In the living room.
"Master, if you're worried, how about we escort them part of the way?"
Seeing his master's worried expression, Xiao Yu suggested.
Even though he had intervened and not dismantled the rain shelter, he wasn't sure if there would be any issues.
"Escort them, yes, let's do that.
Jia Le, you stay and guard the house.
Xiao Yu, pack up your things and come with me."
Taoist Priest Simu went inside to gather his magical artifacts, and Xiao Yu did the same.
Once the master and disciple were ready, they set off immediately, heading in the direction where Taoist Priest Qianhe's group had gone.
After a long chase, the sky darkened as night fell.
When Taoist Priest Simu and Xiao Yu arrived at the tall forest, the weather suddenly changed, with a violent storm accompanied by lightning and thunder.
"In such a storm, I doubt that little rain shelter on the golden coffin will hold.
Xiao Yu, let's pick up the pace."
Seeing the situation, Taoist Priest Simu hurriedly quickened his steps, ignoring the pouring rain.
***
On the other side, Taoist Priest Qianhe and his group were caught off guard by the fierce storm and hurriedly set up a tent.
Taoist Priest Qianhe was particularly worried about the golden coffin. When he went to check, he found that the rain shelter couldn't withstand the wind and rain, and the black dog blood and ink line on the reins had been washed away by the rain.
His face turned grim, and he urgently urged the soldiers to speed up.
"Get more people, quickly set up a tent."
The soldiers busily set up a tent.
Taoist Priest Qianhe hurriedly instructed the soldiers to push the golden coffin into the tent to shelter from the rain.
"Hey, what are you doing? Stop, let the Little Prince go in first."
Wu Shilang saw the tent and stopped the soldiers pushing the golden coffin, leading the Little Prince's sedan chair into the tent, occupying it first.
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"Wu Shilang, the black dog blood on the reins has been washed away by the rain. If this continues, there will be big trouble. Let the golden coffin go in first."
Taoist Priest Qianhe hurriedly explained the reason.
"No, this tent is for the Little Prince. If he catches a cold in the rain, will you take responsibility?"
Wu Shilang only knew that taking care of the Little Prince was the most important thing.
"You..."
Taoist Priest Qianhe was so angry he couldn't speak, but he was helpless.
"Hmph~"
Taoist Priest Qianhe turned and left, urging the soldiers to quickly set up another tent.
When the other tent was finally set up, Taoist Priest Qianhe urgently instructed the soldiers to push the golden coffin inside.
However, the heavy rain had made the ground muddy and slippery, and despite the soldiers' efforts, they couldn't move it.
Taoist Priest Qianhe called four disciples to help, but before they reached the coffin, a bolt of lightning struck the golden coffin, electrocuting the soldiers pushing it, leaving them charred and lifeless on the ground.
Before Taoist Priest Qianhe could check, the lid of the golden coffin was suddenly pushed open.
Taoist Priest Qianhe reacted quickly, jumping onto the lid to press it down.
"East, South, West, North, secure the reins."
Taoist Priest Qianhe shouted loudly.
The four disciples immediately threw out the reins, and Taoist Priest Qianhe took them, binding the golden coffin to prevent anything from coming out.
Unexpectedly, the lid was still pushed open with great force, and Taoist Priest Qianhe was thrown off along with it, the lid landing on his leg.
At this moment, a zombie jumped out of the coffin, biting a soldier, and after sucking his blood, pounced on others.
Seeing this, the four disciples quickly threw out the reins to bind the zombie.
But the zombie was incredibly strong, pulling Ah Nan in front of it, raising its arm to strike.
"Crack~"
Fortunately, Ah Nan had a protective jade plaque, which activated a shield to block the zombie's attack, but Ah Nan was still sent flying.
Seeing his disciple in danger, Taoist Priest Qianhe's spiritual power erupted, lifting the heavy coffin lid.
After freeing himself, Taoist Priest Qianhe immediately charged at the zombie with a peach wood sword, stabbing it, causing a sizzling sound.
Upon closer inspection, Taoist Priest Qianhe found that the peach wood sword had been corroded by the powerful corpse qi.
"What a strong zombie, what a toxic corpse qi."
Taoist Priest Qianhe was shocked.
He quickly discarded the ineffective peach wood sword, replacing it with a bronze sword inscribed with talismans, stabbing fiercely at the zombie, causing sparks to fly.
The four disciples joined the battle, but despite their efforts, they were no match.
Seeing this, four martial arts experts among the soldiers led the others into battle, their weapons clanging against the zombie but causing no harm.
After several exchanges, the soldiers' casualties continued to rise, and those remaining wanted to escape but were unable to, all falling to the zombie.
Taoist Priest Qianhe was anxious, fearing that without the protection of magical artifacts, he and his disciples would be in grave danger.
At this moment.
"What's happening outside, it's so noisy."
Wu Shilang lifted the tent flap to look out, and upon seeing the situation, was shocked.
His voice caught the zombie's attention, and it saw the Little Prince inside the tent.
The zombie roared and charged at the Little Prince.
Taoist Priest Qianhe hurriedly followed it into the tent to intercept.
"Wu Shilang, quickly take the Little Prince and run."
Taoist Priest Qianhe and his disciples struggled against the zombie, urging them to flee with the Little Prince.
Hearing this, Wu Shilang quickly picked up the Little Prince and tried to run outside.
The zombie roared in anger, its powerful force sweeping Taoist Priest Qianhe and his disciples aside, reaching for the Little Prince.
Wu Shilang dodged with the Little Prince, but they were still caught.
The zombie opened its mouth to bite, but Taoist Priest Qianhe arrived in time, stabbing a sword into its mouth.
The zombie felt threatened and immediately retreated.
Wu Shilang quickly carried the Little Prince away.
After continuous fighting, Taoist Priest Qianhe and his disciples found their magical artifacts severely depleted, their protective jade plaques' spiritual power exhausted and shattered, and their swords nearly broken.
Continuing to fight the zombie would endanger their lives, so they retreated to avoid its attacks.
However, having disrupted the zombie's plans, it was furious and relentlessly pursued them.
Every encounter with the zombie was perilous for Taoist Priest Qianhe and his disciples.
All of them were injured and trapped in a desperate situation.
At this moment, Taoist Priest Qianhe watched as his disciple was about to be devoured, his eyes filled with grief and despair.
Suddenly, talismans and two swords flew in, knocking the zombie away.
Timely rescuing the disciple from the brink of death.
"Junior Brother, Senior Brother is here."
It turned out that Taoist Priest Simu and his disciple had arrived.
Not long before, Xiao Yu and the others had reached the camp, finding it in chaos. After searching around, they found only lifeless soldiers and followed the battle traces to rush over.
"Uncle Master, fellow disciples, step back and heal."
Xiao Yu tossed them a bag containing glutinous rice, medicinal ingredients, and magical artifacts.
Then he joined the battle, teaming up with his master to fight the zombie.
Taoist Priest Qianhe and his disciples quickly opened the bag, using the glutinous rice to remove corpse poison and medicinal ingredients to heal their wounds.
During the battle, Xiao Yu found that the talismans weren't very effective, so he used several corpse settling talismans to immobilize the zombie.
The master and disciple took the opportunity to wield their swords, attacking the zombie, but couldn't break through its defense, only causing a sizzling reaction with the corpse qi.
The swords' power was greatly depleted, with burn marks damaging their spiritual essence.
After a few moments, the corpse settling talismans on the zombie spontaneously combusted, and the zombie regained its freedom.
"This zombie has been struck by lightning and has become a spirit. Ordinary methods can't threaten it."
Taoist Priest Qianhe, while healing, loudly reminded them.
Hearing this, Taoist Priest Simu was troubled, wondering how to fight it.
"Master, the zombie was struck by lightning and survived, it must have mutated. The lightning attribute and corpse qi have formed a balance, giving the zombie a lightning attribute, making it resistant to most talismans and spells that break evil.
But the zombie itself is of yin and evil nature. Let's try using the Heavenly Thunder Talisman to disrupt the balance of its lightning attribute and yin evil."
Xiao Yu thought for a moment and proposed a solution.
Taoist Priest Simu found the method feasible, quickly taking out a Heavenly Thunder Talisman, activating it with spiritual power, transforming it into a lightning attack.
"Crackle~"
The sound of thunder rang out, the lightning striking the zombie, forcing it to retreat repeatedly.
"Master, keep going, the zombie is afraid, this method works."
Xiao Yu observed that the lightning attack was significantly effective.
Hearing this, Taoist Priest Simu cast two more Heavenly Thunder Talismans.
"Boom~"
"Crack~"
The zombie was struck, smoke rising from its body, howling and then turning to flee.
Seeing this, Taoist Priest Simu and his disciple pursued, but after a while, they lost track of it, the zombie disappearing without a trace.
Moreover, searching in the dark forest was too dangerous, so the master and disciple returned to meet with Taoist Priest Qianhe.
"Senior Brother, did you take care of it?"
Taoist Priest Qianhe asked as they returned.
"Sigh, don't mention it, the zombie got away, who knows where it's hiding."
Taoist Priest Simu's expression was grim.
"Junior Brother, fellow disciples, how are your injuries, are you alright?"
Taoist Priest Simu inquired about their condition.
"We've stabilized, no major issues, thanks to our junior nephew."
Taoist Priest Qianhe replied gratefully.
"Master, Uncle Master, we need to go back and handle the camp, or there will be a corpse outbreak."
Xiao Yu reminded them, recalling how quickly those bitten by the prince zombie transformed.
"Alright, let's deal with it now, we can't delay, or there will be trouble."
Taoist Priest Simu and Taoist Priest Qianhe nodded in agreement.
The group returned to the camp, only to find figures moving, and upon noticing their arrival, they all rushed madly towards them.
"They transformed so quickly, that zombie is really toxic."
Taoist Priest Simu was surprised.
"Our junior nephew's reminder was right, if these walking corpses escape, it will cause big trouble."
Taoist Priest Qianhe said as he quickly drew his sword.
The seven of them joined forces to kill the corpses, and after a fierce battle, they eliminated all the walking corpses, gathering them to burn.
"Master, the bodies of the four palace experts aren't here."
Ah Bei, after counting, found some missing and urgently reported to Taoist Priest Qianhe.
"What, quickly search around."
Taoist Priest Qianhe urgently instructed.
"Wait, Junior Brother, forget it, it's too dark to find them, and there's still the prince zombie lurking."
Taoist Priest Simu advised against it, as it was too dangerous and unlikely to succeed.
"In this area, apart from our place, there's no one else around. I'm afraid those things will head towards our home.
Master, we should hurry back and prepare."
Xiao Yu analyzed, knowing that the zombie and the four palace experts' walking corpses would gather at their mountain home.
"You're right, let's hurry back."
Taoist Priest Simu also thought this was very likely.
The group quickly handled the situation, packed some things, and rushed back.
***
Mountain home.
At Master Yixiu's house, Master Yixiu, Qingqing, and Jia Le gathered, looking at the heavy rain outside, their faces full of worry.
"Help, someone help, there's a zombie biting people."
Wu Shilang, out of breath, carrying the Little Prince, ran towards the residence in a sorry state, shouting loudly.
Hearing the commotion, Master Yixiu, Jia Le, and Qingqing quickly went out, bringing them inside.
"What happened, where are the Taoist priests?"
Master Yixiu urgently inquired.
"We were on the road when it suddenly started raining heavily, then the zombie appeared, biting people. Taoist Priest Qianhe and his disciples started fighting it."
Wu Shilang, panicked and incoherent, explained.
"Did you see my master and junior brother?"
Jia Le quickly asked.
"Your master and junior brother, I don't know."
Wu Shilang looked confused.
"You're both injured, Qingqing, quickly prepare medicinal ingredients, I'll treat them."
Master Yixiu saw the master and servant both had claw wounds, the wounds blackened, and knew what it meant.
Master Yixiu hurriedly treated their injuries, then instructed Jia Le and Qingqing to stay alert, before heading out to support.
Master Yixiu met Xiao Yu and the others on the way back.
"How are you all doing?"
Master Yixiu asked with concern.
"You came too, where are you headed?"
Taoist Priest Simu, as usual, teased Master Yixiu.
"Sigh, I was incompetent, let the zombie escape. Apart from Wu Shilang and the Little Prince, everyone else died.
The zombie wasn't eliminated either, it got away."
Taoist Priest Qianhe, filled with guilt, briefly explained to Master Yixiu.
"As long as you're okay, we can find a way to deal with the zombie. The Little Prince and Wu Shilang are at our place."
Master Yixiu comforted them.
"What, the Little Prince is at our place? He's a blood descendant of the zombie, it will attract the zombie to suck his blood.
We must hurry back, Jia Le and the others are in danger."
Taoist Priest Simu, upon hearing this, quickly quickened his pace.
The group hurried back to the residence, hearing the sounds of fighting and terrified screams.
They rushed inside to find the four palace experts, and everyone quickly joined the fight, soon eliminating the four zombies.
It turned out that shortly after Master Yixiu left, the four walking corpses had arrived.
Fortunately, Jia Le was strong enough to handle them, but with two burdens holding him back, he was exhausted from rescuing them.
The group moved the bodies outside to burn, clearing any remaining corpse poison.
They hastily prepared some food, ate quickly, and gathered to discuss their next steps.
"Given the situation, everyone should stay in this room to rest.
Junior Brother, you and your disciples are injured, rest first, I'll stand guard."
Taoist Priest Simu arranged the defenses.
"Xiao Yu, you and I will guard the first half of the night.
And you, monk?"
Taoist Priest Simu looked at Master Yixiu.
"I'll take the second half of the night, with Jia Le."
Master Yixiu suggested, as Jia Le was strong enough for the task.
"Alright, let's do that, everyone else, go rest."
Taoist Priest Simu waved them off.
"Xiao Yu, help me set up traps for an alarm."
"Yes, Master."
The master and disciple began setting up outside, stringing lines and hanging bells.
Once the setup was complete, Taoist Priest Simu patrolled the area.
Xiao Yu prepared magical artifacts and talismans, as the previous battle had greatly depleted them, requiring more preparation.
Secretly, Xiao Yu took out his Inner World's stock, using it as the visible stock hidden in the room.
***
As time passed, it was already midnight.
The first half of the night was peaceful, now it was Master Yixiu and Jia Le's turn to guard.
The time reached the early hours, the peak of yin energy.
"Crash~"
A zombie suddenly charged from the darkness, smashing through the wall where the Little Prince was, grabbing him directly.
The commotion woke everyone.
The sleeping Little Prince was once again in danger, caught by the zombie.
Seeing the zombie about to bite, Master Yixiu arrived just in time, grabbing the zombie's head to prevent it from biting.
Everyone rushed to help, successfully rescuing the Little Prince.
Then they all attacked the zombie together.
But the zombie was incredibly fierce, charging through them, forcing them to retreat temporarily.
Xiao Yu shouted, "Master, Uncle Master, Master Yixiu, there are Heavenly Thunder Talismans on the table, use them to strike it."
Taoist Priest Simu, Taoist Priest Qianhe, and Master Yixiu moved towards the table.
The zombie ferociously lunged to intercept them.
"This zombie has become a spirit, it can understand us. Senior Brother, fellow disciples, let's go."
Seeing this, Xiao Yu attacked to buy time, calling Jia Le and the four disciples.
The six of them used talismans, magical artifacts, and reins to barely hold the zombie, giving the three a chance.
"Everyone, scatter."
Taoist Priest Simu shouted.
Xiao Yu and the others quickly scattered.
"Crack~"
"Boom~"
"Crash~"
Thunder roared, three bolts striking the zombie, blasting it out of the house.
Taoist Priest Simu, Taoist Priest Qianhe, and Master Yixiu pursued, continuing to strike with thunder talismans.
"Booming~"
Lightning struck the zombie, black qi erupting, rapidly depleting its corpse qi.
Finally, the zombie fell with a wailing howl.
Xiao Yu seized the moment to use a Fire Summoning Talisman, setting the zombie ablaze, flames rising fiercely.
Seeing the zombie thoroughly dead and burning in the flames, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan