"Demon cultivator?"
The other man's face darkened. He slowly pulled a bronze bell from his robes and grinned viciously. "Soon, you'll become this demon cultivator's plaything."
Jingling!
As he spoke, he shook the bronze bell in his hand.
Seeing this, Shen Lin furrowed his brows and was just about to rush forward and finish the man off when he suddenly sensed something strange stirring around him.
The mounds of earth nearby began to tremble, as though something were waking beneath them.
Pfft!
Arms with rotting flesh pushed up through the soil, and one by one, figures swayed as they slowly rose from the graves.
Including the four from earlier, there were now more than a dozen zombies in the clearing.
Among them were not only humans, but also demons still in their original forms.
A hulking Tiger Demon with rotting flesh and patches of bone showing through, a giant python whose body was lined with stark white bones...
There were all kinds of them. Judging by their size alone, these creatures must have been powerful demons that had cultivated demonic energy in life.
On top of that, the demon cultivator had modified every zombie, embedding steel plates in their vital areas.
Each zombie would be difficult for an ordinary human martial artist to defeat alone.
Compared with his own masterpieces, the demon cultivator seemed far more interested in Shen Lin.
"Someone at the Opening Meridians Realm is already rare, and someone as suitable as you to turn into a Corpse Puppet is rarer still. You're a once-in-a-lifetime specimen: young bones, a powerful body..."
He gazed at Shen Lin, eyes burning with eagerness. He waved his hand impatiently, and the zombies surged toward Shen Lin all at once.
An ordinary Opening Meridians Realm cultivator—even someone like Hu Dongxing, the county lieutenant of Qiulin County—would probably turn and run at the sight of this.
There was no helping it. Though cultivators in the Opening Meridians Realm possessed abundant Qi and Blood Force, they were still made of mortal flesh. Surrounded by so many zombies, each as strong as a martial artist, even a moment's carelessness could leave them at a disadvantage.
What was more, the demon cultivator, who had been at the rear of the zombie horde, had vanished without anyone noticing.
A sinister laugh kept drifting out from among the zombies.
Using the horde as cover, the demon cultivator could emerge from the shadows at any moment and strike a fatal blow.
But Shen Lin showed no sign of retreating. Instead, he leveled his long sword and charged straight ahead.
Using his sword as a saber, he unleashed the Blood Battle Saber Technique with all his strength.
Screee!
With a piercing shriek, his sword split the steel plate on a zombie's body and cut diagonally through its upper half.
At the same time, Shen Lin shifted his blade, ducked beneath a constable zombie's slash, and twisted around. His sword swept through a half-circle, cutting it cleanly in two at the waist.
The Blood Battle Saber Technique had been developed for the border army's battlefield slaughter. This was the perfect place for it to unleash its full power.
In a single exchange, Shen Lin had already killed two zombies.
But just as he prepared to swing again, a shadow shot soundlessly out from his flank, its black claws aimed straight at his heart.
The demon cultivator had finally made his move.
And his first strike was a killing blow.
Shen Lin was facing the other way, and his blade's momentum was spent, leaving an opening at his chest. He was at his most vulnerable.
The demon cultivator had fought many battles and knew how to seize an opportunity.
If his claw struck, Shen Lin would be unable to defend himself in time. The demon cultivator would tear his heart right out.
The demon cultivator could almost see it: Shen Lin turned into a Corpse Puppet, at his command as he rampaged through the land.
But the next moment, the black claw struck Shen Lin's chest and tore through his clothes. It didn't pierce his flesh as the demon cultivator had imagined.
The claw scraped against Shen Lin's skin as though it had struck tempered steel, sending sparks flying.
Qingqiu Body Tempering Technique!
"Got you..."
Shen Lin chuckled. His long sword whirled in his hand and came down in a slash.
Still reeling from the unexpected turn, the demon cultivator couldn't react in time.
Shhk!
The sword struck his shoulder, cutting through the skin and revealing a gray-white steel plate beneath.
This man had even modified his own body.
But Shen Lin's sword had not been in vain.
The blood slowly dripping from the blade, and the pained expression on the demon cultivator's face, showed that the strike had still cut into his flesh.
"Damn it!"
The demon cultivator pulled back his black claw, slapped Shen Lin's sword aside, and swiftly retreated.
But Shen Lin had gone to all that trouble to force him out of hiding. How could he possibly let the man escape now?
Almost at the same instant, Shen Lin chased after him.
His long sword howled as he thrust it straight at the man's face.
Even if the demon cultivator had modified his head, this strike would still pierce his skull.
At the same time, several zombies on Shen Lin's path swung their fangs and claws, trying to stop him.
But with strength barely at the level of martial artists, how could they possibly hold Shen Lin back?
At most, they could leave a few minor wounds on him.
Trading a few cuts and scrapes for the demon cultivator's life was well worth it.
Shen Lin merely glanced at the zombies before fixing his gaze on the demon cultivator again.
But just then, he saw the demon cultivator's lips curl into a strange smile.
A nameless sense of danger surged through him.
"Cloud Rolling Meteor!!!"
Shen Lin decisively changed his move. He stopped his charge and immediately shifted his stance, spinning as he slashed in every direction.
Clang, clang, clang...
Amid a series of crisp clinks, the zombies were knocked back, and Shen Lin emerged unharmed.
He slowly turned his head and looked at the nearest zombie.
It was a human corpse made into a zombie. The demon cultivator had modified its teeth and fingernails, replacing them with sharp iron weapons.
Now, under the moonlight, those fangs and claws gleamed with an eerie blue sheen.
"You're young, but your combat experience is pretty decent?"
The demon cultivator looked at Shen Lin in surprise, then said regretfully,
"Poison?"
Shen Lin's voice was low.
"That's right!" The demon cultivator nodded, a cruel smile creeping across his lips. "The Qing Snake Saint Clan's innate mystic poison. One drop of blood, and you're dead!"
Shen Lin was glad he'd played it safe just now and hadn't tried to trade a wound for a life.
If the zombies had so much as broken his skin, it would have been a huge problem.
"You're not the only cultivator in the Opening Meridians Realm I've ever met. I've killed three or four people as strong as you before."
"Every one of them looked down their noses at everyone else, relying on their strength and thinking they were all but unbeatable in the Opening Meridians Realm."
"But they weren't Xiantian Realm martial artists. They had no protective astral energy. As long as my little darlings left even the tiniest cut, the poison would kill them."
"Ridiculous! They were already so old they could barely stand, yet they still refused to break through right away. They all wanted to open one more meridian and pursue that illusory, supreme martial realm."
"Too bad their bones had all grown brittle and couldn't withstand my modifications. Otherwise, I'd have had a few more decent toys."
"But you..."
"You're the most perfect specimen I've ever seen!"
The cold whispers rode on the chill autumn wind, then gradually vanished beneath the zombies' howls.
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