The Fiendish Corpse

"Damn it, the Qing Dynasty's been gone for ages, and these old nobles are still loaded."

Chen Yulou and the others had emerged, and all eyes were drawn to the Golden Coffin. Hua Maguai sounded especially resentful.

"They spent centuries squeezing the people dry. Of course they're rich."

Chen Yulou shook his head. As the leader of Xieling, he wasn't about to be intimidated by a Golden Coffin.

Meanwhile, Lu Yan, watching from a short distance away, had already activated his Sharingan and was staring at the Golden Coffin.

From Lu Yan's perspective, black corpse energy streamed continuously out of the Golden Coffin, shifting shapes again and again as it collided with the yang energy in the ink-dipped net.

"Tsk, tsk. What a vicious thing."

Lu Yan clicked his tongue in wonder. Even in broad daylight, the corpse energy was this potent. The Border Imperial Clan member had probably become a Furry Zombie.

After Daoist Simu had explained things to him, Lu Yan had learned a little about zombies.

Common zombies were generally divided into Purple Zombies, White Zombies, Furry Zombies, Flying Zombies, and Unrotting Bones.

In this era, when the Dao was in decline, even a Flying Zombie could become a Zombie King. Unless a Golden Core-stage Celestial Master appeared, no one could subdue it.

Fortunately, Zombie Kings were exceedingly rare. The zombies most commonly encountered were Purple Zombies and White Zombies.

Furry Zombies were already formidable. They had skin like copper and bones like iron, moved swiftly, and were highly resistant to ordinary spells. They no longer feared ordinary fire, and could even withstand sunlight.

If this Border Imperial Clan member had become a Furry Zombie, it was no wonder Daoist Qianhe couldn't handle it in the movie. Even Daoist Simu and Master Yixiu had barely managed to defeat it.

Lu Yan rested a hand on his chin, deep in thought. Hua Laoguai, standing beside him, was startled.

"Chief, look!"

Hua Maguai had circled around to Chen Yulou's back and whispered to him.

Chen Yulou turned to look, his eyes widening in astonishment.

He had been born in a dim underground palace, and his eyes had adapted to the dark. His eyesight was far better than an ordinary person's, allowing him to see in darkness. Everyone considered it a marvel.

But Lu Yan had had black hair and black eyes before. Now his eyes had turned blood-red, with three tomoe-like shapes in each. It was astonishing—and even frightening.

If it weren't broad daylight, and if Daoist Simu, a renowned Daoist master, weren't there with them, Chen Yulou might have thought Lu Yan was possessed by a demon.

Lu Yan naturally noticed Chen Yulou and the others' reaction. He didn't mind and turned to smile at them.

Suppressing his surprise, Chen Yulou stepped forward and asked, "Brother Lu, those eyes of yours don't seem ordinary. Would you tell me about them?"

Lu Yan saw Hua Maguai and Red Maiden straining to eavesdrop, and teased, "Chief Chen, aren't you afraid I'm a monster?"

"Haha, Brother Lu, you're joking. Why would I think you were a monster?"

Chen Yulou laughed heartily, putting on a bold front.

"They're a special eye technique my family is born with. It's called the Sharingan, and it has all sorts of uses."

Lu Yan smiled and stopped teasing him.

"I see."

Chen Yulou nodded and exchanged a look with Hua Maguai and the others.

Hua Maguai pulled Chen Yulou aside and whispered, "Chief, it seems Lu Yan has some real abilities. Should we invite him to Bottle Mountain?"

Chen Yulou thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Let's wait and see. We still don't know what he can do."

Lu Yan left them to it. He went over to Master Yixiu and Daoist Simu, who had just come out, and took them aside to tell them exactly what he had seen.

"Junior Brother Qianhe is in serious trouble this time."

Simu's face grew grave as he listened.

"Amitabha. We must inform Daoist Brother Qianhe."

Master Yixiu rolled the prayer beads in his hand. He, too, felt the situation was serious.

"I'll go tell him."

Simu headed straight for the place where Qianhe was resting.

"Junior Brother, you..."

After hearing the news, Daoist Qianhe stared in shock. Clearly, he hadn't known about it either.

"What are we going to do?"

"This ink-dipped net and Golden Coffin won't hold a Furry Zombie."

Qianhe paced anxiously. He had thrown in his lot with the old nobles because they had plentiful resources that would help his cultivation, not because he planned to risk his life for them.

"Hey, Qianhe, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up!"

Steward Wu, waiting for Qianhe nearby, had grown impatient. He clutched a handkerchief and spoke in an affected, shrill voice.

"If you delay Prince Forty-One's journey, you'll regret it."

Lu Yan listened nearby and curled his lip in disdain. Prince Forty-One, huh? The Qing Dynasty had been gone for ages.

Stepping forward, he suggested, "Daoist Qianhe, the zombie's corpse energy is surging. It's probably desperate to break free. Why don't you go on ahead, and we'll follow close behind and destroy it together?"

Qianhe pondered for a moment, then hardened his expression. "All right. We'll do that."

"Senior Brother, Fellow Daoist Lu, Master Yixiu, I'll head out first."

Qianhe clasped his hands in a deep salute, then set off again with his group.

Once they had gone some distance, Chen Yulou and the others came over. Chen Yulou asked curiously, "Daoist Simu, what's going on?"

Simu shook his head gravely. "I'm going back to fetch my equipment. Ask Lu Yan." He headed back as he spoke.

"Amitabha."

Master Yixiu patted Lu Yan on the shoulder, then went back to get his ritual implements as well.

"Brother Lu, what's going on?"

Chen Yulou looked confused.

"The Border Imperial Clan member in that Golden Coffin is a Furry Zombie."

"We're going to kill it."

Lu Yan had no intention of going back. All his belongings were either in his Kamui Dimension or on him.

"A Furry Zombie..."

Chen Yulou drew a sharp breath. He clearly knew how dangerous one could be.

"Chief Chen, care to come along and see the fun?"

Lu Yan lifted his head and gave Chen Yulou a knowing smile.

Seeing his expression, Chen Yulou naturally didn't want Lu Yan to think him a coward. He puffed out his chest and declared, "Of course I'm going!"

"As the leader of Xieling, would I, Chen Yulou, ever be afraid of death?"

Looking at Chen Yulou, Lu Yan thought of the face-saving Chen Yulou from the movie and nearly burst out laughing.

"That's the spirit, Chief Chen."

Lu Yan patted Chen Yulou on the chest and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Let's go."

A short while later, Daoist Simu and Master Yixiu emerged, fully prepared.

"That's quite a setup."

Lu Yan looked at Simu's getup and couldn't help but comment.

Simu had a ritual sword strapped to his back, and he held another one in his hands—a ridiculously huge one.

"Daoist Simu, what's your philosophy of forging weapons? Bigger means stronger?"

Lu Yan couldn't resist making fun of him.

Master Yixiu held a large string of prayer beads and laughed. "Simu once ran into a giant snake demon. It was so enormous that sword cuts barely hurt it, and Simu suffered badly at its hands."

"After he got back, he learned his lesson and kept forging bigger and bigger swords."

"Shut up, you old monk!"

Simu glared at Lu Yan and Chen Yulou, who were trying not to laugh, and snapped in embarrassment.

"Enough, enough. Let's go."

Seeing Simu's embarrassment, Yixiu waved a hand and hurried off ahead.

"Let's go."

Lu Yan and the others exchanged looks and hurried after him.