Shi Mu looked at the closed door of the palace, and his brows creased. He extended his hand, and pressed it on the door.

　　“Big Brother Shi, be careful!” Zhong Xiu said in a worried manner.

　　“Rest assured!” Shi Mu gave her a reassuring smile. Then, he exerted force with his arm… The door slowly opened with a thunderous sound.

　　An incredibly strong Dead Spirit World’s aura hit Shi Mu in his face as the door opened. He and Zhong Xiu felt as if a bone-chilling cold and evil sensation had struck them. They had been mentally prepared for any situation. However, they couldn’t help but tremble by the impact of this cold aura.

　　Shi Mu quickly fished out two magic charms, and crushed them to pieces. A red light flashed in response, and formed a layer of translucent-red light-screen around his and Zhong Xiu’s body. After that, the cold and evil sensation reduced to a great extent.

　　There was a dim light in the main hall. Also, the hall was permeated with a thick layer of grey mist even though it was daytime. In fact, the mist was so dense that it didn’t even allow the sunlight to pass through the window.

　　Shi Mu saw the dense mist, and a spurt of golden light gushed in his eyes. He then took a step to enter the hall.

　　A sound similar to the rubbing of clothes was heard from behind him; it was Zhong Xiu. She had also stepped forward to follow him.

　　Shi Mu grasped Zhong Xiu’s hand, and walked into the hall while sweeping his gaze around.

　　He had resorted to the wondrous powers of his spirit eye. However, he could only see till a distance of hundred feet or so through the dense mist in the hall.

　　The hall was quite spacious and empty. There were only two rows of huge stone pillars which were supporting the roof. Also, a black fabric curtain dangled from the ceiling between these stone pillars.

　　Shi Mu preceded ten or more steps forward, and then stopped.

　　That fabric curtain hung not far in the front, and was blocking his path.

　　Shi Mu thought for a moment. He then walked up to the curtain, and gently lifted the cloth-curtain.

　　However, all he saw behind the curtain was a vast and open space as before. Also, a large circular magic array was drawn on the ground this side; it was several feet in size, and grey in color. The magic characters on the surface of this magic array were winding around whilst emitting faint grey radiance.

　　Moreover, a tall corpse was laid down in the magic array. Its entire body was greenish-black in color. But, some strange red lines could also be seen on the surface of its skin. These lines were swelling and contracting rhythmically like a blood vessel.

　　One of the red lines on this corpse’s face was similar to a red earthworm. It rather gave the impression of being very malevolent and dreadful. In addition, the presence of a strong Dead Spirit World’s aura could be felt around this tall corpse.

　　Shi Mu was startled to see this corpse at first. But then, he felt relieved in his heart when he saw that the corpse was completely motionless.

　　However, a gob-smacked look flashed through his eyes as his gaze drew towards that corpse’s face… He noticed that the contour of this corpse’s face bore a little resemblance to that of the City Lord of Cloud Wing City — Mo Yun Yang.

　　Meanwhile, a soft cry spread from Zhong Xiu’s mouth as her eyes fell on that corpse.

　　The eyes of the corpse suddenly opened up while these two people were gazing at it. Then, a pair of purple lights gleamed in its eyes, and it stood up with a sudden jerk. Then, a fierce and ominous invisible aura burst forth from its body, and proliferated in all directions.

　　The tall zombie disappeared from its original place the next moment, and instantaneously appeared in front of Shi Mu and Zhong Xiu.

　　Then, it spread its five fingers, and long nails sprouted on his greenish-black palm… These fingernails were like sharp daggers. Then, this claw turned into a green remnant-shadow, and pounced forward to grasp them.

　　Shi Mu immediately pulled Zhong Xiu to his side, pointed his foot on the ground, and pushed his body towards the rear in a swift manner.

　　However, a blood-light suddenly flashed with a “Puff” sound at the same time!

　　The tall zombie was extremely fast. But, Shi Mu’s response was also incredibly fast. However, he still couldn’t escape the attack completely, and got struck. Two long wounds were slashed open in his chest, and fresh blood streamed out.

　　“Big Brother Shi!” Zhong Xiu’s complexion changed, and she exclaimed in shock. Her elegant eyebrows immediately snapped upward, and her face contorted with indignation.

　　She waved her jade-like white hand, and a simple white jade-harp emerged in her hand.

　　Then, her fingers seemingly changed into fingers-shadow as she swept them across the white jade-harp.

　　Clang Clang!

　　A shrill and pressing harp’s sound resounded in the hall… This sound gave off a feeling of a fierce battle with shining spears and armored horses.

　　After this, blue ripples started to emerge in front of her body… like a wave of water.

　　The tall zombie entered the scope of those blue ripples. But, it suddenly seemed as if its body had been caught up in a quagmire… Its movement had slowed down to a great extent.

　　A blue light flashed across Zhong Xiu’s beautiful eyes as she saw this scene. Then, she issued a sweet yet loud shout. Simultaneously, she stroked her fingers on the strings in a fierce manner.

　　A loud sound spread from the harp, and the surrounding blue ripples started to converge together in response. They converged, and got condensed into a long blue spear. Then, this spear thrust towards the throat of the tall zombie.

　　The tall zombie seemed to be afraid of the blue spear since a purple light flashed in its eyes when it saw the approaching spear… It exuded a loud shout. And, blackish-red radiance flashed on its body. Then, it jumped to another side to dodge the attack.

　　However, the tall zombie couldn’t completely evade the attack under the coercion of the blue ripples.

　　“Puff!” The blue spear stabbed the zombie’s left shoulder.

　　A reddish-yellow liquid splashed out of the zombie’s shoulder as it got pierced by the blue spear. Its left arm broke, and fell down to the ground the next moment.

　　The zombie gave an anguished cry in response. Then, it jumped back, and moved away from the scope of the blue ripples.

　　“Miss Xiu, this is the Art of Thousand Jade Sound-Waves, isn’t it? It’s awesome!” Shi Mu had fallen to the nearby ground whilst leading Zhong Xiu backwards. An awestruck look emerged on his face as he saw the spell. So, he exclaimed in admiration.

　　Meanwhile, Shi Mu had pasted two green magic-charms on his wounds. Therefore, both of his wounds had stopped bleeding, and had started to heal from within.

　　A flush of bashfulness emerged on Zhong Xiu’s cheeks as she heard Shi Mu’s compliment.

　　“Roar!”

　　The tall zombie again issued a low-pitched sound, and rushed towards the two.

　　A black light flashed on Shi Mu’s body as he saw the approaching zombie. Then, a black snake-shadow emerged, and merged into his body.

　　A layer of black scales started to sprout on the surface of his skin the next moment. Also, his fingers elongated, and turned into sharp claws. Shi Mu had completed the totem body transformation in an instant!

　　A formidable spiritual aura burst forth from his body, and swept across the hall whilst stirring-up the surrounding air.

　　Shi Mu turned his hand, and pulled out the black blade that hung on his back. Then, he stood in front of Zhong Xiu as a shield, and confronted the zombie head-on.

　　He was about to move into action when something left him astounded.

　　The fact was the zombie was approaching them at full speed. But, its body suddenly stagnated, and came to an abrupt stop. Then, the purple radiance in its eyes greatly diminished, and a trace of wisdom flashed through its eyes.

　　Even its ugly and withered face distorted to reveal hints of pain and suffering. The zombie looked at Shi Mu, and issued a low-pitched voice once again. However, its voice was hard to understand.

　　Zhong Xiu’s fingers moved as she saw this scene. The sound of the harp rang out once again… After that, the blue ripples bubbled-up in the surrounding air, and rushed forth towards the zombie once again.

　　“Miss Xiu, wait a minute,” Shi Mu suddenly said.

　　Zhong Xiu was taken aback by this, and the movement of her hand abruptly stopped in response.

　　“Big Brother Shi, what happened?” She asked.

　　Shi Mu just shook his head, but didn’t give her a reply. He then walked a few steps forward, and stood in front of that tall zombie; there was still a distance of ten meters between them.

　　“Big Brother Shi, be careful.” Zhong Xiu promptly said.

　　“It’s no big deal,” Shi Mu’s eyes fell on the tall zombie’s body as he spoke.

　　“You… Are you Mo Yun Yang?” Shi Mu said.

　　“Roar roar…” the tall zombie uttered a low-pitched roar in response. Also, a trace of anxiousness peeped through its eyes.

　　The sound of its howling wasn’t syllabic, but it had still set Shi Mu’s heart in motion… It seemed as if Shi Mu had finally figured something out.

　　“How did you become like this? Is the Dark Moon Cult involved in all this?” Shi Mu asked in a tentative manner.

　　The tall zombie again issued a low-pitched roar… It also waved its arms this time. It seemed as if it wanted to express something. But then, the purple light in its eyes again gleamed, and that smear of wisdom which had just appeared in its eyes was immediately suppressed by an ominous glint.

　　Shi Mu’s facial expression changed. He pointed his foot below, and shot towards the rear.

　　The zombie bent both of its feet, and shot out like a cannonball. It swooped straight toward Shi Mu whilst leaving a remnant shadow in the air.

　　Meanwhile, its remaining arm became fuzzy, and turned into three remnant-shadows of sharp grey blades. Then, the zombie thrust them towards Shi Mu’s head, chest, and lower abdomen at the same time.

　　“Mo Yun Yang, can you hear me?”

　　Shi Mu shouted loudly. Simultaneously, the Real Qi gushed out of his body, and streamed into the black blade. Shi Mu then waved his black blade, and blade-light burst out of it. It rushed straight ahead to receive the opposite party’s grey blades in a very threatening manner.

　　Boom Boom Boom! Three loud metal-clanging sounds rang out in the air!

　　Shi Mu flew backwards with extremely fast speed after having launched his attack. But, the pouncing silhouette of “Mo Yun Yang” was forced to stop.

　　Three scars had been inflicted on its remaining arm. They had obviously been caused by the severe bump with the black blade. However, none of these wounds looked deep or severe.

　　Shi Mu’s eyebrows twitched upward. He knew that his black blade was no longer a magic tool. However, the degree of its hardness and sharpness had been continually increasing. Still, it had left such a shallow wound on the zombie’s body. This incident had proved that Mo Yun Yang’s defensive power had reached an astonishing degree after he had transformed into a zombie.

　　However, Zhong Xiu’s Art of Thousand Jade Sound-Waves had been able to cut off one of its arms. This indicated that the might of this art was indeed frightening.

　　“Mo Yun Yang” gave a loud shout, and the red lines on its arm lit up with red radiance. After that, the muscles near the wound started to wiggle, and the wound started to heal at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. The wounds disappeared without a trace only in a matter of a few seconds.

　　Then, a faint red light appeared on the zombie’s left arm; it was the same place from where its arm had been cut off just a moment ago. After that, fresh flesh started to sprout. Then, it interwove together. Simultaneously, its severed arm started to grow from its place little by little.

　　Shi Mu was shocked by this. He moved, and swooped towards “Mo Yun Yang”.

　　An ominous glint flashed across Mo Yun Yang’s eyes, and it also pounced towards Shi Mu. Its right hand stood alongside its body like a blade. And, an ink-like thick grey light was curling around it. Suddenly, its right hand turned into a grey blade, and hacked down towards Shi Mu.

　　A loud “Bang” sound echoed!

　　A terrific collision took place between the black blade, and the arm of “Mo Yun Yang”. And then, they bounced back by the impact of this collision.

　　Shi Mu’s eyes flashed with a trace of surprise. He noticed that the degree of hardness of “Mo Yun Yang”‘s arm had increased as soon as it got shrouded in the layer of that strange grey light. It had collided with the black blade head-on. But, even this collision could only leave a shallow scratch on the palm of its hand.

　　“Mo Yun Yang” again exuded a low-pitched roar. Its right hand flashed, and changed its direction at a strange angle. Then, it pounced to grab Shi Mu’s lower abdomen.

　　Shi Mu was alarmed. He quickly stomped his foot, and moved to the other side… He succeeded in evading the zombie’s claws this way. Then, he quickly rotated like a spinning top, and pounded his black blade towards the zombie’s calf.

　　“Mo Yun Yang” sprang, and ducked out of the way.

　　Both of them were extremely fast. The two transformed figures continued to bump together in the following time. Simultaneously, intermittent bursts of metal clanging sounds were heard.

　　The more Shi Mu launched his attacks, the more he found himself flabbergasted. Mo Yun Yang’s power, speed, and physical strength… everything had become far stronger than the time when Shi Mu had first witnessed his zombie art. And, this attainment had become possible after Mo Yun Yang’s incarnation into a zombie. In fact, Mo Yun Yang’s current strength seemed to have surpassed Shi Mu’s astonishing strength in the beast mode.

　　It was apparent that Mo Yun Yang lacked any trace of reasoning at the moment. However, his rich battle experience from when he had been alive was still there to support him. On top of that, his strength had also exceeded that of Earth-ranked middle-stage in this zombie mode.

　　However, one of his arms had been chopped down by Zhong Xiu’s attack no matter how formidable he was right now. And, his wounds hadn’t yet had enough time to recover during this fierce combat. So, it appeared that the battle between Shi Mu and Mo Yun Yang could only end up in a draw.

　　Shi Mu’s eyes flickered since he wanted to resort to some other means.

　　Clang Clang Clang!

　　But then, a melodious sound of harp resounded in the hall once again. Simultaneously, the blue ripples emerged in the air.

　　Then, those ripples rushed towards Shi Mu and that zombie. The ripples were about to strike Shi Mu when they took an abrupt turn, and changed their direction. Then, they wound around, and advanced towards “Mo Yun Yang” in succession.