Chapter 107: Slaying the Malignant Corpse, A Debt of Gratitude

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A zombie had come!

It was the very same creature that had run rampant through Qian Family Village, the one he had discovered lying in the small hill.

Outside his room was a corridor. He remembered there was also a small window overlooking the rear courtyard. He gave Little Yin a low command.

“Stay close to me.”

Then he hurried from the room and looked outside through the small window.

At that moment, he finally saw the creature clearly.

It was a tall figure dressed in blazing-red wedding robes, with an official’s cap on its head. Its entire face was hideous and terrifying, and two fangs protruded from its mouth. It bounded forward in great leaps, radiating a savage momentum.

The creature was not especially tall, but each leap carried it more than ten feet. Though it still seemed to be fifty or sixty feet away, Chen Yushu estimated that it would take only two or three leaps for it to reach his rear courtyard and break into his room.

Horrified, Chen Yushu immediately turned and ran.

He employed the Eight Steps Chasing the Cicada technique at once.

The Eight Steps Chasing the Cicada, cultivated to the level of mastery, was remarkably swift. Before long, he reached his front courtyard. Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped over the courtyard wall.

Boom!

At that very moment, the door to the rear courtyard was smashed open.

The zombie had entered. It charged straight into his room.

Chen Yushu did not dare look back. After leaping out of the courtyard, he once more used the Eight Steps Chasing the Cicada and sped toward the final residence.

“Brother Zhao! Brother Qi! Help! Please, save me!”

He soon reached the door of the corpse cultivator’s home and pounded on it with all his strength.

The other party seemed highly vigilant as well. A low voice quickly came from within.

“Who is it?”

Chen Yushu swiftly glanced toward his own home and happened to see the zombie bursting out from his rear courtyard.

He hurriedly called out, “I’m Chen Yushu from next door. Open the door!”

Anxious, he quickly identified himself.

“What happened?”

Fortunately, although the two men had heard some commotion, they had not seen the zombie. They opened the door immediately.

Qi Jichuan recalled what Chen Yushu had told him that afternoon and hastily said, “He must have encountered some danger. He warned me earlier that he might need our help.”

His senior brother, Zhao Yufeng, had heard about it from him and was mentally prepared as well. He nodded, stepped past Chen Yushu, and immediately looked behind him.

Sure enough, a hideous zombie came charging toward them like a runaway beast.

Chen Yushu rushed into the courtyard and quickly said, “This zombie is ferocious. I’m no match for it. I ask both of you, seniors, to help me deal with it.”

As he spoke, he flung several talismans from his hand.

They were Exorcising Ghost Talismans.

The zombie had arrived as well, moving scarcely slower than Chen Yushu with his Eight Steps Chasing the Cicada.

Hiss!

With his throwing technique perfected, Chen Yushu sent the talismans flying with pinpoint accuracy. Nearly every one landed on the zombie’s head and immediately burst apart, filling the air with sizzling sounds.

Yet the talismans could only hinder its movements slightly. After pausing for the briefest moment, it charged forward again.

“What a vicious zombie,” Zhao Yufeng exclaimed.

“It’s an Evil Zombie!” Qi Jichuan said quickly.

“What did you do to provoke such a monster?”

Both men wore expressions of astonishment.

Qi Jichuan, still shocked, swiftly drew the long sword from his back and slashed down viciously.

The blade struck the zombie as though it had hit a solid wooden post. It barely tore through the creature’s flesh. The zombie merely slapped at him with one hand, and his sword was knocked aside.

“Careful! Don’t let it touch you!” Zhao Yufeng warned quickly, casting Chen Yushu a strange glance.

He had received the warning and guessed that the creature they would have to face was powerful, but he had never expected an Evil Zombie that had already developed such formidable cultivation and savage force.

Chen Yushu shrank his neck, but he truly had no other choice.

He had no confidence in dealing with this thing himself. After thinking it over, he could only turn to these two neighbors, who were the ones most capable of subduing it.

At least in his eyes, their strength was extraordinary—stronger even than the Earth Master Lu Yizhi, and naturally stronger than his own master, Su Ming.

Qi Jichuan, the Sword-Bearer, alone possessed three sticks of incense worth of cultivation. On top of that, he had martial prowess at the Inner Force Realm. Practicing both the mystical arts and martial arts, he was unquestionably one of the strongest among those with three sticks of cultivation.

As for the corpse cultivator Zhao Yufeng, he was Qi Jichuan’s senior brother. He was bound to be even more powerful.

“Understood! Its yin energy is truly dense. My heavy sword can’t even break through its aura.”

Qi Jichuan gave a low shout. He swiftly brushed a hand over his waist, and a bright-red token appeared in his grasp. He tossed it into the air, then rapidly formed hand seals.

“Go!”

A strange flame immediately rose from the token. Under his control, it shot rapidly toward the zombie.

At the same time, a small bell appeared in Zhao Yufeng’s hand. He tapped it lightly.

Jingle, jingle…

A clear ringing sound spread through the courtyard.

Boom!

A loud crash came from the direction of his rear courtyard. Then an enormously tall corpse burst out.

It was the corpse Chen Yushu had seen before.

Its features were even more sinister than those of the Evil Zombie, and its aura was no weaker. Bounding forward, it soon reached the front courtyard.

Seeing this, Chen Yushu did not dare remain idle.

He knew that what he had done this time was somewhat dishonorable, and he could not bring himself to stand by and watch.

He waved a hand and flung out several more spirit talismans.

Then he rapidly formed seals with both hands and pressed downward with force.

Boom!

The Yin-Subduing Art!

The Evil Zombie suddenly found itself facing three men whose auras were all formidable. For a moment, it hesitated, having never expected to charge straight into the lair of powerful opponents.

But an Evil Zombie was still an Evil Zombie. Its ferocity did not diminish in the slightest.

Roar!

It let out a low growl, then lunged forward, charging straight at Chen Yushu.

Of the three, he was naturally the one it hated most.

Not only had it “smelled” his aura within the Grudge Ghost Cavern, but it had also sensed a trace of the Ghost Bride’s resentment emanating from him.

It was an exceedingly mysterious aura. Just as someone who had killed many people would carry an air of murderous intent, a Yin Walker who had slain many ghosts would likewise carry a trace of their aura.

It was an aura unique to ghosts, evil spirits, and other supernatural beings. Ordinary people—even Yin Walkers—could not sense it.

But the Evil Zombie was itself an aberrant creature, and it was especially close to the Ghost Bride. Naturally, it could smell that trace of resentment.

Thus, he had always been its first target.

Yet at that moment, Chen Yushu’s talismans arrived—several more Exorcising Ghost Talismans. Although they posed no great threat, striking the zombie still caused its aura to fluctuate violently.

Immediately afterward, it felt a force of oppression descend upon it, as though it meant to crush it to the ground.

Of course, the pressure did not affect it greatly.

It was a zombie—an Evil Zombie.

But the flaming token that followed caused it to halt involuntarily.

Boom!

The token slammed into its body.

The terrifying force sent it staggering backward several steps.

At that very moment, the tall zombie charged over and engaged it in combat.

One was tall; the other was massive and sturdy.

When they clashed, the impacts boomed like thunder, shaking the entire small courtyard and sending clods of earth flying.

Faint disturbances came from the neighboring homes, as though the residents had been awakened.

“Jichuan, raise the formation!” Zhao Yufeng shouted.

Qi Jichuan nodded hurriedly and sped back into the room.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Yushu retreated several steps and continued flinging out spirit talismans.

House-Suppressing Talismans, Evil-Repelling Talismans…

Though they posed little threat to the Evil Zombie, they served admirably as distractions.

Most importantly, his aim was excellent. Even with the two zombies battling at tremendous speed, he could still strike the Evil Zombie accurately, constantly wearing away its yin energy and baleful aura.

At that moment, no one knew what movements Qi Jichuan had made, but the surrounding air suddenly rippled. It was as though an additional layer of gloomy haze had descended over the courtyard.

The sounds from outside seemed to be cut off as well. Naturally, those outside could barely hear anything happening within.

“Tell me. What exactly happened?”

The corpse he had raised was keeping the Evil Zombie occupied, so Zhao Yufeng finally had the chance to question Chen Yushu.

Even as he spoke, he shook the bell from time to time, apparently controlling the corpse and directing it to attack the Evil Zombie.

At other moments, he stepped in a strange pattern and performed one mystical technique after another, restraining the creature.

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“I don’t know the specifics either.

“But I suspect it has something to do with the Ghost Bride we killed when we went to Sky Origin Mountain. I was forced into a corner, so I had no choice but to ask you for help.”

Chen Yushu first shook his head, then quickly explained. His tone was no longer as tense as it had been at the beginning, because he had discovered that the two men were indeed tremendously powerful and had already begun suppressing the Evil Zombie.

“I suspect this zombie was the Ghost Bride’s lover. It came here to take revenge on me.”

As he spoke, Chen Yushu continued moving, occasionally flinging out another talisman.

Bang!

At that moment, Zhao Yufeng’s corpse appeared to have suffered a disadvantage. It could no longer withstand the Evil Zombie’s attacks and was hammered repeatedly. Not only had its legs been crippled, but a large section of its breastbone had caved in.

It felt no pain, and Zhao Yufeng continued controlling it from the side. Otherwise, it would have been beaten down long ago.

“Senior Brother, this doesn’t seem to be a naturally formed zombie. It’s a refined corpse.”

Qi Jichuan could not help speaking up.

“I know.

“There are plenty of people raising ghosts throughout Riverbend Town, but in all the months I’ve spent here, I haven’t seen a single person raising corpses. Even if there were one, he would probably be only a half-trained practitioner. Someone capable of raising a corpse to this level would be almost nonexistent—not only in Riverbend Town, but even in Sky River County.

“So I suspect this is the work of that old beast.”

Zhao Yufeng nodded. His gaze fell upon the Evil Zombie, and he sighed.

“That old beast truly had some skill. Even before his death, he left something behind. A Yin Ghost and a Yang Zombie—after only twenty years, they have already reached such a level.”

“Is there any chance of subduing it?” Qi Jichuan asked.

“Impossible.

“Unless we can break the old beast’s corpse-nurturing seal, even if we cripple this creature, we still won’t be able to control it.”

Zhao Yufeng shook his head.

“When that old beast taught me, he held more than one card in reserve. I can’t break his corpse-nurturing seal.”

“What a pity,” Qi Jichuan said with a sigh.

Chen Yushu, listening from the side, could not help raising his brows.

So this zombie had been refined by your master?

He knew a little about Yin Ghosts and Yang Zombies.

People born—or who died—on a yin year, yin month, and yin hour would often become especially powerful ghosts, making them ideal materials for refining ghost spirits.

By contrast, the corpses of those who died in a yang year, yang month, and yang hour were suitable for refining zombies.

Beyond these were Ultimate Yin Ghosts and Ultimate Yang Zombies. These referred to people born during a yin year, yin month, and yin hour who later died during another yin year, yin month, and yin hour, transforming into ghosts or zombies.

Such beings often grew at an astonishing rate after death. They were also exceptionally sinister and terrifying.

Of course, they were difficult to find.

After all, unless one was the midwife who delivered the child or the child’s biological parents, very few people would know another person’s exact birth details.

In this world, where ghosts and monsters ran rampant, even ordinary people knew some of the taboos surrounding such unusual births and would instinctively conceal the information.

The Ghost Bride and this Evil Zombie had probably been refined from people whose births and deaths had deliberately been controlled to occur at yin or yang times.

“Chen Yushu.

“We’ll help you deal with this Evil Zombie. But there is something we need your assistance with as well.”

Only then did Zhao Yufeng turn to Chen Yushu and speak.

“Hmm? What kind of help?”

Chen Yushu was startled.

“Every tradition has its own rules. Bringing this thing here violated those rules. We could have refused to help you.

“But since we intervened, you now owe us a favor.

“And that favor must be repaid.”

Qi Jichuan spoke seriously from the side.

Chen Yushu nodded.

He had heard something similar from Sister Qiao’er before.

A debt of gratitude was the hardest debt to repay.

But since he owed them, he had to make good on it.

This time, the first thing he had thought of was saving his own life. Although he had warned them in advance, they had been entirely within their rights to refuse to help.

Given their strength, they could have easily avoided the creature without intervening.

Therefore, he acknowledged that he owed them a favor.

“Good. As long as you agree.

“Let’s subdue this thing first. Little Black can’t hold out much longer.”

Zhao Yufeng spoke again.

Only then did he truly take action.

He shook the bell rapidly, stepped in the patterns of the celestial stride, and suddenly stamped his foot down with force.

Puff, puff, puff!

One hand after another suddenly shot out from the ground, swiftly grabbing the Evil Zombie by both legs.

Although its feet were restrained, the Evil Zombie still brought its fist down viciously upon Zhao Yufeng’s corpse.

With a bang, the corpse was sent flying backward. Another section of its chest nearly collapsed inward.

Qi Jichuan moved at the same time.

When he had entered the room moments earlier, he had taken something with him. Now he flung it out. It was a net, which rapidly spread over the Evil Zombie and enveloped its entire body.

The net seemed extremely unusual, clearly designed specifically for dealing with zombies and similar creatures. The instant it caught the Evil Zombie, it tightened rapidly, as though attempting to bind the entire creature.

“Roar!”

The zombie howled.

Its feet suddenly halted.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One corpse after another flew out of the ground.

Only then did Chen Yushu realize that corpses had been buried all across the courtyard beneath the earth. Clearly, they were all corpses cultivated by Zhao Yufeng.

However, their strength was obviously far inferior to that of his strongest corpse, and even more so to the Evil Zombie. After being shaken loose, all of them appeared badly injured.

One of them had even been stripped of its corpse aura and had completely reverted to an ordinary dead body.

The Evil Zombie exerted its strength.

Sizzle, sizzle…

Boom!

The net was torn apart.

The Evil Zombie roared and exhaled violently. Endless black vapor instantly poured from its mouth and nose.

In the blink of an eye, the entire courtyard was swallowed by it.

“Hold your breath!”

A voice rang out.

The instant the creature exhaled the black vapor, Chen Yushu had already instinctively stopped breathing.

But when he raised his eyes, the zombie had vanished from sight.

“Careful. This is corpse miasma. It can cloud the mind and distort the eyes.”

Both Zhao Yufeng and Qi Jichuan were experienced practitioners. They remained completely calm and could still call out warnings through the darkness.

Chen Yushu was no longer a novice either. Although the records in Li Chao’s Ghost-Seer Manual were not comprehensive, they contained many practical experiences. Faced with this situation, he instinctively entered a state of meditation.

Almost at once, he sensed the Evil Zombie’s presence. It was standing not far from his side and had already launched itself toward him.

Little Yin had been following him all along. But against an Evil Zombie of this caliber, her strength was far too weak. She rushed forward and tried to embrace it, only to be kicked aside and sent flying.

Chen Yushu’s heart jolted. He swiftly pulled a thick stack of talismans from his robes and flung them out.

Sizzle, sizzle…

Crack!

As the baleful aura was continually worn away, thunder and lightning exploded through the courtyard.

The Evil Zombie abruptly halted. A large portion of the baleful and yin energy surrounding its body dissipated.

Immediately afterward, Chen Yushu stepped seven times. Streams of earth energy transformed into spiritual light and surged violently toward the Evil Zombie.

“Nicely done!”

A voice of praise rang out. Qi Jichuan leaped forward, sweeping his long sword across before slashing down with force.

Clang!

The impact left his arm numb.

The Evil Zombie’s body had been tempered within a land of Ultimate Yin. It was far too powerful.

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Even so, his sword had cut noticeably deeper than before.

Before the creature could recover, he kicked it.

The Evil Zombie did not move an inch, but Qi Jichuan used the force of the impact to withdraw his sword.

Jingle, jingle!

Zhao Yufeng rapidly shook his bell. One zombie after another crawled to its feet and swiftly surrounded the Evil Zombie, including Little Black, the corpse that had been sent flying earlier.

Zhao Yufeng then hung the bell from his waist and reached over his shoulder. To Chen Yushu’s surprise, he drew a sword as well.

It was not made of iron, however, but wood, and it was much shorter than an ordinary long sword.

After drawing it, Zhao Yufeng pricked his fingertip, and blood immediately welled up. He then wrote rapidly in the air above the wooden sword.

Chen Yushu’s sharp eyes caught sight of the characters. They appeared to be a type of sigil.

A trace of azure light suddenly emerged along the wooden sword. Zhao Yufeng raised it, rushed forward, and drove it forcefully into the zombie’s body.

Puff!

The wooden sword seemed to disregard both the protective yin energy around the Evil Zombie and its incomparably solid flesh. It pierced straight through.

Sizzle, sizzle…

Vast streams of yin energy rapidly poured from the wound.

Seizing the opportunity, Qi Jichuan advanced again and slashed horizontally.

Puff!

The blade cut deep into the bone, nearly severing the zombie’s entire shoulder.

Chen Yushu’s eyes lit up. He immediately used the Yin-Subduing Art once more.

Boom!

The zombie’s entire body swayed, and it dropped to one knee.

At that moment, Chen Yushu possessed the cultivation of two sticks of incense. Having used the Yin-Subduing Art at the level of mastery once again, its power was naturally far greater than before.

Earlier, the Evil Zombie’s strength had simply been too great. In addition, as a corpse possessed by a ghost, it possessed unusually strong resistance to techniques designed specifically to restrain ghosts and monsters, allowing it to ignore the art.

But powerful resistance did not mean complete immunity. Anything sinister and yin-aligned would be affected by his technique.

Now, after the zombie’s yin energy had been continually eroded by Chen Yushu’s talismans and then further drained by Zhao Yufeng’s sword, scarcely one part in ten remained. Naturally, the Yin-Subduing Art was able to restrain it.

Qi Jichuan seized the opportunity and swung his sword again.

“Roar!”

The Evil Zombie bellowed. The zombies clinging to it were all flung away.

It struggled violently, turned, and ran.

It was afraid now.

The three men before it were each more formidable than the last, and all of them could injure it. For the first time, it felt fear.

But how could Chen Yushu possibly allow it to escape?

He flung out the last few talismans on his body in one motion.

These had been drawn only that day: high-grade Exorcising Ghost Talismans and high-grade Lightning-Calling Talismans. Their power far surpassed that of the earlier talismans.

He cast them all at once.

Sizzle, sizzle…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, they completely dispersed the final layer of protective yin energy around the zombie.

Chen Yushu then stepped seven times. As the earth energy churned, it transformed into a peculiar force that surged violently into the zombie’s body.

Boom!

Its steps abruptly halted, and its body staggered backward several paces.

Chen Yushu rapidly formed hand seals and employed the Baleful-Energy Transformation Art.

Sizzle, sizzle…

The technique rapidly consumed the yin energy within the zombie’s body.

“Roar!”

The Evil Zombie howled, seemingly furious beyond measure.

At that moment, a figure suddenly rushed over and shoved a mass of black material into its mouth.

Boom!

An extraordinarily dense yin energy rapidly poured from the zombie’s mouth.

Zhao Yufeng had made his move.

Only then did Qi Jichuan swing his sword once more.

Puff!

He severed one of the zombie’s arms.

Chen Yushu’s heart stirred.

He grabbed the long saber at his waist. He carried it with him at all times; it had been a gift from his master. Although it was merely a standard-issue saber, it felt familiar in his hand.

He rushed forward. A flash of saber light swept past, and for an instant it seemed as though six blades had struck at once. He slashed viciously at the Evil Zombie’s remaining arm.

Puff!

Although the blow required considerable effort, he still managed to sever the creature’s other arm.

Puff, puff, puff…

By then, because of the black substance, the yin energy and corpse aura within the Evil Zombie had completely drained away. It collapsed onto the ground and lay there motionless.

“Is it dead?”

Chen Yushu let out a long breath, feeling as though he had narrowly survived a catastrophe.

“My senior brother’s black donkey hoof is the bane of zombies. Once he shoved it into the creature’s mouth, how could it possibly survive?”

Qi Jichuan chuckled and spoke admiringly.

“Black donkey hoof?” Chen Yushu asked in confusion.

“It is a tool designed specifically for dealing with zombies. It looks like a donkey’s hoof, but it is made from more than a dozen different materials. Against zombies, it is extraordinarily effective.”

Zhao Yufeng gave a calm explanation, then looked toward Chen Yushu.

“Still, Brother Chen, your skill with talismans is truly impressive. If you had not thrown out so many talismans and greatly weakened its yin and baleful energy, eliminating it would not have been so easy.”

“That’s right. Your mystical techniques are powerful as well.

“You should have only possessed one stick of incense worth of cultivation… Wait. You’ve already reached two sticks? When did you break through?”

Qi Jichuan nodded in agreement. Then he looked at Chen Yushu, and a faint gleam flashed through his eyes. His expression suddenly changed, filled with astonishment.

They had long since realized that Chen Yushu was not only an apprentice at an apothecary but also a Yin Walker. They had also discerned early on that he possessed the cultivation of one stick of incense.

That was one reason they had been willing to help him when he came to them this time.

What Qi Jichuan had not expected was that Chen Yushu had quietly advanced to the level of two sticks of incense.

“I broke through within the past two days,” Chen Yushu replied.

“And your saber technique is clearly no ordinary skill either.

“Even with the Evil Zombie’s yin energy drained, an ordinary martial artist in the Flesh-Refining Realm—or even one who had entered the Inner Refinement Realm—would have found it difficult to sever its arm.

“Your martial cultivation should still be at the Outer Tempering stage. Your blood and vitality are substantial, but your breath is not yet enduring, which clearly means you have not begun refining your internal organs.

“To accomplish this much at your age, your progress in martial arts is far from poor.”

As Qi Jichuan spoke, his curiosity toward Chen Yushu grew.

He himself practiced both the mystical arts and martial arts, so he instinctively felt a certain closeness toward others who followed the same path.

“You flatter me.”

Chen Yushu waved his hands repeatedly. Then, looking at the two men with curiosity, he asked, “What was the favor you mentioned earlier?”

“After some time, we will need to open a tomb. You will have to help us with the preliminary work.”

Zhao Yufeng spoke first. Then he shook his spirit elixir and discovered that of the five or six walking corpses, only two were still moving, including Little Black, the corpse he had refined with special care.

In other words, all the other corpse materials had been ruined.

The loss pained him.

After all, suitable corpses for refining were not easy to find.

They also had to be unclaimed corpses.

If a corpse had relatives, they would have buried it properly soon after death. To steal such a corpse would be far too immoral. He would neither do such a thing nor stoop to it.

Thus, he could only search the mass burial grounds repeatedly. After a long time, he had finally found several suitable corpses, only for all of them to be destroyed.

Fortunately, although Little Black was injured, the damage was not serious. A period of rest would be enough for it to recover.

“Could it be the century-old tomb—the tomb of the Grand Martial Master?”

Chen Yushu’s heart gave a jolt as he asked the question.