The distance of over 200 miles wasn’t too long for the three of them.

  A warrior at the Organs Realm could easily run such a distance at high speed without breaking a sweat.

  "By the way, I have a question," Han spoke up as they traveled.

  "Is there really no chance for a Bone Training Warrior or a Day Walk cultivator to enter Black Mountain?"

  "The Mountain God ancestor won’t allow outsiders at that level into the mountain," Yun Yun replied.

  "This is actually a good thing—it serves as a protection for us."

  It used to be protection, but now... it's more of a restriction.

  However, Yun Yun’s words seemed to have a deeper meaning. Reflecting on their previous trip to the Boundless Sky Ruins...

  It seemed that outsiders, particularly skilled ones, were forbidden from entering the mountain, but the people who were "insiders" would likely not be subject to these same rules.

  For the Mountain God, the "insiders" at this point would only be Yun's family and a few others like Lord Yun Jiang Long and the Dragon Maiden.

  Other experts who wanted to enter would either have to wait for the Mountain God's death or somehow become part of the "insider" group.

  "Han, are you asking for the White Pavilion Master?" Yun Duo asked.

  "Does he want to enter? He'd have to talk to my father about that."

  "To be honest, it's actually me," Han said sincerely.

  "I'm a major expert now—about three or four times the level of the Taibai Martial Arts Pavilion's top masters."

  "Hahaha!" Yun Duo laughed, "I don't believe you."

  Yun Yun gave a slight smile but didn’t say anything—she didn’t believe it either.

  It was obvious that Han was stronger than they were, but to say that he was already at a level that could be restricted by Black Mountain's rules was impossible—there’s no way, not after such a short time since their last trip. No one could achieve such a breakthrough.

  Han chuckled. It was true that in these times, no one would believe you if you told them the truth.

  "Zuo Tianzheng is about to send a large number of Black Cloud Guards into Black Mountain—what’s Yun family’s take on that?"

  Han asked, though he was more curious about what the Mountain God thought.

  "My father says to ignore it—let him stir things up if he wants," Yun Duo shook her head.

  "Anyway, Zuo Tianzheng won’t be able to send any strong experts in."

  If you can’t provoke them, just ignore them.

  Han then thought of something else and asked, "By the way, you’re a named disciple of Aunt Mo, so does that mean you’re considered a disciple of the Xuan Du Sect?"

  This was important in terms of whether Yun Duo could later join the Xuan Du Sect for further training.

  Yun Duo paused for a moment, thinking.

  "I don’t know."

  "..."

  "That depends on what Master Lu Du decides," Yun Yun chimed in. "If she’s willing, Yun Duo would practically be considered a disciple of the Xuan Du Sect."

  If Master Lu Du didn’t care, then Yun Duo wouldn’t have any connection with the Xuan Du Sect.

  The status of a named disciple wasn’t quite the same as being officially part of the sect—it was a relationship, but a distant one.

  However, knowing Master Lu Du’s nature, and considering the nearly three years of teacher-student relationship between her and Yun Duo, Yun Yun was sure that she wouldn’t neglect the young girl.

  "Han, are you planning to join the Xuan Du Sect in the future?" Yun Duo asked curiously.

  Han shook his head. "I’m not sure."

  For some reason, Master Lu Du had never brought up anything about him joining the Xuan Du Sect. She had always praised his talent, but Han wasn’t sure what was really in her mind.

  To be honest, Han didn’t have a strong desire to join any major faction, but he wasn’t against it either.

  He had already passed the hardest part of his journey and with various life cheats, he could grow without much trouble.

  Joining a big faction would have its benefits—protection from elders when traveling, gaining status, not needing to worry about being bullied, and having systematic guidance for cultivation.

  But for someone like Han, joining such a faction might come with its drawbacks—people would inevitably start to poke around his secrets.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  He trusted Lu Du, but he didn’t trust the other elders of the sect.

  So, his attitude toward sects was more indifferent.

  Being a disciple of the Taibai Martial Arts Pavilion didn’t affect his ability to join other factions in the future, as Taibai was a martial arts pavilion, not a sect.

  While the three of them were talking, they arrived at the copper mine suspected of being linked to the zombies.

  The Yun family members had already sealed off the area. These people were weak, and when the abnormal occurrences began in the mine, they tried to investigate but ended up with casualties.

  This caused them to become cautious, and they immediately alerted the family for support.

  The miners employed by the Yun family had temporarily left the mine, and it was during a morning headcount that someone went missing. After they found a body, they realized something was off.

  As per the usual procedure, they first checked the body of the victim. The hole in the neck was very obvious.

  "Looking at this, it’s highly likely to be the work of a zombie."

  "Burn it," Yun Yun ordered.

  "Compensation for the victim’s family must be properly handled. If I find anyone trying to take advantage of the situation, don’t blame me for being rude."

  Most of the workers at the Yun family’s mine were hired, with only a few being slaves—criminals or enemies captured by the family.

  Perhaps because the area had long been considered the Mountain God’s domain, the Yun family had a sense of ownership, a certain nobility.

  They were also generous when it came to compensating for incidents involving malicious creatures.

  "Yes, Miss," the men nodded respectfully. "We’ll take care of it right away."

  As they entered the mine, they noticed it was brighter than the previous iron mine. The evil aura in the air was almost nonexistent.

  This was a rich mine, and despite years of extraction, the yield was still considerable.

  In an ordinary world, such resources would be controlled by the government.

  But in this extraordinary world, even the government had to make concessions.

  The Great Qi Royal Family was, at the end of the day, just a powerful family. Though they were the most powerful and well-known, they were still a family.

  Han, having reached the Day Walk realm, had vastly improved his soul power compared to before.

  It was night and day. The spiritual energy he sent out could easily penetrate through the mine tunnels, and the evil aura there was no obstacle at all—it was simply evaporated by his spirit.

  With the cultivation methods he had mastered, like the Day Walk method and the True Dragon Soul Stone, his soul had become more powerful and righteous.

  Though his soul was still based in Yin energy, it now appeared more grand and righteous.

  Soon, Han found the cause of the disturbances.

  Sure enough, it was a zombie.

  "It’s definitely the result of a corpse disaster," Han nodded.

  "It seems like a wild zombie—there’s no trace of any cultivators in the mine."

  "What level of zombie are we dealing with?"

  "A white-haired one."

  Yun Duo was confused, "A white-haired one?"

  "A white zombie."

  Yun Yun couldn’t help but ask, "How can you sense what’s going on deep in the mine?"

  "I’m strong now," Han emphasized once again.

  "..."

  Yun Yun gave him a polite smile.

  "A white zombie, that's easy enough to deal with."

  The lowest form of undead creatures is, of course, a corpse—no mutations, simply lying still in its coffin with no threat. But this is the origin of most zombies.

  Then there are the 'reanimated' walking corpses, which, once brought back to life, become much stronger, with their bodies transforming and becoming nearly impossible to harm, on par with martial artists at the Flesh Meridian level.

  Next come the white zombies with their long, white fur, which cover their decayed, rotten flesh, comparable to martial artists at the Meridian level.

  Below the Yun family’s copper mine lies just such a white zombie.

  Beyond that are the green zombies Han and the others encountered last time, which are on par with the Organ Meridian realm.

  Zombies with fur are stronger than those without—at least in the early stages.

  When martial artists face zombies, they can only fight them head-on and suppress them with brute force.

  However, if a cultivator encounters a wild zombie, and they themselves are skilled in corpse control techniques, as long as the strength difference isn’t too great, they can easily subdue them.

  Cultivators may struggle against martial artists in direct combat, but a zombie strong enough to face a martial artist won’t be able to resist a cultivator. A single binding corpse talisman is enough to incapacitate a zombie—an incredibly strange phenomenon.

  It seems that everything in the world has its balance—one thing overcomes another.

  "A Meridian-level zombie," Yun Duo said eagerly. "Let me handle this!"

  "I knew we'd be dealing with zombies, so I prepared quite a few things," she added proudly.

  "Be careful, the weasel essence won’t work on zombies," Han reminded.

  Yun Duo grinned. "That’s why I made something new."

  She pulled out a small bead from her spatial pouch. After confirming where the zombie was located, she threw it into the mine.

  A cloud of yellow smoke quickly spread out, and Han sniffed the air. Another strange scent filled his nose.

  "What is this?"

  "It’s a mixture of black dog beast blood and urine, combined with corpse control techniques to create a zombie repellent," Yun Duo explained enthusiastically. "Zombies don’t have intelligence, but they have instincts. When exposed to this repellent, they instinctively want to flee."

  Black dog blood and urine...

  "You made this?"

  "Yes, I made it myself. It took a lot of effort," Yun Duo nodded, her expression bright.

  Han’s face twisted in disbelief.

  How does a noble girl like her, a genius in Dao techniques, always end up making such bizarre concoctions?

  Last time, it was the unbearably foul weasel essence, and now this. Han couldn’t understand what could possibly be so appealing about these things.

  He glanced at Yun Yun, who looked equally helpless.

  Her little sister’s hobbies were indeed... unique.

  Watching Yun Duo so excited, Han silently sighed.

  Impulsive children are frightening.

  Even more so when they have the power to back it up.

  As the zombie repellent spread, it filled the entire mine.

  A low growl echoed, accompanied by a rumbling sound. A terrifying white figure charged out of the mine, heading straight for Han and the others.

  The sinister energy radiating from the zombie hit them, but the three of them didn’t flinch.

  Yun Duo, already itching for a fight, charged ahead, fully equipped with defensive talismans and protective charms.

  Before the battle began, she set up her shields.

  Han didn’t intend to intervene. One white zombie was no match for Yun Duo.

  Of course, he didn’t relax, keeping a close eye on her just in case anything unexpected happened.

  But Yun Duo was skilled, and she quickly subdued the zombie. Five or six talismans were plastered on its body, causing it to stop moving wildly.

  Yun Duo clapped her hands with a smile, turning to look at the others.

  "See how impressive I am?"

  However, Han’s expression shifted in that moment, and so did Yun Yun’s.

  "Whoosh!"

  A peachwood flying sword appeared out of nowhere, slicing through the air and immediately pinning itself to the white zombie’s forehead.

  Yun Duo quickly turned, only to find that the talismans on the zombie were already falling off, half of them missing. The remaining talismans were about to fall off as well, and the white zombie’s body was trembling slightly.

  But under Han’s sword, it wouldn’t get another chance.

  Yun Duo froze. "How could a white zombie break through my talismans?"

  "This isn’t a wild zombie."

  She had initially thought it was just an ordinary corpse without a master, but now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

  Sure enough, being with Yun Yun made things more complicated. It wasn’t Han’s fault.