Zombies on the Move

Zhao Family Market wasn't far away, but by the time Zhou Yan arrived, the sky had already gone completely dark.

Fortunately, the zombie hadn't appeared yet. Ma Yan had gathered a group of people and lit bonfires. They all held torches, so even an ordinary zombie would probably have stayed away.

Unless it was a Hopping Zombie, even a Black Zombie would fear being outnumbered.

The gathered yang energy of so many young men posed a considerable threat to zombies, too.

With the bonfires added to the mix, the threat to zombies was even greater.

"Yan, you're here."

When Ma Yan saw Zhou Yan, his expression relaxed slightly.

Zhou Yan gave him an exasperated look before asking, "Where's the body? I need to see it myself before I can be sure."

Besides zombies, there were also evil spirits that liked to drain people's blood and essence.

Mountain Demons, for example!

It was also possible that a person was responsible. Only a true cultivator could tell for sure.

"Over here."

Ma Yan felt a little uneasy and hurriedly led Zhou Yan over.

Although Zhao Family Market was fairly large, it had no public mortuary, so the body had been placed in the Ancestral Hall.

Zhou Yan stepped forward to examine it. The victim had indeed died after all his blood and essence had been drained.

He reached toward the corpse's neck. The moment he touched the wound, his hand went numb.

"It's definitely yin energy," Zhou Yan said.

He then took a bamboo tube from the zombie beside him, poured out a handful of glutinous rice, and pressed it hard against the wound.

Rather than expend his blood, essence, and Magic Power, he preferred a method like this that cost him nothing.

When Zhou Yan pulled his hand away, the rice had turned pitch-black.

He casually tossed the contaminated rice onto the corpse and said, "It's definitely a zombie. Burn this body immediately to prevent it from turning."

When Ma Yan heard that, he quickly ordered his men to carry the body away and burn it.

If he hadn't been waiting for Zhou Yan to confirm it, he would have burned the body right away.

"Yan, this is Elder Zhao," Ma Yan said, introducing them as soon as he had dealt with the body.

Standing nearby were Ma Yan and his constables, along with the people of Zhao Family Market.

At their head was a sturdy-looking old man.

Elder Zhao had remained silent, quietly observing Zhou Yan's every move.

Only after Ma Yan introduced them did he smile and greet Zhou Yan first, cupping his hands. "You must be Dharma Master Zhou. Lord Ma has told me all about you."

Zhou Yan returned the gesture with a slight bow. "You're too kind, Elder Zhao."

"Not at all. Zhao Family Market is in trouble, so we must ask Dharma Master Zhou and Lord Ma for help. Once this is over, Zhao Family Market will certainly offer you a token of our gratitude," Elder Zhao said politely.

He was an experienced old man who had seen all kinds of people, and he treated both Zhou Yan and Ma Yan with great courtesy.

"Don't worry, Elder Zhao."

Ma Yan looked more confident, as though Zhou Yan's arrival had reassured him. He seemed more composed as he continued, "As long as it's not some exceptionally powerful evil spirit, I'll take care of it for you."

None of this escaped Elder Zhao's notice.

But he didn't let on. He simply smiled and said, "In that case, I'll leave it to you and Dharma Master Zhou, Lord Ma. If there's anything this old man can do to help, just say the word."

"Elder Zhao, tonight, it'd be best if..."

While Ma Yan spoke with Elder Zhao, Zhou Yan gazed around.

Normally, zombies rarely appeared in a densely populated town like Zhao Family Market.

Vengeful ghosts and Mountain Demons might show up, but zombies were comparatively rare.

They were usually found only in remote places where few people lived and hidden ancient tombs lay nearby.

But Zhao Family Market was close to Shen City. The surrounding areas were densely populated, and the land had all been cultivated. How could there be a hidden ancient tomb?

"So there are only two possibilities. Either it was created recently, or some corpse driver is responsible for it..." Zhou Yan mused silently.

Most corpse drivers could transport corpses without incident, but mishaps did happen from time to time.

These mishaps, whether caused by natural disasters or human error, came without warning. In the end, it was the people at the bottom who suffered.

The people living outside the city were especially vulnerable to all kinds of evil spirits.

"But there've been far too many zombies appearing around Shen City lately..."

The thought flashed through Zhou Yan's mind, but he didn't dwell on it.

They were only ordinary zombies. It wasn't strange for there to be more of them, and they posed little danger.

But if a Flying Zombie or a Drought Demon showed up, that would be a real problem!

As the night grew darker, the crowds gradually dispersed and went home. Ma Yan and his constables stayed in the Ancestral Hall, along with Elder Zhao and some of the sturdy young men from Zhao Family Market.

Ma Yan tried to persuade Elder Zhao to go home, but Elder Zhao refused.

"They're only zombies. When I was young, I traveled the world. What haven't I seen?" Elder Zhao declared boldly.

Considering his age, energy, physique, and voice, he might well have had some martial arts training.

So Ma Yan didn't try to persuade him again.

As for Zhou Yan, he sat beside the bonfire outside with his zombie, waiting for the other zombie to appear.

Now that he had learned the Dharma Eye Curse, he no longer had to rely solely on sensing yin energy.

As soon as the zombie arrived, he could use the Dharma Eye Curse to see exactly where it was.

Zhou Yan was completely relaxed, even gazing up at the sky with interest.

He had spent these past days cultivating day and night. The enchanting night sky could no longer hold his attention.

He knew that at a certain point, cultivation required more than just arduous practice; it also required insight.

But he hadn't reached that stage yet!

Right now, he just needed to push himself, build a solid foundation, and cultivate diligently.

As for everything else, he could think about it later.

People had different thoughts and behaved differently at every stage of life.

The same was true of cultivation.

Even so, it was good to relax once in a while.

He had pushed himself too hard before, nearly wrecking his health.

Now that he had finished making his zombie and had entered the first stage of cultivation, he no longer felt as if he were in the same desperate rush as before.

Suddenly, the zombie beside Zhou Yan seemed to notice something and shifted slightly toward a certain direction.

Zhou Yan's heart stirred, and he immediately cast the Dharma Eye Curse.

"Dharma Eye, open!"

As the Dharma Eye Curse took effect, everything in Zhou Yan's field of vision changed, as if a blurry veil had been drawn over it.

But things invisible to the naked eye became clearly visible through the Dharma Eye.

Several hundred meters away, a stream of gray-black energy was steadily approaching the town...