"Master, is he trying to create a zombie?!" Jiang Tianxin frowned, carefully checking the room for any potential dangers, and guessed, "He wants to turn Chen Yuling's cousin's corpse into a zombie, and then find a way to possess that corpse and become immortal? Is that right, Master?"
"Yes. Xin Xin, stay close to me and don't run around." Following the markings on the virtual screen, Xu Zifan found the hidden compartment inside, pried open the wall bricks, and took out the three magical artifacts inside.
Jiang Tianxin looked at him in astonishment, "Master, didn't you come here to set up an array to capture that old man?"
"We'll talk about that later. Let's empty his pockets first. We've gone through so much trouble, we can't let this trip be for nothing, understand?" Xu Zifan began instructing his crooked apprentice without a hint of guilt.
Jiang Tianxin hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "The police are not allowed to confiscate the property of criminals because the state will take it. In the Xuanmen sect, the state does not have this rule, so... cough, Master, I'll help you."
Jiang Tianxin put the three magical artifacts into her backpack, and then helped Xu Zifan take out a lot of gold, silver and jade from a hidden compartment. There were jewelry and ornaments, most of which were antiques, probably accumulated by the old man over the decades of tomb raiding or shady dealings.
Jiang Tianxin's backpack was overflowing, so Xu Zifan waved his hand, and everything went into his spatial dimension, including Jiang Tianxin's backpack. He clapped his hands in satisfaction and said, "This is quite a haul. It's enough to pay for eliminating the zombies. I'll go back and buy the land around Qingfeng Temple as well."
Jiang Tianxin stared at his hand with shining eyes and said, "Master, when did you teach me how to hide things? This trick is amazing."
Xu Zifan felt a little guilty thinking that he hadn't given his little disciple a single treasure yet. He patted her shoulder and chuckled, "Wait until your cultivation level is higher. Otherwise, it'll be like a doll holding a gold brick—easy for others to covet. Cultivation can't be rushed, you know?"
"I know, I will definitely work harder in my cultivation." Jiang Tianxin solemnly promised, her eyes full of trust as she looked at Xu Zifan.
Xu Zifan turned his head and touched his nose, pointing to a beam on the roof and said, "That's a trap set by the old man. The upper beam supports the house, and the lower beam is tied with an iron chain and has talismans pasted on it."
If someone were to break in, the beam would collapse and spin, causing trouble even if it didn't kill anyone. However, we used a concealment talisman, so the beam didn't move. Try destroying it."
"Yes, Master." Jiang Tianxin stepped forward to examine the beam, located the talisman, made a hand seal with his right hand, chanted incantations, and pointed at it. The talisman burned to ashes. After repeating this several times, the talisman on the beam disappeared, and it turned into an ordinary piece of wood.
Jiang Tianxin asked happily, "Master, did I do the right thing?"
"Yes." Xu Zifan walked to the offering table and called to her, "Take a look and see if there are any traps here."
Jiang Tianxin went to look with great interest, not letting go of any clues, and was completely immersed in it.
Chen Yuling said somewhat fearfully, "Master, let's hurry up and leave. What will we do if Third Uncle comes back later? Is he... is he very powerful?"
"No rush, I know what I'm doing." Xu Zifan crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He had learned from Shao Hua that the old man was looking for him everywhere and hadn't returned yet, so he wanted to let his little apprentice practice first.
Jiang Tianxin suddenly grabbed his arm excitedly and said, "Master! I found it! There are evil spirits guarding this painting. If you touch the painting, you will be entangled by the evil spirits. The things on the offering table have a faint spiritual sense. If you touch this, the old man will know, and the evil spirit in the incense burner will immediately rush out to attack. Is that right, Master?"
Xu Zifan was slightly surprised, "Not bad, you noticed it."
"Master, can you teach me to catch ghosts?" Jiang Tianxin asked expectantly. This was the first time she had ever used her knowledge to discover an evil ghost!
The black cat leaped far away in an instant, and Chen Yuling hurriedly floated away as well. She always felt unsafe following Jiang Tianxin, thinking that she might be wiped out one day.
When Xu Zifan heard Shao Hua say that the old man had appeared within 500 meters, he shook his head and said, "The old guy is back. He knows this place well. If we fight, it will be disadvantageous for us. Let's leave first."
Just as Xu Zifan grabbed Jiang Tianxin's wrist, Jiang Tianxin stopped him, "Master, shouldn't we leave a trap for him? We haven't found the evil spirits he captured yet. We should strike first and catch him off guard."
"Alright!" Xu Zifan agreed with satisfaction. As expected of his disciple, he was skilled in both underhanded and overt methods!
Xu Zifan quickly pasted a bunch of Flame Talismans on the walls inside the room, and a row of Thunder Explosion Talismans on the inside of the threshold. As soon as the old man stepped over the threshold, the Thunder Explosion Talismans would detonate, igniting the Flame Talismans in turn, and the entire house would be blown up and burned to the ground. He'd destroyed all the offerings in the old man's house; the old man would probably be furious enough to vomit blood!
Third Uncle was already close, so Xu Zifan grabbed Jiang Tianxin and quickly left with Chen Yuling and the black cat. He told Chen Yuling to go back to her parents and stay with them, while the rest of them returned to the graveyard to break the Yin-gathering formation.
Xu Zifan was an expert in formations. He directed Jiang Tianxin and him to bury spirit stones in different locations at the same time, directly changing the Yin Gathering Formation into a Zombie Binding Formation. No matter how powerful the zombie was, it wouldn't be able to get out!
The change in the formation disturbed the zombie in the coffin. Xu Zifan flew to Jiang Tianxin's side, took out a set of armor made of spirit stones from his space, and put it on her.
The armor is engraved with advanced defensive formations, which would be a valuable item even in the cultivation world, and in this world it should be an invincible defense.
I don't know if that scene has been changed, but protecting the young apprentice is the most important thing.
He then took out a set of crescent-shaped twin swords and earnestly explained, "These swords are effective against evil spirits."
"That worked wonders! Hold on tight. If something seems wrong, just keep attacking to protect yourself. Also, don't take off this armor. Don't run out of my sight, got it?"
Jiang Tianxin was stunned. She was always the one charging into battle and instructing others, but this time, it seemed like they were fighting to the death, yet she was the one being protected. This feeling was a bit strange, and it warmed her heart.
She nodded vigorously, then asked with some concern, "What are you going to do? Do you have any left?"
Xu Zifan looked at the ground pounding incessantly in the formation, smiled and cracked his knuckles, "It's been a long time since I've really gotten some exercise, so today I'm going to go on a killing spree!"
Suddenly, many mounds in the formation exploded, and amidst the dust were shattered coffins. Dozens of zombies burst out of the coffins and stood up stiffly but quickly!
At the same time, a huge explosion rang out from the ancestral hall, followed by a scream that suddenly disappeared.
Jiang Tianxin turned around and saw lightning flashing and flames raging. A surge of joy filled her eyes, "Master, that old man has been hit!"
"Hmm, remember what I told you." Xu Zifan waved his hand casually, and the Xuan Iron Fan rushed towards the nearest zombie. The sharp blade of the fan cut through the zombie's neck, and the zombie's head fell off. The body crashed to the ground, but the head was still struggling to face them, its mouth opening and closing incessantly.
Xu Zifan stepped into the binding formation and caught the spinning black iron fan. "Xin Xin, come here."
Jiang Tianxin immediately agreed, gripping her crescent-shaped twin swords and charging towards the zombie's head. She was skilled in martial arts and wielded the swords with ease. Although her skill was limited, her strike only managed to break the skin of the zombie's head, rendering it immobile and unable to harm her.
She slashed at the same spot more than a dozen times, finally splitting the zombie's head in two. The zombie's head then stopped moving, like a machine without power.
The black cat leaped onto the head of a nearby zombie, its claws flashing, leaving a trail of afterimages as it dispatched the zombie almost simultaneously with Jiang Tianxin. Xu Zifan, meanwhile, took down two zombies and was now facing the third.
"Stop! Stop!" Uncle San roared furiously, and then his figure appeared at the edge of the graveyard.
He watched in fury as decades of hard work were destroyed in an instant, his eyes bulging. He took out a silver flute about the length of a thumb and played it, his gaze seeming to devour them!
But then he realized something was wrong; the zombies weren't reacting to his silver flute at all! He stared at the array in astonishment and demanded, "What kind of array is this? What have you done?"
Xu Zifan opened his Xuan Tie Fan and slashed it sharply. The arms of a zombie fell to the ground instantly, and Jiang Tianxin stepped forward to take them.
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "Of course we are acting on behalf of Heaven to stop this evil thing from getting out. You don't need to waste your time. Even if you manage to raise a drought demon, it won't be able to escape the binding formation!"
"Binding Formation? There's no such formation in the world! The formation will break when you die, brat, prepare to die!" Third Uncle drew a soft sword from his waist. The sword looked rusty, yet it was shrouded in a thick layer of Yin energy, making it incredibly powerful. He thrust the sword at Xu Zifan, but Xu Zifan neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, he met the attack head-on, pulling the sword away from Jiang Tianxin and the black cat.
The soft sword struck the black iron fan, and both men were thrown back several steps. The Third Uncle narrowed his eyes and said viciously, "You ruined my plans today, so you'll have a body to give me. I'll use your pure Yin body to refine the most perfect zombie!" With that, he attacked him again, throwing out talismans at the same time.
Xu Zifan's cultivation level in this life wasn't high enough to unleash the full power of the Xuan Iron Fan, but his talismans were all of the highest grade, allowing him to fight his third uncle to a standstill. He had treasures in his spatial storage, but he still remembered those evil spirits and was determined to force the old man to use all his remaining moves, otherwise the consequences would be dire. Therefore, he hadn't used his treasures yet, and even deliberately revealed a few small openings to further fuel the old man's fighting spirit!
The zombie Jiang Tianxin faced had no arms but still had legs to move. She dodged while wielding her knife, using her spiritual power to employ martial arts techniques to trip the zombie repeatedly, seizing the opportunity to slash its head. It took her a little longer to finally defeat the zombie.
She saw Xu Zifan's direction and wanted to help, but as Xu Zifan turned around, they made eye contact. She immediately stopped and understood that Xu Zifan meant for her to mind her own business.
Xu Zifan wasn't the type to show off. Seeing the calm in Xu Zifan's eyes, she confidently faced the next zombie. This time, the zombie had hands and feet, and she also had to dodge other zombies jumping at her. She skillfully used all the moves she had learned, and her speed in dealing with the zombies was even faster than before.
She discovered that this gradual practice allowed her to quickly master combat skills, and the yang energy in her body had a slight restraining effect on zombies, which greatly boosted her confidence. Together with the black cat, she stopped the zombies from getting close to Xu Zifan.
Third Uncle saw the zombies dying one by one at the hands of that man and cat. Although they were just weak zombies on the edge of the formation, they were still the ones he had painstakingly raised. His heart ached as if it were bleeding!
Just then, Xu Zifan revealed another opening. The Third Uncle's expression hardened, and he suddenly retreated a hundred meters, throwing out a small black triangular flag. He sneered and shouted, "You two ignorant brats, taste the power of my Hundred Ghosts Banner!"