Unexplored Territory

Zhang Yuanqing returned to the main hall and bathed in the candlelight to calm the pain of his old illness and purify himself.

According to his calculations, the vengeful spirit would pester him in a minute or two. It was definitely not a good time to enter the east courtyard and face the zombie.

After four or five minutes of rest, his physical condition was getting worse. His headache was accompanied by slight dizziness so he knew that it was the corpse poison that was gradually corroding his body and showing symptoms.

The candlelight in the main hall didn't seem to cleanse the poison from his body.

"I can't delay any longer…"

He wanted to take advantage of the half-hour time limit of the red dancing shoes to quickly clear the dungeon.

Zhang Yuanqing left the main hall and followed the cobblestone path through the weeds until he arrived at the courtyard house.

Standing in the grassy courtyard, he opened his inventory and summoned the red dancing shoes.

Two dark red shimmers swam through the night, turning into brand-new dancing shoes.

"Choose the second form!"

Zhang Yuanqing silently chanted.

The red dancing shoes disintegrated into a dark red shimmer again, sweeping out in two arcs that wrapped around his feet.

In an instant, the running shoes on his feet turned into a pair of large red dancing shoes.

Wasn't this cross-dressing? Fortunately, they were red dancing shoes and not high heels… Zhang Yuanqing looked at his feet, feeling a little strange.

Forcing himself to ignore this detail, he took out the Corpse Suppression Talisman, held it in his hand, and with the soft rustle of the great banyan tree, passed through the arched doorway into the east courtyard once more.

In the east courtyard, the grass rose and fell. The bright moonlight shone down on the two large houses. Everything was quiet.

Zhang Yuanqing looked around carefully and saw no sign of the zombie. He immediately walked cautiously across the courtyard and leaned towards the large house that had been divided into four rooms.

The wooden door to the room where the coffins were displayed had been sent flying. He didn't need to enter the house. From a distance, he peered across the threshold.

Moonlight shone through the gap in the tiles. The bodies, coffins, removed coffin lids, and the bronze staff sat where they had been, untouched.

There was no sign of the zombie in the room.

"Could it have lain back in the coffin?"

From his angle, he couldn't see the inside of the coffin.

Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly realized that the moonlight seemed to have dimmed. A black shadow descended from the sky and enveloped him.

Immediately after, the night wind brought in the strong smell of corpses and a low growl.

It-it's hiding in the tree? Zhang Yuanqing was shocked. His heart contracted and he instinctively tried to dodge.

In the next moment, the red dancing shoes on his feet lit up with a dark red glow. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly slipped. Before he could react, he rushed out with a sliding shovel and plowed a trail through the weeds.

Bang!

The ragged-clad zombie missed.

I avoided it… Zhang Yuanqing scrambled to his feet. He was pleasantly surprised and felt relieved.

The red dancing shoes were amazing, indeed. They were more agile than he'd expected. With his own reflexes, he couldn't have dodged the zombie's pounce just now.

Zhang Yuanqing's confidence increased.

"Heehee…"

The zombie, its hair like withered grass, let out an ear-splitting roar. Its bulging eyeballs grew more ferocious. It bounced its knees and pounced on its prey again.

It was as fast as a speeding car.

In the blink of an eye, the terrifying Yin creature was right in front of him. Zhang Yuanqing's uncontrollable feet twisted like a ballet spin, smoothly drawing a semicircle. While avoiding the sharp nails, he cut behind the zombie.

Immediately after, he "naturally" did a split and ducked as a strong wind whistled above his head. Two arms swept across the air.

Zhang Yuanqing's face twisted. He wanted to squeeze his crotch and scream, but the red dancing shoes had already controlled his legs to jump up.

He leaped high and kicked the zombie hard in the chest.

Bang!

In the muffled sound, fine dust rose from the zombie's tattered clothes.

It let out a roar of rage and indignation, falling on its back with the force of the kick.

An opportunity! Seeing this scene, Zhang Yuanqing ignored the tearing pain in his crotch and strode forward. He slammed the Corpse Suppression Talisman in his hand at the highly decomposed and smelly face.

He slapped at its forehead.

Slap!

The violent and bloodthirsty zombie froze as if it had been hit by an immobilization spell.

All movement faded to silence.

The zombie lay upright in the weeds. The redness in its ferocious eyes slowly dimmed.

It had lost its "life."

Looking at the zombie that had turned into a mud statue and was unable to show off its might, Zhang Yuanqing panted violently. Exhaustion and joy welled up in his heart.

He had survived!

"Without the help of the red dancing shoes, it's very difficult to deal with the zombie alone. In fact, it's just one of the strange things here. As expected of an S-rank Spirit Realm. It's too difficult."

"The construction team had a lot of people. Logically speaking, dealing with the zombie shouldn't be a problem. How can a group of men end up like this…"

Zhang Yuanqing suddenly sighed. He knew the reason.

The Corpse Suppression Talisman had been found in the pocket of the corpse under the window. The senior man had obtained the tool, but he had not told his companions about it. He had kept it for himself.

The human heart was more complicated and more terrifying than ghosts.

After dealing with the zombie, it was time to find the shameless female ghost in the well.

But before that, there was something else that caught Zhang Yuanqing's attention.

He left the zombie and walked toward the room where the coffins were displayed. He held on to the door frame as he crossed the threshold. Moonlight flooded the gloomy room.

He paused in front of the mummified corpse and bent down to pick up the bronze staff.

It was clearly a bronze object, but it did not feel cold in his hand. Instead, it was as warm as jade.

Immediately, a message appeared in his vision.

[Name: Demon Subduing Staff]

[Type: Weapon]

[Function: Purification, Spirit Suppression, Anti-Demon]

[Introduction: A weapon that contains the power of the sun. It is the nemesis of all Yin creatures. Sacrifice blood essence to this staff and you will obtain the power of the Sun God.]

[Remarks: Isn't it powerful? Exchange for it with your life.]

It was indeed a tool. From the function introduction, it seemed to be stronger than the candles in the main hall. The construction team senior must have wanted to use it to kill the zombie, but he had failed. Alas, they had already lost too many people before dealing with the zombie… Zhang Yuanqing was glad that he had made the proper judgment.

The clever use of the red dancing shoes solved the problem.

Of course, the seniors of the construction team had no choice. It was impossible for them to subdue this rule-type tool. Furthermore, most of them had died from the trampling of the red dancing shoes.

"With this tool that can counter Yin creatures and the red dancing shoes I already obtained, my chances of clearing the trial mission will greatly increase."

With the Demon Subduing Staff in hand, he felt a strong sense of confidence. Before the five minutes were up, he left the room and returned to the courtyard.

This time, he headed straight for the ancient well for a final probe.

The well was deep and dark, and the smell of damp, rotting vegetation churned up.

Zhang Yuanqing held the Demon Subduing Staff tightly and assumed a defensive posture. He raised one foot and stepped on the edge of the well. Then, he walked down and walked on the wall of the well as if it was flat ground.

If it had been before, he would not have dared to explore the bottom of the well. Putting aside the fact that there was no danger at the bottom of the well, jumping into the well without ropes or help would be suicide.

Soon, he successfully reached the bottom of the well. The moonlight here was already very weak.

The water in the well had long since dried up. The bottom was deposited with black silt, and clumps of weeds grew around the edges. The walls of the well were covered with dark green moss.

"There's no ghost in the well…"

Zhang Yuanqing frowned.

This isn't right. I clearly saw a faceless female ghost poking out of the well.

He checked and rechecked the bottom of the well. Since the red dancing shoes could only be worn for a limited time, he had no choice but to step helplessly on the steep walls of the well. He returned to the surface and hurried back to the eaves of the main hall.

Only then did he relax and remove the red dancing shoes.

.....

In the main hall, bathed in the dim candlelight, Zhang Yuanqing leaned against the tribute table with a dispirited expression. The corpse poison had seeped deeper into his body. After the dizziness, he had difficulty breathing, and there was pain in his heart and lungs.

Time was running out.

I've explored two backyards and successfully subdued the zombie. The mission isn't over, which means there are still places I haven't explored…

I've already gone through every room in the backyard, even including the bottom of the well. There can be no slip-ups.

So, where exactly?

After eliminating all possibilities, no matter how unbelievable the remaining one was, it would definitely be the truth… He muttered in his mind and slowly propped himself up.

The place that had not been "explored" was this place, the main hall in front of him.

Zhang Yuanqing's gaze slowly swept across the main hall and finally stopped on the clay statue of Goddess Sandao. When he first entered the main hall, a detail on the clay statue bothered him.

The clay statue's right hand was empty, but it made a grasping gesture, indicating that it had been holding something.

Previously, he had no idea what she was holding in her hand, but now he did.

It was the Demon Subduing Staff.

Thinking that there was no harm in trying, Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward and inserted the yellow Demon Subduing Staff into the palm of the clay statue. Then he jumped off the pedestal and took a few steps back.

Almost as soon as he stepped back, the surface of the pedestal cracked and burst into a dense cloud of dust. Then the entire pedestal collapsed, revealing a dark cavern.