Sword in hand, Chen Jin turned his head, straining to catch sight of the fleeing black shadow.
But his opponent was far too fast. It turned into a wisp of black smoke and vanished into the distant darkness in an instant, leaving no way to distinguish it.
Zombies did not sweat.
If they did, Chen Jin would certainly have been drenched in sweat. He lowered his head to examine the blood on the Slay Evil Sword and discovered that instead of dripping down its blade, the blood had been absorbed into the fish-scale damask patterns on it.
As though certain suspicions in his heart had been confirmed, he grinned. His smile was chilling.
A faint pain came from the cut on his right hand, indicating the changes taking place within him:
In truth, he was no longer a zombie devoid of all sensation.
Then did his present state count as "half-human, half-zombie"?
At the very beginning, his soul had been his soul, and his bodily shell had been his bodily shell. But opening and connecting the three hand yang meridians had established a connection between them.
That connection would grow ever closer until they fused completely, whereupon he would shed his corpse skin and become a truly living person.
This was precisely the path Chen Jin had chosen to walk.
The choice of path was determined not only by the soul's thoughts, but also by cultivation method secret manuals.
The two orthodox profound arts, the Dragon-Tiger Inner Treasury Mysterious Scripture and the Eight Scenes Contemplation and Visualization Method, had naturally set the tone.
The moonlight was faint, the surroundings quiet and secluded.
The monkeys had been frightened away. There was no telling how far they had fled, or whether they would return.
If they did not, when the monkey king returned to discover he had become a commander without troops, would he feel sad and grieved?
Chen Jin shook his head and returned beneath the old banyan tree.
Although he could see at night and the darkness had little effect on him, he always felt that there ought to be a lamp burning where he lived.
Only with a lamp burning could it truly be called a home.
Even if this was only a temporary dwelling.
Besides, with lamplight shining, those sinister spirits and uncanny creatures would not dare possess him so readily.
Moreover, Chen Jin increasingly felt that the shrine was cramped and confining, like a stone coffin.
It was not that he disliked it. His thinking had simply changed, and with it, his perspective on things.
The night passed without further incident.
The day was overcast. The morning sun was trapped within the clouds and could not emerge, thwarting Chen Jin's wish to try absorbing the morning sun's purple Qi and leaving him rather disappointed.
He knew the sun was there all along, merely concealed by the clouds.
But he was no true immortal master, capable of parting the clouds to reveal the sun.
Since he could not gather Qi, he would practice the sword. The Nine Chapters of Sword Exegesis was his most crucial and relied-upon means of attack.
He practiced for over two hours.
After finishing his sword practice, he considered for a moment, then took his curved saber, put on his bamboo-leaf hat, and headed out.
"Eek, eek, eek!"
A mountain monkey's cries rang out.
A little monkey was hiding atop the brick ruins, peeking out to see whether Chen Jin was still alive.
An idea stirred in Chen Jin's mind, and he beckoned to it.
The little monkey hesitated briefly before finally running up to him.
Chen Jin reached out and stroked its little head.
This gesture immediately sent the little monkey into a fit of excitement. It promptly knelt on the ground, imitating what the monkey king had done before.
Chen Jin: "..."
Not bothering to correct it, he asked in a hoarse voice, "You, do you know where there's bamboo? Bamboo?"
He unconsciously gestured.
The little monkey was a clever one. After pondering for a while, it understood and immediately led the way toward the ferry landing.
Chen Jin looked up at the sky. Reassured, he followed.
This was his first time leaving Banyan Tree Slope and walking outside in broad daylight.
Things were different now. With no direct sunlight either, he encountered no hindrance or discomfort whatsoever. The cool breeze was rather pleasant.
Before long, the little monkey led Chen Jin to a wild bamboo grove.
Chen Jin went forward to inspect it. Suddenly sensing something, he looked up and saw a vividly patterned snake coiled there, as thick as an arm.
The little monkey spotted the snake too. Entirely unafraid, it immediately grabbed a stone and hurled it, trying to drive the snake away.
Startled, the large snake raised its head and flicked its tongue, hissing.
"Hmm?"
Chen Jin stepped forward.
The snake seemed to sense something and slithered away in a flash.
Chen Jin reached out to inspect the bamboo. After a while, he found a suitable stalk and chopped it down with his curved saber.
The slender stalk was over ten feet long, its material tough and resilient. It would suffice.
He had come to cut bamboo because he wanted to make a talisman brush.
Bamboo would serve as the handle, and he already had material for the tip. Among the gifts of apology the Yellow Immortal Clan had sent last time was a bundle of tail-tip hairs, imbued with spirituality-an excellent material.
Once the talisman brush was made, he could draw talismans.
Chen Jin knew how to draw talismans.
The four arts of immortal cultivation: pill refining, artifact crafting, talismans, and formations.
In his memories, he had dabbled in all of them.
Pill refining, artifact crafting, and formations demanded many tools and external materials. He currently lacked the means to pursue them, leaving only talisman drawing.
With a talisman brush, even without talisman paper, he could draw on cloth, walls, or even tree trunks.
In essence, they were all carriers.
Talisman paper was merely the most suitable because it was smooth and flat.
Talisman ink was a problem, but it was not as though he had no ink to use.
Blood, especially innate Essence Blood, was an exceptionally fine talisman ink.
When cultivators found themselves in peril with no other options, they would often bite the tips of their tongues and spray blood into talismans, using them to escape with their lives.
In fact, when Chen Jin had drawn blood with his magic sword last night to repel that demonic specter, the principle behind it had been much the same.
The difference lay in the power and effect of the Blood Qi.
For ordinary people, their Qi and Blood could only intimidate wandering ghosts. Against formidable sinister spirits, they were powerless and would only become blood food.
Regardless, he would make the talisman brush first.
As the saying went, extra skills were no burden. Having another means of defending himself through talismans and incantations was always a good thing.
Especially against sinister spirits and the like, it could work wonders.
That demonic specter had left him with a vicious threat: it would return.
He had to be on guard.
Chen Jin felt he had provoked no one and merely wanted to cultivate in peace, yet trouble insisted on coming to his door.
He had a vague feeling that such troubles would only grow more numerous.
The next two days were both overcast. Yuan Bai and Huang Yu, who had gone to Black Wind Mountain for that blasted gathering, had still not returned. There was no knowing whether things were going smoothly.
Chen Jin instinctively felt that they would not.
It was obvious enough upon reflection: with a horde of demons dancing wild and gathering under one roof, it would be strange if nothing happened. That was why he had not attended.
He wanted to conceal his abilities, and he had no interest whatsoever.
The mountain monkeys that had scattered below the slope, however, returned home one after another. It seemed this troop was quite cohesive. Even without their king present, they had not readily disbanded.
Early on the third morning, a fish-belly white appeared along the eastern horizon. It looked as though the morning sun would rise.
Chen Jin leaped up into the tree and sat atop its crown, ready to greet the sunrise.
Over the past few days, he had carefully made every preparation. This time, he had sufficient confidence and was determined to gather his first wisp of the morning sun's purple Qi.
This wisp of Qi was truly crucial. If he continued to fail to ingest it, it would be like an imbalance of yin and yang, causing Corpse Qi to stagnate within him and his overall cultivation progress to stall. Given enough time, problems would certainly arise.
Sitting in the tree, Chen Jin exhaled, suppressed his stray thoughts, and gazed eastward.
The next moment, the night Qi dispersed, morning clouds blazed forth, and a red sun slowly rose...