Chapter 111: The Living Dead?

Yue Qi glanced at the unconscious Qin Luo and immediately understood why she had discovered these Foundation Establishment stage zombies so early. A wave of shame washed over him; if he hadn't forced her to use the zombies for testing, she would never have done this, nor would she have exhausted her mental energy to the point of fainting.

Judging by her condition, her injuries were likely not severe, stemming mostly from long-distance travel and the overexertion of her mental energy. The pressing issue now was the three Foundation Establishment stage zombies before him. He had to keep them occupied at all times. If they were given even a moment of respite, they could easily kill the two beasts and threaten Qin Luo’s life.

"Only three?" Yue Qi smiled with confidence. Three Foundation Establishment zombies were still within his capabilities. More importantly, the intelligence of these cultivation-based zombies was ultimately not as high as that of mutant zombies; they were merely more troublesome due to their spells. Unless these cultivation zombies killed each other until only the strongest remained—which Yue Qi deemed impossible, given how few cultivators there were in this mortal world—it was unlikely they would reach a higher level. He did wonder, however, if they could advance to the level of mutant zombies by consuming ordinary ones.

Thoughts aside, Yue Qi did not stop moving. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he surged forward, charging directly at the three zombies.

Even without Qin Luo's warning, Yue Qi could tell they were at the Foundation Establishment level; while still at a distance, they had already unleashed their second-tier spells.

How powerful was a simultaneous strike of three second-tier spells? Yue Qi had never tested it, but he knew being hit would be far from pleasant.

He glanced back, calculating that the zombies’ attack range would not reach Qin Luo, and then dodged with ease. Since his mental energy had not been locked onto by them, he navigated through their killing formation effortlessly and arrived right before them.

However, the zombies' instinctive reaction startled him. They instantly abandoned their spells and lunged at him in a bear hug! Yue Qi would never allow that. He slashed his sword horizontally, cutting a deep gash across the chest of the lunging zombie.

Stimulated by the blood, the zombies became even more frenzied. The injured one, fueled by some unknown source of strength, moved with increased speed, unleashing first-tier spells while continuing to charge at him.

First-tier spells were useless against Yue Qi; he knew he didn't even need to block them, as they could hardly cause him any significant harm.

By now, his mental energy had firmly locked onto the three zombies, and he could feel the raw brutality within their minds. Yet, he still lacked the time to cast his own spells; second-tier spells required time to channel, and first-tier spells would only injure them, not deliver a fatal blow.

"You two! Go help!" Just as Yue Qi was struggling to find an opening, he heard Qin Luo’s voice from behind. She sounded weak, but nothing seemed gravely wrong.

A moment later, Yue Qi felt two gusts of wind behind him. Without needing to guess, he knew they were the two small beasts Qin Luo had dispatched. To his surprise, he hadn't realized before that these two little creatures were so fast—they were fully his equal, perhaps even slightly faster than him when he wasn't using the Wind-Riding Spell.

With the two beasts joining the fray, Yue Qi felt significantly relieved—though perhaps only he would call these two "small" animals. Their movements were swift; they dodged every first-tier spell the zombies cast with ease. The "Four-Unlike" beast in particular darted left and right, leaving the zombies unable to react as it clawed several deep wounds into them.

Of course, this was all due to Yue Qi’s distraction; otherwise, they could have easily been killed when they first encountered the zombies.

"It seems keeping these little things isn't bad at all..." Yue Qi thought. He could see they were no ordinary beasts, though he couldn't tell if they possessed the bloodline of spirit beasts. They appeared to be in their infancy, and he mused that with proper training, they would become valuable assets in the future.

These thoughts took only an instant. Seeing both zombies held at bay, Yue Qi began his counterattack. A single zombie posed no threat to him, even at the Foundation Establishment level, despite the occasional second-tier spell that forced him into a minor scrape.

"Time to end this!" Yue Qi unleashed a wave of sword energy, followed by a Fire-Controlling Spell. The zombie retreated two steps to parry, which was exactly the opening Yue Qi needed.

He seized the chance, stepped back twice, and crossed his palms. Within seconds, the sky turned gloomy, and several bolts of lightning crashed down.

"BOOM!" Sensing the incoming spell, the two clever beasts scurried away. The lightning struck the three zombies, leaving them with nowhere to hide. Within moments, there was not an intact piece of flesh left on them, and they collapsed, devoid of all life.

"Done." Yue Qi snapped his fingers, though he was not entirely satisfied with his performance. Without the help of Qin Luo's companions, it would have been difficult to find the time to cast his spells.

Suddenly, Yue Qi missed his Dragon-Binding Rope. If he had that, he could have easily immobilized the zombies and escaped safely. He couldn't even remember where he had left it while being chased by zombies earlier.

"It seems I have too few magical treasures," he thought, looking at the sword Bai Lian had given him. Aside from that and the "Five Spirits Casting Universe" technique, he had nothing of real value. He had some high-grade spirit stones, but he was not extravagant enough to use them for cultivation; he kept them for emergencies during combat, using mid-grade stones when the ambient spiritual energy was thin.

"Are you okay?" As Yue Qi walked over, Qin Luo sat up, her face pale.

"I'm fine..." Yue Qi looked at her with a touch of embarrassment, thinking that if not for him, she wouldn't have ended up in this state.

"Right!" Qin Luo looked at him sheepishly and said, "I tried to use my mental energy to make contact with those mutant zombies earlier..."

"Oh?" Honestly, Yue Qi didn't believe her, but seeing her current state, he didn't argue.

"I guessed you wouldn't believe me, but I wanted to tell you that these zombies don't have empty heads like we imagined..." Qin Luo understood his skepticism and continued, "I probed them with my mental energy, and the wave of bloodlust and killing intent that hit me..." She shuddered at the memory.

Seeing her expression, Yue Qi frowned. She didn't seem to be acting, so he decided to listen.

"Anyway, I feel these things are very strange. They aren't what we thought. We usually assume zombies are just dead people, but dead people don't have thoughts. I suspect these guys are 'living dead'..."

"Living dead?" Yue Qi found the idea increasingly plausible. He had spent enough time with Qin Luo to trust his judgment of her character.

"It's just a guess, of course. My current mental cultivation is far too weak to control them." She looked at her two companions and patted their heads. "As for these two, they were very wary of me at first, but after I kept feeding them, we grew close, and now they are willing to follow me."

Yue Qi nodded in realization. He hadn't observed the two beasts closely before, but they did seem rather arrogant, not even sparing him a glance, yet looking at Qin Luo with pure adoration.

"Rest here for now. You've had a hard day." Seeing her condition, Yue Qi couldn't bring himself to push on. He prepared the roe he had hunted earlier and handed it to her, then took a pill from his storage bracelet. It wouldn't do much for her mental exhaustion, but it would help calm her mind.

After Qin Luo took the medicine and drifted off to sleep, the two beasts stayed by her side. Yue Qi, feeling generous, roasted two more pieces of meat for them, but as soon as he finished, the two little creatures snatched it away.

With nothing to do while Qin Luo rested, Yue Qi pondered her words. Indeed, the dead have no thoughts. If she was certain they possessed consciousness, the theory of them being "living dead" held weight.

As he thought about their increasing intelligence, he felt it was highly probable.

Feeling a wave of fatigue, Yue Qi sat cross-legged and began to meditate, his mental energy drifting outward into the silence.