In no time, Lin Li had slain all ten of the green-haired zombies whose strength had plummeted by half.
From this, Ye Fan gained 9,878 evolution points!
Now, only the menacing red-haired zombie remained.
The red-haired zombie, an evolved version of the green-haired one, looked almost the same, but its long hair was red. Its speed, strength, and defense were vastly improved, and it even possessed the ability to fly and burrow into the ground!
Previously, it couldn't catch up to Lin Li when he was fleeing because, as the core of the Green-Haired Zombie Formation, it had been held back by the other zombies.
But now...
Without the burden of the other zombies, its ability to fly and burrow was fully unleashed!
As Lin Li attacked, the red-haired zombie, though clumsy, easily dodged by diving into the ground.
When Lin Li tried to force it out by striking the ground, the red-haired zombie leapt dozens of meters into the air, taunting him with frequent roars, driving Lin Li to the edge of frustration.
"If this keeps up, I might as well leave it alone!"
Furrowing his brow, Lin Li turned to walk away.
However, the red-haired zombie, driven by the final command of its deceased master, relentlessly pursued Lin Li!
Whenever Lin Li showed signs of impatience and tried to avoid conflict, the zombie would either emerge from the sky or the ground to continue its harassment, leaving Lin Li thoroughly annoyed.
Finally, Lin Li made up his mind.
"I'll feign impatience again and lure it in! Then, I'll finish it off with the Jinghong Sword!"
Moments later...
Lin Li was strolling through the Demon Sect's branch base, and whenever the Demon Sect disciples saw him, their faces turned pale as they hastily fled, not daring to provoke him!
It was no joke!
By now, almost everyone in the branch base had heard that in the southern region of the branch, there was a killing-machine sword cultivator!
Even the second-ranked Green Mosquito Hall Master and the fourth-ranked Black Bat Hall Master, both among the strongest in the branch, had been slain by this terrifying sword cultivator!
So how could these small-fry disciples possibly be a match for him?
At this moment, Lin Li moved through the Demon Sect base as if it were an empty realm. Whenever anyone saw him, they quickly fled in fear.
Except...
For one undead creature that didn't know any better!
The red-haired zombie, still driven by the deceased Green Mosquito Hall Master's orders, relentlessly pursued Lin Li.
Finally, seeing Lin Li lower his guard, the red-haired zombie burrowed underground, appearing directly beneath Lin Li's feet!
Boom!!!
Dirt exploded everywhere!
The red-haired zombie screeched as it emerged from the ground, launching an attack with its claws flailing wildly!
However...
Lin Li had been waiting for this moment, growing increasingly impatient.
"Haha! I've been expecting you!" Lin Li laughed. "Jinghong Sword!"
With that, a highly concentrated golden arc of sword energy, like a crescent moon, flashed and vanished in an instant!
The red-haired zombie's neck immediately showed a deep gash that almost cut halfway through.
"Huh?!"
Lin Li was astonished.
Even a highly condensed Jinghong Sword couldn't decapitate this red-haired zombie, only managing to slice halfway through its neck.
If it were a living person, they would be dead from such a severe injury.
But this red-haired zombie was an undead creature!
Even though its neck had been sliced halfway through, it continued to roar in anger!
Its voice, once terrifying, now sounded comical due to its half-severed throat.
Though it was clumsy, the zombie still had some instinct.
Realizing that it was no match for Lin Li, it turned and attempted to burrow underground again!
However, Lin Li wasn't about to let it escape.
"Jinghong Sword!"
Despite exhausting much of his spiritual energy, Lin Li unleashed another highly condensed Jinghong Sword!
Just as the red-haired zombie was halfway underground, its upper body still above the surface, Lin Li's sword struck the back of its neck!
Already half-severed, the red-haired zombie's head was finally cut off completely by this strike!
Its head rolled to the ground, while its lower body disappeared underground, leaving its headless upper body stuck above the surface.
Thus, the core of the Green-Haired Zombie Formation, which had entangled Lin Li for so long, was finally eliminated!
[You have killed Red-Haired Zombie (Foundation Establishment Stage 2), gained 2,333 evolution points!]
[You have absorbed the blood essence of Red-Haired Zombie (Foundation Establishment Stage 2), gained 233 energy points!]
At last, Lin Li breathed a sigh of relief!
Now, Lin Li's clothes were in tatters, stained with blood.
His body was covered in wounds, and the marks left by the bleeding from his seven orifices due to the Ultrasonic Bat Formation made him look horrifying.
Without hesitation, Lin Li sat cross-legged on the spot.
After swallowing another Small Revitalizing Pill, the combined effects of the new pill and the residual power from the previous nine pills started working together to heal his injuries.
At the same time...
Lin Li could feel the Blood-Drinking Demon Sword resting on his knees once again starting to channel energy back into him, just like before, as it absorbed power from all the creatures he had slain: the Demon Sect hall masters, the ten elite corpse controllers, the vice hall master, the Ultrasonic Bat Formation, the ten green-haired zombies, and the one red-haired zombie!
"I'm already at the peak of Foundation Establishment Stage 3!" Lin Li thought. "Now, after killing all these enemies, and with the Blood-Drinking Demon Sword feeding me energy again, the amount of energy being returned must be substantial! I'm certain that soon, I'll break through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, reaching the fourth layer!"
The scene of Lin Li slaying the red-haired zombie had been witnessed by several distant Demon Sect disciples.
They were terrified.
However, seeing Lin Li sit down cross-legged, with his tattered clothes and visible wounds, as well as blood still leaking from his seven orifices due to the earlier Ultrasonic Bat Formation attack, their minds began to race.
"Hey, look! That sword cultivator is sitting down."
"So what?"
"Do you think… he's badly injured?"
"Looks like it, yeah!"
"So, how about…"
"About what? If you want to throw your life away, go ahead, but I'm not doing it!"
"How can you call it throwing our lives away?"
"This is a golden opportunity! Think about it, he's just been through so many battles—he's got to be at his limit by now. If we…"
"Are you still dreaming of making a name for yourself? Didn't you see how he cut down that red-haired zombie earlier? I have no desire to die!"
The Demon Sect disciples were caught in a heated debate. Some had completely lost their will to fight Lin Li, while others were contemplating ambushing him to gain glory.
But all of this was irrelevant to Lin Li for the time being!
Right now, his focus was entirely on recovering his injuries and...
Breaking through to Foundation Establishment Stage 4!