Old Master Ren

Outside Ren Family Town, on Burial Mountain.

Though it was daytime, the surrounding mountains hemmed the place in, and the dense forest cast deep shadows, giving the area an eerie atmosphere. Ren Weiyong's tomb had been built with considerable grandeur, yet a faint chill now lingered before the gravestone.

Ren Fa stood to one side with several servants, his face full of worry. Holding a compass, Uncle Nine circled the tomb with a grave expression, inspecting it carefully. At times, he calculated on his fingers; at others, he bent down to examine the soil.

Mo Yuan followed closely behind, his lively eyes curiously surveying the surroundings. He did not sense any especially intense sinister aura, but under the effects of Primordial Comprehension, he could vaguely detect that the flow of "qi" in this area was severely obstructed. Around the tomb in particular, the earth qi was congested, carrying a faint trace of... lifelessness and resentment.

"Master, the 'qi' here seems trapped. It's slowly growing colder too," Mo Yuan quietly voiced his feelings.

Uncle Nine halted and shot Mo Yuan a surprised glance. He could identify the problem through experience and his compass, but he had not expected Mo Yuan to sense the abnormal earth qi through perception alone. His spiritual awareness was terrifyingly sharp.

"Mm." Uncle Nine nodded and pointed at the tomb as he said to Ren Fa, "Master Ren, this grave is called Dragonfly Point. It was originally an auspicious site, beneficial to the descendants' wealth and fortune. But look at the top of the grave. The soil covering is too thick, and the roots of the surrounding trees have wrapped around it, sealing its eye shut. An auspicious site has become a trapped situation. The earth qi cannot circulate, the ancestor cannot rest, and it has instead become a flaw that obstructs your family's fortune. Furthermore..."

Uncle Nine paused, his brows tightly furrowed. The needle on his compass trembled slightly. "...Yin qi has gathered here. When your honored father was buried, I fear... either the timing or the burial method was wrong. His body has not decayed for twenty years and already shows signs of becoming a zombie."

"What? A zombie?" Ren Fa's face went deathly pale. "Uncle Nine, what should we do? You must save our Ren family!"

"The only option now is to open the coffin and rebury him elsewhere. We must select another auspicious burial site and dispel the resentment. Only then can your Ren family remain safe," Uncle Nine said solemnly.

Since the matter was urgent, Uncle Nine immediately decided to open the coffin. The workers carefully dug up the grave and pried open the heavy coffin lid. A cold gust carrying the stench of earth and decay rushed out.

Inside the coffin, Ren Weiyong wore an official uniform from the Qing dynasty. His face was bluish-purple, and his fingernails were black, sharp, and long. He actually looked lifelike, without the slightest sign of decay! More alarming still, visible black baleful qi coiled around his body.

The workers around them, along with Ren Fa and the others, staggered back in terror.

It was Mo Yuan's first time seeing such a sight with his own eyes. His heart tightened, but more than fear, he felt the curiosity and vigilance of someone verifying what he had learned. He could clearly sense a powerful mass of yin-baleful energy condensed within the corpse, filled with violence and lifelessness.

"Master, the baleful qi is incredibly dense! And... it seems to be absorbing the surrounding yin qi," Mo Yuan said in a low voice. He could sense fine strands of yin qi in the air continuously flowing into the coffin.

Uncle Nine's expression became graver than ever. "Just as I thought! The corpse has already turned, and the baleful qi has taken form. Wen Cai, Qiu Sheng, prepare the altar. Mo Yuan, watch carefully from the side. Today, I'll show you how we Mount Mao Taoists deal with such a vicious thing!"

Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng hurriedly set up the incense table and ritual altar, their faces full of anxiety. Mo Yuan, meanwhile, watched Uncle Nine's every movement without blinking.

Uncle Nine performed the Dipper Steps, formed hand seals, and chanted under his breath—the Mount Mao Corpse Suppression Incantation. Holding the Peach Wood Sword, he dipped it in cinnabar and swiftly pasted several Corpse Suppression Talismans around the coffin. The talismans glowed faintly, temporarily suppressing the leaking baleful qi.

"Bring lychee wood! This corpse must be cremated on the spot to prevent future trouble!" Uncle Nine barked.

"No, Uncle Nine!" Ren Fa hurriedly stopped him. "My late father feared fire most in life. He cannot be cremated no matter what! Please, Uncle Nine, think of a safer method. Find another auspicious burial site and lay him to rest there!"

Uncle Nine frowned deeply. He knew that forcing the cremation would certainly provoke Ren Fa's objections, and it would be unreasonable as well. He sighed. "In that case, we must first place the coffin temporarily in the mortuary. Once I find an auspicious burial site, we can proceed with the reburial. Until then, cover the entire coffin with crisscrossing ink lines to prevent the corpse from changing!"

Everyone followed his instructions, resealed the coffin, and transported it to the mortuary.

After returning to the mortuary, Uncle Nine personally used ink line soaked in black dog blood and cinnabar to carefully snap a network of crisscrossing ink lines over the coffin. The ink lines contained pure yang righteous qi and were an effective means of preventing a zombie from breaking out of its coffin.

"Wen Cai, Qiu Sheng, Mo Yuan, remember this. Tonight, you must take turns keeping watch and keep your eyes fixed on this coffin. If anything unusual happens, immediately strike the gong as a warning!" Uncle Nine instructed solemnly.

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

Night fell. Inside the mortuary's corpse chamber, the oil lamp gave off only a bean-sized flame, and the atmosphere was oppressive. The heavy coffin rested silently in the center, its ink lines faintly gleaming in the dim light.

Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng kept watch during the first half of the night. Both were already timid, and faced with a coffin that might produce a zombie, they were even more on edge. They huddled against each other, their eyelids drooping, yet neither dared truly fall asleep.

During the latter half of the night, Mo Yuan took over. Seated cross-legged on a cushion, he was not as frightened as his senior brothers. Instead, he circulated the Basic Qi Refining Manual while slowly extending his spiritual power to sense the movements within the coffin.

In his perception, the yin-baleful qi inside the coffin was like a living thing, constantly battering the seal formed by the ink lines. At the bottom of the coffin in particular, perhaps due to carelessness during transport, there was an extremely inconspicuous spot where the ink line had blurred slightly!

This is bad!

Just then, a muffled thud came from inside the coffin! It was followed by several more thuds, each stronger than the last! The entire coffin began to tremble faintly!

Mo Yuan acted decisively, grabbed the gong beside him, and struck it with all his strength!

Clang! Clang! Clang—!

The piercing sound of the gong instantly tore through the silent night.

Almost at the same moment, a crisp crack rang out. The blurred section of ink line at the bottom of the coffin suddenly split apart! A sharp claw covered in black hair, with long pointed nails, burst out from the coffin!

The zombie was about to emerge!

Uncle Nine rushed into the corpse chamber like a gust of wind. Seeing the claw that had broken through the coffin, his expression changed drastically. "Wretch!"

Though startled, Mo Yuan remained calm. Primordial Comprehension rapidly turned within his mind, and every talisman, incantation, and footwork technique he had learned instantly surfaced with crystal clarity. He swiftly drew out the talisman paper he carried with him—it was precisely the optimized Corpse Suppression Talisman he had refined over the past few days!

"Master! Catch the talisman!"

Mo Yuan flung one talisman toward Uncle Nine. At the same time, he performed the Dipper Steps, formed a hand seal, and clearly recited the incantation. Another talisman shone with spiritual light three times stronger than usual as it shot precisely toward the claw protruding from the coffin!