Chapter 56: Please Stop Hyping Me Up!

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It must be said, the occult cultivators of Lu Cheng City are truly reliable. From the moment Mo Ying sought help, within no more than ten minutes, a dozen or so cultivators—including the priest and Master Yijing—had arrived in full force. Yet, when they reached the scene, all they found was a charred, headless corpse, a dilapidated two-story Western-style villa, and lingering traces of thunder magic still perceptible in the air.

“What powerful thunder magic!” A relatively young-looking Taoist clad in a Daoist robe sniffed the ozone's acrid scent, raising his eyebrows. There were only a few cultivators in Lu Cheng City who had attained the Dao, and he naturally recognized the four on night duty: a paper-cutting artisan, two shamans, and his own disciple. None of them could have possessed such mastery over thunder magic.

His gaze then immediately fixed on a somewhat embarrassed young man.

He had heard of this youth before—rumored to be a traveling scholar who had arrived in the city just two days prior and was once a prime suspect when the possibility of zombies entering the city was first discovered.

But judging from the residual thunder aura still clinging to him, and the presence of a graceful female ghost and a woman dressed in a Western-style maid outfit nearby—

“Hiss!”

The Taoist, who was about to comment on how extravagant the rich played, suddenly drew in a sharp breath. That was no maid; that, by all accounts, was a shapeshifting spirit demon!

Though the aura emanating from her was not strong, even a spirit demon relying solely on oral binding to take shape must have cultivated for at least a century to awaken intelligence and learn the art of transformation. What was even more remarkable was the purity of the yin energy surrounding her. Merely standing under the moonlight, faint moonlight essence seemed to naturally infuse into her body.

Such cultivation could hardly be weak. The faintness of her aura now likely meant she had exhausted much of her strength in a prior battle.

Knowing that such a pure spirit demon must have been guided by a master from a young age to avoid any taint, and that the accompanying ghost appeared to be a condensed spirit with resolute attachments but no resentment or bloodthirsty malice—surely, it must have been consecrated with righteous rites for a century to maintain such purity.

“This is probably a direct disciple trained by a prestigious sect! And one accompanied by a protector! Such mastery of thunder magic... could it be from the legendary Shenxiao Sect, whose lineage was said to have been broken off since the Yuanming era?”

Master Chen made this judgment in his heart while his fellow cultivators who had arrived alongside him approached.

However, not all were as discerning. A man wearing brightly colored clothes noticed the fatal wound on the zombie’s neck and immediately laughed:

“Brother Zhang, your invocation spell is getting more refined!”

“Not at all, not at all!” The cultivator addressed as Brother Zhang’s face changed drastically at the praise. Afraid of stealing the limelight from this true expert, he hastened to explain:

“When we arrived, that mutated bound soul zombie was already severely wounded. What I did was merely deliver the final blow. I dare not take credit!”

Afterward, the other three cultivators nodded in agreement. Hearing this, Master Chen was startled. He pushed through the crowd and approached the corpse, asking:

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“A mutated bound soul zombie? Leshui! Tell me everything!”

The cultivator who had been startled earlier immediately stepped forward, vividly recounting how this bound soul zombie, unafraid of thunder magic, resisted Feng Xue’s overwhelmingly powerful Five Thunders orthodox technique, tore apart the paper man created by the paper-cutting artisan, and was finally beheaded with a single sword by the shaman surnamed Zhang, who had invoked the spirit of Lu Zu.

Feng Xue listened, wishing she could disappear into the ground. Yet, the arriving cultivators all nodded in agreement. The bound soul zombie was infamous for its oddness: zombies have souls but no spirit, bound ghosts have spirit but no soul; combined, they form a complementary hybrid. If it absorbs enough blood to fully integrate, it becomes a legendary corpse demon, impervious to the Five Elements and beyond yin and yang, able to swallow impure wishes and yin malice, forming an independent entity. At that point, only a senior with the rank of Yin Office Ghost King could hope to subdue it.

However...

“The corpse itself is no problem—just a century-old zombie. The issue likely lies with the bound ghost... Of course, a typical bound soul zombie is a new ghost suppressing an old corpse, with the corpse dominating and the ghost assisting. If reversed, it usually means an ancient resentful ghost is sealed beneath. It’s normal for ordinary corpses to transform after burial. Unfortunately, even this zombie is from a previous dynasty, so tracing the ghost’s origin is impossible.”

Several senior cultivators examined the otherwise unremarkable century-old corpse. Feng Xue wanted to say that it was just a regular zombie combined with a malevolent ghost, and her thunder magic was just for show. But before she could speak, everyone acted as if she were a formidable expert, saying, “Your thunder magic is so powerful, we could feel it from miles away,” leaving Feng Xue quite embarrassed.

Fortunately, Master Yijing was perceptive. Seeing Feng Xue’s expression, he thought the young woman was just shy and said:

“Regardless, the bound soul zombie has been subdued. We can breathe a sigh of relief for now. Let’s first restrain the corpse and report the incident to the county magistrate tomorrow. It’s late now, and Brother Feng has been through a tough battle and needs rest. Let’s return.”

“Ah, yes, yes! Brother Feng hasn’t yet attained the Dao. Using such techniques must have been difficult. We shouldn’t disturb his rest!” Inspired by this, many began respectfully sealing the corpse and restoring the earth’s energy. Even a few priests not part of the group took out holy water to sprinkle.

Feng Xue finally relaxed, bowed to the cultivators, and prepared to return to the shabby villa he had rented only a few days ago and which had just suffered a calamity. Luckily, he was not short on money and thought he might as well buy the place outright with Yazi later.

Some noticed the state of Feng Xue’s residence and invited him to stay elsewhere temporarily. But Feng Xue’s private affairs were his own, and he was half illiterate in the occult. One careless word might reveal too much.

Though everyone was polite now, who knew if exposure would invite ill intentions?

After Feng Xue declined, the inviter did not press further, assuming the expert preferred not to owe favors casually. Soon, the cultivators who had cleared the scene dispersed one by one, leaving only a few on night patrol. Although the corpse had been subdued, no one dared confirm it was the only supernatural being present. They would wait for daylight to reset the city’s protective seals and be sure the danger had truly passed.

...

After the disciples changed shifts, Master Chen suddenly grabbed his apprentice and, while heading back to their temple, quietly asked:

“Leshui, did you see that great demon attack?”

“Great demon?” Hearing this, Leshui’s face changed sharply.

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“Master, you must be mistaken. Although that was a shapeshifting spirit demon, it seemed only to have three or four years of cultivation!”

“Idiot!” Master Chen slapped his apprentice’s head and rolled his eyes:

“If she had thirty or forty years of cultivation, that’d be one thing. I’d think she swallowed some imperial essence. But three or four years? Could you run around freely when you were three or four years old?”

“...” Leshui wanted to say, “When I was that age, you were already making me wash rice and cook porridge,” but after the slap, he was still clear-headed enough to just shake his head.

Master Chen nodded approvingly.

“That woman, merely standing under the moon and drawing moonlight to follow her, obviously has cultivated the Great Yin Body to a high level. Such a great demon should have a strong suppressive effect on ghosts. Coupled with that terrifying thunder magic, even extraordinary ghosts shouldn’t be able to withstand her.

“But when we saw her earlier, that spirit... um, great demon was already wounded and was being carried out by Brother Feng... Hey! Master, why are you hitting me again?”

“You called him ‘Brother Feng’? How rude! From now on, call him ‘Brother Feng’ properly, got it?” Master Chen glared at his apprentice but unconsciously furrowed his brow.

“To have wounded such a great demon… a century-old corpse wouldn’t be capable. Could that ghost be a cultivator? That’s it! If it’s the remnant soul of a demonic cultivator, it could explain why thunder magic and demon energy couldn’t suppress it. But if that were the case, even if badly injured, it couldn’t have been beheaded with one sword... This is bad!”

Master Chen’s face changed instantly. He ordered:

“If it’s a remnant soul of a demonic cultivator, it’s probably using a body substitution technique. No, Leshui, go back and fetch the Earth Fiend Needles!”

“But Master, what about you...?”

“I’m obviously going to find that damned monk! What are you staring at? Do you want your master to die alone?”