The Manipulated Zombie

Night fell, and a waning moon rose high.

In the Back Mountain, bleak winds howled, making the place gloomy and terrifying.

As the night deepened, a clear ringing of bells suddenly sounded from the heart of the Back Mountain.

As the bells echoed throughout the entire Back Mountain, they were followed by one dull thump after another.

Before long, beneath the moonlight, an old man with hollow eyes and white hair covering his body hopped out of the Sacrificial Temple.

A White-haired Zombie!

Under the moonlight, the old man revealed his true form—it was a White-haired Zombie.

With the White-haired Zombie's appearance, the ringing of the bells grew increasingly rapid.

Driven by the bells, the White-haired Zombie bared its fangs, leaped three meters into the air with every hop, and sped toward a Village on Spring Island.

Before long, the bells faded into the distance, and the White-haired Zombie vanished from sight.

"As expected, something is amiss. This isn't a natural disaster, but a man-made calamity. The zombie is merely being controlled by someone else!"

Watching the direction in which the White-haired Zombie had disappeared, Zhao Huaian stepped out from the shadows.

However, he did not act rashly.

He still did not know what level of cultivation the person controlling the zombie from the shadows possessed.

If he acted too recklessly, he might instead put himself at a disadvantage.

After some thought, Zhao Huaian concealed his cultivation and slipped through the dark night, carefully watching his surroundings as he slowly made his way toward where the White-haired Zombie had disappeared.

Spring Island.

The western coast.

There was a Village here.

Ordinarily, by the dead of night, the villagers would have long since settled down to sleep.

But tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

For as the lights went out, the White-haired Zombie that had left the Back Mountain came hopping into the Village.

The entire Village instantly descended into chaos.

They were terrified beyond measure and fled in panic.

Yet the village entrance, only a few dozen steps away, had become an insurmountable barrier today.

No matter how frantically they ran, they remained rooted in place, utterly unable to leave the Village. They could only stare wide-eyed in terror, waiting for the White-haired Zombie to suck every drop of blood from their bodies.

In no more than the time it took an incense stick to burn.

The entire Village returned to its former peace. The only difference was that the air above it was now shrouded in the thick stench of blood.

"Come, my treasure!"

After the entire Village had been slaughtered, a withered Daoist slowly emerged from the darkness.

The Daoist shook the Bell in his hand and muttered an incantation.

Driven by the Bell, the White-haired Zombie hopped over to the Daoist and slowly opened its mouth.

A gust of cold wind surged forth, and from the White-haired Zombie's gaping mouth came a Blood-red Pearl radiating a dense aura of blood.

The pearl fell into the Daoist's hand.

Seeing the pearl, the Daoist split his lips in a grin and let out a sinister, horrifying cackle.

"This is..."

In the distance, Zhao Huaian, who had just crept over from the shadows, frowned deeply at the sight.

But before he could think further, that Daoist stopped laughing and turned his gaze toward where Zhao Huaian was hiding.

"Fellow Daoist from the Greenwood Sect, come out!" the Daoist said with a cold smile, looking toward Zhao Huaian's hiding place.

Seeing that he had been discovered, Zhao Huaian sighed helplessly and stepped out of the shadows.

"When did you discover me?" Zhao Huaian asked curiously as he looked at the Daoist.

He had been extremely cautious the entire way, concealing his aura to the utmost. He had only just arrived at this Village, yet he had been discovered the moment he got here.

What made him breathe a slight sigh of relief, however, was the Daoist's cultivation.

The Daoist was not particularly strong, merely at the early stage of Qi Refining Layer Six—somewhat weaker even than Lin Zihao had been.

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Moreover, the Daoist was old, so his actual strength was likely even more lacking.

Thus, with his experience of killing Lin Zihao before, Zhao Huaian felt no fear after being discovered. On the contrary, he was even somewhat excited inside.

With such cultivation, on this dark and windy night, wouldn't he be able to...

Make another killing?

At the thought, a faint smile appeared on Zhao Huaian's face.

Watching Zhao Huaian step out, that Daoist curled his lips in a mocking smile. "I didn't discover you. Chen Dawei merely told me that someone from the Greenwood Sect had arrived, so I called out a couple of times to test the waters. I never expected you to expose yourself."

"The older the ginger, the spicier it is... Looks like the Chen Family is no good either!"

The smile vanished from Zhao Huaian's face, and he shook his head helplessly.

He had wondered how he could have been discovered despite being so cautious. It turned out his whereabouts had long since been leaked, and that Daoist had simply flushed him out with a bluff.

It seemed that when carrying out missions in the future, he would have to be even more careful. Otherwise, he might capsize in a gutter before he knew it.

"You little brat are quite ruthless as well. This old Daoist originally intended to use the people of this village to lure you out, then strike you from the shadows.

Yet when faced with the lives of over a hundred people, you remained utterly unmoved. Left with no choice, this old Daoist could only reveal himself first."

That Daoist looked at Zhao Huaian mockingly.

If not for that, why would he have shown himself so soon?

Fortunately, he had received word beforehand and deliberately called out in the direction Zhao Huaian had come from. Sure enough, he had flushed him out.

"If you old beast hadn't come out, how would I have dared reveal myself rashly?"

Zhao Huaian offered no further explanation, only returning a cold laugh. "Besides, only by killing you will my mission truly be complete, and only then can the people of Spring Island live in peace."

"Hahaha..."

As though he had heard something laughable, that Daoist shot Zhao Huaian a disdainful glance. "With your Qi Refining Layer Three cultivation?"

Several Concealment Talismans were pasted onto Zhao Huaian's body, making his cultivation appear to be at Qi Refining Layer Three. Naturally, that Daoist held him in contempt.

Yet he had no idea that Zhao Huaian had done all of this deliberately.

The purpose was to make that Daoist lower his guard, then seize the chance to kill him in a single blow.

While that Daoist laughed in scorn, Spiritual Energy quietly surged within Zhao Huaian. With a sweep of his hand, the Flying Sword flew out.

"A mere Qi Refining Layer Three—nothing more than an ant trying to shake a tree!"

That Daoist sneered and shook the bell in his hand. Waves of sound rippled through the air, knocking the Flying Sword away.

However, in the next moment, that Daoist froze, his face filled with disbelief.

After the Flying Sword was knocked aside, a massive fireball suddenly appeared out of thin air, scorching the surrounding air as it swept toward him.

"A Grandmaster-level spell! Your cultivation isn't Qi Refining Layer Three..."

That Daoist cried out in terror.

He was merely a Rogue Cultivator. Coupled with his age and frailty, his overall combat strength was severely limited. Now, facing Zhao Huaian, who possessed Grandmaster-level spells and Qi Refining Layer Five cultivation, he had already begun to retreat in his heart.

Not daring to hesitate in the slightest, Spiritual Energy burst from his body. He controlled the White-haired Zombie to block the fireball, then rapidly fled into the distance.

Under the Grandmaster-level Fireball Spell, the White-haired Zombie exploded violently, turning into ash that filled the sky.

"Isn't it too late to run now?"

Zhao Huaian sneered.

With a flick of his fingers, countless vines burst from the ground, directly sealing off that Daoist's retreat.

Two Grandmaster-level spells?!!

Seeing this, that Daoist could not help but fall into despair. His eyes reddened as he wailed heart-rendingly, "Fellow Daoist, spare others when you can. Must you really fight until the fish dies and the net breaks?!"

"The fish may die, but the net need not break!"

With a cold snort, Zhao Huaian flicked his fingers. Silver needles shot from his sleeves one after another, concealing themselves within the night.

That Daoist was desperately resisting the countless vines winding toward him.

The next instant, tiny holes suddenly appeared all over his body. Large numbers of silver needles burst out from within, and blood sprayed everywhere, staining the ground crimson.

"No..."

That Daoist cried out unwillingly before his body crashed to the ground, dead.

"Too weak... He couldn't compare to Lin Zihao at all..."

After killing that Daoist, Zhao Huaian shook his head and turned his gaze toward the Chen Mansion. "Since I'm here, I might as well see this good deed through to the end..."