Chapter 62: Zombies Form Formations, Combat Power Soars!

"Nonsense. Do you think I would offer to teach you mystic arts without any real ability?
To say the least, I am certainly more reliable than that flaky master of yours.
As long as you serve me wholeheartedly, I might just help you become a master of the Daoist arts," Qin Feng said solemnly.

"Big Brother Zombie, don't you worry. Since I'm following you, I will definitely serve you with all my heart.
However, what if we run into a Daoist master who manages to break through your formation?"

"There aren't that many Daoist masters around, so stop jinxing us," Qin Feng said, glaring at Qing Shuiyan.

Earlier, he had heard the middle-aged Daoist priest call Qing Shuiyan a jinx—whatever she predicted for the worst always seemed to happen. If she really was a jinx and a Daoist master actually showed up to shatter his formation, he would be completely finished.

"Right, right, right. Daoist masters are very rare. Even if one does show up, they won't necessarily be able to see through the formation you've set up, Big Brother Zombie," Qing Shuiyan said with a flattering smile.

"Alright, let's go inside."

Qin Feng led his zombie army into the cave.

As soon as they stepped inside, they saw the Peach Tree Spirit walking out. When it saw the massive army of zombies trailing behind Qin Feng, it was utterly stunned.

"So many zombies! And they're all jumping corpses! This... Big Brother Zombie, where on earth did you find so many of them?
We've struck it rich! We've truly struck it rich! With this batch of zombies, our combat strength is going to soar to incredible heights!" the Peach Tree Spirit exclaimed, beside itself with excitement.

"Such dense demonic qi." Qing Shuiyan's expression shifted in surprise.

This spirit was no ordinary creature. It was likely a spirit that had successfully taken human form, putting it on par with a Daoist practitioner in the Out-of-Body realm—the exact same realm as her master.

She never expected that a spirit of such formidable strength would willingly submit to Big Brother Zombie.

"This is the Peach Tree Spirit, a powerful demon at the Spirit Soldier realm," Qin Feng introduced to Qing Shuiyan.

"The Spirit Soldier realm?!" Qing Shuiyan's eyes widened in disbelief.

Goodness gracious, it was an entire realm higher than she had imagined! A Spirit Soldier—a powerful demon capable of materializing weapons out of thin air. Even her master would have to turn tail and run upon encountering a creature like this.

"A Daoist disciple? Big Brother Zombie, is this a new subordinate you've taken in?" the Peach Tree Spirit asked.

"Mm, I stole these corpses from the mortuary and casually picked her up along the way," Qin Feng nodded.

"Stolen from the mortuary? No wonder there are so many." The Peach Tree Spirit suddenly understood.

Immediately, it flattered Qin Feng with a sycophantic grin, "You're truly amazing, Big Brother Zombie. Even a Daoist disciple has no choice but to submit to you."

"Alright, stop flattering me. Now, I'm putting these zombies under the joint command of the three of you."

With that, Qin Feng ordered the eight thousand-plus zombies to form square formations, split into three separate teams.

Fang Xiaolan, Qing Shuiyan, and the Peach Tree Spirit would each take charge of one team.

Upon learning that they were actually authorized to command the zombie army, both Fang Xiaolan and Qing Shuiyan were immensely shocked.

"Big Brother Zombie, since these zombies obey commands so well, why don't we train them to form battle formations to further enhance their strength?" Qing Shuiyan suddenly suggested.

It was a sudden flash of inspiration. If this group of zombies could execute formations, their combat power would undoubtedly experience a massive boost. Since the zombies were so obedient, a little bit of training ought to be enough.

"That's right! Why didn't I think of that?" Qin Feng gave Qing Shuiyan an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "Brilliant! Thank goodness for your reminder."

While the zombie army couldn't set up magical arrays or talisman arrays, they could certainly execute standard military battle formations used by ordinary mortals. Such formations were exceptionally useful—tactics like the Three Talents Formation, the Single-Line Serpent Formation, the Two Dragons Emerging from Water Formation, and so on.

Combined with the power of formations, these scattered, chaotic zombies would be forged into a single cohesive unit, allowing their combat effectiveness to surge by two or even three hundred percent.

"I'll leave this matter to you. You know standard formations, right?" Qin Feng looked at Qing Shuiyan.

"Of course I do! The Three Talents Formation, the Five Elements Formation, the Single-Line Serpent Formation... these are all fundamental arrays. Before we were allowed to learn formations, my master strictly required us to master these basic formations, saying that only by building a solid foundation could we ever hope to learn talisman and magical arrays," Qing Shuiyan nodded heavily.

Though these were basic formations, executing them with a zombie army would still yield miraculous results. Take the Three Talents Formation, for instance: three zombies combining their strengths would be vastly more powerful than a single zombie fighting alone. The Three Talents Formation integrated offense and defense, allowing them to advance or retreat while remaining flexible and adaptable.

"Let's test the Three Talents Formation with just three zombies first to see if it works. If it does, you'll have rendered a great service today. When the time comes, I'll teach you a top-tier magical array!" Qin Feng said solemnly.

"Alright, thank you, Big Brother Zombie!"

Qing Shuiyan was equally thrilled. A top-tier magical array was something she hadn't even dared to dream of before. If anyone else had made such a promise, she certainly wouldn't have believed it. But coming from the lips of this monstrous zombie, it was absolute truth.

Without delay, Qing Shuiyan immediately summoned three zombies. She placed them in the positions of Heaven, Earth, and Man, respectively. Then, following the shifts of the Three Talents Formation, she continuously adjusted and altered the positions of the three zombies, making sure they committed the patterns to memory.

In just three minutes, Qing Shuiyan completed the training.

Afterward, she stepped aside and gave a low shout: "Form array!"

"Hmph!"

Acting like pre-programmed machinery, the three jumping corpses immediately sprang into motion, locking into the Three Talents Formation.

"Attack!" Qing Shuiyan commanded once more.

Following the method they had just practiced, the three zombies continuously shifted positions while simultaneously striking at the empty air in the center.

"Good! Excellent! They've mastered it on the very first try!" Qin Feng cheered loudly.

Although these zombies lacked sentience, their memories seemed remarkably sharp. He had expected to need numerous rounds of training, but they succeeded on the first attempt.

"Qing Shuiyan, first teach the Three Talents Formation to Fang Xiaolan and the Peach Tree Spirit, and then have the two of them help train the rest of the zombie army. That way, the efficiency will be much higher. Once the Three Talents Formation is drilled, we'll move on to the Single-Line Serpent Formation and the others. Before that, I will now teach you a top-tier magical array."

Qin Feng took out his black peach-wood sword and traced a magical array directly onto the ground.

This was the Innate Boundless Eight Trigrams Formation, which integrated trapping and killing elements into a single entity. With its myriad variations, it was an exceptionally tyrannical and high-tier array.

Only by drawing it out physically could Qing Shuiyan truly commit the formation to memory. After all, not everyone possessed photographic memory and monstrous innate talent like he did.

"You can practice the array later. Focus on training the zombie army first. I have some matters to attend to and must leave for a while. Without my command, none of you are allowed to leave the corpse cave," Qin Feng warned sternly.

Having been away for so long, he needed to return to check on his aunt so she wouldn't worry.

"Understood, Big Brother Zombie," the three of them chorused with nods.

Qin Feng turned and left the corpse cave, leaped seven or eight meters into the air, and landed swiftly. With a few bounds, he was already dozens of meters away, moving at an incredible speed.

When he returned to his aunt's home, it was only half-past twelve at night.

His aunt was still meditating on the balcony, absorbing the legacy of the Boundless Celestial Master. On the living room dining table sat two boxes of durian mille-feuille cake.

Hearing the door open, Murong Xue let out a long breath, stood up, and looked at Qin Feng. "Feng'er, why are you back so soon? Did everything go smoothly?"

"Smoothly. I stole over eight thousand zombies from the mortuary and have already brought them back to the corpse cave," Qin Feng nodded.

"So many?" Murong Xue was startled by the sheer number.

Over eight thousand? To have stolen so many corpses from right under their noses—the person in charge of the mortuary was surely going to suffer a terrible disaster. This incident would probably make tomorrow's headlines.

"I originally wanted to steal ten thousand, but I didn't count properly at the time and thought I already had ten thousand. Once we left, I couldn't be bothered to go back for a second trip," Qin Feng said.

"That's enough. With these eight-thousand-plus zombies, we have a bit of a foundation to stand on. You have no idea—not long after you left, a senior brother from White Cloud Temple used a secret technique to transmit a very important piece of message to me. It concerns the ordinary citizens of Songshan City, and it involves malicious cultivators as well as an extremely powerful demon. Those Miao territory Gu sorcerers who traveled thousands of miles to get here are most likely here for that very demon," Murong Xue said with a grave expression.