Chapter 191: The Legend of the Underworld

The annihilation of a small town was nothing more than an appetizer to Lu Yan.

Back when he first entered the Wasteland Version, his cultivation was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, and he could command only early-stage resentful spirits.

At that time, resentful spirits had to manually rip the souls from zombies with ghost claws, and even against early- or mid-stage transcendent zombies, they had to group up for a chance at success.

But now, the Yin Soldiers under Lu Yan’s command had all advanced to the late stage of Qi Refining, surpassing the majority of transcendent zombies in power. They had even undergone Yin Soldier enhancements, allowing them to condense standardized Yin Armor and Soul Hooks through the use of Yin energy.

This overwhelming power, combined with the devastating utility of the Soul Hooks, caused the Yin Soldiers’ slaughter efficiency to multiply. As long as there were no Golden Core Corpse Kings, there were virtually no zombies capable of hindering an army of a thousand Yin Soldiers.

Even more decisive was the contribution of the Abyssal God. This Ghost God, who wielded the power of space, could precisely deploy Yin Soldiers to towns dozens of miles away. Once the slaughter was complete and the souls harvested, he would recall them back.

This near-strategic deployment capability ensured the fastest possible harvesting of zombie souls.

Moreover, towns were not particularly large, and most zombies emerged from cover at night to absorb moonlight essence. This made the Yin Soldiers’ harvest all the more convenient.

Once the souls of the forty thousand zombies were harvested and returned to the Soul Banner, the three remaining Ghost Gods immediately began refining the souls and enhancing the Yin Soldiers, striving to expand their numbers as quickly as possible.

Under Lu Yan’s control, the entire Soul Banner became a seamless assembly line—from soul harvesting to refining to soldier transformation. Excess souls were directly converted into ghost mist, spreading even deeper into the Soul Domain.

After one wave of soul harvesting, the Abyssal God locked onto the next zombie-concentrated zone and opened another portal.

Throughout the process, Lu Yan remained steady as a mountain. By night, he absorbed the moonlight essence; by day, the sunlight essence. He never wasted a single moment of cultivation.

At some point, a legend began to spread across the post-apocalyptic wasteland—one about the Underworld and its Yin Soldiers.

In the most widely circulated version, it was said that the apocalypse came because humanity defied the gods. As punishment, Heaven unleashed disaster, stripping away part of humanity’s souls and turning them into grotesque zombies.

This catastrophe spread across the world, lasting for a full thirteen years.

A year ago, the Lord of the Underworld descended upon the Wasteland out of pity for all living beings, quelling the chaos of the Ghost Gods.

A few months ago, he sent out Ghost Gods and Yin Soldiers of the Underworld to campaign across the land, slaughtering zombies in the ruins of cities.

Millions of zombies had their souls harvested by the Underworld’s Yin Soldiers. Entire cities once deemed forbidden zones had been turned into dead silence. The shadow that had loomed over the Wasteland for thirteen years was beginning to lift.

The more chaotic the world, the easier it was for extreme religious faith to arise. The Wasteland was no exception.

Over the past thirteen years, doomsday cults had sprung up like weeds: the Savior Cult, the Holy White Lotus, the End God Sect, the Fire Prosperity Sect, the Flying Spaghetti God Church… countless in number.

In the early days, many low-level survivors were swayed by these fanatical faiths, even willing to sacrifice their lives.

But over time, as survivor settlements gradually stabilized, people came to realize that these cults offered nothing. No safety, no food, no opportunity to become transcendent—only more exploitation under the guise of religion.

Eventually, except for a few that formed real transcendent factions, most cults disappeared entirely.

So when the recent legend of the Underworld emerged, most took it as a joke.

Until shocking news arrived from scavengers who ventured into nearby zombie zones.

Entire towns once considered forbidden—where tens of thousands of zombies roamed—had fallen silent overnight.

At first, no one believed it.

But as more people left their settlements to investigate, the truth became undeniable: both transcendent zombies and Tier 5 Corpse Kings had been reduced to piles of bones. Town after town, even ruined cities, had been reclaimed.

Though most materials in these ruins were unusable after thirteen years, there were always some industrial machines or chemical supplies that had been preserved.

These alone were enough to allow settlements to restart industrial production.

And this phenomenon was not limited to a single area.

After coordination between settlement leaders, it was confirmed that dozens of the thousand-plus settlements in the Eastern Nation had seen their surrounding zombie zones cleared, leaving only scattered rural hordes behind.

These remaining zombies had no transcendent mutations, not even a single Tier 5 Corpse King. They posed no threat at all.

For these dozens of settlements, it meant the dawn after the long apocalypse had finally arrived.

In the meantime, many transcendent scavengers reported sightings—thousands of Yin Soldiers descending from the sky to attack small towns and ruined cities.

Their accounts matched almost perfectly, even from regions hundreds of miles apart.

With more abandoned cities now wiped clean, the legend of the Underworld was gaining credibility.

The name “Underworld” began to spread across the entire post-apocalyptic world.

Outside the city of Jiao, a top-tier scavenger squad from Settlement 73 stood in the distance, keeping surveillance over the vast ruins.

Each member was at least a Tier 4 transcendent, with the leader being a rare Tier 5 powerhouse.

In the apocalyptic transcendent hierarchy, zombies that reached Tier 5 underwent a massive leap and were known as Corpse Kings.

Similarly, transcenders who reached Tier 5 gained a qualitative upgrade. Even in a large settlement like No. 73, Tier 5s were considered elite.

Normally, a Tier 5 transcender would avoid ruined cities, lest their aura draw out a Corpse King and trigger a horde.

A horde of tens or even hundreds of thousands could overwhelm a settlement, and not even a Tier 5 would survive.

But this time was different—they were under orders to monitor Jiao City.

Among them, a handsome young Tier 4 was tossing pebbles into the air. With the flick of a finger, each stone shot out like a bullet, creating deep craters in the ground several hundred meters away—stronger than a grenade.

He muttered lazily as he played:

“We’ve been watching this place for three days. Are we sure that info from Settlement 77 is legit?”

The Tier 5 leader said nothing, but a middle-aged man beside him snapped,

“Those are the elite scavengers of Settlement 77. They risked their lives to get that intel. Who are you to question it?”

The youth scoffed.

“Do you even hear yourself? What did they send back? Yin Soldiers sweeping the land? The Underworld returning to Earth? Gods on the verge of descent?

Sounds more like they’ve been brainwashed by some cult. If not for Captain Guo’s reputation, I wouldn’t be wasting my time here playing watchdog with you.”

The older man’s face turned red with anger. “You—!”

Just as things were about to explode, the Tier 5 leader, Guo Ze, finally spoke.

“Quiet.”

Though his voice was calm, everyone immediately shut their mouths.

Guo Ze looked toward Jiao City, his tone heavy.

“The news about the Underworld and the Yin Soldiers… it’s likely true.

Not just from Settlement 77—three of the twenty settlements in contact with us have reported similar sightings of Yin Soldiers wiping out zombie zones.

Settlement 131 even moved into a ruined city and began rebuilding power infrastructure to resume production.”

He paused, then added:

“Of course, rather than divine legends, I believe it’s the work of several extremely powerful and well-equipped transcenders, clearing the ruins to weaken future corpse tide outbreaks.”

The youth frowned. “A few people can wipe out hundreds of thousands of zombies? That’s insane.”

Guo Ze shook his head. “If they have special transcendent abilities and enough Tier 7 fighters, it’s not impossible.

There’s even a rumor that Settlement 1 has produced a mythical Tier 9 transcender—one strong enough to wipe out an entire ruined city alone.

However…”

His gaze turned sharp as he looked toward Jiao City.

“A year ago, a few Tier 5 transcenders could indeed sweep a city. But that’s no longer the case.

Just a few months ago, it’s suspected that a Tier 9 Corpse King was born in Jiao City.”

“Nine!?” The youth gasped in horror.

Even Tier 5 Corpse Kings were out of reach for him—let alone the mythical Tier 9s, who had undergone a second transformation.

The middle-aged man asked, “If that’s the case, then why are we here?”

Guo Ze replied calmly, “Tier 9 Corpse Kings won’t leave their lairs easily. If that mysterious squad does enter the city, they might be wiped out entirely.

We’re here to warn them—and maybe build a relationship.

If a corpse tide erupts, No. 73 won’t survive. Connecting with that force might be our only chance.”

Everyone looked at Guo Ze with admiration.

Just then, someone cried out in alarm.

“Look at the sky!”

Everyone turned.

A massive spatial rift tore open in the heavens. A lone figure stepped through, hovering over the ruins of Jiao City.

“That’s the squad? Why is there only one?”

Before they could make sense of it, the figure raised a Soul Banner.

In an instant, ghost mist filled the skies, blotting out the sunlight.

Thousands of Yin Soldiers emerged from the mist, treading through the air and gazing down at the city below. Their black armor glinted under the moonlight, each piece emanating a chilling Yin aura.

Soul Hooks floated around them like silver serpents.

With a silent command, the Yin Soldier formation surged forward.

They broke into hundreds of squads and flooded into the silent city like tides in the night. Soul Hooks wove a massive net across the skies, ripping souls from every rotten corpse they passed.

Blue-white soul flames danced across the night, flowing into the soul bottles at the Yin Soldiers’ waists.

Thirteen Foundation Establishment Corpse Kings in the city center sensed danger and unleashed their power.

One peak-stage Corpse King even unleashed its transcendent domain, flooding a vast area with corrosive energy.

But the Yin Soldiers were ready.

Hundreds of Soul Hooks formed intricate patterns in the sky, tearing apart the domain with ease.

Under the moonlight, the Corpse Kings’ bodies disintegrated inch by inch. The peak Corpse King had its soul forcibly extracted by hundreds of Yin Soldiers.

Wails echoed silently through the night. Countless souls were harvested like falling petals.

The Yin Soldiers moved with chilling precision, executing their soul-harvesting mission like a perfectly coordinated war ritual.

The observing team stood in stunned silence, especially the arrogant youth.

He could sense it clearly—each Yin Soldier possessed strength on par with him.

Thousands of Tier 4 peak-level fighters… such an army could crush anything.

Before he could recover, a roar of fury erupted from the city center.

A towering skyscraper shook as the aura of a Tier 9 Corpse King surged forth, its soul-burning flames spreading for miles.

But the Yin Soldiers had been waiting.

Half formed the Nine Nether Yin Wind Array; the other, the Nine Nether Ghostfire Array.

The Yin Wind roared—black wind blades howled through the sky, freezing steel into fragile glass. Their blades vibrated in sync, channeling endless power into the formation.

The Ghostfire Array burst forth with ghostly green flames—each spark like a falling star, ready to incinerate the Corpse King to ash.

The two arrays complemented each other perfectly, pressing down like mountains.

The soul-burning flames were smothered.

It was as if the entire city had become a furnace, the Yin Wind and Ghostfire the fuel—used to burn the Tier 9 Corpse King.

As night fully descended, the Corpse King could no longer resist. Thousands of Soul Hooks shot out, tearing its soul free.

The city became a true domain of death.

Thousands of Yin Soldiers regrouped. Soul bottles on their waists flickered with the light of a million souls.

In the sky, Lu Yan raised his Soul Banner. The Yin Soldiers vanished into it.

Then, stepping through the yet-unhealed spatial rift, Lu Yan prepared to leave.

But a cry suddenly rang out from below:

“Divine One, please wait!”

Lu Yan glanced down and finally noticed the small figures at the city’s edge.

He had encountered many transcenders from survivor settlements before, but never engaged with them.

After all, with the threat of the Longevity Version looming, every second mattered. He couldn’t afford distractions.

But just as he was about to leave, another voice called out, full of vigor:

“Would the Divine One be interested in a large-scale corpse tide?”

(End of Chapter)