Everything Had Become the Past

To be honest, Zhang Xuezhou was quite proud of his survival skills.

Among the many great cultivators, he was an extremely special existence. His survival ability even surpassed that of his senior brother Tathagata by several times, not to mention that of other cultivators.

But after comparing himself to Shi Wudao, Zhang Xuezhou withdrew his little bit of pride.

He had indeed rarely seen a cultivator who had survived so many life-and-death ordeals.

Of course, Shi Wudao was not the only one. For example, Zhang Xuezhou had also seen the Gaozu Emperor who was reincarnated, and he had also seen the immortal soul of 'Bai'.

However, Emperor Gaozu had the advantage of good fortune and divine intervention, 'Bai' was a creature from another land, and only Shi Wudao was a survivor who relied purely on his skills to continuously reincarnate.

"Hey, Corpse Sect Master, how did you comprehend this Chapter on Life and Death? I just can't understand it!"

The calm Shi Wudao and the furious Emperor Jing exchanged a few words before falling silent.

Zhang Xuezhou waited a few seconds, then shouted at the flying zombie.

"There are great fortuitous opportunity between life and death. Only those who dare to die can understand life. If you don't die, how can you understand the destiny between life and death?" the flying zombie said.

"What a pity! The thing I hate most in this life is death!"

Zhang Xuezhou sighed, feeling that Shi Wudao's research direction was completely opposite to his own.

"What a coincidence! To cultivate the power of life and death, you need a strong will to survive. You won't regret learning it; you might need it someday," Shi Wudao recommended.

"It's so boring to die!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand.

He has been exposed to quite a few top-tier theories over the years.

In his early years, he read about things that seemed like astronomy, but now he understands that they are enlightenment chapters about control and domain.

Shi Wudao seemed almost supernatural, but in reality, the other party controlled the balance between life and death, and this control was even limited to himself.

If he cannot establish a domain that controls life and death, Shi Wudao will only become a punching bag, getting beaten up on one side and on the other, until he is beaten to death and only then can he use his control to revive himself.

Zhang Xuezhou thought it would be great to learn this skill.

But if one has to die to learn it, Zhang Xuezhou thinks it's better not to learn it at all.

"Since you're not interested, is the cultivator who inherited my mantle interested?" Shi Wudao asked.

"Forget it, I don't want to be tricked into dying and then cause trouble by having your body possessed," Rong Tianding waved his hand and refused.

"What a pity, my little scheme was seen through!"

Shi Wudao muttered a dissatisfied grumble, then fell silent, seemingly disappearing into stillness.

"Shi Wudao's personality is both righteous and wicked. When he's righteous, he'll teach you earnestly; when he's wicked, he'll kill you without mercy. You guys are lucky you knew when to back down and weren't harmed by him!"

A muffled, hoarse voice came from within the flying zombie, clearly indicating that their roles had been switched.

"Judging from your official robes, you must be an official from Yingling. Do you know who I am?"

"You don't even know who I am, so why should I know who you are!"

Zhang Xuezhou shook his head.

He clearly wouldn't acknowledge Emperor Jing anymore.

Let alone Zhang Xuezhou, even if the new emperor were standing here, he wouldn't hug a zombie and call him "Father Emperor."

This is not just a simple change in the species of living beings; it also involves changes in memory, cognition, and so on.

The zombie in front of them seemed more like a newborn spirit that had acquired some of Emperor Jing's memories. These memories were like an actor playing a role; even if one was so immersed in the role that they couldn't escape its influence, they were still an actor.

Song Fengying and Zhang Weimeng have also been affected by similar roles, and even now they occasionally fall ill and need to rest for a day or two to get rid of the influence of the illusory roles.

Zhang Xuezhou clearly disagreed with the other party and chose to directly reject the offer.

"Your face looks familiar; I think I've seen you before... It seems everything that belonged to me is truly over!"

Even the high-ranking officials of the Great Han Dynasty who entered the tomb did not recognize people, which gives you an idea of how others would react.

The flying zombie let out a series of low roars; even if it didn't want to admit it, it had to accept reality.

"What is the state of the court now? Is Liu Che still alive? What about Empress Wang Zhi? What about the Empress Dowager? Has the State of Liang rebelled? How many kingdoms have participated in this rebellion...?"

Looking at the bent Red Empyrean Sword in his hand, the flying zombie had a thousand questions he wanted to ask.

But after asking many questions, he fell silent again.

All of this seems to be related to him, but in reality, it is no longer connected. Whether he knows it or not, the established facts cannot be changed, and he has no power to change anything that will happen in the future.

The flying zombie's upright body gradually stiffened, and then it slowly crawled down again.

"Hey, don't be so discouraged. Next time I'll bring in some traitors and rebels, you can take your anger out on them!"

Seeing the flying zombie transform from standing to a crouching, beast-like form, its blurred face seemingly listening intently and on guard, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but shout.

Rong Tianding couldn't control the flying zombies, and using the Southern Bright Fire might backfire on him, or it might clash with the remaining fortune of Emperor Jing, thus bringing misfortune upon him. Zhang Xuezhou didn't want to try it lightly.

But the things that need to be done still need to be done. On the one hand, the Red Empyrean Sword cannot be carried around by the flying zombies; it needs to be kept in a safe place and may even be used as bait to kill those who are not on good terms. On the other hand, Rong Tianding will need to use Yangling for cultivation in the future or to kill other cultivators. The flying zombies, if not assisting, should at least not cause trouble.

Zhang Xuezhou called out several times and then explained the rules for their interaction.

After a long while, the flying zombie did not respond, but the Red Empyrean Sword was dropped down.

"It seems we can establish a basic agreement for cooperation. See you next time!"

Zhang Xuezhou approached cautiously.

Only after picking up the Red Empyrean Sword did he retreat in large strides.

We'll bring you good news next time!

Rong Tianding followed suit with a shout, prompting the flying zombie to spit out two "Pui!"s in quick succession.

The spitting sound came from Shi Wudao, who clearly didn't believe that Zhang Xuezhou and the others would bring any good news, but rather a high probability of bringing high risks.

The other spitting sound came from Emperor Jing's hoarse voice. This was Emperor Jing's Yangling Mausoleum, and he clearly did not like having his tomb shared or even being used by others.

But no matter how much they disliked it, they had no choice but to endure it, since they had to face the reality that they couldn't do anything about Zhang Xuezhou and the others.

The uniqueness of Yangling lies in the richness of the corpse Sha Qi. This is due to a combination of factors such as the Ten Thousand Corpse Pit, the Corpse Without Way, the arrangement of Emperor Jing's burial, and the formations, which created the ominous and perilous place of the corpse evil energy. It is not because there is a flying zombie in the tomb.

If the environment of Yangling is removed, the threat posed by a flying zombie is limited.

It's not uncommon for people to appear amicable to each other, but then turn around and kill each other.

They needed to demonstrate a certain level of cooperation to avoid being ambushed by Zhang Xuezhou and his associates.

For a zombie creature with an imperial mindset, this situation is all too easy to determine.

As Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding retreated, the area of the mausoleum where the eternal lamps had been destroyed gradually dimmed until only darkness remained.

Occasionally, the sound of panting could be heard in the darkness, followed by two whispers and shouts, before all sounds ceased and everything fell into complete silence.