Chapter 110: Journey to Fengzhou

Page 1 of 3

“An evolved zombie?” The moment Yue Qi saw the zombie emerge, his eyes lit up with delight. Qin Luo, however, standing beside him, went pale, as though she had suddenly realized what was about to become of her.

“Heh heh!” Yue Qi grinned at Qin Luo. He did not consider this evolved zombie much of a threat, but the most important thing now was to let Qin Luo try using her mental power and see whether she could control it.

“Are you going to do it, or shall I?” Yue Qi looked at Qin Luo with an amused smile. “How about I cripple it first, then leave the rest to you?”

The zombie looked rather perplexed, apparently wondering why the man and woman before it were not afraid. But it was clear that the urge to slaughter had instantly filled its entire mind.

“Wait here!” Yue Qi rose to his feet. His mental power easily locked onto the evolved zombie before him. That was why he was not afraid to face one. As long as their numbers were not overwhelming, Yue Qi believed that once his mental power had fixed onto them, none of the zombies would be able to escape.

One First-Tier spell after another shot from his hands. They seemed to be fitted with tracking systems as they streaked relentlessly toward the zombie. Even more astonishingly, no matter how the evolved zombie dodged, it could not evade them. The unfortunate creature was treated like a laboratory rat. Before long, its body was covered in patches of bruising—though most of its skin was black to begin with—and numerous wounds were streaming with fresh blood.

“It’s all yours now!” Yue Qi said to Qin Luo behind him when he saw that the zombie’s movements had slowed considerably. Yet he still seemed uneasy. He walked up to the evolved zombie, apparently intending to do something more.

When the evolved zombie saw the human approaching, it was suddenly delighted. But then it froze, seemingly remembering how powerful this human was and how he had just beaten it until it was covered in wounds.

Evolved zombies possessed a certain degree of intelligence. After encountering an opponent as formidable as Yue Qi, the killing intent in its eyes immediately faded, replaced by fear and apprehension.

Seeing its reaction, Yue Qi was startled as well. Then he smiled at the “clever” zombie before him. The zombie wanted to flee, but its movements were already impaired, and Yue Qi’s mental power had locked onto it. The moment it tried to run too quickly, Yue Qi would immediately send a Fire-Controlling Spell after it.

This left the evolved zombie in a miserable predicament. It could neither fight nor escape, and could only stare pitifully at Yue Qi. The helpless expression in its eyes was remarkably human.

“Well now, what a clever zombie…” Yue Qi had originally intended to cut off both its legs, but seeing it in this state, he gave up on the idea. He had never encountered such a situation before. For one thing, whenever he had come across circumstances like this in the past, he had simply killed the zombies instead of staying to observe them carefully. For another, his previous strength had not been sufficient for him to face a powerful evolved zombie with such calm composure.

“Here. It’s your turn now…” Yue Qi did not look back as he stepped aside. He was also worried that the zombie might be pretending to be helpless before suddenly lashing out. Qin Luo was not weak, but most of her strength lay in formations. Allowing an evolved zombie to get close to her would still be quite dangerous.

“Junior Brother… Yue Qi… could we discuss something?” Qin Luo reluctantly walked forward. She truly did not want to control a zombie and parade it openly along the road. Just imagining the scene was humiliating enough.

“There’s nothing to discuss. We’ll give it a try. If it doesn’t work, then forget it.” Yue Qi glanced at her smugly.

“That’s not what I mean. Think about it—this evolved zombie is definitely much stronger than an ordinary zombie. You cultivators always say that training should proceed step by step. Shouldn’t I do the same? At the very least, I ought to find an ordinary zombie for my first attempt. If I succeed, then I can try controlling an evolved zombie afterward. Don’t you agree?”

Qin Luo suddenly had an inspiration.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

“That makes sense…” Yue Qi nodded. For the moment, he paid no attention to the evolved zombie and began thinking.

Given such an opportunity, only a fool would remain behind instead of fleeing. Seeing Yue Qi lost in thought, the evolved zombie suddenly shot off in one direction. It did not even dare to look back, as though it had already resigned itself to being beaten to death.

“Hmm. It runs pretty fast…” Yue Qi only reacted once the zombie was more than a hundred yards away, but he could not be bothered to pursue it.

When she saw the evolved zombie escape, Qin Luo finally breathed a sigh of relief. She hurriedly patted her still-developing chest and glanced at Yue Qi with lingering fear, as though he were some strange old man who specialized in abducting little girls.

“Go to sleep. We’ll talk about this tomorrow…” Yue Qi said helplessly.

Of course, he did not dare to sleep. Although his mental power could still observe the surroundings while he slept, doing so consumed a great deal of energy. He might as well sit here and meditate, keeping watch through the night at the same time.

“Okay!” Qin Luo nodded like a chick pecking at grain before hurriedly lying down. She thought that if any more zombies appeared later, she would sleep as soundly as possible. Even thunder and lightning would not be enough to wake her.

The two fell silent.

The next day, they continued hurrying toward Fengzhou. Yet, along the entire journey, they did not encounter a single zombie. This left Yue Qi puzzled.

They had originally planned to follow this route, but Yue Qi now wished he could immediately switch to the main road. They had not run into a single zombie on this minor path. Even when they occasionally heard the roar of one, by the time they hurried over, the zombie had already disappeared.

“What’s going on?” Yue Qi wondered aloud. He eyed Qin Luo suspiciously, thinking that perhaps this little girl had been secretly causing trouble. They had been traveling for so long, yet had not encountered a single zombie. It was truly bizarre.

It was a rare clear day in autumn. As Yue Qi walked along the road, he even felt somewhat overheated. He thought that once this stretch of hot weather passed, winter would probably arrive soon. He had no idea what would happen to the zombies in winter.

Naturally, Yue Qi hoped that the zombies would freeze to death. But he felt that possibility was extremely small. Rather than waiting for a natural disaster to descend and wipe out all the zombies, he might as well wait until he reached the Tribulation-Crossing stage and eliminate them himself.

“Hey, Junior Brother, why don’t we sit down and eat something?” Qin Luo’s expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural. She glanced at the sun overhead and wiped her forehead, despite there being no beads of sweat, before speaking to Yue Qi.

“Eat?” Yue Qi looked at her doubtfully. He did not know when she had become so fond of food. But it was already noon, and the two of them seemed to have been walking all morning, so he agreed to her suggestion.

When Yue Qi agreed, Qin Luo seemed relieved. She promptly found a shady spot beneath a tree and sat down with her back to him, as though waiting for him to prepare the meal.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

“What’s gotten into her today? She’s acting strangely…” Yue Qi looked at Qin Luo in confusion. He had no idea what she was thinking, but food was more important. His hands moved rapidly as he mixed the seasonings, while a plump roe deer roasted peacefully on the rack.

Qin Luo was having a miserable time. With her back turned to Yue Qi, her body trembled faintly. Only she knew what was happening.

As for why they had not encountered a single zombie that morning, Qin Luo was naturally responsible. She had controlled her two little companions to scout ahead, searching everywhere. Whenever they spotted a zombie, they lured it away. That was why Yue Qi had heard the occasional roar of a zombie but had never managed to catch sight of one.

Now, however, Qin Luo had run into trouble. Her two little companions seemed to have encountered some genuinely formidable opponents.

A moment earlier, everything had proceeded as usual. When she saw several zombies gathered ahead, she had intended to have her companions lure them away. Unexpectedly, the zombies turned around and hurled two spells at them.

Qin Luo did not know exactly how the strength of cultivators was ranked, but after spending so much time with Yue Qi, she knew that before their evolution, these zombies were certainly no weaker than him.

That alone would have been manageable. No matter how powerful the zombies were, they had nothing to do with Qin Luo. Whenever she encountered zombies before, she merely had her companions drive them away. But this time, she had run into a group that could not be shaken off. They kept pursuing the two little animals, and, more importantly, they seemed incredibly fast.

If Qin Luo had not directed her companions through the roughest, most uneven parts of the woods, they might have been caught long ago.

She had to tell the animals where to go while surveying the terrain ahead, and the drain on her mental power was immense. In the end, she simply led them back toward herself. After all, she had sent her companions out to scout. If they were killed, she would truly feel guilty.

Yet Qin Luo was now worried about Yue Qi as well. She knew that three Foundation Establishment zombies might not be a serious challenge for him, but facing all three at once would still be dangerous.

“Hey, Qin Luo, the food’s ready!” Yue Qi called from nearby.

Qin Luo did not respond. At first, Yue Qi thought she had fallen asleep, but when he looked more carefully, he could still see her body trembling.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?” Yue Qi placed the roasted venison to one side and walked over. The moment he saw her, his expression changed. Qin Luo’s face was deathly pale, and even her lips had begun to turn dark.

“Be careful. There are three Foundation Establishment zombies ahead!” Qin Luo managed to say before collapsing unconscious, as though she had reached the limits of her endurance.

“Three Foundation Establishment zombies?!” Yue Qi was startled.

At that moment, he saw Qin Luo’s two little animals rushing over from the distance. When they reached her side, they suddenly stopped and quietly stood guard over her. Yue Qi could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

However, not far behind them, the three Foundation Establishment zombies had also spotted Yue Qi. They were roaring aggressively as they charged straight toward him.