Master and Disciple Walk Together

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Chen Manor, a sky-piercing aura of malevolent energy.

Lu Jun stood on ground covered by the shattered bodies of countless zombies, blood flowing like a river.

Walking through it, the soles of his shoes felt sticky from the thick blood.

Within Lu Jun's sight, text reappeared.

[Slain Demon—Corpse Subduer (a variant zombie), mastered its evolved innate ability—Immortal and Unchanging]

[Immortal and Unchanging: The corpse is immortal. As long as the core part is not completely destroyed, the body will slowly recover. While a breath remains, the body will not perish.]

"Corpse Subduer..." Lu Jun's eyes lit up slightly.

He had some impression of this peculiar zombie.

It had taken him quite some time to kill it.

Simply severing its head wasn't enough to kill it; Lu Jun had to chop it into pieces the size of chiaotzu filling before he finally finished it off.

Then, Lu Jun marveled.

This ability was truly heaven-defying, somewhat similar to the derived Acquired Divine Ability the old man Yun had given him earlier, called the Azure Dragon Hair Growth Art, both of which increased HP and vitality.

However, the Azure Dragon Hair Growth Art also had the effect of restoring True Qi.

But this True Qi recovery effect, Lu Jun had already obtained from the derived ability 'Essence Absorption' of the great evil ghost child he had just killed.

Lu Jun couldn't help but feel fortunate that he hadn't chosen the Azure Dragon Hair Growth Art back then.

Next, Lu Jun looked at his Demon Essence.

[Demon Essence: 10550]

Lu Jun's eyes lit up.

He had finally accumulated the 4,000 Demon Essence needed to upgrade the River Lord Subdues the Flood Dragon Art.

Without hesitation, Lu Jun chose to upgrade.

[Demon Essence: 6550]

[Current Cultivation Method: River Lord Subdues the Flood Dragon Art, Second Layer (10,000 Demon Essence to advance to Third Layer)]

[Cultivation Method Characteristics: Each time the layer is advanced, cultivation speed, physique, comprehension, and mastery of the cultivation method increase. With each layer increase, a new Acquired Divine Ability will be comprehended and born, for a total of seven layers.]

[Mastered Cultivation Method Evolved Acquired Divine Ability: River and Marsh Edict!]

[River and Marsh Edict: Can control all waters. In rivers, lakes, oceans, or during rainy weather, strength, speed, and agility are comprehensively improved. True Qi recovery is doubled, and the defense of aquatic creatures is ineffective against you.]

"Heaven-defying!"

Lu Jun's eyes shone.

He could ascend to the heavens and dive into the seas; now his combat power was complete across air, land, and sea.

A true all-rounder.

In the wilderness outside Nanxiang Town.

A figure was galloping through the mountains and forests on horseback.

Suddenly, the expression of the person on the horse changed, becoming terrified and disbelieving.

"How is this possible!"

Ye Chen was shocked.

Because he clearly sensed that all one hundred and seven zombies he had raised had been killed.

Ye Chen's heart turned cold.

In an instant, he became dejected, like a dog with its spine broken.

The reason he hadn't left immediately today was that he couldn't bear to part with the zombies he had painstakingly raised for over a decade, nor the great evil ghost child he had obtained from the Great Black Cult.

These were the symbols of his future influence as he roamed the martial world.

And what's more!

Among these zombies was a very rare Unchanging Gu.

That was a Corpse Subduer, which could only be born from nearly a thousand ordinary zombies!

Now, they were gone, all gone.

Impossible!

That guy couldn't possibly be this strong!

There must have been reinforcements from another Demon Slaying Division that arrived.

Ye Chen explained to himself.

Ye Chen was now furious, furious that his painstaking efforts had been destroyed in a single blow.

He was confused, and even more confused about where his future should go.

But at the same time, a very strange and puzzled feeling arose in his heart...

He just didn't understand.

He had only met that guy this afternoon.

He didn't even know the guy's name!

Why, why was he chasing him like a mad dog.

The entire Dagan!

Was he the only spy from an evil cult?

Why wouldn't he let him go!

Ye Chen became angrier the more he thought about it.

But he didn't dare to turn back and fight Lu Jun to the death.

He could only frantically hit his horse's hindquarters, speeding up his escape.

"Whoa..."

Ye Chen let out a long sigh and gently pulled on the reins, stopping steadily in front of a lake.

The moonlight was bright, the lake was like a mirror, the forest was quiet, and the atmosphere was good.

But Ye Chen didn't have time to appreciate it; he was too thirsty.

Damn it, ever since he was discovered this afternoon, he had been preparing to escape. Although his efforts had failed, he had been truly busy, and hadn't drunk a single drop of water.

Plus, he had been rushing on the road just now, so he had no time to drink water.

The road ahead was long and arduous, and Ye Chen decided he still needed to rest for a short while.

The rest time didn't need to be long, just enough time to drink some water.

Besides, those Demon Slayer Envoys hadn't caught up to him for so long.

Could they catch him while he was drinking water?

What a joke!

Ye Chen instantly convinced himself and immediately prepared to bend down to drink some water.

As he bent down and was about to cup water with his only remaining hand, Ye Chen's pupils contracted.

He suddenly saw in the reflection in the lake water, behind him, a figure was floating, smiling faintly.

It was that mad dog who had been chasing him!

Ye Chen suddenly turned around. There was no one behind him, only the quiet, deep forest.

Ye Chen breathed a sigh of relief: "Just scaring myself..."

When Ye Chen turned back, wanting to drink water again, his pupils suddenly trembled, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Long time no see..."

"Just now, I remember when you ran away, you seemed to point at me..."

Lu Jun's figure slowly rose from the lake. Strangely, although Lu Jun was rising from the water, not a single drop of water was on him. The moonlight shone around Lu Jun, illuminating his spotless, pale blue Xuan-patterned robe, making him look like an immortal.

Ye Chen's breath hitched, and his voice trembled: "No... no..."

Ye Chen was truly speechless.

He really hadn't expected the other party to be so petty.

He had just pointed casually, and the other party remembered it.

Lu Jun's eyes held a hint of expectation: "Do you still have any?"

"No... none left..."

Ye Chen's expression turned bitter.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Lu Jun's face, and he said softly: "Alright, then you can die..."

"Wait!" Ye Chen's expression suddenly turned terrified, and he quickly tried to say something.

But Lu Jun remained silent, only swinging his saber.

Just as it was about to strike Ye Chen.

A sound of breaking air suddenly came from Lu Jun's side.

Lu Jun frowned, twisted the blade, and blocked.

At the same time, he grabbed Ye Chen by the neck with one hand and pulled him away to safety.

"Young friend, stop!" an old voice suddenly rang out.

An old man, who looked about sixty years old, with white hair, a goatee, and a face full of wrinkles, slowly walked out from the nearby dense forest. Beside him was a zombie with a ferocious face, covered in crimson fur.

Another mutated zombie!

Lu Jun's eyes lit up.

"Master!" Ye Chen exclaimed in shock.

Lu Jun's brow twitched, and his gaze fixed on the old man before him.

The old man smiled broadly and said slowly, "Young friend, you must be a Demon Slayer Envoy, I presume? I am Jiang Kun, an outer elder of the Puppet Corpse Dock. This Ye Chen is my disappointing disciple; he was previously bewitched by demons and joined the Great Black Cult."

"It was all due to my lax supervision. Could you hand him over to me? I will take him back to the Puppet Corpse Dock to accept his punishment."

"Hmm..." Lu Jun said indifferently, "No."

"Ah!?" The old man's expression froze.

"You old bastard, who do you think you are? You want him just because you show up after I've been fighting monsters for half the day? I'm not some monkey, bald monk, or pig-headed honest man on a journey to the West. I finally crippled a monster, and now some privileged heavenly connection comes along to take him away..."

"I noticed you lurking around here for ages. Since I couldn't sense any demonic energy from you, I couldn't be bothered to deal with you. And yet, you sneak up on me? Your sneak attack failed, and now you have the audacity to demand the person from me?"

"Do you think I'm some kind of nice guy?"

Lu Jun sneered.

He raised his hand and swung his blade in one smooth motion.

Without any hesitation, he severed Ye Chen's head.

He then casually kicked the head in front of the old man, Jiang Kun.

Ye Chen's face was still frozen in a look of bewilderment as he stared blankly at Jiang Kun with that same expression.

Before Jiang Kun could react...

Lu Jun's aura erupted, True Qi surged, and his body began to levitate. He pointed his long saber at Jiang Kun below, his expression icy:

"Heh, old man!"

"I could tell at a glance that you're also a demon from a heretical cult!"

"I bet you were the one who bewitched your disciple into joining that damn Great Black Cult of yours!"

"Then this is easy. You and your precious disciple can stay here together. It'll be nice to have a companion on the road to the Yellow Springs. You two can travel together, so you won't be lonely."