Yan Jing had always deeply resented his unusual constitution since childhood.
This unusual bone structure that attracted all manner of Yin creatures had brought him more trouble than he could count.
Before he reunited with Shi Pengpeng, his greatest wish in life was that one day his Unwithering Bone would become an ordinary bone, so he could live as a normal person, basking in the light of the living world.
Of course, that was impossible.
All he could do was study every bit of information about the Unwithering Bone, searching for treasures that could seal it away.
At the same time, he learned how to disguise himself, doing his best not to reveal his nature in front of Yin creatures.
It wasn’t until the incident at southern border that he realized—running away was never a solution.
More importantly, he wanted to be with Shi Pengpeng, to be able to stand in front of her and protect her in times of danger, instead of always hiding behind her, being the one protected.
It wasn’t about strength or weakness.
When you love someone, you naturally want to become their sword and shield.
Even if it meant facing the thing he once feared most.
So, he chose to cultivate, and mastered the Qilin Talisman Technique.
At the same time, he finally began to face his unique constitution head-on.
The Unwithering Bone was a double-edged sword; it had brought him endless trouble, but if used correctly, it could become his greatest weapon.
Truth was, Yan Jing had always known how to use the Unwithering Bone—he’d simply never dared, never wanted to, and he’d always had the means to avoid needing it.
But now, standing between Shi Pengpeng and the Zombie King, for the first time, he unleashed the power of the Unwithering Bone.
Turning Yin into Yang.
The Zombie King had already reached the pinnacle of the walking dead, straddling the line between life and death, human and corpse, its murderous aura so intense it could blot out sun and moon and lay waste to the world.
Yet now, there was a spark of life at its nose, flesh and blood on its body—the Unwithering Bone transcended Yin and Yang, forging for it an Essence Soul.
“Heh—hahaha—” The Zombie King gripped Yan Jing’s hand, throwing its head back in laughter.
Its mouth opened and closed, uttering a hoarse, muffled sound: “Unwithering… unrotting—I gain… immortality—”
Life force from the living world mingled with the Yin energy of the corpse, condensing into a faint Soul Spirit.
Through their joined wrists, it hungrily invaded Yan Jing’s body.
Only by seizing the Unwithering Bone could it truly become the master that bridged Yin and Yang.
Shi Pengpeng narrowed her eyes and began to draw a talisman.
“No!” Xu Qin shouted, more urgently than her, “Get out—”
At that moment, a beast’s roar echoed through the valley.
“The Qilin is here!” Yan Jing firmly grasped the Zombie King’s hand, his piercing gaze locked onto its blood-red eyes and the faint, smoky Essence Soul beginning to form.
Shi Pengpeng had told him: the Dao is passed through the heart, and for any talisman or spell, understanding is more important than form.
She often drew talismans directly on his hand.
Now, thinking of Shi Pengpeng, Yan Jing used his heart as brush, spirit as ink, Unwithering Bone as paper, and visualized the Qilin Talisman Technique.
Vast magical power surged forth, instantly dispersing the murderous corpse aura shrouding the valley.
In a daze, he seemed to see that power condense into a mighty beast—ram’s head, wolf’s hooves, deer’s body, dragon’s scales.
The beast opened its maw in the void, biting down on the Essence Soul of the Zombie King—just as it had left the corpse, not yet fully entered the Unwithering Bone, at its most vulnerable.
“Ah—” The Zombie King let out a piercing, miserable scream as its Soul Spirit was devoured in an instant.
The body, which had just gained a spark of life, was torn to shreds, flesh and bone scattering, then turning to ash.
At last, the Qilin’s dharma form gradually faded.
Above, the black clouds had already dispersed, the bright moon still radiant, shining down on the world.
The valley returned to silence.
The Zombie King’s bones were gone, as if it had never existed, leaving only a faint, barely-there whiff of corpse aura drifting in the air.
Everyone let out a breath, just about to relax.
Suddenly, the corpse aura gathered together, condensing into a thin remnant soul, shooting unexpectedly toward Yan Jing’s forehead.
The Zombie King truly lived up to its name as a monster beyond the Six Paths—even after being torn apart by the Qilin, it still hadn’t been completely destroyed!
The remnant soul was about to enter his Ling Platform.
***
Yan Jing’s face turned cold, and he didn’t hesitate to display his time-honored skill: “Pengpeng, save me!”
A talisman soldier shot through the air, but another sword intent arrived even faster.
Xu Qin swung the Zigan Sword, slashing without hesitation at the Zombie King’s remnant soul.
The sword’s energy was overwhelming, instantly dispersing the soul completely.
Xiao Lingshu stared, dumbfounded.
“Damn, is this what villains do? Why’s he backstabbing his own teammate?”
“What teammate does a villain have?” Shi Pengpeng withdrew her talisman soldier, speaking lightly.
“That was just his pawn.”
Xu Qin wasn’t offended—he even laughed.
“Miss Shi, that’s a bit too heartless, isn’t it? I did help out Boss Yan, after all.”
He glanced at Yan Jing, concern in his eyes.
“Boss Yan, you alright?”
Yan Jing didn’t even look at him, hurrying straight back to Shi Pengpeng’s side and taking her hand.
“Pengpeng, I’m fine.”
Xu Qin: “…………”
Shi Pengpeng checked Yan Jing’s pulse—there was still some corpse aura lingering in his body, but it wasn’t serious and could be dispelled.
As long as he wasn’t gravely injured, it would be fine.
She breathed a sigh of relief, then shot Xu Qin a cold, half-smiling glance.
“Imperial Preceptor, you sure care a lot about my boyfriend.”
Of course, she wasn’t naïve enough to think Xu Qin had helped Yan Jing out of kindness.
Xu Qin’s urgency was even faster than hers it was simply because he couldn’t allow the Zombie King’s remnant soul to seize the Unwithering Bone.
Clearly, that was something Xu Qin could not tolerate.
But was it for himself, or for Ouyang Jue?
Xu Qin narrowed his eyes, about to say something, when suddenly a thunderous roar echoed from above—a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, striking down at him with savage force.
“!!” Xu Qin jumped, raising his sword to block.
The blood energy on the Zigan Sword hadn’t fully faded, and it glowed crimson, dispersing the lightning strike.
“Imperial Preceptor, take a bolt from this poor Daoist!” Zhong Ziqing strode out from the corner of the valley, forming hand seals.
Immediately after, Yin Xiang, Fengshui Mister, and a group of Mystic Sect comrades emerged from all directions, each holding a magical artifact, all bearing wounds to some degree.
But their enemies were in even worse shape—scattered on the ground, covered in dust and blood, wailing in pain, desperately calling out to Xu Qin.
“Imperial Preceptor, save me—”
“Im-Imperial Preceptor, quick, I can’t hold on…”
“Imperial Preceptor…”
“Enough!” Xiao Lingshu said coolly, with a mocking tone.
“He can barely save himself now, you really think he has time for you lot?”
Xu Qin:”….”
It turned out the Mystic Sect members had all been in the same hollow, but Wangxiang’s illusions had hidden them from each other.
The remnants of Longevity Island and the Mystic Sect traitors had taken advantage of the chaos to launch sneak attacks.
While Shi Pengpeng and Yan Jing dealt with Xu Qin, the others had been fighting their own battles in the hollow.
The Mystic Sect regulars were stronger, but Wangxiang’s tricks had hampered them, causing heavy losses at first.
Fortunately, Shi Pengpeng broke the illusion soon after, and they quickly regained the upper hand.
By now, the Zombie King’s corpse aura and Wangxiang’s water vapor had completely dispersed, and most of the remnants had been beaten down—only one or two had bested Mystic Sect members, but with Wangxiang’s illusions gone, the Mystic Sect could support each other, and those lucky remnants were quickly subdued.
Yin Xiang acted swiftly, immediately organizing the group and encircling Xu Qin.
He shouted, “Xu Qin, surrender now!”
Xu Qin glanced at his fallen allies, his expression shifting, then he snorted.
“Catch me if you can!”
He slashed his sword, and his figure flickered like a ghost, speeding away into the mountains.
The Mystic Sect members’ faces changed, but before they could react, the Longevity Island remnants cursed even louder than them.
“Xu Qin, you’re running off on your own?!”
“Come back—!”
“You promised to keep us safe!!!”
“Xu Qin, screw you!!!”
Mystic Sect members:”….”
Xiao Lingshu’s mouth twitched.
He shook his head and said, “You guys are idiots. He’s a nationally wanted conman, and you actually believed him?”
Longevity Island remnants:”…..”
These remnants were already badly injured and dizzy—hearing this, two of them coughed up blood and fainted on the spot.
“Leave two here to watch these remnants—the rest, come with me to give chase!” Yin Xiang said urgently.
“Don’t let the Imperial Preceptor escape again!”
Xu Qin’s concealment arts were formidable.
If he escaped, who knew how long it would take to find him again.
“Don’t worry, he won’t get far.”
Shi Pengpeng said lazily, tossing up a black-gold bead in her hand.
“His Wang Xiang Eye Bead is already gone.”
Mystic Sect members: ??
Well, they’d been chasing the Imperial Preceptor for so long and never managed to deal with that bead.
Shi Pengpeng just swooped in and snatched it away?
She then pulled out a Spirit Beast wrapped in talisman slips, grinning.
“And I’ve caught his Wangxiang too.”
Everyone:”….”
No wonder she’s the woman who trampled the Underworld Registrar underfoot!
Too impressive.
“Excellent.” Yin Xiang’s face lit up.
“That makes things much easier!”
He was about to take out a tracking incense.
Just then, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.
At the same time, a rumbling sound came from the direction Xu Qin had fled.
Everyone jumped, exchanging uneasy glances.
“What’s going on? An earthquake?”
“No way, West Luo isn’t on a fault line…”
“No, it’s a fengshui anomaly!” Fengshui Mister realized, looking toward the source of the sound.
His pupils shrank as he said, “Resentment’s soaring—Corpse Raising Grand Tomb.”
At his words, everyone’s heart skipped a beat.
They looked up, and their eyes widened in astonishment.
There, a hill had always stood, rising tens of meters high—at night, it looked just like a massive, natural grave.
At some point, the mound had split in two.
Now, the two halves were slowly moving apart, like a great gate being pushed open.
Such power to split earth and move mountains—soil and rock tumbled down, shaking the ground for miles around.
But that wasn’t what shocked everyone the most.
After all, Mystic Sect had people capable of moving mountains and stones, too.
What stunned them was the torrent of resentment billowing from the split hill.
No one knew how long it took, but eventually, the shifting hills stopped.
Yet everyone’s anxiety only grew, because from behind the open mountain gate, a rhythmic, thunderous sound began to echo.
“Boom, boom, boom—”
“Boom, boom, boom—”
It was as if a massive army was marching in perfect unison, but even heavier and more ponderous than any mortal army.
Each step sounded like thunder, pounding on their hearts.
Soon enough, they saw what it was.
A vast army of Bingma Yong—clay soldiers and horses—marched out from behind the mountain gate.
At the front, a man in full armor rode a tall warhorse of yellow clay, exuding an awe-inspiring presence.
It was none other than the true mastermind behind Longevity Island—Ouyang Jue.
Xu Qin, wielding the Zigan Sword, rode a slightly smaller clay horse at his side.
“What the hell?” Xiao Lingshu blurted out.
“Did Longevity Island… make an army of Bingma Yong?”
“That’s right.”
Ouyang Jue sat atop his horse, gazing down at them from afar.
“These are the Bingma Yong.”
He flipped his wrist, revealing an ancient square jade seal in his palm.
“Do you know what this is?”
The seal was about four inches square, its knob carved into five intertwined dragons, with a small chip at one corner.
Everyone fell silent, their expressions shifting.
Over the years, Longevity Island had gathered many magical artifacts—some famous throughout the Mystic Sect, like the Zigan Sword.
But the seal Ouyang Jue revealed was unfamiliar, bearing no sect’s mark.
No one could guess its origin.
Shi Pengpeng looked at the clay army behind Ouyang Jue and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t tell me you’re claiming that’s the Imperial Seal of Transmission?”
Even as she said it, she found it absurd, her tone tinged with mockery.
But Ouyang Jue just smiled.
“Shi Pengpeng, you are indeed clever. That’s right—this is the Imperial Seal of Transmission left by the First Emperor.”
Shi Pengpeng: ?
She wasn’t the only one—everyone present felt a massive string of question marks floating above their heads.
What the hell???