Before reaching the small iron mine, Han and the others noticed that the government had already sealed off the area to prevent anyone from accidentally stumbling in and facing danger.

  The people stationed there were just regular constables, with the leader being a mere Flesh Meridian cultivator. Upon spotting Han and the others, he immediately ran over, bowing and greeting them respectfully.

  "Greetings, Young Master Zhou, Miss Yun. I’m Lin Chong, a candidate for the post of a Defenders of Martial Arts Officer in the Defenders Division. I’ve been ordered to seal this area and await your arrival."

  "With the three of you here, the issue with the mine will be resolved easily. Any wrongdoers will be swiftly brought to justice."

  The Defenders of Martial Arts Officer was a ninth-tier official position in the Defenders Division, the lowest rank, whether regular or auxiliary. They were roughly equivalent to the Ghost Keeper position in the Ghost God Division.

  Though the rank was low, it was still an official position, giving the person a certain status as part of the core structure of the Defenders Division.

  As a candidate, Lin Chong had no formal rank or title. To gain a proper position, he would have to wait, accumulate merit, and seize opportunities. Some people waited their entire lives and never received the title.

  However, if one’s strength was high, promotion to a formal position could come easily, or... if you had connections, things could move much faster.

  Rules were for the common folk, and regulations existed to restrict those without power.

  Han had once been in the latter category—his connections with Lu Qingmo had made things easier for him.

  Now, Han was in a position where both his strength and his connections gave him a powerful edge.

  That’s the right way!

  Han found himself staring at Lin Chong for a moment due to the man’s name.

  "No need for formalities. Tell me what happened here," Han said.

  "Yes, yes, of course. Last night, an old man from Tieshi Village..." Lin Chong carefully explained the situation, providing far more details than Yun Duo had.

  He then led them to the bodies of the victims.

  As Yun Duo had described, the bodies were shriveled and drained of their vital essence.

  Han crouched down to inspect the small puncture wounds on their necks.

  "Definitely bite marks…"

  But from what creature? That was unclear.

  Han used his spiritual energy to probe, but he didn’t detect any unusual energies lingering on the bodies.

  However, Han noticed that the bite marks varied in size.

  The martial artists had larger and deeper puncture wounds on their necks, while the common folk had smaller ones, and their shapes were slightly different.

  Han glanced at Yun Duo and the others, who shook their heads, signaling that they hadn’t found anything either.

  After a moment of thought, Han transmitted a message to the others.

  "Could it be zombies that attacked them?"

  "How did you figure that out?" Yun Duo asked curiously.

  Han said nothing. He didn’t figure it out—he’d just watched too many zombie movies in his past life…

  "It’s certainly a possibility," Yun Yun replied.

  "If it is zombies, do you think they’ll transform?" Han asked.

  "Not likely. Their vital essence has already been drained. These bodies are now incredibly fragile."

  Han called Lin Chong over and asked, "Were there many deaths at the mine?"

  Too much killing often led to the birth of evil spirits.

  He didn’t even need to ask if people had died; the answer was obvious.

  In Han’s past life, mining was one of the most dangerous industries, even with advanced technology. In this world, it was no different.

  You couldn’t expect a small mine to be worked by martial artists and cultivators personally.

  Lin Chong hesitated and replied, "There should have been quite a few."

  "This mine has been in operation for quite some time."

  Han nodded and told Lin Chong to continue maintaining the blockade. The three of them headed toward the mine.

  "Why set up the blockade so far from the mine? Isn’t that leaving openings?" Yun Duo asked.

  Han chuckled. "When it comes to a mission, your life is still more important."

  With a group of martial artists from the Meridian Realm already killed at the mine, Lin Chong, a mere Flesh Meridian cultivator, would hardly dare approach. The farther away, the better.

  The orders had to be followed, but one’s life was the priority, so flexibility was key.

  As they reached the small iron mine, the temperature dropped sharply.

  Looking around, the trees were dense, blocking out the sun, and the wind howled through the leaves.

  Most of the mine tunnels were abandoned, covered in webs.

  After years of mining, the mine was nearly exhausted.

  "It's a bit cold," Yun Duo muttered.

  "Here, the Golden Sha, Yin Sha, and Blood Sha energies converge. The feng shui is off, the sunlight doesn’t reach here, and the lingering yin energy has accumulated. This is cursed land," Yun Yun said softly.

  "Humans who stay here for years will have their spirits and bodies damaged, unable to survive for long."

  "Especially at the bottom of the mine, where the air is stagnant, the energy is foul, and the place is tainted."

  "In such a place, it’s no surprise that evil spirits and monsters are born."

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  Han said nothing. The mine had always been like this—nothing he could change.

  "I can’t sense anything. The death energy is too dense," Yun Duo shook her head.

  Gold, iron, stone, and water all obstruct a cultivator’s spiritual energy, and this mine was no different.

  "Should we go down into the mine?" Yun Duo asked.

  "No rush. I have a way," Han replied.

  "Going in blindly would be too dangerous."

  It was a pity that his divine perception had just reset; it would have made things much easier now.

  Humans were always nostalgic about the past.

  Han’s eyes brightened as he scanned the various tunnels, a myriad of energies appearing before him.

  Daoist arts, Qi observation technique.

  A few days ago, Brother Tree had taught him this skill, and now it was permanently his.

  However, he was still at the beginner stage with this technique.

  The natural Golden Sha, Yin Sha…

  Various energies passed through Han, and then he locked onto four particular, thick energies that felt different from the rest.

  The Qi of living corpses!

  Human Qi!

  Three were of the first kind, and one was of the second. These energies were entangled with each other.

  All four were strong. Comparing them with Yun Duo and the others, Han quickly deduced the strength of their source.

  Han’s eyes narrowed as he began to piece the truth together.

  This wasn’t a natural disaster—it was a man-made calamity.

  "Has a cultivator who practices corpse refining or zombie control arrived in Heiyun Town?" Han wondered in his heart.

  "There’s a cultivator below the mine, along with three zombies," Han transmitted to Yun Yun and Yun Duo.

  "The zombies are likely around the Flesh Meridian level, and they’re not too powerful. I think the cultivator has already noticed us."

  Cultivators who refined corpses were experts at controlling death energies, and such energies actually aided them.

  "Three Flesh Meridian zombies," Yun Yun’s heart shook.

  "Should we call for your father?" Yun Duo quickly asked.

  "…" Han stared at her. "You’re really going to just call him?"

  "Not yet. There’s no need to trouble Lord Yun for this," Han stopped Yun Duo from getting too eager.

  "Three zombies at the Flesh Meridian level? We can handle that. The question is, how do we force this cultivator out?"

  Going down into the mine was out of the question. If a battle broke out there, they would trap themselves underground.

  As Han pondered, he suddenly realized that Yun Duo and Yun Yun were looking at him with strange expressions.

  "What’s with the look?" Han asked, puzzled.

  "Three zombies at the Flesh Meridian level, plus an unknown cultivator... how do we deal with them?" Yun Duo asked bluntly.

  Yun Yun slightly shook her head. "I’m not a match for those three zombies."

  Han smiled inwardly. He knew she wasn’t strong enough to face them, but with him, together they could handle it.

  However, they didn’t fully understand his true strength—he preferred to stay low-key.

  "We can fight. I have a backup plan," Han said seriously.

  "It’s foolproof, no worries."

  Yun Duo’s eyes lit up. "Did Teacher give it to you?"

  "Something like that. Aunt Mo helped too."

  His strength was also thanks to Lu Qingmo—no doubt about it.

  "Where’s the cultivator?"

  "The third tunnel on the left, closest to him."

  Without hesitation, Yun Duo took out a dark green bead and, using her spiritual power, threw it into the third tunnel on the left.

  She then set up a spiritual barrier at the entrance of the tunnel.

  "Done. We just need to wait for him to come out."

  "What’s this?" Han asked.

  "The Weasel Qi Bead," Yun Yun said with a hint of oddness in her voice. She stopped using her transmission technique.

  "It’s made from the Qi extracted from Weasel Beasts. Its effect is..."

  "Disgusting!" A voice, accompanied by dry heaving, echoed.

  "It smells unbearable."

  Yun Yun had finished explaining.

  Han understood now.

  He glanced at Yun Duo. "How did you end up with something like this?"

  Yun Duo awkwardly smiled. "I caught a weasel beast the last time we entered Black Mountain. I thought it was fun, so I made this bead."

  Terrifying little troublemakers.

  Yun Duo’s simple mental barrier was quickly breached, and four figures shot out from the mine, accompanied by a wave of dark green gas.

  Han and the others immediately took several steps back, covering their mouths and noses, and wrapped their mental energy around themselves to avoid the weasel’s toxic gas.

  We’re in trouble now.

  A young man in purple clothing, whose face was already pale but now showed a faint greenish tint, raised a gust of wind that blew away the toxic gas.

  Around him, three zombies stood guard, their eyes locked on the group.

  Two of the zombies were covered in light green fur, their muscles grotesquely swollen, with deep green eyes and claws instead of hands. Their faces were monstrous, with long, sharp fangs.

  The third zombie, however, had purple and green mixed fur, but its body was surprisingly thin, with flower-like patterns on its face and purple eyes.

  The young man in purple glared at Yun Duo. “Is this your weasel toxin bead?”

  Yun Duo nodded honestly and asked out of curiosity, “How’s the smell? Is it really that bad?”

  When making the bead, she had of course ensured protection for herself.

  She thought it was fun, but she wasn’t trying to torture herself.

  The young man’s eyes glinted with murderous intent.

  “You…”

  Han interrupted him. “Hold on, don’t speak yet.”

  “Why?”

  “It smells awful, it’s making me sick.”

  This was like someone spitting sewage all over you.

  The Yun sisters couldn’t help but laugh.

  The young man’s expression darkened immediately.

  “You…”

  “Wait a moment,” Han interrupted again.

  Is he ever going to stop?!

  “You’ve attacked imperial officials. Now, are you refusing to surrender?”

  “I haven’t killed anyone from the imperial court. What you’re talking about has nothing to do with me,” the young man in purple replied coldly. “I’m just here to train. You’re the ones disturbing me!”

  Has nothing to do with you?

  Han frowned. “Since you say it has nothing to do with you, then come with us to the Ghost God Bureau. Once the truth is clear, if you are truly innocent, we will let you go.”

  “If I go with you to the Ghost God Bureau, do you think I’ll have a good outcome?” The young man sneered. “Leave now. If you continue to disturb my training, don’t blame me for being rude.”

  “Troublesome.” Han shook his head. “Since you’re unwilling to come with us, we’ll have to invite you ourselves.”

  This person’s presence here at such a time is already highly suspicious. Han wouldn’t just let him go based on his own one-sided words.

  “Taibai Han, Yun sisters, I didn’t want to deal with you, but since you’re insisting…”

  The young man in purple’s voice turned cold. “Then prepare to die!”

  The two green-haired zombies beside him suddenly leaped toward Han and the others.

  “Green zombies! Based on the color of their fur, they should have strength close to the early stages of the Vital Organs Realm,” Yun Yun said with a serious expression. She sent a mental message. “Han, what’s the backup plan from Lu? Use it!”

  Han smiled and pulled out a large hammer.

  “The backup? It’s right in front of us.”

  “It’s me.”

  “I’m the foolproof guarantee!”

  With a mighty swing, Han brought the hammer down.

  Thirty-Six Heavenly Strikes!

  For fighting zombies, the first choice is plants.

  But since there are no plants, this hammer is the next best thing.

  Looking at Han’s back, the Yun sisters were stunned.

  Is this so-called backup plan really just feeding zombies to death with the hammer?

  “Young sister, stay back and protect yourself.”

  Yun Yun snapped out of her daze for a moment and then leaped forward, sword in hand, to support Han.

  Although she didn’t understand, she wasn’t about to abandon him in this situation.

  But as soon as she moved a few steps, she stopped.

  What did she just see?

  Ahead of her, Han swung his hammer, smashing both green zombies away. She could even hear the sound of bones snapping.

  Looking at that imposing figure with the hammer, Yun Yun froze for a moment, then relaxed.

  She gripped her sword tightly, her body tense.

  A foolproof guarantee, huh...

  When the two green zombies hit the ground and stood up again, their chests had caved in significantly.

  Zombies. Their dead bodies revive, their evil energy strengthens their bodies, and they have tough, almost indestructible skin. They feel no pain, no awareness.

  These two zombies were about as strong as someone at the early stages of Vital Organs, but their zombie bodies were incredibly tough, making them a huge pain.

  However, under Han’s mighty hammer, even these tough, iron-skinned green zombies couldn’t hold up.

  With his tendons fully developed, Han’s strength had increased further, and the powerful muscles gave him even more explosive power.

  Yun Yun remained silent, while Yun Duo clapped excitedly. The young man in purple was momentarily stunned, then his expression changed drastically.

  “Taibai Han, everyone underestimated you. You actually have the strength of the Vital Organs Realm.”

  “You’ve really been hiding your power!”

  Han swung the hammer without acknowledging him.

  Hiding?

  You didn’t realize it, so you call it hiding, huh?!

  “Whoosh!”

  A gust of wind howled, and the purple-green zombie beside the young man suddenly shot forward, releasing a vast cloud of corpse mist that enveloped the entire mine.

  At the same time, a surge of soul power burst from the zombie, distorting the area.

  Within the corpse mist, the three zombies were significantly enhanced.

  “Be careful, that’s a Ghost Zombie!” Yun Yun warned, rushing toward the Ghost Zombie.

  “Seems you have some knowledge,” the young man’s voice echoed, reverberating within the mist. “But you’ll still die! I’ll use the best corpse refining techniques to cultivate your bodies and send you to battle for me!”

  “Before that, though, these two beauties will be my enjoyment.”

  “Han, you’re a rare genius. If you’re willing to be my dog, I’ll spare your life and let you enjoy them.”

  Do I need you to offer them to me…

  Wait, am I really the kind of person who plays with emotions and bodies like that?!