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

The sun sets outside the window.

A cool breeze blows through Sha Tin Town in the evening.

The servants of the Zhuge family were clearing away the ruins and bronze-armored corpses in the courtyard.

No one noticed that the bronze-armored corpse, whose internal organs had been shattered, twitched its fingers.

A wisp of black smoke seeped into the ground through the cracks in the floor tiles.

Lin Chen sat on a chair in the hall, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked out at the courtyard.

He sensed a fluctuation of yin energy just now; it seems the Zhuge family isn't entirely peaceful either.

In the hall, servants from the Zhuge family served hot tea.

Lin Chen picked up the blue and white porcelain teacup, skimmed off the foam, and took a sip.

He had indeed sensed a wisp of yin energy seeping into the floor tiles beneath the broken bronze-armored corpse in the courtyard.

However, the yin energy is very weak and fleeting.

"Brother Simu, Nephew Lin Chen, we really owe you a lot today!" Zhuge Kongping walked in with a big smile, having changed into a clean robe.

Wang Hui followed behind, carrying a plate of sliced ​​watermelon, which she slammed heavily onto the table.

"Let's watch the show." Wang Hui glared at Zhuge Kongping. "If it weren't for Master Four Eyes and Lin Chen, your signboard would have been smashed by that androgynous guy today!"

"Yes, yes, yes, my wife is right to scold me." Zhuge Kongping shrank back, turned and shouted towards the backyard, "Xiao Ming! Xiao Hua! Come out and greet your senior uncle and senior brother!"

The curtain was lifted, and a young man and a young woman walked out.

The man was wearing overalls, had his hair parted in the middle, and was holding a wrench in his hand. He looked a bit dull-witted.

The woman had two braids, wore a floral dress, and had bright, clever eyes.

"This is my son, Zhuge Xiaoming, and this is my daughter, Zhuge Xiaohua," Zhuge Kongping introduced, pointing to the two of them.

Xiao Hua bowed obediently, saying, "Greetings, Uncle-Master Simu, and greetings, Senior Brother Lin Chen. Senior Brother, that slap you gave me in the courtyard just now was so cool!"

Xiao Ming stared at Lin Chen intently.

"Senior Brother Lin, how did you unleash that penetrating force? I used a Western force gauge to measure the hardness of that bronze-armored corpse. Theoretically, an ordinary person's bones simply cannot withstand such a large recoil force."

Master Simu ate a watermelon and spat out two seeds.

"What Western force gauge? What kind of strange and ingenious trick is this! My disciple's technique is the authentic internal martial arts of Maoshan. What do you, a mere child, know?"

Zhuge Kongping moved closer to Lin Chen, rubbing his hands together and laughing.

"I disagree with what Brother Four Eyes said. Times have changed. Our ancestors' Qimen Dunjia is useful, but Western instruments also have their merits."

Zhuge Kongping pointed to the wrench in Xiaoming's hand.

"I've recently been researching combining the Qimen Dunjia Bagua formation with Western generators. Using copper wire instead of cinnabar wire, and connecting it to high-voltage electricity, the power... wow, it would absolutely char zombies to a crisp!"

Lin Chen put down his teacup, becoming somewhat interested.

This fat guy may seem unreliable, but his ideas are very advanced.

He possesses Maoshan weapon-forging skills; his previous attempt to repair the greatsword with Crimson Flame Copper was just that. If he could see Zhuge Kongping's equipment, he might be able to come up with some new ideas.

"Does Uncle-Master Zhuge also have expertise in technology?" Lin Chen asked.

"Of course!" Zhuge Kongping felt he had found a kindred spirit. "I have a ghost-sealing vault in my backyard. It not only holds all kinds of zombies that I've collected over the years, but also a laboratory that I set up."

Wang Hui snorted coldly.

"What kind of laboratory is this? It's just a junkyard! All you do is tinker with those copper pipes, wires, and gears. You don't practice any proper magic. I think you'll electrocute yourself sooner or later."

Xiao Ming muttered quietly beside her, "Mom, science is rigorous. That generator leak last time was just an accident."

"You dare talk back!" Wang Hui glared at him, and Xiao Ming was so frightened that he hid behind Xiao Hua.

Master Four Eyes patted the table.

"Alright, Fatty, stop talking about your junk. Is the food ready? We've been traveling all day, we're starving."

"Coming right away! Coming right away!" Zhuge Kongping nodded repeatedly and instructed his servants to hurry up with the preparation of the dishes in the kitchen.

Dinner was very plentiful.

Roast goose, braised pork belly, and steamed sea bass filled the table.

Lin Chen had a large appetite, eating five large bowls of rice and finishing off most of the meat on the table. His body had been strengthened multiple times, resulting in vigorous blood and energy, which required a lot of food to replenish and consume.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Wang Hui arranged for servants to take Simu and Lin Chen to their guest rooms to rest.

The guest rooms are in the west wing, and you can see the Zhuge family's backyard by opening the window.

Master Four Eyes let out a burp, took off his shoes, and collapsed onto the bed.

"Lin Chen, let's stay at this fat guy's house for a couple more days tomorrow. Let him provide food and lodging. Jia Le's injury still needs some time to heal, so there's no rush to go back."

"I'll listen to my master." Lin Chen sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of cold water.

Late at night.

The Zhuge family quieted down.

Lin Chen sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, closed his eyes, and the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture in his body automatically circulated. His magic power flowed along his meridians, repairing the minor muscle fatigue caused by using penetrating energy during the day.

The sound of the night watchman's gong came from outside the window.

Midnight.

The system's crisp notification sound rang in my mind right on time.

[Ding! It's midnight. Begin settling today's cultivation daily tasks.]

[Completed the long journey, Constitution +1.]

[Defeat the Bronze-Armored Corpse of Xishuangbanna, and destroy the World's Number One Mao, gaining Strength +2, Constitution +2, and Spirit +1.]

[Observe and learn Qimen Dunjia formations to improve your proficiency in Maoshan Qimen formation techniques.]

[Realm level advanced to Taoist (Advanced)]

A series of rewards came raining down.

Lin Chen felt an extremely powerful surge of heat explode in his dantian. The combined boost from his strength and physique brought his physical strength to a terrifying level.

[Host: Lin Chen]

[Realm Level: Taoist (Advanced)]

[Physical fitness: 30 (average is 8)]

Strength: 32 (8 for an average person)

Agility: 27 (normal level is 8)

[Mental Strength: 34 (8 for average people)]

Lin Chen clenched his fist, feeling that even without borrowing the divine power of the Mighty General, he could withstand the claws of an ordinary zombie with his bare body.

A wealth of knowledge about Qimen Dunjia flooded my mind.

The eight trigrams, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and the arrangement of the array's key points.

What was originally a beginner-level array formation technique was instantly elevated to a proficient level.

Lin Chen can now set up the Bagua Demon-Subduing Formation that Zhuge Kongping set up in the courtyard during the day, as long as he has the materials, and he can even modify it to be more sophisticated.

"This is a huge profit." Lin Chen opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

He rolled out of bed and walked to the window.

The moonlight is very dim tonight.

The west wing faces the backyard of the Zhuge family, in the middle of which stands a building entirely made of bricks without a single window.

That must be the Ghost Treasury that Zhuge Kongping mentioned.

The door was covered with countless yellow talismans for warding off evil spirits.

The advanced Qimen Dunjia formation techniques began to operate in his mind.

Outside this ghost vault, an inverted yin-yang formation was set up.

However, the formation has a flaw: a piece of the protective object is missing from the southwest corner, causing the formation to malfunction somewhat.

Lin Chen pushed open the door and walked out of the guest room.

Walking into the backyard, I heard a metallic clanging sound coming from the side of the Ghost Sealing Warehouse.

We went around a screen wall.

Zhuge Xiaoming was squatting at the base of the wall, a flashlight between his teeth, pliers in his hand, sweating profusely as he connected a copper wire as thick as a thumb.

There was an old-fashioned Western hand-cranked generator next to it.

"Why are you working as an electrician in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Xiao Ming's hand trembled, and the pliers almost fell off his foot.

Turning around and seeing Lin Chen, Xiao Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

"Senior Brother Lin, how come you walk so quietly? You scared me to death!"

Xiao Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed to a few copper wires on the ground.

"During the day, my dad's Bagua Demon-Subduing Formation had several of its key points torn apart by that bronze-armored corpse, so I'm thinking of reconnecting it."

"I plan to connect it to 220 AC power. As long as a zombie steps on it, it will be electrocuted to ashes without needing any talismans."