The Final Refinement

The saying went: "A journey of a hundred miles is only halfway complete at ninety."

Zhou Yan didn't want some unexpected mishap to ruin all his hard work at the very last moment, just as he was about to succeed.

He'd seen this kind of thing happen plenty of times in TV dramas in his previous life. That was why, the closer he got to the final, crucial moment, the more cautious he became, determined to avoid anything he'd regret.

Seeing Zhou Yan's resolute expression, Ma Yan didn't try to persuade him again. He only told him that it was fine to take his cultivation more slowly and that he shouldn't work himself into the ground.

Even if he didn't care about himself, he ought to think of his mother and younger siblings at home.

If he died, the family would lose its pillar. The whole household might even fall apart...

After Ma Yan left, Zhou Yan closed the door and instinctively wanted to head into the inner room to cultivate.

But as he took a step, he remembered his current condition and let out a soft sigh.

Even if he wanted to keep pushing himself, his body wouldn't allow it!

"Forget it. I need to balance exertion with rest. I can't actually ruin my health."

After saying that, Zhou Yan practiced the Five Animal Frolics once, then picked up the Profound Yin Corpse Refining Technique and began studying it.

As for resting, that was out of the question.

Five hours of sleep a day was already a luxury, enough to meet his body's needs.

It simply hadn't occurred to Zhou Yan that, in modern times, he'd slept a full nine hours every day, and even when he pulled carts, he'd slept a full eight.

Or perhaps he'd subconsciously forgotten.

At last, the forty-ninth day arrived.

After finishing his shift at the Police Station, Ma Yan headed straight over. He didn't even bother eating at home, instead hurrying over with two pounds of pig's head meat and some braised food in hand.

How could he miss such an important moment?

If Zhou Yan truly succeeded, it could turn things around not just for him, but for both the Zhou Family and the Ma Family.

That was why Ma Yan had been running around on Zhou Yan's behalf, busy beyond measure.

Family ties were certainly part of it, but personal gain was inseparable from the equation, too!

"How's it going?"

As soon as Zhou Yan opened the door, Ma Yan's first question was about the zombie's refinement.

"Just one final step, and it'll be complete," Zhou Yan replied.

Ma Yan's eyes lit up. "That's great."

Then he handed Zhou Yan the pig's head meat and braised food.

"Eat up. You'll need a full stomach to get the job done."

His thinking was simple: as long as you ate your fill, nothing could go wrong.

Especially when it was all meat.

Zhou Yan didn't waste words. He really did need a good meal.

Over the past half month, he'd eased up on the intensity of his cultivation, allowing his body to recover somewhat. His figure and appearance no longer looked as horrifying as they had two weeks ago.

But he was still noticeably thinner, and there was little color in his face.

A full recovery wouldn't come easily.

Zhou Yan devoured the food. In less than ten minutes, he'd polished off two pounds of pig's head meat and three pounds of braised food, leaving Ma Yan beside him clicking his tongue in amazement.

After beginning cultivation, quite apart from all the other demands on his body, the food he needed each day alone was a considerable expense.

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

Seeing that Zhou Yan still hadn't made a move after finishing his meal, Ma Yan couldn't help asking.

Zhou Yan replied calmly, "We have to wait until a quarter past midnight, when yin energy is at its strongest and the full moon hangs high. That's the time for the final step in refining the zombie. There's no rushing this."

"A quarter past midnight? That's still two or three hours away." Ma Yan looked dumbfounded.

Zhou Yan shrugged slightly. "So you can go back and reassure my elder sister, so she doesn't worry. Come back when it's time."

"You should've said so earlier."

Ma Yan stood up and grumbled before leaving the house.

Only after Ma Yan had gone did Zhou Yan reply blandly, "You didn't ask."

This was the first time Zhou Yan had been alone for so long, and the pressure and unease had weighed on him somewhat.

During their conversation just now, he'd vented some of that pressure, and his mind gradually settled.

For the rest of the time, he did nothing. He simply sat cross-legged, focused his mind, and adjusted himself to his best condition.

As midnight approached, Ma Yan returned.

This time, he was clearly even more nervous. He could barely get a word out.

The closer the moment came, the more anxious he grew.

Zhou Yan, by contrast, was utterly calm, his heart as still as an ancient well.

He and Ma Yan were like two extremes. The closer the final moment drew, the calmer Zhou Yan became. He forcibly suppressed the restlessness, unease, and worry he'd felt before.

Neither of them spoke. After closing the gate, they went straight into the inner room.

Zhou Yan and Ma Yan carried the coffin out into the courtyard together. At Zhou Yan's gesture, Ma Yan retreated far away.

Zhou Yan, meanwhile, kept track of the time and sensed the growing density of the yin energy around him.

At a quarter past midnight, Zhou Yan suddenly lifted the coffin lid, brushed the Yin Soil away from the zombie's face, and exposed its head to the moonlight.

The moonlight fell on the zombie's face, and the corpse, which had been utterly still, began to stir.

Its hands and feet twitched constantly. Its mouth opened now and then, revealing fangs that grew longer before their very eyes.

At the same time, its hands sprouted nails that turned black, sharp, and long.

"Rise."

Zhou Yan cast a spell on the zombie, forming a sword sign with his right hand and lightly tapping its forehead.

The next moment, the zombie's body straightened upright, and the aura around it began to grow. Vast amounts of yin energy converged from every direction and poured into its body.

As Zhou Yan continued casting and the moonlight shone down, the zombie moved more and more, and the aura within it grew stronger and stronger.

Soon, white hair appeared all over the zombie's body.

This was the first stage of a zombie: the White Zombie.

At this stage, a zombie's body was white. It moved slowly and feared light, fire, water, and livestock. It even feared people.

It was like the lowest-level wandering spirit, except that it feared the three flames on the living.

If that were all there was to it, Zhou Yan wouldn't have gone to such lengths to refine it.

Under the effects of the talismans and moonlight, the white hair quickly turned black, leaving the zombie half white and half black.

A flash of light gleamed in Zhou Yan's eyes as he watched.

For his first attempt at refining a zombie, achieving this much was already quite impressive.

But he still felt it wasn't enough. He could do better.

The next moment, Zhou Yan stepped forward, bit his index finger, and forced out a drop of Profound Yin Essence Blood.

The zombie caught the scent of the Profound Yin Essence Blood and began thrashing even more violently. Its eyes snapped open, their green glow fixed greedily on the drop of blood, as if it might pounce at any moment...