I am Jinshan Youxia

He speaks fluently, has clear logic, and even unleashes heavenly thunder.

Good heavens, is this still a zombie?

Yan Chixia found it hard to believe.

Zhang Chengyi ignored all that nonsense and casually said, "Wait a minute." He activated his corpse energy to peel off a layer of his charred outer shell, and powder fell to the ground with a soft rustling sound.

Zombies have little regenerative ability; they are tough enough to turn into charred powder and crumble, revealing shriveled muscles in many places on their bodies, as white and textured as marble.

Although it doesn't look ugly, and is even much better looking than the previous dark brown stiff skin, it is essentially exposed muscle, similar to the giant next door.

It's a bit eerie.

After removing his skin, which had been charred by electricity, Zhang Chengyi noticed something different from before.

Although the muscles are still shriveled, they are much fuller than before, and the lost skin is gradually growing back. Even the eyeballs are becoming fuller, and the eyesight has improved. The stiff joints are loosening, as if lubricated.

The zombies seemed more alive now.

strangeness.

He didn't really understand why, but he didn't care. After regaining his mobility, he jumped up and down and said, "Want to cooperate? Yan Chixia, let's take down the tree demon together."

"I only want those female ghosts," he stated his goal frankly.

The female ghosts whose souls were intertwined with his weren't dead; on the contrary, they had fallen into a deep sleep due to their immense growth. His soul was weak because of the presence of corpse energy, but it was exceptionally resilient under the lock-on effect of the modifier, capable of persisting until he merged with each female ghost until she could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep.

It sounds strange, but the principle is actually more like the dual cultivation in the world of immortal cultivation, where both parties benefit. As the soul is strengthened, the spirit is also strengthened.

The female ghosts fell asleep peacefully because their souls grew and they were nourished by the spirit, their injuries were healed, and when they woke up, they found that they were getting stronger in every way.

Of course, this didn't stop the female ghosts inside Zhang Chengyi's body from trembling.

"Why would I kill the old monster?" Yan Chixia retorted.

Even if he didn't intend to kill the zombie, he didn't intend to kill the tree demon either, right?

In this world, right and wrong are indistinguishable, and good and evil are hard to tell apart. Living is not necessarily better than dying. The Tree Demon Granny keeps her promise and only kills bad people. She has no need to eliminate her own neighbors.

Zhang Chengyi had seen the movie and could easily understand Yan Chixia's resignation. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Is it because the tree demon used the ashes to enslave the female ghost?"

"Hey"

Yan Chixia sheathed his sword, his laughter devoid of any genuine joy, and said, "If one has no obsessions and only desires to be reborn as a human in the next life, rather than a ghost in this one, one would be reincarnated long ago. Ashes and sorcery cannot interfere with the cycle of reincarnation."

To put it bluntly, he felt that the female ghosts could have been reincarnated and didn't have to live in this filthy world, but they chose to be controlled by the tree demon.

Those who save themselves will be saved by Heaven. If someone willingly aids and abets evil, harming others and themselves, and committing countless sins, they will not kill ghosts for no reason, but they also do not have such overflowing compassion that they would risk their lives to save a group of female ghosts.

He came to Lanruo Temple seeking peace and quiet because he was completely disillusioned with everything.

“It seems we can’t reason with them.” Zhang Chengyi chose to take action, his body leaping straight toward Yan Chixia, driven by the corpse energy.

There was nothing he could do; he simply couldn't break through the tree demon's magic and illusions. The zombie's methods were limited, and now he couldn't leave the forest, nor could he find the tree demon's true form.

If Yan Chixia is unwilling to help, then beat him until he agrees.

Moreover, it would be quite interesting to spar with one of the world's top swordsmen.

"Hahaha!"

"Well done!" Yan Chixia laughed loudly. He drew his sword, bit his index finger and smeared it on the blade. He then stepped aside to avoid the zombie's momentum and thrust his sword diagonally.

No matter how exquisite a swordsman's skills are, they cannot break through the steel bones of a zombie, but magic can easily pierce through a zombie.

Everything in the universe is interconnected and mutually restraining; this is true of all things.

"laugh!"

Yan Chixia thought victory was assured, but his sword missed its mark. The zombie flipped over and landed, its arm lashing out from below.

"Whoosh!" He narrowly avoided the gust of wind that was coming at him. Even just the gust of wind brushing his cheek was uncomfortable. He could imagine that if he had been hit in the face, he would have been sent flying more than ten meters away.

Not bad, it's a zombie that fights with some strategy. Unfortunately, its length makes it stronger.

Yan Chixia once again swung his sword and stepped forward.

Huh? Hmm? Ah?

It's impossible to hit it, impossible to hit it at all. Even though the zombie's body is stiff and many joints cannot move, the zombie opposite me displays a very different style of movement. It lies diagonally, leans back, and rolls to the side. The zombie's characteristic of being able to fall down at any angle is being used to its fullest extent.

The key point is that he clearly noticed that all the movements were very methodical, just like fighting a martial arts master who was good at unorthodox martial arts.

interesting!

"Snapped!"

Just as Yan Chixia was getting ready to fight, he was suddenly slapped away from an odd angle.

"Trying to use martial arts on me? Are you kidding me?"

Zhang Chengyi scoffed at Yan Chixia's fighting spirit, asking if he even understood what martial arts were. He had traveled through dozens or even hundreds of martial arts worlds, possessed the ability to deduce the body from the main god's light sphere, and had reached the pinnacle of humanoid body skills.

No one knows martial arts better than him.

"That's amazing!" Yan Chixia got up, covered in dust, his face full of amazement.

Defeating an armed opponent, even a zombie, with bare hands is enough to earn his respect and attention.

No, it's precisely because the opponent is a zombie that it seems more powerful.

"What kind of martial art is this?" he asked solemnly.

Zhang Chengyi casually said, "Let's call it Zombie Fist." After saying that, he broke off a tree branch and stiffly half-clenched it in his hand.

"Again!" Yan Chixia launched an attack.

At this moment, he truly is the challenger.

"Snapped!"

A red mark from being whipped by a tree branch appeared on Yan Chixia's old face.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

Even though his opponent was a zombie, Yan Chixia only needed to use magic. However, after being knocked away by martial arts once, he became determined to win by using martial arts. He stubbornly charged forward again and again, only to be left with red marks by tree branches.

This is impossible! This is impossible!

He was completely baffled. Zombies are stiff and should have very limited moves. With his skill in swordsmanship, how could he not touch them at all?

Undeterred, he stepped forward again and tried repeatedly. He vaguely realized that his opponent was simply using swordsmanship and movement techniques to tease him. His moves were being read, and he was being completely led by the nose, with the opponent able to attack him wherever they wanted.

As expected, he couldn't win despite his best efforts.

Seeing the simple, unadorned branch pressed against his throat, Yan Chixia dejectedly released his longsword and said:

"I lost."

Chapter 228 Departure

In the dark, dense forest.

"who are you?"

As Yan Chixia walked, he couldn't help but ask.

He wasn't the type to complain even when he lost, but he truly couldn't imagine who in the world possessed such martial arts skills.

Could it be that some historical swordsman, sword saint, or sword god has become a zombie?

"Zhang Chengyi, the Wandering Swordsman of Jinshan." Zhang Chengyi announced his name, jumping up and down as he laughed, "Don't even think about it, you couldn't possibly have heard of me."

Yan Chixia racked his brains for a while, but he really couldn't think of such a swordsman. He then said, "Indeed, we cannot underestimate the heroes of the world. Even a small place like Jinhua has hidden talents."

As he spoke, he stopped and looked at the old monster dressed as a woman but with the appearance of a man standing not far away. He sniffed and said, "Hmph, judging from your appearance, you've lost at least a hundred years of cultivation, yet you dare to come and see us?"

Zhang Chengyi looked up and saw that it looked a bit eerie in the movie, but in reality it was incredibly horrifying. He was already prepared to rush over and unleash a torrent of lightning upon himself.

The Tree Demon Granny ignored Yan Chixia, staring straight at Zhang Chengyi with a gloomy face, and said, "I have brought you all the female ghosts you wanted."

As they spoke, a dozen or so holes appeared on the ground with a series of popping sounds, and one by one, female ghosts wrapped in tongues were brought to the surface.

"Now, eat them and leave this place." The powder on the tree demon's face kept sliding down with the viscous liquid, revealing her pale face underneath. Her voice was no longer a mix of male and female voices, but rather overlapping, which gave people a very uncomfortable feeling.

"Grandma!"

"No, Grandma!"

Upon hearing the tree spirit's words, the female ghosts immediately began to plead.

"Okay." Zhang Chengyi stood still, his tone revealing no emotion.

The tongue slowly brought the female ghosts over.

Yan Chixia straightened his lowered hand, and a talisman fell into his palm from his sleeve.

He may not want to get involved in ghostly matters, but that doesn't mean he's willing to just stand by and watch zombies devour souls.

The Tree Demon Granny coldly and murderously stared at the man and the corpse. Having lost nearly two hundred years of power, she had no intention of fighting anymore. She would not be able to come out and harm people again for at least two hundred years, which was equivalent to losing a full four hundred years of her life.

Will this chaotic era last for another four hundred years?

Four hundred years! It has only cultivated for a thousand years in total. The hatred caused by the obstruction of its path is so great that even the ocean could not wash it away. Yet it has no way to deal with that strange zombie, nor can it see through it.

Both being thousand-year-old monsters, Hua Shao's grandmother wasn't much weaker than it, yet she was tortured to death without any power to resist.

Fortunately, as a tree spirit, it had plenty of patience and could endure anything.

Since its power is diminished and it can't harm anyone, keeping a group of female ghosts is useless. It's better to send the zombie away so as not to delay its recuperation. When it comes out of the mountain again, it can capture as many female ghosts as it wants.

"good."

Zhang Chengyi didn't care what the human and the demon were thinking. He seized the opportunity and quickly stuffed the female ghosts into his body, one in his left hand and one in his right.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he's now feared by both a human and a demon; in reality, his only trick is the Heavenly Thunder Explosion, which is no match for these two.

Just like Yan Chixia in the movie couldn't dig out the tree demon's true form from underground, he was in the same boat.

Yan Chixia himself knows too many things, and he is a zombie that can be countered. Apart from releasing corpse energy, he doesn't have any decent ranged attack methods. In a fight, it's pretty much like the opponent can leave whenever they want, and he can't stop them. If the opponent throws something from a distance, he can block it with his Heavenly Thunder.

At most, they would neither win nor lose, and there would be no life-or-death situation.