Chapter 61

With little to no time to react, the only action Zuyuan could take to ensure his survival was to jump up and towards the rapidly falling ball of flame that covered the sky.

He was surrounded by flames on all sides, rushing upwards by the dozens of meters as the flames slowly caught up to him from below. 

'I'll have to cut it!' Thought Zuyuan, charging his sword up with as much Qigong as he could muster and extending its reach to ten meters.

Due to his constant 'farming' of mobs from recent hours, his body attributes had been multiplied by more than five times, allowing him to compete in these chaotic battle grounds to some extent.

The plan was to cut through it in the middle, passing through as the now two sides of flame fall onto the thousands of pillars in order to stop them. 

However, even with that multiplier, would he be able to cut through a flame with the like of a meteor?

The answer, was No.

Zuyuan's elongated blade pierced the great ball of flames, however he had not the strength to reach to the other end, his endeavor proving useless.   

'Shi-' With little to no time to even curse, Zuyuan found himself in the middle of two great waves of fire colliding, his body could only be burnt to a crisp in such an environment if he stayed for even a few seconds. 

Thinking that this would be his end, Zuyuan braced himself for the flames while guiding his Qigong to his body and strengthening it to the limit. Right at this moment which would be very fatal for Zuyuan, something he had experienced back before he had died happened. Unbeknownst to him, his Qigong which should only be so much, began to overload with energy.

The Undying Will had activated.

But would it be enough? Against the flames of an Ancient Dragon?

Would the added power to defense be enough to protect the mere cultivator?

Again, the answer was no. 

However, the Undying Will was not as basic as to just grant a small burst of energy, it served as a way to unlock one's limits.

In the face of certain doom, you will unleash your potential like never before.

The unknown power inside Zuyuan started to grow as it sensed the host had surpassed his limits. Power that was filled with essence of life and nature began pouring down on Zuyuan's body while it resided in his heart, flowing in his blood vessels and enveloping all of his body.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. The Death System that had its connection to Zuyuan blocked whatever new energy came out of nowhere as it sensed something tried to overwrite Zuyuan's existence with divine authority much different than its own. 

[Warning! Unknown force had assaulted the host! The System would stop all involvements of the foreign forces!] 

[Warning! Unknown force had assaulted the host! The System would stop all involvements of the foreign forces!] 

[Warning! Unknown force had assaulted the host! The System would stop all involvements of the foreign forces!] 

The notifications of the System flow in Zuyuan's mind in an instant as they didn't even stop for a split second. Feeling that something tried to rip his soul, body, and even his very existence apart, Zuyuan opened his mouth and screamed out loud in a hoarse voice.

**** 

"Impressive." 

On very far away land, a being made of branches that had been warped with vines all over it was staring in a certain direction with something resembling a smile on its face. 

"He surpassed the limit already? Even though it has just been a day?" 

The being wiggled its body as it giggled joyfully. Bringing two vines on its face, it laughed cheerfully. 

"Wonderful. At last, I won't have to use this broken and trashy vessel anymore." 

Its eyes revealed an excited gaze as it realized its rival influence was connected to its new 'toy'. Grinning widely while it emitted a very thick killing intent, it stretched out all of its hands and said. 

"Go ahead! Try your best, oh dog of Death. I'll claim what's yours to be mine! He's the perfect vessel!" 

Laughing heartily as if it had found a gem in a pile of trash, the being stared to the sky and spoke with disgust evident in its voice. 

"Mortem."

**** 

"Graahk!!" 

Screaming in pain as every millisecond had been the most painful thing he had ever experienced, not to mention with a sea of flames all around him, trying to burn him to ashes, Zuyuan felt like he had been thrown into hell and brought back to life with the regeneration spring over and over. 

Soon, rib cage bones that were twice as big as his own had spurted out from his body and began to wrap around him. They tried to enveloped him from head to toe as vines and branches started to emerge right under the crack of the bones. 

Shortly, Zuyuan's appearance was much different than before. With an exoskeleton armor made of bones being donned on him, as well as many kinds of small vines and branches coiling in each bone. 

Surge of boundless strength washed over him while he had noticed that the weight of his blade became nonexistent. Glancing at his hand, Zuyuan saw that his blade was gone and had been replaced with something that was invisible to the naked eyes. However, Zuyuan felt a connection and familiarity with that thing as he could feel its shape was exactly the same with his Estgard, just that it was in a transparent state. 

After the flames of the meteor and the pillars finally receded after their chaotic encounter that practically burned the skies, Zuyuan let out an incredible amount of aura that was filled with nature. Yet at the same time, that aura had signs of decay and death essence within. 

Before Zuyuan could let out a sigh of relief as he started to fall from the air, another notification from the Death System rang in his head, sounding heavy and in a cold tone. 

[Warning! Your existence has been deemed to be changed from what it once was. The System had judged that you are a foreign being that has been registered in the database.] 

[Responding to the article of the system, number #10. Should all foreign forces without permission be found in the database, the System would deem it as necessary to exterminate them.] 

[The System has passed its judgement.] 

[The System has become hostile to you and has decided to eliminate you.]