Uncle Nine: You were supposed to drive corpses, so you summoned the Monkey King!

Master Qianhe propped himself up and tried to sit up.

Lin Chen placed a pillow behind Qianhe's back.

"Thank you, senior brother. Thank you, junior nephew Lin." Daoist Qianhe weakly cupped his hands in thanks.

"I've been spared from death, but my magic power is depleted, so I won't be able to fight for a while."

Master Qianhe sighed.

"Senior brother, that royal zombie escaped; that's the real trouble."

Master Qianhe coughed twice and then continued.

"That beast was originally of royal blood, and it harbored a lot of resentment. It was also struck by lightning, which caused it to mutate."

"Now that it's injured, it will definitely seek out a place with heavy yin energy to heal."

Master Simu nodded and recounted the events of the previous night, when he used a compass to track the enemy and fought them in the pine forest.

Master Qianhe frowned after hearing this.

"The black dog was injured by the blood-stained ink net, but it won't kill it."

"It drinks the blood of black bears and wild boars, so it recovers very quickly."

"Senior brothers, you should prepare early."

Master Qianhe looked toward the side room and lowered his voice.

"Zombies crave blood, especially the blood of their closest relatives."

"The young prince is right here. That beast will come looking for him sooner or later, drawn by the scent of his blood."

"If it drinks the blood of the young prince, it will evolve into a bronze-armored corpse. At that time, the entire Maoshan Sect combined will not be able to stop it."

No one spoke in the room.

Master Four Eyes stroked his chin.

"When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it."

"If it dares to come, I dare to make sure it never leaves."

"Jiale, starting today, change the glutinous rice around the temple every day, and stick all the corpse-suppressing talismans on the doors and windows."

Jiale nodded in agreement and ran off to work.

Lin Chen didn't speak.

The information provided by Master Qianhe is very important.

The zombies have a clear target, which presents a good opportunity for a counter-attack.

What Lin Chen needs to do now is to make the lightning-struck wooden sword.

Lin Chen returned to the front yard to continue his carpentry work.

The sun rose higher and higher.

The yard was filled with the sounds of sawing and planing wood.

Lightning-struck wood is too hard.

Lin Chen infuses his magic power into every strike he makes.

This consumes a lot of mana.

This process of consumption and recovery made the magical power within Lin Chen's body more refined.

The Maoshan Breathing Technique in the dantian operated automatically at twice the speed of usual.

Master Ikkyu from next door strolled over.

The old monk still had a bruise around his right eye, from when he was thrown by the zombie and hit a tree last night.

Master Ikkyu stood next to Lin Chen, looking at the black wood chips all over the ground.

"Young friend Lin Chen, your skills are quite good."

Master Ikkyu bent down, picked up a piece of wood shavings, and smelled it.

The old monk's eyes lit up.

"Amitabha, such a strong aura of thunder."

"Is this a century-old piece of wood struck by lightning?"

Lin Chen stopped planes and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Master, you have a good eye. You were lucky last night to find it in the mountains."

Master Ikkyu shook his head upon hearing this.

"Found it? I've lived in these mountains for decades and I've never even seen a branch of a tree struck by lightning."

"Your good fortune is frighteningly profound."

The old monk rubbed his hands together and looked at Lin Chen with a smile.

"Young friend Lin Chen, I see you still have some scraps left over from this piece of wood."

"Why not give it to this old monk? I happen to be missing a string of prayer beads, and this lightning-struck wood will surely be easy to handle."

Before he could finish speaking, Master Four Eyes appeared out of nowhere.

He pushed Master Ikkyu away.

"You bald monk, trying to take advantage of my disciple? No way!"

"I'm going to keep these scraps of lightning-struck wood to make a Bagua mirror. You can go away now."

Master Ikkyu wasn't angry; he put his hands together and recited a Buddhist chant.

"A monk does not lie, and you haven't changed a bit in your protective nature, fellow Daoist."

After saying that, the old monk put his hands behind his back and slowly went back to the next room.

By evening.

The sunset glow on the horizon turned the mountains and forests a deep red.

Lin Chen stopped what he was doing.

A wooden sword, three feet long and two fingers wide, was finished.

The sword is entirely black, without any other decorations.

The original lightning-struck patterns on the wood are still visible on the sword.

The blade was not sharpened, and the edges were polished very smoothly.

Lin Chen gripped the hilt of the sword.

It feels heavy, even heavier than an iron sword of the same size.

Lin Chen tried to channel his magic power into the sword.

"Buzz!"

A layer of blue electric light shone on the surface of the wooden sword.

You can also hear thunder.

[Carving a lightning-struck wooden sword is in progress. Current progress: 100/100.]

The system alert sounded.

Lin Chen let out a breath.

It was finished before dark.

With this sword, you won't be at a disadvantage in close combat.

it's dark.

Kerosene lamps were lit in the dojo.

This time, Minister Wu learned his lesson and didn't dare to cause trouble again.

He obediently led the young prince to eat the brown rice delivered by KFC in the side room.

After dinner, Lin Chen returned to his room and sat down cross-legged.

The clock on the wall ticked away.

It was midnight.

[Ding! It's midnight. Begin today's cultivation settlement.]

Today's high-intensity wood carving work enhanced hand strength control, granting +1 Agility.

[Today, while refining materials for a top-tier magical artifact, I sensed the righteous energy of thunder and gained +1 Spirit.]

[Congratulations, host, on completing the crafting of the lightning-struck wooden sword.]

[Special reward triggered!]

[Obtained: Maoshan Demon-Slaying Sword Technique (Beginner Level)]

Lin Chen opened his eyes.

What you lack, you will receive.

Lin Chen was worried that he had a precious sword but no swordsmanship to match it, so he could only use the sword as a fire poker.

The system directly provided the corresponding sword techniques.

A flood of memories about sword techniques rushed into my mind.

Chop, stab, flick, sweep, intercept.

The Maoshan Demon-Slaying Sword Technique doesn't have any fancy moves; every move is designed to kill demons and evil spirits.

It emphasizes large, sweeping movements, combined with the Heavenly Gang Steps, resulting in great power.

Lin Chen gripped the lightning-struck wooden sword on the bedside table.

Lin Chen stood up and made a few gestures around the room.

The wooden sword sliced ​​through the air with a whistling sound.

"If that zombie doesn't come, then forget it."

Lin Chen looked out the window.

"If it dares to come, we'll have to use this sword to bleed it dry."

Early the next morning.

In the open space in the backyard.

Master Simu, dressed in his training clothes, stood with his hands behind his back, holding a willow branch.

"Lin Chen, is the magic artifact ready?" Si Mu looked at Lin Chen as he walked over.

Lin Chen drew the lightning-struck wooden sword from his waist with a backhand motion.

The black blade gleamed in the morning light.

Si Mu stepped forward and touched the sword.

"What a fine sword! Truly a fine sword!"

"This weight, this feel, it's so much better than my bronze greatsword."

Si Mu swallowed hard, suppressing the urge to possess it.

"The sword is a fine sword, but you have no swordsmanship skills, so holding it is a waste."

Si Mu coughed twice, putting on the airs of a master.

"Today, I will teach you a set of Maoshan Demon-Slaying Sword Techniques."

"This sword technique is a unique close-combat skill of our Maoshan sect, specifically designed to defeat all kinds of evil spirits with copper skin and iron bones."

"Watch closely, I'll only demonstrate once!"

Si Mu flicked the willow branch, which made a crisp sound in mid-air.

He moved about the courtyard with his feet in a seven-star pattern.

The willow branches were used as longswords to stab, poke, cleave, and cut.

The movements were quite smooth.

"This move is called 'White Snake Spits Venom,' specifically designed to pierce the eyes of demons and evil spirits!"

"This move is called 'Splitting Mount Hua with Force,' and it's most effective against zombies with its iron head!"

Lin Chen stood to the side watching.

He had already mentally rehearsed these moves when the system distributed rewards last night.

But he still pretended to be studying diligently.

After Si Mu finished his demonstration, he put away the willow branch, panting heavily.

This sword technique consumes stamina.

"How was it? How much of it did you see clearly?" Si Mu asked, wiping his sweat.

Lin Chen walked to the middle of the courtyard and gripped the lightning-struck wooden sword.

"Master, let me try to walk it once, please give me some pointers."

Lin Chen moved his feet and took the Seven Star Step.

He thrust out the lightning-struck wooden sword in his hand, creating a gust of wind.

Then, he flipped his wrist and slashed diagonally with the blade.

Lin Chen executed the entire Maoshan Demon-Slaying Sword Technique without missing a single move.

The movements are still a bit clumsy, but the power points and footwork are well coordinated.