,” Mo Fan glanced at Shorty, who seemed to have something to say. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Have you noticed something?”

“Hehe, to be honest, I do know something, and it’s from before I met Fang Youmiao...”

“Just say it!” said Mo Fan in an unpleasant tone.

“Do you remember the cave we used to hide from the rain?” Shorty purposely glanced at the villagers and asked after knowing that they were all at the back.

“Yeah, the one that you found when you’re hunting a Blood Beast, what’s wrong?”

“After killing the Blood Beast, we decided to rest up at Sunny Goat Village. However, we stumbled into a scouting team on the way there who had just left Sunny Goat Village. They gave us some replenishment, so we returned to Ancient Capital straightaway using this path. Not long after we returned to the Ancient Capital, we heard that the scouting team went missing...” Shorty lowered his voice, as if he did not want anyone to hear him. He was at ease when he realized that only the guy who had lost his memory was close to Mo Fan.

“Mm, it’s most likely that they were killed by the undead in the wild. My brother’s squad was ambushed by the undead along their journey too,” Mo Fan glanced at Zhang Xiaohou beside him.

“Mm, I assumed so too, but do you know what the scouting team told us when they bumped into us?” Shorty wore an evil smile.

“What did they say?” asked Mo Fan.

“They told us Sunny Goat Village is completely empty. They told us there’s no point in going there,” said Shorty.

Mo Fan was utterly confused.

However, Zhang Xiaohou, who was also listening to the whispers between the two, shuddered violently as his blank eyes widened!

“Don’t you think it’s strange? The chief is also avoiding the path to Sunny Goat Village. It’s obvious that the chief doesn’t want us to go there,” added Shorty.

Mo Fan glanced at Xie Sang and fell into deep thoughts.

—

The group continued on with the journey. Everyone was still unharmed during the second night.

They were fairly close to Ancient Capital after the second night. They would arrive close to the Ancient Capital today.

“It’s daytime, we’ll move on once everyone is ready. We should arrive at the Ancient Capital before night time,” yelled Hong Jun, waking everyone up.

“Hong Jun, you spent a few years learning Magic outside of the village. Are you able to find places for us to live once we arrive in the Ancient Capital?” asked a woman.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” Hong Jun patted his chest, implying that he would handle everything.

“Sigh, feels like we’re safe now. I thought we were abandoned by the God of the Well.”

“Gouzi, look at how you’ve scared everyone, humph!”

The villagers felt more at ease, each wearing a faint smile on their face.

The group had stayed safe for two nights straight, and their journey would come to an end after today. Their lives were no longer in danger.

Since it was daytime, everyone was more scattered across the place. Mo Fan remained at the front of the group...

Shorty never stopped talking. The guy came up to Mo Fan to boast about his achievements. Mo Fan snorted disdainfully at Shorty and simply boasted about his achievements in Bo City...

“So you’re from Bo City! I do know a few friends from there,” exclaimed Shorty, surprised.

“How do you know people from Bo City?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Oh, I talked to them a lot. They were brought here to stay in the Ancient Capital after the calamity. They were told to live in the outskirts in the past, but a rich young man called Mu Bai bought a street to sell Magic Ores, so the refugees from Bo City ended up working for him,” said Shorty.

Mo Fan was startled, but then recalled the arrangements made after the calamity.

The refugees of Bo City were arranged in batches. The first batch was allocated to the outskirts of Shanghai, while the second batch was sent to the Ancient Capital. Mo Fan chose Shanghai, and he was arranged to stay at the edge of the city as he hoped for. Now that Shorty had mentioned it, he immediately recalled that the other batch was sent here to the Ancient Capital!

It was rare to bump into people from his hometown. He would have to pay them a visit soon...

“I would also sell Magic Ores to their stores sometimes...” said Shorty.

“AHHHH~!” Suddenly, a cry of agony came from behind them!

The scream was distorted due to great pain. The sudden sound simply gave the entire group a great scare.

Shorty instantly stopped talking, while Mo Fan quickly turned around and saw blood mist spraying in the sky, followed by the villagers screaming and fleeing in a panic!

“Undead, it’s the undead!”

“My uncle is being dragged away, dead, he’s dead!”

“AH~!”

Another terrifying screech appeared. A woman who was running away in fear fell to the ground after tripping. A long claw burst out from the loose ground. Its incredible force instantly penetrated the woman’s body, leaving those who witnessed it with an uneasy feeling in their stomachs!

“There’s one here!”

“Help me! Help!”

“Don’t panic, everyone stay calm...”

The villagers who ran the furthest were the easiest prey for the undead. Mo Fan quickly scanned the place and saw the undead that were assumed to be nocturnal climbing out from the ground and attacking the fleeing villagers.

It had only been a few seconds, yet the whole place had blood splattering everywhere!

“Holy crap, these undead are insane, killing people in the day!” screamed Shorty.

“Head to the side; Liu Ru, protect the kids, don’t let them run away in panic,” yelled Mo Fan.

More undead were appearing from the ground. The protection the villagers were under was completely useless. As a matter of fact, the undead were only targeting the villagers.

Normally, the undead would feed on their targets after entrapping them. The zombies in the surroundings would simply stack on top of another following the scent of fresh blood. However, the undead that were attacking them were not feeding instead. They continued to hunt the next target down. It was a bloody massacre!

“Lightning Strike!”

“Swift Star Wolf!”

“Giant Shadow Spike!”

Mo Fan was furious when he saw the villagers being murdered. He was not in the mood to preserve his strength. He simply used every move he could.

However, the villagers had already lost their minds and were running in all directions.

Even Mo Fan was unable to save everyone under such circumstances. He could only watch them being torn into pieces by the zombies.

“Houzi, Rock...”

“Rock Barrier!”

Mo Fan was just about to tell Zhang Xiaohou to cast the Spell, but it seemed like the amnesia did not take away his rationality. He followed his instincts and cast the Intermediate Earth Spell.

Two consecutive Rock Barriers quickly formed walls around the group, stopping the villagers from running too far away while blocking the zombies from coming in.

Mo Fan jumped onto the barrier and screamed at Liu Ru who was still outside the walls, “Liu Ru, gather all the kids inside the barrier. Zhang Xiaohou has strengthened the ground in this area. There won’t be any undead coming out!”

It had all happened so quick. Everyone was taken by surprise.

Who would have thought that the undead that would only appear at night would ambush them in the day, and seemed extremely keen to murder them.

After Mo Fan finally managed to get the situation under control, half of the villagers had died.

Mo Fan had started killing the zombies as soon as the ambush took place. If the villagers had not run in all directions and stayed together, the only casualties would have been the ones that were attacked first. Mo Fan could simply blast most of the zombies coming out from the ground with a single Spell.

Unfortunately, despite warning the villagers not to panic when anything happened, they had totally forgotten about it. Their instinct to run simply lead them to dead ends.

Zhang Xiaohou’s Rock Barrier was fairly effective. He had somehow set up a wall surrounding the group in a circle. The villagers would be safe as long as they stayed inside the circle, as the undead would have to climb a wall that was around seven to eight meters high!

The chief and Shorty stood on top of the wall to prevent the undead from making it to the top. The zombies’ jumping ability was only average, but their claws were very sharp, allowing them to climb the wall quickly. The two were responsible for killing the zombies that were climbing the wall.

Zhang Xiaohou was inside the circle. Apart from maintaining the Rock Barrier, he was also keeping an eye out for any zombie trying to enter the circle.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru were outside of the wall. Several villagers were still running wildly in the open. They were trying to save them.

Not far away, Liu Ru was lifting the villager called Gouzi up as if she were picking up a little chick. The villager did seem like he was given quite a nice name, since dogs were tough to kill. A few other zombies were chasing after another middle-aged villager, yet none of them seemed to be interested with that guy after Liu Ru came to rescue him.

“Help...help me!” a young kid screamed. His legs were torn apart by a zombie. The deep wound had reached his bones.

Grabbing Gouzi with a hand, Liu Ru leapt forward and glided in the air before landing right before the kid.

Liu Ru let go of Gouzi. She clenched her hands into claws and swept sideways. Ten crimson flickers like blood-colored slickers slashed at the three zombies that were running toward them.

The three zombies were slashed into several sections by the blood-colored sickles. Their bodies stiffened and fell beside Liu Ru.

“Kid, stay behind me,” Liu Ru helped the kid to his feet.

At that instant, Gouzi glanced at the young man and immediately had a weird expression.

He pointed his trembling finger at the kid who Liu Ru was helping and yelled, “He...he’s not from our village!”

However, it was too late when Gouzi screamed. As soon as Liu Ru went over to help the kid, an eerie grin appeared on his pale face. He reached the hand he was hiding with his body forward, which only had white bones left...

The hand with only white bones was sharp as a dagger, stabbing fiercely at Liu Ru’s heart!

An icy flicker flashed across the air. Liu Ru was so close to the young kid. There was no way she could react in time. The kid’s hand went right into Liu Ru’s chest through her heart.

Liu Ru’s face was filled with disbelief.

She did not expect the kid to be an undead too, and one that possessed such a vicious mind!

The kid was a different kind of undead compared to the zombies.

“That’s what you get for being a busybody, now die,” the undead kid burst out laughing. He pulled his hand out from Liu Ru’s chest and was about to enjoy her fresh blood...

However, as he withdrew the hand toward him, he was shocked to discover that the hand did not have a single drop of blood on it.

The kid was stunned. He could not understand; why was there no sign of blood on his hand after he had stabbed the woman’s heart with it/ He was not moving his hand that quickly.

“Knowing how to trick someone at your age, with such a vicious manner,” Liu Ru stared at the undead kid without showing any sign of pain. Her eyes were displaying a hint of disappointment instead.

“How...how is this possible!” the undead kid screamed as if he had just seen a ghost.

“Sister will now send you to reincarnation. Stop trying to hurt people,” Liu Ru smiled, completely displaying the natural charm of the Blood Tribe.

The stab into Liu Ru’s heart did not hinder her movement. She simply grabbed the undead kid by his throat and suddenly applied great force.

The undead kid was still experiencing great fear when his neck was snapped by Liu Ru. His head slanted sideways with the same terrified expression...

Liu Ru’s smile did not disappear when she glanced at the undead kid who died after his neck was snapped.

“Stop teasing me; I’ve never seen an undead that would die after breaking their neck...” Liu Ru’s eyes curved into crescents when she saw the undead kid pretending to be dead.

Saying this, Liu Ru slowly moved her hand to the undead kid’s skull, as if she were going to fondle his head gently.

“No, no!” the undead kid pleaded horrifyingly when he realized Liu Ru’s intention.

Liu Ru did not show any mercy. Her index finger turned into a long claw, which extended and penetrated the undead kid’s head from above...

The undead had something like a crystal that allowed them to move, similar to a human’s heart. As long as the crystal was not destroyed, the undead would not die...

Liu Ru soon discovered the Undead Crystal in the undead kid’s brain. She simply crushed the crystal with her claw and sent the living dead to the underworld!

The crystal was pierced by the claw, leaving the undead kid crying in agony.

Black gas immediately came out from the holes on his face, as if it had drawn all the energy from his body. The undead kid turned into a dried corpse within a few seconds.

After confirming that the undead kid was dead, Liu Ru rose to her feet and fell into deep thought.

She did not understand. The undead she had encountered before were all zombies and skeletons. Why would a living dead appear out of nowhere...

“Follow me, don’t run away on your own,” Liu Ru said to Gouzi, who was standing behind him.

Gouzi stood in his place. He did not dare to move a step, as if he was completely frozen.

Just a moment ago, he thought he was safe, yet the woman... the woman...

What did she mean she had never seen an undead that died after she had broken their neck...

Her heart was punctured just then!

Gouzi simply felt like he was going to have a mental breakdown. It was one new nightmare after another!

Mo Fan was using both his hands, the purple lightning and blazing red flames intertwined with one another.

He was now able to cast a Fire Burst right after completing a Lightning Strike. With the strength of his fourth-tier Spells, he could basically kill the Servant-class zombies instantly!

Mo Fan arrived before a villager whose legs were bitten off by the zombies and snapped furiously, “Damn it, what did I tell you all, don’t f**king panic!”

Mo Fan knelt down and carried the villager who was covered in blood on his back. The young man’s face was covered in the mix of mucus from his nose and tears. His body was shivering in extreme pain.

“Hold on, the Healers at the city can treat your legs!” said Mo Fan impatiently.

Mo Fan was annoyed, too. The truth was, the zombies were not even that strong. He alone could easily wipe them out. The villagers were only scaring themselves. Those who were not attacked simply ran out of Mo Fan’s range, resulting in lots of casualties.

Even though he was used to seeing people dying, it still did not feel great witnessing so many innocent villagers losing their lives.

Mo Fan vented his anger on the zombies that had come out in the day to murder the villagers. He could have blasted the zombies into pieces with Fire Burst alone, yet he had the urge to use his Intermediate Lightning Spell instead.

Forks of lightning descended from the sky. The zombies who were still targeting the villagers were shredded into pieces, turning into blood mist sprinkling in the air.

After the lightning blasts, Liu Ru came up to Mo Fan with two other villagers.

She observed the surroundings and said, “I only managed to save two of them. The kids are fine, though.”

Mo Fan glanced at three other villagers that were also injured beside him. He was still carrying the young man whose legs were bitten off on his back, too.

He glanced at the corpses across the place and uttered a sigh, “Let’s go, we tried our best.”

Mo Fan and Liu Ru handed the villagers whom they saved over to Su Xiaoluo. Su Xiaoluo had brought some medicine along, and she barely managed to save their lives.

The crowd sat together. No one spoke. The atmosphere grew very heavy, with a few kids who were sobbing in fear. After all, those who died were their aunts and uncles.

Liu Ru sat beside Mo Fan. She nudged him softly and whispered, “I stumbled into an undead kid.”

Mo Fan raised his eyes, signaling Liu Ru to continue.

Liu Ru quickly told Mo Fan about her experience with the undead kid. Mo Fan’s expression turned stern after hearing her words, and he subconsciously glanced at the chief not far away.

For some reason, he kept feeling that the chief was somehow involved. It strange that the undead would attack them in the day...

“Should we investigate it?” asked Liu Ru.

“There’s nothing to investigate. We’ll escort them to the Ancient Capital, and they’ll do whatever they want!” Mo Fan was not in the mood to involve himself in the mess.

“Mm, they should be safe at the Ancient Capital,” Liu Ru nodded.

—

A while later, the undead stopped appearing. After taking a look at the sky, Mo Fan felt like they should not continue wasting their time here.

If the undead could come out in the day to attack them, hiding in the Rock Barrier was definitely not the way to go. They had to make it to the Ancient Capital before it turned dark. Who knew if a huge bunch of undead would ambush them at night!?

The group continued on with their journey. This time, Mo Fan simply had the urge to tie the villagers together with an iron chain, so they would not run wildly if something were to happen again.

After the previous ambush, everyone had acknowledged Mo Fan’s strength, since none of them were blind. They were relieved after witnessing Mo Fan’s ability to kill the zombies instantly with a single spell.

The day gradually turned dark along the journey. Luckily, they could finally see the magnificent walls on the horizon under the gloomy clouds.

Since it was still daytime, the walls still had Magicians patrolling the area. The group uttered relieved sighs after seeing someone alive. They quickened their pace and headed into the city.

——

As they arrived at the entrance, a group of Battlemages was on duty.

“Are you all from Hua Village?” a Battlemage looked at them, amazed.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m the chief,” Xie Sang took out a stamp symbolizing his identity as the village’s chief.

“The whole city has been discussing the villages outside the city,” spoke up another young Battlemage.

“Discussing us, why’s that?” Hong Jun glanced at them, confused and curious.

The Battlemage smacked his lips and handed a newspaper to the chief.

The chief received it and immediately saw the headline!

“Six villages in the Xianchi area was wiped out by the undead. There are close to no survivors!”

The chief was dumbfounded. He initially thought only their Hua Village was invaded. Little did he know, the rest of the villages were already destroyed. Due to the lack of communication, they would not know the truth if they had not come to the Ancient Capital.

On a side note, the chief was even more confused after learning the news, as if he had failed to come up with an explanation for something.

“We’ll be going, you all should settle down yourself.” Mo Fan felt even more suspicious seeing the chief’s reaction. He did not want to be involved in the mess.

“Thank you, you’re already such a strong Magician when your age is just about the same as Hong Jun’s,” said a woman to Mo Fan excitedly.

Su Xiaoluo had recovered from her astonishment after learning the news about other villages. She quickly went up and expressed her gratitude to Mo Fan and Liu Ru. “Without your help, we might have ended up the same as the other villages. Thank you so much.”

As Mo Fan was about to leave, he suddenly recalled a problem.

Zhang Xiaohou only knew Su Xiaoluo. Mo Fan was planning on bringing him to Xinxia and letting her try to heal him, yet the idiot did not want to go anywhere. He only wanted to stay with Su Xiaoluo, acting like an unreasonable kid.

Mo Fan was left with no choice. He said in a helpless tone, “I’ll let the military know about his condition. I’ll let him stay with you for now.”

Since they had made it to the Ancient Capital, Zhang Xiaohou should be fine for the time being. It was also a good place to leave him to Su Xiaoluo since she could take care of his injuries, too.

The people from Hua Village left with Hong Jun. It was likely that the Magic Association would arrange a place for them to stay. It was something Mo Fan did not need to worry about.

—

Mo Fan tried to contact Zhang Xiaohou’s instructor Fei Jiao, yet he was told that Fei Jiao was on a mission. It would take at least a day for him to return.

Mo Fan did not feel at ease, knowing that Zhang Xiaohou had not recovered his memory nor returned to the army. He simply decided to stay a few more days in the Ancient Capital to settle the things on hand.

“Where are we going?” Liu Ru stayed with Mo Fan. She was obviously curious about the Ancient Capital, and kept looking at her surroundings.

“I’m going to meet the people from my hometown,” said Mo Fan.

“There are people here from your hometown?” asked Liu Ru.

“I’m sure that a few other cities have people from Bo City, too.”

“That’s true, after the calamity, the people from your city were sent to live in a few different cities...”

After Mo Fan escorted the Wei Ju Village group to the Ancient Capital, Zhang Xiaohou chose to go to the resettlement area with Su Xiaoluo and the others but not before Mo Fan gave him the cultivation tools to break through to the peak of the Intermediate level.

He had initially expected a battle on the way, but in reality, Fang Gu, who was secretly following them, had no intention of making a move. Perhaps, from the very beginning, he had already recognized him as someone who had once visited their village. However, he just didn’t know whether Fang Gu was aware that he had taken their spring water in advance.

Actually, even if he knew, it didn’t matter. After all, these things originally belonged to Little Loach.

The Ancient King was waiting to revive and then reawaken the Azure Dragon Soul for battle, wasn’t he?

Mo Fan’s lips curled slightly, a faint, almost mischievous glint flashing across his eyes.

Hehe… good.

Imma get Xiaohou to be the NEW Ancient King.

My day one is gonna be an Emperor.

It’s just a pity that the revived Ancient King was no longer the original Ancient King.

Huh?

Mo Fan suddenly thought of something.

That is…

The Bridge of Nine Deaths and One Life was said to be a test left for future generations, not something that could be passed just by filling numbers. But… before the Bridge of Nine Deaths and One Life, there was the Eternal Life Demon Lotus! That was something even a Forbidden Curse couldn’t destroy. If even a Forbidden Curse couldn’t destroy it, then how could the people of Wei Ju Village? Eight or nine out of ten of them were ordinary people. Let alone breaking through the Eternal Life Demon Lotus, even this so-called test itself wasn’t something they could possibly pass.

The Ancient King had left behind a dying wish for the descendants of Wei Ju Village. Each village had ancestral teachings known to all, but successive village chiefs also possessed secret teachings. Those teachings did mention that they were blessed by gods, that even if they fell into the kingdom of death, they would still be honored guests. However, after so many years, it was entirely possible that something had been lost or interrupted along the way.

But to put it simply, S煞渊 could only provide these people with a place to exist. That was all.

They could not inherit anything.

Because they had no way to deal with the Eternal Life Demon Lotus.

In other words…

Whoever could break the Eternal Life Demon Lotus was the one who had the right to enter the true test of the Ancient King!

Mo Fan had speculated about this before, but he hadn’t thought too deeply about it. But now, everything suddenly became clear. The Bridge of Nine Deaths and One Life… was never meant for the people of Wei Ju Village.

It was aimed at him.

The reason Fang Gu was absorbed, and Zhan Kong’s sacrifice succeeded in the original sequence of events, was only because Mo Fan had opened the path.

Fang Gu entered first because he belonged to Wei Ju Village and was not subjected to the test. He could directly reach the Blood Throne. But once there, his greed consumed him—and he was devoured.

As for Zhan Kong… there was no need to question it.

From beginning to end, that man had lived only to sacrifice himself.

So before the true inheritor—before the one carrying the Azure Dragon Soul—could arrive, Zhan Kong stepped in and forcefully took on the Ancient King’s power.

But that raised a problem.

A man who had already reached the five-element Forbidden Curse level in life, who was once known as a God of Magic… after being nurtured within the undead for two thousand years—

How could he only be at Emperor level?

That didn’t make sense.

Which meant—

Zhan Kong had not obtained the full inheritance.

After thinking this through, Mo Fan held the Little Loach pendant in his hand and stared blankly ahead.

“So… the Ancient King wasn’t waiting for them…”

“He was waiting for you.”

“…Or rather…”

Mo Fan’s eyes slowly sharpened.

“He was waiting for me.”

Mo Fan went… and yet, he didn’t.

Because he had remained at the Bridge of Nine Deaths and One Life.

He had never truly stepped into the final inheritance.

And that meant—

the inheritance was still unclaimed.

Still waiting.

Mo Fan suddenly let out a quiet laugh.

“Hehe… good.”

“This time…”

“I’m not letting that power go to waste.”

His thoughts immediately shifted. Zhan Kong was no longer an option.

Fang Gu was never worthy.

And he himself—

had no intention of taking it.

Which left only one person.

“Xiaohou…”

Mo Fan muttered softly.

Zhang Xiaohou had the discipline.

The loyalty.

The will.

He wasn’t greedy. He wasn’t unstable. And most importantly—

he could endure.

Mo Fan’s smile grew slightly.

“Hehe… good…”

“I’mma get Xiaohou to be the NEW Ancient King.”

“My day one…”

“is gonna be an Emperor.”

The more he thought about it—

the more it made sense.

If Zhang Xiaohou entered…

If he passed the test properly…

If he inherited everything—

Then this time—

the Ancient King’s power…

would be complete.

Mo Fan didn’t continue thinking about whether S煞渊 was truly waiting for him or not.

Right now—

there were more urgent matters.

Zhang Xiaohou still had the Forgetful Worm devouring him.

Which meant—

Mu He had to be captured first.

Following the Dwarf Man’s instructions, Mo Fan found the street said to be occupied by Bo City survivors.

The street wasn’t long, just a crossroad between two main roads, lined with small shops selling Magic Tools. Most of the items here were fragmented, second-hand, or of uncertain value, usually priced between 500 and 10,000 yuan. Because the worth of many materials was difficult to judge, this place was like a magic antique street. Many lower-level mages came here hoping to find something useful. For them, even one extra Magic Tool could mean a significant increase in strength.

Mo Fan stepped into the street, not expecting to recognize everyone. After all, Bo City had many survivors. He was here to find Zhao Kun San… and also to see Mu Bai.

“Damn it, what kind of trash did they bring in? It’s all garbage, and I spent a hundred thousand yuan! Is money not money?!” a hoarse, unpleasant voice echoed from inside a shop.

But that voice—

Mo Fan recognized it instantly.

After all…

he had beaten that person more than once.

Following the sound, he walked toward the shop entrance and saw an ugly man with a dark face, small eyes, and a flat nose. Although his features had changed slightly over time, he still looked almost exactly the same as he did back in high school.