Chapter 37

Boom!

The thunderclap echoed, and amidst the dense, dark clouds, lightning had already begun to crackle.

"Little one, I've been waiting for you."

Zhao Yun's eyes sparkled, and the term "little one" was called with great affection.

Indeed, he had the Primordial Heaven Thunder Technique.

Lightning and thunder, to him, were nourishment and transformation.

Boom! Rumble!

Since the first thunderclap, the entire world was no longer peaceful. Lightning tore through the sky, and many bolts struck down, for Zhao Yun had already activated the Heavenly Thunder Technique.

He was still struck by lightning.

However, Zhao Yun was already accustomed to it. He activated the technique to draw in the lightning, danced with his sword amidst the thunder, and tempered his body in the lightning. The power of the thunder gradually seeped into him.

There was indeed an opportunity.

Bathed in the thunder, his cultivation broke through to the eighth level.

Deep into the night, a bonfire burned brightly in the cave.

Beside the bonfire, Zhao Yun sat cross-legged, stabilizing his realm. Lightning still lingered on his skin like fine threads, and even his breath carried a hint of thunder.

At this moment, his demeanor had changed significantly.

The change was a kind of indescribable dignity, which he owed to the lightning. Since it was heavenly lightning, it naturally carried the power of thunder, which had left its mark on his body, intangible yet truly perceptible.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Suddenly, the sound of a bell rang out, clear and rhythmic.

Zhao Yun's brows furrowed slightly.

The bell seemed to have a strange power, making his mind uneasy and difficult to concentrate. He tried to block it out several times, but the bell sound still penetrated.

For the first time in so many days, his mind was in turmoil.

The turmoil was a kind of... prelude to a mental breakdown.

"What the hell, can't you find something better to do in the middle of the night!"

Zhao Yun cursed under his breath, then opened his eyes and stood up, following the bell sound. He had come here to cultivate in peace, but he was still disturbed.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the dark forest, he moved like a shadow, his face dark. When he found the person, he would have to ask why they were ringing a bell in the mountains for no reason!

He stopped and hid behind a large rock.

Not far away was a mountain path. In the night, only a vague outline could be seen. As he got closer, he realized it was a mage in a dark blue robe, wearing a hood, holding a duster in one hand and a bell in the other.

That bell.

Zhao Yun's eyes narrowed. The bell sound was annoying and made it hard to calm his mind, like a curse that couldn't be dispelled from his mind, very sinister.

Looking further, it was even more chilling.

Behind the mage was a line of people, neatly arranged, tied together with grass ropes, spaced about six to seven feet apart. They all wore tall felt hats, with their arms stretched out in front of them, and a yellow paper with a talisman pressed on their foreheads, hanging over their faces. They didn't walk but jumped, straight and orderly.

"A corpse driver?" Zhao Yun murmured.

He had heard of corpse drivers before, who were active at night and were a very mysterious profession, involving a kind of witchcraft that could animate corpses.

Saying "drive" corpses was more like "lead" them, as the mage was in front of the corpses, walking and occasionally ringing a gong, meaning: live people, move aside.

"It must be a soul-capturing bell."

Zhao Yun murmured, looking at the bell in the mage's hand. It lived up to its name, sounding very sinister, and the copper gong, when struck, shook the mind.

He looked at the small spirit bead in his chest, but it didn't light up.

This was strange. Could the mage's cultivation not be detected? Or did the mage have a talisman that could shield detection? Or was it the extremely mysterious witchcraft?

Rustle! Rustle!

The mage scattered paper money, which looked like a funeral procession. Everything was there, openly and secretly exuding a sense of eerie mystery, making Zhao Yun's hair stand on end.

"Interesting."

Zhao Yun watched intently. Although he had seen more terrifying zombies, this scene still piqued his curiosity. The Mysterious Gate Scripture had a brief mention of it, mainly about corpse-driving witchcraft, which mostly dealt with corpses.

As he spoke, the mage had already passed by.

The six corpses behind him were neatly arranged, jumping straight and orderly. A breeze lifted the yellow talismans on their foreheads, revealing pale faces, which were quite frightening. If there were children around, they would likely be scared to tears.

This scene made him shudder.

He was about to leave, but when he saw the sixth corpse, he crouched back down.

The sixth corpse was a chubby little boy, not very tall but with a broad and round body. As he jumped, he wasn't very obedient, his head bobbing like a rattle, looking left and right. His hands, which were supposed to be stretched out in front, sometimes came back to scratch his ears or neck, then stretched out again.

"Reanimated corpse?" Zhao Yun raised an eyebrow.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a reanimated corpse at all, but a living person.

Why say that? Because the small spirit bead in his chest had lit up, and it had detected the person's cultivation, which was at the True Spirit Realm, the first level.

This was interesting.

Why would a living person, instead of doing something else, choose to jump with a bunch of corpses in the middle of the night? Was it a special hobby? Or was he just bored out of his mind?

The mage at the front seemed unaware.

The chubby boy was still not obedient, looking left and right. When he looked in Zhao Yun's direction, he raised an eyebrow, his eyes sharp, as if he had seen Zhao Yun.

"You're crazy!"

Zhao Yun moved his lips, but no sound came out, using lip reading.

"You're the one who's crazy."

The chubby boy understood lip reading and moved his lips to reply to Zhao Yun.

"Then keep jumping!"

Zhao Yun smirked, sneaking away, not wanting to waste time on nonsense.

"Go to hell."

As he moved, the chubby boy also moved, cursing loudly, tearing off the yellow talisman on his forehead, and breaking the grass rope. With one jump, he darted into the forest.

Huh?

The mage suddenly turned around, stunned for a moment, his eyes showing a strange expression.

What the hell, there's a living person here.

Embarrassingly, he had followed the mage all the way without the mage noticing a thing.

"Where are you going?"

The mage coldly snorted, immediately forming a seal with one hand and chanting a spell.

Ugh...!

The chubby boy, who had just darted into the forest, groaned, clutching his head. From his expression, he seemed to be in great pain, possibly due to a curse planted by the mage.

"Save... save me."

The chubby boy, in pain, pleaded with Zhao Yun, who was only a few yards away.

Zhao Yun frowned, not wanting to get involved in this mess.

Mainly because the mage was too eerie, and from his appearance, he seemed to have considerable skill.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of thuds echoed as two corpses, one on each side, jumped in. They were real corpses, animated by the mage, ignoring Zhao Yun and heading straight for the chubby boy.

Obviously, they were there to catch the chubby boy.

"Save me."

The chubby boy still looked at Zhao Yun, his eyes full of pleading.

Zhao Yun sighed inwardly.

He still decided to act, taking two steps, picking up the chubby boy, and walking away.

Saving a life, that's what it's all about.

The two zombies were not pleased, jumping and chasing after them, and opening their mouths to exhale a breath of yin energy, which withered the trees and flowers it touched.

Unfortunately, they were dead men.

With a large rock blocking their path, they couldn't jump over it, just bouncing in place.

"Where are you going?"

The mage also entered, waving his sleeve, and hundreds of copper coins were scattered.

"Senior, he's a living person."

Zhao Yun turned around, drawing the Purple Dawn Sword from his waist and swinging it vigorously, deflecting the hundreds of copper coins.

"A mere Condensation Essence Realm, daring to snatch someone from my hands?"

The mage said calmly, chanting a spell, forming a seal with one hand, and drawing a large "Seal" character in the air, which rushed toward Zhao Yun.

Clang!

Zhao Yun's true essence surged, and he split the "Seal" character with a sword, finding the air-drawn talisman quite intriguing. If hit, it would likely feel very unpleasant.

"Underestimated you, young one."

The mage laughed sinisterly, changing the seal with one hand, and ancient characters suddenly appeared, all ethereal, and he couldn't recognize the script.

"That's a witchcraft spell, avoid it."

The chubby boy warned, seemingly aware of the spell's eerie nature.

Zhao Yun didn't dodge, his body enveloped in fierce flames.

It was beast fire, protecting his body, and the ethereal ancient characters were burned away as they approached.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The mage laughed sinisterly, shaking the soul-capturing bell, and eerie sounds rang out.

Ugh...!

Zhao Yun groaned, the bell was too eerie.

However, he could withstand it, carrying the chubby boy and quickly retreating, sheathing the Purple Dawn Sword and throwing a flying knife, one with an explosive talisman attached.

"Such an attack can harm me?"

The mage looked down on him, easily deflecting the attack, but his expression changed when he saw the explosive talisman.

At this moment, it was a test of adaptability and speed. Explosive talismans were not to be taken lightly; they would explode.

The mage had many skills, but his physical body was not strong enough.

Fortunately, he was quick-witted, instantly throwing the flying knife and dodging behind a large rock.

Boom!

The explosion echoed, and the surrounding trees suffered.

Zhao Yun was nowhere to be seen.

Honestly, there was no deep-seated grudge, no need to fight to the death. The mage was too eerie, and his Daoist techniques were unpredictable. A moment of carelessness could lead to his demise.

The mage emerged, looking disheveled but unharmed. The large rock had shielded him, and he hadn't expected a mere Condensation Essence Realm to have an explosive talisman, whose power far exceeded his imagination, with both lightning and fire.

"Want to run? Not so easy."

The mage gritted his teeth, summoning the zombies and placing them in one spot. He then rushed into the forest, determined to catch the boy, who must have other treasures if he had an explosive talisman.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhao Yun didn't stop, carrying the chubby boy and running fast.

He glanced at the chubby boy, who, despite his obesity, looked like a young master from a wealthy family. However, his current state was not good, his face pale and his expression pained, as if he had been severely injured.

"Water, find water." The chubby boy said weakly.

Zhao Yun said nothing, heading straight for the river. He admired the chubby boy for his acting skills, even fooling the mage.

Splash!

Soon, the sound of splashing water was heard. Zhao Yun was quite rough, throwing the chubby boy into the river and then turning to leave, having done his part. Whether the chubby boy lived or died was up to his fate.