I and countless versions of myself simultaneously travel through time.

Within their shared transmigration talent, [Ye Yan's talent and the world's laws] mutually reinforce each other.

This slightly improved Zombie Leaf Flame's magical power.

However, what is most comforting is that the fate point is undoubtedly crucial to the fate of the person.

After a brief discussion, the group logged off, since the flow of time differs across different universes.

Night had fallen, and an oil lamp was lit in a side room of the mortuary, casting dappled shadows on the wall in its dim yellow light.

When Uncle Nine called Ye Yan into the room, he was still wondering to himself, "Is this a test of my cultivation progress?"

He quickly took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and adopted a "please check whatever you want, sir" attitude.

"Master, I've been at the mortuary for five days now, haven't I?" Ye Yan reported proactively.

Uncle Nine didn't look at him, but gazed at the moonlight outside the window, and said softly, "Ye Yan, what do you think of staying at the mortuary?"

"It feels quite comfortable, what's wrong, Master?"

"It's nothing... I'm just a bit sentimental." Uncle Nine sighed, his gaze drifting into the distance, as if looking at the bumpy road of his life.

Walking on thin ice, can he reach the other side?

Ye Yan secretly observed his master's expression, which shifted between worry and anxiety, and then he would inexplicably laugh before sighing.

This facial expression management is even more sophisticated than those acting hosts in Douyin live streams.

He understood instantly.

Master is reflecting on life.

That's true, Uncle Nine's life has certainly not been easy.

He took on two apprentices, Qiusheng and Wencai, but they were really just two troublemakers.

They can only draw a rough sketch when it comes to drawing talismans; they can barely understand the talismans they make; as for real skills, even fancy moves are too much of an exaggeration.

The worst part is that the trouble these two apprentices caused always ended up being cleaned up by their master, Uncle Nine.

The troubles he's caused the Maoshan sect over the years could circle the mortuary three times over.

But what can Uncle Nine do?

You have to take responsibility for the apprentices you've taken in, even if it means crying.

He has to withstand the kill threshold.

But Uncle Nine still harbored a dream: he wanted to become the leader of the Maoshan Sect.

He knew better than anyone how important it was to have an apprentice who could carry the family name.

But look at these two clowns beside you, who's going to be the sect leader?

It would be good enough if the Maoshan School could avoid being ridiculed by other branches.

Look at how powerful Lin Fengjiao was back then; she had a great reputation.

Looking at his master's face, which resembled a Sichuan opera face-changing act, Ye Yan made up his mind.

He knelt down with a thud, his expression as sincere as a filial son or grandson: "Master, I know you have no children, and all these years you've worried about your fellow disciples' talents and dealt with the power struggles within Maoshan. If you don't mind, I'd like to take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days. When I have some free time, I'll cook fish for you."

Uncle Nine's pupils dilated in shock, and the corners of his mouth uncontrollably turned upwards, then he desperately tried to press them down.

Why won't this damn mouth move on its own?

"What are you doing!" Uncle Nine said sternly, but his tone was weak. "I'm a direct disciple of Maoshan, after all. Do you think I'll let you take care of me in my old age? Besides, you recently helped me renovate the mortuary, which cost you a lot of money. I still owe you money."

Looking at his master's face, which was trying to cover up his true feelings, Ye Yan couldn't help but complain, "Master, you can't even hide your smile."

"Nonsense!" Uncle Nine glared, but his lips curled into an even wider smile. "Ye Yan, you and I... sigh, you child... get up, get up! The ground is cold, wear more clothes in this cold weather. If you keep kneeling like this, you'll make my life miserable!"

You must promise me.

Just as the master and apprentice were kneeling and the other helping each other up, a scene that was both heartwarming and somewhat awkward—

boom!

The door was kicked open.

Uncle Four Eyes stood at the door, pointing at Uncle Nine, his face filled with shock as if he'd been caught in the act: "Well, well, Senior Brother! We agreed to compete for the disciple position together, how come you beat me to it!"

Ye Yan glanced back.

What?

There's even a Minotaur scene?

Uncle Nine felt a little guilty after being yelled at, but he still couldn't suppress the urge to smile: "Junior Brother, it's not a matter of first come, first served. You see, Ye Yan offered to take care of me in my old age, so you really can't blame me."

He said he was troubled, but the corners of his mouth turned into a crooked smile, like a war god.

Who wouldn't want a gifted apprentice?

Although Ye Yan is an unconventional kid with a unique personality, strange thinking, and bizarre behavior, and even has a penchant for "sleeping with ghosts," it's all for the sake of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path!

Such a promising talent, it's like God himself fell from the sky and landed right in his arms. If he doesn't seize it, will someone else snatch it away?

Master Four Eyes panicked: "I was the one who fell for him first!"

"I am the senior brother."

"You'll regret this, senior brother!" Si Mu pointed at Ye Yan, his face full of heartache. "He has such a strong aura of death on him; he's a natural-born corpse driver! Learning those talisman-drawing and incantation techniques from you is a complete waste of his talent!"

Uncle Nine's smile froze on his face.

Ye Yan knelt on the ground, watching his two masters argue heatedly over him, his face flushed, and silently plotted in his mind.

"How about I learn the corpse-driving technique while also learning Taoist magic? Anyway, we're all one family in Maoshan, so I can't leave either way. I'll learn my master's techniques first, and then my uncle's."

Uncle Nine waved his hand and looked at his junior brother: "Ye Yan is your nephew, and also half a disciple. What do you think?"

The junior brother sighed: "Since things have come to this, let's just go through the cycle. However, the branches of Maoshan are different, and their paths are also different. Your master's lineage is the talisman school, and his lineage can be traced back to the Taoist prodigy Master Tianyi a hundred years ago, belonging to the Southern School of Maoshan. In principle, a Taoist can only specialize in one thing, but since you are a genius at corpse driving, I made an exception and taught you."

"Thank you, Martial Uncle!" Ye Yan cupped his hands in thanks, then paused and tentatively asked, "Martial Uncle, do you... have any techniques for cultivating corpses?"

Si Mu's face darkened: "Hmm? You're not planning to walk the straight and narrow path, kid?"

Ye Yan shook his head outwardly, but nodded inwardly.

"That's unorthodox and heretical! The orthodox Maoshan sect uses talismans to help the world and guides people with righteousness. The art of corpse refining is extremely dangerous and immoral. At best, it shortens one's lifespan; at worst, it backfires on oneself and harms the innocent. The century-old reputation of the Southern Maoshan sect cannot be ruined by you, brat."

Ye Yan chuckled awkwardly, "Uncle-Master, I was just asking, just casually..."

Uncle Nine waved his hand: "But Ye Yan's physique is perfect for cultivation. Don't you see what his foundation is? He's a perfect fit for cultivation."

"Huh?" Si Mu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that Ye Yan's strange and mysterious deeds made everything clear.

He is, after all, a god-like figure.

"I forgot, you fell from the sky! Here's what we'll do: I can pass on the [Corpse Refining Technique] and [Corpse Nourishing Technique] to you, but let me make it clear first, I won't practice them myself."

Ye Yan raised an eyebrow: "Then why are you hiding it?"

"Hey, this is called collecting, don't you understand?" Four Eyes glared at him. "The art of corpse refining is most afraid of falling into the hands of people with evil intentions, creating a bunch of zombies to harm the people. As for now... you're barely qualified, I just like collecting this stuff."

Uncle Nine picked up the conversation: "How could Ye Yan possibly do something so heinous? By the way, how's your practice of the [Huang Ting Jing] going? Have you ever drawn any corpse-suppressing or ghost-suppressing talismans?"

"You mean these?" Ye Yan casually pulled out a stack of talismans and handed them to the two of them. "I've already drawn many of these."

Uncle Nine took it and flipped through it one by one. His face gradually froze, and his expression became extremely distorted.

"Exorcism talisman, ghost-sealing talisman, corpse-dissolving talisman, virility-enhancing talisman, fire talisman, immobilization talisman, ghost-training talisman..." He stopped halfway through, clutching his chest, his brow furrowed in anguish. "How come there are exorcism talismans, soul-summoning talismans, and corpse-nurturing talismans? What have you been drawing these past few days? Did you copy the entire Maoshan talisman encyclopedia?"

"This is an evil talisman! What kind of talisman is this? It's causing immense harm, Ye Yan! What are you doing with this? If you keep doing this, I'm afraid the ancestral master will come down and harm me!"

Si Mu leaned over for a look, and instead of being annoyed, he admired Ye Yan's talent even more.

He turned to Uncle Nine, smiling as he smoothed things over: "Senior Brother, in my opinion, this is a good thing. Ye Yan is exceptionally talented; our Maoshan sect has a worthy successor!"

Uncle Nine clutched his chest, his face ashen: "No... why are you scribbling like this, child? What the hell is an aphrodisiac talisman? What's a ghost talisman? Don't you even know the taboos surrounding these talismans?"

Ye Yan scratched his head: "But I drew them all correctly, not a single one wasted."

"..."

Uncle Nine choked, feeling even more suffocated in his chest.

It seems there's nothing wrong with it.

Because all the ghosts in the nearby towns were driven away by him.

Si Mu suppressed a laugh and patted Uncle Jiu on the shoulder: "Senior brother, calm down, calm down. It's a good thing for a young person to have talent."

"A good thing?" Uncle Nine pointed at the stack of talismans, his fingers trembling. "Look at this, look at this! It's one thing to draw corpse-dissolving talismans, but to draw corpse-nurturing talismans too? Is this the orthodox way of Maoshan? It makes Maoshan seem like a heretical cult."

Ye Yan blinked: "Then I won't draw next time?"

"Next time?" Uncle Nine almost choked on his breath. "You want a next time? My God."

Si Mu finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Senior brother, you need to change your temper. Ye Yan is exceptionally talented; drawing talismans is like drinking water for him. How many years has it been since our Maoshan Sect has produced such a talent? You should be happy. Besides, he won't use those harmful methods. You should think more about it."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Nine...

Why did you just repeat the same lines I already said?!

"Happy?" Uncle Nine glared. "Happy my ass! All the money I've saved up from drawing talismans in my entire life for incense offerings has been squandered by him in just a few days!"

Ye Yan quickly reassured her, "Uncle-Master, don't worry, I'll buy the paper myself when I draw talismans from now on."

Si Mu chuckled and extended his hand, saying, "Come on, kid, let's shake hands. From today onwards, you are my personal disciple. I will teach you all the Corpse Cultivation and Corpse Raising techniques. In this way, your senior brother won't have to worry anymore; I will take care of Ye Yan."

Ye Yan was flattered and quickly grasped the hand, saying, "Thank you, Martial Uncle! Do you need someone to take care of you in your old age?"

Uncle Nine's expression darkened further as he watched the two shake hands and make peace: "You two... are you ganging up on me?"

He turned around, looking completely innocent: "Senior brother, I'm just valuing talent."

Ye Yan nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, we should cherish talent."

Uncle Nine took a deep breath, then another, and finally clutched his chest before turning to leave: "Fine, fine, you value talent, but I value my life! I'll go to the backyard to burn incense and pray to the ancestral master to protect Maoshan from being destroyed in your hands!"

Behind them, Si Mu and Ye Yan exchanged a glance and both suppressed a laugh.

Si Mu muttered to himself, "Senior brother is just too serious."

Ye Yan nodded: "Then the Corpse Refining Technique..."

"I'll send it to you tonight!"

"Look at you, always in such a hurry."

"Thank you, Uncle-Master!"

From the backyard came a long sigh from Uncle Nine: "What a tragedy."