Huang Shuliang's face, much like a weasel's, revealed a series of sinister smiles.
"Creak, creak."
A sound emanated from his mouth. Then, with a wave of the whisk in his hand, circles of black smoke billowed towards Zhang Tian and the others.
The smoke enveloped them almost instantly, with a corpse aura swirling overhead.
Zhang Tian felt the pressure from above but remained unfazed.
Instead, he looked at Huang Shuliang with an air of normalcy.
"The Xuanjiang on the coffin earlier was your doing, wasn't it? The Xuanjiang absorbed the energy from the Eighteen Constellation Formation, and you were at the bottom, reaping the benefits, absorbing energy from the Xuanjiang."
"Coupled with the effect of the gold vein, your cultivation must have soared."
Zhang Tian spoke calmly. Huang Shuliang, however, offered no room for his words.
With another flick of his whisk, a black lightning bolt of corpse aura struck down from above.
It's not the ability of a zombie that's frightening, but a zombie that was once a Taoist priest. Zhang Tian finally understood the meaning of this saying.
A Taoist priest turned zombie was far more formidable than a naturally powerful zombie.
Dodging the corpse lightning once, Zhang Tian quickly retreated a step.
"Boss, he's entered the formation my master set up earlier."
Hu Bayi, holding a talisman, hurried over.
"Let's just keep him occupied for now."
Zhang Tian said, taking the talisman from Hu Bayi and forming a hand seal.
The next moment, the talisman burned, and a trapping formation appeared on the ground.
As expected of Master Yi Mei, the formations he laid out were much stronger than Lin Tian's.
The aura was also more potent than Zhang Tian's.
"A mere petty formation."
Huang Shuliang adopted an arrogant posture. How could such a proud individual be intimidated by this formation?
But as he prepared to break through, he was surprised to find that the formation was remarkably stable, as if several formations were layered upon one another.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qilin's figure weaved rapidly.
In the next instant, a dark silhouette appeared before Huang Shuliang.
The Black Gold Ancient Saber struck Huang Shuliang almost instantly, leaving a deep scar on his corpse.
Due to the formation, Huang Shuliang's movements were somewhat restricted.
After all, zombies inherently had slow attack speeds, and Zhang Qilin's speed was exceptionally fast.
Huang Shuliang found himself unable to deal with Zhang Qilin.
Seeing this, Zhang Tian quickly formed hand seals, his mind racing.
"Old Hu, can I borrow your fan?"
Zhang Tian said, taking Hu Bayi's fan. As he fanned himself, his thoughts became clearer.
"Many suspicious points: the Eighteen Constellation coffin, the witch, her husband Huang Shuliang, and Huang Shuliang's immense power. Why didn't he just kill us?"
Zhang Tian pondered these questions, his mind swiftly connecting the dots.
Zhang Qilin stood before him, blocking Huang Shuliang's next attack.
It was worth remembering that when Huang Shuliang had first awakened, he had dispatched Master Yi Mei with a single swipe.
His strength had long since surpassed that of a Xuanjiang, placing him at the Grandmaster level.
Furthermore, that Xuanjiang was merely a pawn of Huang Shuliang. The witch had always claimed her husband died of plague.
Yet, she had contracted a curse, and even gouged out the Xuanjiang's eyes. With the witch's strength, she was no match for the Xuanjiang.
This implied that Huang Shuliang had deliberately given her the Xuanjiang's eyes for her to perform a ritual.
But why would Huang Shuliang need a ritual? And why did his face look so strange?
Why did it resemble a weasel so much?
Countless thoughts flashed through Zhang Tian's mind.
Suddenly, Zhang Tian seemed to realize something.
He handed the fan back to Hu Bayi.
"Old Hu, I understand now!"
"This entire situation is Huang Shuliang's game!"
"The weasels in the Greater Khingan Range outside should be Huang Shuliang's greatest contributors to his sacrifice. After skinning those human-skin weasels, their bodies were offered here."
"And monsters don't turn into zombies. This means Huang Shuliang was human, and his current appearance is definitely the result of a curse."
"Earlier, the witch also said that Huang Shuliang wouldn't awaken, because only a curse could reclaim the soul."
As Zhang Tian spoke, Hu Bayi's eyes lit up.
"Boss, you mean, to defeat this fellow, we have to use a curse?"
Hu Bayi asked, and Zhang Tian nodded.
"Huang Shuliang is likely the witch's husband. He didn't die of plague, but a curse, a non-natural death. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for his death to lead to the witch learning curses."
"The curse markings on the witch earlier were likely placed by Huang Shuliang."
Zhang Tian explained. Hu Bayi furrowed his brow. This was getting complicated.
His CPU was about to fry.
"Huang Shuliang resembles a weasel, and he was also a Taoist priest. Boss, do you remember the corpse of the Biao Shan Taoist we saw in the outer tomb chamber?"
"There might be a connection."
Hu Bayi spoke again.
Zhang Tian's eyes brightened.
"The corpse of the Biao Shan Taoist was found there. At the time, Zhang Tian found it strange."
"The Biao Shan Taoists were at least powerful. The fact that he died outside proves that Huang Shuliang didn't want him to enter."
Zhang Tian said, and the two looked at each other.
"It must be the weasel's curse."
They spoke in unison.
But why didn't Huang Shuliang want the Biao Shan Taoist to enter, and why did he transform into this monster from a Taoist priest?
Just then, Fatty and Xie Yuchen seemed to have found something beneath a floor tile in the tomb chamber.
Fatty hurried over.
"Boss, look! We have new clues!"
"Wow! Second Brother is so strong, holding off this damned Taoist by himself. As expected, he's the bravest man in the team."
Fatty glanced at Zhang Qilin and sighed inwardly.
"What is it?"
Zhang Tian asked urgently, flashing to Xie Yuchen's side.
Xie Yuchen was startled by Zhang Tian's speed. Normally, Zhang Tian presented a harmless demeanor, but the power he now displayed was beyond his reach.
"This... it looks like a demon core."
Xie Yuchen slowly extended his hand, revealing a green, spherical bead.
"When you were fighting just now, a floor tile cracked and a wooden box popped out, containing this."
"There was also a note, but we can't read the writing on it."
Xie Yuchen said, producing a piece of paper.
"This is Taoist script."
"It's the coded language of the Taoist sects."
Zhang Tian took the note, saying. Having studied Taoist magic, he was somewhat familiar with such things.
He looked at the writing on it.
Gradually, Zhang Tian's eyes widened.
His heart filled with joy. The note detailed Huang Shuliang's story!
And this green object was very likely a weasel's inner core.
It exuded demonic energy and the aura of a weasel, making the connection unavoidable.
At this moment, sensing the emergence of demonic energy, Zhang Qilin and Huang Shuliang, who were locked in combat, paused.
Huang Shuliang's body seemed to tremble.
Zhang Qilin seized the opportunity, his Black Gold Ancient Saber severing one of Huang Shuliang's fingers.
Huang Shuliang instantly regained his senses, his aura surging. Clearly, this item was of great importance to him.
Seeing this, Zhang Tian's gaze returned to the writing on the paper.
He then slowly translated it for Xie Yuchen and the others.