"Before my isolation incense wears off, I'll deal with these annoying pests first," Old Liu muttered, unleashing his Thin-Blade Knife. The blade, exquisitely sharp, sliced through throats, drawing blood as it went. As it reached its furthest extent, Old Liu twisted his wrist, propelling himself forward. Along this path, he effortlessly eliminated several dozen foes.

Ye Xiu's violet flames proved useless once again. After Old Liu darted away, several zombies lunged at Ye Xiu like hungry tigers. Ye Xiu clenched his fists and slammed them down several times, shattering a few attackers, but two fists couldn't fight off the horde. As the next wave surged forward, he executed a rapid tumble, rolling around the memorial archway in pursuit of Old Liu's direction.

"Ye Xiu, where is your Death Scythe!" Old Liu was currently weaving through the zombie mass with an almost balletic grace. His speed allowed him to traverse the crowd using only the Thin-Blade Knife; his feet never once touched the ground. Seeing Ye Xiu struggling, he taunted, "Let's race to see who gets more kills."

Damn it, Ye Xiu thought, I completely forgot I had that thing. In his panic, he had forgotten the Asura weapon he had just acquired. But when he concentrated, focusing on his palm to summon the Death Scythe, the object refused to materialize. Ye Xiu yelled in frustration, "What the hell, how am I supposed to summon it? Nobody taught me!"

Old Liu paid Ye Xiu no mind, for he was already fully enveloped by the zombies. These creatures possessed near-zero intelligence, yet their fearlessness made them the ultimate fighting force. No matter how spectacularly Old Liu danced within their ranks, they had only one objective: to bite.

"Aargh!" Suddenly, several zombies dropped from the rooftop directly in front of Ye Xiu, pinning him to the ground. Their mouths resembled human ones, but their tongues were lined with saw-like barbs. At this rate, it would take them only a few more savage attacks to tear Ye Xiu limb from limb.

"Clang…" With a sharp resonance, Ye Xiu instinctively threw up an arm to ward off their snapping jaws. In that very instant, the pure black Death Scythe materialized in his right hand as if of its own accord. It rested against his forearm, emitting a faint, spectral glow. Its appearance alone was enough to block the zombies' razor-sharp teeth.

Ye Xiu's confidence surged. He gripped the scythe and swung it in a sweeping arc overhead. A sudden gale erupted, sending the surrounding zombies either flying into the air or being instantly dismembered.

"A divine artifact is truly a divine artifact; worth every bit of hype," Old Liu seemed to see the scene unfolding by Ye Xiu. He maneuvered his Thin-Blade Knife, which neatly entangled itself with the haft of Ye Xiu's scythe, carrying a spray of zombie gore as he flew past Ye Xiu and landed in front of him. He scrutinized the scythe from top to bottom, grinning, "With this thing, we won't have to worry about severing the Soul of the Corpse Flower!"

"Watch your back!" Ye Xiu, unable to tolerate Old Liu’s lingering admiration, felt another desperate wave of zombies charging. He raised the scythe and slashed casually, stirring up continuous streams of violet energy. When this energy touched the zombies, it instantly incinerated them to ash.

"Whoosh..." The Corpse Flower seemed jolted awake by the scythe's power. Suddenly, the wind intensified, scattering petals that swirled directly around the two men.

Old Liu quickly checked his clothing and sighed in disappointment, "Damn it, my isolation incense has worn off."

"Perfect! You draw those petals away so I can get to hacking at this cursed archway!" Ye Xiu kicked Old Liu aside. True to expectation, the wind of petals immediately shifted its focus toward Old Liu as he moved. Ye Xiu seized the opportunity and bolted toward the base of the archway.

"You..." Old Liu started to curse, but the swarm of petals behind him was not something to trifle with. He used his Thin-Blade Knife to launch himself onto the opposite rooftop, while the wall of petals slammed against the wall and shot skyward instead.

"Hah!" Ye Xiu cut down every zombie blocking his path. Dust and gore filled the air along that stretch of road. When he finally reached the base of the archway, he didn't waste time assessing the Corpse Flower's properties; instead, he ignited the violet flame on one hand to propel himself into the air. Just as he ascended, the Corpse Flower seemed to sense his presence and spat out countless tentacles from within the archway, attempting to block his advance.

Ye Xiu bent at the waist, raising the scythe high, spinning it with one hand. Instantly, violet energy billowed from the blade, meeting the incoming tentacles in a fiery friction. It took no time at all for the Death Scythe to gain the upper hand. The endless tentacles proved to be nothing against the scythe's razor edge, swiftly vanishing into nothingness. Seeing the Night Raven Alley archway fully exposed before him, a surge of joy filled him as he gripped the scythe with both hands and brought it down with crushing force.

"Bo-dang..." The sound echoed across the desolate landscape, and the entire world seemed to shake violently from the impact. Ye Xiu endured the flashes of red light emanating from within the archway, tightening his grip on the scythe and applying more pressure, forcefully carving through the characters for 'Night Raven Alley.' The moment his feet touched the ground, Ye Xiu heard the surrounding zombies all lift their heads and let out terrible, tragic wails.

"We did it!" Old Liu was shaken off the rooftop as well. He had expected to be annihilated by the petals below, but now, not only had the petals vanished, but the once-rampant zombies lay lifeless on the ground.

Ye Xiu panted heavily, his hands still trembling from the collision between the scythe and the archway. He knew he had succeeded, for he had watched the archway crumble beside him. From this moment on, Ye Xiu finally understood true power—the power of the Asura Clan, power capable of slaying anything.

"Wait! Retreat, quickly!" Old Liu had been sauntering toward Ye Xiu, but now he roared, suddenly grabbing Ye Xiu and using his Thin-Blade Knife to propel them back several dozen feet. He crouched low, his eyes fixed on the spot where the archway had stood.

Ye Xiu dragged the scythe, completely bewildered by the situation. Through the swirling dust, he slowly turned his gaze toward the archway. Where the tall structure once stood, there was now only a bizarre elm tree. The trunk clearly bore the semblance of a human face—the very same tree-face they had encountered when they first arrived. But its strangeness went further: instead of a canopy of lush leaves, the elm tree bore a single, deep red flower bud, tightly closed. Surrounding this bud floated an endless array of tentacles, each tipped with glistening, sharp fangs.

"Hah..." A heavy gust of air escaped Old Liu's nostrils. He pounded the ground with his fist, grinding his teeth. "What you just severed was merely the Corpse Flower's phantom form. The real Corpse Flower has only now revealed itself."

Ye Xiu wiped the dust from his face, stood up, and slung the scythe onto his back. Gazing at the flower, he couldn't help but ask, "Why does the Corpse Flower look like this? Wasn't that elm tree the core of the formation? Why is it here now?"