There is nothing left for you to pick up.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Meng Jianbo and his guards watched as the operation seemed to be proceeding smoothly, their faces lighting up with joy.

Right at that moment, a rustling sound came from the surrounding tall grass, as if something was scurrying through it.

"Could there be wild beasts lurking about?" Meng Jianbo's expression grew somewhat tense.

"District Chief, those aren't wild beasts. They might be..." said one of the guards with sharper eyesight.

Awoo!

The next instant, several human-shaped dark figures suddenly lunged out from the grass. Indeed, a few stray creatures had slipped through to this side.

Bang, bang, bang!

The guards instinctively opened fire, yet their bullets seemed utterly incapable of knocking down those monsters.

"District Chief, run!" Realizing firearms were completely useless and that they were too far away from the masters to expect rescue in time, the guards shouted as they shielded Meng Jianbo.

Terrified and losing all sense of direction, Meng Jianbo bolted.

Stumbling frantically along the way, he only managed to run a few hundred meters before twisting his ankle and crashing heavily to the ground.

Seeing a gruesome, terrifying walking corpse pursuing him closely, cold sweat broke out across his forehead, and he gasped in despair, "I'm finished!"

Swish!

Suddenly, a streak of silver light flashed overhead, carrying the force of a thousand jun, and sliced the walking corpse cleanly in two.

Meng Jianbo turned his head to the side and saw a young man walking toward them from not far away.

Naturally, that was Chen Yiyi.

Tang Miaoyi, standing beside him, widened her pretty eyes. What had she just seen? Was that a flying sword? This person really looked like an immortal master! And he had looked so cool just now!

"A master! I never expected to be saved by a true master!" Meng Jianbo was overwhelmed with excitement.

He quickly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Master, for saving my life. May I ask your esteemed name?"

"Master Chen, you've finally arrived!"

At that moment, Liang Bingyan trotted over, her face beaming with excitement.

Then, casting a slightly speechless glance at Meng Jianbo, she said, "This is the Master Chen I was talking about. I told you all to wait for him, but you refused to listen!"

"What? This is the Master Chen you mentioned?"

Meng Jianbo looked Chen Yiyi up and down, shock gripping his heart. Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe that this young man possessed such formidable abilities.

Had he known they could find someone like this, why on earth would he have hired those itinerant charlatans? Today, he had nearly lost his life right here.

Recalling how he had dismissed Liang Bingyan's warning earlier, he couldn't help but offer her an awkward, sheepish smile. "Miss Liang, I really should have listened to you. To think you brought someone so extraordinarily powerful."

At this point, Master Sun also stepped forward. "Master Chen, do you still remember Sun? A disaster of this magnitude truly requires Master Chen to resolve it. Those itinerant charlatans know nothing of the depths and meddle blindly with rituals—I was afraid they would stir up a massive trouble!"

Chen Yiyi nodded at him and said calmly, "It's fine. Since I am here, there is no such thing as a massive trouble."

Witnessing his ethereal temperament, compounded by the display of skill just moments ago, the group felt this was the true demeanor of an immortal master!

"Cousin, should we follow them?" Tang Miaoyi asked cautiously. Though she had been terrified at first, seeing Chen Yiyi unleash a flying sword made her much less afraid. Besides, she suddenly realized how incredibly handsome this Master Chen was!

Actually, her question was entirely redundant.

Liang Bingyan had already started walking. "With Master Chen here, of course we are going to take a look."

Meng Jianbo also forced himself to stand up despite the pain. "I'll go with you!"

On the slope not far away, several guards were running toward them.

Having exhausted all their ammunition without managing to take down a single walking corpse, they had turned and fled for their lives in utter panic and disgrace.

"District Chief, run! Why are you heading back up?" Seeing that their district chief was following those people upward instead of fleeing down the mountain, they asked in alarm.

Suddenly, several walking corpses lunged down fiercely from the hillside, like lions pouncing on antelopes. The sight made the guards' hearts leap into their throats.

Swish, swish, swish!

Those walking corpses were dismantled by a flash of silver light while still in mid-air, and the chunks of flesh dropped limply right in front of the crowd.

"What was that?" several guards cried out in astonishment.

"A flying sword," Chen Yiyi said calmly.

Meanwhile, at the summit of the mountain, Xue Yang and his group had already dealt with the zombies before them. The zombies bound by the corpse-binding ropes lay completely motionless, save for the corpse king, which continued to struggle unceasingly against the bindings.

"This corpse king is fiercely ferocious. Although I have bound it, I have not yet subdued it. Watch me subdue it right now!"

As he spoke, Xue Yang flicked a handful of copper coin swords out from his sleeve. "This sword is a treasured heirloom of Mount Mao, possessing astonishing power. Everyone step back two paces and let me eradicate these zombies in one stroke!"

With that, he let a drop of blood fall onto the copper coin sword.

The coin sword instantly flashed with a crimson light.

Taoist Priest Qingfeng and Master Yuanmie also led the crowd back a few steps, gazing at Xue Yang with expressions of deep adoration.

Xue Yang let out a fierce roar, "Execute!"

The copper coin sword shot from his hand, spinning through the low air before slashing toward all the zombies, including the corpse king.

Watching the scene, the onlookers couldn't help exclaiming, "This truly is the might of a celestial master!"

Before long, all the zombies, including the corpse king, were slashed in two by the copper coin sword and turned to ash right before their eyes.

Xue Yang let out a breath of relief and recalled the copper coin sword, his complexion turning rather pale. It seemed that invoking that move had consumed a considerable amount of his vital energy.

"Celestial Master Xue, it seemed a few strays headed toward the District Chief's side earlier. Let's go save them quickly!" At that moment, someone suddenly remembered that a few zombies had apparently escaped in that direction.

"What are we waiting for? Things are settled here, let's go save them!" Xue Yang glared at those individuals. Previously, he had been entirely focused on dealing with the corpse king and hadn't noticed anything else.

Just then, Chen Yiyi and his entourage also walked over.

"District Chief, you're alright?" Everyone asked in confusion upon seeing Meng Jianbo.

"Who is this brat?" Seeing a stranger accompanying Meng Jianbo and seemingly holding the respect of several people, Xue Yang felt an instinctive aversion.

"Master Xue, this is the Master Chen Miss Liang spoke of. Fortunately he arrived in time, or I wouldn't have made it," Meng Jianbo said, his eyes filled with profound respect for Chen Yiyi.

"You're the so-called Master Chen?" Xue Yang glanced sideways at him, then let out a derisive chuckle. "Then you can turn back now. Don't you see there's no need for you here anymore?"

Hearing Xue Yang's words, the itinerant charlatans who had cooperated to bind the zombies began to buzz with discussion.

"That kid is the so-called immortal master?"

"A wet-behind-the-ears punk dares to style himself an immortal master?"

"Now that Celestial Master Xue has led us to resolve these zombies, what could you possibly do even if you are some immortal master? Looking to pick up scraps? There are no scraps left for you!"

These people now looked exclusively to Mount Mao successor Xue Yang for leadership. Furthermore, they held a strong aversion to the title of immortal master, and seeing how young Chen Yiyi was, they dismissed him as a fraud.

Seeing Xue Yang and the others treating Chen Yiyi so impolitely, Meng Jianbo felt rather awkward.

If the matter had remained unresolved and this Master Chen had stepped in to settle it, these charlatans naturally wouldn't have had anything to say.

Yet now, that fellow Xue Yang actually possessed some real skill and had already led the crowd to eliminate the zombies.

Meng Jianbo didn't doubt Master Chen's superior techniques—the display on the hillside earlier had already proven that.

Unfortunately, he had arrived too late; there was no longer any room for him to showcase his skills. Even if a few more zombies popped up and were sliced down, people wouldn't think he was all that formidable anymore.

Realizing it was entirely his own fault, Meng Jianbo felt a twinge of guilt. If only he had listened to Miss Liang back at the hotel and waited a little longer.

Chen Yiyi had no intention of arguing with such people.

At this moment, completely oblivious to them, his eyes were fixed upon the cavern, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.

Zombies? Surely more than that!

"What are you all acting so high and mighty for? With so many of you making a move, you still let a few zombies slip away. If Master Chen hadn't acted, the District Chief and us would have been in mortal danger! If Master Chen had arrived earlier, these monsters would have been wiped out ages ago, long before your lot wasted so much time!"

Liang Bingyan stood to the side, watching Chen Yiyi remain silent, assuming he must feel upset since she was the one who had invited him.

Tang Miaoyi chimed in to support her cousin, "Exactly! What's with all the swagger? You didn't witness Master Chen's prowess, or you wouldn't be acting so smug!"

The faces of the itinerant charlatans darkened unpleasantly.

Especially Xue Yang, whose face grew long enough to rival a horse's, as if he were about to throw a tantrum.

Meng Jianbo quickly smoothed things over. "Alright, alright, the best outcome is that the matter is resolved. We can discuss everything else when we get back!"

With much effort, he managed to calm the crowd down.

However, just as they were preparing to wrap up and head back to claim credit and hand out rewards, a deafening explosion suddenly echoed through the air.

Boom...