At this time, after a series of left and right slammings,
Yi Chen had basically completed the testing and reached a conclusion.
That is, for entities like these malevolent spirits, pure physical strikes did indeed cause some damage, but the force was reduced by the protective corpse aura, barely transmitting one-tenth of its power.
Only by breaking through that protective corpse aura could one's strength find greater room to unleash.
Having completed the tests, Yi Chen stopped his actions, holding the ankle of the bridal gown female zombie and pondering deeply in his heart.
He felt something was amiss.
This was also why he left the bridal gown female zombie alive; otherwise, driven by his Pure Yang Inner Qi, with his fierce flailing technique, ten female zombies would have perished.
Aside from the first blow, Yi Chen mainly used the sheer power of his physical body to thrash the female zombie.
Even so, at this moment, the bridal gown female zombie's corpse aura was scattered, its head deformed, having been so ravaged that even the mastermind behind the scenes might not recognize this as their cultivated corpse.
"Damn it, I was enjoying the show, why did Taoist Yi Chengzi suddenly stop?"
"No idea, could it be that the Taoist is going to perform some other big act for us?"
Onlookers, the young and strong, began whispering among themselves.
"This bridal gown female zombie, doesn't she look a lot like Xiao Cui who jumped into the river to commit suicide two months ago?"
"I think the Taoist is probably up to some mischief; he's all about dirty tactics. He even tricked a zombie before," said Wang Lao Si, peeking in and out of the crowd, looking eager yet fearful to watch.
"I curse your grandpa, Wang Lao Si, whose side are you on?"
Yi Chen could clearly hear the conversation among the crowd, and he took a deep look at Wang Lao Si, who had claimed he was plotting, memorizing his features.
You're cursed to see prices rise every time your mother goes grocery shopping, Wang Lao Si.
After silently cursing Wang Lao Si, the high-minded Yi Taoist generously decided to forgive him and then released the ankle of the zombie. He walked over to Master Lianhua and whispered a few words, causing Master Lianhua to nod repeatedly in agreement.
Meanwhile, the bridal gown female zombie slowly opened her eyes, struggled to rise, and started hopping towards a certain exit of the town in small, labored jumps.
Her body emitted a dissipating black corpse aura. However, as the corpse aura faded, her eyes began to glimpse something indescribable.
Yi Chen followed leisurely about thirty meters behind the bridal gown female zombie, with Master Lianhua, Chief Zhang, and a group of others trailing behind him.
Yi Chen had felt perplexed earlier upon seeing the female zombie dressed in a bright red bridal gown; who in their right mind would dress their cultivated corpse in such attire? If this was done without thought, the master of this corpse was quite twisted...
And Wang Lao Si's snide comment had reminded him,
"This bridal gown female zombie, doesn't she look a lot like Xiao Cui who jumped into the river to commit suicide two months ago?"
These doubts, combined with Master Lianhua's theory that the mastermind was someone from the town or connected to it, led Yi Chen to take a gamble. He decided to let this iron-clad corpse lead the way. Following her might just bring an unexpected surprise.
After all, if his guess was wrong, he could always catch up and kill it. Either way, he wouldn't lose, and those Deep Red Points would eventually be his.
Master Lianhua found the idea convincing and persuaded everyone to agree, leading to the scene unfolding before them now.
A group of people thus followed the jiangshi out of the town under the cover of night, arriving at a wooden house that was neither too large nor too small.
On the doorway of the wooden house hung a signboard that bore three large characters—Fushou Hall.
In the courtyard there was also a white flag for summoning souls planted, as well as two high-quality redwood coffins placed upright.
"Eh, isn't this the coffin shop owned by Boss Shi? Why have we come here?" A young man in the crowd said while looking at the white flag fluttering in the distance, full of shock and confusion.
Yi Chen waved his hand to signal for the others not to follow any longer; he continued to tail them on his own.
Under the veil of night, what Yi Chen failed to notice was that as the corpse energy slowly dissipated, the deformed head of the bridal-dress female jiangshi gradually recovered, and the purplish color on her face also faded from its previous intensity.
Her original features became visible, with cherry lips and almond-shaped eyes. Despite her still somewhat terrifying complexion, one could faintly discern her youthful beauty from when she was alive.
However, as the corpse energy slowly escaped, the bridal-dress female jiangshi's hopping became lower and less frequent. When she reached the front of Fushou Hall, she was practically dragging herself forward.
Eventually, she couldn't even hop over the threshold of Fushou Hall.
At that moment, the door creaked open, and a black silhouette stepped out, picking up the bridal-dress female jiangshi by the waist and carrying her into the courtyard.
With a bang, the door slammed shut.
"There's definitely something wrong. Master, cover me from outside," Yi Chen spoke with grave concern.
"No hurry, I'll go play with him," Yi Chen called out firmly to Master Lianhua.
Master Lianhua nodded slightly to indicate agreement.
Yi Chen approached the gate of the courtyard, hesitated for a moment, and then smiled. Could such a lousy gate really stop him? With a powerful kick, he shattered the two gate doors, which went flying apart, causing the eyebrows of the people behind him to jump.
Goodness me, the same old formula.
As expected of you, Taoist Yi Chengzi.
Yi Chen looked back at the people behind him, flashed a grin, revealing eight shining white teeth under the moonlight, and then stepped into the courtyard, the scene within completely entering his field of vision.
In the center of the courtyard, there was a table with two red candles on top and several dishes of snacks.
A pale-faced young man sat in the main seat, cradling the bridal-dress female jiangshi in his arms. At that time, the jiangshi lay quietly in the young man's embrace, as docile as a cat, none of her previous ferocity to be seen, her expression gentle.
"Please have a seat, Taoist. I apologize for the simple hospitality. If you're not afraid, there's water and wine on the table—you may help yourself," the young man said.
Yi Chen frowned slightly and sat down on a wooden stump.
Even though the young man before him seemed as fragile as a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment, Yi Chen still did not want to take the risk.
And as for the water and wine, there was no need to mention it. Although he wasn't scared, he had decided to avoid alcohol for the day, so he did not drink.
"You're on the brink of death," Yi Chen said with a furrowed brow.
"What joy is there in living, and what suffering is there in dying? Why don't I tell a story to the Taoist?" The pale-faced young man did not respond directly to Yi Chen's words, but instead took out a black dagger, slicing it across his wrist.
Blood dripped down, moistening the lips of the bridal-dress female jiangshi.
At this moment, the bridal-dress female jiangshi seemed to exhibit a human-like sense of panic, her nails turned green and black as she reached out to grasp the wrist of the young man, only to be gently avoided by him.
A melodramatic story, just as Yi Chen had anticipated, began to unfold beside his ear.