Chapter 2: Drawing Talismans in the Void to Suppress the Zombie Group

Time ticked by, and after several hours, Chen Yusheng finally managed to suppress the surging corpse poison once more.

At this point, the Yuan Qi in his meridians had grown even thinner, and his whole body radiated a bone-deep exhaustion, as though every last drop of energy had been wrung dry.

By now, night had completely swallowed the light. Outside the window, the silence was terrifying—only the occasional broken snarls of Sangshi drifted over, sometimes near, sometimes far.

A stench of rot crept in through the window, curling around his nose, so foul it made him gag.

Chen Yusheng glanced up at the Exorcism Talisman on the door. Seeing the talisman lines still solid, he sat back down cross-legged, formed a hand seal with his fingertips, and desperately squeezed every ounce of energy from his body to condense Yuan Qi.

Only when the talisman lines on the door began to fade slightly did he snap his eyes open, leap to his feet, and draw another Exorcism Talisman to reinforce it. After burning through one strand of Yuan Qi, he immediately sat back down to cultivate—without rest the entire night.

At the break of dawn, Chen Yusheng slowly gathered his work. A hollow, aching soreness echoed through his meridians.

After an entire night, he had condensed only four thin strands of Yuan Qi.

Of those, one had been spent reinforcing the talisman. Of the remaining three, one was tightly suppressing the corpse poison in his meridians, leaving only two he could use at will. This was already the absolute limit his body could squeeze out.

After finishing his cultivation, he walked to the security door and peered out through the broken gap. The Sangshi from last night were still crowded at the stairwell entrance, their crimson eyes fixed intently on the room door.

Growl growl growl!

The moment Chen Yusheng's figure appeared, the Zombie Group instantly erupted into violent snarls, going mad—but they absolutely refused to cross the range of the Exorcism Talisman.

Chen Yusheng's gaze sharpened. He drew one strand of Yuan Qi from his meridians to his fingertip. His right hand swept swiftly through the air, the pale-gold Yuan Qi tracing his fingertip, and a talisman line slowly took shape in the void.

This was the unique ability of a Daoist Celestial Master—drawing talismans in the void.

In just a few seconds, a Soul-Suppressing Talisman condensed in midair. He flicked it forward with a bent finger, and the Talisman flew out through the gap, landing precisely atop the Zombie Group.

With a soft bang, the Talisman exploded, scattering pale-gold ripples of energy outward.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

From the stairwell came the sound of Sangshi collapsing one after another. Their bodies lay stiff and still, only faint gurgling sounds leaking from their throats.

A Sangshi's flesh was tough, but its soul was terribly weak. A single Soul-Suppressing Talisman could immobilize them temporarily—roughly two minutes or so.

Chen Yusheng dared not waste a moment. He spun around and rummaged quickly through the room, finally fishing out a rusty bone-chopping cleaver from under the kitchen counter. The wooden handle was crusted with filth, and though the blade was dull, it was still fairly tough.

He gripped the cleaver tight, yanked open the security door, and rushed toward the stairwell. Then he brought the blade down hard on a Sangshi's neck.

Rust mixed with blackish-brown corpse blood spattered across his hand. He paid it no mind, putting his wrist into it—chop after chop, every strike aimed at a vital point.

In less than two minutes, the last Sangshi's neck was severed, and it went completely still.

Chen Yusheng dropped onto the stairs, gasping for breath. His chest heaved violently, his head spun in waves, black spots swimming before his eyes, and his arms were so sore and numb he couldn't lift them.

This fifteen- or sixteen-year-old body was far too weak to begin with, and he hadn't eaten in ages. Just slaughtering a dozen or so Sangshi had drained every last drop of his stamina.

Even worse, his stomach churned with a ravenous, rolling hunger. The walls of his stomach felt pressed tight together, cramping with pain, and the Yuan Qi in his meridians stirred restlessly along with it.

Cultivating Yuan Qi depended on the body's material energy in the first place—and right now, his body was utterly depleted.

After resting a moment and gathering a little strength, he searched every floor. Apart from broken-down furniture, he didn't find a single bite of food.

But on the rooftop he did find a rickety wooden plank bridge—one end resting on this building's roof, the other connecting to the next. Presumably the original owner had used it to get here.

He had to find food fast. If the hunger kept up, he wouldn't need a Sangshi to bite him—he'd collapse on his own first.

Chen Yusheng knew it perfectly well. In his current state, crossing the plank bridge to hunt for food in another building was simply unrealistic—at most he'd make it across two buildings before his strength gave out. Better to go by street level. Even with Sangshi around, at least he could maneuver with Talismans.

He walked to the first-floor entrance and poked his head out to look at the street. No Sangshi nearby, but at the intersection some fifty-plus meters away, a few Sangshi figures were swaying, gurgling in their throats.

Going straight over was too risky. Chen Yusheng's eyes flicked, and he doubled back to the stairwell, using the cleaver to peel off a piece of Sangshi hide about two palms wide.

After roughly wiping off the filth and corpse blood, he bit open his fingertip, gathered every last usable strand of Yuan Qi to his fingertip, and began drawing swiftly across the rough Sangshi hide.

The Yuan Qi traced his fingertip, and talisman lines of gold mingled with blood-red slowly took shape on the hide, sending out faint wisps of energy.

Once the Warding Off Evil Talisman was finished, he ran his fingertip over the lines, gauging the rate of Yuan Qi consumption. His heart settled a little.

Using Sangshi hide as a medium, the Warding Off Evil Talisman's Yuan Qi consumption slowed several times over—enough to last roughly a full day. Its warding range had also expanded from three meters to nearly five, far stronger than the ones he'd drawn on the door panel before.

Warding Off Evil Talisman in his left hand, rusty cleaver in his right, Chen Yusheng stepped lightly out the door.

The street was littered with abandoned cars and scattered debris. The stench of rot mingled with the smell of dust, so foul it made him uncomfortable.

Chen Yusheng held his breath, rushed quickly to the neighboring building, slipped through the door that was ajar, and darted inside.

A musty, long-sealed smell mixed with a faint whiff of rot hit him in the face. The dust on the floor was thick enough to swallow his soles. Furniture lay toppled everywhere, wall plaster flaking off in great sheets—the place had clearly been abandoned for years.

In a corner of the first-floor hall, two bone-white skeletons lay askew on the ground, looking as though they'd been dead for years.

Chen Yusheng searched quickly. In the bedroom he found a refrigerator. The moment he opened it, a thick stench of rot slammed into his nose—everything inside had long since rotted into black sludge, completely inedible.

He searched the entire building top to bottom, but still didn't find a single bite of food. He did, however, find a fire axe in the stairwell's fire equipment box. The handle was solid, and though the axe head was rusty, it was far more handy than the cleaver.

He took the fire axe and left, then went into several more buildings in a row. The result was the same everywhere—no people, no food.

Chen Yusheng's heart sank. Judging by the state of the buildings and how decomposed the skeletons were, this apocalypse had likely been going on for years. Ordinary households were probably never going to have anything edible left.

He could only try his luck at a small shop or a supermarket.

If there were vacuum-packed biscuits or canned goods—even if expired—they should still be edible enough to get by.

And bottled water, as long as it hadn't gone bad, would be drinkable.

He steadied himself and made his way down the street. Before long, he spotted a faded signboard hanging at a nearby corner—he could just make out that it was a small shop.

Only, right at the entrance of that shop, four or five Sangshi were wandering about, drifting slowly back and forth.

Chen Yusheng glanced at the Sangshi-hide Warding Off Evil Talisman in his left hand, drew a deep breath, tightened his grip on the fire axe, and headed straight for the shop.

About ten meters from the shop, the Zombie Group suddenly stopped. Crimson gazes locked onto Chen Yusheng in unison, violent snarls tearing from their throats. On all fours, they charged toward him at speed.

Chen Yusheng halted his steps, quickly retreated, and backed up against the entrance of a nearby building, ready to defend himself.

Within just a few seconds, the Sangshi had closed to within five meters of him. The one in the lead suddenly froze—as if it had sensed something terrifying—then whipped around and scrambled backward in a panic.

The other Sangshi surged after it, but the moment they stepped into the Warding Off Evil Talisman's range, they too came to a halt, retreating again and again, crowding outside the five-meter mark. They snarled madly at Chen Yusheng, but none dared take another step forward.

Those snarls were too shrill, and they quickly drew the attention of other Sangshi on the street. Dark figures came rushing in from all directions.

Soon, nearly twenty-plus Sangshi had gathered around Chen Yusheng, their crimson eyes fixed intently on him, the gurgling sounds linking into a continuous chorus.

Seeing that the Warding Off Evil Talisman really worked, Chen Yusheng seized the chance and rushed into the shop.