As a dignified max-level Celestial Master, who am I supposed to explain this to?

Han Xuan stood in the center of the pit and looked down at his right hand.

After the Thunder Emperor's Body was dispelled, his arm was once again covered with fine cracks, but it was much better than before, at least there was no bleeding.

"Tsk, there's still a problem with how he exerts his force."

He muttered to himself, "The explosive power is too concentrated, and the pre-launch animation is too obvious. If it could be instantaneous, the third one wouldn't have been able to run ten zhang at all."

He shook his head and turned to walk towards the three Taoist priests who were slumped on the ground.

"Are you alright?"

"Uh-huh……"

The three Taoist priests shook their heads in unison, their movements so synchronized it was as if they were in military training.

"That's good."

Han Xuan nodded, his gaze falling on the young Taoist priest. "What's your name?"

"Zhang... Zhang Heng."

The young Taoist priest answered instinctively, then suddenly realized, "Wait, my name is Zhang Qishan! Zhang Heng is my senior brother's name, I..."

His incoherent speech made Han Xuan laugh.

"Don't be nervous, I'm also the senior disciple of Longhu Mountain, my name is Han Xuan."

"Han Xuan?!"

Zhang Qishan's eyes widened like saucers. "You're Senior Brother Han Xuan?! The Senior Brother who reached the sixth level of the Golden Light Mantra at eighteen?!"

Han Xuan blinked: "You've heard of me?"

"Wow! Who in the entire Longhu Mountain area hasn't heard of you?!"

Zhang Qishan was so excited he almost jumped up. "The story of you smashing a flying zombie with a single punch in front of the mountain gate has already spread throughout the entire mountain! Everyone says you are the greatest genius of Longhu Mountain in 1,800 years!"

Han Xuan touched his nose, somewhat embarrassed: "You flatter me, you flatter me. I was just lucky."

"With good luck, I can reach the sixth level of the Golden Light Mantra? With good luck, I can learn the Thunder Emperor Body?"

Zhang Qishan's voice changed tone, "Senior Brother, don't be modest! You're simply..."

He thought for a long time but couldn't find a suitable word to describe it.

"He's cheating."

The youngest Taoist priest next to him spoke for him.

"Yeah! That's cheating!" Zhang Qishan slapped his thigh. "Senior Brother, you're practically cheating!"

Han Xuan: "..."

He really cheated.

But this skill was something he earned in his previous life by exchanging thirty-five years of his life, and no one would believe it if he told them.

"Alright, stop flattering me."

Han Xuan waved his hand, "What's going on with these three zombie kings? When did so many golden-armored zombies appear in Xiangxi?"

Zhang Qishan's expression turned serious.

"Senior Brother, it's not three heads. It's five heads."

Han Xuan frowned.

"Five heads?"

"Yes. We tracked down at least five. These three are the ones we encountered; the other two are deeper in the mountains. And..."

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice, "We suspect someone is manipulating them from behind the scenes."

Han Xuan's gaze darkened.

Someone is controlling five golden-armored zombie kings behind the scenes.

Such skill, such power...

"The Netherworld Cult".

Han Xuan uttered the name.

Zhang Qishan was taken aback: "Senior Brother, you also know about the Netherworld Sect?"

"I've dealt with them a few times."

Han Xuan's tone was calm, but memories of his past life were surging in his mind.

The Netherworld Cult didn't resurface until ten years later, but by then they already possessed an army composed of the Zombie King and the Ghost King.

If they had already started planning ten years ago, then the "ten years later" in the previous life might just be the time when they were exposed, not the time when they began.

"You should go back to Longhu Mountain first."

Han Xuan made a decision: "Tell Master that I will handle the matter in Xiangxi. As for the other two zombie kings, I will go and find them."

"Senior Brother, are you alone?"

Zhang Qishan was a little worried, "Why don't we stay and help..."

"Need not."

Han Xuan interrupted him, "If you stay here, I'll have to take care of you. Go back up the mountain and tell Master in detail what's going on here."

Zhang Qishan opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but when he thought of the scene where Han Xuan punched the Zombie King to pieces, he swallowed his words back.

"Yes, Senior Brother."

The three Taoist priests helped each other to their feet, bowed to Han Xuan, and then turned and walked out of the mountain.

After walking a few steps, Zhang Qishan suddenly stopped and looked back at Han Xuan.

"Senior Brother."

"Um?"

Be careful.

Han Xuan smiled and waved his hand.

After the three Taoist priests disappeared into the night, Han Xuan turned around to face the dark, deep mountains.

The night wind blew from the valley, carrying a strong smell of corpses and blood.

In the distance, an unidentified bird was crying out, its voice mournful, like the horn of death.

Han Xuan closed his eyes and expanded his divine sense to its maximum.

Within a radius of ten miles, he sensed two powerful auras of death.

One stream is located to the northeast, about seven or eight li away;

One stream is located approximately ten miles to the due north.

The intensity of the two streams of corpse energy was about the same as the one he had just destroyed.

Golden Armor Corpse Level.

But he also sensed something else.

Deeper within those two streams of corpse energy, about twenty miles away, there was an extremely faint, almost imperceptible aura.

That aura wasn't the aura of a corpse.

Rather... it's popularity.

No, it's not just about popularity.

It was a scent he was very familiar with from his past life...

The aura of a core member of the Netherworld Cult.

Han Xuan opened his eyes, and a golden arc of electricity flashed across his pupils.

"As expected, someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes."

Instead of acting immediately, he found a clean rock to sit on, took out his water gourd from his pocket, and took a sip.

His past life experience told him that he couldn't deal with the Netherworld Cult by brute force.

They have too many unsavory methods, and you can easily fall into their trap if you're not careful.

Although with his current cultivation level, he wouldn't have any problem facing the enemy head-on, he didn't want to alert them.

That's what he wants.

Catch it all in one go.

"Two zombie kings, and a core member of the Netherworld Cult."

Han Xuan counted on his fingers, "We need to deal with the Zombie King first, then go find that core member. No, fighting the Zombie King will make too much noise and scare that core member away."

He thought for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.

"Right. I can lure the two zombie kings together first, then trap them with the Divine Firmament Thunder Formation, and then go find that core member."

"We'll deal with the core members first, then come back and deal with the Zombie King."

He stood up, dusted off his Taoist robe, and gave a satisfied smile.

"Perfect."

He took a deep breath and activated the Golden Light Mantra.

But it's not fully open; rather, it's opened to an extremely subtle degree.

His presence was just enough to alert zombies within a 20-mile radius, but not so strong as to scare them away.

This requires extremely precise control, like adjusting a searchlight to a flickering candle flame.

In his previous life, Han Xuan couldn't perform such precise operations, but after his rebirth, his control over his true qi had reached a level of subtlety.

Sure enough, in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two streams of corpse energy from the northeast and due north directions began to move simultaneously.

They were drawn by Han Xuan's aura and were approaching him.

"They're here."

Han Xuan stood there, his hands behind his back, looking as relaxed as if he were waiting for an old friend to arrive.