Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

What would it be like to stand alone in a silent forest on a dark and stormy night, with a dead man's head in your hand?

Master Li didn't find it particularly interesting. He traveled far and wide, often having to operate in the dark like this to capture demons, and was already used to it. As for the human head in his hand, although it was a bit gruesome, at least there was no blood and it didn't suddenly emit a sharp, piercing howl. Compared to some of the evil spirits he had subdued before, he could say he accepted this human head quite well.

According to the two unnamed innate beings, the head in this package came from a strange zombie, and they should be able to find some clues through this head.

Since he had given him his head and said he could do whatever he wanted with it, Master Li didn't stand on ceremony. Luckily, there were no people or demons around, so he used a talisman to light a fire and opened the package on the ground.

The head's hair and beard were disheveled, as if it had rolled around on the ground several times. The head that Chu Yintai saw appeared and disappeared suddenly, so he didn't have time to see what it looked like. Chu Yintai probably didn't dare to look.

Without a specific description of the face, Master Li could not determine whether the head in front of him was the one that had startled Chu Yintai during the day. He examined it by the firelight and found that the neck had been cut very cleanly, a typical decapitation with a single stroke, without any hesitation.

Thinking back to what I just heard, the deceased might have been a cult leader who started a rebellion in this area. After the rebellion failed, it was normal for the government to behead the leader of the rebellion as a warning to the local people.

What's abnormal about this head is that his eyes are always wide open in anger, and his mouth is also wide open, as if he died with his eyes open, or as if he has something to say.

Moreover, when Master Li brought the burning yellow talisman closer, he saw that the wide-open eyes trembled slightly. At first, he thought it was an illusion caused by the irregular movement of the firelight, but when he got closer, he found that he was not mistaken.

Although the eyes did not move, the pupils trembled noticeably. It looked like a dead person's head, as if it were still alive.

However, it only looks like it; of course, it couldn't actually be alive. When Master Li saw that there was a lot of resentment tangled together on the head, and that the body could move on its own instead of following the head after the head and body were separated, he had a guess in his mind.

The formation of a zombie requires certain conditions, such as feng shui and burial methods. Although the one in front of us has become a zombie, judging from the marks on its head, it is only the weakest and most basic purple zombie. Apart from not being rotten on the outside, it has no special attack power.

Judging from the speed at which those two innate beings moved through the air, a purple zombie could not possibly outrun them. Most of the time, purple zombies lay in their own coffins, acting as corpses that would not decay. They did not possess the ability to move freely in the dark, appearing and disappearing suddenly.

What appears to be a zombie corpse to the naked eye may just be an empty shell, with vengeful spirits attached to it, giving the little purple zombie some extra abilities.

The head falls off, but the body can move on its own. The vengeful spirit may be inside the body, controlling its movement.

"A cult...it's probably the White Lotus Cult."

Although the White Lotus Sect mainly clashes with Buddhism on a daily basis, its complex internal factions have drawn in all sorts of deities to believe in, and it has done its fair share of things like following Buddhist rules to believe in religious gods. In any case, they use whatever deity's name sounds good, all under the guise of making money and rebelling.

Master Li had dealt with the White Lotus Sect's sorcerers. Those scoundrels would use evil magic to extort money from the people. On several occasions, their exorcisms turned into exorcisms of people. The root of the problem lay with a certain White Lotus Sect sorcerer in the area.

If the head before him truly belonged to a former leader of the White Lotus Sect, Master Li had every right to suspect that this guy had pulled some crazy trick before his death, ultimately creating this monster that was a mixture of zombie and evil spirit.

"...A Taoist priest? Tsk."

In the depths unseen by Master Li, a dark figure lurked, wearing a cloak billowing with black smoke, obscuring his face and making him appear like a vengeful ghost of the night.

After finally finding their target, they discovered there was a Taoist priest next to them, which was a real problem.

He maintained a safe distance from Master Li, ensuring he wouldn't be discovered by those ahead. To come to such a desolate place at this time and study human heads here, he was definitely a Taoist with real skills. If he had too much contact with him, there was a high chance his identity would be exposed.

"Resentment, yin energy, evil energy... what else?"

Li Daoshi was completely unaware of what was happening behind him. It was the dead of night, and the trees overhead provided some cover. The surroundings were extremely dark, and the other party was quite unusual, maintaining a respectful distance with considerable experience. He had no idea that someone was hiding in the darkness behind him.

He focused solely on studying the head in his hand. As for the body, which was nowhere to be found, Master Li had neither seen what it looked like nor believed in the strength of a Xiantian person. A strong person who could cleave a trench with a single sword strike would be more than capable of dealing with a zombie.

Now, Master Li is more curious about the tangled forces on this human head. One thing is certain: this zombie was created through some kind of evil magic. The person who performed the magic probably wanted to create a more powerful zombie, such as a hairy zombie, but failed and only created an empty shell of a purple zombie.

"This is such a hassle."

Master Li couldn't help but sigh. If it was the work of the White Lotus Sect, his involvement would surely lead to another entanglement with their madmen. It was common knowledge in the industry that White Lotus Sect sorcerers were difficult to deal with, since they didn't care about reputation or morality and their methods were mostly underhanded.

He also heard that several sects of the White Lotus Sect in the south had merged, and there was a hint that a new sect was about to emerge, apparently because some very troublesome individuals had appeared.

I just hope the other two will act quickly and resolve this matter tonight.

"Uh……"

"Ok?"

Some faint noises reached Master Li's ears. Although the sound was very low, it could be heard as a groan. Master Li first listened carefully, thinking that it was coming from a distance.

After listening intently for a long time, he sensed something was wrong. The source of the broken groans was not far away, but right here, or more precisely, from the mouth of the human head placed on the ground.

The head still had its mouth wide open and its eyes wide open. The difference from before was that its eyes could move slightly and its mouth could tremble, as if the head had gone from looking alive to actually coming to life little by little.

Master Li didn't believe it was something that had suddenly gotten into a good mood and was having a final burst of energy before death. It had been silent for a while, and then suddenly it seemed to be about to speak after studying it for so long. This whole thing seemed very strange.

Perhaps, something triggered it.

Thinking of this, Master Li ignored the head that was starting to move around a little, wrapped it back in his bundle as if he hadn't seen anything, and tied it tightly. He seemed not to hear the broken and indistinct sounds coming from the other person's mouth at all.

But the yellow talisman lit for illumination was still burning in his hand. Master Li placed the talisman, which was still burning, on his whisk. Flames immediately climbed up the whisk bristles. Then, with a flick of his wrist, a ring of fire spread outwards from the Taoist figure in the center.

The dazzling light illuminated the surroundings, and strangely, the area where the fire circle passed did not burn, as if what had just flown past was not flames, but merely a ring of light.

The ring of fire spread quickly, and those hiding in the darkness had no time to dodge, being illuminated by the light and revealing their whereabouts.

"There is indeed something!"

……

In the village at night, a headless corpse staggered across the fields, inching its way toward the houses ahead. It was late at night, and all the villagers were fast asleep, so no one noticed the uninvited guest.

"Whizzing!"

Suddenly, several whooshing sounds came from the horizon, and several sharp arrows pierced through the air, striking the headless corpse. The corpse fell down, and the arrows turned out to be several stalks of grass that had pierced through the back of the corpse's hand, pinning it firmly to the ground.

"Finally found you."

Two white figures descended under the moonlight. It was unbelievable that these two innate beings would be led astray by a headless zombie for so long.

After determining the general direction, they rushed here immediately. Zombies attack living people, and it was late at night, with the villagers all asleep. If this thing took advantage of their vulnerability, the two of them didn't even want to think about the consequences.

Because of the zombie's unique nature, cutting it down with a single blow might destroy the clues that follow. The innate human's physical attack power is too strong. On their way here, they kept thinking about how to both stop the zombie's movements and leave it with a "complete corpse".

Looking at the grass stalks by the roadside, the two of them recalled the previous battle between humans and foxes. The fox soldiers of the Hu family used grass stalks as bows and arrows to shoot at the foxes, which were basically harmless.

If arrows made from grass stalks have no killing power, then they can use grass stalks as weapons. These things are thin, and if they are reinforced with internal force, they can be used as long needles.

Inspired by the little foxes of the Hu family, the scene just now unfolded: the headless corpse was pinned to the ground by several thin grass stalks, which prevented it from being smashed or maimed, and also effectively restricted its movements.

"You've kept us on our backs for most of the night, that's enough for you to brag about."

If they faced him head-on, they could take care of him with a flick of their fingers, but this guy is really good at running away. He can disappear in a flash. It's said that they were being led around, but in reality, they spent most of their time looking for him.

In terms of force, we can kill the enemy as soon as they show themselves, but it's very difficult if the enemy doesn't show themselves.

“He can’t escape this time. Jian Feidao, you should take a good look at what’s wrong with this guy.”

"...There are vengeful spirits hiding inside."

No wonder I thought this thing looked like a Frankenstein's monster when I saw it before. It turns out there's a ghost inside the zombie's body. It's not the headless zombie moving on its own; it's the ghost inside controlling the outer shell.

Wow, it turns out it wasn't a Frankenstein's monster, but a set of nesting dolls.

"I remember the villagers saying there were three leaders who led the rebellion?"

Ren Pingsheng looked at the headless corpse on the ground, which was still struggling even though it was nailed down. The body was a person, and the soul was a person. It seemed that they had only captured one zombie leader, but in reality, there might have been two.

If both of them are leaders of the White Lotus Cult, then there is one left. Ren Pingsheng only hopes that the other party dies through the normal process of reincarnation, and doesn't do anything unseen.

"Could we get him to speak?"

Which one is the "traveler"?

"Of course it's the ghost inside."

Putting aside whether zombie-like corpses can talk, the one on the ground right now doesn't even have a head, so it doesn't even have the ability to speak. The only one it can communicate with is the resentful ghost inside.

Jian Feidao concentrated his inner energy into the ink flute in his hand and pointed it at the struggling corpse on the ground. Wisps of black energy emerged from the knife wound on the corpse's neck, but the ghost inside showed no intention of showing itself.

It seems they don't intend to cooperate, which isn't surprising, but it will take some more effort later.

"Let's go back and find that Taoist priest."

The evil spirit was hiding inside the zombie's body and even controlling it, which was somewhat like possession. Such a strange thing would be quite shocking in the world of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. The two found a rope, tied the corpse up tightly, and took it back.

Their journey took them further and further astray. At the very beginning, they encountered traditional characters like little monsters and cultivators, but on the other side of the mountain, they found themselves surrounded by evil spirits and zombies.

"Let's ask Master Li if he has any solutions first. If he still doesn't cooperate... let's go directly to Lady Jiang."

This ghost is filled with resentment, and the people of the underworld will definitely take care of it. If it is indeed the former leader of the White Lotus Sect who led the rebellion, he must have even more karmic burdens on his body. Not only did he not enter the underworld for review after death, but he also hid in the body of a zombie and harmed people. I believe that the Five Capitals Patrolman would definitely be interested in such a thing.

You're not cooperating as a ghost, huh? No problem. From local Taoist priests to underworld officials, they can always find someone who will make you cooperate.

When the two returned along the same route with the headless corpse they had captured, they noticed some light coming from the woods... no, it was firelight.

When they left, only Master Li was there. Although they had only met once, they did not think that he would be the one to set fire to the mountain for no reason.

Moreover, the firelight was wrong; it flickered, as if the flames were imitating the stars in the sky, flashing on and off.

Just as the two were wondering if something had happened, a plume of black smoke suddenly flew overhead, passing over their heads. Normally, on a night like this, the black smoke wouldn't attract attention, as the surroundings were already dark, and this wisp of smoke could easily blend into the night.

But by sheer coincidence, the firelight illuminated the area, and the black smoke billowed out from the source of the fire. Under the firelight, the black smoke was exceptionally conspicuous.

Judging by appearances is wrong, but just by looking at the shape of the black smoke, it's hard for the two of them to think the other is a good person, especially since it flew out from the direction where Master Li was. They had to stop it.

At this moment, Ren Pingsheng was carrying a headless zombie that was tied up like a dumpling, so he couldn't free his hands. Therefore, the task of intercepting the black smoke was left to Jian Feidao. It was too late to draw his sword, and he didn't know what was in the black smoke. He chose to use his flute instead of his sword, and a sword aura slashed towards the black shadow in the sky.

"Ugh!"

Unexpectedly, the black smoke emitted a human voice, clearly the cry of pain a person would make when attacked. If it were truly a person, Jian Feidao could have easily knocked the opponent down with this attack.

Even more surprisingly, the opponent only cried out in pain, but its speed of flight did not decrease at all, as if it was not affected by the attack at all, and it quickly flew into the night sky.

Seeing this, Jian Feidao frowned as he looked at his hand holding the flute.

"...That thing has no physical form."

Although it was just sword energy, if it hit the enemy, he would still feel something. But he didn't feel that attack just now. Jian Feidao felt that his attack passed right through him.

The other party had no physical form; it was truly like a wisp of smoke.