The sun had risen high, but its warmth could not drive away the stench of death.
Children's laughter from earlier that morning was drowned beneath shrieks of terror. Vendors abandoned their stalls, baskets overturned, fruits rolling across the cobbles slick with blood. The once-lively streets were now painted in crimson, a grotesque masterpiece of horror.
The source was clear.
A hulking zombie, its body twisted by corruption, rampaged through the marketplace. Each step sent ripples of fear as it crashed into houses, leaping from rooftop to rooftop like a predator tasting freedom for the first time. With every landing, screams erupted — families torn apart, helpless mortals devoured in moments.
"Hold the line!" shouted Minhe, her sword blazing with spirit light. Around her, a dozen cultivators tried desperately to hold their ground. Their blades slashed, talismans ignited, but against the monster's hide it was like carving stone with paper.
The streets became a battlefield.
Blood spattered the walls. Severed limbs littered the alleys. The cries of mothers searching for their children echoed louder than steel.
With a roar that shook tiles from the roofs, the zombie slammed its fist into a squad of defenders. The cultivators were hurled like broken dolls, blood spraying midair.
Minhe gritted her teeth. "Everyone inside the barrier!" She slammed a jade token into the earth, and a Glittering dome of light expanded, swallowing dozens of terrified mortals within. It was not a weapon — merely a fragile cage of safety. Outside it, she and the others stood firm, swords drawn, their breathing ragged.
The beast roared again, eyes glowing with an unholy light. It smashed into the barrier, sparks flying, and the dome shuddered.
If it fell, the people inside would have no chance.
At that instant, five figures cloaked in black appeared at the edge of the battlefield. They radiated a chilling pressure, each one already standing in the Core Formation realm. Their movements were precise, silent as falling leaves, but the spiritual might they released pressed heavily against the earth.
Together, they formed a five-point formation. Seals shone in their palms, locking into a grid of golden light. A force surged outward, chains of spiritual energy manifest into existence and winding around the beast — no, not a beast, but a female zombie, her tangled hair whipping like storm-tossed banners, her blood-red eyes glaring with hunger.
The five cultivators tightened the formation, yang chains constricting her movements. Her shrieks split the air like iron being torn apart. For a moment, it seemed they would succeed. Her body convulsed, flesh tearing, as the binding talismans began to sink into her rotting skin.
"Hold her! Do not falter!" veins bulging from the strain.
But just as the killing blow was about to fall, the air chilled. The bright sun above dimmed under a wave of frost.
Just then, the rattle of wheels cut through the chaos.
A black carriage rolled down the blood-soaked street, its horses unflinching amidst corpses and fire. The door swung open, and the lone figure stepped down. His white robe was untouched by dust or blood, a sharp contrast to the carnage around him. His gaze, calm yet razor-sharp, locked onto the rampaging zombie.
Five new figures emerged — jiangshis, their corpses wrapped in icicles, skin pale blue and stiff as stone. From their mouths came a hiss that froze even the noon winds.
They were no ordinary undead. Their very aura screamed of icy death. Ice Jiangshis.
Without hesitation, they leapt into the formation, claws covered in frost. Spiritual chains shattered under their assault. The cultivators staggered back, coughing blood, as the female zombie was suddenly seized — not by the chains of her enemies, but by the cold, merciless grip of her own kind.
Chains of frost lashed out, wrapping around the raging monster's limbs, dragging it to the ground. The creature screamed, struggling violently, its claws rending chunks of stone, but the icy grip only tightened.
Cultivators seized the chance. Flames, blades, lightning, and talismans rained down. Minhe slashed with renewed strength, her sword glowing like a falling star.
The monster shrieked, its body breaking apart under the combined assault.
The Ice Jiangshis locked their limbs around her, restraining her with otherworly strength. Their eyes glowed, not wild like hers, but cold, obedient — as if controlled by another will.
Then, through the shattered battlefield, a lone figure walked forward. His steps were calm, unhurried, as though he had long expected this moment. Noon sunlight struck his white robes, turning them to pale gold. His eyes were steady, carrying neither fear nor hesitation.
In his hand, a single talisman burned with runes none present had ever seen before. With each step, the talisman pulsed like a heartbeat.
The beast paused, as if sensing something greater evil than itself had entered the battlefield.
Li Qiong lifted a single hand.
Frost surged, coiling around his fingers like serpents.
Gasps rose from the battered cultivators. "That... that is—!"
The Ice Jiangshis parted without resistance, holding the female zombie in place as though offering her up.
The lone figure raised his hand. With one motion, he pressed the blazing talisman against the zombie's forehead.
The runes exploded in light. Her scream pierced heaven and earth, rattling bones and shattering clouds. Yet the talisman held firm, its light drilling deep into her skull until the violent crimson in her eyes flickered... then dulled.
Her body went limp, still breathing with undead malice, yet subdued completely.
As the last echo of her shriek faded,
The mortals within the barrier watched in disbelief. The five Core Formation cultivators exchanged looks of shock.
A murmur spread through the cultivators. Some eyes gleamed with fear, others with suspicion. But all of them felt the same thing in that moment — the sharp edge of dominance, the suffocating weight of fear.
For a long moment, there was only silence.
Then, from within the barrier, a single voice rose — trembling, yet full of raw gratitude.
"He... he subdued it...!"
Another followed.
"We're saved...!"
Like sparks leaping to flame, voices erupted one after another until the entire square thundered with relief.
"Hero!"
"A cultivator sent by the heavens!"
"Praise him! Praise the young master who saved us!"
The blood-soaked air carried the sound of mortals kneeling, their foreheads pressed to the ground. The cries of despair had turned to cheers, the same mouths that once screamed now chanting his name as though it could drive away all fear.
"Hero! Hero! Hero!"
Amidst the sea of reverence, Minhe stumbled forward. Her face was streaked with blood, her robes torn and bloodied, yet her eyes shone with relief. Without a thought, she ran, arms wide, as if to embrace him — to hold the savior who had stood unshaken before death.
But Li Qiong merely shifted his step aside.
Her arms closed on empty air, trembling in disbelief. For a heartbeat, her body froze mid-motion, the warmth of gratitude turned to bitter.
She clenched her fists, her voice breaking as she scolded,
"Li Qiong! Do you even understand what you've done?! Charging in like that, binding such a thing—do you know the danger you put yourself in?!"
But her words fell uselessly.
Li Qiong neither turned his head nor slowed his step. His white robe fluttered in the sunlight as he walked past her, calm as drifting snow, untouched by the chaos he had quelled.
The Ice Jiangshis followed like shadows, their presence a chilling. The subdued female zombie dragged behind, talisman glowing faintly upon her forehead.
Minhe stood rooted, chest heaving, her heart caught between anger and embress. Her scolding echoed into silence.
Li Qiong did not answer.
To him, their cheers, their gratitude, even Minhe's desperate cry—were nothing more than noise carried away by the breeze.