Chapter 16: Fierce Battle Against the Three Corpses (Part Two)

It was a dark and windy night, with heavy clouds obscuring the moon.

The secluded emerald-water pool looked exceptionally eerie. The mere presence of the multitude of zombies standing by on standby was terrifying enough.

Moreover, beneath the shade of the trees, there was a deeply skilled smoking Daoist priest, alongside an underworld husband shrouded in ghastly ghostly aura...

With a sudden shift of perspective, the scene moved closer to a large tree.

Crack, crack!

Two pairs of iron zombie claws, accompanied by a gale of dark energy, swept forward fiercely, instantly shattering the ghostly shield at Gu Mo's back!

The large fragments of the shattered ghostly shield, the moment they touched the ground, transformed back into ghostly energy and drilled back into Gu Mo's body.

Suddenly feeling a tight squeeze in his chest, Gu Mo hurriedly dropped to the ground and rolled.

This tactical forward roll was none other than the life-saving technique taught by Brother Mao, Professor Min Wenhua. Now, executed once again by Gu Mo, the move had reached a state of perfection. It was as smooth as flowing water, without a shred of hesitation!

Crack, crack!

Following a loud crash, the massive tree—thick enough for three men to embrace—snapped in half right on cue. A flurry of tiny wooden splinters and falling leaves drifted slowly into the dust.

In the blink of an eye during the battle, Gu Mo had already performed several unsightly and humiliating maneuvers.

Things like... tucking his head into his torso like a turtle, rolling flat on the ground like a rolling dragon, executing tactical detours to flee, and glaring angrily at his pet for no reason. Of course, the most praiseworthy part was still the outburst of authentic national curses exploding from Gu Mo's mouth.

"Xiao Yulou, damn your cat-loving granduncle!"

While executing his tactical rolls, Gu Mo cursed viciously in his mind. Dizzy and disoriented, he scrambled away in absolute panic.

It looked as though the things chasing fiercely behind Gu Mo were not terrifying zombies at all, but rather an intensely surging wall of fire. And Gu Mo was simply the man whose backside was on fire!

Within a breath's time, Gu Mo, fleeing in panic once again, found himself relentlessly pursued by the remaining two zombies.

Thud, thud, thud!

The fatal, rhythmic sound of jumping echoed like drumbeats struck by the Grim Reaper. Every single leap of the zombies tugged at Gu Mo's frantically pounding little heart.

As he ran and ran, Gu Mo became completely baffled by a sudden question in his mind.

"Sigh~ Why the hell am I running? The strength of these three zombies should be roughly the same!"

As soon as these words left his mouth, the fur-ball gluttonous ghost perched on Gu Mo's shoulder looked down at him with eyes as starry as the galaxy, filled with utter disdain. Catching sight of the fur-ball's expression out of the corner of his eye while desperately fleeing, Gu Mo felt a deep surge of shame welling up in his chest.

'Damn it~ No matter what, I cannot be looked down upon by a pet! Otherwise, who the hell knows who the actual pet is here!'

At this thought, Gu Mo abruptly came to a halt, whirled around, and swept his Heaven-Measuring Ruler forward with all his might.

A muffled thud echoed.

The Heaven-Measuring Ruler in Gu Mo's hand struck solidly against the zombie's chest. Yet, aside from a tingling numbness in the web of his hand, only a few stray black hairs were dislodged from the two ferocious-looking zombies.

When Gu Mo raised his eyes to look, he saw that the two zombies had suddenly stopped in their tracks, lowering their heads to look at their own chests.

'What the heck~ Am I really this weak? Could it be because I didn't get enough rest?'

For a moment, not only Gu Mo and the fur-ball gluttonous ghost on his shoulder, but even the two zombies assigned to fight them were completely bewildered.

It seemed that the Heaven-Measuring Ruler glowing with eerie ghostly fire in Gu Mo's hand was less useful than a mere poker stick!

In a flash of lightning, a gale mixed with black energy swept forward.

Seeing this, Gu Mo dared not hesitate and unleashed all the ghostly energy stored within his body.

In an instant, with a deafening boom,

an eerie, heaven-soaring ghostly fire surged wildly into existence, completely dispelling the surrounding darkness.

For a moment, the insects stopped chirping, the birds stopped calling, the moon lost its brightness, and the clouds stopped drifting.

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Even the two zombies were frozen in place, scared out of their wits!

And Gu Mo, blazing from head to toe with ghostly fire, seized the opportunity to take a quick breather upon seeing the zombies halt their attacks.

If Gu Mo were to make any rash moves now, wouldn't that simply alert the enemy?

This was downright bullying!

No, wait!

This was downright bullying the zombies!

When faced with such a cheater, was there even any point in continuing this game? It seemed the fate awaiting these two poor zombies was going to be utterly miserable!

Besides,

zombies were formed from the concentrated grievances of the world.

They were neither defiled nor pure, neither aged nor dead, neither born nor destroyed.

They drifted without reliance, displaced and homeless.

They were cast beyond the six paths of reincarnation and existed outside the five elements.

Yet, upon seeing the heaven-soaring ghostly fire engulfing Gu Mo, these two zombies had simply stood frozen in their tracks, terrified out of their wits.

If people claimed zombies lacked thoughts, how else could one explain the scene unfolding before them?

……

Just as the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence, the immortal-like Xiao Yulou flashed directly beneath the large tree.

Splat!

With a crisp sound, Xiao Yulou reached directly into a cold corpse and pulled out a pitch-black corpse pill radiating dark energy.

Immediately after, the black-robed Xiao Yulou flicked his wrist and tossed the corpse pill with pinpoint accuracy straight into the mouth of the lead corpse.

Although the distance was somewhat far, Xiao Yulou's aim was undeniably impressive!

Following that, Xiao Yulou turned his head and cast an enchanting smile toward the two bewildered zombies.

That was no smile at all; it was a naked, chilling threat!

Either knock down the target in front of you, or be eaten.

To survive or to perish—sometimes that truly is the question!

……

In a fraction of a second, the two zombies, already well aware of their fate, could only glare at Gu Mo with ferocious expressions.

Thud!

With a single leap, an exceptionally terrifying zombie materialized right in front of Gu Mo.

Swish!

A pair of bone-chilling iron claws lashed out amidst a gale, their dazzling speed rendering them a blur to the naked eye.

In order to preserve his precious life, Gu Mo had no choice but to continuously summon his ghostly shield, watching helplessly as it shattered over and over again.

Crack, crack, crack!

Crisp, echoing sounds fractured the desolate night sky.

Driven steadily backward by the two zombies, Gu Mo grew more and more perplexed the longer the fight dragged on.

Suddenly, the fur-ball gluttonous ghost perched on his shoulder draped its long tongue across Gu Mo's neck. A mild electric current flashed instantly, and the voice of the fur-ball rang directly in Gu Mo's mind:

"Master, apart from the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, what else do you have?"

Simultaneously, Gu Mo, who had raised his Heaven-Measuring Ruler to block in front of him, felt his heart skip a beat.

Thud!

With a resounding crash, Gu Mo, distracted for a split second, was actually slapped hard across the face by one of the zombies.

The biting, sharp pain sent Gu Mo flying a full six meters backward. Being slapped in the face by a zombie was undoubtedly the ultimate humiliation!

Crack!

With a sharp snap, Gu Mo crashed heavily against a large tree trunk.

Blech!

A sweet taste rose in Gu Mo's throat, and a mouthful of stale blood spewed out instantly. Fortunately, his body was permeated with bone-chilling ghostly energy; otherwise, that single slap would have either killed him outright or infected him with deadly corpse poison!

No matter how one looked at it, these zombies were undeniably fierce. Not only did they never tire, but their bodies were also clad in skin of copper and bones of iron. With their defensive capabilities maxed out, Gu Mo found them somewhat difficult to handle.

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Abruptly, the two zombies before Gu Mo lunged forward howling once more, granting him zero breathing room.

Thud, thud!

With just a few bounds, the terrifying pair of zombies resumed their relentless pursuit.

Eyes wide with fury, Gu Mo resorted once again to his tactical rolls, using the evasion time to rack his brain for a countermeasure.

Splat!

The two terrifyingly hideous zombies lunged forward, plunging all ten iron claws fiercely into the spot where Gu Mo had just been, leaving twenty deep round holes in the hard earth.

If those claws had landed on Gu Mo's body, just imagining it made his heart freeze and his soul fly away!

Executing several tactical rolls in succession, Gu Mo felt the thoughts in his mind clearing up rapidly.

'What else do I have besides the Heaven-Measuring Ruler?

The Soul-Drawing Gourd and the Soul-Burning Lamp! At best, these two Underworld divine artifacts are merely auxiliary tools for tracking down wandering souls.

That scrap of cloth I just acquired? Ghost knows what that thing is actually good for!

If I had known earlier, I should have just asked that silly Underworld queen!'

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Gu Mo suddenly remembered the Fuxi Snake Boxing and the Seven-Star Tiangang Footwork taught to him by old man Chu Changhe. Weren't those precisely fierce martial arts and movement techniques?

In a flash of inspiration, Gu Mo quieted his mind and prepared to put everything on the line!

He saw Gu Mo, after several flustered and clumsy rolls, suddenly snap to a halt. Taking a deep breath, he assumed a stance and unleashed the uncanny footwork of the Seven-Star Tiangang Steps.

In an instant, the two horrifying zombies could only claw at empty air, while Gu Mo relied on his agile positioning to run circles around them.

Seeing the tide turning, Gu Mo immediately tossed the Heaven-Measuring Ruler to the fur-ball gluttonous ghost. The little black creature, seeing this, rolled its tongue out and neatly tucked the ruler away.

Within a breath's time, Gu Mo's fists lashed out at lightning speed like twisting serpents and coiling dragons.

With a sharp whistle of breaking air, he locked one of the zombies tightly from behind in a stranglehold.

Seeing this, the other zombie flashed like a dark shadow and leapt directly behind Gu Mo.

Hearing the rush of wind, the three combatants on the battlefield suddenly fell into a straight line: Gu Mo tightly gripping the zombie in front of him, while his own neck was viciously clamped by the zombie behind.

To save his own skin, Gu Mo had no choice but to concentrate his ghostly energy to thicken his protective shield. But wouldn't that lead straight into a deadlock?

Things having reached this point, Gu Mo could only wrap his arms tightly around the zombie's torso while using his free hand to pry open the zombie's gaping, bloodthirsty maw.

Ha—!

A freezing wave of corpse Qi vented outward like a fire extinguisher.

Seeing this, Xiao Yulou in the distance smiled faintly and nodded to himself.

'Brother Gu is indeed growing rapidly; he's actually targeting the zombie's corpse Qi. Once the corpse Qi inside this zombie's body dissipates, it won't be able to stir up any more trouble!'

In the blink of an eye, the zombie clamping onto Gu Mo's neck from behind snapped its jaw wide open.

Beneath the moonlight, those two slender, terrifying fangs seemed to gleam with a cold, piercing light.

Splat!

Gu Mo's pride and joy—his ghostly energy shield—was completely shattered once again!

Hearing that crisp snap, Gu Mo's heart plummeted, and he cursed inwardly in his mind:

'We're utterly screwed! Am I an absolute idiot? Why didn't I just take down one zombie first? Total failure!'

The zombie behind him suddenly lunged forward and sank its teeth viciously into Gu Mo's neck.

Clack, clack, clack!

At the same time, the zombie restrained by Gu Mo twisted its head a full one hundred and eighty degrees. An intensely chilling corpse Qi, accompanied by a foul and nauseating stench, rushed straight toward his face.

Completely at his wit's end, Gu Mo found himself trapped in a ferocious pincer attack between the two zombies, driving him to the verge of a breakdown...

(This chapter ends)