Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

"Never mind, it was just an experiment to begin with."

With a wave of his hand, Lin Yi erased the three characters "Jinhua Temple" on the plaque above the temple gate, and then three powerful characters reappeared—Lanruo Temple.

He passed through the front hall and came to the open space behind the temple.

There was indeed a large banyan tree here, with a thick trunk and lush foliage, at least a hundred years old.

But Lin Yi did not sense any abnormal fluctuations.

Clearly, this was just an ordinary old banyan tree, with no spirits residing in it, nor any signs of it developing intelligence.

Without further hesitation, Lin Yi walked to the banyan tree and punched the ground.

With a muffled thud, the bluestone floor tiles shattered inch by inch, leaving a large crater several meters deep in the ground.

He took the locust tree that Qiu Sheng had transformed into from the Buddha Kingdom in his palm, planted it in the pit, and casually covered it with soil.

Then he spread his five fingers, channeled his power of wood control, and grabbed at the century-old banyan tree in mid-air.

The banyan tree trembled violently, and its leaves fell to the ground with a rustling sound.

Its vitality, like a flood bursting its banks, was forcibly extracted by Lin Yi, transforming into a visible stream of azure energy, which was then injected entirely into Qiu Sheng's body.

Within moments, the banyan tree withered and shriveled, its bark peeling off in large patches, eventually turning into a dark, lifeless piece of wood.

Qiu Sheng, who received this abundant vitality, underwent a dramatic transformation.

The once dry branches became supple and glossy at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its roots seemed to come alive, frantically pushing into the ground.

Those roots penetrated the soil and through the crevices of the rocks, covering the entire underground of Lanruo Temple in a very short time.

The malevolent energy that gathers from the mountains and forests is being devoured by these roots with a thirsty hunger.

Qiu Sheng's demonic soul also recovered somewhat under the nourishment of this power.

Lin Yi transformed into the Black Mountain Demon once more, releasing his five senses from being shut down.

Qiu Sheng's ghost remains in the locust tree, but his demonic soul has emerged from the trunk.

He looked around blankly, his gaze finally settling on Lin Yi: "Lord Black Mountain, where is this?"

"This is Lanruo Temple in the mortal realm. You will cultivate here from now on," Lin Yi said calmly.

"Lanruo Temple..." Qiu Sheng murmured, repeating it thoughtfully, "Such a familiar name, as if it were tailor-made for me."

"We were destined to meet." Lin Yi casually tossed a wooden carving over. "Catch."

Qiu Sheng hurriedly caught it, and looking down, he saw that it was a wooden statue of a deity, about the size of a palm.

The statue was carved in the likeness of the Black Mountain Demon, entirely black, clad in armor and wielding a weapon, with a faint red glow surrounding it.

Lin Yi said, "From now on, we will offer incense to this statue every morning and evening."

If you have any urgent business to discuss with me, just shout "Lord Black Mountain!" and I will know.

"Yes, Lord Black Mountain," Qiu Sheng replied respectfully, bowing deeply as he held the statue.

When He looked up again, Lin Yi had vanished without a trace.

Qiu Sheng didn't take it to heart. Holding the statue, he turned and walked into the temple, intending to enshrine it in the main hall.

But as soon as He stepped into the temple, a beam of golden light suddenly shot out from between the eyebrows of the Buddha statue in the center, striking straight at Him.

Although the golden light was somewhat faint, it was no different from a red-hot iron to the severely injured Qiu Sheng.

Terrified, without thinking, He raised the idol in his hand in front of him and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Lord Black Mountain, save me!"

The statue responded with a burst of intense red light, like a crimson serpent meeting the golden light.

The two collided, and in an instant, the Buddha's light was shattered by the red light.

The red light, still powerful, passed over Qiu Sheng's head and struck the Buddha statue's brow.

The last glimmer of light on the Buddha statue vanished instantly, and the entire statue cracked into several pieces with a "crack," rolling off the altar and shattering into a pile of mud.

Before Qiu Sheng could even rejoice, the red light turned back, transforming into a giant hand that slapped him across the face without warning, knocking him to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Yi's deep and majestic voice resounded from the statue: "Dare to use me as a shield? If there's a next time, I'll chop you up and burn you for firewood!"

"Yes, yes, I know I was wrong, and it will never happen again!" Qiu Sheng scrambled to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly.

But in the instant he lowered his head, a flash of resentment crossed his eyes.

Lin Yi, with his divine sense clearly visible within the statue, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Indeed, it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature.

Although this guy has lost his memory, his ungrateful nature hasn't changed at all.

However, Lin Yi had no expectations of Him anyway, so she didn't bother to argue with Him anymore.

The red light on the statue slowly faded, eventually returning to silence.

When Qiu Sheng saw the red light disappear, he knelt for a while longer before carefully getting up and respectfully placing the statue on the altar where the Buddha statue had originally been placed.

Meanwhile, Lin Yi had already teleported back to Guo Bei Town.

He found an empty house, changed into a gray-gray Taoist robe, and transformed himself into a bearded version of Ma Wu.

He then took out the Zhong Kui sword and carried it on his back.

He looked at his reflection in a water vat in the courtyard, stroked his beard with satisfaction, and laughed heartily: "This humble Taoist is Yan Chixia, hahaha!"

He has the air of a swordsman, Yan Chixia, in a perfect guise.

As Lin Yi walked out of the house, she happened to see a group of people coming from the direction of the town entrance.

Several monks dressed in gray robes walked at the front, followed by several burly men, each carefully carrying a pottery jar.

Those monks walked with light steps and their breathing was heavy; they were clearly fake monks who did not abide by the rules.

The middle-aged monk with a fat head and big ears appeared dignified, but a faint scent of rouge wafted from him, indicating that he had been mingling with a woman not long ago.

However, although the leading monk was also a frivolous monk, he possessed considerable magical power, comparable to that of the feng shui master Wang Teng.

Just then, Lin Yi heard the hushed whispers of passersby on the street:

"Have you heard? Jinhua Temple is reopening."

"I never imagined that Mayor Nie could persuade Master Shi Buxin to come out of seclusion and become the abbot of Jinhua Temple."

"Will placing a golden pagoda before the Buddha truly bring blessings and good fortune to the family?"

"Master Shi Buxin is a highly accomplished monk; how could his words be false?"

And the wealthy families in town donated a lot of money to secure a good spot. I heard they donated over ten thousand yuan just for incense money this time!

"I heard that if you want to place a golden pagoda in front of the Buddha, it costs at least one hundred silver dollars for one spot."

"Alas, I only regret that I don't have enough money. Otherwise, I would have dug up my dead wife, burned her, and sent her ashes to Jinhua Temple."

"Why do you only accept women's ashes?"

"Nonsense! When a man dies, he goes to the ancestral grave. Would you rather your father be cremated?"

Lin Yi was stunned when she heard the townspeople's discussion.

Nie Xiaoqian.

What did he hear? Nie Xiaoqian!