A faint numbness lingered in his ankle.
From that single exchange—
Uchiha Xiuren had already reassessed the zombie's strength.
—
Based on what he had learned from Jiu Shu—
An ordinary corpse would require decades to reach this level.
Yet Ren Weiyong had only been buried for twenty years.
Which meant—
Something had forcibly accelerated his transformation.
—
But the real question was—
Could it be pushed even further?
—
After all—
They didn't have twenty years to wait.
The Main God Space—
Didn't allow that kind of time.
—
By then—
He would either have become strong enough to no longer need such methods…
Or—
He would already be dead in some mission world.
—
"…Looks like I'll have to capture that caster alive."
"And learn how this acceleration works."
—
The thought had barely formed—
When the zombie roared again.
—
"ROAR!"
—
Its blood-red eyes locked onto him.
Abandoning Jiu Shu entirely—
It lunged.
—
Xiuren's gaze sharpened.
The tomoe in his eyes rotated slowly—
Calculating.
Predicting.
—
The room—
Too small.
—
If he used large-scale Fire Release or Lightning Release—
The zombie might die—
Or not.
—
But Jiu Shu and Wencai—
Definitely would.
—
Not worth the risk.
—
Taijutsu—
Was the answer.
—
The moment the zombie reached him—
Xiuren's body slipped aside.
Like a phantom.
—
A blur.
—
Between his fingers—
Several specially crafted shuriken appeared.
Linked by nearly invisible steel wires.
—
With the Sharingan's perception—
And Uchiha precision—
—
This kind of opponent—
Was the easiest to control.
—
"Jiu Shu. Wencai."
"Leave the room."
"I'll handle this."
—
Jiu Shu didn't hesitate.
He grabbed Wencai—
And retreated to the courtyard.
—
Immediately—
He began setting up an altar.
—
Inside—
Xiuren's eyes narrowed.
—
The zombie lunged again.
—
He shifted.
Ghost-like.
—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
—
Shuriken flew.
—
Embedding into beams.
Pillars.
Walls.
—
In an instant—
A web formed.
—
A steel-wire cage.
—
"ROAR!"
—
The zombie struggled violently.
—
The wires trembled—
Buzzing under immense force.
—
Yet—
They held.
—
Xiuren moved lightly—
Maintaining perfect distance.
—
These past few days—
Had not been wasted.
—
He had learned:
Black dog blood suppresses evil.
Glutinous rice burns corpse energy.
Ink lines restrain undead.
—
Even without those exact materials—
The principle remained:
Yin and Yang oppose.
—
Step by step—
He controlled the battlefield.
—
The Sharingan predicted every attack.
—
His movements—
Minimal.
Precise.
Effortless.
—
The wires shifted constantly—
Adjusting tension.
—
Restraining—
But not destroying.
—
This was a rare specimen.
—
Not something to waste.
—
Outside—
Jiu Shu's altar took form.
—
A pure Daoist aura spread—
Pressing down on the corpse.
—
At the same time—
The distant controlling force—
Still lingered.
—
But—
It was becoming unstable.
—
...
—
Outside Renjia Town—
—
"What's happening?"
"Why is Ren Weiyong slowing down?"
"Lin Jiu shouldn't be capable of this…"
—
The straw effigy trembled violently.
—
The black energy surrounding it—
Began to dissipate.
—
And on its forehead—
A faint golden pattern appeared.
—
"Damn it!"
—
The old man bit his fingertip.
—
Trying to reinforce the spell.
—
At that moment—
Two disciples arrived.
Clothes worn.
Carrying fresh grave soil.
—
"Master, we brought the soil—"
—
They froze.
—
The altar—
Was unstable.
—
"Lin Jiu is breaking my spell!"
The old man snarled.
"Quick—scatter the yin soil!"
—
They obeyed immediately.
—
Foul-smelling earth—
Spread around the altar.
—
The elder disciple suddenly stiffened.
"…Master… someone's here."
—
The old man turned sharply.
—
The graveyard—
Silent.
Still.
—
"Don't imagine things!"
"Focus!"
"Bring the black dog blood!"
—
A jar was opened.
—
Thick.
Dark.
—
The old man dipped his fingers—
Drawing symbols across the effigy.
—
But—
None of them noticed—
—
Under an old locust tree—
In the shadows—
—
Uchiha Mo stood.
—
Silent.
Still.
—
His presence—
Merged with the night.
—
Breathing—
Almost nonexistent.
—
Through his Sharingan—
He saw everything.
—
Two forces—
Clashing within the effigy.
—
A sinister control spell—
Being suppressed—
By pure Daoist power.
—
"…Looks like Jiu Shu is holding."
—
Mo remained unmoving.
—
"…Then I'll wait."
—
"Let him exhaust himself."
—
The tomoe in his eyes rotated slowly—
Recording every movement.
Every symbol.
Every technique.
—
Xiuren wanted knowledge.
—
And now—
Mo would bring him a teacher.
—
"Hmph. Lin Jiu—"
"You think you can break my spell?"
—
The old man continued—
Drawing with blood.
—
The effigy stabilized—
Briefly.
—
Black energy gathered again.
—
"Master is incredible…"
One disciple muttered.
—
"Of course—this is true inheritance…"
—
Then—
—
The golden pattern flared.
—
Violently.
—
The black energy—
Collapsed again.
—
"Not good!"
—
The old man's expression twisted.
—
He bit his tongue—
Spat blood again.
—
The effigy trembled—
Barely stabilizing.
—
But the golden light—
Did not fade.
—
Immediately—
He took out a bone needle—
—
And drove it into the effigy's chest.
—
At that exact moment—
—
Back at the mortuary—
—
Ren Weiyong screamed.
—
A piercing—
Agonized—
Shriek.
—
It tore violently at the wires.
—
Its strength surged.
—
"A last struggle…"
—
Xiuren murmured.
—
He adjusted the tension—
Preventing the wires from snapping.
—
Outside—
Jiu Shu sensed it.
—
His hand seals changed instantly.
—
With the peachwood sword—
He lifted a talisman—
Passed it through flame.
—
"Break!"
—
The talisman shot forward—
Golden light blazing.
—
—
At the graveyard—
—
Crack!
—
The bone needle—
Shattered.
—
From the effigy's chest—
—
A beam of golden light—
—
Shot straight toward—
—
The old man's forehead.
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