A Fight to the Death

Rice flew everywhere, and the corpse energy surrounding Ren Weiyong was steadily depleted. Even so, his body remained standing firm. Uncle Nine's eyelids twitched at the sight.

Seeing the white rice scattered across the ground turn black, Uncle Nine leaped over to the incense table that had been set up earlier. He flicked his Peach Wood Sword, sending a string of yellow talismans flying toward Ren Weiyong.

"Boom!"

The talismans burst into roaring fireballs as they neared him, but the flames died out in an instant. Ren Weiyong sprang forward and landed in front of the incense table, swinging his stiff hands at Uncle Nine.

Uncle Nine was startled but kept his composure. He ducked beneath the sweeping blow, bit his middle finger, and smeared the blood onto his Peach Wood Sword. Then he raised the sword and began casting. The embroidered banners on the altar stood upright, radiating a formidable aura, and shot toward Ren Weiyong.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The banners struck Ren Weiyong, each one bursting into a cloud of dense corpse energy before vanishing.

"This..."

Uncle Nine was stunned to see that none of his methods had any effect on Ren Weiyong.

Of course, they weren't completely useless. At the very least, they had dispelled a good deal of the corpse energy surrounding him.

But that didn't help much. It had almost no impact on his strength.

As Uncle Nine stood there in shock, Ren Weiyong charged again. He bounded toward him at incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, the zombie was upon him.

With Ren Weiyong already in front of him, Uncle Nine hurriedly dodged to the side.

As he moved, he pulled out a Bagua Mirror and traced a Zombie-Suppressing Talisman in the air over its surface with his Peach Wood Sword. Then he held it up toward Ren Weiyong.

A red glow rose from the Bagua Mirror and shot toward Ren Weiyong's head, seeking to pin him down.

"Roar!"

As the red glow reached him, Ren Weiyong threw his head back and roared. His corpse energy surged wildly, scattering the light in an instant.

"Bang!"

"Pfft!"

The moment the red glow was scattered, Ren Weiyong leaped again. In an instant, he was beside Uncle Nine. He swept his arms across and sent Uncle Nine flying.

Uncle Nine took the heavy blow and spat blood on the spot.

"A Bronze-Armored Zombie? No, he's at least on the verge of becoming a Zombie King."

"I was careless. I never thought he'd reached this level of cultivation. This is going to be difficult."

Uncle Nine's thoughts raced. He had just climbed to his feet when he began rolling rapidly across the ground.

Just as he rolled away from where he had been, Ren Weiyong attacked again.

Fortunately, he had moved quickly. Otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble.

But Uncle Nine knew that if this dragged on, sooner or later he would fall at Ren Weiyong's hands.

"Roar!"

Ren Weiyong roared again and closed in on Uncle Nine. He grabbed him by the throat and leaned in to plant a kiss on him.

At this critical moment, Taoist Four Eyes charged in, his muscles bulging to an absurd degree. One punch sent Ren Weiyong flying back.

Taking advantage of the opening, Qiusheng hurried over and helped Uncle Nine to the side.

"Master, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Go help your uncle. He hasn't mastered the God-Inviting Technique yet. He won't be a match for a Bronze-Armored Zombie."

As soon as Uncle Nine finished speaking, Taoist Four Eyes was indeed sent flying by Ren Weiyong, landing right beside him.

The two fellow disciples exchanged a glance, both feeling awkward.

After all, their prized disciple, Qiusheng, was right there beside them, while the two senior masters had just been beaten senseless by a zombie one after the other. It was hard not to feel embarrassed.

"Master, Uncle, cover me. I'll take him on."

Seeing his master and uncle both knocked flying, Qiusheng immediately drew the Jingzhen Sword from his back. He converted all the magic power within him into lightning energy and channeled it into the blade, then lunged straight at Ren Weiyong.

"Clang!"

"Crackle!"

The clash of metal and the lash of lightning rang out together. As the Jingzhen Sword collided with Ren Weiyong's arms, both Qiusheng and Ren Weiyong jolted and staggered backward.

"God-Inviting Technique!"

Seeing that he still fell short of Ren Weiyong in strength, and that his sword hand was beginning to ache, Qiusheng disregarded the toll on his magic power and cast the God-Inviting Technique as well.

"Hiss! What's going on? When did Qiusheng become so skilled at the God-Inviting Technique?"

Seeing his disciple's performance, Uncle Nine sucked in a sharp breath.

He had never imagined that his disciple, after mastering the Lightning Bolt Fist, could also become so proficient in the God-Inviting Technique. It simply made no sense.

"Bang!"

Under Uncle Nine's astonished gaze, Qiusheng slashed Ren Weiyong and sent him flying backward. Then he immediately pursued him, steady and sure. He leaped into the air and brought his sword down in a mighty overhead strike, driving Ren Weiyong's feet deep into the ground.

But just then, an unexpected change occurred. Ren Weiyong's body suddenly sank, and he disappeared underground.

At the sight of the sudden change, Qiusheng's heart lurched. He immediately steadied his breathing and went on guard.

Zombies spent years buried underground, absorbing the endless yin energy beneath the earth. Naturally, they developed an innate affinity with the soil.

Especially once certain zombies reached a certain level, it was hardly surprising for them to develop one or two earth-based abilities.

Ren Weiyong's burrowing technique was one such ability he had awakened naturally. What was more, once he had learned it, he had mastered it to a frightening degree, making him extremely difficult to deal with.

Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Qiusheng.

Qiusheng also had an earth spirit body. Though it hadn't granted him any special abilities, he was highly sensitive to even the slightest movements beneath the ground.

Sensing the changes underground, Qiusheng suddenly leaped into the air and thrust the Jingzhen Sword downward.

"Clink!"

With a sharp ring, Qiusheng's sword struck Ren Weiyong's outstretched right palm.

"Boom!"

Qiusheng's sword forced Ren Weiyong out of his burrowing form, and he shot up from underground.

Watching him emerge, Qiusheng's eyes glinted with scorn.

"That's it?"

"You thought you could sneak up on him from underground? That's hilarious."

But before Qiusheng's scorn could fade, he saw the direction Ren Weiyong was charging in—and his blood ran cold.

Ren Weiyong was heading for the main hall of the Public Mortuary. His target was no longer Qiusheng and the others. Now, he was after Ren Tingting inside the hall!