Chapter Seventy: Guiding the Way

“Master, don’t let her leave just yet. Take a drop of blood from her. The zombie you saw just now became what it is because it drank her blood. If we don’t kill that zombie tonight, this woman will surely die.”

I gave a bitter laugh. At first, I hadn’t thought much of it, but now, seeing Li Lina—clearly frightened and lost—I realized she was a pitiable woman. In this society, purity is nearly impossible to maintain.

Just then, Li Lina tried to slip away. I stepped forward, blocking her path, and spoke softly, “I need to borrow something from you.”

Li Lina stared blankly for a few seconds before asking, “What is it?”

“A drop of your blood.”

Without wasting further words, I moved swiftly and seized her hand. I felt her whole body tremble—she was utterly terrified. I squeezed her wrist, and she cried out in pain; fresh blood welled from her bandaged wound.

“Yang Dong, you—”

Before she could finish, a drop of her blood fell, immediately enveloped by some strange force.

Seeing this, I didn’t say anything more to her. With a flick of my wrist, a tracking talisman flew from my hand, shaking the entire room. Li Lina, witnessing the scene, turned pale and fainted right there.

I was at a loss for words. I told Nie Xiaoke to use the drop of blood for divination, while I carried Li Lina back inside—after all, lying here was hardly decent.

After settling Li Lina, I stepped outside. The yellow talisman still floated before Nie Xiaoke.

“By the way, Nie Xiaoke, have you found any trace of Yinyin? I suspect she’s been captured by the one causing trouble!”

Nie Xiaoke nodded.

I was worried about Yinyin too, but she was a ghost of considerable age and surely had some means of self-preservation. For now, the most urgent matter was solving the issue with Old Master Zhou.

“Release!”

As soon as the word left my lips, the yellow talisman shot forward, Li Lina’s drop of blood merging into it and vanishing. The talisman flew off toward a nearby path.

“Follow it!”

I grabbed the Sword of All Beings, and with Nie Xiaoke’s power, my speed rivaled that of a speeding car.

Three minutes later, the talisman halted at a small grove on the eastern outskirts of Chengdu, at the edge of the plains, just before the vast mountains. The talisman hovered before me, Li Lina’s blood swirling within.

My heart sank. If Nie Xiaoke’s tracking spell had brought us here, then the zombie that Old Master Zhou had become must be in this forest.

But it was pitch-black—no light at all, not even the moon was clear.

“Master, be careful!”

I nodded, gripping the Sword of All Beings, standing beneath the talisman’s faint golden glow to observe my surroundings.

A foul stench soon drifted to me—the unmistakable scent of corpses. There was no doubt: Old Master Zhou was near. Though he hadn’t fully transformed, he was terrifying; someone had forcibly turned him into a zombie, sealing his three souls and seven spirits within his body. Whoever did this must hate him deeply to torment him so.

I stood still, scrutinizing the area, feeling the corpse aura growing thicker, when a raspy voice sounded.

“Boy, tonight is your death day!”

The voice sounded familiar.

“It’s Master Wu Wang!” Nie Xiaoke exclaimed.

My heart sank. This was no longer the Wu Wang who had sought to create a yin-yang corpse, but the grave digger who had escaped from the Buddha’s treasure land. He had helped build the treasure land years ago, so he was no ordinary figure—his remaining soul alone was terrifying.

“What do you want? Why involve Old Master Zhou in our grievance?”

The croaky voice issued once more from the dense corpse aura.

“Naive. That old fool and I have bitter enmity from past lives. Tonight, I claim my revenge. His life span isn’t up, so Ghost City won’t take him; I’m borrowing his body for a while. Boy, it seems you’ve had some fortunate encounters. But after tonight, your luck will be mine!”

“Never!”

I stepped forward and struck with my sword.

Nie Xiaoke instantly returned to the Sword of All Beings to oversee the grand formation.

“Foolish!”

Wu Wang’s raspy voice echoed like a crow in the night.

I dodged back several steps, and at that moment, the tracking talisman above exploded with a buzz, plunging the area into darkness.

“Light!”

At this critical moment, I didn’t hesitate—pulled out three Bright Fire Talismans and tossed them into the air. Three flames ignited, illuminating the night as if it were day. These talismans were exceedingly difficult to craft, and I was not yet skilled enough to make them, barely able to use them. Chen Chuyi had told me that three Bright Fire Talismans could form a small formation, shining like daylight in the darkness.

For now, I couldn’t form such a grand array, but the fire allowed me to see my surroundings. Since Wu Wang was behind this, Yinyin must be in his grasp—she could be in grave danger.

As the flames lit up, I darted forward, standing beneath their glow, when suddenly a chilling aura enveloped me.

A hand clamped down on my shoulder.

Ah!

I cried out instinctively, spinning around to see Old Master Zhou, his face shrouded in dark energy. In the center of his forehead was a green stone, pulsating with eerie light…