Hall Siege

"Watch me!"

Seeing this, Qingyuan Old Daoist pulled out a stack of talismans from the bundle he carried with him.

"Urgent as the law commands!"

He scattered the talismans in his hand in all directions, keeping only three.

Then he bit his finger and smeared the blood across the three remaining talismans.

Afterward, he hurled them toward three different directions.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

The talismans struck three pillars inside the hall.

"Immeasurable Yang Fire!"

The Old Daoist had already sealed a thread of spiritual power inside the three talismans.

As the Old Daoist recited the incantation, the three talismans suddenly ignited. Then the talismans scattered across the ground began to burn as well.

The surrounding space seemed like a curtain set ablaze, visibly shattering apart.

The blood that had filled the hall also vanished along with it.

A fierce gust swept in, kicking up dust and smoke and revealing the hall's true state.

In the blink of an eye, the once grand and resplendent hall had become dilapidated beyond recognition. Cobwebs hung everywhere, and the tables were thick with dust.

The monks seated around them had long since vanished without a trace.

"An illusion?"

Zhang You was secretly astonished. The methods of the immortal path really were wondrous!

"Yes! When you made your move earlier, I sensed unnatural fluctuations in the surrounding air. I guessed that we might be trapped in an illusion."

The Old Daoist clapped his hands, as though he were speaking of something utterly ordinary.

"Urgh, ah, ya..."

At that moment, all sorts of sounds rose from outside, drawing nearer from afar.

"Footsteps!"

Zhang You's senses had already become exceptionally sharp.

"And quite a lot of them!"

The Old Daoist's eyes widened as well.

Before long, they learned what was happening!

Hundreds, even thousands of people—or rather, walking corpses—had already surrounded them from outside.

Some were missing arms and legs. Some were rotten from head to toe, without a single intact patch of flesh. In many places, stark white bones protruded...

In short, they came in every grotesque and bizarre shape imaginable!

Before long, they shoved down the temple walls outside.

"These are walking corpses!"

Hearing the Old Daoist's words, Zhang You immediately understood what these things were.

"Move!"

Zhang You took the lead and tried to rush out of the hall.

"Bang!"

But two black shadows suddenly dove down from the roof!

They were incredibly fast, each clawing toward Zhang You's and the Old Daoist's heads!

Both reacted swiftly and hurriedly raised their hands to block.

Zhang You was more direct. He twisted aside to evade the shadow's attack, then drove a punch straight at its head.

"Crack!"

With the sound of breaking bones, the black shadow was sent flying.

As for Qingyuan Old Daoist, he first used talismans to set up a layer of defense, then fired a stream of spiritual power to force his opponent back.

Looking closely, Zhang You had knocked away a wolf, while the Old Daoist faced a dog.

However, both the wolf and the dog had mutated.

Only scraps of rotten flesh remained on their bodies. Small black insects crawled over their exposed bones. Bone spikes covered their limbs, and their claws were incomparably sharp, gleaming with a chilling light.

Both beasts had lost their eyeballs, but two red glows burned within their eye sockets. Their fangs did not point downward, but forward, each a full five inches long.

They now blocked the doorway, confronting Zhang You and the Old Daoist.

"Good, good! They only have the strength of the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm. Otherwise, this would have been troublesome!"

The Old Daoist let out a breath of relief.

The wolf and dog both assumed fighting stances, ready to pounce at any moment.

By then, the walking corpses had completely encircled the hall.

Perhaps because of the wolf and dog, the other walking corpses did not rush in.

Yet they still bared their fangs and snarled, staring fixedly at the two of them.

"Damn it, those looks again. I'll wipe you all out today!"

Once again being treated as meat for the table, Zhang You flew into a rage. His blood qi erupted, and he swung a palm at the mutated wolf.

Fierce light flashed in the mutated wolf's and dog's eyes. They each howled and charged forward.

"The universe knows no bounds, heaven and earth lend me their power! Unsheathe!"

The Old Daoist was startled by Zhang You's momentum, but his hands did not pause. After forming several hand seals, a spiritual sword appeared from thin air and slashed directly toward the mutated dog.

The mutated wolf raised its front claw, which instantly swelled several times larger. In the blink of an eye, it exchanged a blow with Zhang You.

"Bang!"

A powerful shockwave burst outward. Several walking corpses near the entrance exploded on the spot, while a large swath of those behind them were knocked sprawling.

Zhang You staggered back several steps.

The mutated wolf's enormous claw, however, shattered from the root. Left with only three legs, it was hurled backward and crashed into the crowd of walking corpses.

"Squelch."

A claw pierced through a walking corpse's head. Then the mutated wolf shook away the surrounding walking corpses and bit down.

Before long, its missing leg grew back.

"Awoo!"

The mutated wolf howled furiously and charged at Zhang You again.

"Four Symbols · White Tiger · Shatter the Void!"

Zhang You snorted coldly, dodged the two attacks launched by the mutated wolf, and struck its head with a raised hand.

"Bang!"

The mutated wolf's head exploded outright.

At the same time, he injected an arc of electricity into its body.

The mutated wolf's body began to emit an intense white glow, while white smoke rose from it.

Before it could even hit the ground, it turned directly into ashes and scattered on the wind.

A wisp of blue-white qi was absorbed by him.

The battle on the Old Daoist's side was also nearing its end.

The mutated dog was now trapped in a blazing fire formed from talismans. It would not be long before it was burned to nothing.

"Smack!"

At that moment, an enormous blood-red palm slammed down, leaving not even bones behind!

He absorbed another wisp of blue-white qi.

"You..."

The Old Daoist's mouth twitched!

"Cough, cough, cough. I was only trying to save time!"

Zhang You had naturally acted for the blue-white qi.

The quality of what he killed personally was higher than what he could fleece from others.

Besides, in his eyes, those outside were not walking corpses, but rounds and rounds of body tempering!

"Protect yourself and find a way out. Leave the walking corpses outside to me!"

Zhang You rolled his wrist. Without waiting for the Old Daoist to reply, he leaped directly into the horde of walking corpses.

"..."

The Old Daoist had already classified Zhang You as one of those hot-blooded youths!

At that moment, dense blood qi radiated from Zhang You's body. The walking corpses therefore abandoned the Old Daoist and all rushed toward him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

Fierce sounds of battle soon erupted outside, accompanied by chaotic, shrill cries.

The Old Daoist had observed these walking corpses. The strongest among them were only at the second or third level of the Qi Refining Realm. To Zhang You, they were no more difficult than drinking cold water.

This was a one-sided slaughter!

The Old Daoist came back to his senses and once more looked into the distance.

Outside remained a vast, bewildering haze.

After thinking for a moment, he took out ten talismans, folded them into ten paper cranes, and cast a spell to send them flying outside.

When the sounds of fighting beyond the hall gradually ceased, Zhang You returned from outside.

He was already at the eighth stage of the first realm.

Although he had dealt with the mutated wolf and dog, along with so many walking corpses, he felt there was still some distance before his next Great Body Tempering.

"Well? Did you find anything?"

He walked over to the Old Daoist.

"Not yet. I've already released the paper cranes. We should have results soon!"

The Old Daoist shook his head.

"Rumble!"

A deafening boom suddenly rang out from outside, and the surroundings trembled.

Then a sinister aura abruptly appeared in the courtyard, growing stronger and stronger.

Zhang You was the first to walk out!

He was a little excited!