Chapter 155 There Really Are Zombies

With no other choice, she simply followed after him.

Shortly after Liang Bingyan left, Chen Yiyi was brought to the town by her cousin, Tang Miaoyi.

"Where is this place?" Chen Yiyi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Without answering, Tang Miaoyi furrowed her brows. "Could my cousin and the others have already gone up the mountain?"

Looking somewhat apprehensive, she said to Chen Yiyi, "They might have already headed up. Since you claim to be an immortal master, you should go up by yourself. I am not going."

"You still haven't told me where this is." Chen Yiyi found a chair and sat down.

This little girl hadn't given him a single explanation along the entire journey, leaving him completely in the dark about what was going on.

"This is Qingwu Town, and that hill right ahead is where my cousin's ancestral tombs are located. Why are you just sitting there? Hurry up and go, they've already gone up the mountain."

Seeing Chen Yiyi sitting motionless, Tang Miaoyi's expression turned somewhat ugly as she muttered under her breath, "What kind of immortal master is this? His courage is smaller than a woman's."

She assumed Chen Yiyi was just like her, too cowardly to go up the mountain.

Chen Yiyi chuckled softly. "Since your cousin sent you to pick me up, you should accompany me up the mountain. If you don't go, how am I supposed to know the way?"

"My cousin only told me to bring you to this town; she didn't say I had to accompany you up the mountain. Besides, she said she would wait for you to arrive before going up, but who knew they'd all run off," Tang Miaoyi said with a pout.

"By your logic, there must be quite a few people going up. In that case, one more of me doesn't make much difference, and one less of me won't be missed. There's no need for me to go crowd around and watch the excitement."

"You!" Tang Miaoyi pointed at Chen Yiyi, speechless. She thought to herself, what kind of immortal master did her cousin invite? He acted more like a pampered young master.

Just then, her phone rang.

It was a call from Liang Bingyan.

"Miaoyi, did you meet up with Immortal Master Chen?"

"I met him. We're already in town."

"Then what are you waiting for? Bring him up here quickly!"

"But cousin, I'm scared. I told him to go up the mountain by himself, but he said he didn't know the way. Honestly, I think he's just as scared as I am. Is he really the immortal master you spoke of?"

"What are you saying? Would Immortal Master Chen be scared? With him by your side, you have nothing to fear. Bring him up quickly, it's about to get dark."

Liang Bingyan hung up the phone immediately after speaking.

Tang Miaoyi glanced at Chen Yiyi, hesitating.

A smile curved the corners of Chen Yiyi's lips. "What did your cousin say? Did she tell you to bring me up the mountain?"

Tang Miaoyi bit her lip. "Up we go then, let's move!"

With that, as if out of sheer stubbornness, she took the lead with her long strides.

Chen Yiyi stretched, shook his head, and leisurely followed behind her.

This hill was not particularly famous, but a century ago, the Liang family had selected and purchased it as the site for their ancestral tombs.

At that time, following the instructions of a Feng Shui master, the Liang family hired hundreds of artisans to carve a cave into the rock face halfway up the mountain and arranged a profound Feng Shui formation.

This allowed the mists drifting between the mountains to converge within the cave, drawing upon celestial providence above and gathering prosperity below.

In truth, ever since the ancestral tombs were established here, the Liang family had indeed enjoyed thriving fortunes over the past hundred years, securing their status as a wealthy and powerful clan today.

However, the current Feng Shui formation seemed to be in serious trouble. Earlier in the day while it was still light, as everyone headed up the mountain, they had already noticed ominous dark clouds shrouding the peak. Upon reaching the upper slopes, howling, frigid winds raged, making everyone feel thoroughly uncomfortable.

"The Feng Shui formation is indeed damaged, but as to where the exact problem lies, this old man truly cannot see through it."

In an open clearing, a master was shaking his head and sighing bitterly.

He was none other than Master Sun Maosen, who had previously accompanied Liang Bingyan to the True Man Peak. His attainments in metaphysics were quite renowned in the Jiangnan region, which was why Liang Bingyan had sought him out in the first place.

Because Master Sun had misjudged the situation during the last incident, he was putting in extra effort this time.

Liang Bingyan had also specifically invited him to assist her. Before Chen Yiyi arrived, having a true master by her side to explain things gave her a sense of security.

Master Sun raised his head and asked Liang Bingyan, "Has that Immortal Master Chen not arrived yet?"

"He should be almost here. I called Miaoyi just now and she said they were already in town, so he's probably on his way up the mountain," Liang Bingyan replied.

"That's good, that's good, that's good!" Master Sun repeated the phrase three times, showing just how much trust he placed in Chen Yiyi.

He then gazed at the figures of the wandering practitioners gathered ahead. "Let's hope they don't cause any major trouble before Immortal Master Chen arrives, or else they'll just be creating extra chaos for him."

Liang Bingyan furrowed her brow as well. Those people had been invited by official authorities, so they certainly wouldn't listen to her.

Near the cave entrance:

"Listen up, everyone! Once the corpse-raising phenomenon occurs, use our Maoshan-secret-crafted corpse-binding ropes to tie them down securely. After that, leave the rest to me."

Xue Yang, the young Maoshan master, distributed a set of corpse-binding ropes to the group of wandering practitioners.

Meanwhile, Daoist Qing风 of the Changfeng Temple had set up an altar and was chanting incantations under his breath.

The eminent monk Yuanmie of the Great Chan Temple stood with his hands pressed together, reciting Buddhist mantras.

For the time being, the group of wandering practitioners centered themselves around these three individuals, helping out with odd jobs.

Meng Jianbo did not dare approach the area, standing far off to the side. Seeing the situation here, he nodded with satisfaction. It seemed these three truly were the right choices; as for the others, even if they lacked genuine skills, at least they understood the ways of this trade, which brought him a measure of comfort.

Xue Yang placed a bowl of clear water at the cave entrance and scattered glutinous rice around the perimeter.

Daoist Qingfeng brandished a peach-wood sword in a flurry of wild motions.

Master Yuanmie accelerated the speed of his chanting with a grave expression.

Suddenly, the bowl of clear water at the cave entrance began to boil.

Wisps of billowing mist surged out from within the cave, making the scene terrifying indeed.

The wandering practitioners couldn't help but take two steps back.

At that moment, Xue Yang formed a hand seal and let out a soft cry toward the cave entrance: "All ghosts hide away, reveal yourselves at once!"

As his voice fell, along with the billowing mist, ferocious-looking dark shadows were blasted out from inside the cave.

"There really are zombies!"

Some of the opportunisitic wandering practitioners felt a chill in their hearts, their hands trembling involuntarily.

Moreover, the sheer number of them far exceeded their expectations. Originally, even if there were zombies, they had only anticipated one; who would have expected an entire horde to emerge? Panic gripped their hearts even tighter.

Furthermore, these zombies weren't hopping; they could move around freely, clearly making them out of the ordinary. Shortly after, a zombie clad in ancient imperial attire appeared as well—it seemed to be a zombie king.

"Why are there so many?" Meng Jianbo muttered in shock as he watched from afar.

The bodyguards beside him hurriedly drew their pistols for defense, shielding him tightly.

"Corpse-binding ropes, deploy!"

Xue Yang shouted to the wandering practitioners, then rushed forward himself with a corpse-binding rope to charge at the zombie king.

Several wandering practitioners took the lead by using the ropes to snare a few minor zombies, immediately shouting, "These ropes are magical treasures! Everyone, come help Master Xue!"

Seeing this, the remaining wandering practitioners mustered their courage and joined the action.

Sure enough, as soon as the corpse-binding ropes were deployed, those zombies were instantly immobilized.

Daoist Qingfeng held the end of a rope, a hint of admiration on his face. "This item is truly extraordinary. One can tell at a glance that it has been soaked in dozens of specialized anti-zombie ritual items such as black dog blood, glutinous rice flour, sulfur, and quicklime."

Along with his praise, he seemed eager to flaunt his own knowledge.

At this point, Yuanmie was utilizing the Great Chan Incantation; he could barely resist one or two zombies, but with such a large quantity, he was quickly overwhelmed and flusteredly resorted to using the corpse-binding rope as well.

"It's not that simple! The materials are just supplementary; they must have cast spells using Maoshan's exclusive secret techniques, otherwise how could it have such power!" After using it himself, he chimed in with lavish praise.

In an instant, the image of Master Xue Yang, the formidable Maoshan practitioner, was firmly established among the crowd.

Looking rather pleased, Xue Yang feigned modesty and said, "Didn't Miss Liang mention that there is still an immortal master who hasn't arrived yet? Since that person dares to call themselves an immortal master, how could I possibly compare to them!"

"I think Master Xue himself is an immortal master! To be able to bring out such magical treasures, what else could he be if not an immortal master?" Several wandering practitioners immediately began to flatter him.

"That so-called immortal master? By the time he finally shows up, the soup will have gone cold. Does a person like that even deserve to be called an immortal master?"

Xue Yang grew even more smug, his face filled with arrogance. "Everyone, let's push harder! There aren't many zombies left, and I'm about to subdue this zombie king. Make sure not to let a single one slip through the net!"

"Master Sun, are they really going to solve it just like this?" Liang Bingyan watched everything from afar, a sense of unease lingering in her heart as she turned to ask Sun Maosen.

With a solemn expression, Sun Maosen replied, "I'm afraid it won't be that simple!"