Having finally found the coffin fungus, Lu Fei was not about to let it go easily.
"No matter what it is, you hold it off for a bit. I'll deal with it after I pick the coffin fungus!"
Lu Fei took out his tools and put on the special gloves from his pawnshop.
"I'm afraid I can't hold it off!" Jing Jian swallowed hard, lowering his flashlight, not daring to shine it directly in that direction.
"Lu Fei, quickly take a look, is that a zombie?"
"Could you stop being such a jinx?" Seeing him so tense, Lu Fei looked up, squinting his eyes to peer in the direction he was pointing.
The trees swayed slightly in the mountain breeze.
Through the branches and leaves, there seemed to be a tall figure standing straight in the shadows.
"Damn, could it really be a zombie?" Lu Fei's heart skipped a beat as he cursed Jing Jian for his jinxing.
Zombies are not like other evil spirits.
Not only are they immensely strong, but they also have bodies as tough as copper and iron.
Ordinary zombies are afraid of fire and light, and even people; their movements are slow and stiff, making them relatively easy to deal with.
However, zombies with profound cultivation are trouble.
They are agile, can leap great distances, and are not afraid of ordinary fire or sunlight.
"Lu Fei, that shadow appeared quietly without us knowing when. It's just standing there motionless. Do you think it saw us or not? I don't dare to shine a light on it, for fear of alarming it."
Jing Jian whispered cautiously.
This Great Yin Mountain is heavy with yin energy and full of strange phenomena. The zombies here have been cultivating for many years and are likely no longer ordinary.
"Don't panic! If it comes over, use the glutinous rice. I'll quickly gather the coffin fungus, and then we'll leave!"
Lu Fei's heart was pounding. He took out the glutinous rice from his backpack and stuffed it into Jing Jian's hand.
"Then hurry up."
Jing Jian was holding Nuo Mi, his eyes fixed unblinkingly in the direction of the figure.
Lu Fei steadied himself, carefully grabbing a cluster of coffin fungus with both hands, and gently pulled it upwards.
The coffin fungus is particularly delicate and fragile, very easy to damage, so one must be extra careful with their movements.
"Lu Fei, hurry up, I feel like it's moving," Jing Jian urged anxiously.
"Stop rushing me!"
After struggling for a while, he still couldn't pull it out. Lu Fei applied a bit more force, and half of the fungus crumbled away. Then, the whole cluster turned into black water.
"I told you not to rush, now we have to start over!"
Annoyed, Lu Fei frowned, moved his hands around, then gently cupped the second cluster, carefully pulling it upwards.
The roots of the fungus loosened slightly, and the green-powdered fungus was about to completely detach from the damp, decaying coffin board.
"Oh no! Lu Fei, it's gone!" Jing Jian suddenly exclaimed in a low, nervous voice, carefully turning the flashlight around to search for the black shadow.
"Don't startle me like that. I'm almost done," Lu Fei said, nearly ruining the mushroom and undoing all his hard work from the shock.
"I'm serious, it's really gone! Is it coming for us?"
Jing Jian held the flashlight in one hand and clutched some glutinous rice in the other, his entire body tense.
"Can you be quiet..."
Lu Fei raised his head in annoyance, and his body suddenly jolted.
Behind Jing Jian, a dark shadow leaped up high and silently landed behind him.
The shadow raised its arms straight forward, the backs of its hands, which were exposed at the cuffs, were covered with white fur, and its long, black nails were less than ten centimeters away from Jing Jian's neck.
The zombie, it's really here!
"Jing, don't look back!"
Lu Fei's heart was stuck in his throat, and he tried his best to stay calm, staring straight at what was behind him, reminding in a low voice.
"Wh, why?"
Jing Jian clearly realized something, his neck trembled, and his body became stiffer than a zombie's.
As the mountain breeze blew by, a strong stench of death drifted from behind him.
He immediately gripped the glutinous rice tightly.
"Don't breathe!"
After Lu Fei said that, he held his breath.
Zombies rely on human breath to locate living people; if there's no breathing, the zombies will lose their target.
Jing Jian also held his breath immediately.
The two of them stood still like statues.
Lu Fei stared unblinkingly at the pair of large, coarse hands covered in white fur.
This is a White-Furred Stiff Corpse!
It's notorious for its iron-like skin and bones, capable of jumping as if flying, easily leaping over rooftops and tall trees with a single bound.
It fears neither yang fire nor sunlight.
It is the most formidable type of zombie, second only to the Flying Stiff Corpse.
"What a jinx, whatever you say comes true."
Both he and Jing Jian had been running around all night, and their bodies were exhausted; they couldn't afford to engage in a direct confrontation.
The White-Furred Zombie seemed to be making its own judgment.
One second.
Two seconds.
Time seemed endlessly long.
In a state of tension, holding one's breath became so difficult.
Cold sweat rolled down Lu Fei's forehead, his hands still in the motion of plucking the mushrooms.
Jing Jian's face had turned blue from holding his breath, and his whole body began to tremble slightly.
The zombie showed no sign of leaving.
It felt as though his lungs were about to burst, and Jing Jian could no longer hold his breath; he exhaled a mouthful of stale air.
Instantly.
The zombie's arm moved, its sharp black nails stabbing straight towards Jing Jian's neck.
"Crouch down!"
Lu Fei shouted in alarm, letting go of the mushrooms and pulling out the thunderstruck jujube wood stick.
Infuse with magic power.
Flashes of lightning, the might of thunder suddenly erupted.
At the same time, Jing Jian squatted down and rolled to dodge the sharp nails of the zombie.
The flashing lightning from the lightning-struck wood made the zombie start slightly, its body leaping backward abruptly.
With that leap, it jumped several meters back, coming to a stop on a large tree, coldly staring at the two people.
Jing Jian steadied himself, still in shock as he looked towards the zombie, feeling a slight itch on the back of his neck; he reached up to scratch it, and his hand came away with warm liquid.
"Black blood!"
Jing Jian felt a chill in his heart.
"Darn, I got scratched by the zombie's nail."
"Glutinous rice! Quick, I need to draw the poison out for you!"
Lu Fei took a look and saw a faint black fine scar on the back of Jing Jian's neck. Feeling anxious, he grabbed a large handful of glutinous rice and pressed it hard against the wound on Jing Jian's neck.
If the corpse poison spreads throughout his body, Jing Jian would turn into a zombie.
"Ah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" Jing Jian cried out in pain.
"Bear with it!"
The glutinous rice turned black within a second or two, and Lu Fei hastily replaced it with another handful, pressing it firmly against his neck.
Gritting his teeth, Jing Jian endured the pain, sweating profusely and looking deathly pale.
"Not good, that zombie is coming again!"
The tall, hulking zombie, which had been quietly observing from the tree, suddenly leaped and silently hurtled toward them at high speed.
"I'll deal with it! You get rid of the poison yourself. Don't move until the glutinous rice turns white!"
Lu Fei let go, stepping protectively in front of Jing Jian, activating the power of his lightning thunderwood staff.
The might of the heavenly thunder erupted.
The white-furred corpse僵 landed in front of Lu Fei, then leaped high like a dragonfly skimming water, merging into the night and disappearing from Lu Fei's sight.
"Damn, where did it go?"
A thick stench of death lingered all around, and Lu Fei knew the zombie hadn't left.
"Lu Fei, what if..." Jing Jian pressed his neck with force, his face filled with worry.
"Don't panic, draw out the poison!"
Lu Fei took out his inkpot and pulled out the inkpot line soaked in cinnabar, quickly winding it around several large trees nearby, forming a circle.
Zombies are afraid of glutinous rice, and they also fear the inkpot line.
This small protective circle should be able to hold them off for a while.