IW: Chapter 270 Bai Ye's teaching is effective and his disciples are making rapid progress!
Of course, a man as rigid and reserved as the old Taoist could never bring himself to speak such emotional words out loud.
He simply buried his face behind a stoic front, letting his heart swell with quiet pride.
"There's no need for elaborate hospitality," Bai Ye said, waving off the lavish gestures. "Take us directly to your ancestral hall. The moment the spiritual issue is resolved, we will take our leave."
Bai Ye had accepted the invitation partly because the old master had pressed the matter earlier, and he refused to let his senior lose face in public.
On the other hand, a pivotal shift in the local fate line was unfolding directly before his eyes, and he intended to test the outcome.
"Right away, right away!" the warlord chuckled, his fleshy palms rubbing together frantically. He turned toward the senior priest and gestured forward. "Douzhi—ahem, Brother Ying! Let's move, let's move!"
The military commander secretly breathed a sigh of relief, congratulating himself on catching his tongue at the very last second before slipping into his old derogatory nickname for the priest.
"Mhm."
The old Taoist offered a firm nod, his face locked in a severe, unreadable mask.
"Shall we proceed?"
He cast one final glance back toward Lotus, a sharp pang of quiet reluctance tugging at his chest. His former junior sister was now another man's wedded wife. He had come here merely to glimpse her face one last time, and his heightened spiritual senses had already picked up the faint, emerging life force inside her womb.
It was a stark, unyielding truth: what was missed in youth was lost for a lifetime.
"Please, be careful out there."
Lotus murmured soft words of concern, her eyes lingering on her former senior. Watching the silent, intense exchange of glances between the two, the warlord felt an overwhelming surge of jealousy surge through his veins. Right then and there, he swore an oath that he would never allow his wife and this Taoist to breathe the same air again.
He needed these priests to purge the ancestral curse immediately so he could kick this dangerous guest out of his territory. If they lingered any longer, he felt as though his hat would turn bright green by sunset.
Spurred by those frantic thoughts, the commander's heavy boots accelerated along the cobblestone path.
His family's ancestral hall was situated only a short distance down the estate grounds.
The old Taoist fell into step beside the group, taking the lead to showcase his deep, authoritative mastery over the subtle flow of earth energies.
During their recent encounters, either Bai Ye had taken charge of the situation or the problems fell entirely outside his specific lineage. Now that the issue centered strictly on environmental energy layout, the senior priest could finally demonstrate the full extent of his craft.
Although he had chosen to seal away this relationship, Ninth Uncle still couldn't help but want to compare himself to the Marshal.
Listening to the praises from the Marshal and his disciples, Ninth Uncle felt incredibly elated, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve upwards slightly.
They arrived inside the ancestral hall.
Ninth Uncle pointed to a coffin that had already fallen to the ground and said, "Look, the coffin touched the ground, so the Ren Old Master turned into a zombie."
"Then just opening the coffin will do, right?"
The Marshal asked uncertainly.
Earlier, Bai Ye had said that as long as he pulled out his father's zombie teeth, ground them into powder, and ate them, he would be fine.
So now, did he just need to open the coffin and pull out the teeth?
"During the day, zombies will use their corpse qi to hold the coffin shut. You won't be able to open it!"
Ninth Uncle shook his head, but he didn't stop the Marshal from trying.
How could he know it was impossible without trying?!
"You few go try."
Clearly, just as Ninth Uncle thought, the Marshal didn't believe Ninth Uncle's words. Instead, he looked at the soldiers behind him and told them to give it a try.
The soldiers exchanged glances. This was a zombie, and they felt a bit hesitant, but thinking that there was a Daozhang who could summon lightning at any time nearby, they suddenly felt that this zombie didn't seem so terrifying after all.
The few of them approached the coffin and tried their best, but they still couldn't budge the coffin lid.
The coffin lid was tightly sealed onto the coffin, not moving an inch.
"We can only wait until night."
Zombies wouldn't appear during the day, so they could only wait until night.
"No need for so much trouble. We still need to rush to Teng Teng Town later. Let's just blast open the zombie's coffin now!"
Bai Ye said, then directly punched the coffin.
Inside the ancestral hall, with a bang, the coffin instantly shattered.
The zombie sleeping inside the coffin was utterly bewildered.
He had already used his corpse qi to hold the coffin shut, yet this person just punched his coffin to pieces?
Although it was daytime, the ancestral hall was actually not transparent, so the zombie could still move freely.
"Tingting, you guys restrain this zombie, then pull out his teeth."
This zombie was too weak; Bai Ye didn't want to get involved in this matter.
Instead, he could use this zombie to train Ren Tingting and the other two.
They had been cultivating with him for a while now; it was time to test them out.
"What about me, Daozhang?!"
Snowflake looked at Bai Ye eagerly, clearly wanting to help, but before she could act, Bai Ye held her back: "You just stay here and watch. Don't move around. This zombie doesn't need you to act."
Snowflake's strength was much greater than Ren Tingting's trio. Despite her young age, Snowflake had been trained as a Saintess since childhood, and the combat style of the Miao region was also peculiar and somewhat different from cultivation.
So, if Snowflake were to act, there would basically be nothing left for Ren Tingting and the others to do.
"Alright."
Snowflake pouted; she just wanted to help, really.
"Cousin, I'll help you!"
Awei's eyes darted around. Seeing Ren Tingting already rushing towards the zombie with a rope, he immediately got excited.
It was known that Ren Tingting and the other two's strength should be enough to deal with this zombie. If he acted now, first, he could gain a sense of presence, and second, perhaps by some unexpected turn of events, he could be a hero saving a beauty. Ren Tingting was still dealing with a zombie for the first time, after all.
Worst case, with Bai Ye here, they certainly wouldn't have any safety issues.
"Damn it!"
Wencai felt a pang of discomfort seeing Awei like that; Awei had beaten him to it again.
However, when he saw that Ren Tingting and the other two had already bound the zombie with ropes just as Awei ran over, Wencai stood frozen in place.
He had originally thought that even if Ren Tingting and the others were cultivating with Bai Ye,
because the cultivation time was too short, they might only be like himself.
After all, no matter how poor his aptitude was, he had at least cultivated with Ninth Uncle for such a long time.
"Don't overthink it. Just cultivate well from now on."
Qiusheng stood beside Wencai. Although he no longer had Wencai's thoughts, Qiusheng did feel some emotion.
Seeing an ordinary person's strength improve so quickly.
Now they could even deal with zombies.
He seemed to have been a bit too complacent before.
Thinking of the time he had wasted, Qiusheng didn't know what to say for a moment.
The gap between people truly was vast.
"Do I still have a chance?"
Wencai made a bitter face, looking constipated.
He felt like he had no chance at all.
Of course, he wasn't just talking about cultivation, but also about Ren Tingting.
Wencai finally understood why Ninth Uncle had said what he did back then.
It turned out that the greater the disparity between himself and Ren Tingting became, the less likely they would be together.
"Wencai, actually, Master was right. Perhaps it would be better if we cultivated."
Qiusheng's words naturally reached Ninth Uncle's ears. After hearing Wencai's remark, a hint of satisfaction flashed across Ninth Uncle's face.
"I..."
A bitter smile flashed across Wencai's face. Some words he couldn't bring himself to say.
Even though he already knew that Qiusheng was right, he himself felt a bit unwilling.
Looking in Ren Tingting's direction, he finally couldn't help but let out a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart.
"Cousin, pull out the teeth."
"Ah?! Me pull the teeth?"
Awei looked at Ren Tingting in surprise. He had originally wanted to come and help.
But just as he arrived, the zombie had already been tied up with ropes.
He was about to say something, but then Ren Tingting asked him to pull out the zombie's teeth.
Although the zombie had been controlled by Ren Tingting and the others, the zombie's snarling appearance still gave Awei a lingering fear.
It seemed like a similar situation when he saw Ren Old Master last time.
Now he had to pull out the teeth again?!
He wouldn't get bitten while pulling out the teeth, would he?
Would he turn into a zombie if he got bitten?
Awei felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. He turned his head and subtly glanced at Ninth Uncle. After seeing that Ninth Uncle didn't seem to have any intention of stopping him,
he was completely numb.
So Ninth Uncle didn't care about this at all?!
Actually, Ninth Uncle also wanted Awei to suffer a bit.
Even if he was bitten, he wouldn't actually turn into a zombie.
This could be seen from the Marshal; this zombie was not very powerful at the moment.
So many days had passed, and he was even bitten on the neck, yet the Marshal hadn't turned into a zombie.
If this were Ren Old Master, he would have turned into a zombie that very night.
"Didn't you say you'd help?!"
Compared to Ren Tingting, Ren Qingqing's words were quite direct.
This Awei had been saying he would help all along.
But now he couldn't even pull out a tooth?
"That's right, you were the one who said you'd help!"
Ren Zhuzhu and Ren Tingting exchanged glances, a hint of a smile in their eyes.
Before, the three of them had actually been quite conflicted.
Although they knew it seemed a bit bad to dislike zombie teeth at this moment,
but asking them to retrieve the teeth, they still felt somewhat disgusted deep down.
Even though they were a little distance from the zombie, the bad breath coming from its mouth almost made them vomit.
"Okay, I'll do it!"
Awei gritted his teeth and immediately walked over. Although the zombie was snarling, it had already been trapped by Ren Tingting and the others using magic.
So Awei wasn't that scared deep down. Besides, there were three Daozhang watching from behind. Could they really let him die?!
Thinking of this, Awei felt much more at ease.
At the same time, he looked at Wencai and Qiusheng behind him and said, "Senior brothers, lend a hand. Help me open his mouth!"
Although this zombie was trapped, he didn't dare to reach out directly.
Upon hearing this, Qiusheng and Wencai also hurried over.
"Daoist friend's disciples are indeed formidable."
Ninth Uncle said with a hint of sourness in his tone. These three disciples, when he first met them, hadn't even started cultivation.
At that time, Ninth Uncle watched them begin their journey, and he never expected that after such a short time, they would already be able to fight zombies together.
"Mainly it's because the zombie isn't very strong. Besides, they are still far from it; they don't even want to pull out the zombie teeth."
Bai Ye shook his head. He still needed to train the three of them well later.
It was strange that Ren Tingting in the movie wasn't afraid of this kind of thing, and was even willing to suck out Ren Old Master's breath. Now, she didn't even want to pull out zombie teeth.
Looking at it this way, Ren Tingting, who hadn't experienced certain things, still had the demeanor of a young lady.
In the movie, her father was bitten to death by her grandfather, and the entire family's pillar was gone. Plus, her grandfather's next target was herself. At that time, Ninth Uncle also barely managed to restrain Ren Old Master.
She would die if she didn't step up, so Ren Tingting could only do that at the time. It wasn't that she truly accepted such things, so when she had a choice, Ren Tingting was still unwilling to do it.
"They've just stepped onto the path of cultivation; it's understandable that they might find it a bit difficult to accept."
"That's not an excuse."
Bai Ye sighed. When he first entered the path of cultivation, he did everything.
After all, at that time, he also knew that this was his only chance.
"Daoist friend, the way you say that, it's as if everyone can compare to you!"
Ma Ma Di couldn't help but retort from the side. After Bai Ye finished speaking, Ma Ma Di felt something was off.
Is he someone people can compare to?!
Anyway, Ma Ma Di had never seen a genius more abnormal than Bai Ye.
Ninth Uncle, standing nearby, also deeply agreed.
"You two are still fine. Look, didn't they get the zombie teeth out?"
Ma Ma Di glanced at Qiusheng and the others.
He also unconsciously thought of A Hao and A Qiang.
He always felt that even his disciples couldn't compare to Ninth Uncle's.
Ever since Qiusheng changed, he truly became capable.
Although Wencai and Awei weren't as skilled, if you told them to go, they would really go.
There was even less to say about Ren Tingting's trio. Ma Ma Di felt that if he had such disciples, his ancestors must have burned high incense.
Thinking of his two disciples, besides causing him trouble, there seemed to be nothing else.
"Master, Bai Ye Daoshi, I got the zombie teeth!"
Awei ran towards Bai Ye and the others with the zombie teeth in his hand, looking as if he was presenting a treasure.
"Master, what about this zombie?!"
The zombie's teeth had been removed, so what about the zombie itself?
Ren Tingting and the others were still using magic to restrain the zombie, waiting for Bai Ye and the others to make a decision.
"Marshal, you don't mind us dealing with your father, do you?"
Bai Ye didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to the Marshal and asked.
Ever since he had displayed his martial prowess, the Marshal had become much more compliant.
Although he had been a bit offensive before, Bai Ye still respected him. After all, it was his father, so it was best to ask properly before taking action.
If he agreed, everyone would be happy. If he didn't agree, then Bai Ye could only act on behalf of heaven.
"No objection, no objection!"
The Marshal waved his hands repeatedly, a fawning smile on his face.
How could he dare to object to Bai Ye now?
Not to mention Bai Ye's strength, just the fact that his own father had turned into a zombie meant he might come to bite him later.
He didn't want to turn into a zombie!
He was a filial son, helping his father find release. How could that be unfilial?
"That's good," Bai Ye nodded, then looked at the zombie and said, "Tingting, you guys release the zombie."
As soon as Bai Ye finished speaking, Ren Tingting and the other two released the zombie. After losing its restraints, the zombie immediately rushed towards the Marshal's position, which startled the Marshal so much that he wanted to hide behind Bai Ye. However, just as he lifted his leg, he saw an incredible scene: "Holy crap?! My dad turned to ashes?!"