After firmly committing his uncle-master's words to memory, Qiusheng grabbed a peach wood sword and charged straight toward the front courtyard of Ren Mansion.
In the front courtyard, Uncle Nine wielded a copper coin sword that glittered with golden light. He repeatedly slashed at Ren Weiyong, each strike sending sparks and a trail of thick, black corpse energy flying from his body.
Seeing that his master had the upper hand, Qiusheng stood outside the fight with his peach wood sword in hand, guarding him.
He could tell that, unlike in his previous life, his master had a wide range of tricks. He didn't need his disciple's help at all to completely suppress Ren Weiyong.
In fact, Qiusheng knew that several times, Uncle Nine could have traded a wound for a killing blow and ended the zombie rampaging through Ren Mansion.
Still, Qiusheng didn't think much of it. After all, Uncle Nine was an Earth Master. If he struggled against an Iron-Armored Zombie, wouldn't that bring shame on all the experts of Maoshan?
As Qiusheng's thoughts wandered, Uncle Nine finally spotted an opening and kicked Ren Weiyong flying.
He also drove the copper coin sword in his hand straight into the center of Ren Weiyong's back, right where his heart was.
After doing all this, Uncle Nine let out a long breath. In his view, once a zombie's chest was pierced, it didn't matter whether it was an Iron-Armored Zombie or a Bronze-Armored Zombie. With its heart destroyed and its corpse energy dissipating, it would be brought to its knees.
But reality was full of surprises. Even after taking Uncle Nine's sword strike, the zombie that Ren Weiyong had become still ran off at full speed.
That was right: he was fleeing. After being badly injured by Four Eyes and Uncle Nine in succession, the zombie had chosen to run.
Seeing this, Qiusheng, who had been standing by to support them, couldn't just watch any longer. He raised his peach wood sword and charged after it.
But before he could catch up to the fleeing zombie, the sound of gunfire startled him into dropping flat to the ground.
Ren Wei and the others had finally arrived. They happened to see Ren Weiyong hopping toward the exit, and without a word, they opened fire to stop him.
But bullets were practically useless against zombies. For cultivators like Qiusheng and Uncle Nine, however, they were deadly weapons.
So, despite their desperation, Uncle Nine and Qiusheng could only watch helplessly as Ren Weiyong fled amid the barrage of gunfire.
"After him! Take him down! Go!"
Qiusheng raised his head. He saw Ren Wei and the others first move aside to let Ren Weiyong escape, then Ren Wei kept shouting for someone to chase after him. In the end, he was the only one who went after the zombie. It gave Qiusheng a headache.
After taking a roundabout route, things had still ended up following the original plot.
At least this time, Wencai had made it through a calamity.
Unfortunately, the calamity had now befallen Taoist Four Eyes instead.
With these thoughts turning over in his mind, Qiusheng slowly got up from the ground. After exchanging a look with his master, he hurried over to his uncle-master.
Seeing the corpse energy coiling around him, he frowned.
Fortunately, his uncle-master's cultivation was profound. Otherwise, even with glutinous rice to draw out the corpse energy, they might not have been able to save him.
The corpse energy was frighteningly dense.
"Wencai, what happened to the corpse energy on Uncle-Master?"
Qiusheng pulled Wencai, who had been standing off to the side, closer and asked in a low voice.
"I don't know either. I just saw Uncle-Master stamping his feet, then he was like a god descending from the heavens, his whole body growing immensely muscular. He went straight at that zombie and fought it hand to hand."
"At first, Uncle-Master had the upper hand, but I don't know what trick the zombie used. A black cloud appeared and swallowed him up."
"Right after that, Uncle-Master fell out of the cloud, and then he turned into what you see now."
As Qiusheng listened to Wencai's explanation, a thought crossed his mind.
"His body suddenly got bigger? Uncle-Master must have used the God-Inviting Technique from the God-Striking art."
"Damn, that zombie managed to break through Uncle-Master's God-Inviting Technique? Doesn't that make it even more vicious than that Royal Zombie?"
As Qiusheng's thoughts churned, Uncle Nine was busy too. He took out some cinnabar from the bundle Qiusheng had brought and drew a Zombie-Suppressing Talisman on Four Eyes' chest to suppress the dense corpse energy in his body.
"Wencai, stay here and watch over your uncle-master tonight."
"Qiusheng, come with me."
After finishing, Uncle Nine glanced at his two disciples, who were still murmuring to each other, and quietly gave them their instructions.
Without waiting for Qiusheng to reply, he turned and left.
Qiusheng told Wencai not to let his guard down, then hurried after his master.
"Master, where are we going?"
"Uncle-Master still has corpse poison in his body. If we leave him like this, what if someone tries to harm him in secret?"
Qiusheng followed Uncle Nine and asked in a low voice.
"Hmph, don't worry. No one will come looking for trouble at Ren Mansion tonight."
"I've figured out some of what's going on. We'll head back to the Public Mortuary to fetch a few things, then go somewhere and find the one behind this."
Uncle Nine's expression was grave. He strode ahead, speaking to Qiusheng as he went.
Hearing his master's words, Qiusheng felt a flicker of curiosity. He didn't understand what Uncle Nine meant.
But seeing his master's expression, Qiusheng decided it was best not to ask questions for now.
After following Uncle Nine to the Public Mortuary, he went straight into the quiet room where his master usually practiced.
Qiusheng watched as Uncle Nine pressed a spot on a wall painted with a Tai Chi Bagua Diagram. An alcove immediately opened.
Inside was a Bagua Mirror, and beside it lay a strangely shaped seal.
"Master, what are these two things?"
"These are the treasured heirlooms of my Maoshan lineage: the Mystic Dao Seal and the Innate Bagua Mirror. They were refined by past leaders of the sect and nurtured by generations of Maoshan disciples."
"Both treasures are extremely powerful. I usually keep them here for safekeeping. I never thought I'd have to use them, but it seems I have to bring them out today after all."
Hearing Uncle Nine's explanation, Qiusheng's eyes lit up. He immediately stepped forward, picked up the two items, and began turning them over in his hands. His magic power poured into them, and a hazy glow appeared on both the Mystic Dao Seal and the Innate Bagua Mirror.
"Damn, Master, you had such great treasures and didn't tell me sooner?"
"If we'd had these two things yesterday, how could I have been injured by a mere two White-Robed Ghosts?"
Qiusheng couldn't bear to put down the two treasures in his hands, his heart brimming with excitement.
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