That single word — "Thank you" — was light and soft, yet it made half of Lu Yuan's blood turn cold.
He spun around abruptly!
Behind him, there was nothing.
Only that lonely grave.
In front of the grave, the three sticks of Jade Emperor Temple Heavenly Incense he had just planted were curling with blue smoke, mixed among more than a dozen ordinary incense sticks, releasing a distinct, lingering fragrance.
"What's wrong, Brother Lu?"
Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan both looked completely confused.
Lu Yuan swallowed, lowered his voice, and every word he spoke carried heavy tension:
"Did you two just now… hear anything?"
The two of them looked at each other and shook their heads blankly.
"Hear… hear what?"
Hiss—
A chill crawled up Lu Yuan's spine.
His scalp started tingling.
To be honest, ever since transmigrating here and binding the [Demon-Slaying System], this was the first time he had encountered something like this.
The system indeed does not mark every ghost or monster.
Its principle is very simple: it only warns about existences that can threaten Lu Yuan.
And for someone like Lu Yuan, who was already about to touch the threshold of becoming a Celestial Master, many ghosts and monsters simply couldn't pose any danger to him anymore.
So quite a few wandering spirits and wild ghosts would not be marked by the system.
But as mentioned before —
Even if the system doesn't mark them, don't forget that Lu Yuan is a genuine Taoist priest, and a highly talented one at that!
Even if those ghosts aren't marked, he should still be able to sense them with his own Taoist perception.
It could be said that ever since he transmigrated and obtained the system, there had never been a ghost he couldn't detect.
…
Holy shit?!
Just now — no, not just now — even right now, Lu Yuan still detected nothing at all!!!
That lonely grave stood there, clean and empty, without any abnormal sign.
And Lu Yuan himself, as a Taoist, could not sense any ghostly aura whatsoever.
His spiritual perception was like a dead pond, without even a ripple.
Then…?!
Did he… hear it wrong?
Impossible!
That voice had been so clear, like someone whispering right into his ear.
Seeing that Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan were starting to get unnerved by his reaction, Lu Yuan knew he couldn't continue like this.
He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the storm in his heart.
No matter what that thing was —
At least, what it said was "thank you", and it didn't sound malicious.
And what he had done was a good deed, to comfort a wandering soul.
As the saying goes, if you've done nothing wrong, you're not afraid of ghosts knocking on your door.
Thinking this, Lu Yuan's tense muscles finally relaxed.
He waved at the two of them and said casually:
"It's nothing. Probably just the wind. I heard it wrong."
"Let's go. Final check on the tools. Time to get to work."
Once Lu Yuan, the backbone of the team, returned to normal, Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan immediately relaxed.
In their hearts, as long as Brother Lu said it was fine, then even if the sky collapsed, it was still fine.
Time passed bit by bit.
The three sat cross-legged, adjusting their essence, energy, and spirit to peak condition.
The night grew deeper.
Mountain winds howled.
The surroundings were deathly silent.
Down in Ningyuan Town, the lights were going out one by one, leaving only a few scattered points.
The bonfire had long since turned into a pile of warm ashes.
Dong!
A dull impact sound suddenly came from underground.
Like someone inside a coffin smashing their head against the lid.
The three of them opened their eyes at the same time, sharp light flashing within.
"Light the lamp!"
Before the words even fell, the three had already sprung up like wildcats.
Lu Yuan held a peachwood sword, tapped the ground with his toe, and his body shot upward, landing steadily on Old Master Xu's tombstone.
From above, he looked down.
Dong!
Another heavy impact.
Xu Erxiao quickly lit a Kongming lantern. The lantern didn't float away, but instead hovered above their heads, casting a dim orange glow.
Dong!
The third impact.
The mound of earth on the grave visibly loosened, dirt crumbling down.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
The impacts became faster and louder!
From inside the grave even came the unique wheezing roar of a zombie, like a broken bellows.
Lu Yuan stood on the tombstone, his expression solemn, his eyes calm, quietly watching the "main character" about to break out of the ground.
Finally.
10:15 PM.
With a deafening boom—
BOOM!
The grave exploded!
A corpse in burial clothes, with black-green nails and arms stretched straight forward, leapt out of the pit!
The instant it appeared, Lu Yuan pressed two fingers together and struck his own brow like lightning.
A true incantation burst from his mouth:
"By order!"
As the word fell, his right eye and the peachwood sword in his hand were instantly wrapped in blazing orange-red light!
Lu Yuan pointed forward like a sword—
Whoosh!
He threw it!
A streak of orange-flame command light, like a red-hot iron spike, slammed straight into the zombie's forehead!
"ROOOAR—!"
Old Master Xu let out a miserable scream and was smashed back into the pit by a massive force.
In the same instant, Lu Yuan, holding the flaming peachwood sword, leapt straight into the grave pit!
Xu Erxiao, who had long been prepared, shouted and threw a massive net soaked in rooster blood and hung with bronze bells.
The net drew a perfect arc in the air and precisely covered the entire grave.
At the same time, Wang Chengan jumped onto the tombstone, taking Lu Yuan's place.
In his left hand was a palm-sized golden bell, and his right hand formed seals. Incantations poured out of his mouth like a machine gun!
Ding ding ding ding!!!
He shook the golden bell like crazy.
The giant net and all the small bells arranged around instantly lit up with dazzling orange-red light, producing sharp, urgent ringing sounds!
The bell sounds and incantations intertwined into an invisible net of heaven and earth.
About seven or eight minutes later.
The bells and incantations stopped abruptly.
Xu Erxiao roared, veins bulging in his arms, and ripped the net away!
Lu Yuan's figure leapt out of the pit.
He flicked the thick dark-red corpse blood off his sword, brushed the dirt from his clothes, his movements clean and effortless.
"Erxiao, put out the lamp. Pack up the tools."
"Chengan, go down the mountain and collect the payment."
The commands were clear and crisp.
"Got it!"
The two answered loudly and moved immediately.
Xu Erxiao quickly packed up the tools, while Wang Chengan darted down the mountain like a rabbit.
Lu Yuan took out that old brass pocket watch from his chest and glanced at it.
10:23 PM.
Subtracting the waiting time, dealing with this three-star zombie took eight minutes.
Not bad. His cultivation had improved again.
"Brother Lu, what are we eating later?" Xu Erxiao asked while dragging the net, swallowing saliva.
Right.
He was hungry again.
But to be fair, in this cold weather, being outside like this, a big bowl of hot mutton soup really does sound good.
"After we collect the money, let's see what's in town. We'll eat whatever we find," Lu Yuan said casually, carefully putting the watch away.
Xu Erxiao grinned.
"I wanna eat wontons~"
Lu Yuan couldn't help but grin too.
"Deal!"
As he spoke, Lu Yuan walked toward the highest point of the mountain.
Subconsciously, he wanted to take a look at Zhao Qiao'er's mountain.
And when he reached the top and saw what was happening over there—
Lu Yuan's pupils shrank to needle points.
F… what the hell?!!
A blood-red, terrifying marker was flashing madly before his eyes.
[Type: Human-Faced Two-Legged Sheep][Cultivation: 237 years][Weakness: Lightning]**[Danger Level: **]
Eight… eight stars?!!!