Every single living corpse in those hidden locations had awakened.
First, a hand suddenly shot out from the soil at Lian Li’s feet, giving him a massive fright.
Had he not possessed the sharp instincts of a martial artist, shifting his position the moment he sensed movement beneath him, that hand would likely have emerged directly under his feet and grabbed his ankle.
Yun Huizhou instinctively drew his blade, slashing at the hand.
He severed it cleanly, but a thick, pitch-black, and foul-smelling stench immediately wafted out.
Cutting off a single hand did nothing to solve the problem, for all around them, even more hands were reaching out from the earth.
Some emerged so quickly that half their bodies were already above ground.
Lian Li felt his scalp go numb again.
What was even more terrifying was that only now did they realize just how many living corpses were in this mountain.
They had dealt with at least three thousand just now, but that was nothing compared to the number of living corpses currently crawling out of the soil.
Lian Li estimated that there were as many as twenty thousand living corpses on their hillside alone.
Not to mention the hillside the Qinghong Sword Sect disciples were responsible for.
Calculated this way, there were at least forty thousand—far more than he had imagined.
The population of this world was already quite large compared to the ancient periods of the modern world. A medium-sized county consisted of about forty thousand people.
With this many living corpses here, thinking of it from a more cruel perspective, it meant the people of at least one medium-sized county had met a tragic end.
Seeing this scene, Yun Huizhou’s grip tightened on both his water flask and his blade.
Naturally, he could deduce whatever Lian Li could.
Although he usually appeared indifferent to many things, he was actually a qualified hero when it came to ordinary people who lacked martial arts. He would suppress mountain bandits and catch thieves for the sake of small towns and villages.
Seeing such a scene now, he naturally associated it with how many people had been murdered.
However, while the medicinal powder in their hands was enough to neutralize another seven or eight thousand living corpses, they did not have enough water.
Yun Huizhou could not help but look up at the sky, praying for it to rain sooner.
He hoped they could use the powder in their hands as quickly as possible. Even if they couldn’t destroy all the living corpses, destroying a small portion would be better than nothing.
Neither of them knew why the living corpses were all coming out at this time, but they both knew that a coordinated movement of living corpses meant someone was pulling the strings from behind.
They just didn’t know if these tens of thousands of living corpses were being controlled by one person or many people simultaneously.
But regardless of which it was, the fact that they heard no sound of a zither or flute while so many corpses were being controlled was enough to prove that the person behind this was far more powerful than the one at Fengling Villa.
The two of them could not discern a direction from any sound, so naturally, they could not go looking for trouble with the controller.
Furthermore, the current situation was unclear and involved the Transcendent realm; they dared not act alone.
In an instant, both decided simultaneously to return to Jiaopan City first to inform their seniors of the situation.
However, as they headed back, they discovered that the direction all the living corpses were advancing in was also toward Jiaopan City.
Lian Li felt even more horrified. Was this a damn “Living Corpse Siege” in the making?
It would be one thing if Jiaopan City only contained those of the martial forest; at least they would have some ability to protect themselves when encountering a horde of living corpses. Even if they couldn’t kill them, they could use lightness skills to escape.
But besides the martial forest people, Jiaopan City was home to an entire city of residents! They couldn’t run, and they had nowhere to go!
More importantly, just yesterday, many martial artists who felt their skills were insufficient had already left Jiaopan City, and a portion of those with relatively better skills had entered the Imperial Mausoleum.
Of course, there were government guards, but there were only about a thousand of them. Moreover, the guards protecting the city might never have even suppressed mountain bandits, let alone dealt with these living corpses.
Sensing Lian Li’s anxiety, Yun Huizhou increased his speed as he pulled him back toward Jiaopan City.
“Don’t worry. As long as we hold out until it rains at noon, these living corpses won’t be able to act so arrogantly,” Yun Huizhou comforted him. “Besides, there are several Transcendent masters present. These living corpses won’t be able to enter Jiaopan City.”
The two did not dare delay for a moment. Their current location was some distance from Jiaopan City; at the speed of the living corpses, it would take about thirty minutes to reach the city outskirts.
They had enough time to return to the city, but the people in the city did not have enough time to prepare.
The two flew back to Jiaopan City at high speed, arriving just as the Qinghong Sword Sect disciples were also returning with faces full of anxiety.
The two sides exchanged a glance, both knowing exactly why the other was so frantic.
After a simple nod of acknowledgment, the Qinghong Sword Sect headed toward where their seniors were located.
Lian Li and Yun Huizhou also immediately went back to find the West Island Master and the East Island Master.
The East Island Master was not in the small courtyard they had rented; only the West Island Master was still there, preparing medicine.
As soon as the two entered the courtyard, they spoke immediately: “Senior Uncle Xi(West), tens of thousands of living corpses are heading toward Jiaopan City.”
The West Island Master’s hand paused in its task, and then he snapped his head up. His expression was exceptionally grim.
“Tens of thousands of living corpses?” he asked.
Lian Li nodded. “We used lightness skills the whole way back. Looking down, it was a dense mass of living corpses. We estimate no fewer than thirty thousand.”
The moment Lian Li finished speaking, the aura around the West Island Master suddenly became incredibly violent, shattering many objects in the courtyard.
Only Lian Li, Yun Huizhou, and the medicine the West Island Master was currently preparing were spared.
The West Island Master threw all the medicine packets he had just finished preparing to Lian Li and Yun Huizhou, then vanished from the courtyard.
When Captain Zheng and his group received the news that the living corpses were surrounding Jiaopan City, they couldn’t sit still.
He took his command medallion and three members of his squad and rushed directly toward the Jiaopan City prefectural office.
The other seven took their medallions and headed toward the city gates.
By the time Lian Li and Yun Huizhou saw the shadows of the living corpses in the distance, the North Gate had already been completely shut at the demand of Captain Zheng and his men.
The South Gate, however, was not closed. Those who wished to leave could still go through the South Gate.
However, the living corpses were not far from Jiaopan City to begin with. If one left now without a horse for transport, an ordinary person would eventually be overtaken by the living corpses.
Among the martial forest people still remaining here, loose practitioners were now a tiny minority. They had either left yesterday or entered the Imperial Mausoleum last night.
Among the few loose practitioners who remained, some immediately beat their chests and stamped their feet in regret upon learning the living corpses were closing in.
Had they known, they would have left last night. Even if they hadn’t left, entering the Imperial Mausoleum would have been better than being trapped in the city by a horde of such monsters.
Another group of loose practitioners went directly to find disciples of the righteous sects they knew as soon as they heard the corpses were coming.
An especially large number went to find the people from the Qinghong Sword Sect.
They knew that although there were many great righteous sects, the entire righteous path was subtly led by the Qinghong Sword Sect. Furthermore, in such a situation, they couldn’t be sure about other sects, but they were certain the Qinghong Sword Sect would absolutely not just leave.
Seeing this, those who regretted not leaving Jiaopan City also realized that in this situation, their only chance of survival was to huddle together with the major sects.
Driven by various motivations, the martial forest people remaining in Jiaopan City all gathered at the place where the Qinghong Sword Sect was temporarily staying.
Although the martial forest people were panicked, they felt much more secure because they possessed martial arts—especially those with good lightness skills, who felt relieved seeing that the living corpses could only chase people on the ground.
In particular, they remembered that several Transcendent masters had come to Jiaopan City. Although they hadn’t shown themselves, the martial artists didn’t believe these masters would just watch as the entire city was surrounded by those living corpses and turned into a city of the dead.
However, the ordinary people in Jiaopan City were completely unable to remain calm.
They had no martial arts to rely on, and the vast majority did not possess a precious steed capable of traveling a thousand miles a day to carry them away from this city.
