Turbid World: Martial Arts Master of the Republic of China Era, I Cultivate Immortality!

Chapter 102 Bold Prodigy, I Can Tell You're Not Human at a Glance! (Please Subscribe!)

It was still an empty alley.

"Strange—the first level of the Absolute Heartless Sword, Severing Emotions and Cutting Away Dust, requires severing the three emotions of kinship, love, and friendship, as well as the six senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought, and drawing in the malevolent and turbid energy of heaven and earth with one's own essence and blood to the sword's heart—"

Zhao Zheng was puzzled for a moment, then he wasn't. With his innate ability to discern shapes, he discovered that the world was filled with malevolent energy.

In other words, there's no need to guide them at all.

Fine, it's all the world's fault!

Although Zhao Zheng still didn't quite understand why he had omitted the step of guiding the essence and blood, a new question arose.

The first level of cultivation clearly states that if one becomes emotional or has thoughts after completing it, the sword intent will devour one's own heart meridian.

Every moment of attraction is like a sword piercing the heart, until the pain becomes so intense that one becomes numb, reaching a state of unwavering tranquility where nothing can stir the heart.

This "heartbeat" refers to the movement encompassing the three emotions and six senses. In other words, as long as there is still emotion in one's heart, one will be devoured by the supernatural power of the Unbreakable Sword of Annihilation, and end up dead.

"Did I really succeed in the cultivation?"

Zhao Zheng examined the incomplete version of the Absolute Thoughts Without End Sword Divine Power in his hand for a while, and confirmed that he seemed to have—indeed—completely mastered it.

He is capable of cultivating the first level of a state of mind where one is free from joy, sorrow, love, and hate, and indifferent to everything in the outside world, with a heart as cold as stone.

Similarly, he can also sever the six senses and remain undisturbed by the worldly pleasures, retaining only a single, unwavering sword heart devoted to the way of the sword and the way of killing.

However, similarly, he may not be able to achieve either of these states of mind, just like Schrödinger—well, his state of mind, like his personality, is very flexible and can be switched.

"Looking at it this way, it seems I joined the wrong sect?"

Also, do I really have such high talent in demonic arts?

Zhao Zheng was considering restarting the game because he suddenly felt that this version of the demonic cultivator seemed unusually powerful.

But then I thought, the dominance of the demonic path will only last for a short time at most, while the righteous path is the eternal god.

"I got carried away; one supernatural power almost ignited my greed—"

Zhao Zheng muttered to himself, switching from the Eight Great Divine Incantations that were running in the background to the Purifying Heart Incantation, and began to calm his mind.

"Let's find a place to test the power of my supernatural abilities!"

Zhao Zheng muttered to himself. Half an hour later, he left Huojia Town and came to the bumpy official road. In the woods by the roadside, he saw a large rock that was as tall and wide as a person.

Tell Master Yan's walking corpse to move away, Zhao Zheng walks to the big rock, his left hand loosely grasps the Tai'a Sword, and as it materializes in his hand, his right hand rests on the hilt, activating the Divine Power of the Unending Thought Sword.

Clang——

A blinding glint of cold light and a flash of crimson!

This is a blood-red color that is unimaginably filthy and turbid, far more so than the inherent crimson radiance of the "All Things in Life" illustration.

The appearance of blood added a filthy bloody light to the sword aura that should have been golden, and instantly dyed the entire sword aura with a bloody color.

The crimson sword energy tore through the air, but strangely, there was no sound; only a fleeting afterimage remained.

A swirling, phantom-like sea of ​​blood!

It was blurry and indistinct, yet it gave one the feeling of an endless, churning sea of ​​blood where all the filth of the world was hidden.

The phantom of the sea of ​​blood flashed by, and the crimson sword energy sliced ​​through the boulder. There was no wind, no movement, only a fierce aura mixed with terrifying howls and a deathly cold silence.

Wherever the sword energy passed, at that moment, even time and space seemed to be severed; the sound of wind, light and shadow, and even breathing were erased at the same time.

There was no sound of being cut open; all that could be heard was the boulder silently split in two, its cut as smooth as a mirror, but its edges scorched blood red.

Zhao Zheng quietly looked at the silent environment within several thousand feet around him, and then at the birds and insects that seemed to have been paused and frozen in time. He began to understand what it meant to be completely detached from worldly concerns.

When the thought ceases, the sword moves without hindrance.

Without gaps, there is no enemy to live.

With the sword drawn, all things cease to exist.

"A sword that forgoes thought? A sword that stuns?"

Zhao Zheng muttered to himself, then thought of the blood-red phantom he had just seen, and the standard Blood God Child described in the introduction to supernatural powers.

"Sea of ​​Blood — River Styx —"

Zhao Zheng looked thoughtful, but was soon drawn to the birds and insects that remained motionless within a hundred meters.

With a strange look in his eyes, he reached out and tried to grab a bird he couldn't name from a tree not far away.

The moment the bird touched him, it burst open with a snap, turning into a stream of filthy blood. Zhao Zheng, who maintained an air of purity amidst the mud, stared expressionlessly at the filthy blood that slid from his body onto the ground.

And within a hundred meters around, as if receiving a signal from the bird's explosion, countless birds, beasts, and insects burst open with a series of loud bangs.

"It's a bit strange—but it's understandable, after all, this is a divine power of the Blood Sea Cult, so it's understandable that it has this characteristic."

Zhao Zheng frowned slightly, deciding that it would be best to use this supernatural power less often in the future, so as not to be misunderstood by his fellow practitioners.

Furthermore, he disliked the effect of killing innocent creatures, since he had no grudge against these birds and beasts.

"However, we could study the meaning of the 'Boundless Thoughts' technique within the 'Boundless Thoughts Sword Divine Power' and see if we could create a 'Dizziness Palm'—"

Zhao Zheng pondered for a moment, then continued on his way to the corpses, including Master Yan, who were unharmed because he had intentionally protected them.

"Oh right, I almost forgot—"

After Zhao Zheng continued to tie the Three Pure Ones Bell to the baguette, he took out the twelve masks he had sewn from the Five-Colored Divine Light Pearl space.

The masks used to protect against poisonous insects were put on Master Yan and the other walking corpses. Zhao Zheng frowned slightly as he looked at the walking corpses wearing official robes and masks, and then took them off because he felt they didn't look quite right.

As for poisonous insects, just be careful, anyway, his Great Five Elements Destruction Divine Light can remove poison and heal the wounds of corpses.

Shortly after Zhao Zheng left, a young monk wearing a kasaya and carrying a staff appeared where Zhao Zheng had been. His bald head gleamed in the moonlight.

He frowned as he looked at the puddles of filthy blood on the ground around him, then glanced in the direction Zhao Zheng had left, and said uncertainly.

"Human? Demon?"

The monk frowned and took a step. Although the steps he took seemed small, after a few steps, he strangely covered a distance of tens of meters.

Several hundred meters ahead, Zhao Zheng, who was walking on the official road, stopped and turned to look behind him.

His eyes fell upon a bright, gleaming light bulb, which made him look bewildered. "Huh, can a light bulb come to life?" he exclaimed.

—

Upon hearing Zhao Zheng's words, the monk paused in his tracks, almost stumbling and falling. However, he still managed to cross the more than 100-meter distance in a few steps and arrived beside Zhao Zheng, smiling broadly as he spoke.

"Master, the night is deep, and driving corpses in the wilderness is quite an elegant pastime!" As he spoke, the monk's gaze swept over the twelve walking corpses, his eyes lingering a little longer on the walking corpse Master Yan.

Should I sing a folk song?

Zhao Zheng looked up at the moon in the night sky and sighed that it wasn't a sunny day. He then looked away and shook his head at the young monk.

"I wouldn't call it refined taste; I'm merely fulfilling a small obligation by sending them back to their hometown for burial. But what is the meaning of your sudden blockade of my path, monk?"

As Zhao Zheng spoke, he raised an eyebrow and looked at the monk who had suddenly changed his position and was now standing in the middle of the official road, blocking his way.

Looking at the monk's imposing robe and the staff made of gold, as well as the nine ordination scars on his forehead, Zhao Zheng could tell that this was a wealthy monk.

As for his cultivation level, it's alright!

The monk said with a forced smile, "Senior's aura is unfathomable, yet your body is surrounded by blood energy and conceals a malevolent intent. Your cultivation has clearly reached its peak. May I ask how many years you have cultivated?"

"I'm eighteen years old!"

'

The monk's forced smile vanished. He looked at Zhao Zheng, whose cultivation level was low but whose aura made him feel uneasy, and thought that Zhao Zheng's statement about being eighteen years old was just to coax him.

However, he wasn't annoyed; he just sighed.

"Amitabha Buddha, I am ashamed, I am ashamed. This humble monk is already twenty-eight years old this year, and has been cultivating for a full twenty years, but I have only just barely reached the realm of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation!"

"Well, you really should feel ashamed!"

Zhao Zheng nodded. He felt that even monks had wasted their time cultivating to the point of being like dogs, only reaching the Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation stage at the age of twenty-eight.

If it were him, he felt that by the time he was twenty-eight, he would have already recovered the infinitely multi-dimensional Immortal Qin Federation or the Immortal Qin Empire of the Eternal Era that he had inadvertently lost.

Huh? Where did these two names come from?

Zhao Zheng felt a little puzzled.

"...

""

The monk was annoyed. He sneered, slammed his staff into the ground with a thud, and stared coldly at Zhao Zhengdao.

"My cultivation is naturally inferior to yours, senior, who can conceal demonic energy, blend in with corpse energy, deceive others, and even steal the truth. But unfortunately, I cultivate the Immovable King's Nirvana Zen method. My mind is not confused, and my eyes are not bewildered. I can see through you at a glance! You are a heretic and evil person, and I will make you submit!"

As the staff was driven into the ground, the monk immediately formed the Immovable King Manifestation Mudra with both hands and shouted, "Immovable King, annihilate all evil! Manifest!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the cinnabar mole between the monk's eyebrows suddenly emitted a dazzling golden light that pierced through illusions and shone upon Zhao Zheng.

""

Honestly, you guys overthink things!

Zhao Zheng always felt that the people in this world were somewhat mentally ill. After thinking about it, he sighed inwardly and smiled slightly.

"Monk, what did you see?"

"You—reveal your true form!"

Seeing that Zhao Zheng did not reveal any demonic aura, the monk became even more annoyed, and the Immovable King Manifestation Mudra he was forming in his hand transformed into the Immovable King Demon-Slaying and Dharma-Breaking Mudra.

As the hand seal changed, the golden light emanating from the cinnabar dot between the monk's eyebrows suddenly intensified, and the phantom of Acala, the Immovable King, slowly emerged behind him, revealing an angry expression as he looked at Zhao Zheng along with the monk.

"boring!"

Zhao Zheng muttered something to himself, and the Lotus Sutra of Salvation was instantly activated, causing a golden light, even more dazzling than that surrounding the monk, to emanate from behind him.

As the Buddha's light shone, the chanting of the profound and mysterious Buddhist teachings, along with the supreme compassion and purity of the Buddha's intent, emerged.

At the same time, a phantom image of a Buddha with four heads and nine arms, standing sixteen feet tall, appeared behind Zhao Zheng and began to look down at the monk.

The monk stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief. His hands moved in and out of mudras, but the Buddha's image, which had been looking down, slowly turned to look at him and asked a question.

"Since you have seen the Tathagata, why do you not bow?"

The Buddhist chanting, like thunder, conveyed boundless compassion, purity, and peace, as it swept towards the monk.

For a moment, the monk was surrounded by the sound of Buddhist chants, and the question he had just asked kept echoing in his mind.

"Since you have seen the Tathagata, why do you not bow?"

"Since you have seen the Tathagata, why do you not bow?"

"Since you have seen the Tathagata, why do you not bow?"

The questions and shouts no longer came from the mouth of the Buddha's image, but from the mouth of the illusory image of the Immovable King behind him, and also from the mouth of the sect masters in his heart.

The monk looked on incredulously at the image of the Tathagata sitting on a golden lotus platform behind Zhao Zheng, with nine arms holding a Dharma wheel that breaks through delusion and a lotus platform that purifies the turbid world.

The monk stared blankly at the Buddha's eyes, which held both boundless compassion for all beings suffering and the profound, serene wisdom of the emptiness of all phenomena.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to stand or kneel, but soon, he suddenly saw himself standing in front of him, shouting at him.

"Since you have seen the Tathagata, why do you not bow?"

thump-

"Greetings to the Buddha!"

The monk knelt and kowtowed. The monk lost. He lost to Zhao Zheng, but he also lost to himself, to his reverence for Buddha.

At the same time, he also lost to his own inner demons of "Buddha is in the heart and not in appearance" and his excessive attachment to self and Dharma.

Zhao Zheng's words shattered most of the monk's Zen mind!

"You have such a compassionate heart—"

Zhao Zheng looked at the monk, whose face was deathly pale and who was seriously injured after kneeling, with a strange expression. He then put away his Dharma form.

The Scroll of Bone Painting—Open!

Jueyuan's favorability rating towards you: 85.

Yeah, that's pretty hard to evaluate!

Zhao Zheng looked at the monk Jueyuan, who was not hostile but respectful towards him, and stopped asking him if he knew the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

He said, "Get up," and took out a healing pill from the Five-Colored Divine Light Pearl with his right hand, handing it to Monk Jueyuan before leaving.

"Thank you, Buddha!"

"----polite!"

Zhao Zheng looked at the monk who spoke so respectfully that it made him unable to lose his temper. He said something expressionlessly, then pointed to the side.

"Yes, Buddha!"

Monk Jueyuan picked up his staff and voluntarily retreated to the side of the official road, no longer blocking the way. Zhao Zheng could only think that the Buddhist methods were truly shameless and effective.

"The suppression of those in positions of power over those in positions of power in Buddhism is incredibly strong—it feels even more powerful than the so-called 'a higher-ranking official can crush you'—"

Zhao Zheng sighed inwardly, said goodbye to Monk Jueyuan, and continued leading the travelers toward Wujia Town.

However, he soon stopped and turned to look at the monk Jueyuan behind him with a blank expression. Jueyuan blushed slightly and bowed his head respectfully with some shame.

"This humble monk wishes to follow the Buddha and cultivate for a period of time—" he said, then added, "This humble monk is also going to the West!"

'

Zhao Zheng didn't say anything. Just like that, a monk appeared behind his corpse-driving team. He said that if they went east, the monk would never go west, providing free labor.

Time flew by, and three hours later, they were nearing Wujia Town.

Zhao Zheng turned to look at Monk Jueyuan, who had been actively driving away wild beasts along the way, and asked curiously, "By the way, do you know the Nine Yang Divine Skill?"

'

"Nine Yang Divine Skill?"

"Okay, looks like you don't know how to do this!"

Zhao Zheng said regretfully, then turned to ask Monk Jueyuan where he came from and where he was going. Monk Jueyuan answered in detail.

Monk Jueyuan came from Fahua Temple and was the last disciple of the abbot. He practiced the Immovable Wisdom King's Nirvana Zen method and was preparing to go to Sichuan to investigate some matters.

"It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you, but Master didn't tell me what exactly I was supposed to investigate. He only said that I would find out when I got to Jiming Temple in Sichuan!"

Monk Jueyuan seemed afraid that Zhao Zheng would misunderstand, so he quickly explained, which made Zhao Zheng immediately realize that this was an honest child.

Just like him, he's an honest man!

"It's alright, but are you sure things aren't urgent? My corpse-transporting business will take several days," Zhao Zheng asked.

He didn't mean anything by it; he just wanted to get rid of the monk because he felt it was too strange to have a monk following him. What if the sect leaders misunderstood?

"this----"

Monk Jueyuan suddenly realized that the matter he was investigating wasn't exactly unurgent, but it wasn't exactly urgent either.

Finally, the two chatted for a while, and Monk Jueyuan said that he would end his accomplice after Zhao Zheng finished sending away the bodies in Wujia Town.

Zhao Zheng commented that the monk had no sense of propriety at all, but soon, they arrived at the Zhang family's house in Wujia Town.

Standing in front of the gate, Zhao Zheng watched as the monk Jueyuan took the initiative to knock on the door. He felt that the monk was at least somewhat perceptive.

This time, Zhao Zheng did not stay at the Zhang family's house temporarily. Instead, after confirming that the Zhang family did not need burial services, he collected the due fee for transporting the corpses and continued to deliver the remaining two corpses belonging to Wujia Town.

"Goodbye!"

Zhao Zheng waved to Master Zhang, who and the others watched the somewhat strange corpse-driving team leave with odd smiles.

"When did monks and Taoist priests start getting together?"

Master Zhang and the others were puzzled, but they didn't dwell on the matter. Instead, they began to arrange the subsequent burial.

Time flies. Three hours later, at 5 a.m. on August 30, outside Xiangjia Village, which is built against the mountain.

Looking at the village ahead, Zhao Zheng glanced at the obsequious monk Jueyuan beside him and said directly, "Ask whatever you want, but I think it's best if you don't!"

He said this mainly because his seventh uncle had told him that his Buddhist teachings were too profound and that ordinary monks couldn't accept them.

"Thank you, Buddha!"

Monk Jueyuan's face lit up with joy. Ignoring the words "don't ask," he began to inquire about some related issues that one might encounter while practicing Buddhism.

Zhao Zheng answered some questions that he understood and felt wouldn't mislead the students. However, he noticed that the more he answered, the paler the monk Jueyuan's face became, which made him ask a question in surprise.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

"No way!"

"Huh? I misunderstood, that shouldn't be the case?"

Zhao Zheng asked curiously. Looking at Jueyuan's increasingly pale face, he reorganized his words and continued.

"To reiterate, in my opinion, there's a problem with the Buddhist saying that Acala kills demons but not lives, and subdues minds but not people."

Zhao Zheng paused, then continued, "You see, demons exist because of life, and life is born from demons. Demons and life are inherently one. If the demon is in your body, then your life is already the demon's life. When I slay the demon, I am slaying your life. How can this be considered killing? The demon resides in your heart, and your body is a prison for that inner demon. When I subdue the heart, I must first kill you. How can you talk about subduing only the heart and not the person? In my opinion, if someone should be killed, then kill them. Why insist on subduing the heart and not the person?"

"—Besides, according to the law of cause and effect, his possession by a demon today is the evil consequence of the evil deeds he sowed in the past. I killed him to help him complete his karma and assist him in his tribulation. Logically speaking, he should thank me!"

puff-

A mouthful of blood spurted from Monk Jueyuan's mouth, making Zhao Zheng realize that the injuries the other monk Chanxin had suffered were far too severe.

As for whether it was related to what he said, he didn't think so, since in his opinion, his line of thinking was not wrong.

Uncle Qi can attest to this!

"Now that we've arrived at Xiangjia Village—cough cough, this humble monk will no longer—follow Buddha—this humble monk will take his leave now—"

""

With his face as pale as paper and his breath hanging by a thread, the monk Jueyuan bowed respectfully before quickly turning and leaving, leaving Zhao Zheng bewildered and feeling that the other party was truly impolite.

He even gave me pointers—for several minutes! All that pointers for nothing. Honestly, the other person has absolutely no manners.

"No wonder my master called you bald monks—"

Zhao Zheng mentally complained as he led the remaining ten zombies—two of which had been delivered to the town—towards Xiangjia Village, which was not far away.

Meanwhile, Monk Jueyuan, who had run hundreds of meters away, turned pale and spat out another mouthful of blood. He leaned against a big tree and slumped to the ground, silently reciting the Mantra of the Bright King to calm his agitated mind.

"If I kill the other person, they'll thank me. This is truly—truly a Buddha—" Monk Jueyuan thought with great fear about Zhao Zheng's words, and he opened his eyes.

The Immovable King's Dharma of Dispelling Illusions was activated, causing his eyes to shine with golden light as he looked towards Xiangjia Village. What met his eyes was still the brilliant Buddha light filled with great compassion and purity.

The illusory image of the four-headed, nine-armed Tathagata Buddha perched in the sky, expounding the profound mysteries of supreme Buddhism, captivating the monk Jueyuan.

But suddenly, the Buddha statue disappeared, the golden light vanished, and a dark, demonic light bloomed. A terrifying demon with four heads and nine arms loomed in the sky, uttering all sorts of seductive and bewitching chants.

The suffering of all beings is inherently without form.

The suffering of all beings is inherently without form.

The suffering of all beings is inherently without form.

In an instant, the sacred sound transformed into demonic sound, the true Dharma into heresy, great compassion into great destruction, and great peace into great annihilation.

Just as Monk Jueyuan was terrified and being overwhelmed by the supreme demonic intent of Great Destruction and Great Annihilation, the demonic light vanished in a flash.

Yes, it is still the dazzling Buddha light!

The compassionate light of Buddha saves all sentient beings!

But Monk Jueyuan stood frozen in place, his face blank, as if he had been frightened into a stupor, muttering to himself.

"Great Demon, Bodhidharma, Great Demon, Bodhidharma—"

The monk Jueyuan's face showed fear and apprehension, but soon, the staff beside him emitted a great light.

His expression began to soften, and he realized what Zhao Zheng had just said to him.

"Amitabha Buddha, so that's how it is. So the Buddha was just telling me not to be attached to outward appearances. So that's how it is—"

Monk Jueyuan understood. He realized that Zhao Zheng was not a great demon, but the real Bodhidharma. Zhao Zheng must have deliberately shown him the appearance of a great demon to make him understand that one should not be bound by appearances.

"Thank you for your guidance, Buddha!"

His face was no longer pale. Jueyuan, whose aura had become even stronger because he had seen through the meaning of "external appearance," quickly got up and respectfully bowed in the direction of Xiangjia Village, where Zhao Zheng was.

Zhao Zheng was unaware of the matter concerning Monk Jueyuan, but he was puzzled as to why Monk Jueyuan's favorability towards him had suddenly increased to 90.

"I understand now. He must have understood my profound Buddhist teachings, which is why he admires me and is even more grateful to me, the Buddha."

Having arrived at Xiangjia Village, Zhao Zheng thought about it and understood, although he still felt that this bald monk was impolite.

However, he didn't dwell on the matter too much. Instead, he began to ask the villagers who had already started going out to work where Xiang Erniu's home was.

Before Zhao Zheng could even ask, villagers approached him from afar, inquiring whether Erniu's father had returned.

Zhao Zheng could understand this, after all, things couldn't be kept secret in the village. After a while, he went to Xiang Erniu's house.

After witnessing a series of heartbreaking scenes of wanting to care for one's parents but being unable to, Zhao Zheng familiarly explained the matter of Master Yan.

There was nothing he could do; Xiang Erniu was already the fourth person to ask Master Yan about this, and he had already memorized the answers.

After explaining, Zhao Zheng looked at the dilapidated main house and the two dilapidated side rooms that made up the semi-enclosed courtyard with its distinctive shape, and asked about the burial arrangements.

Upon learning that Xiang Erniu planned to bury his old man anywhere, Zhao Zheng said, "How about this? You provide me with food and lodging for one day, and I'll find you a good burial spot!"

"Alright, alright, thank you very much, Daoist Master!"

Xiang Erniu wasn't stupid; he knew Zhao Zheng was intentionally helping him, so he immediately smiled and agreed.

With the deal done, Zhao Zheng began asking if there were any taboos regarding burial here, so as to avoid having to kneel on the ground begging the other party not to die.

After a while, on the rugged mountain road next to Xiangjia Village.

Zhao Zheng followed in the funeral procession made up of young and strong men from Xiangjia Village. He did not ask Xiang Erniu why a coffin was not used.

Instead of simply carrying Xiang's father up the mountain with a wooden bed and a straw mat, he focused on doing his job well and found a nameless, auspicious spot on the mountain.

This is a feng shui treasure land that can only be considered a feng shui treasure land, barely bordering on being one.

Standing before the chosen burial site, Zhao Zheng watched the young men breaking ground and thought of a saying his master had once told him.

"You get what you pay for."

Zhao Zheng repeated his master's words in his mind, then added, "You can't do more work if you want to—"

He could have chosen a better burial site for Xiang Erniu's father, but he felt that Xiang Erniu probably wouldn't want it.

Just like the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Xiang Erniu, who was short on luck and fortune, couldn't hold onto the so-called immense wealth and status. Of course, it wasn't that he couldn't hold onto it at all; he could hold onto some things, but he had to exchange them for something else!

Such as blessings and longevity —

This made Zhao Zheng begin to understand why cultivators said it was very difficult to defy fate and change one's destiny, because it really wasn't easy.

Just like how he chose several places, only this auspicious land that would bless future generations was completely harmless to Xiang Erniu's family.

After finishing his thoughts, Zhao Zheng quietly observed the somewhat overly rudimentary burial ceremony and the subsequent meal.

And so, evening came, at the entrance of Xiangjia Village.

"Alright, everyone, stop giving me things, and stop bringing me anything else. It's hard to carry, really hard to carry. It's not about whether you find it annoying or not—"

Zhao Zheng once again refused the local specialties that Erniu and the others brought. These weren't the kind of local specialties that could be broken into pieces and become valuable, but rather genuine local specialties, such as free-range eggs.

After politely declining several times, Zhao Zheng left the village amidst the villagers' enthusiastic farewell. However, this time he didn't head west, but instead led the remaining nine zombies southeast.

"In remote and impoverished areas, there are not only unruly people, but also warm and friendly villagers—" Zhao Zheng thought to himself as he ate a boiled local egg while walking along the difficult official road.

But the next second, he frowned because of the conversation between two drivers sitting side by side in front of a dilapidated carriage that was slowly approaching 500 meters ahead.

Zhao Zheng heard the fat man driving the cart yawn and then say in a deep voice, "This girl is fair-skinned and decent-looking, and has a good temperament. If she's sold to a bachelor in one of the villages behind the mountain as a wife, she'll get at least twenty-five silver dollars—"

The skinny man cracked his whip, grinned sinisterly, and said, "Your vision is still too narrow. With that big butt of hers, all the well-off families in the mountains would be fighting over her. Some would be willing to pay thirty silver dollars."

"Hehe, isn't that even better? We'll make even more money now. Huh? What's that bloody light ahead?!" the fat man said in surprise.

The fat man stopped talking. After uttering his last words, he and his companion turned into a pool of filthy blood.

"Your blood smells even worse—"

Zhao Zheng stood in front of the motionless carriage.