My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

"I'm afraid we can't leave." A voice suddenly appeared.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the speaker was Ye Qingfeng, the young Taoist in green robes who had been quietly observing since the old Taoist made his move.

He had sat down again at some point, toying with a dry branch in his hand, but his gaze was fixed on the darkness further behind the Lin family camp, a direction deeper into the mountains and forests, not the way they had come.

The old Taoist priest and Lin Suwei were both taken aback, not understanding what he meant.

"Young friend, what makes you say that?" the old Taoist asked, frowning, a sense of unease rising in his heart at Ye Qingfeng's sudden words.

He subconsciously focused his attention in that direction and sensed it. At first, he did not notice anything unusual, but soon, his expression suddenly changed!

The ground trembled very slightly, yet very frequently!

The decaying and chilling aura that had faded after being purified by the flames surged back into the air like a tide, even more intense and mixed!

"Something's not right!" the old Taoist priest exclaimed, abruptly standing up. His eyes flashed with a sharp light as he stared intently at the darkness. "Something's coming! Quite a few of them!"

The Lin family members, who had just relaxed, tensed up again. The guards hurriedly gathered, drew their swords, and looked in fear in the direction the old Taoist priest was looking.

What made the old Taoist priest even more suspicious was Ye Qingfeng!

This young Taoist priest, whom he considered an ordinary person, actually gave a warning earlier than him!

It was only through years of cultivation and keen perception that he discovered the clues after concentrating his attention and investigating.

But... he had clearly been behaving very "ordinarily" the whole time, so how did he notice it first?

Could it be a coincidence?

Before one could examine it closely, the outline had already appeared in the darkness.

No longer a single zombie, but a horde!

A dozen or so figures, swaying and dragging, staggered out of the shadows of the mountains and forests.

Most of them were dressed in tattered and decayed clothes, in the style of the local mountain people.

Its skin was bluish-black and stiff, its eyes gleamed with an eerie green or grayish-white light, its joints made a "crackling" sound when it moved, and it made unconscious "hoarse" sounds.

The pure aura of death and resentment intertwined to form a suffocatingly cold and eerie space.

"It's a zombie!" The experienced Taoist priest recognized it at a glance.

"Judging from their attire, they seem to be hunters from the nearby mountains..."

The dozen or so zombies posed no threat to the old Taoist priest, but the fact that he feared most had appeared.

The zombies have probably spread to the nearby towns.

Zombies, these evil creatures, have a troublesome ability: infection.

If those injured by zombies are not treated promptly, they will soon transform into zombies themselves.

Therefore, the old Taoist priest was most afraid that this scourge would spread.

At this moment, a dozen or so zombies staggered closer, their stench of decay filling the air. Their lifeless, eerie green or grayish-white eyes flickered in the darkness, like demons crawling out of hell.

The Lin family members had never seen such a sight before. The single corpse had already brought them to the brink of death, and now this densely packed group had completely shattered their psychological defenses.

Although the guards gripped their swords tightly, their arms were trembling slightly, and their faces were drained of color.

The butler and maid were so frightened they almost collapsed.

Lin Suwei bit her lower lip tightly, her fingertips digging into her palm, using the pain to force herself to stay awake, but despair inevitably showed in her eyes.

She instinctively turned her gaze to the old Taoist priest who had just displayed astonishing skills; he was their only hope.

Facing the surging horde of corpses, the old Taoist priest showed little panic on his face, only his brows furrowed more deeply as he muttered a curse under his breath.

"This is never going to end! Which bastard came up with all this filth?!"

Clearly, he was quite annoyed by those who crafted or created these evil things.

He took a deep breath, and then he did not try to start a fire in the campfire as before.

Instead, he stepped forward, his hands quickly forming a hand seal in front of his chest, his ten fingers flying like butterflies flitting among flowers, so fast that they left afterimages.

He muttered incantations, the syllables ancient and difficult to pronounce, carrying a rhythm that seemed to draw upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth.

"Heaven and earth shine brightly, the flames blaze forth! All foul air is consumed by fire! — Rise, blazing walls of fire from all directions!"

With his final shout, his hands, which were forming a hand seal, suddenly parted outwards!

"Boom! Boom boom boom!"

Centered on the old Taoist priest and the Lin family camp behind him, eight blazing red-gold pillars of fire suddenly rose from the ground within a radius of three zhang!

The pillars of fire, as thick as a bowl, shot into the sky, reaching a height of over ten feet, their energy interconnected.

Instantly, a blazing circular wall of flames, radiating pure Yang energy to ward off evil, was formed, firmly protecting everyone in the center!

The first few zombies, unable to stop their momentum, crashed directly into the wall of flames.

"Sizzle—!!" Like cold water dripping into boiling oil, a piercing burning sound suddenly rang out, accompanied by the zombie's mournful howl!

The crimson flames were extremely effective against evil creatures; the zombies ignited upon contact, turning into writhing, screaming torches.

In just a few breaths, it turned into charcoal, fell to the ground and lay motionless, billowing black smoke.

The zombies behind seemed to instinctively feel fear, hesitating before the wall of flames, letting out anxious roars, but daring not to approach easily again.

The scorching heat surged outwards, forcing the horde of corpses to retreat repeatedly.

"Wow...that's amazing!" A guard exclaimed in amazement upon witnessing the scene.

This method of summoning a wall of flames out of thin air is even more awe-inspiring than the previous stream of fire!

Lin Suwei's beautiful eyes widened, her heart filled with overwhelming shock.

This is true immortal magic, possessing the power to seize the creation of heaven and earth!

She looked at the old Taoist priest's retreating figure, her eyes filled with awe.

The old Taoist priest maintained his hand seals, his forehead slightly damp with sweat, but his breathing remained steady.

This "Eight Directions Flaming Wall" is one of his proudest techniques for self-defense and trapping enemies, combining offense and defense.

It is especially effective against numerous but weak individual evil entities.

While controlling the fiery barrier, he quickly shouted to the people behind him, "Stay inside the circle, don't go out! This fire is specifically designed to ward off evil spirits; they can't get in!"

The horde of zombies lingered and roared outside the fiery wall, seemingly enraged or driven by some force, unwilling to retreat.

Seeing this, the old Taoist priest's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Hmph, stubborn as a mule! Then let's make things completely peaceful!"

His incantation changed again, and his hand seals, which were maintaining the wall of flames, shifted slightly, pointing towards the densest part of the outer horde of corpses.

"The fiery wall transforms into a dragon, roaming to vanquish evil! — Go!"

Four of the eight pillars of fire suddenly detached from their original positions, their flames twisting and converging.

In mid-air, it transformed into a more solid and lifelike crimson-gold fire dragon than before!

The fire dragon was about two zhang long, with scales and claws flying. Although it was made of condensed flames, it seemed to carry a trace of the majesty of a real dragon.

With a silent roar, it lunged into the horde of corpses, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws!

Wherever the fire dragon passed, it was like a hot knife cutting through butter.

Zombies ignite upon contact and shatter upon touch, utterly powerless against the pure power of the fire.

A crimson-gold light flashed back and forth among the horde of corpses, leaving behind trails of burning fire and charred remains scattered everywhere.