“Lin!” Seeing the zombie charging fiercely, Sun Busan was the first to react. With a gesture of his hands forming a magical seal, a glowing shield instantly appeared before the group.
At the same time, Sun Busi quickly uttered, “Chi!” and a hazy green glow descended from the sky, directly striking toward the zombie’s head.
With a sharp “Jiu” sound, the zombie spread its arms and lunged forward, producing a dull thud as it slammed into Sun Busan’s magical barrier, causing it to waver and dim considerably.
Finding itself unable to break through the shield, the zombie didn’t hesitate. Without any visible preparation, it suddenly retreated. Sun Busi’s green light swept through empty air, striking the ground and raising clouds of dust.
No one expected the zombie to be so fast and so powerful, which filled them all with fear. They could only imagine how much worse it would be if it had completed the blood ritual transformation like the recently deceased Stone Guardian, gaining even greater strength.
Brothers Sun Busan and Sun Busi shouted continuously. One desperately used his magic to protect the group, while the other manipulated a jade talisman, directing the green light to chase after the zombie. However, the creature was surprisingly strong and agile. It darted around like a flash of white light, occasionally attacking. Though it lacked magical abilities and relied solely on brute force, the group could do nothing but cower passively within the shield, watching helplessly as the barrier weakened and Sun Busan’s face grew increasingly pale.
Realizing the situation was dire, Mei Qing quickly activated his true essence, illuminating his golden elixir, intending to use thunder-binding techniques to locate the zombie’s vital points, preparing for a last-ditch effort should their defenses fail.
Sun Busan’s barrier only blocked external threats, allowing Mei Qing’s spiritual sense to pass through unimpeded. Instantly, his consciousness extended outward, attaching remotely to the zombie. However, as he attempted to examine it with his abilities, Mei Qing was startled.
All magical techniques and phenomena in the world are governed by the principles of yin-yang and the five elements. Regardless of their transformations, there are always key nodes or pivotal points where these changes originate. Thunder-binding techniques do not rely on elemental interactions but instead target these critical points, making them especially refined among binding arts.
For example, previously when dealing with the myriad puppets, Sun Busan and Sun Busi struggled to find a way to suppress them. Mei Qing, without hesitation, directly sought out the point of true yang energy and immediately sealed it. Although the puppet eventually broke free, it was due to insufficient power rather than any flaw in the technique, showcasing the effectiveness of thunder-binding.
However, this time when Mei Qing attempted to detect the zombie’s vital points, he was greatly surprised. There were no ordinary key points within the zombie. Instead, at its forehead, chest, and lower abdomen, there were three extremely dark talismans.
These three talismans slowly rotated individually while also resonating with each other, forming a cohesive whole. Mei Qing faintly sensed that these talismans were gradually absorbing moonlight, channeling it into the zombie’s body, thus creating its formidable attacking power.
Mei Qing’s mastery of thunder-binding techniques was entirely self-taught, without any guidance or experience shared with him. While he could handle simpler issues before, he now found himself at a complete loss. He stood frozen in place.
Sun Busan angrily shouted, while Sun Busi remained silent, eyes wide open, fully focused on controlling the green light to chase the zombie. Others like Zhao Dayou were half-dead with fear, fumbling nervously in his robe. At one moment, he pulled out a donkey’s hoof, asking, “Senior Sun… can this be used?”
Then he grabbed a handful of sticky rice, trembling as he asked, “Maybe throwing some rice will scare it?”
Already furious, Sun Busan saw this behavior and became even more enraged, shouting, “If you keep making noise like this, old man will throw you out directly to feed that monster, just to have some peace and quiet!”
Hearing this, Zhao Dayou hurriedly put away the donkey hoof and other items. After hesitating for a while, he secretly took out a peach-wood sword, gripping it tightly while repeatedly chanting in his mind, “Taishang Laojun, Sakyamuni, Guanyin Bodhisattva, please save me!”
Yao Dingguo and Zhou Chang had originally followed Mei Qing, believing someone was merely pretending to be supernatural. They never expected a real zombie to appear, let alone one so difficult to deal with. Though they were skilled in martial arts, their abilities were only ordinary human skills. In such a situation, they could not offer any real help. However, with no way to retreat, they each drew their swords and stood ready, prepared to rush forward to rescue Mei Qing if the situation worsened.
Mei Qing repeatedly tried his detection technique, attempting to determine the flow of energy among the three talismans but failed each time. As the situation became increasingly critical, he noticed Sun Busan’s protective barrier was shrinking and dimming, with Sun Busan sweating profusely and looking increasingly tense. Knowing there was no time left for careful thought, Mei Qing gritted his teeth, directing his spiritual sense and true essence toward the talisman on the zombie’s chest. Forming a hand seal, he chanted, “Yin and Yang are divided, thunder is born, binding begins. Freeze!”
As the incantation was spoken, his spiritual sense extended outward, attempting to bind the talisman on the zombie’s chest. However, within a blink, energy from the other two talismans surged in, instantly dispelling the binding with no trace left.
Mei Qing silently cursed his bad luck. The zombie, seemingly sensing the attempt, let out a sharp shriek, apparently enraged, and its attacks intensified by another notch.
Sun Busan, seeing the worsening situation, shouted in a high-pitched voice, “Where did this weird thing come from? It’s so hard to deal with. Brother Three, you don’t need to fight anymore. If things go badly, quickly take Mei Qing and run. Otherwise, if he gets eaten by this monster, we two brothers won’t have a good outcome when we return.”
Sun Busi, with a worried expression, replied, “What a pity, what a pity! All beings are equal. Brother Two, how can you suggest we only save Mei Qing and ignore the others? That would be a grave mistake.”
Sun Busan angrily shouted, “What do you mean by all beings being equal? If that’s the case, then you and this monster are equal too? If you’re equal, why can’t you defeat it?”
Sun Busi was momentarily speechless. After a while, he replied, “Brother Two, you misunderstood. I meant equality in status, not in abilities. Although we can’t defeat this monster, as living beings, our statuses are equal.”
“Spit, spit!” Sun Busan screamed, “What equality do you have with it? Clearly, it is in the position of trying to eat you, while you are in the position of being eaten. Unless it eats you and you become one with it, then you can talk about equality. Until then, just focus on what you need to do!”
Yao Dingguo and Zhou Chang exchanged glances. Zhou Chang loudly said, “Senior masters, if anything goes wrong, you two should take Mei Qing and leave first. I and the others will do our best to hold it back, so we all won’t perish here.”
Mei Qing shook his head and said, “Since I brought everyone here, we must face this together. How can I run away at the critical moment? Let’s not discuss this again. Besides, we haven’t necessarily lost yet. How can we say such discouraging words? Senior Sun Busan, since continuing to defend like this isn’t working, you should remove the protective barrier. Senior Sun Busi, once Senior Sun Busan removes the defense, don’t worry about the zombie. Just go directly and capture Yang Jin on the ground. This zombie is the transformed father of Yang Jin. Earlier, I noticed that he still had some awareness and seemed to care about Yang Jin. If we capture Yang Jin, the zombie might hesitate out of concern, giving us an opportunity to strike. Although Mei Qing spoke confidently, he had no real certainty in his heart. However, after listening to Yang Jin and the Stone Guardian’s conversation earlier and thinking through his limited knowledge of cultivation, he deduced that Yang Jin’s father had been cursed in life and his soul was trapped in his corpse after death, gradually transforming into a zombie through the refining power of the sun and moon.
Since he had not yet fully transformed into a pure zombie, he might still retain some awareness of the most significant people from his past life. Earlier, when the zombie emerged, it looked around for Yang Jin and became extremely angry upon seeing him lying on the ground, which seemed to confirm this.
Moreover, Hou Shen had not appeared since entering the scene. Seeing how powerful and fast the zombie was, Mei Qing speculated that perhaps Hou Shen, wielding a sharp weapon, might have a way to deal with it. However, with the group huddled together and the zombie constantly attacking, Hou Shen was likely hiding nearby, unable to find an opening. Mei Qing’s plan was to create a moment of chaos by capturing Yang Jin, hoping to provide an opportunity for Hou Shen to strike from the shadows.
Everyone knew Mei Qing usually acted only after careful planning, and his words often proved accurate. With no better ideas, they reluctantly nodded in agreement. Sun Busan and Sun Busi exchanged glances and nodded together. Sun Busan suddenly retracted his hand seal and shouted, “Withdraw!”
At the same time, Sun Busi pointed his fingers and chanted, “Li Mu Luo Zha!” The green light abruptly vanished, and the jade talisman rose into the air, spinning rapidly. Suddenly, it emitted a burst of green light, transforming into dozens of green threads resembling tentacles, directly heading toward Yang Jin on the ground.
The zombie had been raising both hands, charging fiercely at Sun Busan’s barrier. Suddenly, the barrier disappeared, and its attack missed entirely, causing it to nearly stumble forward. As a zombie, its legs were stiff and it couldn’t turn easily, relying solely on its jumping ability. It barely managed to steady itself when it suddenly noticed the group was now defenseless. Its eyes flared with ferocity, ready to pounce. But instead of blocking it, Sun Busi turned his attention to attacking Yang Jin on the ground. Enraged, the zombie let out a piercing scream and immediately turned to grab Sun Busi’s jade talisman.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage