Chapter 1228

"How do you use this Suppressing Mountain Seal?" Lu Yang weighed the seal and asked the female zombie.

"There is a matching incantation; once you know the incantation, you can control me..." The female zombie dared not play tricks and truthfully recited the incantation.

Lu Yang recited it once, and just as he reached halfway, he saw the female zombie painfully clutching her head.

"My lords, can you believe me now?" After finishing the incantation, the female zombie asked cautiously; she still could not understand why her personal tribulation was so powerful.

Worried the female zombie was acting, Lu Yang silently recited the incantation again in his heart; the female zombie still reacted, and only then did Lu Yang believe her words.

"So does that mean anyone can use the incantation and the Suppressing Mountain Seal to control you?"

"Holding the Suppressing Mountain Seal and reciting the incantation only gives me a headache; it cannot truly control me. To truly control me, one needs blood recognition and a contract with the Suppressing Mountain Seal."

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou nodded; it did not sound like a lie.

"Come, let's take her to the Corpse-Raising Sect."

……

"Why hasn't the sect master returned yet?" Zhao Po anxiously waited at the gate of the Corpse-Raising Sect.

The sect master had not returned all night; this is certainly not a good omen.

Whether the sect master has fallen or the drought zombie has escaped, either will stir up a great commotion.

Three small dots moved swiftly in the sky, noticed by Zhao Po.

Zhao Po squinted his eyes and strained to see; finally, he made out who the three small dots were.

"Senior Brother Lu! Senior Brother Meng!" Zhao Po excitedly waved and shouted; between them was a woman in tattered clothes whom he did not recognize.

"So it's Junior Brother Zhao." Lu Yang landed and laughed; the last time they came to Huangzhou, the first major sect disciple they encountered was Zhao Po, who accompanied them all the way to the Corpse-Raising Sect and even helped eliminate water ghosts—what a fateful connection.

Back then, Old Meng and I were only at the Golden Core stage; in the blink of an eye, so many years have passed.

"How did you come here? I don't know how to address this female Daoist... no, now is not the time to talk about this, for a drought zombie has emerged, disaster looms, the sect master went to resolve it, and has not returned all night; please, two senior brothers, come help!" Zhao Po urgently said; now is not the time for reminiscing.

Upon hearing this, the female zombie flared up in anger: "Don't spout nonsense; the drought zombie is perfectly safe!"

She could not help but be anxious; to save her life, she had laid bare all means of controlling herself. If this brat uttered a few more words, causing the two lords to form a bad impression of her, could she still survive?

"Could I spout nonsense over such a major matter? I stayed up all night poring over ancient texts to understand the drought zombie, and I consulted everyone I could!"

"Could I spout nonsense over such a major matter? I am the drought zombie!"

"Even if you are the drought zombie... wait, you said you are who?"

Only then did Zhao Po notice that although the female zombie's clothes were ragged, they were indeed the attire of their Corpse-Raising Sect.

"You, you are that drought zombie?!"

Zhao Po stared wide-eyed at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, seeking a reasonable explanation.

Lu Yang scratched his head somewhat helplessly; explaining this is simple, with nothing to clarify: "Um, we just happened to encounter her, saw she was wearing Corpse-Raising Sect attire, and thought to hand her over to you for handling."

"We can't handle her!" Zhao Po hurriedly said; even if the sect master, the number one under Tribulation Transcendence, faces the female zombie with less than a thirty percent chance of victory, what would we do if chaos erupted in our hands?

"No need to worry; with the Suppressing Mountain Seal." Lu Yang explained the usage of the Suppressing Mountain Seal in full; only then did Zhao Po relax.

"Then when the sect master returns, let him hold the Suppressing Mountain Seal?"

"We two still have matters to attend to; otherwise, you take the Suppressing Mountain Seal, perform blood recognition, and become its master—perfect, as you are at the Void Refinement stage and lack life-preserving means."

Zhao Po could not resist Lu Yang's insistence and had no choice but to reluctantly accept the female zombie, taking the Suppressing Mountain Seal to perform blood recognition.

To reassure Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, the female zombie sweetly called out "Master."

"Junior Brother Zhao, diligently cultivate; we'll chat again later." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou waved farewell.

"By the way, is the Grand Elder particularly interested in the drought zombie? We could write him a letter, inviting him to come and see."

Not long after Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou left, the worried Lu Lu Baqian flew back to the sect.

He searched all night but found no trace of the drought zombie.

"The drought zombie is so deeply hidden; it must be difficult to deal with."

There is also good news: he fortuitously found the heir of the Divine Craftsman Wang family, though his cultivation is too low to forge a Suppressing Mountain Seal capable of threatening the drought zombie.

However, the forging diagrams for the Suppressing Mountain Seal are now available; Lu Lu Baqian can use the diagrams to unleash part of the seal's power, catching the drought zombie off guard.

In battles between high-level cultivators, a single oversight means total defeat!

"Sect master, you have returned safely!" Zhao Po still waited at the sect gate for Lu Lu Baqian, smiling happily.

"Too bad we didn't find the drought zombie... I go drought zombie?!"

Lu Lu Baqian noticed the obedient woman standing beside Zhao Po, like a doll, the female zombie, and was greatly startled.

Seeing the sect master frightened into wanting to act, Zhao Po hurried forward to explain the cause and effect clearly.

Although he himself does not know the specific details.

"So it was Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, these two junior nephews, who made the move."

"Wait, so you are now the master of the female zombie, and the female zombie is controllable?"

"Come, come, let us two see who is stronger!" Lu Lu Baqian excitedly said; he had spent a night thinking about how to deal with the female zombie, and cannot let his efforts go to waste.

After obtaining Zhao Po's consent, the female zombie gladly agreed to Lu Lu Baqian's proposal.

The two half-step Tribulation Transcendence cultivators soon engaged in battle, with vast mountain ranges like rice paper—one pierce and they break.

Without Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou pressing down, the female zombie revealed her powerful and invincible aspect, and Lu Lu Baqian once fell into a disadvantage.

The female zombie was even more excited than Lu Lu Baqian; yes, this is the tribulation I ought to undergo.

"Indeed difficult to deal with..." Lu Lu Baqian wiped blood from the corner of his mouth; the female zombie released a death qi domain, forcing him to divide his attention to resist it, and he could barely keep up with her continuous assaults.

"But there is indeed a way: the Suppressing Mountain Seal!"

Lu Lu Baqian deployed the Suppressing Mountain Seal via magical arts and divine abilities, but the female zombie calmly executed the seal formula in counterattack; the two seal formulas exploded in midair.

"Why weren't you frightened by the Suppressing Mountain Seal?" Lu Lu Baqian puzzled; this should not be the case.

The female zombie said faintly: "What could be more frightening than being blocked at the gate by a sword cultivator and a pure yang cultivator, both at Tribulation Transcendence, right after birth?"

……

Huangzhou senior officials' temporary meeting.

"How could we just formally announce Zhang Tongheng's promotion to prefect, only for him to be captured by the Bone Barbarians?" When the Huangzhou senior officials heard this news, their reaction was not much better than before; they were stunned for several seconds before accepting it.

"Too arrogant, simply not taking our resolve seriously!" Lord Song angrily slapped the table, having served as an official for hundreds of years, never having encountered such an outrageous thing.

"Saying that, he Zhang Tongheng couldn't control himself, insisted on taking bribes, can we blame the Bone Barbarians?"

"If I may say so, we should thank the Bone Barbarians for ferreting out the bad apple."

"What ferreting out the bad apple, he is just relying on being a disciple of the immortal sect to act recklessly!"

The governor of Liangzhou saw the crowd split into two factions, arguing more and more fiercely, dissatisfied and frowning: "Enough, let's put the Bone Barbarian matter aside for now, the prefecture of Zhongshan is vacant again, who should take this prefectural position?"

"Why not select one from the county magistrates under Zhongshan Prefecture?"

"Not feasible, the remaining people lack sufficient seniority, cannot convince the masses."

"Then what does Lord Liang mean?"

Liangzhou's governor stroked his chin, mentally selecting suitable candidates, Xu Xu said: "We can dispatch an official from within the prefecture to serve as prefect of Zhongshan Prefecture; I observe Zhou Haigongcao is shrewd, adept at reading people and situations, skilled in employing talent, capable of undertaking this post."