But currently, Zu Shouchun had no choice!
Zu Shouchun formed a hand seal and chanted incantations. Soon, the Yin Gathering Formation changed. The flow of Yin energy within the formation stopped. At this moment, the figure lying in the center of the formation shakily stood up.
This figure was about 1.9 meters tall. Unlike other emaciated zombies, this Golden Corpse had very firm muscles, like a bodybuilder injected with steroids.
If it weren't for the hollow sockets where its eyes should be, no one would have realized it was a dead person!
"Alas, I've wronged you. To evolve into a Corpse King, you'll probably have to wait. Hurry up and come out, kill that detestable brat first!"
A cold glint flashed in Zu Shouchun's eyes. He was already filled with murderous intent.
However, at this moment, Zuo Shouchuan felt something was wrong. A pungent smell was drifting from the direction of the cave entrance.
The smell was sharp but not difficult to identify. It contained gasoline and alcohol!
Zu Shouchun was bewildered. This place was more than 50 meters away from the tomb entrance. For these smells to reach here, how much gasoline and alcohol must have been spilled!
He suddenly felt a sense of impending doom! After all, this underground tomb had only this one exit!
Although there were a few cracks at the top of the underground tomb connected to the outside, allowing air to flow in, those cracks were only large enough for a rabbit to squeeze through at best!
The next moment, Ling Tian, who was on the ground, snapped his fingers. A ball of flame joyfully flew from his fingertips and landed on the ground inside the cave. The ground, now soaked in gasoline and alcohol, instantly ignited.
The flames spread inward along the cave, and the burning flames also created a siphon effect, drawing in a continuous stream of air from the entrance. The fire in the cave spread faster and faster.
The raging flames burned for more than 20 minutes before gradually subsiding. Ling Tian walked into the cave. At this moment, everything inside the cave had been scorched into charcoal by the flames.
The temperature on the ground reached over a hundred degrees Celsius, but this high temperature meant nothing to Ling Tian. He ignored the interference of the heat and walked to the innermost part.
What greeted his eyes were two charred human figures. One of them was Zu Shouchun, and the other was his Golden Corpse.
Although the Golden Corpse was extremely powerful, it could not withstand such intense heat. The temperature in the entire cave had almost reached that of a crematorium furnace. Nearly a thousand years of cultivation were destroyed in an instant.
There is no evil entity that cannot be solved with a large fire. If there is, then add another fire.
At this time, Ling Tian also saw the Xuan Yin Stones placed on the ground. However, these Xuan Yin Stones had all cracked and lost their efficacy.
Ling Tian observed carefully and confirmed multiple times that the two figures in the cave were completely dead. Only then did he emerge from the cave with satisfaction.
Soon, a Sea Eagle took to the sky and flew north.
A day later, in a small city in northern China, three old men walked briskly into a park.
It was approaching evening, and the temperature outside was already very low. There were very few people in the park. In a pavilion within the park, the three old men met a young man, who was Ling Tian in disguise.
These three old men were the three leaders of the Righteous Path Alliance: Xie Liheng, Xuanyuan Jie, and Zhuge Tianji!
These three were also confused when they received Ling Tian's notification. They had just returned to the capital, and it had only been two or three days since they last met Ling Tian. Normally, in such a short period, it would have been difficult for Ling Tian to even reach the scene of the incident. Yet, they were now being notified that the matter had already been resolved.
The three sat down at the stone table in the pavilion, and Ling Tian recounted the entire story of what happened in that small mountain village in Xiangxi to the three elders.
When they heard that the Heavenly Demon Sect had implemented a KPI assessment and a last-place elimination system, they were all aghast.
After all, for thousands of years, the crooked paths had always been a very loose structure. Because those who followed crooked paths were individually eccentric, violent, and difficult to control, they found it hard to band together obediently or be very compliant.
But now, with this system, in order to obtain more resources, how much would those who followed crooked paths have to compete internally? This could explain why the outstanding talents of the younger generation from the various sects belonging to the Righteous Path Alliance had been successively attacked during this period.
These young people had high scores and often acted alone, making them the easiest targets. In comparison, it was much more difficult to kill those old fellows!
Ling Tian also took out a mobile phone and unlocked the screen with a paper mold. He opened an app, and a leaderboard immediately appeared.
Ling Tian used clay to cover the phone's camera before showing the leaderboard to the three.
On this leaderboard, there were thirteen people, who were the thirteen newly appointed protectors of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
They saw several familiar names on the list, including Yulia, as well as Zu Shouchun, whom Ling Tian had just eliminated, and the mechanist Xue Boru.
"Hmm, why are the names of these two people hidden?" Xuanyuan Jie asked, pointing to two names on the phone's leaderboard.
"I asked that Xue Boru about this. He said that these protectors were personally recruited from outside by the high-ranking officials of the Heavenly Demon Sect. These people have prominent identities in the martial world, so they are temporarily hiding their identities to exert their influence at critical moments!" Ling Tian explained.
Upon hearing this, the faces of the three turned very solemn. Having such an enemy hidden in the dark was not a pleasant matter. Who knew when this person would suddenly jump out and deliver a fatal blow!
However, what these three did not know was that one of these two hidden names was Yun Hantian, the sect leader of the Heavenly Mountain Sword Sect!
They had already obtained the status of protectors and had done many evil deeds for the Heavenly Demon Sect, obtaining a large amount of resources. However, on the surface, they had not announced their joining the Heavenly Demon Sect. This way, even the Righteous Path Alliance could not openly attack them!
"If we don't find these two people, the threat to our martial arts world is too great!" Xie Liheng said with a solemn expression.
Ling Tian pondered for a moment: "Secretary-General Xie, I think you should focus your investigation on that demoness named Yulia!
This person is a very crucial figure in the Heavenly Demon Sect. She has long been an elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and her abilities are also very suitable for helping the Heavenly Demon Sect recruit people.
Find out her information as soon as possible, and I will personally deal with her and make her confess!"
"Alright, Ling Tian, that's settled! I'll await your news!"