As evening approached, Jiang Chen moved back into Old Jack's spacious courtyard. That night, they shared a hearty and festive dinner, leaving Old Jack grinning from ear to ear.
With great care, Old Jack brought out a bottle of aged wine he'd been saving for years. Heart aching just a little, he poured himself half a bowl—and even poured Jiang Chen a small sip.
By the end of the meal, Old Jack was flushed red from the drink and passed out right at the table.
Jiang Chen gently carried him to bed, tidied up the room, then climbed up to the rooftop.
The night belonged to his cultivation. Even though he had awakened with full innate soul power, he wouldn't allow himself to slack off.
According to the teachings of Yu Xiaogang from the books he'd read, once a soul master reached the limit of their level but hadn't acquired a soul ring, any additional cultivation wouldn't immediately reflect in soul power level. However, once a soul ring was added, all the stored energy would instantly take effect.
As usual, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged, circulated his cultivation technique, and—without activating his Martial Spirit—let his body enter the zombie state. In this form, he could absorb the moon's ghostly essence more efficiently.
But tonight, something was different.
He could see inside himself.
As if touched by divine insight, the moment he began meditating, he realized he had achieved inner vision.
Through his spiritual sense, he observed the internal soul power cultivated through his Heavenly Corpse Transformation Technique. It flowed smoothly through his meridians, eventually gathering in his dantian, just like rivers returning to the sea.
But when his spiritual sense reached the dantian, Jiang Chen was utterly stunned.
There, nestled in the center of his spiritual core, was a perfectly round sphere, about the size of a ping-pong ball. All the soul power that had been circulating through his meridians was now converging into this orb.
The sphere was eerie—half pitch-black like ink, half glowing with dazzling gold. Its aura felt oddly familiar.
The black half radiated a chilling energy, unmistakably connected to his zombie Martial Spirit. It even carried the same resonance as the internal energy he used to cultivate in his previous life.
The golden half, however, exuded the powerful presence of the golden lightning—an energy he hadn't felt until the moment his Martial Spirit awakened, when it suddenly burst forth and chased away the five-colored divine thunder.
"What… exactly is this thing? Why didn't I sense it before?" Jiang Chen was shocked. More than that—he was baffled.
Something that large living inside his body, and he'd never noticed it?
"Could this be… a core?" he wondered.
Driven by curiosity, Jiang Chen moved his spiritual sense closer, hoping to gather more information.
But the next moment, he regretted it deeply.
The instant his consciousness touched the orb, a massive torrent of memories surged into his mind—so vast and ancient, it felt like they spanned millennia.
Such an overwhelming flood of memory crashing directly into his soul was far beyond what his spirit could endure. The moment the pain struck, Jiang Chen's legs went stiff, his eyes rolled back—and he passed out cold.
A spiritual impact of that magnitude wasn't something a normal human could withstand. Even in unconsciousness, Jiang Chen's body trembled violently. His previously adorable little face was now twisted in agony, almost unrecognizable.
[Ding! Transmission initiated. Super Zombie Evolution System is now activating… System loading…]
…
Jiang Chen felt like he was dreaming.
In the dream, he stood as a mere observer, watching the rise of a terrifying zombie.
This zombie absorbed blood to cultivate for a thousand years, eventually evolving into a Flying Zombie—a being that could soar through the skies and burrow through the earth, preying on powerful cultivators and spreading fear across the land.
Ten thousand years later, it reached an even more terrifying level—immortal and indestructible, feared by gods and demons alike.
Then came the day of its ultimate transformation: a Heavenly Tribulation struck as it attempted to evolve into the mythical form of a "魃" (Ba)—a supreme being of the undead.
That tribulation was the most devastating in history. It darkened the skies and shook all creation. The zombie perished in that storm of divine lightning, leaving behind only a Corpse Core.
The core was relentlessly pursued by heavenly lightning, crashing through dimensions and accidentally vaporizing a poor, unlucky young man on Earth… before finally descending upon the Douluo Continent, merging with the corpse of a lifeless newborn.
…
The morning sun was warm but glaring. Jiang Chen lay atop the rooftop, his body sore and uncomfortable.
Gradually, his consciousness returned. He felt something tapping lightly at his face.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a tiny bird perched on his nose, pecking curiously at him.
"Cut it out," Jiang Chen muttered, swatting the bird away and sitting up groggily.
"Who am I? Where am I?" he mumbled, disoriented.
It took him a good while to piece his thoughts back together.
Fragments of his past life, along with six years of memories from this new world, came rushing back.
He remembered now—his name was Jiang Chen.
He remembered cultivating last night, touching the orb in his dantian with his spiritual sense… and suddenly blacking out, consumed by a strange, vivid dream.
The entire dream was beginning to fade into a haze—but whenever Jiang Chen focused his thoughts, the images would return with startling clarity.
He shuddered as he recalled the Corpse Core that had descended onto the Douluo Continent in his dream. He had one of those inside his own body!
"Could it be… that wasn't just a dream?"
Without hesitation, Jiang Chen gathered his spiritual sense and directed it once more toward his dantian. Sure enough, the smooth, soul-power-absorbing sphere was still there, quietly spinning in place.
Half of it was pitch black. The other half gleamed with radiant gold—and on the golden surface, faint arcs of lightning flickered and danced.
The last part of his dream flashed through his mind again: the golden lightning chasing the black Corpse Core as it crashed down onto the Douluo Continent...
It was like a veil had been lifted—Jiang Chen's mind cleared in an instant. He finally understood why he had come to this world. The mysterious sphere inside him was none other than that Corpse Core, and what's more, it had merged with that terrifying heavenly lightning.
Now, thinking back on the zombie's long, dreadful life, Jiang Chen still felt a profound sense of awe.
It had been an incredibly powerful being—born from the grievances of heaven and earth, thriving on blood, untouched by reincarnation, unbound by hell, cursed by divine retribution. It soared through the heavens, delved into the underworld, steeped in yin energy and evil...
But it had ultimately perished under a heavenly tribulation, while attempting to ascend to an even higher realm. Through that zombie's inherited memories, Jiang Chen now understood a glimpse of that greater path.
That realm was called "Ba"—or more specifically, the Drought Demon, Hán Bà (旱魃).
Wherever the Drought Demon passed, lands were scorched for thousands of miles. It carried a cataclysmic plague capable of ending civilizations. It fed on dragons. Gods and devils alike trembled before it.
At that level, nothing under heaven could threaten it. The heavens couldn't kill it, the earth couldn't bury it.
As Jiang Chen sat there, lost in the immensity of it all, a sudden cute, loli-like voice chirped in his mind—startling him so badly he nearly rolled off the rooftop.
[Congratulations, Host, on awakening your Martial Spirit. The Super Zombie Evolution System has been activated. As a gift, a Beginner's Pack has been issued.]
Jiang Chen's face froze.
Then, after a long moment, he burst into wild laughter—loud, gleeful, almost manic. The joy in his voice was unmistakable, unrestrained.
A tiny black bird fluttered over and perched on his shoulder. It seemed happy too… though its eyes looked dull, empty, lacking any trace of true intelligence.
"Go on, fly around," Jiang Chen said with a smile.
This was his corpse puppet, a creature under his complete control. It acted as his eyes in the village—nothing that happened in Saint Soul Village could escape his notice.
His gaze sparkled with excitement.
"So… what's in this Beginner's Pack?"