Chapter 135

One-thirty in the afternoon, the sun blazed down, covering everything in dust. The slightly potholed street radiated scorching heat, distorting the air.

A dusty taxi parked by the roadside, not far from the archway of the Wuhen Hotel. Zhang Yuanqing, carrying a backpack, put on a baseball cap and mask, opened the door and got out. "Young man, going back to Songhai? I can wait for you!" The driver stuck his head out, calling enthusiastically after his retreating figure. Although he'd made a good profit on this trip, he wanted to make another one.

"My Ice Beauty Wife"

Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, then turned back and said, "I'll be going back tonight, or you can wait? Goodbye!" The driver stepped on the gas and left.

Zhang Yuanqing lowered the brim of his cap and strode across the parking space in front of the hotel entrance. He pushed open the revolving doors of the lobby, and a strong gust of cold air rushed out. Zhang Yuanqing's spirits lifted, and he felt refreshed.

Aunt Xiao Yuan stood at the front desk, still in her white shirt and burgundy suit uniform, tall and full-figured, with bright features. Xiao Yuan glanced at him and said indifferently, "Follow me!" With that, she left the counter, her high heels clicking as she walked into the hotel.

*Why is this woman so hot and cold?* Zhang Yuanqing quickly followed, entering the elevator. They arrived on the third floor. Xiao Yuan took out her employee card from her pocket and swiped it to open the door of room 306.

"The level 3 Mind Bewilderment Demon you wanted has experience points of about 30%-60%. He's quite strong and is the leader of a Jinshan City criminal gang. He's done a lot of heartless things." Xiao Yuan leaned against the door, arms crossed. Zhang Yuanqing entered the room and saw a man lying quietly on the bed. He was about 35 years old, with a thin face and a well-proportioned, athletic body, with full muscles and no excess fat.

He examined the body, confirming that there were no obvious external injuries or broken bones, and nodded with satisfaction.

The flesh was equivalent to raw material, and it had to be intact. Missing arms and legs were definitely unacceptable. This body was in very good condition, which showed that Xiao Yuan had taken it seriously. "How long has it been dead?" he asked again.

The "material's" death time was best controlled within 12 hours, because the concentration of the spiritual body remaining in the shell directly determined the quality of the "material." "Hunted this morning," she said.

Zhang Yuanqing nodded again with satisfaction, took off his backpack, and took out twenty bundles of thick paper money, ten thousand in each bundle. "This is the reward." Xiao Yuan was stunned for a moment, her face suddenly turning cold, and said, "No reward is needed. Helping you hunt the Mind Bewilderment Demon is my promise. It's already repaying your favor." Her gaze lingered on the 200,000 yuan in cash for a few seconds, then firmly moved away.

*Does she think I'm pitying her? She's so sensitive; even a little bit of kindness easily pricks her pride.* Zhang Yuanqing said in a deep voice, "The favor is owed to me by Kou Beiyue, and he should repay it himself. And now, what I'm repaying is the favor I owe you." Xiao Yuan frowned and was silent.

The hotel's business wasn't very good, and the overall economy had been sluggish in recent years, making it difficult to make money. She had to maintain the expenses of her small team, which put a lot of pressure on her. Wuhen Da Shi's team wasn't just her and Kou Beiyue.

Two hundred thousand yuan in cash was very important. Zhang Yuanqing pressed his advantage, and said angrily, "If you repay Kou Beiyue's debt to me, it makes me seem like an outsider. In Aunt Xiao Yuan's heart, am I not as good as that stupid fool? Yes!" Xiao Yuan said.

Zhang Yuanqing: "..."

A smile flashed in Xiao Yuan's eyes, but she quickly hid it, her face cold, and said, "But you're right. Kou Beiyue's favor should be repaid by himself. He's already 16 years old. He should take on some things himself." Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to hand over the two hundred thousand yuan in cash.

Xiao Yuan, holding the bundles of paper money, was about to leave when she suddenly stopped and said, "I originally wanted to help you hunt an older woman, but such targets are rare, and you were in too much of a hurry. Next time you want to refine a Yin corpse, remember to tell me half a month in advance. As for the reward..." She looked down at the large bundle of paper money on her chest, the corners of her mouth turning up, "It's still two hundred thousand." Bang! The door closed...

*She actually joked with me? And about that kind of thing.* Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. *But, Xiao Yuan, I like mature women who are gentle, not cold and aloof.*

After rejoicing for a while, he suppressed his emotions and turned his attention to the matter at hand.

Zhang Yuanqing successively took out a white porcelain bowl, a brush, cinnabar, bodily fluids extracted from the zombie's body, and dark soil from desolate graves that had accumulated Yin energy from his backpack. He poured them all into the white porcelain bowl and quickly stirred them with the penholder. Before long, the objects in the bowl mixed into a viscous, muddy black-brown substance.

He walked to the bedside, used the Bloodthirsty Blade to cut open the clothes on the corpse's body, held the bowl in one hand, and held the brush in the other, dipping it in "ink" to draw spiritual inscriptions on the body of the Mind Bewilderment Demon. After a person died, the spiritual body would gradually dissipate. During this process, although the spiritual body remained in the physical body, it was actually separated from the physical body.

It was like the relationship between a cup and water. The water was in the cup, but it wasn't one with the cup.

Therefore, the first step in refining a Yin corpse was to allow the remaining spiritual body in the body to reintegrate with the physical body.

Only in this way could a Yin corpse with low intelligence be refined. A Yin corpse without intelligence was equivalent to a puppet that couldn't move, which was of little significance. In addition, after the spiritual body reunited with the physical body, it would retain some attributes, usually a passive skill.

The Mind Bewilderment Demon in the Transcendent stage only had one passive—Berserk!

Zhang Yuanqing concentrated his energy and focused his attention. Every stroke was carefully drawn. Not only could the spiritual inscriptions not be wrong, but the Taiyin power infused into each stroke had to be the same. Uneven infusion of Taiyin power would lead to an imbalance in the formation structure, and all his efforts would be in vain.

More than ten minutes later, the spiritual inscriptions were completed. Distorted and different incantations were harmoniously and regularly connected together, forming an eerie and beautiful formation. Zhang Yuanqing clearly felt the spirit remaining inside the corpse gradually merging into the flesh and blood, returning to this already cold body.

"It's done!"

Zhang Yuanqing heavily exhaled a breath, his face full of joy.

Although spiritual inscriptions were the Night Wanderer's talent skill, mastering spiritual inscriptions was only the foundation. Whether or not one could succeed in one attempt depended on proficiency. In this regard, the gap between a novice and an old bird was very large.

Zhang Yuanqing, who was refining a Yin corpse for the first time, took a deep breath and took out two glass test tubes from his backpack, each containing purple and red liquids. The purple liquid was the blood of a powerful Yin creature, produced in the Night Wanderer's exclusive spirit realm.

The red liquid was the juice of a plant called the "Blood Hand Flower," which contained powerful vitality.

The former was used to nourish the Yin corpse, endowing it with baleful and Yin energy. The latter was to rejuvenate the cold corpse, making the joints no longer stiff and the muscles regain their flexibility. In simpler terms, it was like the lubricant that made rusty gears turn again.

Finally, Zhang Yuanqing took out an amber-like translucent yellow crystal. Among all the materials, this was the most expensive, worth two million. It was a material from the Earth Ghoul's exclusive spirit realm, containing powerful earth attribute spiritual power, and had extremely strong tolerance, being able to merge with most things. The attribute he chose for the Yin corpse was "earth," which he had decided long ago after much deliberation.

The Mind Bewilderment Demon was a good fighter, with melee combat abilities among the best of all professions, but the mediocre self-healing ability and defense were the weaknesses of the Mind Bewilderment Demon. Between self-healing ability and defense, Zhang Yuanqing chose the latter.

Because the Yin corpse would not be tired or feel pain, self-healing ability was slightly redundant, while defense was different. As a puppet, a tool, it could be damaged. Especially when encountering a powerful opponent, it could be skinned and have its tendons pulled out.

In this way, the Yin corpse would be scrapped.

Zhang Yuanqing poured the purple and red liquids into the small bowl, mixed them with the viscous liquid, and quickly stirred them a few times.

He dipped the brush in the diluted liquid and began to inscribe a formation on the floor of the room. It was worth mentioning that the hotel floor was covered with wooden boards and floor tiles. If it had been replaced with a red carpet, Zhang Yuanqing would have been dumbfounded. The difficulty of inscribing the formation was more complicated and difficult than drawing on the corpse. To ensure that there were no mistakes, Zhang Yuanqing drew extremely slowly.

After all, there was only one set of materials.

Half an hour later, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling a sense of exhaustion as if he had been building blocks all day as a child and had finally completed the task. Zhang Yuanqing picked up the corpse of the Mind Bewilderment Demon and gently placed it in the center of the formation, then placed the yellow crystal on the corpse's chest.

"Success or failure depends on this!"

He retreated to the edge of the formation, gently pressed his palm on a corner, and continuously infused Taiyin power.

In an instant, Yin winds swirled in the room, the temperature dropped sharply, and dried-up incantations lit up with purple, black, and red light.

Black and purple light merged into the corpse, condensing into Yin baleful energy, and red light nourished the corpse, giving the pale skin vitality. Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing immediately increased the output of Taiyin power. The black, purple, and red colors soared, shooting straight to the ceiling, magnificent and dazzling.

The yellow crystal on the corpse's chest was like a melting popsicle, absorbed by the Yin corpse.

The Yin corpse lying in the center of the formation suddenly opened its eyes, its gaze gloomy and tyrannical. A powerful and unparalleled force emanated from its body, turning into Yin wind that blew up the curtains and sheets. "It's done!" Zhang Yuanqing was overjoyed.

No, there was still one last step... He strode into the formation, bit his fingertip, and drew a circular formation on the Yin corpse's forehead. As soon as the circular formation was formed, it disappeared into the Yin corpse's body, and in Zhang Yuanqing's sea of consciousness, there was an identical circular formation.

This was the master's mark, and also the medium for manipulating the Yin corpse.

This mark had two functions. One was to issue instructions to the Yin corpse, assigning it to complete a certain task, but it could only be a relatively simple and crude task, such as killing enemies. As for commands that required technical content, the low-intelligence Yin corpse could not understand and execute them, such as painting.

The second was to use the mark as a medium to take over the Yin corpse's body, manipulating it like manipulating a spirit servant. In this state, the Yin corpse could perform various precise operations. "Let's see what abilities this guy has retained, and what attributes the yellow crystal has given it." Immediately, Zhang Yuanqing focused his energy, separated a wisp of his mind, and merged it into the mark in his sea of consciousness.

In the next moment, he felt like he had been "split open." He felt two selves, possessing two bodies. At the same time, through the Yin corpse's perspective, he saw himself wearing narrow-legged capri pants and a white t-shirt. This feeling was not unfamiliar; it was the same when he possessed Little Silly B.

"Damn, the Yin corpse's physique is stronger than my main body!" After figuring out the Yin corpse's attributes, Zhang Yuanqing was shocked.

First of all, the Yin corpse's physique. As a level 3 Mind Bewilderment Demon, its physical fitness was stronger than his current main body, and Zhang Yuanqing felt a fighting will stirring in this body. It was as if it was born to fight, and the desire and confidence for battle were not possessed by Zhang Yuanqing's original body.

"It's like being forcibly given a fighting talent. Is this the Mind Bewilderment Demon's usual state?" Secondly, the passive skill, Berserk upon seeing blood, was preserved, which was also the Mind Bewilderment Demon's only passive skill. Bewilderment and Marking, as active skills, had returned to the spirit realm.

But what really made Zhang Yuanqing happy were the three attributes given by the yellow crystal: First, during battle, the Yin corpse could actively absorb the power of the earth to enhance its endurance, without the need for the master to warm it with Taiyin power. It was worth mentioning that the Yin corpse also had its limits; it was not a perpetual motion machine. After the Taiyin power in its body was exhausted, the master needed to replenish it.

Second, the defense of its skin and flesh was enhanced.

Although it had not reached the level of copper skin and iron bones, ordinary blades and bullets could hardly affect it. Third, Summon Stone Armor.

This attribute was an active skill. The Yin corpse could convert the earth attribute spiritual power stored in its body into impenetrable stone armor, which could be maintained for three minutes. The stone armor had extremely strong defense. Even if it encountered a Mind Bewilderment Demon profession item of the same level that was good at armor penetration, it could withstand it for one minute. "Without using props, I feel like the Yin corpse is a little stronger than my main body. No wonder they say that Night Wanderers with Yin corpses and Night Wanderers without Yin corpses are two different things. No wonder that group of Scholars ranked me 11th."

Zhang Yuanqing suddenly understood.

He couldn't help but wonder, how strong would the first-ranked Zhao Chenghuang, who possessed a level 4 Yin corpse, be?

Even if the Yin corpse lost most of the skills of a Saint, as long as it retained one skill, it could crush most Transcendants with the body of a Saint. And this didn't even count Zhao Chenghuang's own fighting power.

*I was too confident before. Fortunately, I now also have a Yin corpse, and the gap has narrowed. In two days, it will be the arena competition. When the time comes, I will make a dazzling appearance with my Yin corpse.* He confidently left the room with the Yin corpse. He took the elevator back to the first floor. Xiao Yuan, who was at the front desk, heard the movement and glanced sideways.

Her gaze lingered on the Yin corpse exuding baleful energy for a moment, and she said indifferently,

"You'd better get him a pair of sunglasses and a mask. You don't want to be stopped by the security guards on the street and asked for your ID, do you?" Zhang Yuanqing looked back at the Yin corpse and touched his chin. "That makes sense!"

"By the way, I haven't named him yet, Aunt Xiao Yuan. Do you have any suggestions?" Xiao Yuan sneered, "Just call him Undead One. It suits your aesthetics." Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up. "Good name, that's what I've decided." His spirit servant was called Little Silly B, and his Yin corpse was called Undead One. Everyone had a bright future. Xiao Yuan: "Aunt Xiao Yuan, the arena competition is the day after tomorrow. Wait for me to win the championship. Well, getting into the top three is definitely no problem." Zhang Yuanqing didn't say anything definitive. Xiao Yuan looked at him. "You'll be lucky if you can get into the top five. Want to bet?" Zhang Yuanqing was unconvinced. "Bet what?" Xiao Yuan took the challenge.

*If it was Little Uncle, the bet would definitely be a date or a kiss, but I'm a serious person.* Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment and said, "The loser sleeps with the winner!" Then he and the Yin corpse were thrown out of the hotel by Xiao Yuan.

"I was just kidding, jeez..." Zhang Yuanqing scurried away in disgrace. Two days later, early morning.

Zhang Yuanqing had breakfast, washed up, returned to his room, and locked the door. He summoned the Yin corpse Undead One from the closet, put on his fanny pack, packed his Cat King speaker, and silently waited for nine o'clock to arrive.

According to the official announcement, the way to enter the arena competition was the same as entering a dungeon. You just had to wait for the spirit realm prompt at home. The opening ceremony was at nine o'clock in the morning. "Wait..." Zhang Yuanqing suddenly remembered something. If that Yin Ji was really the Demon Lord's lover, she must have seen the Cat King speaker. After all, this prop could not be stored in the item bar. If she found out that I had the Cat King speaker, although it wouldn't necessarily lead her to believe that I was the Demon Lord's heir, she would definitely question it and ask about it, causing unnecessary trouble. Thinking of this, he quickly took off his fanny pack.

*You should just stay in the drawer, sigh, I lost a powerful auxiliary prop.* He thought with regret. Time passed minute by minute, and finally it was nine o'clock.

ps: I'll update first and correct the typos later.