“Ugh… monk… Taoist priests, and… and a sword cultivator, heh… heh, quite… quite a complete lineup.”
The zombie turned to the group, its eyes flashing with red light, speaking haltingly.
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, teasing, “Is this guy a stutterer?”
The others, “…”
The zombie’s gaze sharpened.
Yan Hongxia explained earnestly, “It’s probably been a long time since it spoke, so it’s not used to it. It might get better soon.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
“Hmph! You… you sit by and let the false Jing Dynasty… wreak havoc. All of you… are… are descendants of traitors and rebels!”
The zombie spoke sinisterly, its words growing smoother, “You… you broke my spell. Are you… ready to… to pay the price?”
“Send you to the heavens!” Daoist Jiuzhen declared firmly, “The previous dynasty fell over six hundred years ago. You should’ve been dead long ago!”
“By the Heavenly Venerable’s decree, five thunders strike from above, descend!”
“Crack!”
A mental ripple flashed, and a golden bolt of lightning formed in the sky, instantly striking the zombie. Immediately after, a second greenish-blue divine thunder condensed and followed.
In the blink of an eye, five thunderbolts of five elemental colours had struck the zombie’s head.
“Disperse!”
The zombie swung its fists repeatedly, using its corpse qi and fists harder than refined iron to shatter all five thunderbolts.
“Crackle!”
Lu Zheng saw clearly, though the thunderbolts were dispersed, the zombie’s fists bore charred wounds, with five-coloured lightning flickering before being expelled by its corpse qi.
The next moment, the zombie felt its body tighten, only to notice faint wisps of cloud qi swirling around it.
Though thin, the cloud qi tightly bound it, constantly trying to seep into its body.
“Open!”
Rolling black smoke and corpse qi surged, clashing with the white cloud qi, locking in a stalemate.
Two Taoist masters attacked together, yet they were evenly matched with the zombie!
“Amitabha!”
Guangyue chanted a Buddhist mantra, swinging his staff. The golden light from the relic above his head condensed, merging into the staff, forming a large swastika rune.
He shot forward, rushing to the zombie and striking with his staff.
“Careful!”
“Don’t get close!” Daoist Mingzhang urgently warned.
“Roar!”
With a guttural, inhuman growl, the zombie’s right arm broke free from Daoist Mingzhang’s cloud qi restraint, its hand clawing toward Guangyue’s throat.
Its five fingers pierced through Guangyue’s Buddhist light, bypassing his staff, ignoring the staff’s attack on its head, aiming to trade injury for life, intending to kill Guangyue with one grab.
Guangyue’s pupils shrank!
“Clang!”
A red flying sword struck the zombie’s palm, deflecting it to graze past Guangyue’s cheek.
“Clang!”
At the same time, another sword light pierced the zombie’s forehead, but only forced its head back, leaving a small dent.
“Bang!”
Guangyue’s staff smashed into the zombie’s head, Great Sun Buddhist light flooding in, the swastika rune suppressing it. He immediately retreated, drenched in cold sweat.
“Thanks, Brother Daoist, thanks, Miss Yan!”
“This thing’s too tough!” Yan Hongxia shouted in shock.
“Aim for its eyes!” Lu Zheng called.
Yan Hongxia muttered, “I just aimed for its eyes.”
“Again!”
Lu Zheng shouted, crouching low and sinking into the ground.
The next moment, the zombie felt the ground beneath it give way, half its body sinking into the earth.
“Ugh… Earth Travel Technique!”
As it thrust a hand into the ground, Lu Zheng emerged behind it, raising his embroidered spring saber, blood qi surging.
“Slash!”
“Hit!” Yan Hongxia’s flying sword struck simultaneously, though the zombie tilted its head, still avoiding its eyes.
“By the nine heavens, thunder strikes, break!”
“Flying clouds break evil, swiftly!”
Another barrage of attacks scattered the zombie’s surrounding corpse qi, leaving visible wounds on its body.
“Bang!”
The zombie blasted apart the surrounding earth and stone, instantly darting out. Ignoring its injuries, it used black smoke and corpse qi to withstand the attacks, charging toward Daoist Mingzhang and Daoist Jiuzhen.
Their evil-dispelling powers caused it the most harm.
“Get back!”
Guangyue appeared before it again.
This time, Guangyue was smarter, timing his move perfectly. The Bright Relic shielded him, its golden light eroding the corpse qi, while his staff, like a spear, struck the zombie’s chest.
With one strike, the zombie was pushed back, and Guangyue retreated with the momentum.
Behind, Lu Zheng raised his saber, unleashing a Mountain-Splitting Strike. A tiger’s shadow roared, the blade reaching the zombie’s head.
The zombie twisted, clawing at Lu Zheng’s chest.
But Lu Zheng, trained in martial arts, reacted swiftly. His left hand blocked the zombie’s wrist, deftly dodging the grab, while his right hand’s saber continued, making intimate contact with the zombie’s neck.
Though it only cut half an inch into the skin, the blood qi disrupted the corpse qi within.
The zombie fell, thunder and cloud qi following, jolting its body and forcing it back to its original spot.
A flurry of fierce moves, yet it still stood in place…
“Aaah!!!”
The zombie’s eyes glowed red, its hands waving wildly, corpse qi surging, forcing Lu Zheng to dodge and retreat, joining Yan Hongxia in attacking with flying swords.
…
With Lu Zheng and Yan Hongxia’s ranged physical attacks, Guangyue’s close-range mage containment, and Daoist Jiuzhen and Mingzhang’s long-range spell attacks, the zombie, despite its toughness and speed, was pinned in place, unable to threaten the group.
“Aaah!!!”
“Damn it, if my divine powers were fully restored, how could you lot force me to this point!” The zombie’s eyes reddened, but it soon gave a strange laugh, “Too bad, none of you will leave alive!”
As it spoke, the zombie didn’t advance but retreated, glancing at the deep pit it had been knocked into, then turned, waving its hands to dig further into the ground.
“What’s it doing?” Guangyue asked, astonished.
“Is it trying to escape by digging, like Brother Lu?” Yan Hongxia was also stunned. “Is its brain broken?”
“No!” Daoist Jiuzhen unleashed another thunder spell, striking not only the zombie but also the mountain’s core. “The mountain’s hollow. There’s something inside!”
“Hm?” Daoist Mingzhang’s eyes flashed, his cloud qi forming a net to envelop the zombie. “Stop it!”
Without a word, Lu Zheng sank into the ground, not to block the zombie but to head straight for the mountain’s core.
After burrowing through a zhang of earth, it turned to hard stone. Lu Zheng frowned, continuing with the Earth Travel Technique through the rock.
After another ten zhang, the ground gave way, and he entered a vast mountain core space, hundreds of zhang wide. Tapping the wall, he landed lightly on the ground.
“Hahaha, useless! Only I can wield the Corpse Control Flag, and it’s fused with three thousand iron corpses. You can’t take it!” The zombie’s voice echoed through the depths, reverberating in the mountain core.
Lu Zheng scanned the area, a smirk forming, “Well, I’ll just have to try!”
