Chapter 10: Refining the Zombie

Taoist Priest Simu felt somewhat depressed, but fortunately, the zombie had already been dealt with; however, there were still many problems that needed solving, first and foremost being that Taoist Priest Qianhe, who had broken his leg, needed to recuperate, not to mention Attendant Wu and the Seventy-First Prince.

Although this Seventy-First Prince was a member of the Manchu Qing imperial family and did not have much say in Guangdong Province, he still had certain conveniences if one had business with the North.

Taoist Priest Simu and the others gathered together and said to Attendant Wu and the Seventy-First Prince: "The two of you, now that the zombie has been eliminated, Junior Brother Qianhe cannot go with you; how do you intend to return to the North?"

Attendant Wu said anxiously: "That won't do, with only me and the Seventy-First Prince left, it is very dangerous."

Zhang Cheng suggested: "Then you had best change your clothes, go to Guangzhou to take the train back north, or take a steamship to Tianjin; once you arrive there, you will be safe."

The Seventy-First Prince immediately bowed and said: "Many thanks to the Taoist Priest for the rescue; I have offended you much in the past. Wu Wan, we shall follow the Taoist Priest's suggestion. If the few Taoist Priests do not mind, please accept the Copper-Horned Golden Coffin as a token of gratitude."

Upon hearing this, Taoist Priest Simu immediately beamed with joy; that thing was worth more than half of his entire net worth. He hurriedly said: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will escort you to Guangzhou when the time comes."

After handling the matters of Attendant Wu and the Seventy-First Prince, Zhang Cheng then said: "Taoist Priest Simu, I need to stay here for forty-nine days to refine that zombie."

Taoist Priest Simu was overjoyed and said: "No problem, you can stay as long as you like; it just so happens you can help me look after Jiale and my junior brother. I will send off these patrons first, and then send those two away."

The next day, Taoist Priest Simu went to send those patrons home, while Zhang Cheng was in his room practicing the Grain-Clothing Heart Sutra and the Spirit-Refining Art. Since the zombie was not yet dead, the merit had not been settled, but having killed eleven walking corpses directly, this one thousand one hundred points of merit was enough for him to practice for a long time.

Practicing the Grain-Clothing Heart Sutra required one hour for every ten points increased; this was already the fastest time under the acceleration of merit, while practicing the Spirit-Refining Art required two hours.

Therefore, to practice the third level of the Grain-Clothing Heart Sutra and the second level of the Spirit-Refining Art, he would need to spend a total of forty hours. If one counted miscellaneous time, he would need three days to practice the third level, which was already godlike speed.

Fortunately, he had to stay here for forty-nine days, so he had plenty of time to practice.

"Host: Zhang Cheng"

"Profession: Taoist Priest"

"Level: None"

"Strength: 2.5"

"Constitution: 2.4"

"Agility: 2.3"

"Intelligence: 2.3"

"Cultivation Method: Grain-Clothing Heart Sutra Lv5 (0/800)"

"Spirit-Refining Art Lv4 (0/400)"

"Equipment: Hundred-Year Peachwood Sword (10/10), Five-Thunder Command (1/1), Sha-Refining Treasure Gourd (Refining in progress)"

"Merit: 200"

After practicing for over ten days, Zhang Cheng's cultivation method had reached great success, and he happened to have two hundred merit points left.

Previously, when fighting the Imperial Zombie, his Taoist robe had been torn to shreds; without a Taoist robe, who among ordinary people would recognize him as a Taoist priest? After all, the vast majority of ordinary people were just that superficial.

Zhang Cheng immediately looked for Taoist robes in the system shop; most were ordinary robes under one hundred merit points, and those over one hundred were rare, but their functions were very powerful.

It just so happened that a Taoist robe called the Universe Patchwork Robe was very suitable.

"Universe Patchwork Robe (↑): This garment contains the 'Universe in the Sleeve', is warm in winter and cool in summer, and can defend against a fatal blow from demons and monsters."

Universe in the sleeve? Zhang Cheng was very curious; this was a spatial treasure. If he could hide things in it, he could use it for sneak attacks—truly wonderful!

He immediately exchanged for this Universe Patchwork Robe; the garment looked as if it had many patches, with small scraps of cloth of various colors linked together. Moreover, he felt a unique space, about one cubic meter in size.

He did not have many things on him, so this one cubic meter was enough for him. He immediately used his magic power to put the Five-Thunder Command,

the Peachwood Sword, and the protective talisman given by Uncle Nine into the Universe in the sleeve.

As for the Sha-Refining Treasure Gourd, he had to hold it himself, practicing and refining it at the same time. Without the blessing of merit, he needed to practice for ten hours to equal one hour of before.

Dozens of days later, Zhang Cheng, who had been practicing the whole time, immediately opened his eyes, and saw the Sha-Refining Treasure Gourd flash with golden light, from which a roar came.

"Eliminated mutated hairy zombie, settling... obtained one thousand merit points."

Zhang Cheng raised an eyebrow; he had really made a huge profit this time, earning two thousand one hundred merit points in one go, but calculating carefully, these merit points were still a drop in the bucket for cultivation.

However, it was also time for him to leave.

As it happened, Taoist Priest Simu had returned, and Taoist Priest Qianhe had also recovered his health; Taoist Priest Qianhe intended to visit Uncle Nine and then return to Mount Mao.

Zhang Cheng immediately bid farewell to Taoist Priest Simu and returned to Ren Family Town together with Taoist Priest Qianhe.

They arrived at Uncle Nine's manor for the dead, and Zhang Cheng said in surprise: "I didn't go to the wrong place, why is Taoist Priest Lin's manor for the dead so luxurious now? Could it be that Master Ren sponsored it? That's very possible."

"Ding-a-ling..."

The sound of a bicycle bell caused Zhang Cheng and Taoist Priest Qianhe to look back; the two of them saw a young girl dressed in Western-style women's clothing.

Mi Nianying asked: "Two masters, which one of you is Master Lin Jiuying?"

Taoist Priest Qianhe said: "Lin Jiuying is my senior brother; we were just about to go in and pay a visit."

Mi Nianying smiled happily: "Ah, that's great, let me go in with the two masters."

Zhang Cheng and Taoist Priest Qianhe then brought Mi Nianying into the courtyard, just in time to see Uncle Nine vomiting.

Zhang Cheng started to hold back his laughter; Taoist Priest Qianhe looked at Zhang Cheng, very confused, and immediately stepped forward to ask: "Senior Brother, what has happened to you?"

Uncle Nine also found it hard to speak, and hurriedly waved his hand: "It's nothing, nothing, Junior Brother, please accept my condolences; as for the matter of Southeast, Northwest, the Patriarch will arrange it down below."

Taoist Priest Qianhe thought of his own disciples and could not help but sigh.

Zhang Cheng stepped forward and said: "Taoist Priest Lin, this Miss Nianying is looking for you. Her sister is Mi Qilian; Taoist Priest Lin, you must know her."

"Sister Lian?" A trace of nostalgia and regret appeared in Uncle Nine's eyes, and then he hurriedly asked: "What happened to Sister Lian?"

Mi Nianying waved her hand: "It's not that something happened to my sister, it's my brother-in-law; he has been a bit strange lately, so my sister would like to invite you to take a look."

Qiusheng and Wencai saw the beautiful Mi Nianying, and Qiusheng hurriedly leaned forward and said: "Miss Nianying, don't worry, my master is very capable, it will definitely be no problem."

Wencai nodded and smiled foolishly like a sycophant: "Yes, yes."

Uncle Nine immediately stood up and said: "Nianying, wait for me a moment, I will go with you to see Sister Lian."

Having said that, he immediately left the courtyard; a moment later, Uncle Nine came out wearing a tailcoat, holding a gentleman's cane, and stepping in black leather shoes, and Uncle Nine had specifically combed his hair into a slicked-back style.

Taoist Priest Qianhe widened his eyes and said: "Senior Brother, when did you learn to wear Westerners' clothes?"

Uncle Nine kept a straight face and said: "It's a new era, naturally I must keep pace with the times; these were all given to me by Master Ren."

Zhang Cheng held back his laughter, gave a thumbs up and said: "Taoist Priest Lin looks very dashing. It just so happens that Taoist Priest Qianhe and I have nothing to do, so let's go along and take a look."