Chapter 26: Total Slaughter, Massive Blood Drain!

"Fantastic, the evil cultivator is dead! We've been saved!"
"Indeed, Fellow Daoist Qin Feng saved us!"
"Senior Qin Feng is truly incredible!"
"Senior Qin Feng's mastery of hand seals and footwork is profound!"
Everyone was ecstatic, showering him with praise and admiration.

"Fellow Daoists, those of you who can still move, quickly gather all the corpses and carry them away. I fear the other two evil cultivators might return," Qin Feng instructed the group.

"Yes, of course, we must leave here at once." Everyone nodded in agreement. Those still able to walk cut down trees to fashion a makeshift cart, upon which they loaded the bodies of the fallen Taoist disciples to carry away.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Feng, how should we handle the evil cultivator's corpse?" asked an old Taoist, who was heavily injured and could barely stand.

"Take it with us," Qin Feng replied. The evil cultivator's strength was not trivial, and there was still much blood in his body; it could not be wasted.

After giving his instructions, he grabbed the stem of the thousand-year-old ginseng and pulled it from the dirt.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Feng, the thousand-year-old ginseng has an uncanny ability to save its own life and escape. You must bind it completely with red cord and secure it with a talisman," the old Taoist warned him.

"Oh, very well." Qin Feng tore off a piece of red cord, bound the ginseng, and requested a yellow talisman from one of the disciples, which he then affixed to the plant. Only then did he stow it away. This trip had not been in vain; he had struck a fortune, especially with this group of stragglers. So many corpses and injured Taoist disciples—it would make for a hearty meal.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Feng, where are we going now?" someone asked.

"I don't know, let's just get out of here first." Qin Feng led the group as they fled rapidly. Whether it was Daoist White Crane returning or the two remaining evil cultivators, neither scenario was good news for him. Therefore, they had to leave immediately.

About an hour later, Qin Feng aimlessly led the group to the base of a rugged canyon. The canyon was lush with greenery and contained a natural limestone cave. It was a classic karst landscape, filled with caverns and underground rivers. Qin Feng led them into the cave; it was deep yet dry, with a bone-chilling, ghostly wind blowing through it from time to time. The depths of the cave likely led to the outside world.

"Alright, everyone, rest here for a while," Qin Feng said.

"Senior Qin Feng, regarding what you promised me earlier..." Xuan Yu approached Qin Feng, hesitant to continue.

"Come with me." Qin Feng led Xuan Yu deep into the cave.

"Senior Qin Feng, is there something you couldn't say out there?" Xuan Yu looked at him, puzzled.

"Of course I couldn't say it openly. If you want Fellow Daoist Liuyang to be like me, you must kill all those surviving fellow practitioners outside," Qin Feng said sternly.

"What?" Xuan Yu’s face turned pale with shock.

"If you want Fellow Daoist Liuyang to live again, you must be ruthless. It is up to you to choose. In any case, I don't have much time left, so I will follow whichever path you decide," Qin Feng said.

"This..." Xuan Yu’s brows furrowed, paralyzed by hesitation. Qin Feng stood silently by his side.

"For the sake of the Deacon, I will do it! Kill them, I will! As long as the Deacon can be brought back to life, any sacrifice is worth it!" Xuan Yu steeled himself and gritted his teeth.

"There are ten people alive out there. I will kill six, and you will kill four. Remember, you must ensure none of them escape; not a single one can be left behind," Qin Feng said, his expression grim.

"Senior Qin Feng, have you been practicing some kind of dark art?" Xuan Yu looked at him with a strange expression.

"My time is running out, so there is no harm in telling you. That is correct; I have been practicing a forbidden art. Only by using this art can Fellow Daoist Liuyang become like me. Otherwise, how do you think I have been able to suppress the corpse poison for so long?"

"No wonder," Xuan Yu suddenly realized.

Once the man and the zombie had reached an agreement, they returned to the group. Qin Feng called all the survivors together. They were not suspicious, thinking he had some important announcement to make. However, Qin Feng gave Xuan Yu a signal. They attacked from both sides, launching a massacre against the ten Taoist masters.

In less than ten seconds, all ten lay dead on the ground. To resurrect Deacon Liuyang, Xuan Yu had cast aside all morality. If this were to become known, he would either be expelled from his sect or executed as an evil cultivator. But it did not matter anymore. He didn't care; as long as Deacon Liuyang could be brought back to life, even if only for a few days, it was enough.

Afterward, Qin Feng and Xuan Yu carried all the corpses deep into the cave.

"Alright, go stand guard outside the cave and don't let anyone or anything enter," Qin Feng ordered.

"Senior Qin Feng, how long will it take for Deacon Liuyang to revive?" Xuan Yu asked.

"Very soon, less than five minutes," Qin Feng replied.

"Very well, I leave it to you, Senior." Xuan Yu bowed to Qin Feng and walked to the cave entrance to act as a guardian.

As for Qin Feng, he couldn't wait. He grabbed a corpse, tore open its throat, and began to drink greedily. With so much blood from these masters, he could certainly break through the realm of a Hopping Zombie and become a Hairy Zombie. Beyond the blood, he could also consume the talismans they carried. He drained one body after another.

As large amounts of blood entered his body, the corpse qi within Qin Feng surged. His scarlet vision quickly receded, and his sight distance improved. He could now see dozens of meters away, and in black and white. Even his stiff skin began to soften. This softened skin was not only more durable but also closer to that of a normal human. This change thrilled Qin Feng.

However, his cultivation realm improved very slowly. After reaching the level of a Hopping Zombie, the energy required was immense. The blood of a Taoist master at the Qi-Refining Realm provided only a tiny boost to his strength. Fortunately, there were still the old Taoists. The improvement in his power was mainly due to these old men.

"Boom!" At that moment, Qin Feng’s entire body shuddered. The aura of a late-stage Hopping Zombie was fully unleashed. Qin Feng continued to drink. His skin softened from the soles of his feet upward. Once it was completely soft, Qin Feng stretched his limbs. A series of cracking sounds echoed throughout his body. He felt reinvigorated, capable of performing complex movements with ease. Aside from his appearance, his zombie body was now indistinguishable from a normal human.

Immediately, Qin Feng continued to drink. His pores began to heat up and itch. Slowly, black hair began to sprout. The hair was thick, coarse, and sharp, like the quills of a hedgehog. However, it was not yet long, barely a centimeter in length.

"It seems I am transforming into a Hairy Zombie," Qin Feng thought with secret delight. Once he became a Hairy Zombie, his strength would reach a new level. Even if he encountered those two powerful evil cultivators, he would no longer need to fear. The stronger he was, the better he could preserve his own life. Otherwise, he would end up like that toad demon, burned to a pile of ash.

"No, Daoist White Crane, you cannot enter!" Suddenly, Xuan Yu’s nervous and urgent voice came from outside the cave.

"Xuan Yu, what is the meaning of this? Why can’t we go in? Do you know who this fellow is? He is a Daoist from the Yiyang Sect. If it weren't for his help earlier, we would have been killed by the evil cultivators. He heard that Fellow Daoist Qin Feng of his sect had been afflicted with corpse poison, and he wants to take him back to the sect so the seniors can purge the poison," the voice of Daoist White Crane followed.

"Daoist White Crane has actually found us, and he’s with someone from the Yiyang Sect? Damn it, I didn't expect them to track us down at such a critical moment. I hope Xuan Yu can stall them for a minute or two," Qin Feng’s brows furrowed, and he grew anxious. He was just a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the Hairy Zombie realm. Without reaching it, he would never be able to escape their clutches—especially the disciple from the Yiyang Sect. He could already sense a powerful aura emanating from that person. Anyone capable of saving Daoist White Crane and the others from those two evil cultivators was not a force to be underestimated.