The Third Person in the Carriage

Zombies were among the most common Evil Creatures in the wilderness. Any martial artist who had gone out on missions had experience dealing with them.

The ambushed martial artist reacted swiftly. He twisted the saber already clenched in his hand and slashed out a flash of blade light, striking the zombie.

The saber sank into its body, leaving a massive gash in the zombie's torso as it tumbled through the air.

That zombie's ambush seemed like a signal. More and more zombies charged out from the dense forest beside the road, a black mass stretching as far as the eye could see.

There were many zombies. At a rough count, there were no fewer than a hundred.

"Attack!"

"Everyone, attack at once!"

A zombie rushed before Li Yuan, its corpse-poison-covered claws swiping at him. Li Yuan easily sidestepped, then drove a heavy palm into its waist.

The force of two thousand catties and terrifying Shocking Force erupted at once, blasting the zombie apart at the waist into two halves!

The two severed pieces flew far away and landed amid the grass.

Li Yuan's palm force was immensely heavy. The zombies' weight could no longer withstand his attacks. He sent them flying with one palm strike each; some had yet to hit the ground before they had already been blasted into pieces!

It was not only Li Yuan. The other martial artists also engaged the zombies, and the battle was locked in a fierce stalemate.

Although Li Yuan was also in the Inner Force Realm, his martial arts had long reached perfection. His combat strength was unquestionably the greatest among those in the Inner Force Realm, and he handled these zombies with ease.

The other Inner Force Realm martial artists were not nearly so relaxed. Some had already been clawed by zombies!

As the Corpse Poison eroded them, their bodies began to go numb!

The injured martial artists pulled Detoxification Talismans from their robes. After using the talismans to dispel the Corpse Poison, they gritted their teeth and threw themselves back into battle with the zombies.

As the only True Qi Realm martial artist present, Yan Nian wielded his sharp sword and unleashed streak after streak of Sword Qi, mowing down great swaths of zombies like wheat!

But there were simply too many zombies. Even after a large group was slain, zombies continued to surge forward in an endless stream, as if every zombie in this region had gathered here.

The situation was far from encouraging, and a new change emerged!

A pale figure hid among the zombies. Using their bodies as cover, it approached the convoy and suddenly lunged at a martial artist whose back was turned toward it!

Pale claws plunged into the martial artist's back, and frigid power flooded into his body!

The martial artist suffered a devastating blow. His entire body stiffened as he let out a miserable scream!

The sight left those beside him furious and alarmed. Someone shrieked, "It's an evil ghost!"

"Watch out for the evil ghosts!!!"

Evil ghosts were also a kind of Evil Creature. Their translucent soul bodies could not only ignore physical attacks, but also move through terrain without obstruction!

Passing through walls and burrowing through the earth were nothing to them!

Even Inner Force Realm martial artists found it difficult to take them down easily!

Most deadly of all, there was more than one such evil ghost.

With a glance, they saw more than a dozen pale evil ghosts mixed among the zombies, charging toward them.

The situation was critical. Before long, they would likely suffer heavy casualties, and everyone began fighting for their lives.

Ordinary martial techniques could hardly harm these evil ghosts. Only attacks infused with Inner Force could kill them. The martial artists no longer spared the Inner Force in their bodies, unleashing their ultimate moves at the evil ghosts.

A pale hand burst from the ground and grabbed for Li Yuan's ankle!

Li Yuan's mind was highly focused. The instant he sensed something strange beneath his feet, he flashed aside and evaded the evil ghost's sneak attack.

These evil ghosts were filled with astonishingly frigid power. If one struck him and that power invaded his body, even if he did not die, he would be skinned alive!

After missing its strike, the evil ghost stopped trying to ambush him. It emerged from the ground, transformed into a white shadow, and flew straight at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan's eyes turned cold. Dense, powerful Shocking Force filled his palms as he struck at the evil ghost!

Neither side gave way, and they collided heavily!

The Shocking Force within the Cinnabar Palm erupted violently and struck the evil ghost's body. Yet it was not only the evil ghost—even the air before Li Yuan was blasted apart by his terrifying palm force!

The air became visible ripples that radiated outward and spread into the distance!

The heavy blow made the evil ghost scream. Its formerly solid body became somewhat illusory, as though it might disperse at any moment.

After severely wounding the evil ghost with one strike, Li Yuan moved his palms like lightning and slammed another heavy palm into it. His palm force exploded again, completely scattering the evil ghost into nothingness.

In just two palms, he had shattered an evil ghost!

His Cinnabar Palm had long since reached perfection, and his Inner Force was far more abundant than ordinary people's. Killing more than a dozen zombies and evil ghosts in one go had not consumed much of his strength, but the other martial artists were not in such favorable circumstances.

Some martial artists were being besieged by zombies and evil ghosts at the same time, and were already hanging by a thread.

Li Yuan looked closely and saw Wu Si'an fighting three zombies alone. His longsword danced in an impenetrable curtain, sweat beading thickly across his brow, while a trace of exhaustion showed on his face.

Night belonged to Evil Creatures. Zombies and evil ghosts emerged one after another, continuously crawling out from every direction. Wu Si'an was beginning to struggle to keep up.

Just as he prepared to swing his sword and force back a zombie, a figure flashed past. The three zombies exploded at once, their bodies reduced to chunks!

"What was that?!"

Wu Si'an was startled. Looking closely, he saw that Li Yuan had just stepped in to help him. The savage palm force of the Cinnabar Palm had directly blasted the zombies apart!

"So powerful?"

Wu Si'an had practiced the Cinnabar Palm as well, but his Cinnabar Palm and Li Yuan's were practically two different things. Its power was not even half of Li Yuan's.

Although zombies and evil ghosts could not pose much of a threat to Li Yuan, this could not continue. The zombie monsters seemed endless; even if he could hold out, these martial artists might not.

The sounds of shouting and slaughter outside merged into a roaring clamor. Seated within the carriage, Zong Wencheng slowly opened his eyes. His gaze seemed to pierce through the curtain and see the battlefield outside.

Zong Lin's tone held more urgency. "Grandfather, there are many zombies and evil ghosts outside. Should we intervene?"

Zong Wencheng slowly shook his head. "No need. Yan Nian is watching over things outside."

"Before setting out, I gave him quite a few talismans. With him there, matters will not spiral out of control."

Even so, the anxiety in Zong Lin's eyes did not lessen in the slightest. She opened her mouth several times as if to say something, yet ultimately remained silent.

She felt a little resentful. Was Grandfather and the others' plan too risky?

At that moment, a deep, powerful voice suddenly rang out.

"Zong Lin, there is no need to worry. With me here, these zombies and evil ghosts can be wiped out with a flick of my finger."

A third person's voice abruptly sounded within the carriage, where only Zong Wencheng and Zong Lin had been speaking!

And that person... was none other than Xu Zhe, the True Essence Realm martial artist who had arrived in Jiujiang Commandery several days ago!