C28 The Zombie Night Attack

The dusk settled in, casting a dim light over the scene where Qin Fei, Deng Yingyan, Wang Dao, Wang Jian, Zhang Xiao, and Huang Rong were gathered around a flickering torch, deep in conversation. While Huang Rong seemed indifferent to Qin Fei, occasionally throwing a sarcastic remark his way, the rest of the group showed genuine warmth towards him.

"Senior Brother Qin, you're truly impressive," one of them remarked. "To think you've reached the ninth level of the Astral Refinement Stage as just an Outer Sect disciple! Imagine the heights you could reach within the Inner Sect, with access to pills, cultivation techniques, and Profound Skills. You're bound to become a legend."

Deng Yingyan, with a beaming smile, took a seat next to Qin Fei, and their conversation flowed easily. As they talked, her initial shyness melted away, replaced by a newfound eagerness to engage with Qin Fei.

Qin Fei offered a modest smile in response. "I'm of average talent; advancing to the Qi Gathering Stage is a steep challenge. That's why I've had to shift my focus to developing sheer physical strength."

His tone was tinged with bitterness, as if acknowledging his status as nothing more than a paper tiger—a sentiment shared by many, from his fellow disciples to the brothers he grew up with.

Deng Yingyan could sense the sourness in Qin Fei's words. "Senior Brother Qin, please don't be so hard on yourself. You've achieved more than many who claim to be masters of the Qi Gathering Stage."

"Hmph! So he's a bit stronger, big deal. His dantian lacks even a trace of profound energy. What's so impressive about a paper tiger? Once time passes, he'll be seen as less than an ant by his contemporaries. In my view, he's already reached his peak," Huang Rong interjected scornfully, her voice dripping with disdain as she tore into a roasted chicken.

Qin Fei's face turned icy at her words, and an uncomfortable tension began to build among the group.

"Huang Rong, I won't stand for such disrespect towards Senior Brother Qin," Deng Yingyan snapped, rising to her feet, her face flushed with anger and her breath coming in short gasps. She was ready to defend Qin Fei's honor at all costs.

After all, Qin Fei had saved her life; without him, she would not have survived. And yet, despite the resolution of their troubles, Deng Yingyan couldn't help but feel deeply hurt by Huang Rong's humiliating taunts.

"How could I be wrong? He's nothing but a paper tiger. What right does a paper tiger have to strut around here? So he killed a Double-headed Tiger? If we hadn't just entered the Qi Gathering Stage, would things have turned out this way?"

Huang Rong stood her ground, her voice loud and defiant.

"Huang Rong, haven't you caused enough trouble?"

Wang Dao rebuked her loudly.

He took Huang Rong by the hand and pulled her back.

What did it matter if Qin Fei was a paper tiger? He was still the hero of the hour.

"You... You're all ganging up on me..."

Huang Rong, being led away, glanced at Wang Dao, Wang Jian, Deng Yingyan, and even Zhang Xiao, feeling a surge of injustice.

Tears welled up, reddening her eyes.

She then turned and ran off.

"Xiao Rong..."

Zhang Xiao gasped, watching Huang Rong dash away, and his anxiety spiked.

It was no secret within the group that he had feelings for Huang Rong.

"Everyone, I'm going to chase after Huang Rong. Please continue eating; I'll apologize to everyone when I return."

With those words, Zhang Xiao hurried off in pursuit of Huang Rong.

"Brother Qin, my apologies. Huang Rong has been coddled by her sect since childhood. She's always been a bit untamed."

Wang Dao and his brother exchanged a look and shared a wry smile.

They had all witnessed Huang Rong's antics along the way, but had gradually come to accept her.

Qin Fei nodded, rose to his feet, and said, "Please, go ahead and eat. I've had my fill."

With that, he turned and walked toward a nearby tree.

His presence had inadvertently caused a rift, leaving Qin Fei feeling somewhat sheepish.

"Please, continue eating."

Deng Yingyan also stood up, echoed the sentiment, and followed Qin Fei.

"Senior Brother Qin, I'm... I'm so sorry."

Qin Fei paused beneath a large tree, and Deng Yingyan stopped beside him, her voice filled with regret.

"The one who should be apologizing is me. I'll leave tomorrow."

Qin Fei spoke plainly.

Deng Yingyan's heart skipped a beat as she watched him, torn inside.

"Senior Brother Qin, I... I..."

Deng Yingyan was overcome with distress.

Was it Huang Rong's words that prompted him to leave? Hadn't they just agreed to leave Flame Mountain together? Why was he now choosing to leave the group? "Ah... Help! Ah..."

Deng Yingyan's words were still on her lips when a sharp cry echoed from the direction Huang Rong had vanished.

At the sound, Qin Fei and the others turned their heads.

They immediately recognized the voice.

"Not good, it's Huang Rong..." Wang Dao bellowed.

"Ah..."

As Wang Dao stood up, a painful scream pierced the tranquility of the forest.

"Shua!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Qin Fei and Deng Yingyan leaped into action, sprinting towards the heart of the woods. Wang Dao and Wang Jian were hot on their heels, moving with incredible speed.

"Roar! Roar!"

About a hundred meters into the forest, they came upon a man lying on the ground, his eyes bulging with disbelief. More than a dozen decaying zombies, exuding a stench of death, were piled on top of him. Their eyes glowed green, and their mouths, emitting a dark aura, revealed sharp teeth as they bit into the man's flesh. It was clear he had already perished.

"Huang Xiao..."

Wang Dao and Wang Jian cried out in anguish upon recognizing the man.

Their time together had been neither particularly long nor short, but to witness him being devoured alive by zombies was a horrific sight.

"Zombies? How... How is this possible?"

Deng Yingyan's face turned pale, and she clutched her mouth in horror.

"Buzz!"

Just then, the forest ahead vibrated, and a massive stone coffin, measuring over ten meters in length, four to five meters in width, and two meters in height, materialized overhead and flew forward.

"A stone coffin?"

Qin Fei was taken aback but quickly gave chase.

"Senior Brother Qin..."

Deng Yingyan called out, watching Qin Fei's retreating figure.

"Find somewhere to hide. Huang Rong is inside the stone coffin; I'm going to rescue her."

Qin Fei called back, his pace quickening. He stomped on the ground, and his giant sword swung through the air, slicing neatly towards the stone coffin.

"Boom!"

The force of five thousand kilograms, combined with the blade's energy, struck the stone coffin like a thunderous blow.

After being struck by gravity, the massive stone coffin, over ten meters in length, flipped mid-air and began to roll like a steamroller, heading straight for the forest below.

It barreled through, toppling a vast swath of trees in its wake.

"Roar..."

A furious roar erupted from within the coffin.

The colossal stone coffin was suddenly hurled skyward, bearing down on Qin Fei.

"Die!"

Qin Fei bellowed, gripping his enormous sword and lunging forward with a charge.

Sword Spell, Fire.

"Boom!"

A gigantic fiery character burst forth from the void, slamming down upon the stone coffin.

"Boom!"

Explosions surrounded the sarcophagus, as the violent and terrifying force spread out like a tidal wave.

This time, the coffin was violently thrown a good thirty meters.

Yet, despite the force, the stone coffin remained intact, without a single scratch.

"Swish!"

The coffin quickly regained stability in the void and darted forward, vanishing into the sky in the blink of an eye.

"Think you can escape?"

Qin Fei shouted angrily, pursuing the stone coffin with haste.

He couldn't fathom why there would be a horde of zombies and even a mysterious stone coffin here. After all, they had just come from this direction and had found no trace of a dwelling of death.

"He's so powerful..."

Deng Yingyan witnessed Qin Fei's earlier display of might.

She realized something—if she underestimated Qin Fei, she wouldn't even know how she met her end.

"Who exactly is he? How can he be so powerful at the Astral Refinement Stage?"

Deng Yingyan inhaled deeply, her curiosity about Qin Fei growing by the second.

"You scum, die..."

In that moment, Wang Dao and Wang Jian, each wielding a massive sword, cleaved through the zombies. Heads of two zombies were severed in an instant, their demise enraging them further.

Seeing this, Deng Yingyan gripped her precious sword and charged into the fray.

She decapitated an oncoming zombie, its vile fluids spraying from its severed body.

Yet now, her sword moved with increasing speed, striking out like a whirlwind...

Qin Fei pursued his quarry relentlessly, covering no less than ten miles in the chase. When he finally halted, he found himself enveloped in a mountain mist. Towering around him were mists rising four to five hundred meters high, forming a seemingly endless chain. Qin Fei was now deep within their midst.

Flanking the mists were numerous large caves, each around ten meters in height, from which a dark and deadly aura continuously emanated.

"Could those zombies have originated from a place like this? But why did they slay Zhang Xiao and abduct Huang Rong?" Qin Fei pondered this question throughout his journey. Why hadn't the zombies simply killed Huang Rong? Why had they taken her captive instead? Was it possible they intended to take her back for breeding purposes? Moreover, Qin Fei was baffled by the coffin – a massive stone sarcophagus that not only held Huang Rong but could also fly. What material could it be made from to possess such incredible properties? "Swoosh, swoosh!"

"Crash!"

Suddenly, a piercing screech echoed from one of the caves, followed by a flurry of dark shadows that surged out and dove straight for Qin Fei. From a distance, he could clearly make out a swarm of bats.

But as the bats swooped in and neared him, a bat as large as a human emerged from the swarm. This was no ordinary bat; it was the legendary Night Owl, a creature akin to a monkey in form but human-sized, with razor-sharp claws and teeth, and a fearsomely aggressive attack. Once the Night Owl set its sights on prey, escape was nearly impossible.

"This is bad..."

The abrupt arrival of the Night Owl caused Qin Fei's face to pale. He braced himself for the imminent strike of claws as sharp as blades.

"Clang!"

Instinctively, he lifted his massive sword, and sparks erupted as the blade met the Night Owl's talons.

"Crash!"

The colossal Night Owl screeched sharply, its agile body leaping into the air. It expelled a breath of dark energy from its mouth, launching it at Qin Fei with a resounding "Crack!"

The Night Owl harbored a deadly blood poison in its beak, a result of ingesting various types of blood, which rendered its teeth lethally toxic. Typically, those who survived its bite would inexorably turn into zombies.

In that instant, as the venomous mist sprayed forth, Qin Fei executed a swift spin and leap to evade, retreating to one side. The path of the toxic cloud left the flora in its wake—flowers, grass, and trees—withering away.

"Die!"

Having regained his footing, Qin Fei sprang into action once more.