A blind man cultivates immortality and witnesses the great secret of the holy maiden in her bridal c

Xie Miaomiao continued, "Several years ago, strange dark clouds suddenly enveloped the entire region for unknown reasons, and black rain poured down incessantly year-round. The sky above the dark clouds was completely sealed off. If a cultivator tried to fly through the air, they would be struck by strange black lightning from the clouds, their soul and body annihilated, turning them directly into a dried-up corpse!"

"After the black rain descended, mutated zombies also appeared. Countless local cultivators were drenched by the black rain and disturbed by the black lightning, all of them mutating and going berserk, turning into bloodthirsty zombies. What's even more bizarre is that these mutated zombies are actually stronger in combat than they were in life!"

"Normally, they may seem no different from ordinary people, showing no abnormality whatsoever. But once the black rain falls and the dark clouds cover the sun, they will instantly go out of control and mutate, frantically tearing apart all living people around them."

"That is why all towns and villages in the Ze Kingdom are now strictly forbidden from entering by unfamiliar cultivators, for fear that someone among them might undergo a strange change in the rain and trigger a large-scale zombie horde disaster."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang suddenly understood why all the cultivators in Xiangshui Town were hostile towards him and avoided him like the plague when he first entered the town.

Xie Miaomiao lowered her eyes, her tone growing increasingly heavy: "The Ze Kingdom has long since become a veritable hell on earth. All cultivators can only do everything they can to survive. Before the rains begin, everyone hides in houses made of jade. Only jade buildings can shield us from the presence of living beings and prevent the black rain from penetrating us, making it impossible for mutated zombies to detect us or break in."

Chen Yang nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Xie Miaomiao, his eyes sharp as he cut to the chase: "Since this place is extremely dangerous, a place where every step leads to death, why did you secretly follow the caravan all the way? What was your purpose?"

Xie Miaomiao froze, looked up at Chen Yang, and gave a bitter smile: "So my whereabouts were completely exposed from the very beginning."

"Your cultivation is only at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and your concealment techniques are too rudimentary." Chen Yang shrugged slightly, his tone calm. "From the moment you secretly followed the caravan, I sensed your presence."

Xie Miaomiao sighed softly, her eyes filled with helplessness and anxiety, and confessed truthfully: "I have to go with this caravan! Because... the caravan isn't carrying any monsters at all, it's carrying my mother!"

Chen Yang looked surprised, his eyes filled with disbelief: "The people from Zhenyuan Escort Agency clearly said that this time they were escorting monster supplies to be delivered to Kunze Sect for handover."

"They're lying to you." Xie Miaomiao shook her head vigorously, her eyes slightly red, her voice choked with sobs. "The person imprisoned in the convoy is my mother, who is undergoing a transformation!"

"My mother was unfortunately infected by the black rain and burned by the black lightning, and mutated into an extremely rare golden-haired zombie."

"The Kunze Sect once issued an edict: Whenever a golden-haired cultivator with a mutation appears within the Ze Kingdom, as long as they are sent to the Kunze Sect, the sect will provide treatment. There is a chance that they will regain their senses and the mutation will disappear. Not only will the treatment be free of charge, but the person who sent the cultivator will also be given a generous reward: a cultivation technique, a position, spirit stones, or elixirs—they can choose one!"

"Because of this imperial edict, my mother was forcibly abducted, imprisoned, and transported by the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. They planned to send my mother to Kunze Sect in exchange for a high reward."

"I can't tell if I feel hatred or helplessness, but I know that if no one takes her to the hospital and she is allowed to continue to change, she will eventually lose her mind completely and become a bloodthirsty monster. Only by sending her to Kunze Sect will she have a chance of survival."

After hearing this inside story, Chen Yang's doubts not only did not dissipate, but became even stronger. The Kunze Sect, the strange black rain, and the golden-haired zombies were shrouded in layers of mystery.

Boom!

Just then, a violent and chaotic roar suddenly rang out from outside the tree hole!

The howls of countless zombies swept in from all directions, terrifying and shaking the entire mountain forest!

Countless chaotic footsteps approached frantically, clearly indicating that a large number of mutated zombies were rushing towards the ancient tree hole at full speed!

Chen Yang frowned slightly, turned to look at Xie Miaomiao beside him, whose face was pale, and said with a hint of scrutiny, "It seems that the hiding place you chose is not safe."

Xie Miaomiao's face changed drastically, her whole body trembled slightly, and her eyes were filled with disbelief and panic. She shook her head repeatedly, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"This ancient tree, combined with the shielding jade artifact, can perfectly conceal any trace of life and isolate all detection; there's absolutely no way a zombie could find this place!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she abruptly looked up at Chen Yang, her eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty: "Unless... you carry a special aura that can attract zombies!"

Upon hearing Xie Miaomiao's words, Chen Yang's heart skipped a beat, and his brows furrowed into a knot.

"The scent that attracts zombies?" He lowered his head and sniffed himself, looking incredulous. "I'm perfectly clean, where would the scent come from?"

Xie Miaomiao didn't answer, but a complex light flashed in her almond-shaped eyes. She looked Chen Yang up and down, her gaze finally fixing on his waist.

There hung an ancient bronze waist plaque, its surface gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the dim light.

The next instant, Xie Miaomiao flipped her wrist and reached out to grab the waist token!

Chen Yang's eyes narrowed, but after seeing her target, he paused and let her grab it. The moment his fingertips touched the waist token, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly understood.

This waist tag... was personally given to me by Zhou Yunshan of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, who claimed it was a token of his trust. Now it seems this "token" might have ulterior motives!

Xie Miaomiao flipped the waist token over, taking a closer look in the dim light filtering through the gaps. Her expression suddenly changed. Her slender fingers trembled as she touched a dark red stain on the token, her voice strained:

"Look! This is soaked in the blood of a golden-haired zombie—or rather, the blood of my mother!"

She looked up abruptly, her eyes filled with terror. "The blood of the golden-haired zombie has a deadly attraction to ordinary zombies. The reason why Zhenyuan Escort Agency has been so cautious and used every means possible is to prevent this aura from leaking out."

"But now..." She bit her lower lip, her tone tinged with coldness, "They gave you this blood-soaked badge. Clearly, they're using you as their first line of defense, to draw the zombies away! Only after you're dead and your life force dissipates will they have to face the onslaught of the zombies behind you!"

Chen Yang nodded expressionlessly.

Just then.

"roar!"

The chilling roars from outside were now almost within reach.

The violent howling echoed restlessly through the surrounding forest, as if countless ghostly claws were scraping against the tree trunks.

The zombie cultivators failed to notice the two figures beneath the tree hollow, solely because the giant tree was surrounded by an aura that drove them mad. They gathered and clashed near the tree roots, producing dull thuds, before thrashing about wildly, their crimson eyes darting like stars in the darkness.

Chen Yang glanced through the gaps in the tree roots, then looked away, his voice calm: "There's no other way, let's go up."

"No... I won't go!" Xie Miaomiao shook her head violently in terror, her face deathly pale. Although she practiced cultivation techniques, the zombies formed from mutated cultivators were far stronger than her. Her voice trembled with tears: "Those mutated cultivator zombies are too terrifying... They not only bite, but they also chew you up like wild beasts! What's more, even those who were only Foundation Establishment cultivators before, their physiques after mutation are comparable to those of the Divine Power Realm! Going out would be like delivering myself to the enemy!"

Chen Yang didn't say anything more, only calmly saying, "It's alright."

Before he finished speaking, he lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his figure, like a ghost, silently rushed out of the tree hole.