madnovel Chapter 35 Earth Temple
Chapter 35 Earth Temple
A cold wind swept across the stream, stirring up ripples, its howling sound like the wailing of a vengeful ghost. The waning moon, sharp as a blade, scatters its light.
The water, the shadows, and even the trees reflected in the water all transformed into evil spirits and ghosts, secretly coveting Fang Hongxuan, who stood holding a sword.
'Clang'
Blade drawn
Strands of golden light shone along the inscription, and the two crimson-gold characters "蹉靳" resembled sparks blooming in the night, quite eye-catching.
The horde of corpses surrounded Fang Hongxuan, completely blocking all his escape routes. A sea of heads thronged around him, like layers of a pancake, surrounding him in three deep circles.
"They were not as slow as the zombies we had encountered before, and they seemed to retain a certain degree of autonomy..."
Fang Hongxuan drew his sword and confronted him, intending to observe more closely.
However, the hungry zombies didn't care about that, letting salty saliva spill from their mouths.
"roar"
A low growl suddenly rose from the horde of zombies, and the previously hesitant zombies erupted into chaos, like boiling water or bubbling oil in a pot.
Fang Hongxuan was extremely skilled, maneuvering and weaving through the gaps in the zombie attacks. His knife skills were particularly impressive.
That's not a stiff, long sword at all; it's clearly a nimble, venomous snake!
The blade tip, like a venomous fang, easily pierced the throat of the zombie that had attacked.
Thick, putrid blood splattered like rain, startling the stream into undulating waves. Before long, several corpses, their bodies engulfed in blood, appeared in the water.
The nauseating stench of corpses spread rapidly with the force of the water, and a few fish that had escaped the net accidentally waded through the bloody water, revealing their white bellies on the spot.
The zombies who couldn't squeeze in from the outside panicked and scrambled for the dead fish in the water, which greatly reduced Fang Hongxuan's burden in confronting the enemy.
"Sizzle"
Wisps of white mist rose from the blade, the blood that hadn't yet been flung out of the trench. The faint golden light grew stronger, causing the increasingly frenzied zombie to hesitate slightly.
"Half an incense stick's time has passed now, so I reckon Wu Qi has already carried Jian Shiqing into the safe zone."
"Now, I should also think about how to extricate myself."
With this thought in mind, Fang Hongxuan tightened his grip even further.
Suddenly, a gaunt walking corpse burst out from the horde of corpses. Its features were distorted, and its face was mottled due to the redness and ulceration of its skin.
The pus-draining area constantly spurts out a mixture of blood and pus, creating a foul, viscous bloody mess.
The emaciated zombie charged toward Fang Hongxuan relentlessly, even after its limbs were severed.
"Hissing..."
The pool of filthy blood transformed into sharp arrows, heading straight for Fang Hongxuan's mouth and nose.
"This is... an attempt to transform me..."
Fang Hongxuan was about to dodge to the side when he discovered that the zombies on the second floor were imitating the gaunt zombies and spraying foul blood at him from a great distance.
Such bizarre behavior naturally ruled out Fang Hongxuan's idea of replenishing himself by absorbing his essence and blood.
"If it weren't for the huge deficit, I would have shown you what a real zombie looks like!" Fang Hongxuan gritted his teeth, and with a flick of his wrist, he ended the life of the zombie before him.
He fought and retreated, knife in his right hand, while using his left hand to hold the corpse in front of him as a shield, blocking all the filthy blood.
Wrap around the head, smother the brain, flick, stab, slash horizontally...
Fang Hongxuan unleashed all twelve sword techniques, tearing apart the surrounding zombies and causing them to bleed profusely.
"The number of zombies is increasing. If we still can't break through, we'll have no choice but to force ourselves into zombie mode."
When facing three to five ordinary people, Fang Hongxuan could handle them with ease; if it were dozens of people, he could manage with some difficulty.
But these living corpses, who knew neither fear nor death, continued to appear in endless streams. In addition, Fang Hongxuan was already injured and the more intense the battle became, the heavier the burden on his body became.
Just as Fang Hongxuan was about to forcefully switch to zombie form, the ground beside the stream began to vibrate with a buzzing sound.
"My comrade, I've arrived!"
Before the person arrived, their voice had already been raised.
The rapid hoofbeats surged through the silent night.
Jian Shiqing, clad in goose-feather armor, wielding a long spear and straddling a snow-white eagle-adorned horse, galloped swiftly towards them. Behind him followed a red jade steed.
The spear, gleaming with a cold light, reached Fang Hongxuan in just a few breaths. Its momentum undiminished, it pierced the chest of the walking corpse before Fang Hongxuan, freezing it to death in the stream.
"Hurry up and mount your horses! These walking corpses are even more rampant at night, and they are three times more savage than during the day."
Jian Shiqing's face was as red as Guan Yu's, with veins bulging on his forehead and his eyes bloodshot. It was clear at a glance that he had consumed the Dragon-Tiger Pill, which burned his life essence.
Upon hearing this, Fang Hongxuan sheathed his sword and leaped into the saddle of the red jade throne.
The galloping knight viciously pulled the lance from the corpse's chest, but unexpectedly, due to the excessive force, he lifted the corpse up.
Jian Shiqing, holding guns in both hands, spun around the corpse, sweeping away all the zombies that had regrouped in front of him.
The two horses moved as if riding the wind and clouds, leaving the group of zombies behind in the blink of an eye.
The evening clouds concealed the waning moon.
The two men and two horses slowly came to a stop in front of a temple.
The local earth god still retains some resemblance to his former self, and one can still vaguely discern his kind and benevolent appearance.
"thump"
Jian Shiqing's face had long since turned from a rosy complexion to a deathly pale color. He was curled up in a ball, and cold sweat was pouring out of his body.
Fang Hongxuan quickly stepped forward to help him up, but his warm hand grasped Jian Shiqing's cold, calloused right hand.
"It's nothing serious, just the bitter fruit of the Dragon Tiger Pill. I'll be back to normal after a short rest."
Jian Shiqing wanted to argue a bit more, but he couldn't take it anymore and fainted again.
Jian Shiqing had already suffered severe injuries, and now he forcibly suppressed his injuries and swallowed the Dragon Tiger Pill, which burned his essence and blood.
If not handled properly, this person will not survive the night.
Fang Hongxuan silently took out the dog blood wine from the gourd at his waist, gathered the surrounding firewood, and used it to heat the wine.
Once the wine had warmed up, he gently poured it into Jian Shiqing's mouth.
The main ingredient of dog blood wine is black dog blood, which is extremely yang, and it is brewed with various yang medicinal materials.
This wine not only wards off evil spirits but also has the effect of dispelling cold and warming the body. Therefore, warming Jian Shiqing with this wine can greatly alleviate his unbearable cold symptoms.
The campfire crackled and popped, sending sparks flying from it every now and then. The warm firelight made Fang Hongxuan's face flushed red.
After he covered Jian Shiqing with his robe, he got up to check on Wu Qi behind the land statue.
Wu Qi grunted and groaned, but unlike before, it was not full of energy; instead, it responded to its master weakly.
"Thank you for your trouble..."
Fang Hongxuan stroked Wu Qi's head, and wisps of white breath wafted out of Wu Qi's nostrils. Sensing that its master had returned safely, Wu Qi was also extremely happy.
"Let's rest for now..."
Outside the temple, the mournful howls of the walking corpses echoed from who-knows-when. A chilling wind swept through the dilapidated earthen temple.
The statues inside the temple were faintly glowing, as if they were the legendary deities...