Chapter Seventy-Six: The Corpse Tower

"All right, all right, all right, Master Yang, hurry..."

I did not wait for him to finish before hanging up. By then I could already sense how dire the situation had become.

Ignoring the pain in my body, I got to my feet and began packing. I took every talisman I had drawn earlier, stuffed several more peach-wood swords into my backpack, and then called Chen Chuyi.

He was still on the road. Unlike Xiyue, he did not possess the power to move through space at will, and even such movement had its limits. Chen Chuyi was in Shanxi, and there was still a long way to Chengdu, so he could only travel by car.

"What the hell? Damn it, something like this actually happened..."
After I told him everything from beginning to end, his voice began to shake with fear, and then he burst into curses.

"Damn it, that Forget-Me-Not Master really had heaven-sent luck to refine himself into a corpse ghost. But he is ruthless enough!" Of course, I did not tell Chen Chuyi that we had entered the treasure vault; that was far too shocking.

"Xiaodong, listen. Since this has happened, the only thing to do now is see whether there is any way to make amends. Go there first and get Xiyue to help. For the time being, you must keep the situation under control, and you absolutely have to seal that female zombie inside that building. I will call the police and have them think of a way. This is a matter that could become either very big or very small, Xiaodong, so you must not make a mistake!"

I nodded. I knew very well how terrifying it would be for a zombie to roam the streets. Moreover, Li Lina had originally been a woman with almost no self-control. Now that she had become a zombie, and with all the resentment she had harbored in life, she would probably bite anyone she saw. What was more, a zombie's power grew by constantly feeding on blood; under such conditions, the more blood it drank, the stronger it would become.

If this continued, many lives would be lost.

After hurriedly gathering my things, I left with Xiyue.

I was actually very worried about Xiyue. After all, it was already two or three in the morning, the very time when she was at her weakest, and under such circumstances her original power would naturally be reduced.

"Let's go. It's fine. A few little zombies are no match for me!"

I nodded. At that moment I thought of Zhao Wen. Since we were all in Chengdu, he should consider this a duty he could not refuse. As I spoke, I called him, but a woman answered. Her voice was very deep and cold, and I had the strange feeling that I was not speaking to an ordinary person.

After I repeated what I wanted to say, I did not care what attitude the woman had and hung up at once. Then Xiyue and I headed straight for the Gold Splendor Tower.

The Gold Splendor Tower was not far from the office. When we reached the residential complex beside it, every light in the buildings was on. After all, zombies were still somewhat afraid of light, and the people in the apartments were all screaming. It looked as though they had been thoroughly frightened by Li Lina. I took a few strides and was about to rush into the building when, from the darkness nearby, an old man suddenly appeared, carrying a huge divining banner. By the moonlight I could make out a few words written on it: the Fortune Teller...

I immediately felt a wave of irritation.

"Young man, I can see dark energy gathering over your brow. It looks as though you have been touched by a ghostly presence. Something is wrong with this building tonight. You must not go in!"

With a bitter smile, I said, "I know all that. But tonight I have to go in."

With that, I took another step forward and was about to charge toward the building.

"If you will not heed an old man's words, you will suffer for it before your eyes. Young man, you are still young. You must not go in. Besides, there is a foreign soul within you now. If it is not removed, I fear you will not live much longer."

I nodded.

"Young man, it seems you do not believe in fate!"

Perhaps sensing my impatience and my urgency, the old man slowly loosened his grip on my hand.

"Young man, if you let this old man set a dark omen for you and alter the formation on your body, I can save your life and raise you toward heaven!"

"How much?"

I casually blurted out those three words, then fixed my gaze on the building before me. At that moment I opened my yin-yang eyes and immediately saw corpse energy pouring from the tower. The thick miasma was almost wrapping itself around the entire apartment block. Though many lights were still on, they were utterly useless against the ever-shifting corpse energy.

"Why talk about money the moment you open your mouth? That is far too vulgar. Young man, such things exist for those who believe in them, and not for those who do not. If you trust me, pay a three-hundred-dollar deposit first. After I help you avoid disaster and bring you good fortune, you can pay the remaining six hundred. How does that sound?"

I turned to glance at the old man, and at that moment the moonlight suddenly flared bright. Xiyue flashed to my side and said softly, "Xiaodong, let's move quickly. It's on the third floor!"

I nodded. Earlier, when I saw that surging corpse energy, I had also seen the enormous figure on the third floor. No one else was there but Li Lina, and wrapped in the corpse energy, she looked terrifyingly huge.

At that moment, the fortune-teller beside me suddenly went rigid.

"You..."

"We are in the same line of work, only I am far more genuine than you."

With that, I flickered forward and charged directly toward the rolling corpse energy before me.

Behind me, the old man suddenly frowned and said, "Young man, this place is already a corpse building. Your power is nowhere near enough!"

He still tried to grab me, but Xiyue waved her hand and seized me instead. In a flash, we had entered the building. The moment I stepped inside, I felt a dense, oppressive corpse energy pressing down on me. More than that, I could clearly sense that the space around us had already grown blurred and indistinct under its corrosion.

"Xiyue, I'll go to the third floor. You first take control of the people who have already turned!"

Of course, going to the third floor to deal with Li Lina was the most dangerous task, but I did not hesitate in the slightest. What I had to do was control Li Lina and kill her directly. Only then could I cut off the source of the corpse energy and completely sever it within this corpse-infested building.

"Master, let me out. I can absorb the corpse energy here. Otherwise, even if the ordinary people in this building have not yet been bitten by that female zombie, they will still be wrapped in this corpse energy, their bodies will slowly rot away, and in the end they will turn into zombies!"

I nodded. That was indeed a serious problem.

The Blood-Slaughter Grand Array Diagram was originally an ancient object of the utmost yin and utmost evil. Absorbing corpse energy was nothing to it. Moreover, as the corpse energy diminished, Li Lina's power would also be weakened.

May everyone enjoy the Lantern Festival, stay healthy, and have happiness with their whole families!