Old Master Ren

Outside Ren Family Town, on the grave mountain.

Although it was daytime, the surrounding mountains embraced this place, and the dense forest cast a shadow, giving it a somewhat eerie atmosphere. Ren Weiyong's tomb was built quite grandly, but at this moment, a faint chill permeated the air before the tombstone.

Ren Fa stood to the side with several housekeepers, a look of worry on his face. Uncle Nine, holding a compass, surveyed the tomb with a solemn expression, occasionally counting on his fingers to calculate, then bending down to examine the soil.

Mo Yuan followed closely behind, his bright eyes curiously taking in the surroundings. He didn't sense any particularly strong malevolent energy, but with Primordial Comprehension at work, he could vaguely perceive that the "qi" flow in this area was very sluggish. Especially around the tomb, the earth's qi was stagnant, even carrying a faint, almost imperceptible sense of... deathly stillness and resentment.

"Master, the 'qi' here seems trapped, and it's slowly getting colder," Mo Yuan whispered, voicing his feelings.

Uncle Nine paused, glancing at Mo Yuan with some surprise. He could see the problem based on his experience and the compass, but he hadn't expected Mo Yuan to sense the abnormality in the earth's qi purely by perception. This spiritual awareness was terrifyingly keen.

"Mm," Uncle Nine nodded, pointing at the tomb and saying to Master Ren, "Master Ren, this grave is called 'Dragonfly Point.' It was originally a auspicious site, beneficial for your descendants' fortune. But look at the top of the grave; the soil covering is too thick, and the roots of the surrounding trees have entwined, blocking the vital point. An auspicious site has become a predicament, the earth's qi is blocked, and the ancestor is unsettled, instead becoming a flaw that hinders the family's prosperity. Furthermore..."

Uncle Nine paused, his brow furrowed, the needle on the compass trembling slightly, "...yin energy has accumulated here. I fear when your father was interred... the timing or method of burial was incorrect, resulting in the corpse not decaying for twenty years, showing signs of becoming a zombie."

"What? A zombie?" Ren Fa's face turned ashen with fright. "Uncle Nine, what can be done? You must save our Ren family!"

"The only way forward is to open the coffin and relocate the burial to another auspicious site, resolving the resentment, and only then can your Ren family be kept safe," Uncle Nine said gravely.

There's no time like the present. Since the problem was serious, Uncle Nine decided to open the coffin immediately. The workers carefully dug up the grave and pried open the heavy coffin lid. A cold wind, mixed with the scent of earth and decay, rushed out.

Inside the coffin, Ren Weiyong's corpse was dressed in Qing Dynasty official attire. His face was purplish-blue, his fingernails black and elongated. He was indeed lifelike, showing no signs of decay! Even more chilling was the visible black malevolent energy coiled around the corpse.

The surrounding workers and Ren Fa recoiled in fear.

Mo Yuan was also seeing such a sight for the first time. His heart tightened, but more than that, there was a sense of curiosity and vigilance in verifying his knowledge. He could clearly feel a powerful, malevolent energy condensed within the corpse, filled with ferocity and deathly stillness.

"Master, the malevolent energy is so strong! And... it seems to be absorbing the surrounding yin energy," Mo Yuan whispered. He could sense the subtle yin energy in the air being drawn into the coffin, strand by strand.

Uncle Nine's expression was more serious than ever: "As expected! The corpse has become a zombie, and the malevolent energy has taken form. Wen Cai, Qiu Sheng, prepare the altar. Mo Yuan, watch carefully from the side. Today, I will let you witness how we Mount Mao Taoists deal with such a ferocious creature!"

Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng scrambled to set up the incense table and altar, their faces full of nervousness. Mo Yuan, however, kept his eyes fixed on Uncle Nine's movements.

Uncle Nine performed the Seven Stars Step, formed hand seals, and chanted incantations, which was precisely the Mount Mao Corpse Suppression Incantation. He held a peach wood sword, dipped it in cinnabar, and quickly affixed several Corpse Suppression Talismans around the coffin. The talismans glowed faintly, temporarily suppressing the overflowing malevolent energy.

"Bring lychee wood! This corpse must be cremated on the spot to eliminate future trouble!" Uncle Nine commanded sternly.

"No! Uncle Nine!" Ren Fa hurriedly intervened, "My late father feared fire the most in his life. Under no circumstances can he be cremated! I beg Uncle Nine to find a stable solution and seek another auspicious site for burial!"

Uncle Nine's brow furrowed. He knew that forcibly cremating the body would be met with Ren Fa's obstruction and was also unreasonable. He sighed, "Since that is the case, the coffin must be temporarily placed in the Mortuary. Once I find an auspicious site, we will proceed with the relocation. In the meantime, you must use ink-lined string to crisscross the coffin to prevent the corpse from moving!"

Everyone complied. They re-covered the coffin and transported it to the Mortuary.

Back at the Mortuary, Uncle Nine personally used ink-lined string soaked in black dog blood and cinnabar to carefully draw a network of intersecting ink lines on the coffin. The ink lines contained pure yang energy and were an effective means of preventing zombies from breaking out of the coffin.

"Wen Cai, Qiu Sheng, Mo Yuan, remember, you must take turns guarding tonight and keep a close eye on this coffin. If there is any disturbance, immediately ring the gong to warn us!" Uncle Nine instructed solemnly.

"Yes, Master!" the three responded in unison.

Night fell, and inside the Mortuary's morgue, the oil lamp flickered like a bean, the atmosphere oppressive. The heavy coffin lay quietly in the center, the ink lines faintly glowing in the dim light.

The first half of the night was guarded by Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng. The two were already timid, and facing a coffin that might turn into a zombie, they were even more on edge, huddling together, their eyelids heavy but daring not to truly sleep.

The latter half of the night, it was Mo Yuan's turn to guard. He sat cross-legged on a cushion, not as fearful as his senior brothers. Instead, he circulated the Basic Qi Refining Manual and slowly extended his mental power, sensing the movements within the coffin.

In his perception, the malevolent yin energy within the coffin was like a living creature, constantly battering the seal of the ink-lined string. Especially at the bottom of the coffin, it seemed that due to some oversight during transportation, there was a very inconspicuous spot where the ink lines were slightly blurred!

"Not good!" Mo Yuan's heart tightened.

Just then, a muffled thud came from inside the coffin! Immediately followed by "thump, thump," several more sounds, with increasing force! The entire coffin began to shake slightly!

Mo Yuan made a decisive move, grabbing the nearby gong and striking it with all his might!

"Clang clang clang--!"

The piercing sound of the gong instantly shattered the silent night sky.

Almost simultaneously, with a crisp "crack," the blurred ink line at the bottom of the coffin suddenly broke! A claw covered in black fur, with sharp, elongated nails, burst out of the coffin!

The zombie was coming out!

Uncle Nine's figure rushed into the morgue like a gust of wind. Seeing the claw breaking out of the coffin, his face changed drastically: "Abomination!"

Mo Yuan, though startled, remained calm. His Primordial Comprehension worked rapidly in his mind, and all the talismans, incantations, and footwork he had learned instantly became clear. He quickly drew out a talisman he carried – it was the "Corpse Suppression Talisman" he had optimized these past few days!

"Master! Take this!"

Mo Yuan threw a talisman to Uncle Nine, while he himself stepped into the divine steps, formed hand seals, and clearly recited the incantation. Another talisman, shining with a spiritual light three parts brighter than usual, accurately shot towards the claw that had broken out of the coffin!