Chapter 25: The Saint Artifact of Raising Zombies, the Heavenly Woman Ba (Requesting Monthly Passes, Requesting Follows)

Jiang Yan finally understood what it meant to live long enough to see the impossible.

Living too long indeed makes it easy to encounter strange and bizarre things.

Zombies and talismans could actually coexist, and even be crafted into earrings and pendants to wear on the body.

This was simply too disrespectful to talismans!

After all, talismans use yellow paper as their medium, inscribed with cinnabar; especially the talismans of the Celestial Masters, which are pure Yang manifestations representing the glorious Righteous Path.

Yet zombies are the most Yin and evil of all things.

The only connection he had ever seen was in novels, where a Celestial Master wearing a purple robe would be buried and had a chance of becoming a Zombie King, but that was fiction.

Because Celestial Masters do not wear purple robes; their ritual robes are primarily yellow, symbolizing nobility and sanctity, representing "virtue harmonizing with heaven and earth, the Dao transforming all things."

Purple robes belong to Great Masters or former ministers of the Celestial Masters, and are generally used only during specific ritual ceremonies.

A true Celestial Master must receive the talismans from the Blue Sky to complete a great achievement.

For instance, the First Ancestral Celestial Master, while in the Shu region, obeyed the command of the Supreme One, entered the Nether Prison alone, swept away demons with his own power, subdued the Six Heavens of Ancient Ghosts, and established twenty-four administrative centers.

In the end, because he slaughtered so many spirits and ghosts, he generated such killing qi and filth in the void that he achieved the feat of even Laojun refusing to approach him.

Furthermore, in various legends, after every generation of Celestial Masters died, they mostly went to serve in the Heavenly Court or the Underworld, ranking among the immortals, and basically never became zombies.

But if they did transform into zombies, they would indeed likely continue to use talismans.

Could it be that historical mutation caused zombies to evolve?

"Not every zombie can use talismans; I am simply special."

Zhao Zhao Yinman explained, "After I woke up from the coffin, I could master talismans. As for why... I do not know; it is simply because they make me feel at ease."

Jiang Yan breathed a sigh of relief; if zombies were not afraid of talismans, they would likely not fear pure Yang either, becoming perfect life forms without weaknesses.

If it was an exception, then that was fine.

Jiang Yan asked curiously, "You said you woke up from a coffin? Wasn't it a historical gift obtained within the Plague Domain?"

"I forgot."

Zhao Zhao Yinman spoke with a calm expression: "Since I woke up, I have had no memories of the past; I only know some common sense and that my name is Zhao Zhao Yinman.

The Historical Correction Bureau told me they dug me out from an ancient tomb chamber, saying I was a zombie artificially transformed, likely a contingency plan by an ancient cultivator to extend their life, but unfortunately, she probably failed in the end."

Although she was narrating her own story, Zhao Zhao Yinman showed no emotional fluctuation, possessing a sense of detachment as if she were an outsider.

Zhao Zhao Yinman said calmly, "Later, the Historical Correction Bureau determined I had no aggression and was not the reincarnation of any great figure; they accepted me and helped me integrate into this era."

"Zhao Zhao Yinman? Could it be a Qin Dynasty tomb?" Jiang Yan immediately thought of the First Emperor's daughter.

That would truly be a great figure, the daughter of the Ancestral Dragon!

"I wish it were, but unfortunately, it was just a Ming Dynasty tomb chamber; only some rituals and a weathered altar remained, and besides that, nothing else."

Zhao Zhao Yinman's tone was flat, shattering Jiang Yan's speculation.

Jiang Yan thought this made sense; after all, the Qin Dynasty was over two thousand years ago, and the zombies nurtured by such long ages would at least be of the Old Talisman level or even higher.

The power levels did not match.

As for the name... it was quite reasonable for later generations to take the names of their ancestors.

Perhaps it was a branch of the Qin royal bloodline that had survived, longing for the glory of the Laozu Sect.

However, this name was not auspicious.

Moreover, why could Zhao Zhao Yinman not fear Celestial Master talismans and did not need to drink blood?

She was somewhat like the original zombie...

The Heavenly Woman Ba.

The daughter of the Yellow Emperor, who after death transformed into Ba, helping him achieve victory in war, but because she brought drought, she was feared by the common people.

Over time, this Heavenly Woman possessing divinity gradually became stigmatized and evolved into a monster.

But there were still some differences between her and the zombies of the Ming and Qing dynasties that were stiff yet undying.

"Wait, you said I smell good; do you mean that literally?"

Jiang Yan reacted, his scalp going numb; how could there be so many people in this world craving his body?

As soon as the words fell, Zhao Zhao Yinman quickly stepped back, but soon realized such behavior was inappropriate and apologized:

"Sorry, I... have mysophobia."

Although her expression did not change, Jiang Yan could feel the disgust deep in her bones.

You, a zombie, are disgusted by the blood of a natural living body?

If the Zombie Ancestor knew, he would surely be so angry that he would crawl out of his coffin!

Not having to worry about a colleague treating him as a blood bag, Jiang Yan did not know whether he should feel fortunate?

"It is not my blood, which means..."

Jiang Yan patted his pants pocket.

The next second, two ash-gray small hands instantly reached out from inside; then with a sudden force, whoosh, the upper half of the Burial Coffin Spirit's body drilled out, its eyes curiously looking around:

"Master, did you need something?"

"Little Coffin is always on standby!"

'So cute, so fragrant!'

The moment Zhao Zhao Yinman saw the Burial Coffin, her eyes instantly lit up, ripples stirring in her cold, moon-like crimson pupils.

"Her reaction was just like an ordinary girl meeting a cute kitten," Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow, almost thinking she had truly reached the state of the Supreme Forgetting Emotions.

For a zombie, a coffin is equivalent to the relationship between a bed and a person; it is a daily necessity.

Let alone a Coffin Spirit of this kind, which belongs to the rarest spirits, with only a handful of related legends in the present world.

If not for the gestation of the Demon God Embryo, one probably could not find even a few throughout the entire river of history.

Especially since the Burial Coffin possessed the ability to bury all things, combined with a zombie...

It is nothing short of a Saint Artifact for raising corpses!

"Um... I have an unreasonable request..." Zhao Zhao Yinman stammered.

"If it's unreasonable, then don't say it. It is a very important partner of mine."

Jiang Yan cut her off before she could speak.

He didn't need to think to know she wanted to trade something for the Coffin Spirit.

But that was impossible.

The Coffin Spirit was the first offspring he had nurtured with his own flesh and blood; it was equivalent to his family, even more intimate than that.

Everyone might betray him, but the Coffin Spirit would not.

In Jiang Yan's heart, it was not an item that could be exchanged at will.

"I only let my Master lie in me!"

The Coffin Spirit reacted; this wicked woman actually coveted his body, so it immediately stated its position.

It just sounded... strange.

"Sorry, I was presumptuous."

Zhao Zhao Yinman apologized calmly; although she very much wanted to show emotional fluctuation, she could not do it.

"It's fine, we are colleagues, and it is very late. I will leave first; you should rest early as well."

Jiang Yan nodded, just about to turn and leave, but Zhao Zhao Yinman called him back and handed him a thick black notebook, its cover also bearing talismans.

"I am very sorry. These are notes I wrote while learning about the modern world and supernatural knowledge from the teachers at the Historical Correction Bureau. The content inside should be able to provide you with help, as compensation for my disturbance."

Having spoken, Zhao Zhao Yinman slightly bowed her head to show apology, yet her figure was so "e"-stunning that it stirred up surging waves, revealing a bit of Bai Xi.

Jiang Yan glanced over, quickly shifted his gaze away, and looked down at the black book in his hand, his expression complex.

"... Thank you."

By the time he returned to his room, it was already three in the morning.

Opening the book, what met his eyes were elegant, neat Traditional Chinese characters.

【August 7, 2022. I crossed several hundred years and came to a place called the Tianxia Alliance. There is no emperor here, no era name, and the year is not counted by the Yellow Emperor's birthday.

They use the symbols of the Franji people as numbers, calling it... cultural great fusion.

The court here is the Tianxia Alliance. Their Imperial Astronomical Bureau (crossed out) Historical Correction Bureau accepted me and taught me knowledge, saying I could integrate into the modern world, but... why am I here? Who exactly is it?】

Through the words, Jiang Yan could feel her confusion after losing her memory and arriving in a strange place.

Turning further pages, most of it recorded Zhao Zhao Yinman's daily life upon entering the Historical Correction Bureau, and the process of learning modern characters and Mandarin; during this period, the characters also began to change from Traditional Chinese to crooked, mutant-like script, only to become neat again within a single day.

Among these, the thing mentioned most was the television set, and the cartoons within it, which produced a huge impact on her.

The diary also wrote: "New world, so interesting."

In the bottom right corner of the first page, a Q-version little zombie with a talisman pasted on it was drawn, though its expression remained cold.

Besides a large amount of daily life content, Zhao Zhao Yinman classified and recorded the supernatural common sense the Historical Correction Bureau told her, making it very convenient to read.

Among these, information on many factions was mentioned; as expected, the Historical Correction Bureau was indeed the largest faction in the Tianxia Alliance, without exception.

However, because the territory was too vast, there were not enough personnel to manage it.

Therefore, the official authorities allowed these supernatural factions to exist, but on the premise that they must sweep away historical lesions and maintain order.

Among those mentioned were the Minnan Wandering God Association, the Shaman Sorcerers outside Shanhai Pass, and others; their abilities were mostly related to local legends.

The reason this fits the Woodblock Seal so well is that when the river of history washed over, the Disease Domains and Disease-Infected Creatures that appeared were all related to the legends of the regions where they were located; this is the so-called Anchor Point.

Zhao Zhao Yinman's notes mentioned that Disease Domains anchor to the present world; using flesh and blood is merely the most basic method; it can also be legends, stories, or the panic in people's hearts, and so on; the methods are diverse.

This is also the fundamental reason why the official authorities prevent supernatural information from spreading to ordinary people.

If not controlled, it would accelerate the Disease Domains surfacing, triggering chaos.

This notebook recorded a vast amount of basic knowledge that Jiang Yan lacked; unconsciously, he became engrossed in reading it.

Ding-dong.

The vibration of the mobile phone brought Jiang Yan back to his senses; he glanced at the phone and realized it was already nine-thirty in the morning.

Someone on WeChat had added him; just by looking at the avatar, he knew it was Ba Lie.

Because of Old Ba's headshot, the time displayed was last night.

After passing the request, the other party sent a message instantly.

"Come to the first floor immediately, or it will be too late!"

(End of this chapter)