"Fall back!"
Uncle Jiu circulated a stream of energy and blocked the front!
Amid the crowd's cries, everyone hurriedly retreated.
The black qi was visibly corroding within Uncle Jiu's energy, sizzling as it did so.
In less than a few seconds, it was dissolved by the energy, turning into smoke that scattered with the wind.
Uncle Jiu and Lin Fan exchanged a glance, understanding each other without words.
Inside that coffin, Master Ren's corpse had not decayed after twenty years and was radiating black qi from head to toe.
The master and disciple had clearly sensed the anomaly inside the coffin.
Master Ren had become a zombie!
And he was no longer merely the lowest-level Black Zombie!
There were obvious signs that he was about to break through and become a Purple Zombie!
"Dad!"
"Grandpa!"
Ren Tingting and Master Ren knelt before the coffin in unison.
"We disturbed you, Father. Your son has truly been unfilial."
"Uncle Jiu, can this burial site still be used?"
Master Ren looked grief-stricken as he turned toward Uncle Jiu.
Uncle Jiu shook his head. "The dragonfly touches the water, then touches it again. It definitely won't touch the same place twice. This site is useless now."
"Then what should we do?"
"I suggest cremating him here."
Uncle Jiu's expression was solemn.
"Cremation? No! My late father feared fire the most while he was alive. I can't do that."
Master Ren replied pitifully.
"Master Ren, refusing cremation will cause trouble."
"Anything is fine, just not cremation. Think of another way."
Seeing this, Uncle Jiu said helplessly, "All right. Then we can only temporarily store him at our funeral parlor. Tomorrow, I'll find another burial site for Old Master Ren."
"Fine. Put the coffin lid back on and carry it to the funeral parlor."
Ren Tingting's cousin, A Wei, shouted as he directed the workers.
"Master Ren, you should all head back first."
Uncle Jiu raised a hand to signal them.
The Ren family then boarded a sedan chair carried by men and headed back to Ren Manor.
As they left, Uncle Jiu instructed, "Wen Cai, Qiu Sheng. Set up a Plum Blossom Incense Array at the burial site and burn it. Come back and tell me what it looks like."
Before leaving, he did not forget to tell the two of them to burn incense at every grave.
"He only knows how to order the two of us around. Senior Disciple Brother just dusted off his backside and left."
Wen Cai watched Uncle Jiu and Lin Fan's departing figures and complained.
"All right, enough nonsense. It's almost dark, so get to work."
Qiu Sheng snapped at him, then grabbed a handful of incense and headed toward the nearby graveyard.
Suddenly, he saw a beautiful woman's portrait on a gravestone.
"She died at only twenty. What a pity."
Looking at the gravestone bearing the name Dong Xiaoyu, Qiu Sheng could not help sighing.
Just as he was about to leave, a voice came from behind him.
"Thank you."
Qiu Sheng turned around in shock and looked toward Dong Xiaoyu's grave.
A chilly voice rang out again. "Thank you."
"A ghost! A ghost!"
Without stopping to think, Qiu Sheng spun around and ran in fright.
"Ow!" Wen Cai cried out in pain as he collided head-on with Qiu Sheng. He snapped angrily, "Can't you watch where you're going?"
"Stop talking and run!"
Qiu Sheng's face had gone pale with fear. He hurriedly pulled Wen Cai along.
"Senior Brother, look at this incense first. How did it burn like this?"
Wen Cai got back up and held out the incense in his hand.
"This..." Qiu Sheng glanced at the incense and became even more terrified. He urged him repeatedly, "Go! Go! Go! Hurry back and tell Master!"
The funeral parlor's main hall.
Uncle Jiu removed his Daoist robe and hung it on the wall.
He slowly walked to a bamboo table in the middle of the main hall and sat down.
Before he could pour himself tea, Lin Fan hurried over.
Lin Fan served Uncle Jiu tea and said, "Master, that Prosperity Flower at Ren Manor last night was rather strange."
"The merchant who gave the flower to Master Ren must have been suspicious. The matter at Ren Manor is probably not simple."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Jiu's expression grew slightly more solemn.
"Could someone be manipulating things from behind the scenes?"
Lin Fan asked with a slight frown.
The plot had already changed, and now there was even a Prosperity Flower and a Flower Demon.
No matter how he looked at it, something was wrong.
Uncle Jiu remained calm. After taking a small sip of tea, he said indifferently, "When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. For now, we should resolve the matter of moving the grave first."
"By the way, Master, is there any Daoist art that can see through demons and evil spirits?"
When he mentioned Ren Manor, Lin Fan finally remembered the Flower Demon from last night.
"Don't play dumb. How could you not know?"
Uncle Jiu cast Lin Fan a sidelong glance, amusement in his eyes.
This boy was usually extremely diligent, and he knew Daoist Sect knowledge by heart.
Since he had brought it up, he clearly wanted to learn it.
That was fine too. Lin Fan had improved rapidly lately, so it was time for him to learn more new Daoist arts.
"See? This is why they say Master can predict everything!"
Lin Fan gave a thumbs-up and deliberately squeezed out a surprised expression.
"All right, stop clowning around and watch carefully!"
Uncle Jiu raised his brows slightly. His sword fingers plunged into the Hundred Treasures Pouch at his waist.
He pulled out two willow leaves and held them between his hands!
He covered his eyes with them and drew them outward. His energy circulated with the motion!
"Yin turbid, yang clear; yin and yang distinct. Let willow leaves form a screen and open my dharma eyes. Haste as the laws command!"
As the incantation rang out, a faint layer of energy covered Uncle Jiu's eyes!
"Yin turbid, yang clear; yin and yang distinct. Let willow leaves form a screen and open my dharma eyes. Haste as the laws command!"
Lin Fan imitated him, reciting the incantation.
His energy circulated, and his eyes immediately felt clear and bright!
He could actually clearly detect the fluctuations of energy in the air.
[ Ding! The host has comprehended the Eye-Opening Technique! ]
"It worked!"
Lin Fan withdrew his energy and exclaimed in delight.
"Prepare more willow leaves in case you need them."
Uncle Jiu drained the tea in his cup and reminded him.
"Understood."
Lin Fan nodded, muttering inwardly.
Although the Eye-Opening Technique was simple, having to keep willow leaves on hand all the time was too troublesome.
If he openly used the Eye-Opening Technique like this and an evil spirit hid itself, would that not be like advertising his enhanced vision right to its face?
Even an idiot would know to hide. It was still lacking something.
"All right, rest for a while. I'll go check on Master Ren first."
Uncle Jiu waved his hand and stood, heading outside.
"Yes."
Lin Fan did not waste words either. He turned and headed toward the side room.
Upgrading Daoist arts was more important!
Inside the side room.
"System, check my Skill Points!"
Lin Fan sat down cross-legged.
[ Host's Skill Points: ]
"I worked all day and got a huge harvest!"
Lin Fan's eyes lit up. He hurriedly called out inwardly, "System, upgrade the Eye-Opening Technique!"
[ Ding! The host consumed 100 Skill Points. The Eye-Opening Technique has advanced from Beginner to Minor Accomplishment! ] [ Ding! The host consumed 500 Skill Points. The Eye-Opening Technique has advanced from Minor Accomplishment to Major Accomplishment! ] [ Ding! The host consumed 1,000 Skill Points. The Eye-Opening Technique has advanced from Major Accomplishment to Grand Perfection! ]
Several notifications rang out in his mind.
"That was too easy!"
The corners of Lin Fan's mouth lifted. He pulled out two willow leaves and opened his eyes.
His energy circulated, and the space between his brows grew slightly warm.
At once, his eyes felt bright, and the qi of heaven and earth around him seemed to flow like wind.
His perception and sensitivity to the qi of evil spirits were far stronger than when he had just mastered the technique.
If he returned to before this upgrade and encountered that Flower Demon again, he could probably detect her instantly through perception even if she smeared pollen all over his face and blinded him.
Lin Fan asked, "System, check the Daoist arts that can be optimized."
[ The host's Calming Heart Talisman has reached Grand Perfection. Optimization requires 30 merit points. ] [ The host's Eye-Opening Technique has reached Grand Perfection. Optimization requires 70 merit points. ]
Before you continue