Once its shoulder had been lopped off, Lu Zheng was ready for the zombie’s frenzied counter-attack.
Sure enough, after failing to escape and suffering heavy wounds, the zombie’s primal ferocity began overwhelming its reason.
Its black-and-red eyes grew ever redder, murderous rage almost eclipsing its sanity.
Though this old zombie’s cultivation was higher, its self-control was far inferior to the one they had slain in the secret realm of Jiming Temple last time.
“Die!”
The old zombie roared, completely ignoring Yan Hongxia and Ao Qi. Corpse qi swirled around it, its aura somehow three times stronger than before.
Then it charged madly at Lu Zheng, the one who had ruined everything, intent on tearing him to pieces.
Lu Zheng wanted to disengage and leave the zombie to the two women, but that was impossible now.
Of course Yan Hongxia and Ao Qi were not going to just stand there and watch, so it turned into a genuine group beating.
A true surround-and-pummel!
The three-foot sword beam darted and danced around the zombie, steadily shaving away the corpse qi that surged forth after its outburst.
Water dragon tornadoes crashed down from the sky. With every burst of spear-flower, corpse qi was blasted away in thick clouds.
Lu Zheng fought while retreating, layering thick white clouds in front of him. He refused to grapple close-up any longer. Flying Cloud Evil-Breaker Curse, Flowing Cloud Demon-Slaying Curse, White Cloud Palm Print, all were thrown out in rapid succession, keeping the zombie at arm’s length. He neither burrowed into the earth nor used Wind-Rain Immortal Step to dodge. He just teased it, letting it see him but never touch him.
Pure flirt-and-deny tactics!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Worthy of a foe that could fight any one of them one-on-one, the zombie hammered Lu Zheng for nearly the time of a cup of tea, and took the same beating from Yan Hongxia and Ao Qi. Its corpse qi showed no sign of weakening, though fresh sword scars and spear wounds now decorated its body.
But such an explosion of power could not last. After one more claw was blocked by layers of cloud qi, the zombie’s once-smooth, thick corpse qi finally stuttered.
White Cloud Palm Print!
Lu Zheng spun and slapped it flying with a backhand palm.
Then it was showtime for all three.
Sword qi, dragon might, Daoist spells…
Duang! Duang! Duang!
…
Buzz!
A strand of destiny light flowed into Lu Zheng’s account. Looking down at the zombie now chopped into more than a dozen pieces, even he couldn’t help grimacing.
That felt a bit… brutal.
“Awesome!”
“So satisfying!”
Yan Hongxia and Ao Qi landed together, one with hands clasped behind her back, the other with hands on hips, both wearing looks of utter contentment.
Liu Qingyan, Du Yueyao, and Wang Xiaowan hurried over, gathering around the corpse, pointing and exclaiming in curiosity.
“Who’d have thought there was a previous dynasty earl’s underground palace right beneath your ancestral graves?” Du Yueyao teased.
“Was this his fief? Why so remote?” Wang Xiaowan wondered.
Ao Qi shook her head. “His fief certainly wasn’t in the mountains. But if he built his palace in a crowded place, over centuries someone would inevitably discover it.”
“So that’s how it is…”
“He already chose a remote enough spot. Who’d have guessed that two hundred years later, war would drive people to settle here and accidentally expose him,” Liu Qingyan nodded, asking Wang Xiaowan, “Do you know when Old Wang Village was founded?”
“I heard six hundred years ago, during wartime, a group fled into the mountains, found this place, hid, and eventually stayed.”
Ao Qi understood.
When this old zombie built his palace, he probably never imagined war two centuries later would bring permanent residents to even this secluded spot.
“Alright, it’s over. Let’s go home,” Ao Qi said.
Only Wang Xiaowan nodded. Everyone else stared at her in astonishment.
Ao Qi blinked. “Why are you all looking at me?”
Lu Zheng sighed. “As expected of a princess of the Azure Dragon clan. Rich.”
“What do you mean?”
“His underground palace is right there. Kill the guy but don’t loot the house? That’s unprofessional!”
Ao Qi, “…”
Yan Hongxia grabbed Ao Qi’s arm, laughing. “It’s fine. After you’ve killed enough, you’ll get used to it.”
Ao Qi was speechless. Murder and robbery? Bandit behaviour! I’m a dragon princess. What treasure does the dragon palace lack?
But seeing everyone nod as though this were obvious, she could say nothing and simply followed them to the huge hole the zombie had blasted open.
After centuries asleep, the old zombie’s brain had clearly stiffened. Following Lu Zheng’s earth-travelling route, it had conveniently dug a passage wide enough for humans, half a zhang across.
“I’ll take point. Follow me!”
Lu Zheng called out, then strode in first. Next came the excited Yan Hongxia and the three women, with a distinctly uninterested Ao Qi bringing up the rear.
The old zombie’s palace lay a full hundred zhang underground. The space was enormous, almost the size of a football pitch, though half had collapsed, probably from geological shifts. Even heaven’s might could not be fully resisted by arrays. Shame it hadn’t just buried him for good.
“Wow! So much gold!”
“And jewels!”
Du Yueyao and Wang Xiaowan had once been ordinary mortals, so facing piles of treasure still thrilled them.
Lu Zheng and Yan Hongxia focused more on finding cultivation manuals, artefacts, or spiritual materials.
*Nine Revolutions Nine Grades Spiritual Void Scripture*. A Daoist school technique?
Lu Zheng flipped through it. The title sounded impressive, but it was only slightly better than the *Midnight Stillness Breathing Method*.
“Heh, no wonder he turned himself into a zombie.” Yan Hongxia laughed, waving a stone tablet.
“What’s that?”
*The Flying Zombie Scripture*.” Yan Hongxia handed it over. “The manual for refining oneself into a flying zombie and living another thousand years.”
“Damn, rare stuff. Living a thousand years isn’t easy,” Lu Zheng remarked.
“You could practise it,” Yan Hongxia said with a smirk. “With your talent, you’d definitely succeed.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
It seemed this old zombie had valued cultivation and wealth above all. No wonder he practised *The Flying Zombie Scripture* and stored mountains of gold and jewels in his resting place, probably intending to enjoy them after waking.
Instead, everything now belonged to Lu Zheng and the others as spoils of war.
“Let’s split it all!”
“Finders keepers. Take whatever you want!”
Ao Qi lacked for nothing and touched none of it. Yan Hongxia took a small packet of gold ingots, enough for her expenses for a long time.
Liu Qingyan and the other two women each picked some jewellery and called it a day.
Which left…
Lu Zheng blinked at the mountain of gold and silver and gems still in front of him.
“All mine?”
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
“Tsk tsk, struck it rich! From now on I’ll make two bowls of savoury tofu pudding every morning. Eat the salty one and throw away the sweet one!”
