Chapter 41: Transfer Order, Enemy Attack!

"You'll know if you just try it."

Qin Feng was full of anticipation. He couldn't be entirely certain whether the zombie army would obey the peach tree demon's commands. Since the zombie army obeyed his own commands absolutely, it stood to reason that commanding them to follow someone else's orders should also be possible.

"Come here."

The peach tree demon pursed her red lips and spoke to a wild boar zombie. This wild boar zombie was massively built, easily twice the size of a domestic pig. Its entire body was covered in fur as sharp as pointed blades. The two sharp tusks protruding from its upper jaw resembled an elephant's tusks, while two fierce corpse teeth jutted from its lower jaw, giving it a terrifying appearance.

*Thud!*

The wild boar zombie hopped forward and actually arrived right beside the peach tree demon.

"No way... This..."

Struck as if by lightning, the peach tree demon froze in place. Her gaze remained locked on the wild boar zombie in utter shock, unable to recover her senses for a long time.

It... it really came over!! How could this be possible?!

"It really works!"

A look of delight spread across Qin Feng's face. This meant the peach tree demon could command the zombie army in battle. With an intelligent being directing them, the overall combat effectiveness of the zombie army would increase exponentially.

"Right, try having it attack me."

Qin Feng suddenly thought of this crucial question. Since he had ordered the zombie army to obey the peach tree demon, what would happen if the peach tree demon commanded the zombies to attack him? After all, the peach tree demon was not one of his own people. Now that she had been granted this authority, what if she betrayed him one day?

"You, attack him!"

The peach tree demon ordered the wild boar zombie.

"Hiss!"

The wild boar zombie exhaled a puff of corpse qi and stood rigidly in place, completely motionless.

"You try!"

The peach tree demon switched to a different animal zombie. She understood why Qin Feng was doing this; unless she resolved this concern, Qin Feng likely wouldn't feel comfortable letting her command the zombie army.

However, this zombie also stood frozen in place. The peach tree demon tried several more in succession, and every single one reacted the same way.

"It seems they won't attack me. Well then, let's continue on our way," Qin Feng said with a look of satisfaction. Now he could rest easy and let the peach tree demon manage the zombie army.

***

About half an hour later.

Led by Qin Feng, the single-file line of the zombie army returned to Qianyuan Cave. Fortunately, the cave was spacious enough; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to accommodate them all.

Coincidentally, his aunt awoke from her secluded meditation at that moment. Upon seeing this horde of animal zombies, Mu Rusue's pupils contracted sharply.

"Feng'er, what is going on here?"

Mu Rusue's face was filled with perplexity. She had only been in seclusion for a short while, so how had so many zombies appeared, and all of them animals at that? Each of these animal zombies looked more terrifying than the last, seemingly possessing formidable combat strength. And wasn't the peach tree demon supposed to have escaped? Why was she here, and why had she taken human form?

"Auntie, it's like this..."

Qin Feng recounted the events that had just transpired to Mu Rusue. Then, he authorized the zombie army to obey his aunt's commands as well, establishing a hierarchy of authority: his aunt held first-level command, while the peach tree demon held second-level command. If both issued orders simultaneously, the first-level command must be obeyed. As for himself, he naturally retained supreme command.

He tested it out immediately. When his aunt and the peach tree demon issued conflicting orders at the same time, the zombies followed only his aunt's instructions.

"All of you, go over there and line up," Qin Feng instructed the animal zombies.

*Thud, thud, thud...*

The animal zombies immediately hopped forward, positioning themselves in a neat row against the cave wall.

By now, the number of zombies in the army had reached three hundred and sixteen. The six extra additions were naturally the Daoist disciples who had undergone corpse transformation. However, their strength was inferior to the animal zombies; all six were at the initial stage of the Black Corpse realm. After all, he had only been at the Jumping Corpse realm when he bit them, whereas he had been at the Furry Corpse realm when biting the animals.

"Auntie, how is the absorption of the Wuji Celestial Master's legacy going?"

After settling the zombies, Qin Feng looked at Mu Rusue and asked.

"Faster than I expected. I've absorbed more than half of it, and I should be able to finish completely by this afternoon. By then, I'll pass all these techniques on to you," Mu Rusue replied.

"Alright, once night falls, we'll head to the treasure cave," Qin Feng nodded.

"What treasure cave?" Mu Rusue asked.

"To enlist my help, the peach tree demon offered a treasure cave in exchange. It said there are many treasures inside, including magical artifacts left behind by Daoist practitioners and demonic implements of evil cultivators. The only issue is that the entrance is sealed by a protective formation," Qin Feng explained.

"I see. Then we'll go take a look after dark," Mu Rusue said.

It was currently the early hours of the morning, well past midnight, making it technically the next day. If they went right now, there wouldn't be enough time before dawn broke.

"Feng'er, I'm going to resume my seclusion. With you carrying such a large zombie army, the concentration of corpse qi is far too conspicuous. Once we visit the treasure cave tonight, we'll need to venture deeper into the forest to avoid attracting the attention of Daoist practitioners with this corpse qi," Mu Rusue said in a deep voice.

Over three hundred zombies, three hundred and ten of which were Jumping Corpses—how obvious was the convergence of their corpse qi? In just this brief period, a cloud of corpse qi had already gathered above Qianyuan Cave. If they stayed here for ten days or half a month, this place would practically transform into a kingdom of the dead. Any Daoist practitioner passing by would spot the corpse cloud at a glance, which would inevitably draw powerful enemies. Only by moving deeper into the primeval forest could they ensure relative safety.

"Wait!"

Qin Feng suddenly called out to stop Mu Rusue.

"What is it?" Mu Rusue looked back at him.

"Someone is coming. It's Wufang and Daoist White Crane, the ones I fought earlier. There's also another person, and his aura is immensely powerful—even surpassing yours, Auntie! He's undoubtedly a Daoist master in the Soul Wandering realm!" Qin Feng frowned, his expression turning grave.

"I anticipated they might track us down, but I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly. Even though I concealed your corpse qi, they still managed to trace us here. It seems that person is indeed a formidable expert," Mu Rusue's pretty face revealed a hint of apprehension. An expert in the Soul Wandering realm would prove rather troublesome to deal with.

"It's a pity my injuries haven't fully healed, otherwise I could handle this Soul Wandering realm Daoist expert myself. A mere Soul Wandering realm practitioner is nothing this demon takes seriously," the peach tree demon interjected haughtily from the side. Although the Soul Wandering realm was on par with her own level of cultivation, she possessed absolute confidence in her abilities.

"Even if you were fully recovered, you probably wouldn't be a match for him," Mu Rusue said solemnly.

She had already shielded and masked Qin Feng's aura, yet the enemy had still tracked them down, proving that the individual's methods were extraordinary—far beyond what ordinary Soul Wandering realm Daoist experts could manage. Nine times out of ten, this person did not belong to the First Yang Sect or the Five Elements Gate; they most likely hailed from a major sect. Only major sects possessed profound and formidable secret arts.

"Feng'er, how far are they from Qianyuan Cave?" Mu Rusue asked.

"They'll be here any moment. Let's go, we have no choice but to go out and meet them," Qin Feng said, his nose flaring as a fierce battle intent ignited within his corpse-lit eyes.

With his strength greatly increased and over three hundred ferocious animal zombies at his command, what did a mere Soul Wandering realm expert matter? It was the perfect opportunity to test the methods of the Soul Wandering realm.