Wayfarer

Chapter 713: The Zombie Ku Jiang

Within a pitch-black valley, Xiao Nanfeng, Yang Chuan, and the badly wounded Black Dog reunited.

On the way here, Yang Chuan had learned about the situation from Black Dog.

"Martial Aspect Xiao, I am deeply grateful for your assistance." Yang Chuan bowed toward Xiao Nanfeng.

"Hardly, Southern Aspect Yang. You assisted me with the Demon Child as a casual favor, and I'm only doing the same here. What's more, given your strength, I'm sure you would have been able to free yourself." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

With this act, he had repaid Yang Chuan's favor in full—and even made Yang Chuan owe him a little.

"I could have, but the price would have been exorbitant." Yang Chuan smiled wryly.

"Southern Aspect Yang, might I ask how much you know about this hidden realm?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

Yang Chuan had learned about Xiao Nanfeng's request from Black Dog. He handed him a jade slip.

"This is a map of all the zombie caves that we've identified to date. It's incomplete, but this is all we know," Yang Chuan replied.

Xiao Nanfeng inspected the jade slip with his spiritual power and instantly noted that the Wolfsbane Cave was marked. He sighed in relief at having found what he was looking for.

"Thank you, Southern Aspect Yang. This map is particularly useful to me."

"Good." Yang Chuan smiled.

"Are you aware of how strong the zombies in the zombie caves in the vicinity are?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"This hidden realm is divided into three major domains, each ruled over by a zombie king. Each zombie king possesses a large number of ordinary zombies as subordinates with which to excavate these caves. The zombie kings are all Boundless Immortals, and ordinary zombie caves are guarded by a Golden Immortal zombie. If you're looking for any in particular, you had better be careful."

"Three zombie kings?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Yang Chuan nodded. "I was facing off against one such king. I haven't been here for long, unfortunately, and I know of no other information. There may yet be other secrets hidden within this realm."

"Thank you for the information, Southern Aspect Yang. I have urgent matters to attend to, and I must leave immediately. Let's talk again another day."

Xiao Nanfeng was in a rush to find Ku Jiang, and he didn't want to waste too much time.

"I intend to head back and continue attacking that zombie king I was fighting earlier to see if I can make a breakthrough on that end. Take this signaling relic. If you activate it in close proximity to me and I see the signal, we'll reconvene here." Yang Chuan handed him a relic.

Xiao Nanfeng accepted it gratefully, knowing that Yang Chuan meant well. "Thank you. Farewell!"

They bowed to each other before departing from the valley in opposite directions.

With the jade slip that Yang Chuan had loaned him, Xiao Nanfeng quickly arrived in the vicinity of Wolfsbane Cave and began looking around.

Black fog severely dampened the visibility within the region. Xiao Nanfeng could hear shouts coming from all over. There were zombies flying by overhead intermittently. They nearly caught sight of him, but he was alert and managed to avoid them all.

Finally, he managed to locate Wolfsbane Cave.

The exterior of the cave was surprisingly peaceful, if gloomy. No one seemed to be present.

Suddenly, a zombie flew by from afar and landed in front of Wolfsbane Cave. The zombie howled probingly at the interior of the cave.

Suddenly, a black figure rushed out of the cave, knocked the zombie down, and bit down on the zombie with a pair of blood-red fangs.

The bitten zombie struggled furiously but was quickly rendered immobile. It dissipated into a cloud of black fog, which the zombie from the cave absorbed.

Far away in the darkness, Xiao Nanfeng's eyes twitched. "These zombies can even devour each other..."

Rather than rush out, he waited patiently until the zombie trudged back into the cave.

At the same time, Xiao Nanfeng's avatar had the spectral guards contact Tang's avatar.

"Marquis Tang, His Majesty is waiting outside Wolfsbane Cave, but it seems to be guarded by a particularly potent zombie. He's lying in wait at the moment. Can you inform Master Ku of the news and have him meet up with His Majesty? There's a strange ball-shaped boulder near where His Majesty is hiding," the spectral guard relayed.

"I understand," Tang replied.

Shouts came from within Wolfsbane Cave.

"Senior Uncle Ku!"

Tang was shouting so loudly that Xiao Nanfeng could hear him even from his hiding spot.

However, the commotion quickly died down. Before long, the zombie from before emerged from Wolfsbane Cave.

Black smoke surrounded him as he glanced at his surroundings. He quickly pinpointed Xiao Nanfeng's location and flew toward him.

Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened. He had a bad feeling.

"Nanfeng, you're finally here!" the zombie wheezed.

"Master?!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

The black smoke around the zombie slowly dissipated to reveal a shriveled face. Though parts of the zombie's face were decaying, Xiao Nanfeng quickly recognized Ku Jiang's features. Not only that, there were two blood-red fangs protruding from his mouth, ferocious and horrifying.

"I'm glad you've been able to find your way here. I won't be able to last for long. Follow me."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded, bowing.

He could sense Ku Jiang's unique aura from this zombie, so he was certain of the zombie's identity. He followed Ku Jiang into Wolfsbane Cave.

"Master, where are the other zombies here?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"I ate them all."

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng tensed up.

The interior of Wolfsbane Cave was dark but expansive. The two cultivators walked toward the depths of the cave and quickly found themselves before a stone chamber.

Ku Jiang opened the chamber to reveal Tang within.

"Your Majesty, you really did come!" Tang exclaimed. Then, he saw Ku Jiang and gasped. "Is that a cursed effigy from around here?"

"It's me," Ku Jiang said.

"What? Senior Uncle Ku? What happened to you?" Tang exclaimed.

Ku Jiang didn't reply to Tang's question. He told Xiao Nanfeng, "Though all outsiders who know of Tang's identity are dead, just in case, I had Tang change his identity and taught him how to modify his facial structure. Of course, it's hardly a foolproof technique, but we were lucky that no one seemed to notice. Within Hongyue, Tang is known as "Tang Zhengqi", and he's an official of rites in Hongyue's capital.

"I'm aware," Xiao Nanfeng said, nodding. "Tang told me."

"Tang is undoubtedly a talented individual. Though he has yet to receive official recognition from the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue, he has established firm footing for himself. He plays a tremendously valuable role in our plan to take down Hongyue. You can't let anything happen to Tang, and you have to bring him out of this realm safely to the best of your ability."

"Of course, Master." Xiao Nanfeng nodded.

"The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue brought some of us officials into the black coffin hidden realm because he had suspicions against us, and he wanted to take advantage of the altar within the hidden realm to verify our loyalty. Invoking the natural law of the altar, he hypnotized all of us and forced us to reveal the truth. Sensing that something was amiss, I used a secret technique to shield Tang and absorb the power of the altar. I managed to save him, but my true identity was immediately revealed."

"The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue really is nefarious..." Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

"There were spies from other forces who were revealed just like me. We banded together and fought our way out. Although the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue managed to kill some of us, the rest escaped. We took some officials loyal to Hongyue as captives; I seized Tang. To make things look realistic, I knocked him unconscious and carried him away.

"And then?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"Unfortunately, I was unlucky and ended up being bitten by a zombie in the hidden realm. I transformed into a zombie as well. In order to protect Tang, I killed all the zombies in this cave while waiting for you to arrive."

"You were unlucky?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned as he turned to Tang.

Tang stiffened. "Your Majesty, it's not my fault!"

Tang knew that he was supposedly an omen of calamity, and he might have doomed Ku Jiang. However, this was hardly something he could admit to.

"Don't blame Tang. It was only because I was bitten by a zombie that I was able to hide my own aura. Otherwise, the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue would long since have found me. I may have perished even more quickly then."

"Master, what should we do?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

"When you leave, have Tang bring my head back to Hongyue. Let him claim the credit for taking me down and killing me—it'll improve his standing in Hongyue's court. I considered this when I inducted him into the ranks of Hongyue's officials. We have been pretending to be rivals, and I've been helping him rise up the ranks by having him foil me. He might be able to advance to an even higher position with my head."

"With your head, Master? But what are you going to do?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"You don't understand. The zombies here are exceedingly unusual. After being bitten by a zombie, your soul will either dissipate or be devoured. You'll quickly lose your sense of self. My soul has already dissipated, and the only reason I've been able to maintain clarity for so long is because of the special nature of my guqin-related cultivation. I've managed to stabilize parts of my consciousness through resonance, though not for much longer."

"Master!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Worry not. You're aware of my situation, and you know this is only an avatar of mine. My main body's soul is unharmed."

Xiao Nanfeng grimaced. He knew that Ku Jiang's main body was in the red moon illusory realm in the form of a red-furred lifeform. He hadn't expected Ku Jiang to have sent for him to say his farewells.

"Master, I've already started preparing to take on the divine empire of Hongyue. I wanted you to witness my revenge on the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue, but—" Xiao Nanfeng cut himself off with a wretched expression on his face.

Ku Jiang smiled. "I'm glad to hear that you haven't forgotten about avenging the Taiqing Immortal Sect. I regret not being able to witness Hongyue's downfall with you, but I'm sure you'll have a chance to tell me about it in the future, my dear disciple."

"I understand." Xiao Nanfeng nodded helplessly.

"The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue gave all his officials a talisman to enter and leave the black coffin hidden realm. Allow me to pass mine to yours. Tang has one of his own as well." Ku Jiang handed over a black talisman.

Xiao Nanfeng inspected it carefully.

"The black coffin hidden realm is a trap. If I'm not mistaken, the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue is luring countless cultivators within in order to transform them into zombies. He intends to perform some sort of grand, sacrificial ritual here, but that's the extent of my knowledge. You must be careful. The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue hasn't left this realm; that he apparently did was only an illusion. He's likely hidden somewhere within the depths of the realm, observing everything that unfolds within," Ku Jiang warned.

"I understand, Master. I'll be careful."