Zombie World: Starting as an apprentice of the Thunder King

Lin Bei was shocked to hear this; he hadn't expected the Big Dipper Great God Mantra to be of such high status!

Shi Shaojian, standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded. "Master, where is this Tianxin Sect? I've never heard of it before!"

"The Tianxin School has long since declined and its lineage is incomplete, but it was once a very famous school during the Song Dynasty."

Shi Jian stood up, dusted off his robe, and said, "You two shouldn't be so ambitious. Focus on mastering the skills you have right now. You haven't even reached the level of a mage yet, why are you thinking about things that are so far ahead?"

Lin Bei quickly stood up, patted the dirt off his bottom, and said, "Master is right, let's master the Thunder Sword Technique first."

Shi Shaojian also stood up, muttering to himself, "The Mage realm... how long will that take..."

The three continued their journey, and along the way, Lin Bei asked many more questions about cultivation realms.

Shi Jian rarely spoke so much, so he began to explain one point at a time.

"Before reaching the Daoist realm, one relies on the accumulation of magical power. Once the magical power in the dantian is full, one can naturally break through."

But a Dharma Master is different. Becoming a Dharma Master is an obstacle on the path of cultivation. How many people are stuck at the level of a Daoist Master, unable to cross it, their entire lives? Do you know why?

Lin Bei and Shi Shaojian both shook their heads.

"Because the transition from a Taoist priest to a Buddhist master is not just a matter of magical power."

Shi Jian slowed down. "The mana in the Daoist realm is in a liquid state. What a Mage needs to do is compress this liquid mana into a solid state."

"This process places extremely high demands on both physical and mental strength; a slight mistake can lead to demonic possession."

"Many people experience meridian rupture during the process of compressing their magical power. At best, their cultivation will regress; at worst, they will die on the spot."

Lin Bei gasped, "That dangerous?"

"What do you think spiritual practice is? A smooth journey?"

Shi Jian glanced at him. "That's why I told you to train your Vajra Body to the Iron Bone level first. If your physical body isn't strong enough, it simply can't withstand the impact of the compression of magical power."

"When you break through to the Mage realm and the solidified magic power in your dantian condenses into a pseudo-core, that's when you've truly stepped into the threshold of cultivation."

"And then what happened after the monk?" Shi Shaojian pressed.

"After the Dharma Master comes the True Man. When the false elixir in the dantian is perfected and condensed into the golden elixir, one's lifespan is three hundred years, and one can fly by controlling objects."

Shi Jian spoke slowly and deliberately, “Above the True Person is the Teacher of Man, who has reached the Golden Core stage, opened the two bridges between Heaven and Earth, cultivated the Primordial Spirit, and has a lifespan of five hundred years.”

"The highest level of the human teacher is the earth teacher. When the golden elixir is perfected, the primordial spirit is flawless, and the lifespan is a thousand years. One can walk on air and the primordial spirit can leave the body."

"Above the Earth Master is the Celestial Master. The Golden Core is shattered to form the Nascent Soul, and the Primordial Spirit is perfected. One can tear through the void and destroy the heavens and the earth with a wave of the hand."

"Now you know how ridiculous your idea was, didn't you? You thought you could overwhelm the Taoist priest with talismans?"

Lin Bei awkwardly scratched his head. He had indeed been a bit arrogant and ignorant of his own limitations back then.

"Master, you are now at the peak of the Earth Master level, just half a step away from becoming a Celestial Master..."

Shih Chien's voice was calm. "I've stood there for over a decade, and I've never been able to cross that threshold!"

Lin Bei felt a tightness in his chest and didn't dare to ask any more questions, lest he accidentally touch on Jian Ge's painful memories.

The three traveled north, making their way during the day and finding inns or dilapidated temples to rest at night.

After traveling for more than half a month and passing through several provinces, the road was very peaceful. Occasionally, he would encounter a few wandering spirits, but Lin Bei would deal with them with a few exorcism talismans without even drawing his sword.

At noon that day, when the sun was shining brightly, the three of them arrived at a valley and Shi Jian suddenly stopped.

Lin Bei was walking with his head down when he almost bumped into Shi Jian's back.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Shi Jian remained silent, his gaze fixed on the valley ahead.

Lin Bei followed his gaze but couldn't make heads or tails of it at first.

The valley was not large, with towering earthen slopes on both sides. The valley floor was overgrown with weeds and dead shrubs, and a few crooked old locust trees stood sparsely on the slope.

At first glance, it looks no different from any other valley.

But after looking at it a few more times, Lin Bei suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Something is wrong!

The vegetation here is so strange. Not only are all the plants at the bottom of the valley withered and dead, but the soil is also a deep black color, which contrasts sharply with the lush green farmland outside.

The canopies of those old locust trees blocked out the sky, but their branches were twisted and gnarled, looking like ghostly hands reaching towards the sky.

The strangest thing is that even though the midday sun is shining directly down, the valley is gloomy and not a single ray of sunlight can penetrate.

Lin Bei took out a compass from his bundle, and the needle spun wildly, pointing to the very center of the valley.

"A corpse-raising ground!" Lin Bei blurted out, "and its feng shui layout has been artificially altered!"

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Shi Jian's eyes.

"What did you see?"

"This is a formation that gathers yin energy and devours evil spirits." Lin Bei pointed to the surrounding terrain, "The earthen slopes on both sides embrace each other, forming a pocket shape."

"The depression at the bottom of the valley is waterlogged all year round, damp, and the yin energy gathers and does not dissipate."

"The most dangerous ones are those locust trees. The word 'locust' contains the character for 'ghost,' and they are known to attract yin energy."

"Someone has set up a Yin-gathering formation here, drawing all the Yin energy from within a radius of several miles to this area."

"Is there any more?"

Lin Bei looked at it carefully again, his gaze falling on a small mound of earth that rose slightly in the middle of the valley floor.

"Something was buried down there. The corpse was buried right in the center of the corpse-raising ground. Over the years, it absorbed yin energy, and it has most likely bred a zombie."

Shi Shaojian, standing nearby, looked completely bewildered. "What are you guys talking about? I don't see anything!"

Lin Bei rolled his eyes at him. "Senior brother, your feng shui lesson was really weak."

"I've long forgotten what Master taught me," Shi Shaojian scratched his head. "What exactly do you mean by 'corpse-raising ground'?"

Shi Jian was furious. "You bastard! I told you to study properly long ago! You can't do this or that. You're a disgrace to the reputation of Maoshan!"

Shi Shaojian was so shocked by the scolding that his mind went blank, and he stammered, unable to speak!

When Shi Jian saw him like this, he was even more furious. He decided that when he returned to Maoshan, he would definitely train this kid properly, otherwise he would really be wasting his talents. Now, he couldn't even tell the feng shui.

"It means someone deliberately buried the corpse in this kind of place, using the feng shui to raise zombies." After Shi Jian finished cursing, Lin Bei pointed to the mound, "The person buried under there is definitely not an ordinary person, but someone who was deliberately buried there to refine corpses."

Shi Jian, his anger still simmering, stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the mound.

"What do you think we should do?"

Lin Bei replied without hesitation: "Of course we should eliminate it. Leaving the corpse-raising ground is a disaster. If the zombies inside grow up and escape, the surrounding area for dozens of miles will suffer."

"Good and evil are opposed and will fight each other for life. Since we've encountered them, we can't just ignore them."

Shi Jian nodded slightly: "Then go find it."

"Alright!" Lin Bei unloaded the bundle, took out a compass, and began to walk around the valley.