Su Li’s abdominal muscles tensed as he contracted them into a defensive stance. Even so, the undead’s kick sent his blood surging and knocked him backward. The undead, in turn, was sent flying seven or eight meters away by Su Li’s own kick.
As it hit the ground, a flicker of surprise passed through the undead’s eyes. It opened its mouth and let out a low, hoarse shriek. Unlike corpse beasts, it had developed basic emotional expression and could produce sounds like roars.
With its shriek, more advanced corpse beasts surged from all directions, abandoning the two elite beast corpses on the ground to frenziedly attack Su Li and his group. It was using the shriek to command these advanced corpse beasts.
Ding Longyun roared in anger, killing one advanced corpse beast while retreating toward Xu Xuehui. He knew her situation was dangerous in this chaos and wanted to get close to protect her.
The undead’s terror far exceeded expectations. Su Li had barely gotten up from the ground when the undead lunged again, moving as fast as a nimble leopard. Not only that, but two advanced corpse beasts also attacked him simultaneously.
Ding Longyun, Gong Xiao, and Xu Haishui also noticed the undead’s menace. They quickly gathered together, shielding Xu Xuehui in the center, and fought desperately against the advanced corpse beasts swarming from all sides. Everyone was locked in a bitter struggle.
Su Li, besieged by the undead and a pack of corpse beasts, let out a sharp shout. With a swift slash of his blade, he killed an advancing corpse beast, but the undead reached out with both hands to grab him. Its hands had transformed, nails extending into sharp claws. If caught, Su Li would be disemboweled instantly.
Su Li inhaled and retreated, activating “Spider Walk” to circle around the undead. But unexpectedly, the undead lowered its head, its neck stretching like a spring, and its head shot forward like a cannonball, slamming into Su Li’s face.
Caught off guard, Su Li never anticipated such a bizarre attack. His vision went dark, blood gushed from his nose, and tears were forced out. With a cry of pain, he fell backward.
The undead, having landed its hit, retracted its head, neck returning to normal. It stepped forward, leaped into the air, and aimed a stomp at Su Li’s chest as he lay on the ground.
The chain of events was too fast. Even with Su Li’s battle-hardened reflexes and lightning-fast responses, his head buzzed and spun, leaving him unable to react or dodge.
With a heavy thud, the undead’s foot slammed into Su Li’s chest. Fortunately, he had already tensed his chest muscles into a defensive stance, capable of absorbing five hundred jin of force. His ribs creaked under the impact, blood surged within him, and some trickled from his mouth. He swung his left hand’s “Glutton’s Fang” outward.
If not for the muscle defense negating five hundred jin of force, the stomp would have broken his ribs and left him far more severely injured.
The undead lifted its leg to dodge and aimed another stomp at Su Li’s face.
By now, Su Li had recovered his breath. The recently absorbed spirit source was working its miraculous effect, visibly healing his wounds. Using his waist, abdomen, and limbs simultaneously, he rolled sideways. The undead’s stomp missed, landing on the ground mere inches from his cheek.
In the next instant, Su Li flipped over, kicked out, and struck the undead’s shoulder with a sharp crack. The undead staggered back a few steps. Su Li rose with the kick, entering “Spider Walk” mode.
He darted like a ghost, but instead of attacking the retreating undead, he veered away. This undead was terrifying—its strength, speed, and reaction were no less than his own. Even with “Spider Walk,” he might not be able to harm it.
Su Li covered ten meters in a flash, plunging into a group of advanced corpse beasts. His right blade swept horizontally, sending two heads flying with blood. Two spirit sources appeared and vanished into his forehead.
Absorbing two more spirit sources, Su Li felt a surge of heat throughout his body. His recent wounds healed instantly, and new power swelled within him.
In his mind, information surfaced.
“Level 4 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 47/50” “Level 4 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 48/50”
As he killed two corpse beasts, the undead caught up, its claws reaching out. Su Li’s “Spider Walk” had just ended, and despite his hurried dodge, he felt a sting on his back. His shirt was torn, revealing bare skin marked by ten bloody scratches.
Su Li spun around, extending his left hand for a “Glutton’s Fang” attack. With a bang, his vision blurred. Before his strike could land, the undead shot its head forward again.
This move was not only bizarre but utterly unpredictable. Its speed was so great that even Su Li, in his current state, couldn’t track it. He only sensed a blur before his face took the hit.
It felt like his face had been smashed by a hammer. Su Li grunted and was thrown back again.
The undead’s head-butt, designed for speed, sacrificed some power. Its only weakness was slightly reduced force, but it still injured Su Li, stunning him for half a second.
This time, Su Li was prepared. As his vision blurred, he knew trouble was coming and activated “Spider Walk.” Though he couldn’t avoid the head-butt, he used the skill to dash away during the stun, widening the gap and escaping the undead’s follow-up lethal strike.
Sure enough, as the undead head-butted, its claws swiped out. If not for “Spider Walk,” Su Li would have been gutted. The half-second stun ended, and he activated “Spider Walk” again, dodging the charging undead once more, unwilling to engage.
On the other side, Ding Longyun, locked in battle with a horde of corpse beasts, suddenly shouted, “Su Li, I’ll help you!” He tried to break through and charge toward Su Li. They had seen Su Li take hits from the undead and start fleeing, pursued relentlessly. It looked dire, and they wanted to join forces against it.
“Don’t come!” Su Li barked. He knew that if he couldn’t handle the undead, Ding Longyun, Gong Xiao, and the others would be killed in an instant.
With that shout, Su Li, still fleeing, swung his blade repeatedly. He couldn’t beat the undead, but killing these advanced corpse beasts was easy. In moments, two more fell to his blade.
“Got it!” Su Li muttered, stopping abruptly and turning to face the charging undead.