Chapter 31: The Three Heroes of the Apocalypse

“Everyone, hide over there.”
Luffy pointed to a small, gloomy house outside the eerie town, then exchanged a satellite phone for Zeng Hongsen.
“If anything happens, call me. I’ll go inside first to investigate and see what’s going on.”
“Yes, boss!”
Zeng Hongsen knew the boss was thinking of their safety. This town was far too strange; the boss feared they might drag him down if they entered. Moreover, the shadow just now had moved so swiftly—he’d barely caught a glimpse, which meant they should stay out.
“This is an invisibility talisman. Remember, once you enter the room, affix it to the eastern wall and sincerely recite: ‘Swift as law, conceal me.’ You’ll be much safer that way.”
Luffy handed another concealment talisman to Zeng Hongsen, moving the entire group deeply.
Following the boss was indeed the right choice; such a considerate leader left them convinced they had chosen well.
Luffy dashed instantly into the heart of the town.
Zeng Hongsen led everyone into the nearby house, hiding themselves away.
A guttural roar echoed from within the town, its source unknown, a monster perhaps.
“What manner of creature could emit such sinister energy, shrouding the entire town?”
Luffy quickened his pace, streaking forward so swiftly that shadows trailed behind him.
He produced an invisibility talisman and vanished, sprinting ahead. Monstrous figures appeared—not walking, but leaping.
They were eerily reminiscent of the zombies from television, more like the hopping corpses of legend. Had someone truly mutated into such creatures?
Luffy surged forward, assuming the talisman would keep him hidden, but to his surprise, the zombies, though unable to see him, still leaped in his direction.
It seemed they were tracking him by scent, just like the zombies in the films of Lam Ching Ying.
He realized holding his breath would prevent detection.
With this in mind, Luffy held his breath and rushed forward; now the zombies ignored him entirely, leaping aimlessly around.
He vaulted upwards, his strength three hundred times that of a normal man, landing effortlessly atop the roof and darting across it toward the source of the roar.
Soon, he reached a cemetery surrounded by several villas.
There, he saw four corpses dressed in official Qing Dynasty robes, bound by iron chains, each with a stone stele behind them.

There were four in all, each struggling against their chains, which rattled noisily.
Luffy glanced across to a villa, where a man clad in black stood, a sword hanging at his waist, a wicked demon mask on his face, hands clasped behind his back as he observed the corpses below.
To the right, a man in white wore a long robe, his hair billowing in the night wind. He held a jade flute and stood about six feet tall, weighing roughly one hundred thirty pounds.
He too gazed down at the corpses.
“Ximen Yu, I didn’t expect you to turn up here,” the masked man in black said hoarsely.
“Lei… You could take off that demon mask. Maybe I’d consider you a friend,” Ximen Yu glanced at Lei.
“Heh… You want to befriend an assassin? But I don’t want to be friends. These corpses are trapped before the stele—what’s your opinion?” Lei said, hands still behind his back.
“Are you aware of the evil formation, the Corpse-Nurturing Trap?” Ximen Yu pondered as he looked at the corpses.
“Never heard of it. Isn’t this sort of thing more common in Xiangxi? How did it wind up here?”
Lei was puzzled.
“These corpses were likely excavated from an ancient tomb, then trapped here to have their energy drained to nurture a zombie or corpse,”
Ximen Yu spoke quietly:
“The apocalypse has lasted nearly a month now, and this formation seems about that old. The surrounding yin energy is drawn into the corpses, then the iron chains on the stele siphon power from them. Such practices might be the work of a disciple from the Heaven-Evil Sect, which vanished a hundred years ago.”
“Ji Xiaozhi, what do you think?” Lei suddenly turned to the side, and a beautiful woman in a white dress descended from the sky, as ethereal as a celestial maiden.
“As far as I know, the Heaven-Evil Sect disappeared a century ago. Long before that, the Xiang-Evil sect was founded in Xiangxi, notorious for corpse-nurturing and countless evil deeds, which led to its destruction. Later, it rebranded as the Heaven-Evil Sect, committing atrocities that recurred every hundred years,”
Ji Xiaozhi stepped lightly onto the rooftop, her beautiful eyes scanning the surroundings, glancing at Lei, then Ximen Yu, then Luffy: “Friend, you’ve been invisible long enough. Shouldn’t you reveal yourself?”
“Oh, come on…”
Luffy hadn’t expected Ji Xiaozhi’s sense of smell to be so keen, able to catch his scent. Her eyes couldn’t see him, but her nose twitched slightly, evidently detecting him: “Your nose is keener than a hound’s.”
“Who are you? I’ve never seen you before, but you carry a righteous dragon aura—surely you’re one of the good guys.”
Ximen Yu made no move, but watched Luffy closely.
“Whoever you are, sneaking around isn’t right. Shadow Strike…” Lei’s gaze suddenly chilled. From his back, a shadow emerged, wielding a sword, slashing at Luffy.
With a bang, Luffy stood motionless, activating the Reincarnation Eye. He saw that the shadow was merely an illusion, unmoving, and as it struck, it shattered instantly.
Ximen Yu and Ji Xiaozhi were both taken aback. They hadn’t anticipated this youth would break Lei’s illusion so effortlessly—a clear sign of a master.

Ximen Yu knew well how bizarre Lei’s technique was.
Back then, he’d suffered from this very move. As soon as he parried the sword, the illusion would cycle endlessly; it took him half an hour to break it. Yet this mysterious young man shattered it in an instant.
Ji Xiaozhi was equally astonished. This youth looked only sixteen or seventeen, yet was so calm and composed.
“You’re impressive, but can you handle another strike?”
Lei couldn’t help but grin excitedly; he hadn’t expected this unknown youth to be so formidable.
He was a battle enthusiast, always eager to challenge strong opponents:
“True Shadow Strike.”
This time, he unleashed a genuine killing move—not illusion, but a shadow forged from power.
A massive, sinister black shadow appeared behind Luffy, a dark sword slashing toward him.
“Cross Flame Slash.”
Luffy spun suddenly, swinging his swords in quick succession, sending out a blazing cross-shaped slash that illuminated the surroundings.
It collided with the black shadow’s attack.
In an instant, the shadow was shattered, and the cross flame slash soared into the distance.
The three were even more stunned. This youth possessed at least two hundred times normal human strength—a true master…
“Incredible.”
Lei’s eyes burned with passion; he wanted to exchange more blows with the young man.
But Ximen Yu stopped him:
“You’ll have plenty of chances soon. These zombies alone should keep you busy. What’s your name, young man? We aren’t enemies, so let’s break this formation together. One zombie for each of us. Their claws are precious; grind them and mix into elixirs or tempering solutions, and you’ll boost their efficacy tenfold.”