The witch and the werewolves' destination was indeed the core area of this burial ground.
The further they walked, the more charred, pitch-black bones they saw lining the path.
These bones were all contorted and twisted in a posture of struggle, making it easy to see the sheer torment their owners had suffered before they died.
At the core of the burial ground, where the ghost soul flowers grew in the greatest abundance, dense clusters of the heart-shaped flowers bloomed with a seductive, sinister beauty. A big red coffin stood upright, leaning straight against a withered locust tree.
The coffin lid had fallen off, and growing upon it was an exceptionally eye-catching, glossy, black-and-red lingzhi.
Its appearance was somewhat similar to a ghost soul flower, its exterior webbed with fine, thread-like blood vessels, resembling a constantly beating, dark red heart.
The entire plant was black and red, with a stalk as thick as a baby's palm. It grew on a slightly larger mound of earth, and its bizarre appearance made it easy to distinguish from the ghost soul flowers at a glance.
However, none of them dared to make a rash move.
For one simple reason: inside the coffin beneath the locust tree, an ancient male corpse stood quietly. His face was withered and shriveled like tree bark, and his hands were crossed over his chest.
The corpse had a peaceful expression and was completely naked, with black hair growing on his chest, arms, and groin.
His ten fingernails were sharp and pointed, his toenails were incredibly long, and two long fangs protruded from his lips, glinting with a cold light.
The corpse had no breath, but as the lingzhi swayed and the surrounding ghost soul flowers gently nudged, the black-and-red spores from the lingzhi were drawn into his mouth.
Hiding in the shadows and watching with bated breath, Qin Yue couldn't help but feel startled.
A zombie!
She had heard Lyu Dongfang talk about these things. They were extremely difficult to deal with, impervious to blades and spears, with incredibly thick skin. Moreover, if they didn't appear, all was well, but once they did, a bloodbath was sure to follow.
Feeling the intimidation emanating from the zombie, Qin Yue frowned and immediately made a decision.
Since her mission was already complete, there was no need to stir up trouble and cause unnecessary casualties.
Huaxia zombies also had a ranking system. Low-level zombies feared light, had difficulty moving, had rigid bodies with unbendable joints, and were terrified of sunlight.
However, after a long period of cultivation, they would evolve into black zombies, white zombies, green zombies, flying zombies, hairy zombies, and wandering corpses.
The longer they cultivated, the more powerful they became.
The zombie before her was already beginning to grow black hair all over its body...
One glance was enough to tell that this was not something a Qi Refinement practitioner could handle.
Qin Yue held her breath and began to quietly retreat, but a hand suddenly reached out from behind her, restraining her in the blink of an eye!
“Shh, little girl, don't make a sound.”
Hu Manni swayed her head from side to side as a gray mist rose from her back. The corners of her eyes elongated, making her look exceptionally seductive—
Though her facial features were clearly the same, her temperament was completely different.
The fox immortal that Hu Manni carried on her person had possessed her.
“See that big lingzhi? Now that's a good thing, a treasure that only grows in chaotic graves and mass burial grounds.
“If you humans eat it, it's toxic, but it's the ultimate tonic for us guardian spirits.”
The fox immortal licked its lips and said in a lowered voice:
“Just watch. The hair on that old zombie is starting to shed and turn into proper hair. How could these little brats possibly deal with it?
“If these useless underdogs can actually pull this off, I'll twist my own head off and let you kick it around like a ball.”
“You want to... intercept them?”
Qin Yue's eyes narrowed. She did not agree with this plan. “The risk is too high. Just the two of us cannot handle that zombie.”
“I'm not that suicidal. Just watch. That lingzhi and the zombie share a symbiotic relationship. Whoever touches it dies.”
The fox immortal said disdainfully:
“A treasure is great, but you need to be alive to bring it back. These ignorant foreign ghosts... do they really think foreign zombies are on the same level as our Huaxia zombies?
“If they disturb the zombie and end up dying here, the zombie will suck their fresh blood. If it escapes from the secret realm, it'll go out and wreak havoc on the living in the outside world.”
With that, she winked at Qin Yue:
“Hasn't your government always wanted to build a relationship with that humanoid great demon in the southwest?
“To tell you the truth, my family's old ancestor has already aligned with the Mountain Lord. The last time he went home, he wasn't heavily injured; he had just taken too much of the tonic medicine bestowed by the Mountain Lord and overindulged.
“My two elder sisters, Hu Cuiling and Hu Cuixian, are currently serving in Qingmeng Mountain.
“I know you have a great treasure bestowed by an immortal. If you let me take a look to satisfy my curiosity, I'll speak highly of the government in front of my two sisters the next time I see them.”
The Hu family had actually established contact with Qingmeng Mountain!
Qingmeng Mountain's attitude toward the government had always been vague, and very little intelligence could be gathered about it.
This condition was indeed difficult to refuse.
Qin Yue was secretly startled, but after only two seconds of thought, she agreed:
“Alright, but let's leave this place first.”
Her mission this time was merely to scout the way and bring back a sample of Ghost Sand. She had to avoid conflict as much as possible; completing the mission was the top priority.
The fox immortal grinned widely, having gotten what she wanted. But before Qin Yue's voice could even fade, a sudden mutation occurred.
“Roar... Roar!!”
A terrifying, beast-like roar echoed through the air. Spores of Ghost Sand fluttered wildly across the sky, and in an instant, the surrounding temperature spiked several times over!
The two of them exchanged a glance, seeing absolute horror in each other's eyes.
...
...
Five minutes ago.
The witch Harley did not reach out directly to pluck the large lingzhi.
She pulled a bizarre, pitch-black net from her backpack and cautiously draped it over the corpse's face.
This was a net woven from crow's blood, pigeon feathers, mistletoe, sage, and a witch's hair.
A witch's magic was stored in her hair; the longer the hair, the more powerful her magic.
This was a magic net woven from the long hair of dozens of witches from the coven, and the power it contained was naturally extraordinary.
It seemed Jaris had indeed paid an irresistible price.
Harley carefully fitted the net over the corpse's head, then used a bottle of juice squeezed from black ants to write strings of Voodoo runes across its forehead and cheeks.
Sensing the aura of the living, the zombie standing in the big red coffin slowly opened its eyes.
Its scarlet eyeballs stared through the hair net, completely unfocused, as it blankly searched for a target but found nothing.
It seemed to have fallen into some kind of hallucination, spinning in place continuously.
“Boom! Shred!”
Its long nails whipped through the air, violently tearing apart a locust tree as thick as a bucket. White wood chips exploded and drifted to the ground.
It worked!
If she had directly plucked the treasure, she would have likely been torn to shreds by now.
Harley felt incredibly relieved and shouted urgently to Martin and the others:
“Hurry! We only have ten minutes!”
“Lip! It's up to you!”
Martin immediately shot his companion a look. The other man hesitated for a moment, then let out a low growl. His bones contorted rapidly as he transformed into an ugly werewolf, lunging forward directly toward the heart-shaped lingzhi!
However, the very second before his fingertips could touch the lingzhi, a spark of fire suddenly ignited. Starting from his finger bones, it began to combust spontaneously, inch by inch!
“It's the spores! Damn it!”
“It's this damn mushroom!!”
As the sky filled with flying spores, the glittering dust drifted down onto everyone. Only then did they realize that the large lingzhi was constantly spraying spores into the air—
And these spores had already landed on their bodies, ready to ignite at any moment.
“Roar!!”
The net-covered zombie let out a bizarre shriek as faint black patterns began to shimmer on its dry skin.
“Fuck! Damn it! This is our only chance!!”
Seeing that it was about to break free from its restraints, the black witch refused to give up, gritting her teeth as she held on:
“Pluck it for me, quickly! I don't care if you die, I just want that thing!!”
Traces of blood seeped from her eyes, nostrils, and ears. Harley felt a loud ringing in her ears, her vision swimming.
“Arghhhhh!!”
Recalling everything Harley had mentioned, Martin did not hesitate to shove a teammate toward the large lingzhi, using brute force to snap it off!
The teammate's bloodcurdling scream echoed through the heavens. The moment the lingzhi touched the ground, it abruptly turned pitch-black!
In the next second, a furious roar shattered the sky. The zombie tore through the magic net and charged straight at the nearest werewolf, lightly ripping with its hands as fresh blood splattered everywhere!
Rate on N.U.
