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

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai scratched their heads.

Master Simu took out the Three Pure Ones Bell from his bosom.

"jingle!"

The clear sound of bells rang out in the night.

"When the dead travel, the living must avoid them!"

Master Simu shouted, grabbed a handful of paper money, and scattered it into the air.

White paper money fell.

The ten zombies in the morgue jumped out at the sound of the bell.

The zombies lined up, arms outstretched, and hopped out of the mortuary in rhythm with the Four-Eyed Taoist Priest.

Lin Chen walked at the very back of the group, responsible for bringing up the rear.

The lights of Renjia Town were left behind.

The mountain road ahead became increasingly rugged, and the surrounding trees grew denser.

The night wind whistled through the woods.

Unable to take the main roads, we had to choose those deserted trails.

Master Simu walked at the front, ringing a bell and scattering paper money while chanting a few incantations.

Lin Chen followed at the back.

He stepped on the Maoshan Seven Star Steps and circulated the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture within his body.

The yin energy and moonlight from the surrounding mountains and forests were drawn in, seeping into the body through the pores and transforming into magical power.

I don't know how long it took.

White mist rose from the mountains and forests.

The fog grew thicker and thicker, and people could not be seen even ten steps away.

The air was damp and cold.

"jingle!"

Master Simu slowed down the frequency of his bell ringing.

"Apprentice, keep a close eye on him!"

"This awful weather, with its gloomy fog, must mean the area isn't clean."

The voice of Master Simu came from the front.

Lin Chen gripped the lightning-struck wooden sword at his waist and stared into the thick fog.

"Don't worry, Master, I'm keeping an eye on things."

The notification sound for the midnight settlement echoed in my mind.

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

[Today I traveled 30 li (approximately 15 kilometers) carrying corpses, traversing mountains and rivers, and gained +1 to my Constitution.]

[Practice while walking; the mental cultivation technique completes its cycle, gaining +1 power.]

[Congratulations, host! Your mid-stage Taoist realm has been stabilized.]

The system notification faded.

Lin Chen felt a warm current surge through his body, dispelling the chill brought by the gloomy mist.

The soreness in my legs was gone, and my steps felt lighter.

"call!"

Lin Chen exhaled a breath of white air.

The Taoist priest with four eyes in front of them stopped in his tracks.

"Disciple, it's almost dawn."

"The fog is too heavy; the dew will wash away the cinnabar on the corpse-suppressing talisman."

"We need to find a place to stay quickly."

The dead cannot be seen by the sun.

Lin Chen strode to the front of the group and looked around at the vast expanse of white.

"Master, we're in the middle of nowhere, where are we going to find an inn?"

Master Simu took out a brass compass from his pocket.

The compass needle trembled in the mist.

"Following down this ravine, the compass indicates there should be an abandoned village ahead."

"No matter how dilapidated it is, let's find a house with a roof to settle these bosses down first."

Master Four Eyes put away his compass, shook the Three Pure Ones Bell, and led the zombie team into the deeper fog.

The fog is very thick.

Lin Chen and Daoist Simu walked unsteadily through the overgrown ravine.

My shoes were already soaked with dew, sticking to my feet in a sticky, uncomfortable way.

"jingle!"

Master Simu shook the Three Pure Ones Bell listlessly.

After traveling all night, this old body can't take it anymore.

"Apprentice, do you see the house?"

Master Simu asked without turning his head.

With eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people, Lin Chen saw the dark figure ahead through the thick fog.

"Master, there are a few dilapidated thatched houses ahead, it looks like a village."

Lin Chen quickened his pace and, upon closer inspection, saw a crooked, half-broken stone tablet standing at the entrance of the village.

The inscription on the stone tablet has been blurred by wind and rain, but the three characters "Huai Shu Village" can still be barely made out.

The village was lifeless.

Enveloped in thick fog, it was eerily quiet, not even a dog could be heard barking.

The dirt road leading into the village was overgrown with weeds that were half a person tall, and most of the mud-brick houses on both sides had collapsed halfway and didn't even have roofs.

"This place has been abandoned for many years," Master Four Eyes said, catching his breath. "Quickly find a bigger place to park the owners."

The two herded ten zombies around the village and found a relatively intact building in the middle of the village.

This is a dilapidated earth god temple.

The temple gate was broken in two and lying on the ground, and most of the roof tiles had fallen off. Fortunately, the beams of the main hall were still sturdy enough to block out the rising sun.

"This is it."

Master Simu shook the bell.

Ten zombies lined up and jumped into the earth god temple, standing neatly in a row against the corner of the wall.

Master Simu plopped down on the dusty offering table, rubbing his legs in exhaustion.

"Oh dear, my back! I'll need to rest for at least two weeks after this job."

Si Mu took out a water bottle from his pocket and shook it; it was empty.

"Apprentice, go find some water nearby, and while you're at it, gather some dry firewood to start a fire."

"This dilapidated temple is too gloomy. Let's warm ourselves by the fire to get rid of the chill."

Lin Chen responded and put the bundle on the ground. He then picked up the blunted bronze greatsword and walked out of the earth god temple.

The village was full of dead branches, and you could easily gather a pile by picking them up. Lin Chen was carrying a bundle of firewood and was about to head back.

Lin Chen twitched his nose.

The smell of blood mixed with a foul stench wafted from a nearby dry well.

Lin Chen stopped, put the firewood on the ground, gripped the bronze greatsword, and slowly walked to the dry well.

The dry well was not deep, and there was no water in it, only a pile of rotten leaves.

Lin Chen peered inside and saw several gray-furred wild rabbit carcasses lying under the rotten leaves.

The rabbits had just died, and their bodies were not yet stiff. They all had two small bloody holes in their necks, and all the blood in their bodies had been sucked dry.

Lin Chen looked at it and realized the wound didn't look like it was from a zombie bite.

Zombies have large fangs, and the holes they bite open are filled with strong corpse poison, causing the wounds to turn black.

The hole in the rabbit's neck was very small, and there were no signs of blackening around the wound.

"If it's not a zombie, then what is that blood-sucking thing?"

Lin Chen didn't make a sound, picked up the firewood from the ground, and returned to the local temple.

Inside the temple, Master Four Eyes was using a cinnabar brush to add talismans to the corpse-suppressing symbols for the shopkeepers in the corner.

Lin Chen piled firewood in the middle of the temple and started a fire with a fire starter.

The firelight dispelled much of the chill in the temple.

"Master, this village isn't very clean."

Lin Chen added firewood to the fire while speaking in a low voice.

Master Simu paused for a moment while holding his pen.

"What's wrong? Did you see something dirty?"

Lin Chen recounted how he had seen the dead rabbit in the dry well.

After listening, Master Simu stuffed the cinnabar pen into his pocket.

"The blood has been drained, the wound is small..."

"This sounds like something a weasel or fox spirit could do."

"These beasts love to cultivate by sucking the essence and blood of living creatures."

Master Simu walked to the corner of the wall and sat down to rest.

"Don't sleep too soundly, be alert."

"The corpse energy emanating from these bosses is a great tonic for those spirits."

"If they smell it coming, they'll definitely come to steal the corpse's aura."

Lin Chen nodded, placed the lightning-struck wooden sword horizontally on his lap, leaned against the pillar, and closed his eyes to rest.

Time passed little by little.

The sun has risen.

The fog did not dissipate; instead, it grew even thicker, and only a few embers remained in the fire at the local temple.

A cold wind rose, and the windows of the dilapidated temple creaked loudly in the wind.

"Splash!"

A faint sound of tiles being crushed came from the roof.

The sound was very soft, but it could be heard clearly in the quiet, dilapidated temple.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and glanced at the roof out of the corner of his eye.

Several hairy heads peeked out from the holes in the dilapidated roof.

Several pairs of small, green eyes were greedily staring at the zombies standing in a row in the corner.

"They've arrived as expected."

Those were five or six large weasels.

It was a size larger than an ordinary stray dog, and its fur was glossy and smooth.

The leader was an old weasel, its whiskers all white.

The old weasel slid down the pillar.

It ignored Lin Chen and Master Simu who were leaning against the pillar and went straight for the zombie in the corner.

The old weasel stood up, placing its two front paws on the zombie's shoulders.

Open its pointed mouth and suck hard into the zombie's nose.

Visible gray corpse energy was drawn out of the zombie's nostrils and into the old yellow weasel's mouth.

After inhaling the corpse's aura, the old weasel squinted its eyes in comfort.

"How dare they defy the laws of nature!"

Master Four Eyes couldn't keep up the act any longer, so he jumped up and swung his bronze sword directly at the enemy.