Oh no! I've been reincarnated as a corpse!

After walking along the path he had come from, Lu You gradually discovered a pattern.

He tried to spread his divine sense and carefully sense the concentration of Yin energy around him.

The direction from which they came had a noticeably weaker aura of yin energy. Although the difference was not significant, it was still perceptible if one paid close attention.

This made his eyes light up slightly.

You can use the concentration of Yin energy to determine your approximate location in the Yin realm!

The direction with lower concentration is the periphery, and the direction with higher concentration is the depth.

In this way, at least we don't have to worry about accidentally wandering into the doorstep of some powerful figure from the Three Realms.

While sensing the changes in the Yin energy, Lu You continued searching for a suitable location to hold the breakthrough ceremony.

To break through to the Iron Corpse realm, one needs to be cleansed for three days and three nights in an environment with sufficiently dense Yin energy. If it's too weak, the effect won't be enough; if it's too strong, he's afraid his small body won't be able to withstand it.

We need to find a location with a suitable concentration.

As he was walking, he suddenly sensed a sinister aura slowly approaching from not far away.

Lu You paused for a moment, then turned to look.

From within the gray fog, the silhouette of a human figure gradually emerged, limping towards them.

Lu You was startled and instinctively took a half step back.

Damn it, that guy who called me "Dad" the moment we met has caught up with us?

However, when the figure fully emerged from the gray mist, Lu You realized that it was not the same living corpse as before.

The figure that walked over was also a living corpse.

However, she is a woman.

The remaining fragments of her clothing were slightly more intact than those of the previous male zombie. Although they were also tattered and beggar-like with strips of cloth hanging everywhere, at least nothing that shouldn't have been exposed was revealed.

The female zombie stopped in her tracks when she saw Lu You.

The two zombies stared at each other, a few steps apart.

The air became inexplicably quiet.

The gray mist flowed slowly between the two, and in the distance, the faint cracking sound of bones rubbing together as skeletal monsters roamed could be heard.

Lu You was suddenly startled.

and many more!

Does this scene seem familiar?

He had just sensed something was wrong, and before he could come up with a solution, the female zombie opened her mouth.

Her voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against an iron plate, but the words she uttered were exceptionally clear.

"mother!"

Lu You: "??????"

No...

He immediately lost his composure, his voice rising eight octaves: "Calling me 'Dad' is one thing, but calling me 'Mom'? What's the meaning of that?! Can't you see I'm a grown man?!"

That means his blood wasn't circulating properly, and he was already dead.

Otherwise, he felt that he would get so angry that he would definitely turn red on the spot.

To Lu You's surprise, the female zombie showed a hint of fear when he shouted.

Her body shrank slightly, her shoulders hunched in, her head buried, and her whole body trembled.

It looks just like a little dog that's been yelled at by its owner.

Lu You was taken aback, somewhat bewildered by her frightened appearance.

No.

Looking at her like this, anyone who didn't know better would think that I, a grown man, was bullying a weak woman.

What's up with this guy?

The male zombie from before never talked back when he was insulted. No matter what he said, he would just keep calling him "Dad" and he was as persistent as a broken record.

He had initially thought all zombies were like that.

So it seems that even among zombies, there are different personalities?

Could it be because this little girl is rather introverted and timid?

The anger that had been surging up in Lu You was somewhat suppressed by her trembling appearance.

He felt that if he yelled at her again, the girl might become withdrawn on the spot.

He scratched his head, lowered his voice, and tentatively said, "Hello, beautiful lady, you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not your mother."

The female zombie seemed to sense that Lu You's anger had dissipated, and her trembling gradually stopped.

She slowly raised her head, looked at Lu You, and then opened her mouth, her voice hoarse and slow: "No...no!"

Lu You's eyes immediately lit up.

I go!

She would say "No!"

This little girl is much smarter than that previous one who could only repeat "Dad"!

This person can at least say "no" and can also have conversations; they're not the type who's completely unable to communicate.

There's no problem if we can communicate.

Lu You quickly pointed to himself and corrected him, enunciating each word clearly: "I'm a man, and men are fathers. Women are mothers. Understand?"

The female zombie fell silent.

She tilted her head and stared blankly at Lu You.

Lu You wasn't sure if he had spoken too complicatedly; this long string of words might have been a bit too much for the zombies, and it completely overwhelmed the girl.

He waited for a while, but when she still didn't react, he suddenly felt an urge to slap himself.

Why am I even worrying about this?

He came to find a breakthrough point, not to be a language teacher for the zombies.

What's the difference between him correcting the way a mindless zombie is addressed here and correcting a child at the kindergarten gate to call him uncle or brother?

Now that we've encountered a living corpse that we can communicate with, we should first ask about the situation in the Underworld!

This little girl has been wandering around here for who knows how long; she definitely knows this place better than he does.

Just as Lu You was about to ask about the important matter, the female zombie finished her long calculation, raised her head, and uttered a single word in a hoarse but firm voice.

"father!"

Lu You: "...?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

After a long correction, I changed "mother" to "father".

This progress is neither huge nor small.

At least the genders matched.

This female zombie is indeed a bit smarter than the previous one, probably with the intelligence of a five or six-year-old child.

But the pronunciation isn't right either.

I'm not your dad.

Lu You originally wanted to retort, but after taking a deep breath, she decided against it.

Whatever, it doesn't matter.

Call me whatever you want.

He'd accept it whether it's his father or his mother, or even if she calls him grandpa.

Why bother arguing with a zombie whose IQ is only that of a five or six-year-old?

Lu You gave the female zombie what he thought was a friendly smile: "Beautiful lady, do you know this place? Do you know where it's dangerous and where it's safe?"

The female zombie fell silent once again.

Lu You guessed that her intelligence level was indeed limited. Although what he said was not complicated, it still took her some time to understand and digest it.

He didn't urge them, but stood quietly and waited.

Sure enough, after a while, the female zombie slowly raised her arm, stretched out her finger, and pointed in the direction where the ghostly tombstone had been.

"Danger...!" Her voice was hoarse and slow, but her tone carried an instinctive fear, "...I'm scared!"

Lu You glanced in the direction she was pointing and nodded.

He was naturally aware of the danger in that direction.

After all, he had experienced it firsthand and was almost frozen into an ice sculpture, and his neck was still chilly to this day.

So it seems that this female zombie does indeed know about the situation in the Netherworld.

She recognized the territory of that powerful figure from the Ghost Realm Three Realms and knew how to be afraid of it.

What a clever and clever zombie!

Then the female zombie slowly turned her body and pointed in another direction.

That direction was exactly opposite to the location of the Ghost Tombstone, pointing to an area further out of the Netherworld.

"...Home! Safe!" she said, enunciating each word clearly, her tone carrying a barely perceptible pride, as if introducing her most precious possession.

Lu You was taken aback.

Judging from what the female zombie said, this direction is the direction of her home?

Isn't her home dangerous?

He thought for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Beautiful lady, could you take me to your house?"

Since she said it was safe there, it might be a suitable place to hold a breakthrough ceremony.

Even if it's not suitable, it doesn't hurt to go and take a look. Anyway, he's here tonight to scout out the place, so visiting a few more places won't hurt.

The female zombie hesitated for a long time before finally uttering a single word: "...Okay!"

She turned around and took two unsteady steps forward.

Then she stopped and turned to look at Lu You, as if to make sure he had followed.

Seeing Lu You following behind her, the female zombie continued walking forward.

Two undead walked one after the other across the gray, barren land.

After walking for a short while, the female zombie stopped.

Lu You looked down and saw a dent in front of him.

To be precise, it was a shallow pit that was about a person's length and half a person's width.

The edges of the pit were jagged, and the bottom was covered with a layer of grayish-white fine sand.

At first, Lu You thought it was a small pit formed by a natural depression in the ground, since the Yin Domain was full of such pitted and uneven terrain.

He didn't realize what was happening until he saw the female zombie stagger to the edge of the pit, skillfully lie down inside, fold her hands over her chest, and assume a posture that couldn't be more peaceful.

A question mark slowly appeared in Lu You's mind.

no……

Could this little pit be the little girl's home?

So...simple?

He originally thought his cave was simple enough.

There was no furniture, no decoration, just a stone bed and a pool for bathing; it was completely unfinished.

However, he thought that he was, after all, a newbie in the world of cultivation, having only been in this world for a little over a month, and didn't have much to show for it, so he could understand that his house was a bit run-down.

It's not too late to get a better one when my cultivation level is higher.

But when Lu You saw the little girl's house, he suddenly wondered if he was living in a cave.

That's a big villa!

Luxury view rooms with private waterfalls and natural pools!

The female zombie lay there for a while, then seemed to remember something. She slowly turned her head to look at Lu You and said, "Father, lie down..."

As she spoke, she tried to move her body closer to the edge of the pit, attempting to make room for Lu You.

But the hole she was in was only big enough for one person to lie down in. Even if she curled up into a ball, the space she made was only about the size of a palm.

Lu You's expression stiffened, and she gave an awkward yet polite smile: "Never mind, I'm not sleepy. You can lie down, I'll just stand."

This tiny pit is so small that not even two people can lie down in it.

Even if he wanted to lie down, where could he lie down?

The female zombie staggered out of the pit.

She stepped out of her "home," stood beside Lu You, and stared at him quietly, like a puppy waiting for its owner to give the next command.

Lu You originally thought that the "safe" place the little girl mentioned would be a good location to hold a breakthrough ceremony.

For example, a hidden cave, or a valley with natural barriers, or at least a feng shui treasure land with abundant yin energy but which will not attract monsters.

Now it seems that this godforsaken place is no different from any other area.

However, the concentration of Yin energy here is not too high or too low; it's at a moderate level.

If you really can't find a more suitable place, this place can be considered as an alternative.

It seems we'll have to keep looking.

Lu You was preparing to say goodbye to the female zombie and continue his reconnaissance trip.

Just then, a sudden inspiration flashed in his mind.

He raised his head and looked at the female zombie standing quietly beside him, staring straight at him, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

For some reason, these unintelligent zombies didn't seem to have any hostility towards him.

The male zombie that used to call him "Dad" didn't attack him at all; instead, it shared half of its flesh with him.

Although the meat looked so unappetizing that it was hard to bring oneself to eat it, the intention was good.

This female zombie even took the initiative to bring him to her "home" and warmly invited him to lie down in the pit together.

Perhaps it's because they're of the same kind?

In their minds, Lu You was the same as them, so there was no need to be wary of him.

Lu You's thoughts raced.

If that's the case, could he find a few more living corpses in the underworld and have them guard him while he breaks through to the next level?

The ritual to break through the Iron Corpse requires lying in an ice coffin for three days and three nights, receiving continuous cleansing from the Yin energy.

During this process, he had to concentrate fully on circulating his cultivation technique to guide the Yinming Cold Iron to merge with the corpse, leaving him no energy to deal with external threats.

If disturbed by any monster during this time, the ritual may fail and the materials may be wasted, or the person may go berserk and turn into a corpse demon on the spot.

But if there's a group of zombies guarding the area, the situation is completely different.

With them around, those skeletal monsters and wandering corpse demons will most likely stay away.

Even if he gets close, a group of zombies blocking the way will give him enough time to react.

In this way, his breakthrough ritual will not be easily interrupted, and his safety will be greatly improved.

Moreover, if this plan is feasible, he can be much more flexible in choosing the location for the ceremony.