Old Wang Village belonged to Tonglin County, but it lay deep in the mountains, extremely remote. The nearest town, Hezuo Town, was twenty li away along mountain paths.
The Wang family had lived in Old Wang Village for generations. From Old Master Wang’s grandfather onwards, they had left to seek a living elsewhere, moving first from the village to Hezuo Town, then from Hezuo Town to Tonglin County.
Now the Wang family counted as wealthy landowners in Tonglin County. Old Master Wang’s eldest son had already opened a shop in Yizhou Prefecture, steadily expanding the business to the provincial capital.
With Wang Xiaowan, a disciple of the Qingwei Palace, protecting the family from behind, the Wangs were advancing securely and steadily.
No matter how far they went, however, the ancestral graves remained in Old Wang Village. Old Master Wang’s grandfather and father were both buried here, and when his time came, he would naturally be laid to rest here too.
Since Old Master Wang usually lived in the county town, he only hired people for simple tidying. A proper restoration of the graves happened only every few years.
Last time they returned, they had encountered a zombie that injured Wang Xiaowan, so there had been no chance to repair the graves.
Now that Wang Xiaowan had succeeded in her cultivation, she had come back specifically to restore the ancestral tombs, honour the ancestors, and let the forebears know that the younger generation had achieved something.
…
“After finishing the repairs yesterday, I sent all the workers down the mountain to Hezuo Town,” Wang Xiaowan said. “I kept watch in town overnight. Nothing happened, so I hurried back to the county first thing this morning.”
By now the group had flown above Old Wang Village. Through the clouds they could see villagers coming and going, farmers sweating in the fields, tending crops, feeding chickens, weaving baskets, and washing clothes.
Lu Zheng focused his senses for a moment. Yan Hongxia shook her head first. “Nothing wrong in the village.”
Lu Zheng nodded. The white clouds beneath their feet rolled forward, passing over two small hills until they reached the graveyard behind Old Wang Village.
“Here it is!” Wang Xiaowan pointed to a flat area on the left where a cluster of graves had clearly just been restored. “This whole area belongs to our Wang family ancestors.”
Lu Zheng nodded but showed no intention of descending. Instead he sent out his divine sense, sweeping repeatedly across the nearby mountains.
He found nothing.
“Let’s go down and take a look,” Yan Hongxia said, then dropped first. Ao Qi followed instantly.
Lu Zheng did not mind. If he were alone he would be more cautious, but with Yan Hongxia and Ao Qi, two experts almost as strong as himself, even a demon over a thousand years old would not stand a chance against the three of them.
So Lu Zheng also descended, bringing Liu Qingyan, Du Yueyao, and Wang Xiaowan safely to the ground.
Yan Hongxia flicked her hand, sending out a burst of sword qi that scooped up a chunk of earth.
“Corpse qi!”
Wang Xiaowan had not sensed it because her cultivation was too low, but the moment Yan Hongxia held the soil she detected faint corpse qi within it.
“It’s a zombie!”
Ao Qi frowned. “The ground doesn’t seem to have been deliberately cursed. It looks more like it was soaked unintentionally.”
Yan Hongxia nodded. “And the contamination is very even. Could it be…”
Ao Qi’s brow creased. “Underground? That’s going to be troublesome.”
“Brother Lu, I’m afraid we’ll have to rely on you,” Yan Hongxia said, turning to Lu Zheng.
Ao Qi blinked, not understanding.
Lu Zheng nodded. “Got it. I’ll go down first and scout.”
The next instant he released Liu Qingyan’s hand, crouched slightly, and vanished into the earth.
Ao Qi’s eyes widened in shock. “Lu Zheng knows earth-travelling arts?”
During their dozen or so days of sparring, Lu Zheng had never once used earth-travelling, so this was the first time Ao Qi learned he knew such an unusual spell.
She turned to Yan Hongxia. “You knew he could do that?”
Yan Hongxia nodded. “Of course!”
Ao Qi glared. “Then why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Yan Hongxia blinked innocently. “You never asked. What was there to say?”
Ao Qi, “…”
She finally understood how Lu Zheng had felt when he first asked Yan Hongxia why she had never mentioned the sword-refining method.
Ao Qi’s eye twitched. She glanced at Yan Hongxia’s ample chest. Did women really have to choose between breasts and brains?
Although they might be facing an enemy, the look in Ao Qi’s eyes still made Liu Qingyan and the other two women struggle not to laugh.
The next moment, however, everyone’s expressions changed.
“Rooaaar!!!”
A desolate, hoarse roar rose from underground. The ground beneath their feet shook violently.
“Zombie!”
“It’s underground!?”
“Such thick corpse qi!”
Whoosh!
Lu Zheng shot back up from the earth.
“What’s the situation?” everyone asked urgently.
“Deep underground there’s an underground palace built by a cultivator. Even with arrays and runes reinforcing it, it’s half collapsed,” Lu Zheng said quickly. “I estimate it’s at least several hundred years old, possibly over a thousand.
Inside is an altar with a zombie lying on it. Corpse qi is leaking unconsciously, soaking the surrounding soil and affecting other creatures in the ground.”
After a pause, he continued, “I noticed the corpses in the nearby graves are starting to turn into corpse puppets. I’m guessing the zombie Xiaowan met last year was one that woke up early!”
Wang Xiaowan, “…”
“When I entered the palace, I startled it awake.” Lu Zheng shrugged helplessly. “Didn’t expect this zombie to be quite strong and to have such a sharp nose. Everyone get ready to fight.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a surge of powerful corpse qi erupted beneath their feet.
Startled, the group split into three directions. The spot where they had stood exploded, and a black shadow burst out of the ground and soared into the sky.
“Zombie!”
“What thick corpse qi!”
Yet Ao Qi and Yan Hongxia’s eyes lit up. Yan Hongxia moved fastest. Without even using her sword pellet, she flicked dozens of sword qi streaks at the shadow to test the waters.
“Rooaaar!!!”
With a roar, dense corpse qi weakened the sword qi. The remaining streaks struck the figure with a series of clangs. The shadow crashed back down with a boom.
Only now could they see clearly: the zombie wore tattered robes, its skin dark cyan and gleaming like tempered steel. Its eyes were black shot with red, filled with killing intent. Its claws were sharp as an eagle’s, corpse poison drifted from it like smoke, and its fangs resembled those of a mountain troll.
“This old man still had ten years before emerging to slaughter a hundred thousand and attain the Dao. Since you have disturbed my seclusion, you can all…”
“Ahem! This old man has lived alone underground for many years and was bored, so I was only joking. Seeing as you are all young and ignorant, I will not hold it against you. Disperse now and do not disturb my seclusion again.”
