"Are you sure there are many SSS-level powerhouses in the Xiao Kingdom?"
Upon hearing Zhang Zhengzhong's description, Huang Ziren couldn't help but become somewhat solemn. He knew that even in the capital, there were only a handful of SSS-level experts, but according to Zhang Zhengzhong's description, Xiao Guoming had as many as six SSS-level experts on the surface.
“Yes, leader, I am willing to swear an oath that if I am lying, you may send me to a military court.”
Zhang Zhengzhong took a deep breath and said earnestly that he wanted to tell Huang Ziren not to attack Xiao Guo. After all, Xiao Guo's strength suddenly seemed beyond their reach. In addition, Xiao Chen, who could make so many SSS-level experts willing to humble themselves, had not yet made a move. Xiao Guo had already become a force to be reckoned with.
"Well, if that's the case, then we can only show goodwill to Xiao Guoxian."
Huang Ziren sighed and then gave the order. He had originally planned to see how strong the Xiao Kingdom was, and if it wasn't strong, then he would just destroy it.
After all, one country, two regimes—what is this if not betrayal?
Hearing Huang Ziren's words, Zhang Zhengzhong breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he wouldn't have to confront Xiao Guo anymore. Just kidding, in Zhang Zhengzhong's estimation, if nuclear weapons weren't used, Long Guo's current strength would definitely not be a match for Xiao Guo.
"By the way, you said you encountered people from Mount Olin in Xiao Kingdom earlier?"
Huang Ziren seemed to remember something and asked with some curiosity. Clearly, he also knew something about Mount Olin.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhengzhong's expression turned serious.
"Indeed, just as we were about to leave, we encountered a powerful expert sent by Mount Olin. His ability was to take on the form of some kind of animal, and judging from his aura, he was probably at the SSS level."
Thinking back to that time, Zhang Zhengzhong still felt lingering fear. After all, the pressure of the Thunder Power was too strong, and the shadow it left on them at that time has not been erased to this day.
"It seems that Mount Olin is quite powerful, as it has even sent an SSS-level expert to negotiate. However, it has now fallen out with the Xiao Kingdom. Based on your description of Xiao Chen, I'm afraid they won't let this go easily. Keep an eye on the situation at Mount Olin."
Huang Ziren shook his head and said, "But this matter has nothing to do with me. Losing one force won't affect me. Anyway, I'm not familiar with Mount Olin."
"Leader, do you mean that Xiao Guo will take action against Mount Olin?"
Upon hearing Huang Ziren's words, Zhang Zhengzhong was momentarily shocked and said something, while Huang Ziren simply gave him a faint look.
"What do you think? Based on your description of Xiao Chen, he is an extremely domineering person. How could he possibly swallow this insult? I'm afraid the Xiao Kingdom's troops are already on their way to Mount Olin."
After Huang Ziren finished speaking, he turned and walked into his secret room, leaving Zhang Zhengzhong alone there. Zhang Zhengzhong still had some doubts on his face, but when he thought about his meeting with Xiao Chen that day, he was afraid that it might really be like this.
On the other side, Xiao Chen was still in seclusion absorbing the mountain of crystals, but he didn't remember the news he heard on the radio that day.
Meanwhile, in Xishi, due to its altitude, the city was only covered by heavy snow and there was not much standing water.
On the vast, icy plain, several people dressed in strange white clothes were moving forward through the snow. In their hands, they held ropes, and behind the ropes, people were bound and could only passively follow them.
Soon, led by the leaders, they were taken to a large mountain.
"arrive!"
The leader raised his head and looked at the mountain in front of him. A hint of crimson flashed in his eyes. Soon, he led the people he had brought into the mountain and found a cave, which they entered smoothly.
Inside the cave, however, was a completely different scene from the outside.
Inside the cave was a huge space, and within that space was an altar. Although it looked very similar to the spatial rift that Xiao Chen had destroyed earlier, there were fundamental differences between the two.
Upon entering, they found dozens of people inside the cave, all dressed in white, which meant they were all on their side.
"Have you brought back the sacrificial offerings?"
Before they could even process what was happening, a tall man appeared before them, and the white-clad figure who had led hundreds of humans back immediately spoke respectfully.
"Master, we've captured them all, but a few tried to resist and we killed them."
Upon hearing this, the man who appeared to be a leader frowned slightly and said with some displeasure.
"Be careful next time. If you kill them again, then you can all go up and serve as sacrifices."
Upon hearing the cult leader's words, their hearts skipped a beat, and they immediately knelt down on one knee and said...
"Master, we understand."
"Yes, drive them all into the altar."
The cult leader spoke calmly, and as soon as he finished speaking, all the white-robed people present surrounded the person who had been captured. They clearly knew they were doomed and began to hurl useless curses at the white-robed man.
"You are so utterly depraved, you will surely be punished by heaven."
"Do you have any conscience at all? We're family!"
"Please, let me go. I'll do anything. I'll even give you my body."
"Me too, I'm in great shape and I'm great in bed!"
Some of them began to frantically beg for mercy, and even a few exceptionally beautiful women started to pose provocatively. But in front of the cult leader, they were nothing more than fuel for him to become stronger.
After the offerings were placed into the mysterious patterns, the white-clad men began to slaughter the offerings in a frenzy at the leader's command.
As their blood began to seep into the patterns in the earth, a strange red light flashed within the patterns, and was then mysteriously absorbed into them.
Seeing this, the cult leader did not hesitate at all and went directly to the center of the altar, where a thick ball of blood had condensed.
Without the slightest hesitation, the cult leader reached out and absorbed the blood orb into his body. As he absorbed the blood orb, his aura began to surge rapidly in a short period of time.
Although the white-robed men present looked on with extreme envy, they dared not do anything out of line. As the sect leader's strength increased significantly, their own strength also improved considerably without them even realizing it.
Even more bizarrely, after the cult leader absorbed that strange ball of blood, his own strength also increased significantly. In addition, a scarlet gas emanated from the white-robed man present, and his strength also gradually increased.
After completely absorbing the blood sphere, the cult leader turned to look at the white-clad figures present.
"Go, continue gathering offerings for me,"
Upon hearing the cult leader's words, one of the men in white stepped forward, his face showing a complex expression.
“Master, we have captured all the survivors in the entire West City. If we want to collect other sacrifices, we will probably have to go to other cities.”
Upon hearing his subordinate's words, the cult leader hesitated for a moment, but quickly waved his hand.
"Our Snow God Cult has been in West City long enough. It's time to let the whole world know of our existence!"
Upon hearing the leader's words, the subordinates below became excited. They knew that although their Snow God Sect was powerful, it had no reputation whatsoever in the current apocalypse.
Ultimately, it's because of their cult leader's so-called composure, which becomes even more prominent after the appearance of zombies.
Their Snow God Sect currently has several Foundation Establishment stage experts, especially the sect leader, who recently broke through to the Blood Core stage, making him even more terrifying in strength.
Even SSS-level powerhouses cannot withstand the cult leader for long.
After his subordinates left, the leader of the Snow God Cult stood there and began to ponder his so-called life.
Before the apocalypse began, he was just a herb gatherer named Chen Shi, who spent his days venturing into unexplored deep forests to search for precious herbs.
That night, after he and another companion went into the famous Zhumo Mountain in Xishi to pick herbs, a sudden downpour forced them to seek shelter.
By sheer chance, they stumbled upon a mountain cave and discovered what is now the Snow God Cult's base.
Later, due to the continuous torrential rain, their food supply was running out. In order to survive and reduce the use of resources, Chen Shi had no choice but to painfully swing his knife at his companions.
After killing his companion, his companion's blood seeped into the patterns on the ground and congealed into a tiny blood bead.
At that moment, a strange sound emerged from the cave, startling Chen Shi, who immediately turned to run away. However, the outside was already shrouded in heavy rain, leaving him nowhere to go.
Under the influence of that voice, Chen Shi refined the blood bead and entered the Body Refinement stage.
Later, he finally found out what this place really was.
It was the altar of a powerful demonic cultivator who had been sealed away by righteous cultivators countless years ago. That cultivator had tempted Chen Shi, promising him immense power if he offered him a sacrifice of living beings.
In order to survive, Chen Shi had no choice but to agree, and successfully obtained the cultivation method from the powerful demonic cultivator.
After nearly two years, Chen Shi's strength finally broke through to the Blood Core stage not long ago.
(Note: Righteous cultivators are called Golden Core stage cultivators, while demonic cultivators are called Blood Core stage cultivators.)
In order to strengthen his own power and obtain more power from the powerful demonic cultivators, Chen Shi took in ten blood servants, and each blood servant had several slaves under his command. This is the origin of the Snow God Sect.
Back then, Chen Shi even broadcast the news of the Snow God Cult on the radio, trying to attract more people to come and offer sacrifices in exchange for greater power.
But in this apocalyptic world, how could mere mortals possibly endure countless hardships to reach the distant West Market? Therefore, the Snow God Cult's actions could only attract a few extremely foolish individuals.
Just then, a voice came from a strange box on the altar.
"Chen Shi, I need more blood essence. At my current level, I need to absorb the blood essence of another 100,000 people to break through the seal."
The one sealed inside is a powerful demonic cultivator, who is now able to use his divine sense to communicate with the outside world and even do certain things.
"Yes, sir!"
Although he had broken through to the Blood Core stage, Chen Shi had not forgotten who had bestowed upon him his current strength. The person who had granted him the strength of the Blood Core stage must have originally been far stronger than he had imagined.
"Hmm, when I break free from this seal, I will help you rule the entire Earth!"
The demonic cultivator made a promise, and upon hearing this, Chen Shi lowered his head and quickly thanked him, but a strange glint flashed in his unseen eyes.
With his current level of knowledge, how could he not know that the other party was probably fooling him? But there was nothing he could do. If the other party could train him, then naturally they could train another version of him.
Right now, I need to rely on the other party to become stronger, so I can't touch them for the time being.
Meanwhile, the Snow God Cult members began to disperse to all parts of the West Market to search for survivors for Chen Shi.
As for the King of the West Market, he was completely wiped out by the frenzied zombie army shortly after the outbreak of the zombie crisis. As for the Snow God Sect, it was because of the presence of powerful demonic cultivators that zombies were not allowed to enter.
Meanwhile, in Xiao Guozhong, Xiao Chen had successfully broken through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm with the help of the crystal's power. This meant that even without using spiritual energy, he could fight against mid-stage Golden Core experts with his physical body without being at a disadvantage.
"The power of crystals far exceeds my imagination. If that's the case, I'm afraid that if I collected all the crystals in the world for me to absorb, my physical strength could reach the Void Refinement stage."
Xiao Chen opened his eyes and said with some surprise, "You know, I've only absorbed about a few hundred thousand crystals so far, and they're all below grade A."
If all the corpses in the world were to turn into zombies, the global crystal reserves would probably be as large as seven billion. If all of them were absorbed, breaking through to the Void Refinement stage in terms of physical strength would not be difficult at all.
"Moreover, judging from the current situation, it seems that I am the only one in the world who can absorb the power of crystals, which means that I need to act as soon as possible."
Xiao Chen took a deep breath. He had previously asked Lin Yichen and the others, and found that they knew nothing about the power of crystals. Even if they studied it, they could not use it. This was why Xiao Chen was certain that only he could use the power of crystals.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, Lin Fan and the others sent out by Xiao Chen had already set foot on the soil of the United States and looked up at the distance.
There, stood a massive, towering mountain—Mount Olympus!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com