The Tragic Ling Tian

"Ling Tian, don't even think about escaping. Come here." Seeing Ling Tian trying to sneak away, Yao Yu roared like a shrew.

"Uh, alright." Ling Tian turned around helplessly, a wry smile on his face. He couldn't help but sigh, realizing he was destined to be the group's errand boy on this trip.

However, this time, the others didn't let Ling Tian do all the work alone. They all helped. First, they gathered the zombies that had been burned into charcoal. Then, Yun Ying and Yao Yu, along with the others, formed hand seals, and a thick flame erupted. In a moment, the corpses turned to ash, but the air around them became even more pungent.

"Senior Sister Yun Ying, what about the zombies stuck in the mud?" Hua Min'er asked, looking at the zombies still struggling in the mire.

"Disperse their consciousness, then burn them," Yun Ying replied.

"How do we disperse it?" Ling Tian chimed in, curious.

"Their consciousness replaces their soul and lodges in their minds. If you disperse their minds, you can naturally kill them," Yao Yu added.

"Oh, that's simple," Ling Tian blurted out.

"Simple? It seems Ling Tian, you have a way, hehe. Then, these zombies are simply yours to deal with," Yao Yu said with a mischievous grin.

"Ugh!" Ling Tian wished he could slap himself.

"Hmm? Any objections?" Yao Yu's expression turned cold as ice.

"No, no, I'll go right now." Ling Tian's head pounded at Yao Yu's sudden change in demeanor. He hastily agreed and walked towards the zombies.

"Senior Sister Yao Yu, you just bully Brother Ling Tian." Hua Min'er pouted, defending Ling Tian, though a mischievous glint could be seen in her eyes.

"Alright, alright. Don't pretend. You wanted him to do this dirty work too, hehe," Yao Yu saw through Hua Min'er's little act.

"Hehe, Senior Sister found me out," Hua Min'er chuckled mischievously.

"Hehe..."

A burst of laughter from the group added a touch of liveliness to the tense atmosphere.

"Looking at Ling Tian's calm demeanor, I wonder how he'll disperse the zombies' consciousness. Zombie bodies are tough, and dispersing their consciousness isn't easy," Yun Ying was the first to stop laughing, watching Ling Tian walk away with a serene expression, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"That kid has many tricks up his sleeve. He seems to know everything. It looks like Senior Ling Yun taught him a lot," Yao Yu said, looking at Ling Tian with a hint of envy, her eyes sparkling with a cunning look.

"Alas, Senior Ling Yun probably wouldn't bother with insignificant people like us. Just give up on that little thought of yours," Yun Ying, having known Yao Yu for decades, knew her intentions well.

"Alas, you're right." Yao Yu's expression turned a bit dejected, but then her eyes lit up. She looked at Hua Min'er with a smile and said, "We can't do it, but someone else can, hehe."

"Hehe, indeed. It seems we'll all benefit from Min'er's help," Yun Ying also looked at Hua Min'er with delight.

"Senior Sisters, what are you talking about? I don't understand," Hua Min'er felt a bit lost as the two senior sisters looked at her as if she were a rare treasure.

"Junior Sister, it's like this..." Yao Yu whispered in Hua Min'er's ear.

"Ah, this... will this method work? What if Uncle Ling Yun finds out and gets angry?" Hua Min'er's expression showed a hint of worry, but more than that, she was eager to try.

"Hmph, don't play coy. You already call Senior Uncle. Given your relationship with Ling Tian, how could Senior Ling Yun blame you? Besides, last time at Qingyun Peak, the Senior seemed to praise you highly, even letting Ling Tian give you so many precious gifts. You're practically family, so what's wrong with teaching you a few skills?" Yao Yu glanced enviously at Hua Min'er's exquisite earrings before continuing to encourage her.

"Mm, that's true. I'll ask Brother Ling Tian for guidance when I have time." Hua Min'er's face was already flushed red upon hearing Yao Yu mention family. She lowered her head and agreed.

"Hehe, that's the spirit. Don't forget to teach us too," Yao Yu said joyfully.

"Mm, of course, I won't forget, Senior Sister," Hua Min'er's face turned even redder.

Never mind that Ling Tian was being plotted against by Yao Yu and the others behind his back, he was currently dealing with the zombies still struggling.

Ling Tian slowly approached a zombie. The zombie was extremely ugly. Seeing a living person approach, it struggled even more fiercely, baring its teeth and claws, letting out continuous roars, and emitting a foul stench.

"Alas, I'll send you back to reincarnation." Ling Tian knew these were just pitiable people.

He took out an Iron Bead from his Storage Ring and threw it with all his might. The Iron Bead shot out like a dark light. With a pu sound, the Iron Bead disappeared into the zombie's forehead. A round black hole appeared between its brows, with wisps of black blood oozing out, a terrifying sight. The zombie twitched a few times and then lay still, its consciousness presumably scattered.

"Wow, I didn't expect Ling Tian to have this skill! If this hit a person, I can't even imagine the consequences," Yao Yu exclaimed, having witnessed the power of the Iron Bead.

"Mm, I didn't expect Ling Tian to have this ability. This makes up for his inability to fly. I wonder who will be unlucky next time during the Grand Competition. He'll definitely teach some people a harsh lesson," Yun Ying thought further ahead.

"Hmph hmph, what other skills is Brother Ling Tian hiding? I must ask him next time," Hua Min'er gritted her teeth, like a little devil. She was thinking about how to pry his secrets out of Ling Tian.

"I didn't expect zombie bodies to be so tough. Even a stone would be pierced by my Iron Bead, yet the zombie could keep the Iron Bead inside its body. Amazing! It seems I'm still a bit weak," Ling Tian was still not satisfied. If Yun Ying and the others heard this, they would be shocked.

Shaking his head, Ling Tian continued to finish off these unfortunate creatures. In a short while, more than a dozen zombies had perished by his hand. Seeing that all the zombies were eliminated, he took out his Spear again. With a flick of the spear tip, he was surprised to find that when it touched a corpse, it sank in with a resonant metallic clang. This made Ling Tian marvel even more, thinking their bodies were as hard as iron and stone. Without much effort, the spear tip turned into a streak of light, and the zombie flew out of the mud, landing steadily to the side. Then, the remaining dozen zombies were all flicked out and gathered together.

"Senior Sister Yun Ying, it's done. I can't do anything more, so you'll have to burn them," Ling Tian said, walking up to Yun Ying and the others and pointing at the zombies.

"Hehe, finally something you can't do! Now I feel much more balanced," Yao Yu said with a charming smile and walked towards the zombies.

Ling Tian was stunned. After a moment of thought, he understood why Yao Yu said that, but he didn't say anything, just watched Yao Yu handle the corpses. A moment later, thick smoke rose, and Yao Yu returned.

"Senior Sister Yun Ying, what do we do next? The fight is over before we even started," Yao Yu said, looking at Ling Tian with a teasing expression, which made Ling Tian's spine tingle. He was flustered and unsure what to do.

"Dig a pit and put the ashes in it. Alas, it's a way to give them a proper burial," Yun Ying had a compassionate heart.

"Oh, um, Ling Tian, you..." Yao Yu looked at Ling Tian with a mischievous smile.

"Uh, I know what to do." Ling Tian interrupted Yao Yu and walked off directly.

Seeing Ling Tian being so agreeable this time, everyone couldn't help but laugh. After laughing for a while, Yun Ying said, "I don't think the zombies will come again today. Let's go back and cultivate well, and we'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Mm, that's the only way. Besides, Ling Tian has set up an Alert Formation. If the zombies come again, we'll know immediately," Yao Yu said with a smile, watching Ling Tian busy himself.

After that, the women all went back, leaving Ling Tian alone to dig a pit, giving the zombies a proper burial.

"Sigh, my life is so hard." After a long while, Ling Tian finally finished dealing with the aftermath. He stretched his body and couldn't help but start complaining again.

"But I still feel that low growl was a bit strange, as if it was targeting something specific. I can't be careless." Ling Tian mused.

"The zombies probably won't come back today, but I still need to repair the damaged formations, just in case." Don't be fooled by how easily the formations eliminated so many zombies; it was because Ling Tian had set up many of them. Many of those formations were also damaged and naturally needed repair.

Not long after, Ling Tian finished the repairs and then set up some new formations. He glanced back at the house-like magic treasure before finally returning to the tree branch with peace of mind. He took out some Spiritual Fruits and water and wolfed them down. He was exhausted today and hadn't eaten much until now.