“Very well. It seems the previous experiment was accurate. If one doesn’t enter a mission world, time outside passes extremely quickly, practically in the blink of an eye!”
Lightning flashed. Numerous zombies fell to the ground, and a bolt as thick as a python struck Qingping Daoist directly, hitting its mark.
Seeing this, Wu Ming’s eyes gleamed with sharpness.
Just now, he had naturally returned to the Main God’s Hall, consumed his merits, and retrieved the Lesser All-Heaven Thunder Talisman.
Combined with the cost of bringing it out and the original acquisition price, the actual expenditure was naturally much higher than finding this talisman within the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, in a life-threatening situation, how could he still worry about such things?
Surviving and killing a powerful enemy was undoubtedly a great profit.
“Zombies are indeed evil creatures, greatly restrained by thunder!”
Seeing many zombies convulsing on the ground, Feng Han immediately stepped forward, his long blade flashing, severing their heads one by one.
Sizzle!
The once-hard copper and iron zombies, impervious to blades and bullets, now decayed like dead wood, oozing thick black or dark green, foul-smelling blood.
“Master, this evil Daoist is already dead!”
Feng Han moved swiftly, arriving at Qingping Daoist’s location, seeing only a charred corpse, and involuntarily sighed in relief.
“Daoist Qingping… is dead…”
At this moment, even Yu Zhishi, who had both legs severed at the knee, stared in disbelief.
No matter how hard he tried to imagine, he couldn’t believe that the elegant Daoist, who seemed to see through the world and lived freely, had perished under the Lesser All-Heaven Thunder Talisman!
“Keep an eye on him!”
Wu Ming pointed at Yu Zhishi, and Feng Han immediately understood, grinning as he stepped forward.
“What are you going to do… I am…”
Yu Zhishi had a bad premonition, crawling backward, only to see a dark shadow coming, striking his face heavily, spitting out a mouthful of bloodied teeth.
“Hmm? No poison hidden in the teeth. Seems he isn’t a suicide type!”
Feng Han grabbed Yu Zhishi’s neck, dislocated his jaw, examined it carefully, and his tone showed disappointment.
“Stop the bleeding. Don’t let him die!”
Wu Ming gave the order, then ignored the man, approaching Qingping Daoist.
The Lesser All-Heaven Thunder Talisman was immensely powerful. The Daoist was now a charred corpse, with faint blue smoke rising around.
“Truly worthy of being the supreme thunder technique! This is just the Lesser All-Heaven Thunder Talisman. I wonder what the might of a truly advanced thunder technique would be!”
Wu Ming reached out, layers of blackened ash fell from the corpse.
“All reduced to this… probably nothing left as spoils… Hmm?”
After moving around a bit, an iron box fell out, tightly sealed, clearly meant to preserve important items.
“Tsk tsk…”
The iron box felt icy cold in his hands, perfectly sealed, seemingly undamaged even by the previous thunder talisman.
Wu Ming’s eyes lit up. He wrapped the box in cloth, then looked toward the faintly stirring Qingshi Village, immediately saying to Feng Han, “I’ll trouble Master Feng to take Yu Zhishi away for interrogation. We must find out the mastermind. As for this Daoist… he’s the perfect scapegoat sent from heaven.”
“Master Ming!”
Soon after, several servants who had stayed in the village arrived with village guards.
“Hmm… This was an evil Daoist. The previous Wu family deaths were also caused by his sorcery! Now he tried to harm me, so I killed him!”
The dead couldn’t speak to defend themselves, so Wu Ming freely poured the blame onto the Daoist.
“Indeed an evil man!”
At this time, the iron and copper zombies lying on the ground were the best evidence. Combined with Wu Ming’s “prestige,” naturally no one doubted.
“Sigh… Uncle Wu and Brother Wu have both passed away. This matter truly saddens me. I should adopt a son from the collateral branch to inherit the family line!”
Wu Ming glanced at the village head, “So… take ten mu of land from the Wu estate, and I’ll add another ten mu, making it village land. Please trouble the elders once more to handle the funeral affairs of the Wu residence! All expenses will be covered by the Wu family’s fortress!”
“This won’t do…”
The village head politely declined a couple of times, his eyes showing a smile as he agreed, both understanding each other without further words.
The Wu family had such a scandal, naturally not to be publicized. Wu Ming wanted to settle things quietly, offering twenty mu of land as public village land, essentially buying the villagers’ silence.
Moreover, there was much room for manipulation in the funeral expenses.
With such generous distribution, if any villagers still complained, the village head could suppress them.
Not to mention, Wu Ming himself was a major landlord, and few would dare take such a risk.
“Very well… However, the Wu father and son were killed by evil sorcery. This Daoist also had corpse-refining techniques. I’m worried these two might not rest in peace after death. I’ll have to trouble the village head!”
Wu Ming said with a smile, implying that the village head should burn the two corpses, burying only their ashes, to destroy all evidence.
“Of course…”
The village head felt a chill in his heart, seeing the cold gleam in Wu Ming’s eyes, dared not say anything else, and simply nodded.
With the two in agreement, the following matters became much simpler.
With the ironclad evidence on the ground, combined with Wu Ming and the village head’s united account, Daoist Qingping was immediately branded as an evil Daoist, even his corpse to be soaked in a cesspit. Although the local customs were simple and honest, people naturally hated those who manipulated corpses, and with fear, burned the corpse that very night.
…
The moonlight was like water.
Inside the Wu family fortress, Wu Ming sat on a cloud bed, redwood table holding today’s spoils, deep in thought.
“It seems… someone wants to harm Sister Wu Qing! So I became the weak point…”
Wu Ming held his forehead, a cold smile on his lips, “…truly treated like a soft persimmon… Power! I need power!”
This only increased his desire for strength.
The Great Zhou was declining, with regional warlords rising everywhere. Even in a small county, the struggles were so intense. To remain independent in turbulent times and protect the family, how could one manage without power?
“One innate… is far from enough…”
At this time, the iron box had already been checked multiple times. Wu Ming held it, slowly pressing the mechanism.
Click!
After the metallic sound of gears meshing, the iron box slightly cracked open. Wu Ming opened it, his eyes catching a glimpse of jade.
“This is… the Silver Seal Jade Scroll?”
Inside the iron box were not many items, only three, all filled with dense, tiny characters. A jade tablet, inscribed with dense silver seal script, ancient in form, carrying Daoist charm, immediately reminding Wu Ming of the patterns on the Lesser All-Heaven Thunder Talisman.
“Didn’t expect it to be real… Sister Wu Qing mentioned that this material is only used for preserving advanced scriptures. Could I have struck gold?”
Wu Ming was slightly excited, then noticed the jade scroll was only one page, even with a broken edge, which brought some regret.
After moving the jade scroll aside, there was an iron plate underneath, similarly inscribed with text, but in red, filled with a sinister and terrifying aura.
“The Yin Corpse Refining Method?”
Wu Ming flipped the iron plate, seeing on the back an image of a flying night demon, exuding an evil vibe, his face immediately changing: “Evil technique! So this is where Qingping Daoist’s iron zombies came from?”
Inside the iron box, further down, were only a few thin yellow papers, recording some travel notes and casual jottings, which helped Wu Ming understand Qingping Daoist’s background.
According to his notes, this person was originally just a mountain hunter. At twenty, he saw five-colored treasures shining from his backyard mountain at night, a red glow shooting three feet high. Knowing something strange was happening, he followed the light and dug, reaching a depth of about ten feet, finally obtaining the Silver Seal Jade Scroll.
Although this jade scroll was broken, it recorded highly advanced techniques. With it, Qingping Daoist managed to enter the cultivation path, achieving minor success in cultivation. From then on, he traveled widely, seeking noble patrons for support, and also trying to decipher the jade scroll to complete the techniques.
During his travels, his knowledge greatly increased. By chance, he obtained the Yin Corpse Refining Method, treasuring it and beginning to cultivate diligently.
It should be noted that the Silver Seal Jade Scroll was not only incomplete but also had methods without techniques, while the Yin Corpse Refining Method perfectly made up for this deficiency. With it, Qingping Daoist’s cultivation advanced greatly, not only enhancing his combat abilities but also opening his spiritual eyes, naturally understanding geomancy and feng shui, able to judge yin and yang house feng shui, enhancing yang house fortune. Eventually, with these skills, he was hired as a guest Daoist, living comfortably.
Unfortunately, he met his end at Wu Ming’s hands today.
“Tsk tsk… Didn’t expect this person to actually be a genius in metaphysics!”
Although Wu Ming himself didn’t understand, seeing Qingping Daoist’s pride between the lines, he still felt admiration: “Relying only on some broken fragments collected, he managed to self-attain the spiritual eye method, arranging grand geomantic schemes. Too bad… collided with me, your bad luck!”
“Main God’s Hall!”
Wu Ming’s mind stirred, putting the iron box into his arms.
[Detected Main God apprentice’s request. Permission granted. Beginning connection!]
In an instant, Wu Ming arrived in the vast Main God space, the Main God Hall’s magnificent architecture appearing on the cloud peak, like a heavenly palace.
“So no merits are needed to bring this… Could it be because these items cannot immediately increase one’s strength?”
Looking at the iron box in his hand, he thought deeply: “Identify!”
Two beams of light descended, enveloping the iron plate and jade classics. Moments later, a light screen dropped down.
[Yin Corpse Refining Method (Incomplete): A technique of the Corpse Refining Sect that utilizes Nine Nether Qi to refine corpses into puppets, impervious to blades and bullets, capable of flight and burrowing, unstoppable. Divided into five tiers: Copper Zombie, Iron Zombie, Silver Zombie, Gold Zombie, and Flying Night Demon. This incomplete fragment only reaches the Silver Zombie level. Completion requires 500 great merits! Complete it?]
[Huang Ting Yin Fu Jing (Daoist Chapter): Observing the Dao of Heaven, grasping the path of Heaven, natural Dao is tranquil, thus all beings are born. The Dao of Heaven is subtle, thus Yin and Yang prevail. Yin and Yang interact, and changes follow naturally — fundamental Daoist technique, foundation of human immortals, with missing parts. Completing the Daoist section requires 150 great merits! Completing the True Man section requires 500 great merits! Completing the Celestial Master section requires 1000 great merits! Complete it?]
“One is a method, the other a technique?”
Wu Ming first flipped through the Main God’s exchange list, found the Yin Corpse Refining Method and Corpse Refining Sect information, not feeling much moved. However, when he searched for the Huang Ting Yin Fu Jing, his eyes widened!
[Huang Ting Yin Fu Jing – Human Immortal Volume: Observing the Dao of Heaven, grasping the path of Heaven, the path of human immortals is fully described! — Complete Daoist technique, cultivable to the peak of human immortals! Exchange requirement: 200 Tian merits!]
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