Night fell over the forest.
The torrential rain washed everything clean.
The forest seemed to have been reborn.
The forest at night after the rain was exceptionally quiet.
The fresh scent of nature filled the air.
The tranquility and peace of the wilderness relaxed people's hearts, bringing them peace and calm.
Plop!
Suddenly, several figures burst out of the forest at night.
They ran toward the two houses in the wilderness.
The muddy path was extremely difficult to traverse after the rain.
Attendant Wu slipped and fell to the ground when he wasn't paying attention.
Before he could help Seventy-One Prince, who had fallen with him, back to his feet,
he anxiously shouted, "Help! This is bad! Something terrible has happened! Someone, come quickly!"
His cry rang throughout the entire forest.
The sound was especially jarring in the quiet night, waking everyone inside the houses.
As his voice faded,
smack.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes and Master Yixiu simultaneously burst through the doors.
"What happened!"
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes focused his gaze.
The person who had arrived was none other than the neither-man-nor-woman Attendant Wu.
Several attendants stood beside him.
Looking at his panicked and disheveled expression,
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes couldn't help getting a bad feeling.
"Isn't this Mr. Wu, who came to visit today? What happened?"
Master Yixiu stepped forward, with Qingqing following close behind.
Attendant Wu was gasping for breath as he hurriedly said, "Master, Daoist Priest, hurry... hurry and save them! Otherwise... otherwise, it will be too late!"
"That's right, that's right, Daoist Priest! Zombies are eating people!"
The soldier who had followed behind him spoke in terror.
At those words, everyone felt as though lightning had struck on a clear day.
Qingqing then headed inside the house.
"What! Zombies are eating people? Where? Where?"
Jia Le, who had only appeared after quite some time, dashed forward at those words.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes pushed Jia Le's forehead away with one hand.
He continued asking, "Tell us slowly. Don't panic. First, explain what happened."
Attendant Wu swallowed hard and explained, "A torrential rain suddenly started, and lightning struck the coffin. That zombie suddenly came out. It flashed green light one moment and red light the next, and it even forced the Daoist Priest and the others back. Ah, forget the questions—hurry and go!"
After he finished speaking, he seemed to recall what had just happened, and his body began trembling uncontrollably.
Not good!
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes was startled deep down.
It had only absorbed some lightning.
Had it actually reached the level of a Green Zombie already?
But what was that red light...?
"Master, your Magic Tool."
Qingqing hurried out and handed it to Master Yixiu.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes didn't think any further. Looking as though he wanted to devour the person before him,
he slapped Jia Le on the forehead and said through gritted teeth, "Your Senior Disciple Brother and martial uncle are in danger! Hurry up and get the gear! Should I say your reactions are slow, or that you're stupid? Your master really loves you to death!"
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes looked tense.
With Junior Brother Qian He and the four assistants from the east, south, west, and north,
they shouldn't have run into any serious trouble.
These people had probably been frightened into running back.
Please don't let anything happen, Lin Fan.
Otherwise, I won't be able to explain this to Senior Brother.
"Brother, let's go. What are you thinking about?"
Seeing Jia Le come out carrying a bronze sword,
Master Yixiu hurriedly urged him.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes took the bronze sword.
He leaped out, moving so quickly that it was frightening.
He led the way into the forest, with Jia Le close behind.
Seeing this, Master Yixiu also led Qingqing after them.
Swish, swish.
The four of them hurried anxiously along the road.
The splashing footsteps filled the muddy path that had been drenched by the torrential rain.
"Master, nothing should have happened, right?"
Jia Le asked worriedly.
"Stop talking nonsense and hurry. Whether something happened or not, we have to go."
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes replied irritably.
"Look! That's it. The tent!"
Qingqing stopped everyone and pointed toward a conspicuous tent several meters away.
The group focused their eyes on it and saw traces of battle outside the tent.
Several armored corpses lay on the ground, already charred black.
Talisman papers lay scattered across the ground, blasted apart, with unmistakable traces of the Five Thunders Spell having struck there.
Master Yixiu and Daoist Priest Four-Eyes exchanged glances and nodded.
Then they slowly moved forward.
Just as the group steadily approached the side of the tent,
"Urgh."
Qingqing couldn't help retching.
A corpse appeared before everyone's eyes, kneeling on the ground with both hands completely destroyed.
Its head had clearly been beaten until it bent backward at an angle.
A bloody section of throat bone protruded through the skin.
The entire situation inside the forest came into view.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes was startled deep down.
It was over. Had something already happened?
Rustle.
Suddenly, a sound came from inside the tent.
"Ah!"
A sharp cry rang out.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes raised the bronze sword, as if facing a great enemy.
With a flash, he appeared at the opening.
But the scene suddenly took an unexpected turn, unlike what Daoist Priest Four-Eyes had imagined.
Inside the tent, all five members of the master-and-disciple group and Lin Fan were present.
Everyone was getting up and packing their things.
They were preparing to leave.
In an instant, Daoist Priest Four-Eyes stood frozen in place as though immobilized.
"Daoist Priest Four-Eyes, what happened!"
Seeing that something seemed wrong inside the tent, Master Yixiu hurried forward and pushed him aside.
Holding his Magic Tool, he prepared to attack inside the tent.
Jia Le and Qingqing hurried after him.
The people inside the tent were startled by the sudden situation.
Their nerves tightened again, and they stopped what they were doing.
They raised their swords, looked out of the tent intently as though facing a great enemy, and stared at the people outside.
The two sides met each other's eyes, revealing slightly awkward expressions.
"Martial uncle, Master, what a coincidence. Are you traveling at night?"
Lin Fan broke the stalemate and spoke.
"Senior Brother, it's wonderful that you're all right."
Jia Le greeted him with a delighted smile.
"Come inside and sit, Master and Qingqing. Sit down too—don't just stand there."
Lin Fan invited everyone in.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes entered at his words and sat down. "Junior Brother, I just saw that neither-man-nor-woman fellow bring several people back to seek help. He was extremely nervous too. I knew it—how could something this minor possibly trouble you?"
After saying that, Daoist Priest Four-Eyes didn't forget to look around.
He did so to ease the awkwardness.
"Ahem."
Suddenly, Daoist Priest Qian He gave a bitter laugh and said, "Senior Brother, you don't know the details. If it had only been an ordinary Green Zombie, the five of us disciples, together with Junior Disciple Nephew Lin Fan, should have been fine."
To put it plainly, if Lin Fan hadn't been there tonight,
everyone would probably have been doomed.
"Oh? Is there some hidden detail?"
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes seemed to grow interested. He looked at everyone and spoke.
"Martial uncle, you don't know. If Senior Disciple Brother hadn't comprehended the Dao during the battle and cultivated the Netherworld Sleep Spell to Grand Perfection, holding back the Green Zombie, I'm afraid we'd all have been in grave danger."
A Dong spoke gratefully.
His voice fell.
Daoist Priest Four-Eyes felt as though lightning had struck on a clear day.
His pupils widened, and his face filled with disbelief.
He turned and stared fixedly at Lin Fan.
The Netherworld Sleep Spell? Wasn't that his junior brother's formation path?
Had Lin Fan learned it during a single rainy night?
This was nothing like the Body Refining Technique, which could not even be compared to it.
The way of formations was profound and unfathomable. It required extraordinary intelligence.
And what had A Dong just said? Comprehending the Dao during battle?
What kind of enlightened master was Lin Fan? How could he have encountered such an incredible opportunity?
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