Palm Thunder

There were four weapons in Zhou Sheng's Opera Box: a saber, a sword, a golden whip, and a Snake Spear. All had once been used by Yu Zhensheng, and not one was an ordinary item.

Take this golden whip, for instance. It was called the God-Beating Whip, though among tomb raiders, it was known as the Four-Edged Gilded Whip, or the "Corpse-Beating Whip."

This whip had twenty-one sections and the angular ridges of a mace. Brass-colored and immensely heavy, its four concave edges were engraved with the Demon-Subduing Corpse-Suppressing Spell and Taoist thunder patterns.

Legend had it that Wu Zixu once dug open the King of Chu's tomb and whipped his corpse three hundred times. Thus, all zombies feared the lash.

Yu Zhensheng had never said where this golden whip came from. He had only warned that if a corpse underwent a transformation, this whip would be most effective.

The facts proved that Master's words were never wrong.

The corpse was incredibly heavy and immensely strong, but once it was bound by the whip, its corpse qi melted away like ice beneath snow, and its power was greatly restrained.

Thus, no matter how desperately it struggled, it was still dragged inch by inch away from the ancient well.

"Get... out here!"

Zhou Sheng shouted, his tongue cracking like spring thunder. For the first time after taking the medicine, he drove all the strength in his body to its utmost limit. His feet planted in the Primordial Stance, a breath from his Dantian shot straight to the crown of his head. With a shuddering snap of his spine, as though he were hauling backward on the tails of nine oxen, he yanked the heavy corpse completely out of the ancient well and smashed it onto the ground.

Once it was on land, things became easier.

With a flick of his wrist, the God-Beating Whip soared like a Flood Dragon. Whip shadows whirled through the air, and in the blink of an eye, he struck nine times in succession. Explosive crackles rang out as the blows landed on the corpse.

The corpse screamed without pause. Corpse fluid mixed with blood sprayed from its body, and wherever it splashed, even the grass and trees were corroded away.

Under the agonizing pain, its body actually transformed into streams of foul-smelling watery mist, scattering in all directions to hide.

But Zhou Sheng was currently playing Jiang Taigong. Though he did not possess heavenly eyes like Erlang Shen, he was not someone a mere Evil Corpse could deceive.

A clear radiance rose in his eyes, while the Taiji Diagram pattern on his forehead faintly began to turn. His spiritual senses became so sharp that they seemed to reach some wondrous realm in an instant.

"Found you!"

Whoosh!

He brought the whip down. Before its tip arrived, the wind was already biting. The howling sound of it tearing through the air was like thunder as the heavy, ridged sections of the golden whip smashed into a willow tree.

In an instant, the willow tree, as thick as a bowl's rim, snapped in two with a crack. The break was scorched black and smoking, as though it had been struck by thunderfire.

A shrill scream rang out in the air, and black blood kept raining down.

As if driven to its limit, the Evil Corpse finally went all out.

It took the initiative to reveal itself. Its mountain-like body was already a mangled mass of flesh and blood, covered in blackened whip marks. One arm was missing, and corpse fluid streamed endlessly from its wounds.

With an enraged roar, even though half its face had been whipped to pieces, the Evil Corpse still charged at Zhou Sheng. Its body continued to swell, its belly—which had already been stretched to its limit—expanding further still, even making the sound of cloth tearing apart.

Surging corpse qi brewed within its body.

Zhou Sheng's pupils contracted. He felt a terrifying pressure. Was it trying to perish together with him, jade and stone alike?

If the Evil Corpse reached him and exploded, then no matter how swift his movement techniques or how exquisite his whip technique, he would be splashed by corpse fluid and injured.

Moreover, the commotion here was too great. Zhou Sheng had already heard the footsteps of people rushing over.

He had to end this battle quickly!

With that thought, determination flashed through his eyes. He flung out the golden whip once more, using a clever force to make it spin and wrap around the Evil Corpse's feet.

With a thud, the Evil Corpse crashed to the ground, but its body continued expanding, on the verge of exploding.

At that moment, Zhou Sheng voluntarily released the whip's handle. Then he bit his fingertip and swiftly drew thunder patterns across his left palm.

"Universe in Sleeve Hides Li Fire—Where Palm Lines Crack, Electric Snakes Dance!"

After rapidly reciting the opera line, he spread his five fingers and raised his palm toward the sky.

Boom!

The next instant, a thunderclap burst from the clear sky. A bolt of lightning as thick as a chopstick descended from above and struck the Evil Corpse squarely on the head.

Palm Thunder!

It was said that Jiang Ziya possessed the body of a half-immortal. Aside from the God-Beating Whip, he was also skilled in the Five Elements Evasion Techniques and Palm Thunder.

With Zhou Sheng's current Magic Power, he still could not use the Five Elements Evasion Techniques while playing Jiang Taigong, but he could already summon Palm Thunder.

With a sizzling explosion, electric snakes danced. The black corpse fluid and rotten flesh dissipated like smoke and clouds beneath the lightning, utterly unable to resist.

Palm Thunder belonged to the Thunder Method. It was supremely hard and supremely yang, fierce and domineering, capable of restraining all demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends!

Very quickly, the Evil Corpse vanished, leaving only scorched marks from thunderfire upon the ground.

Yet the Luo Shu had not blossomed with radiant light.

Zhou Sheng immediately knew that although the Evil Corpse's physical body had been destroyed, a remnant soul still remained and had not completely dispersed.

This was mainly because his Dao cultivation was limited, and the Palm Thunder he had summoned was too weak. Otherwise, wherever lightning passed, how could any yin soul possibly survive?

Sure enough, he soon saw a faint figure floating in the air. It was an old man with grizzled white facial hair and an honest-looking face. He seemed to have been stunned unconscious by the lightning. His body was nearly transparent, as though he might disperse at any moment.

"Uncle Xu?"

Zhou Sheng froze. He actually recognized him as Old Xu, the man who had once accompanied his singing practice on the fiddle when he was young.

Those who studied opera, aside from rising early each day to train their voices, also often needed musicians to accompany their vocal practice.

Simply put, they would practice singing classic opera passages to the accompaniment of a huqin or clappers. They usually began in an ordinary key, then gradually raised it as appropriate, combining it with related exercises to keep the voice flexible and make it fuller and more rounded.

Old Xu had been a musician in an opera troupe in Qinggu County. Later, after the troupe disbanded, he had gone to restaurants and brothels to play the fiddle and earn a living.

When Zhou Sheng was going through Molting Season, Master had hired him to accompany Zhou Sheng's vocal practice for a full three years.

Since Old Xu had earned Master's approval, his skill was naturally excellent. When accompanying vocal practice, his fiddle sounded precisely right—not the least bit strained, with tension and release held in perfect measure.

Old Xu had contributed greatly to Zhou Sheng's safe passage through Molting Season.

"Receive!"

After recognizing an old acquaintance, he hurriedly took the Ghost Raising Altar from the Opera Box and first collected Old Xu's yin soul inside. After sealing it, he immediately fled the scene.

A short while later.

Outside the Zhu residence, Zhou Sheng had already removed his Face Paint. Carrying the Opera Box, he silently regulated his breathing beneath a large banyan tree, while hearing clamor beginning to rise within the Zhu residence.

He stared deeply at those vermilion-lacquered gates.

In his memories, Uncle Xu had been a very easygoing and kind man. He treated everyone well and always spoke softly and gently. Even when someone requested a tune but refused to pay, he would only smile it off casually.

Yet that Evil Corpse just now had been filled with violent malice, nearly crazed.

How had Uncle Xu died? And why had he become an Evil Corpse?

Most importantly, why had he still infiltrated the Zhu residence after death? Was it for revenge?

Zhou Sheng drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

Only then did his complexion improve somewhat.

That Palm Thunder had looked impressive, but it had drained more than half his Magic Power in one stroke. His whole body now felt weak and unsteady.

Only after regulating his breath for a long while did he finally recover a little.

Just as he was preparing to leave, a faint voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

"Don't turn around. The rampaging soldiers enshrined in the Zhu residence are watching you from behind."

"You brat, you really know how to stir up trouble."