Chapter 733: A Zombie's Weakness

Two months later, within a hall in the palatial valley at Shenfeng's capital, Xiao Nanfeng and the Divine Emperor were going through a few documents together.

"The hundred Immortal cities and twenty thousand ordinary cities are all in good order now. There's been a few spots of trouble here and there, but we dealt with them quickly. It's clear the people appreciate our reforms by and large. Look at how much the sea of fortune above Shenfeng's capital has grown! It's ten times its original size," the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

The sea of fortune overhead roiled like a raging ocean, as if a giant beast were frolicking within.

"It's not yet sufficient. Without first materializing a golden dragon of fortune, we won't be able to contend for the world. Our enemies are going to be eyeing us, too," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"But the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue hasn't made a move recently, has he?" the Divine Emperor replied.

"Hardly. There are plenty of his spies in Shenfeng, and I'm sure some of his people have made it through our screening. We've been recruiting officials for two whole months, after all."

"How do you know?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

"Didn't we detect a few recently? They might as well be drops of water in an ocean. We've been prioritizing talent over all else. If I were the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue, I'd try to funnel spies into Shenfeng en masse, too."

"What should we do, then?"

"Don't worry. As long as the people are on our side, all will be well. People are the bedrock of empire, and officials the end product. We just need to focus on the people. Officials can be changed at will. As long as our systems are rigorous enough, they'll merely be cogs in the machine. If they dare overstep their bounds, the people themselves will report and deal with them."

"No wonder you've set up this intricate system of checks and balances. Anyone can report officials who violate the powers of their station, and they'll be rewarded generously if the accusations prove to be true."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "There will be false positives, of course, but none of the spies who have snuck into Shenfeng will be able to do anything untoward without their actions being noticed. Then, once we take down Hongyue, we can flush them out."

"The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue's plans will be completely foiled, then," the Divine Emperor murmured.

"He's ambitious and ruthless, and a rather talented strategist himself. Once he discovers that his spies are ineffective, he'll surely counterattack. We'll have a hard time dealing with things then."

"The best defense is offense. Should we declare war right now?" the Divine Emperor asked.

Xiao Nanfeng pursed his lips. "We're still missing an opportunity and a motive. Yang Chuan has been gathering evidence of the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue's misdeeds and securing the cooperation of his enemies. The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue is a dangerous foe at the moment with his seven zombie kings. Let's wait a little and amass more strength for now."

"Very well!" The Divine Emperor nodded.

Just then, a shadow rushed into the hall. "Your Majesty, Ye Dafu and the other generals seek an audience."

"Have them enter."

"Understood!" The shadow backed off.

Very quickly, the twelve golden cultivators stepped into the hall. A figure cloaked in black fog followed after them.

"Your Majesty, we've finished our respective Martial Aspect tasks," Ye Dafu reported.

Xiao Nanfeng laughed. "Yang Chuan specifically picked out easy tasks for you. Considering you have a Boundless Immortal by your side, I would be more surprised if you couldn't."

"We were lucky to have Third Uncle with us. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to take down the Immortal spirits of those five spiritbeast lairs simultaneously," Ye Dafu agreed.

"Ye Sanshui, have you familiarized yourself with your new form?" Xiao Nanfeng asked the cloud of black fog.

The golden-crowned zombie king dispelled the cloud of black fog cloaking me. Although its appearance had changed a little, it still didn't look quite like Ye Sanshui.

Ye Sanshui smiled wryly. "To some extent, Your Majesty, but it'll take me more time to be able to change my appearance at will."

"Have you not returned to your home at all?"

"I have a few times in secret. My wife is doing well, and I didn't dare show my face. I'm worried that she'll receive a big shock if I reveal myself. She doesn't know that I've been back, but I can tell that she misses me. I don't know how to console her."

"Why don't you write her a letter?"

"Ah—you're right, Your Majesty! I forgot!" Ye Sanshui exclaimed.

"Third Uncle, maybe you've grown less intelligent because you're in a zombified body now," Ye Dafu said, chuckling.

Ye Sanshui faux-slapped his nephew on the head. "If you're so intelligent, why didn't you remind me?"

Ye Dafu: ...

Ye Sanshui shook his head, then turned back to Xiao Nanfeng. "Your Majesty, though I haven't fully attuned to this ancestral zombie's body, I believe there's something wrong with it."

"Hm?"

"I feel as if I'm growing weaker and weaker every moment. It's as if there's some flaw in my body from which energy is leaking." Ye Sanshui frowned.

"Are you certain?" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It's not obvious at the moment, but the losses will surely accumulate over time."

Xiao Nanfeng and the Divine Emperor strode forward to inspect Ye Sanshui's body. The Divine Emperor wiped at her eyes as they released a flash of black light.

"Indeed. With my mind's eye, I can tell that Ye Sanshui's body is leaking an almost indiscernible quantity of black smoke. It's rather like that from the black coffin," the Divine Emperor confirmed.

"Let's go back to the black coffin hidden realm and have a look, then. Ye Dafu and the rest of you, guard us!" Xiao Nanfeng instructed.

"Understood!" the golden cultivators chorused.

Xiao Nanfeng retrieved the black coffin. The Divine Emperor activated it, and the three cultivators stepped within.

Inside the black coffin hidden realm, Ye Sanshui reported, "Your Majesty, I don't feel like I'm leaking energy anymore."

The Divine Emperor nodded. "Indeed. This hidden realm is filled with black smoke, which is surrounding Ye Sanshui."

"I get it now. No wonder we haven't seen any of the zombies under the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue's command in these last three months. I thought he was simply being prudent, but it's more like they can't leave the black coffin."

"Are those zombies like Ye Sanshui?" the Divine Emperor exclaimed.

"They're the same type of cursed effigy. I'm sure of it. Even Ye Sanshui's ancestral zombie body will weaken outside of this hidden realm, let alone the weaker ones. The moment they leave the black coffin, they'll be on a timer. This is the crucial downside of such zombies," Xiao Nanfeng asserted.

"Ye Sanshui, is it possible for you to prevent this energy loss outside the black coffin?" the Divine Emperor asked.

"There does seem to be a way," Ye Sanshui replied.

"Oh?"

"Killing people. The ancestral zombie's body is urging me to bite people. I've been resisting the impulse. I did bite a large spirit and devour its soul and blood, which made me feel much more comfortable, though it didn't curb the loss of my energy. I injected zombifying venom into the spirit, transforming it into a zombie that would obey me. In a month, the black blood I injected completely changed its body structure and reforged it into a pure zombie. After I devoured it, I discovered that it gave off much more black blood than I injected. When it surged back into my body, it replenished much of my losses."

"In other words, if you want to maintain a reservoir of strength, you'll have to kill others and transform them into low-grade zombies, then devour those zombies?" Xiao Nanfeng confirmed.

"Yes, and very many of them. If a few spirits were enough to counteract the loss, I wouldn't have reported it, Your Majesty, but I believe I'll have to zombify a large number of spirits in order to reach equilibrium. I'm worried that I'll develop an innate bloodthirst."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Well done. This is crucial information."

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The Divine Emperor frowned. "Perhaps this is the flaw that the copper tombstone mentioned. Could it be a flaw deliberately left by the heavens?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps it was deliberate on the part of the ancestral zombie," Xiao Nanfeng suggested.

The Divine Emperor nodded. That hypothesis was possible, too.

"But if the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue's zombies have the same problem, then that's excellent news for us." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"Oh?"

Xiao Nanfeng hummed thoughtfully. "I may have a strategy to take down the Immortal Emperor of Hongyue. Let me think about it a little. We may be able to strike at Hongyue soon."

Ye Sanshui and the Divine Emperor's eyes brightened.

Days later, in a certain Immortal sect, a group of disciples saw a letter in their sect master's hands.

"Sect Master, is that an invitation from Yang Chuan? What does he want us to do?" a disciple asked.

"Seven Martial Aspects from the Imperial Court have perished. Yang Chuan, Xiao Nanfeng, and other Martial Aspects are inviting the friends and family of the cultivators who perished in the black coffin hidden realm to discuss matters of revenge," the sect master replied.

"A Cardinal Aspect of the Imperial Court is getting involved? This must be serious, then. The Immortal Emperor of Hongyue is going to have a bad time," one disciple exclaimed.

"Sect Master, should we participate? If Yang Chuan is intending to wage war against the divine empire of Hongyue, we're going to be nothing more than cannon fodder," another disciple said, frowning.

"What do you mean, cannon fodder? We're going to take revenge for our fallen seniors!"

The disciples of the sect quickly split up into two camps, those who wanted to join in and those who didn't.

In the end, the sect master stepped forward. "Our sect has suffered tremendous losses, and we cannot afford to take risks at this point in time. Even so, let's head to this meeting and figure out what their plan is. If the situation is favorable to us, we'll participate. If they just want us to serve as cannon fodder, then we won't."

All the disciples nodded in agreement.