Chapter 27: The Return of Bai He and Company, Their Identities Exposed!!

Qin Feng accelerated the pace of his blood-draining. He began attacking with both hands simultaneously, grabbing a corpse in each. His strength surged steadily, and the hair covering his entire body grew increasingly longer.

Those Taoist practitioners, now drained of their blood, rose from the ground one after another, having undergone a corpse transformation. They were all, without exception, at the early stage of a Black Zombie. They all prostrated themselves before Qin Feng.

Previously, he had been unsure whether the zombies infected by his corpse poison were linked to his own strength. Now, he was certain: it was inextricably tied to his power. These transformed zombies had possessed varying levels of strength while alive, but now they had all reached the same state. This meant that once he broke through to the level of a Hairy Zombie, the zombies he infected would reach the early stage of a Leaping Zombie—always one major realm below his own.

It was a pity his current level was too low. If he could reach the Hairy Zombie stage, this group of zombies would become Leaping Zombies. Dozens of Leaping Zombies might be enough to crush the group of Taoist practitioners outside.

Soon, Qin Feng finished draining the blood. There were thirty-two corpses in total, yet it still wasn't enough to push him into the Hairy Zombie realm. He was still just a hair's breadth away; he would have to rely on consuming talismans to break through.

Qin Feng summoned all thirty-two zombies together. He had them line up, and he began searching their bodies for paper talismans. As he searched, he stuffed them into his mouth. The talismans tasted quite good—sweet, crisp, and crunchy. Once ingested, they transformed into energy, bolstering his strength.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the karst cave:

"The corpse aura is so thick. Could Fellow Daoist Qin Feng have undergone a transformation?" Daoist Priest Baihe’s face darkened, his eyes filled with urgency. "Xuanyu, don't be foolish; move aside! If Fellow Daoist Qin Feng has transformed, there are still many injured practitioners inside. They will be in grave danger."

The other two old Taoists spoke up as well. "We cannot wait any longer. Move!"

Daoist Priest Baihe grabbed Xuanyu and shoved him aside roughly. He then turned to the disciple of the Yiyang Sect. "Fellow Daoist Wufeng, I leave the rest to you."

"Rest assured. Qin Feng is a deacon of our Yiyang Sect; I will handle this matter properly," Wufeng replied, giving Baihe a reassuring look.

Wufeng was not a mere deacon, but a true disciple of the Yiyang Sect. He had been in seclusion for years, only emerging because the sect was holding a new election for the position of Sect Master among the true disciples. Consequently, he did not recognize most of the sect's deacons, save for a select few. From Baihe, he had learned that Qin Feng was an upright and righteous practitioner who had brought much acclaim to the Yiyang Sect. If he could purge the corpse poison from Qin Feng, his path to becoming the Sect Master would likely be secured. Most importantly, the heaven-sent treasure—the thousand-year-old ginseng—must surely be in Qin Feng’s possession.

With those words, Wufeng led the others deep into the cave.

"It’s over, everything is over!" Xuanyu sat slumped on the ground in despair. If this group entered the cave and saw the scene inside, they would never let him or Senior Qin Feng live. And Deacon Liuyang was certainly not coming back to life. "Senior Qin Feng, it’s not that I didn’t try to stop them, but I truly couldn't."

Xuanyu bowed three times toward the cave and, without hesitation, turned and fled. He and Qin Feng had committed monstrous crimes; if he stayed, he would only be waiting for death. Even if Wufeng and Baihe spared him, the sect would never show mercy.

At that moment, Qin Feng was still desperately consuming talismans. He had already sensed the presence of Baihe and the others entering the cave. Within ten seconds, they would arrive.

"It seems I won't be able to reach the Hairy Zombie realm," Qin Feng thought, his expression darkening as he felt their presence closing in. His crimson, corpse-filled eyes erupted with intense battle intent. He had no choice but to fight. By coordinating these thirty-two zombies, he hoped to find a chance to break through their lines. If he could reach the outside, there was a high probability of escape. Otherwise, trapped in the cave, he would be like a turtle in a jar.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Several figures broke through the air. Led by Wufeng, five Taoist mages appeared. When they saw the thirty-two zombies standing beside Qin Feng, they were all stunned.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Feng, what is the meaning of this?" Baihe frowned, staring sternly at Qin Feng. Thirty-two Taoist disciples had all died and turned into zombies. He would never believe this had nothing to do with Qin Feng. Furthermore, it was deeply strange; even if they had been drained of blood and infected, the speed of their transformation was impossibly fast. Moreover, they stood like a well-trained army, neatly lined up, without attacking one another. As everyone knew, zombies lacked intelligence and could not distinguish friend from foe.

"Damn it! You have all been deceived by it!" Wufeng’s face twitched as he stared at Qin Feng, who was dressed in Taoist robes, his eyes burning with fury.

"Deceived? What do you mean?" Baihe asked, confused. The other three looked at Wufeng as well.

"It is not a deacon of our Yiyang Sect at all. The robes it is wearing belong to our Deacon Yuancang! Every deacon's robe in our sect has a small, unique mark identifying them. I may not know many deacons, but I happen to know Deacon Yuancang well," Wufeng explained sternly.

"We were deceived?" Baihe and the others felt as if struck by lightning, struggling to accept the truth. They trusted Qin Feng’s identity, but they trusted Wufeng, a true disciple of the Yiyang Sect, even more. If he said they had been deceived, it must be true.

"Then... what exactly is it? A zombie? Or a practitioner of dark arts?" one of the old Taoists asked, bewildered.

"It must be the zombie that Deacon Yuancang was ordered to eliminate. It’s a pity Deacon Yuancang was killed by it instead. If it were a dark arts practitioner, it wouldn't have this level of power while having turned itself into a zombie," Wufeng declared with absolute certainty.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Feng is a... zombie?" Baihe and the others looked at each other, their hearts in turmoil. A zombie that could walk and talk? How was this possible? Yet the facts were right before their eyes.

"No wonder it could kill Deacon Yuancang; it is truly a monster. Not only can it walk and talk, but its intelligence rivals that of a normal human. If such a monstrous zombie is left to grow, the consequences will be unimaginable." Wufeng drew the peach-wood sword from his back, emanating a sharp, murderous aura. He traced a sword sign with his left hand over the blade.

*Flash!* The peach-wood sword erupted with a dazzling golden light.

"Die!" Wufeng stepped forward with incredible speed, rushing toward Qin Feng like a thunderbolt.

"Zombie army, listen to my command! Charge together and kill him!" Qin Feng retreated a step and let out a fierce roar.

*Hiss!* The thirty-two Black Zombies exhaled a cloud of corpse aura in unison. Then, moving their stiff bodies, they charged toward Wufeng, wave after wave, fearless and undeterred.

"What? It can actually command zombies!" Wufeng’s expression changed, his sharp eyes widening in utter disbelief.